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Grammar Clinic – Formal Speeches/ How to Write and Deliver a Speech

English Language SS2

Week 4

Contents:

Oral English: Formal Speeches

Word Structure: Prepositional Phrase

Reading and Writing Skills: How to Write and Deliver a Speech

A. Oral English: Formal Speeches

Sooner or later in life you may be called upon to make a formal speech. It might happen when you are a special guest at a wedding or a naming ceremony, or a welcome or send-off party. Or it might be at the monthly or annual get-together of some club or society you are a member of. Perhaps you have been present on such occasions already and have heard the speeches made by those who sit at the ‘high table’.

Debates are formal occasions, and a speaker in a debate is expected to address ‘the chair’ by frequently saying, at the beginning of a sentence. ‘Mr Chairman’. A speaker on other formal occasions like those mentioned above, proceeds somewhat differently. At the beginning of his speech, he must show awareness of his audience and he does this by calling the titles of different individuals or groups in order of importance. The chairman is usually the first person mentioned. So a typical way of starting a formal speech is as follows:

Mr Chairman: Honourable Principal of Supreme Heights High School; Distinguished Guests of Honour; Honoured Guests and Fellow Students…..

The Language used should be formal rather than informal, although it does not have to be entirely stiff and solemn. If you are a younger person in the presence of distinguished personalities older than yourself, you will natural tend to be more formal than usual and you should minimize your own role. You might begin the main body of your speech with the words:

It is a great honour and a great pleasure to have been invited to represent the student body of Supreme Heights High School on this august occasion……

Here you have not referred to yourself at all not even by  a pronoun! The speech generally has much in common with a speech in a debate; It should not go on for too long, it should arouse the listeners’ interest (possibly with one or two points that will make them laugh), and above all the delivery should be clear and measured. The content of it will naturally depend on the occasion concerned.

As with debating, it is good to think of a final sentence that makes a special impact, e.g. ‘And so I invite you all to join me in wishing these outgoing students the blessings of the Almighty God and a very bright and prosperous future’. After that you can say ‘Thank You’ and sit down.

Toasts

A Toast is another kind of formal speech usually made at a dinner party or on other occasions when drinks are served. The toast is actually a call made by a particular person for those present to raise their glasses and drink in honour of some distinguished person who may or may not be present.

The speech that leads up to this call has just the same characteristics of other formal speeches, though it should even be shorter.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? As you all know, we are delighted and privileged to have someone among us today whom we would specially like to honour……

You then proceed fairly briefly to name the person, and the reason why those present will want to acknowledge him or her. The concluding sentence will be like this

So, ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you to join with me in drinking to the health of the distinguished President of this Association, Chief Mrs Busola Praise-Micheal.

Practice:

Write and be prepared to read out a brief formal speech for one of the following occasions.

a) a send-off party for the principal or a teacher in your school

b) a dinner in honour of the school governors at which you as the head prefect have to propose a toast to the Chairman Board of Governors

c) end of the year party for sending forth graduating students

B. Word Structure: Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase is phrase that starts with a preposition and ends with a noun (or a pronoun). A prepositional phrase is a group of words that lacks either a verb or a subject, and that functions as a unified part of speech.

Example of Prepositional phrase:

from Canada – from (preposition), Canada (noun)

Other examples of Prepositional phrase

By the ocean

Near the window

Over the cabinet

Under your hat

Remember the following rules for prepositional phrases and you will find that using them becomes much easier.

  • Prepositional phrases always consist of two basic parts at minimum: the object and the preposition.
  • In formal English, prepositions are almost always followed by objects.
  • Adjectives can be placed between the prepositions and objects in prepositional phrases.
  • Prepositional phrases can act as adverbs or adjectives. When they are used as adjectives, they modify nouns and pronouns in the same way single-word adjectives do.
  • When prepositional phrases are used as adverbs, they at the same way single-word adverbs and adverb clauses do, modifying adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs.

Sometimes the noun can be anything that plays the role of a noun

For example:

He gave it to him (here the ‘noun’ is a pronoun – her)

He accepted to killing the dog ( here the ‘noun’ is a gerund – killing)

The gift came from the man across the street (here the ‘noun’ is a noun phrase – from the man across the street)

I gathered evidence from what he said (here the ‘noun’ is a noun clause)

The words after the preposition (shown in red colour) are known as the object of a preposition. There will often be modifiers in the object of the preposition making it a noun phrase.

with Praise

(There are no modifiers in this example. Compare it to the next example.)

with my handsome brother Praise

(With the modifiers my, handsome, brother, the object of the preposition is now a noun phrase.)

Functions Of Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase can function as an adjective or adverb.

As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?

Example:

The book on the kitchen cabinet is swollen from steam.

Which book? The one on the kitchen cabinet!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

Example:

Tolu got hurt from the last week’s badminton practice.

Where did Tolu get hurt? From last week’s badminton practice.

Practice:

Identify the prepositional phrases in following sentences.

1. The man on the corridor beat the little girl

2. They slept in the dark room all night

3. The lady fell into the large ditch

4. The cup cake with colorful sprinkles is yours

5. The dog ran through the perfectly manicured garden

C. Reading and Writing Skills: How to Write and Deliver a Speech

In an examination, you may be required to write out a speech in full. In real life, speeches written out in full tend to be read aloud, rather than delivered and for that reason are not as effective as they can be. The best speeches are given using only notes. That you may write your speech depends on the three key factors we call SAI.

1. S – Situation

Consider the situation in which you are giving the speech. For example, a speech in a debate may be more formal than a speech given in a less formal social occasion.

2. A – Audience

To whom are you speaking? A speech given to a wide cross section of the public will be very different from a speech intended for people who have a specialized interest in the subject on which you are speaking; and both of these will be very different, again, from a speech addressed  mainly to people of your own age.

3. I – Intention

What is the purpose or intention of the speech? A speech in a debate designed to persuade people will be different in tone and content from a speech given on a social occasion. In writing your speech, consider all the main points that you wish to make. If you speaking in  a debate, you should also consider the points that might be made by your opponents – and the ways in which their arguments can be countered.

Writing a Speech

1. Preparation

a) Brainstorming: Think about SAI and the kind of speech that may be appropriate. You may wish to jot down rough notes.

b) Planning: Put rough notes you have made and other ideas into order.

2. Rough Draft

Write a rough draft. In general, a speech like almost any piece of writing, should be organized in three parts:

a) Introduction: Speeches should always start with opening remarks showing that you respect your audience – and that you in turn deserve their respect! Good ways to start a speech include an interesting quotation or a clever joke (depending on SAI)

b) Development: Coherently present what you wish to say. Information should be conveyed clearly with thought connectors such as Firstly, Secondly, e.t.c. Arguments, as in a debate, should be presented clearly, logically and persuasively.

c) Conclusion: Round off your speech to make you and your listeners feel good about themselves. Remember SAI.

3. Final Draft

Write out a fair copy. Do not cross out the rough draft until you have done the final draft – especially in an exam. That way, if you run out of time, your rough draft can still earn your marks.

4. Final Check

At this point, you should read out the speech to see if it sounds right. Then practice making the same speech referring only to notes.

For more class notes, visit: http://passnownow.com/classwork-support/

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