personal presentation speech example

3 Speeches to Inspire Your Own Public Speaking

Watch these three highly effective public speakers to learn valuable tips for delivering your own dynamic address.

Harvard Professional Development

Delivering a speech can cause even the most confident among us to break a sweat. But there are many strategies you can use to deliver a speech with poise, confidence, and conviction.

In this blog, we share three of the most effective ways to strengthen your public speaking skills. Watch these inspiring videos to see how each of these techniques is applied so you can practice them yourself.

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1. Pay Attention to Your Delivery

Watch how powerfully Donovan Livingston’s enthusiasm, energy, and purpose affects this Harvard Graduate School of Education student speech.

When preparing and delivering a speech, it’s easy to focus on your words.

Yet how you deliver those words is equally important.

Nonverbal skills such as eye contact, facial expressions, body posture, and hand gestures can enhance your speech, or undermine it.

For instance, Livingston’s nonverbal communications during this speech clearly demonstrate his comfort on the stage, his knowledge of his subject, and most importantly, his passion.

He smiles and makes eye contact with his audience. His facial expressions, especially at key moments, reflect the intensity of his words. His body is relaxed and his hand gestures subtly keep the audience focused.

How can you make sure that your nonverbal communication skills are on point? The answer is practice, practice, and then more practice.

Practice your speech until you can deliver it without reading it.

Practice using different techniques that allow you to observe and solidify the nonverbal elements of the speech. Watch yourself in the mirror. Film yourself and then study the film. Practice in front of family, friends, or trusted colleagues.

And be sure to ask for constructive feedback on how your nonverbal communication made them feel about your subject.

2. Structure Your Message

Listen to how an admiral takes the task of making your bed from a mundane chore to something you’ll feel empowered to do through a pristinely structured message.

This admiral’s inspiring speech will convince you to make your bed every morning, via Business Insider

A well structured speech will help keep your audience engaged and interested.

When planning the structure of your speech, think logically about what you want your audience to take away from your speech. What do you want them to remember?

Be sure those critical take-aways are stated clearly and repeated often. All other details and information throughout the speech should relate back to your main point.

Most speeches have three main parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

The introduction is where you connect with your audience and outline your topic.

Tell your audience what you are going to talk about and why it matters. Your opener should be powerful, catchy, or funny—but also brief.

The body is where you include all your supporting evidence and build intensity.

In the body, you can structure your supporting details topically, chronologically, spatially, by cause-and-effect, or point-counterpoint. Yet however you choose to organize them, make sure they are relevant, limited in number, and easy to understand. Use transition words and phrases to let your audience know that you are moving from point to point.

The conclusion is where you remind your audience about the big picture: Why your subject is important. Don’t be afraid to repeat exactly what you want them to remember. And then leave them with a powerful metaphor or a quote, or challenge them to think about what your subject means for them.

3. Connect with Your Audience

Observe how JK Rowling cleverly connects to her audience in the opening of her 2008 Harvard Commencement speech. She reveals her fear about delivering the speech, then manages to turn the situation into a moment of connection as she and her audience laugh together.

A good public speaker—like JK Rowling—will start by establishing a positive rapport between herself and her audience.

After all, the more your audience likes you, the more they will tune in to what you have to say. And the more your audience understands why your topic is important—to you and to them—the more attentive they will be.

How can you create a connection with your audience? Here are just a few tips:

• Smile and make eye contact with your audience. Remember your nonverbal communication skills!
• Tell jokes and be funny, if you can. But be careful: Humor can easily turn offensive or fall flat if you don’t know your audience.
• Be self deprecating. You are the best source of humor, as JK Rowling shows. By making fun of yourself, you let the audience see that you don’t take yourself too seriously.
• Keep the tone conversational. If possible, try to make your audience feel as if you were speaking to them one on one.
• Share personal experiences and use storytelling to illustrate your main points. Again, however, always make sure your story is relevant and don’t be afraid to cut out extraneous detail to keep your story on point.

And above all, be authentic! Letting the audience get to know the real you will make your story, and your message, even more meaningful and memorable.

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About the Author

How to implement creative marketing strategies at your organization.

Evaluate your current marketing strategy and engage in creative brainstorming to reinvigorate the success of your marketing campaigns.

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

A division of Harvard University dedicated to bringing rigorous programs and innovative online teaching capabilities to distance learners, working professionals, high school students, college students, and those seeking higher learning in retirement.

Speech Writing

Presentation Speech

Presentation Speech - An Ultimate Writing Guide

Published on: Nov 18, 2018

Last updated on: Dec 28, 2022

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Speech writing  is a form of creative writing where the writer’s ability to think and write creatively is demonstrated. The essence of any piece of work is in its content. In a speech, the content and the deliverance of the speech play an equally important part in the overall success.

Speeches are delivered on many occasions, making the events even more memorable and meaningful. There are several types of speech, and each style has its importance.

