Example of a speech

A speech is written to be heard, not read. It has a different rhythm and shape from an essay. Below is a complete short speech, then a breakdown of the structure that makes a speech work.

The example speech

A short speech for the launch of a writing project

Thank you all for coming.

I want to tell you why I started this. Not because it is a good story, but because it explains what this project is for.

For years I wrote things nobody read. I would finish a piece and put it in a drawer. I told myself I was preparing, that I was not ready, that when the work was good enough, people would see it. I was wrong. The work does not get good enough in a drawer. It gets good in front of other people.

That is what this project is. It is a place to write, to finish, and to send the thing out into the world — to an editor, to a reader, to anyone. It is not a place to hide more drafts. It is a door.

So I want to thank the people who opened that door with me — the writers who kept going, the editors who answered, and the friends who read first drafts and told me the truth.

And I want to invite you to do the one thing this project is about: write the thing you have been putting off, and send it.

We can be afraid of the work being rejected. But we can also be proud of having done it. And that is the better way to live.

Thank you.

Why this works

It opens with a promise, not a thank-you. It does not start with the usual thanks. It starts with "I want to tell you why I started this" — a hook, and a promise to deliver something.

It tells a short, honest story. The story of writing into a drawer is specific and personal, and it makes the same point the whole speech makes. A story lands where an argument would not.

It states the point simply. "The work does not get good enough in a drawer. It gets good in front of other people." That is a line a listener can carry away and repeat.

It is written for the ear. Short sentences. Plain words. Rhythm. It reads as if spoken — because it is meant to be. Listen for the pauses and the repeated phrase "that is what this is."

It ends with a call to action and a line to remember. "Write the thing you have been putting off, and send it." The last line ("we can be proud of having done it") leaves the listener with a feeling, not just an instruction.

The structure to copy

1. Start with a hook or a promise, not a formal thank-you.
2. Tell a short, specific story that makes your point.
3. State the point in one strong sentence.
4. Give a clear call to action.
5. End on a memorable line.

How to adapt it

• Swap the story for one of your own.
• Make the point and the call to action your own.
• Read it aloud and cut anything you stumble on. A speech is not read; it is heard.
• Keep it short — a speech a few minutes long is easier to deliver well than a long one.

Common mistakes

Starting with an apology or a wall of thanks. Writing it like an essay, in long sentences made for the page. Too many points. No call to action. An ending that fades out instead of landing.

Checklist

• I open with a hook, not an apology.
• I tell a short, specific story.
• I state the point in one strong sentence.
• I gave a clear call to action.
• I ended on a memorable line.
• I wrote short sentences for the ear and read it aloud.