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Giving a speech might seem pretty simple. You just need to stand near a microphone and [Guy looks confused behind a microphone]

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talk, right?

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But it turns out that giving a speech is a way more complicated than just standing around [Girl at a podium]

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and talking.

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So let's focus on some of the most important elements of a good speech…i.e., knowing [Crowd full of famous people]

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your audience, having a main idea, and using effective techniques. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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Most of the time when we think about an audience, we think about a big roomful of people watching

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something, whether it's a movie…

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…a play… [Shakespeare appears]

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…or a guy stuffing chicken puppets into a hat. Well, maybe not the chicken thing, [Coop stuck in a magicians hat]

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but movies and plays? Definitely. But no matter what kind of text we're thinking

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about, it always has an audience…y'know, whoever's watching, reading, or listening [Girl holding a pile of books]

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to something that's written.

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And no matter what kind of writing you're doing, you want to know your audience, so [T.S. Eliot at a desk]

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that they're more likely to enjoy your writing.

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And by "know your audience," we don't mean sending personalized Christmas cards to everyone [The whole audience holding their Christmas cards]

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in the room.

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We just mean having a general idea of what kind of people are listening to you speak! [David Cameron giving a speech]

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That way, you can tailor your material to fit your audience.

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After all, when you're giving a speech, your audience is right there in front of you… [Man being boo'd by the audience]

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…and if they don't like what they hear, they'll let you know. Maybe with snoring…

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…or maybe with rotten tomatoes. [Woman is hit in the head with a tomato]

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Hey, at least they didn't pick pineapples! Having a main idea is pretty straightforward. [A pineapple hits the woman and she falls over]

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In a speech, you're generally trying to tell the audience something.

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That "something"? It's usually your main idea.

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Speeches without main ideas are pretty rare. You don't generally organize a big speech [Man with a trolley full of shopping]

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to tell people how your trip to the grocery store went.

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And last but not least, a good speech should use different techniques, aka, tricks to make [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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your speech exciting and memorable.

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Writing a boring speech, and then reading it in a dull, monotone voice won't help you win [Cat at a microphone]

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many fans.

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Well…unless you find people who like to be really bored all the time, but they're [Guy with sun glasses on asleep]

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pretty rare. We can see all three of these ideas in action

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if we look at a speech by Winston Churchill.

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As the prime minister of Britain during WWII, he had to give many speeches, including his [Churchill giving a speech]

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famous "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech delivered on June 4th, 1940.

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It was way more popular than his "We Shall Lie on Towels on the Beaches" speech he gave [Churchill in speedos at the beach]

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every time he went on holiday. This was definitely a guy who knew his audience.

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He was speaking in the British House of Commons…

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…but he was also speaking to the British public.

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He uses the word "we" a lot, which helps to unite his audience as the proud British public. [Churchill at a podium]

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He also makes it clear who is audience isn't, when he talks about the Germans as a "dull

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brute mass."

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Seriously, the guy wasn't afraid to step on a few toes. [Churchill stepping on Hitler's foot]

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His speech also had a main idea: that the British would fight the Germans with everything

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they had, no matter what.

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Even if all they had left were wrenches and watering cans, they'd keep on fighting. [Soldiers holding a wrench and a watering can]

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And this main idea was really helped along by Churchill's use of a very effective technique: [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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repetition. Let's look at this bit from near the end of his speech.

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You don't have to read it all, but you might notice the repetition of two key words: "we

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shall."

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Churchill used repetition to get people fired up, and give them confidence in his plan.

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If he'd just said, "And yeah, we should definitely try to win, if we can," people probably would [Churchill waving to a huge crowd]

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have been a lot less enthusiastic.

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So next time you give a speech, be like Churchill!

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…Maybe don't dress like him, though…that might be…weird. [Guy dressed like Churchill]

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