SPEECH
A SPEECH is a formal talk that a person delivers to an audience. It must have the capacity to keep the audience spellbound with proper choice of words, expressions and examples. At the same time care should be taken not to deviate from the main subject. You must keep in mind that it is a speech and you need to begin the draft with addressing your audience. The conclusion should be with a sentence thanking your audience for their patient listening.
Before you go further you need to know‐
WHO you are writing your speech for (the composition / kind of audience)
WHAT your speech is going to be about (its topic)—the main points in order of importance with supporting research.
Follow the system of CODER for writing your speech
C‐ Collect the ideas.
O‐Organize them in a logical manner
D‐Develop the points into paragraphs
E‐Edit the speech
R‐Revise and rewrite it
Brainstorm before you begin writing your speech.
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
• Greet your audience and introduce the topic you are speaking on.
• The introduction part of the speech is the most important part.
• The introduction should not be very lengthy. The main topic should be taken up as quickly as possible. Use concrete terms and tangible examples. Avoid abstract phrases which are quite vague. Use simple and familiar language.
• The effects, such as raising one’s voice, giving stress to certain words, pausing for a short time etc. can be represented in a written speech by using such techniques as increasing the size of the letters of the sentence to be stressed, or using all capitals for a particular word to be emphasized, leaving a few dots (….) after a question to indicate a pause.
• The conclusion plays a very important role in the success of a speech.
• Here we should remember Shakespeare’s advice that brevity is the soul of wit. Give your own conclusion on the topic in a telling manner.
• A powerful quotation or lines from a beautiful poem.
SAMPLE 1: Women’s Magazine Femina is organizing a speech contest in your school on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Your teacher has selected you to participate in the competition and asked you to prepare a speech on the topic “Empowerment of Women”. Draft a speech in about 200 words that highlights what women’s empowerment is, Discusses why women do not feel empowered, and suggests how this empowerment can happen.
Good morning to one and all. Honourable Principal, respected teachers and my dear friends. Today, I am here to share my views on the topic’ Empowerment of Women’.
These days much is being said and made out of the buzzword ’women’s empowerment’. Women Organisations cry for it, politicians vouch for it, editors write about it and TV panels debate it. What IS women’s empowerment?
I strongly believe women’s empowerment means each and every woman has the right to a dignified life wherein she can pursue what pleases her for a wholesome and fulfilled education, career, economic independence, equality, birth body rights. If empowerment means all these, I am sorry to say, Indian Women are far from being empowered?
What kind of empowerment can we ensure for our women, if they are routinely subjected to assault,domestic violence, physical and mental exploitation, cruelty and what not? How can they ever feel empowered as long they are treated as mere objects of gratification?
It is one thing to talk about women’s empowerment in seminars and editorials or on TV shows, but it is quite a different thing to experience its absence in every walk of life. Are only men to blame for this mess? Sadly, women equally are to blame. They must first address the divides that exist among their tribe – the so-called urban-rural divide, the educated- illiterate divide, the working-woman-home-homemaker divide.
In my opinion real empowerment of women will not come from women’s commission or police or politicians or men. It will come when women start believing in themselves, their strengths and their potential.
Remember, empowered women mean an empowered nation. Women are not weak, our mind-set is. Let’s remove the stereo-type not only from the society but also from the minds of all who have it.
Thank you!
Practice Questions: - 1. Narcotics Control Bureau is organizing a speech contest in your school as part of its observance of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Write a speech in about 150-200 words on the topic “Youth and Drug Abuse”. In your speech you should: - express concern over the increasing number of cases of drug abuse, highlight the dangers of drug abuse, suggest what needs to be done to check this menace.
2. Pictures of violence, verbal abuse, physical assault etc. on Indian television have greatly affected the young minds of children. Prepare a speech in about 150-200 words on the harms caused by violence and abusive scenes on young minds.
Please click on below link to download CBSE Class 12 English Worksheet Set C