Whether you are to write a simple presentation speech or an emotional commemorative speech, it is essential to know the basics. With this guide, you will learn to draft a perfect presentation speech to impress the audience.

Presentation Speech Definition

Presentation speech is a form of speech intended to persuade, inform, and explain to the audience about a topic. Unlike other speech types, presentation speech is purely informative, motivational, and persuasive.

There are multiple purposes for which a presentation speech is written.

• If the purpose of your presentation speech is to inform the listeners about something, share information that is new. It is to make the audience advance their knowledge about a topic, concept, or idea.
• If the purpose of your speech presentation is to persuade the audience, provide facts and strong material. Try to convince them to behave in a certain way.
• If your presentation speech’s sole purpose is to entertain the audience, the content should be amusing and appealing. For this objective, your address is not bound to just having a set of facts and stats only.

Writing a presentation speech requires a writer to have a firm command over the topic. The stronger the grip over the topic, the better you will explain it to the audience.

If you are to write a presentation speech, continue reading to learn where to take the start.

Presentation Speech Outline

If you have ever sat through a presentation, you will remember it if it was inspiring or you learned new things. It is because the presentation was well structured and outlined.

To write your presentation speech successfully, you must follow a proper outline. Developing a strategy is the first thing when writing a presentation speech.

Like in other forms of writing, your information needs to be divided into an understandable pattern for the presentation.

Create your outline in the following parts to make your presentation attractive for the listeners:

• Introduction

The writer should have an idea of dividing the information into the three sections correctly. It is important to decide the opening of the speech and how it will proceed towards the end.

Although the information will be in three sections, a smooth transition will connect all the areas. It will be done using appropriate transition words and ideas.

Forming an outline is not just for the readers. It will help the writer to write and deliver the topic in a focused way as well.

How to Start a Presentation Speech?

How to open a presentation speech effectively? Writing and delivering a speech both have equal importance. Just like strong content is important, the presentation of that content is significant as well. Half of the essence of the speech is in the way it is delivered.

A presentation speech is started by giving a self-introduction to fellow students or the audience in general. The speaker greets the audience and then introduces himself/herself. It is to provide credibility about the information that is to be shared further in the speech.

Make sure to keep your introduction short and direct. If you take 20 minutes to introduce yourself, you might lose the audience’s interest in your speech. So keep the wordings clear and short.

Depending on the audience and place, a presentation speech can be opened using different techniques.

• Providing a shocking or unique information
• Asking your audience to imagine a situation related to the topic
• Using a quote or a phrase
• Telling a story or highlighting a historical event
• Sharing personal experiences and incidents
• Identifying and directly sharing the problems faced by the audience
• Using a video clip or a documentary
• Providing statistics or facts

How to Write a Presentation Speech?

There are no pre-defined boundaries or rules when it comes to writing a presentation speech. But there are some fundamental writing steps that help you prepare an effective speech.

Following are the steps involved in the writing process of a presentation speech:

Identify who you are writing your speech for and what they are looking for in the speech. Make sure to understand them and solve their queries. Identifying the audience will let you decide on your speech’s tone and how to structure the content.

The objective of a presentation is to advance the audience’s knowledge about a certain topic. Pick a topic that you can explain and make the audience understand easily.

While selecting a topic, make sure that you do not choose an extensive topic. The ideal issue will be direct, with a defined subject, and with no vague information.

When researching for information, make sure to consult credible sources. Presentation speeches carry factual and logical information. So it is very important to gather authentic information for the content.

• A hook statement to grab the audience’s attention to the speech
• General introduction of the topic
• A brief explanation of the topic area
• Challenges or issues of the topic
• Purpose of the presentation
• The main point of discussion of the topic

Following the introduction comes the body of the speech where all the explanation on the topic is provided. Write down this section by giving the central ideas and points in different paragraphs along with reasons and examples.

All the paragraphs in the body section should be appropriately aligned. Make sure they are transitioned to make the speech easier for the audience to understand.

To give closure to your presentation speech, highlight the presentation’s goal again, and state how it is justified. Provide a summary of the major points and their implications. Depending on the topic, a writer can also indicate a call to action.

Check if the tone and words are appropriate and understandable. Practice your speech before presenting it in front of the audience to have a strong command of it.

How to End a Presentation Speech?

Depending on the topic, a speech can be concluded in the following way:

• Give a Summary  - Provide a summary of all the key points in the content. Briefly summarize the ideas into three or four sentences and refer the audience back to the purpose.
• Restate the Main Idea  - Highlight the main idea in the conclusion section. It is to emphasize the significant theme and purpose of the presentation.
• Call to Action  - Some speeches are meant to persuade the audience and make them behave in a particular way. For this purpose, provide a call-to-action and justify how it is suitable to deal with the issue.
• End with A Quotation  - Another technique is to use a quotation related to the presentation’s theme and topic.
• Throw A Rhetorical Question  - According to this, leave your audience with something that is thought-provoking. State a question without answering it and leave the audience to imagine.

