ShmoopTube

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[Coop and Dino singing]

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If you haven’t already gotten “the speech,” you’re probably dreading it. [Girl watching video of elephants]

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You know…the one where your parents sit you down to tell you about the birds and the

00:21

bees?

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Yeah…those two have always been very into ornithology.

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But…more generally…what is a speech? [Coop explaining what a speech is]

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Basically, it’s any piece of writing that is read aloud, usually to a group of people.

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Simple enough, right?

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Usually, a speech is something you’ve planned ahead of time…

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…and that you read to an audience at an event.

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Writing a speech isn’t all that different from writing anything else, really.

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Like all writing, speeches must connect with an audience... [Woman giving a speech]

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…and put forward ideas...

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…in a way your audience can understand.

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In speeches, connecting with your audience and being clear is super-important. [Girl giving speech of impact of fracking]

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Because the audience is listening to you, and doesn’t have the chance to go back and

00:56

re-read anything…they have to catch what you say the first time around.

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Which is why speeches tend to use simple sentences…

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…and more repetition than most writing. [Man stood on stage]

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It helps the audience remember what you’ve said.

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A major difference between a speech and a presentation is that a presentation is trying [Coop discussing differences of speech and presentation]

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to inform while a speech is trying to persuade.

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In other words, a speech is trying to get the audience to do or feel a specific thing.

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Not to be confused with hypnosis. If you’re dangling a gold pocketwatch, that’s less [Person dangling pocketwatch in front of a woman]

01:23

a “speech” and more “mental manipulation”…

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