Cool Ways To Make Your Speech Unforgettable

Well done! You did everything by the book. Your speech was well organised. You delivered your speech with absolute confidence. Your vocal variety was excellent and you used many facial expressions.

So was it a good speech? Yes. Maybe it was a good speech.

Was it a great speech? No. Maybe it was not a great speech.

Believe it or not, it is actually easy to come up with a good speech. But the most challenging thing to do is to write and deliver a great speech; a speech which no one will forget.

The unforgettable speech is a speech that touches people’s heart and makes a huge positive impact on them. There were many unforgettable speeches in history like the speeches delivered by Theodore Roosevelt, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. These are just some examples (there are many blogs and articles online about unforgettable speeches. Do check it out).

Well, you don’t need to be a famous person to deliver a great speech. You only need to be a great person (with a big heart) to deliver a great speech :)

Now the question is; how to turn a good speech into a great, unforgettable speech? Here are some cool ways to make your speech truly unforgettable.

Speak From the Heart

Have you ever lent your ears to a friend? There she was… crying her eyes out and you became her shoulder to cry on. You could feel her pain and her misery. Without realising it, you started to cry too. Why did you cry? You cried because there were intense feelings. You could feel her emotions because she was speaking from her heart.

So what does speaking from the heart has anything to do with a great speech?

When a speaker speaks from the heart, the speaker is able to connect with the audience. The audience can sense the honesty and sincerity of the speaker. Nothing is more captivating than listening to a person who speaks from the heart. No words are more influential than the words which came from the heart. The audience can be moved by the speech and interpret the feelings of happiness, sadness or anxiety.

Be passionate and compassionate when you speak. Say it with enthusiasm. Share your life experience, your biggest concern and your true opinions with others. Be inspiring to others that no one will ever forget your speech.

Tell Your Stories

My late grandmother used to tell me stories when I was spending the night at her house. I was just a small child but I could understand the message behind the stories she told me. What did I learn from my grandmother? I learned that stories are powerful tool in order to convey message. Thank you grandma!

Everybody enjoys a good story which is why movie producers make lots of money. Therefore, one of the cool ways to make your speech unforgettable is of course by adding stories! The best stories are personal stories. By telling your audience of your personal stories, it will help them to relate to your experience and get the message across to them.

I still remember a speech I delivered a few years ago. The title was ‘Reality Check’. I spoke of how we should face the reality of life and move on. In the speech I told the audience a story. I shared my own personal story of my mother’s death and how I had to accept the fact that she was gone.

How do you tell a good story? Be creative. Real stories do not have to be a boring story. You can include some characters (based on your real story) and write a well-structured plot for the story of yours. I think I may have to explain this further in my future post :)

How to make your speech unforgettable?

Tell a story and they will remember your speech for many years to come.

Inject Some Humour

Don’t you just love a good laugh? When I said you should tell stories in your speech, it doesn’t need to be a sad story. A great unforgettable speech should not only be inspiring but also entertaining. A good speaker will always add in some humour in his/her speech. The audience will cry a little and laugh a little. What a cool combination!

However, as a speaker, you must be more sensitive when you add in some humour in your speech. Do not make fun of others just to get a laugh. Some speakers made mistakes by creating jokes about certain people. Your audience may not appreciate such offensive humour and this sort of action might get you into trouble.

The most important thing for you to remember is…

Don’t forget your punch line and neither will your audience!

Take Home Message

Your audience seemed to enjoy listening to your speech. They were laughing out loud and paid full attention to you when you were telling them stories. But when they were asked, “what do you remember about the speech?” They answered, “Oh, it was hilarious and there was a nice story.”

Was that an unforgettable speech? I don’t think so. There is a missing ingredient here. Without it, the recipe will surely fail.

The speech definitely needs to have a take home message.

Take home message is a reason why your audience will remember your speech forever. They will remember how you made them laugh, how you made them cry and how you made them feel. They will also remember how you changed their minds. They will remember that take home message.

Your speech will be the unforgettable speech.

Follow Your Own Style

Let me first make it clear. I am not referring to your fashion style. Even though it can an advantage to you provided that you have a good fashion sense.

I am really referring to your speech delivery style. I often see some speakers who like to imitate other speaker’s speech delivery style. I can understand why. Most probably, they admire the other speakers and felt inspired by them. It is fine to look up to some well-known speakers especially if you are new to the field. Still, it is unnecessary for you to emulate their speech delivery style.

Everybody is unique in their own way and so are you. People will undoubtedly remember you by your own style of delivery. Have confidence. Just be yourself. Your speech will surely be unforgettable and so will you.

Keep in mind…

A great, unforgettable speech is a mixture of many things. A great speech should be motivating, engaging, humorous, insightful and one of a kind. Of course, stories, humour and speaking style add these values to your speech.

But in the end, it all comes to where those words really come from. Yes, those words should come from that big heart of yours. As for me, I have always find a speaker who speaks with honesty have an effect on me more than anyone else can.

When you speak about something, you must truly believe in your own words. No matter how good you are in storytelling and telling jokes, it will not give a total impact to your audience if you are not sincere. Be truthful to yourself and to your audience. Be genuine. Be you.

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