Public speaking courses and speech ideas…You can’t have one without the other
One of the most disheartening, frustrating and irritating aspects of writing a presentation is coming up with a novel speech idea.
For example: a friend asks you to be the best man at their wedding. Two days before the happy event, because their original best man was swept away by giant waves after a boating accident. And all of his carefully prepared notes for the speech with him.
While you may be slightly upset about having been the second choice, you still want to dazzle the happy couple and the audience with your oratory skills.
The only question now is how you’re going to go about doing this.
How are you going to produce a captivating speech topic?
Brilliant speech ideas which pave the way for effective speaking that wows the audience are different to the run of the mill “I’ve run around with John since we were in kindergarten…” etc. etc. etc.
Dull…! Mind numbingly tiresome…
The people in the party want to be amused. To have fun. And they want to celebrate the newlyweds.
You may be wondering how you can come up with good speech ideas, make your speech different.
Let me give you my personal formula for coming up with a great speech:
I begin by introducing myself and telling the audience what I’m going to be talking about. I keep this part as short as possible because I’m not a celebrity, they’re not especially interested in me. They want to be entertained and educated. After that I thank thank them for being there. Acknowledge them.
If anyone has made huge efforts to attend, I give them special mention.
Such as: “…and I really want to thank the groom’s cousin Bobby and his daughter Sue who came here all the way from Tierra del Fuego in their trusty old stage coach pulled by their team of andalucian mules. It was one tough time crossing the Gulf of Mexico under cover of darkness to avoid thepirates. We all really appreciate their gifts of fine beer from Paraguay”
Even if the happy pair don’t have a relative Bobby from Tierra del Fuego, you can still ask him to identify himself, as the mules have fouled the road outside ….and the time is up on their parking meter.
Now it’s time to get your audience interested. You would explain how you came to be there, before them, teeth chattering while you tremble in fear. You explain how the groom’s first choice for the position of best man isn’t available to be here today. Express condolences to his widow, parents and children.
The next thing I do is tell the audience that I’m going to make the afternoon more interesting by telling them about, the hay barn and what happened at summer camp last year .( Please, please remember to smile at this point or you may be torn apart by the crowd)
By this time, the crowd is all ears, sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting to get the inside line on the scandal. I then proceed to tell everyone how lucky the bride and groom are and tell them that I’ll get to the hay barn story later on.
I’ll tell the guests about the fine families of the bride and groom, the virtues of their upbringing, that they are fine hard working people and what wonderful people they are.
Make mention of little acts of kindness carried out by the happy couple. The good works they do, the work they did with the local community, or any other good deeds they have performed.
This is the part where you express your appreciation to them for letting you share the same planet.Â
I would then ask the gathered guests to raise their glasses in a toast, offer your best wishes for a happy future to the newly weds, wishing them much success, many healthy offspring and a good and happy life together. I will also wish them financial success to be able to afford the children.
Have you seen the price of diapers theses days…?
Once all the traditional parts of your speech are dispensed with, I’ll then say, “Oh, by the way… the hay barn… summer camp… last year! John’s construction company made a fine job of building it and all the kids are really grateful to him for building it.”
The hay barn is an example of an embedded loop.
If it worked for Dallas, it’ll work for you. Does anyone really know who shot JR? I’m sure that, like me, you’re still wondering “Whodunnit”.
Through your knowledge of your audience, you can easily come up with an attention-grabbing cliff hanger.
Try it and see, next time you’re looking for speech ideas.
Cliff hangers work every time.
