Whether you need to write a speech to defend the position of class president, to motivate your team, or to enter a contest, keeping a few things in mind when writing your speech will ensure that it is truly excellent.

• The first thing to do is estimate how much time you will have to speak. If no time limit has been set, try to keep your speech short but informative and interesting; audiences can get bored with speeches that are long and drawn out.
• Who you will speak to is another very important thing to consider when shaping your speech. Try to take into account the perception of your audience and shape your speech accordingly.
• Make sure the introduction is strong because this is the moment where you are sure to have the attention of the entire audience. Start with a bold presentation of yourself and your purpose and include a bit of humor, an interesting fact, a quote, etc. to grab your attention.
• Organize all your information into around 3-7 main points and number them according to how important you think they are in terms of purpose and effectiveness.
• Eliminate points that you feel are not essential to convey the message you intend to convey with your speech so that the speech is not too long.
• Another great strategy to keep your audience engaged is sequencing your main points. For example, a good way is to start with your strongest point, then give your least important point, and then come back with a really strong one again. This will make your speech both unpredictable and engaging.
• It is important that you have strong reasons to support your points, such as good examples, anecdotes, statistics, quotes, etc.
• Continuity is also of key importance, so make sure your points are well linked to each other.

The conclusion of the speech should be a reinforcement of your main purpose, a summary of all your main points, and perhaps a question to get them thinking.