Unit 4: Types of speeches

1. Main Types of Speeches

Now that you have narrowed down your topic and you understand your audience, it is time to decide on the main idea of your speech. The main idea will become a single statement that outlines what you want to say and will be presented in the introduction to your speech. In order to do so, first you need to identify the purpose of your speech. You need to ask yourself:

• Why am I speaking? What do I want to accomplish? How do I want the audience to react?

There are many different types of speeches and we will look at some of them here.  The most popular types are:

• Informative speech
• Persuasive speech
• Problem/solution speech
• Special occasion/ Entertainment speech

Let us look at them in detail as choosing the purpose of your speech is going to determine the formulation of your main idea and the construction of the whole speech. It may also influence the method of presentation you use.