- 1). Think about your target audience members and write down key facts about them. Ask yourself how old they are, what their major concerns are, their tastes in movies and music, and their position on your proposed platform. If you're not sure what voters think about your ideas, run a poll (consider using an online service like SurveyMonkey, or go with traditional pen and paper) to gain some perspective.
- 2). Establish an emotional connection with your audience in your speech's introduction. Mary Kate Grant, who once worked at the White House as a professional speech writer, advises directly addressing people in the first two rows. That way, you make audience members feel like you are part of the group and worth listening to. Try using humor to establish rapport. Look back to Step 1, and consider what widespread preferences, knowledge or concerns you could use as the basis of a joke.
- 3). Write your speech in a conversational style, not like you're writing the next Great American Novel. Not only will your speech be easier to understand, but your tone will sound less pretentious and more honest. Listeners will be more open and your speech will pack more of an emotional punch.
- 4). Help the audience sympathize with your issues and ideas by using pertinent stories to illustrate. A picture is worth a thousand words, and while you can't show pictures in traditional political speeches, you can paint a realistic scene in a listener's mind's eye. For example, if you're pushing for introducing an anti-bullying program at your school, find a story about a young victim of bullying and tell it vividly, including details about age and personality.
- 5). Link any general facts and statistics that you mention directly back to your audience and their daily reality. For example, if you want your audience to believe that cracking down on crime is important, you could tell them that robberies increased by 20 percent in the last year, leaving their neighborhoods vulnerable and good citizens scared in broad daylight.
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