Writing a Good Speech is a Great Form of Communication (Presenting a Speech on Indian Constitution)

Speech Giving

Few days ago my son informed me that his teacher has asked him to deliver a speech on ‘The Constitution of India’ during an assembly on ‘The Republic Day of India’ in school. My son is in class four so we all can easily assume that the task of writing the speech rests upon the hands of the parents. Oh! Sorry, by default fathers are often in the list of exempted from such tasks then who else is left to take up the task. None other than the mothers, right? So, here I am to do the needful.

Need to write a Speech

This incident made me think that like my son many more students may require such speech for different school and institutional functions. The students of higher classes have the aptitude to write their speech with the help of the books, Internet, parents, teachers, seniors and friends but for the primary section students it becomes very difficult. Information is all available but still they will get confused because their age becomes a constraint. The age factor provides them a limited sphere of knowledge. In that case they need some help to write a speech. Once it is written then it’s the child’s role to learn and deliver but the basic part of preparing a speech is the writing part.

Spontaneous Orator

Some of you may differ with me because there are speakers who deliver an extempore. They do not write but spontaneously speak on the subject. Well, that’s a great quality but it can develop through unlimited knowledge and lot of experience. It cannot be expected of the young children. They are short of both the requirements: knowledge and experience. Now, the point is how to write a speech. What are the important factors to keep in mind while writing a speech?

Age Factor

If the writer of a speech is the speaker himself then it is quite easy to write the speech for a particular audience but it is a concern when the writer writes the speech for someone else. At this point the writer has to keep in mind the age of the speaker as well as the age of the targeted audience. As for example: I wrote a speech on Indian Constitution for my son who is almost ten years old studying in class four. In this case the content of the speech should match the standard of class four. If the speech is full of relevant points but it will be difficult for the child to learn it. It needs to be simplified. If tough and complicated language is used then it will be difficult for the speaker to express his thoughts quite convincingly and confidently. Even the audiences will lack the ability to grasp the viewpoint.

Make Speech Interesting

The motto of delivering a speech is to convey a message. Speech is for the audiences that means it is a public speaking, While speaking to public it is important to keep the speech interesting. If the speaker fails to put forward the message properly then the speech becomes very monotonous and ambiguous too. The audiences will feel impatient and the actual intention of the speaker to make the audience understand the subject matter will not be fulfilled. Audiences are like God and so during public speaking their whole attention should be drawn by the speaker. Thus, the speaker must always remember the targeted audience and make the speech interesting.

The speech becomes interesting in 3 ways:

Method of Writing and presentation

Language

Speaking Style and Presentation

Method of Writing

It can be interesting only when the speaker delivers a speech which is written without irrelevant diversion. For this, the method of writing a speech must follow 4 steps about the subject matter but presentation of these steps depends upon each individual writer. The presentation of the addressed subject means how the writer wants to present the subject matter to make it interesting and draw the attention of the speakers. As for example: adding some relevant story or poem, quoting lines wherever desired, giving a humorous touch to a serious note and in many other ways. Let's take a look of the required steps:

A sound beginning (make it clear on what the speech is about)

A reference related to the subject matter (put forward the details or evaluation of the subject with the relevant facts from the past, present and what is expected in the future)

Message to the audience (convey the personal thought loud and clear)

A befitting conclusion (before ending with a thanking note motivate the audiences for a favourable response)

Language

Now, it’s about the language of the speech. At the time of public speaking language should be understandable. Once again, the targeted audience must be kept in mind. The language should vary with the level of the grasping standard of the audience. As for example: the language of the speech for the primary students must not be similar to the language used for the elite gathering. Thus, public speaking is an art and to become a successful speaker in it the language of the speech plays an important role.

Speaking Style

Next is the role of the speaker. To speak fluently one needs to understand the meaning of the written speech. With this one can speak confidently. The speaker must have:

Loud and clear voice

Accurate pronunciation

Proper pauses

Voice modulation, right tone and pitch

A good speech does not only depend upon the writing of the speech but it also depends upon the speaking skill. If both are rightly done then the after effect of the speech becomes wonderful. Hence, writing a speech is a creative writing skill and delivering a speech is an oration skill. In public speaking both the skills are important but a solid and impressive subject matter makes the audience think about the issue.

Let me give an example of writing a speech on the ‘Constitution of India’ for the primary students:

(Firstly, remember to address the gathering and then begin your speech)

We all have gathered here for an assembly on the ‘Republic Day of India’. In India, ‘Republic day’ has a deep connection with the ‘Constitution of India’. To understand the ‘Republic’ status of India there is a great need to understand our Constitution.

We are the proud citizens of free India. It was 63 years ago on 26^th January, 1950 when India became Republic. On that day India adopted its own law on different aspects of governing the country. A supreme law book for the entire country and that is known as the Constitution of India. That’s how India became ‘Republic of India in place of ‘Union of India’.

Now, let’s understand the meaning of ‘republic’. It means a system of government in which supreme power is held by the elected representatives of people of the country and not by the monarch. Thus, this same meaning is reflected in the Constitution of India. It says that India is a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic. This assures its citizens to have justice, equality and liberty. It also encourages fraternity.

The Constitution was passed by The Constituent Assembly on 26^th Nov, 1949. Two copies, one in Hindi and the other one in English, were signed by the members of The Constituent Assembly on 24^th January, 1950 but it came into effect on 26^th January, 1950. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was the first chairman of The Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India.

Our Constitution is the longest written constitution. The original Constitution of India is hand written and also decorated by the artists from Santiniketan. Since 1950, The Constitution of India has undergone many amendments but the original essence is intact.

We the children of India must respect our Constitution and always work hard to protect our ‘Republic’ status.

Happy Republic Day!

(Remember to end with a ‘Thank you’)

Variation in writing a Speech

The above written speech is for the primary students but suppose a senior student has to deliver a speech on this same subject then he needs to add some more details. If the speech is by the elites for the elites then there will be a huge specific details, comparison with other constitutions and the language will also take a huge leap. Suppose the speech is for the villagers then it must be in a very simplified form and in a very easy to understand language. Thus, it varies from audience to audience.

Communication Form

Speech is a form of communication. It is also known as public speaking and in this an individual address a gathering. The size may differ but the role remains the same. It is to present one's opinion in front of others and try to motivate the audiences.To communicate one’s viewpoint through speech we have noticed that two aspects are very important: writing the speech and delivering the speech. These two aspects are dependent upon each other to make an impact. Communication becomes perfect if both the aspects are properly taken care of and the impact upon the audience becomes great.