Good writing must have structure; a good speech is no exception.  By providing your speech with a beginning, middle, and an end, you will have laid the foundations for a successful speech that will not only hold your audience but also produce your desired effects on them.

Beginning

　　The first thirty seconds of your speech are probably the most important.  In that period of time you must grab the attention of the audience, and engage their interest in what you have to say in your speech.  This can be achieved in several ways.

　　For example, you could begin with a recent topical issue, relate to the specific identity or concern of your audience, raise a thought-provoking question, make an interesting or controversial statement, recite a relevant quotation, or even recount a joke.

　　Make sure that these anecdotes are somehow related to the main point of your speech.  Try to deliver them with ease but also with passion.  Your devotion will affect the audience too.

　　The purpose is of course to win the attention of the audience, who has no obligation to give it to you.  You have to earn it.  A second purpose is to focus that attention.  People’s thoughts wander easily.  If you do not provide the relevance between your points, you will lose your audience very easily.

Middle

　　Once you have won the attention of the audience, your speech should move seamlessly to the middle of your speech.  Now that your audience have been introduced to you and the subject of your speech (as set out in your opening), they are better prepared to hear your arguments, your thoughts or on the subject of your speech.

　　The best way to set out the body of your speech is to formulate a series of points that you would like to raise.  Don't try to overwhelm your audience with too many points.  It is better to have fewer points that you can state well, than to have too many points, which make your speech sound scattered.  To hold your arguments together, the points should be organized so that they follow one another in some kind of logical way and each point builds upon the previous one.  This will make the job of the listener a far easier one; likewise, it will make your job as the speaker an easier one too.

Closing

　　Like you Opening, the Closing of your speech is an opportunity to re-emphasize what has been covered in your speech, and to re-direct/re-focus your audience’s thoughts.  You need to highlight the main points of your speech so that the audience’s memory is refreshed and imprinted again with your main points.  You need to lead their thoughts to possible logical conclusions of your argument, to possible actions or further thinking, or to the significance of your points.  If possible, you should leave your audience with memorable last lines.