After summing up your discussion about the topic, conclude your speech by inviting questions from the audience. Thank your audience and appreciate them for being with you and ask if they have any queries.

No matter what type of presentation speech it is, there is always room for questions in the end. This will add a personal element to your presentation, making it more effective. Most speakers properly design their Q&A sessions to make sure that the audience understands the topic.

Presentation Speech Example

Taking help from good and structured presentation speeches will allow you to write and deliver the address smoothly. To keep your audience members engaged in your public speaking, make sure that it has all the required elements.

These examples of presentation speeches will help you write the most balanced and persuasive speech.

Sample of Presentation Speech

Presentation Speech Format Template

Presentation Speech Topics

A strong topic will make your entire presentation speech impactful. If you want to leave an impression on the audience, choose an interesting topic.

To help our students decide on the topic, a list of compelling speech topics is provided below:

• Why is adopting a pet from a shelter better?
• Dogs that make better pets for children
• Why should the public and private schools follow the same curriculum?
• Why should there be a filter on using social media for teenagers?
• Significance of China’s one-child policy
• How to prevent cyberbullying?
• How to get a student loan?
• Impact of eating fast food on health
• Pros and cons of a vegan diet
• Causes and effects of dehydration

Pick the best topic for your speech and write effective content to persuade the audience.

Tips to Make Your Presentation Speech Effective

People always look for ways to make their presentation speeches informative and impressive.  MyPerfectWords.com  has gathered some professional tips that can be followed to make the presentations effective.

Follow the tips and tricks provided below to make an effective presentation speech:

• Choose an interesting topic.
• Create a strong and a clear outline
• Research profoundly and only gather credible information.
• Use an interactive tone to present the topic and keep the audience engaged.
• Do not use difficult vocabulary
• Stay focused and avoid wandering
• Use short sentences to communicate messages and points.
• Use an appropriate PowerPoint presentation layout.
• Avoid reading the points and be natural.
• Use visual aids to make the audience better understand the concept.
• Make eye contact with the audience while addressing.
• Dress formally and act enthusiastic

Writing a great presentation speech is not a difficult task if the planning and outlining are done rightly. Because of this, the gathering and writing process of the content becomes simpler. Following the tips and steps mentioned here will help you impress the audience by delivering the most impressive presentation speech.

If you still need help, ask for professional assistance online. MyPerfectWords.com  is an  essay writing service  that provides high-quality service for all academic assignments. Whether you have a speech or a research paper to write, come to us. We have a team of expert writers to help you with all your writing needs. 

Place your order now and hire our  paper writer  at affordable rates.

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

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How to do a Presentation About Yourself

‘A presentation about myself’ – I think this is one of the most dreaded speech topics.  Talking about yourself – it’s difficult to know what your audience want to know, and how much you should tell them.

Its all about you 

Unfortunately this also happens to be one of the most common speeches you will be asked to give. Whether you are applying for a new job, or starting a new course/class, quite often the first meeting will involve getting to know each other and this will often mean saying a little bit about yourself. Luckily this often has a short time scale, perhaps five or ten minutes so it isn’t as daunting as it sounds.

Firstly when planning your speech, break it down into three sections – a beginning, a middle and a conclusion. This will not only give your speech some structure but will also help with the writing of it.

To start with

The most important thing to remember with the beginning is that it doesn’t really contain any real information. Greet your audience with a warm welcome, tell them who you are and what you are going to talk about, and tell them why you are going to talk about it. Take a look at Making a Presentation:Part One .

The middle section

This is where you tell them about you, tell them about your hobbies, your hopes, your dreams, your goals. Don’t brag about what you have achieved but be informative about it. If it is relevant then you should definitely include achievements.

If you are at a job interview discuss the reasons for wanting the job, touch on some past experience and tell them why you think you are suitable. Back this up with an anecdote from your past if it is related. Tell them what you pride yourself on. This might be time-keeping, efficiency, people skills, or all of these. Be prepared for questions on this because they may ask for examples of when you have shown these skills.

If you are at school, or starting a new college course then tell them why you chose to go for the course, what interests you about that particular job or career, what experience you have had previously, and where you hope it will take you.

For some pointers, have a look at this article on Making a Presentation: Part Two 

Wrapping it up 

The most important point to remember here is never to add any extra information at this point, this is where you should ask the audience if they have any questions. Do a little preparation for this beforehand so that you are prepared for questions about something that you have not covered. Have a look at this article about preparing for your presentation. Finally, you should thank them for their time and attention. And that’s it, finished.

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Can anyone please give tips..

Yes, First you strat looking at the audience and tell them that you wish give details about you.

Greet and welcome the audience if you have Standard Slide you can use.

Tell about Strength of your point by point

Address they af if you are more interactive and confidence person.

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Hello Students, Before I start my presentation I would thank My Teacher__________ and you. My name is_________ and I will present for you about __________ And then you can start your presentation.

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