Speech outline builder

Choose the occasion, your role and how long you have. You get a structure for your speech with a time and a word count for every part, and questions that help you find what to say. Print it, or jot your notes straight in.

Your speech

Speech outline from Wellspeech · getwellspeech.com/tools/speech-outline

Your outline

Birthday · Friend · 3 minutes · 5 parts · about 420 words at a normal pace (140 words per minute)

  1. 0:00–0:25 about 60 words

    Open with a smile

    Say who you are and earn the first smile of the evening.

    • How do you know them, in one sentence?
    • Is there a gentle running joke about them, or about their birthdays, you could start with?

  2. 0:25–1:35 about 165 words

    One story

    Tell one story only you could tell, with a place, a moment and something someone said.

    • When did they make you laugh hardest?
    • Where were you, what happened, and how did it end?
    • What did they say at the time?

  3. 1:35–2:10 about 80 words

    What the story shows

    Turn sincere: say what the story shows about who they are.

    • What does this story say about them?
    • What do the people in this room rely on them for?

  4. 2:10–2:35 about 60 words

    The people around them

    A word for the partner, family or friends who make their life what it is.

    • Who in the room matters most to them?
    • Is there someone missing today who should be mentioned?

  5. 2:35–3:00 about 60 words

    A wish and the toast

    End with a wish for the year ahead, then ask everyone to raise a glass.

    • What do you wish them for the next year, or the next ten?
    • How will you word the last line: "To ..."?

Tips

  • One story told well beats three summarized.
  • Tease, never humiliate: an age joke only works if they would laugh first.
  • Write the toast line out in full and practise it until you can say it looking up.

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The shape of a good speech

Almost every good speech, from a birthday toast to a eulogy, moves the same way: a quick opening that tells the room who you are, one story told well, a turn where the story shows something true about the person, a word for the people around them, and a clean ending with a toast, a promise or a goodbye.

The outline gives the story the most time, because that is where the speech lives. The opening and the ending are short: a few sentences each.

How to use your outline

  1. Choose the occasion, your role and the length you have been given.
  2. Answer the questions under each part in a few words. Do not write sentences yet.
  3. Write the speech out in full, part by part, aiming roughly for the word counts.
  4. Read it aloud with a timer and cut what drags. The speech length calculator tells you how long your text runs.

Making it fit your day

  • Several speakers: agree who tells which story, so nothing is told twice.
  • Short on time: shorten the part about other people before you shorten the story.
  • Nervous: keep the outline on a card in your pocket. If you lose your place, the next heading gets you back.

Questions

How do you structure a speech?

Open with who you are, tell one story, let it turn into something sincere about the person, bring in the people around them, and end with a toast, a promise or a goodbye. The outline builder shows that shape for your occasion, with a time for every part.

How long should each part of a speech be?

Give the story the most time, often around two fifths of the speech. The opening and the ending are short, a few sentences each. The outline works out the minutes and words for the length you choose.

How do I start a speech?

With who you are and how you know the person, in a sentence or two, then straight into something specific. Skip "for those who don't know me" and dictionary definitions.

How do I end a toast?

Ask everyone to raise a glass, then say the names: "To Anna and Ben." Write the last line out in full so you never have to improvise it.

Are my notes saved?

Your notes stay in this browser on this device, so they are still there when you come back. They are never sent to us. Print the outline or copy it as text to keep a copy.

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