Speech

Speech Study Guide

©2017 of 80 Ceremonial speaking uplifts, comforts, and reinforces a sense of community. One of the significant aspects of ceremonial purposes is articulating and reinforcing shared values. These speeches may be given by anyone, generally at times of great importance or significance, such as inaugural addresses, commemorative speeches, national holidays, or tragedies. General purposes point the speaker in the direction for a speech and outline what a speaker wants from their audience. In contrast to general purposes, specific purposes describe the specific response a speaker wants from an audience. This includes being shaped by the speaker’s goals, the situation of the speech, and potential benefits to the audience. A specific purpose is the response a speaker wants to evoke. When a speaker addresses an audience, they should always think about the desired response from the audience. For informative speeches, the speaker should state what they want their audience to learn or understand from the speech. While this may not be conveyed with an explicit statement, such as, “I want you all to understand how to write a speech,” the desired response should be conveyed with material in the speech. With a persuasive speech, the speaker needs to clearly define their position on their topic and the response they wish from the audience. As with informative speeches, the response is rarely, but sometimes, explicit, such as, “It is important to learn how to write a good speech to be ultimately understood.” Ceremonial speeches, because they are given for specific occasions, have a purpose indicated within the occasion of the speech. Situations help speakers to refine and clarify the purpose of their speech. For example, after a natural disaster, informative speakers try to help audience members to obtain FEMA benefits, healthcare benefits, or how to go about reinforcing homes after a flood. Persuasive speakers may try to convince their audience of the best method of reinforcing a home against a flood or to take action and push a city to improve flood barriers. Ceremonial speeches often dictate their purpose based on the situation. Commencement speeches seek to encourage and promote good feeling. Speeches given at a funeral seek to celebrate the life of the one who passed away and to mourn their loss. The most effective speakers manipulate their perspective to try to view and feel what the audience feels. Part of understanding what an audience feels and believes is examining how an audience will benefit from hearing the speech. When a speaker has something to offer the audience, they are deemed more effective. In order to be able to derive the benefits to an audience, a speaker should examine the reason behind an audience gathering. Audiences gather for a variety of reasons, all hoping to gain something from the speaker and benefit in some way from the speech. The more realistic the purpose of a speech is, the more an audience will respond to it. If a speech does not appeal to the needs of the audience or is not adapted for a specific audience, it will not be effective. When requests are reasonable, the audience is more likely to respond in the desired manner. A speaker must take into account demographics, setting, and reasons for an audience gathering. Part of being realistic means a speech should be clear. If the purpose of the speech is vague, communication will be unsuccessful and the audience will not respond well. Finally, a speech has to have an ethical purpose. Even if every other purpose of a speech is fulfilled, the speech can still be unethical. Ethical speakers pursue goals that are in the best interest of their Achieve Test Prep Page 26