*~Speech~*?

Question:I have to write a speech for school about a building that was built for a special purpose (ex: a hospital honoring helen keller). The speech is like the 'presentation speech'. I was thinking about writing mine about a library for the blind (with those special books, i forgot what they are called). Can someone please help me start off...
I was thinking of starting like this:
Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to thank you for coming here today to....wtvr. PLEASE HELP!!



Answers:
First ask yourself how long you will have to speak for? 10mins or 20mins? Remember that 20mins is the max as that is the average attention span of an adult. If you are giving a speech for your school, you will probably want to aim for 6 to 7mins.

Alright, now that you know how long you have to speak for, ask yourself what you want to speak about. All speeches have to have a purpose, is it to inform the public, inspire them to do something or entertain them. (Good speeches usually incorporate all three).

Once you have a purpose and time limit in mind, imagine (forget you have to give a speech for awhile) you are a professor who knows all there is to know about the subject. If you have just a few minutes to tell people about it, what would you say. For this speech, aim for 2 main points. For example: 1) I want to tell everyone the suffering the blind goes through and 2) I want to illustrate the importance of this building in helping the blind.

Great! You now know your time limit, purpose and two main points. Now all you have to do is flesh them out. Illustrate the points by 1) explaining them 2) supporting them with statistics or 3) highlighting them with anecdotes (personal stories) or quotes. Perhaps someone once said something very touching about helping the blind. Check http://www.brainyquote.com for some great quotes.

Once you have established your points, you just have one part left (hurray! I can go and watch TV soon =D). The introduction and conclusion. You may wish to do this last as the introduction may take a long time to get right. Remember, the first thing you want to do is to break the ice, to relate to the audience, to make more comfortable and relaxed. If you want to make it a bit less formal, keep away from ladies and gentlemen at the introduction.

For example "Good morning one and all. I would like to thank my teacher for giving me the opportunity to speak to all of you today about something which is very close to my heart. About the care of the less fortunate" then go on and tell them about what your purpose is, "America is probably the most prosperous nation on Earth. (Crack a joke here, say something 'or at least thats what my teachers tell me'), but let us not forget the disabled nor the handicapped. Today, I wish to speak upon the heroes who stood up for them and spoke for them..." Make sure you have a good starting (it gives you confidence).

Remember, if you are nervous, you are human! Thousands of people are nervous. (I have to give a speech this Saturday, and I'm nervous :D)Public speaking has been said to be feared by more people than death. Just take a few deep breathes before you speak, prepare well and focus more on conveying your message then worrying about how you are doing.

Make sure you practice the night before or even the week before (if you have plenty of time). If you have any problems, just write and I'll try my best to help!
The special, raised-bump books for the blind use "Braile".

There's a term that's bound to help you along. ^_~

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