How to write a hook for a speech: A step-by-step guide

Do you need to write a good speech but don’t know how to start? Want to have the original start of your text but have no ideas? Don't worry, this article will help you. It has detailed instructions on how to create a good hook, and if you need further tips for your speech you can find them on our website as well. 

But let’s focus on the hook here. What is it exactly? It is the beginning of the speech, one or few sentences must attract the attention of the audience and make them listen to you carefully. So, how can you make a top hook that will make people listen to you with open mouths? Here are several simple steps for that. 

Pay attention to the rules

First, you must take into account the place and event for which your speech must be prepared. There is a big difference between a little speech in college in front of your classmates and teacher and an academic assignment when you might be ready to share your ideas with a wide and possibly unknown audience. It defines not only the audience that requires special attention, and we will talk about it further. The place and event provide you rules.

Depending on the events and places, speeches and their hooks require different quality and details. For instance, talking to your classmates, you can start a speech with a joke. It will make you feel easier in front of the audience and attract their attention at the same time. In the area of high educational strict rules you… also can start your speech with a joke. But! At first, you must be 100% sure that such a joke is appropriate.

It is good if a joke is a funny case from some famous scientist's life. It is very good when you clearly know how to make a relation between this story and your further speech. However, think carefully. Perhaps, it is better to choose a more formal beginning of your speech.

You can do a little research and review how formal your speech must be. Such online reviews do not take much time, but you will be sure if the chosen type of hook is proper. Don’t worry about the types of hooks, we will talk about them below. And now no less important factor for your speech and next step of making a hook. 

Consider your audience

To attract attention, you must understand who those people are to whom you will have to talk. Who are those people? Are they students, teachers, scientists, your close people, the whole educational facility? Are they from the USA, England, Canada, or other countries? “Hey,” you can say, “I already know who they are!” This is very good because it will help you define their interests and expectations.

A good hook should be interesting and unexpected. So, when you know your potential audience, you understand their expectations. And you probably know what they are interested in. It doesn’t have to be some deep interests or passions of all their life. Just, when are all those people would gladly talk about recently? Some news, scandals, or scientific discoveries?

You can make personalized hooks that will be the most affecting for this particular audience. What do they expect from you? Is our speech something common, or are you someone unique and expectations about you are corresponding? Think about that. The answers to these questions are the key to proper strategy for your hook.

Choose strategy

At last, we are glad to provide you with several main strategies that you can choose for your speech hook. Feel free to choose the best one.

• Something personal 

If it is appropriate, you can start your speech with something important to you personally. You know, most people are interested in how others live, what they like, and how they think. Anyone who ever was a customer in a bookshop or cinema can approve that. Just make your personal experience or thought really passionate. You must share something really important or exciting for you, or such a hook will not work. 

• Question

A good hook that is used in many different fields. Polite rhetorical questions or something sharp and really unexpected for less formal cases — all of that will work. Remember, the only thing people like more than watching others is attention to themselves. You will make them feel like you paid attention to them, you attract attention to each person from the audience — and they are yours. 

• Quotation

No less effective strategy. You can show how smart you are when citing famous writers or philosophers. In this way, you make people feel no less clever that they know who you are talking about. If you want additional points in the eyes of your audience, you can cite someone not very popular (remember, not very popular, not totally unknown, it’s important) and add something like “As you know, this ancient philosopher….” “With this, you show how smart you are and make a hidden complement to your audience. 

• Unexpected statement

You can say something opposite to the idea and topic of your speech. Just think carefully about how to make your idea smoothly flow from that topic or opinion to one you will support and stand for.

If you have no idea or don’t like the options from above, you can use help from a professional speech writing service like CustomWritings. This service allows you to order custom essays in English from professional writers. The experts at this company are writing from scratch speeches, papers, research, and provide any assistance for those who need an example of an essay, cheap in price but not in quality. You can buy an example written by an academic expert at such services and follow them to your own success.  

Also Read: Celebrate National Letter Writing Day With Wishes, Messages & Quotes

Develop several options

It can be good for you to take a piece of paper, imagine that you are a brainstorming professional writer, and note several beginnings of your paper. Then you can choose among the written ideas that you like the most.

Or might be that you want to unite several hooks in one. Or, in contrast, cut off part of the hook to make it sharper and better. Anyway, it is better to have several options.

Try it aloud

This advice is important for the whole speech but the most relevant for its beginning. You know, sometimes we can see mistakes and problems in the text only when it is said aloud. Don’t be afraid to be stupid or shy, the most intelligent is the one who tries speech aloud before it is too late to correct the mistake. Try your hook aloud, and if everything is ok, you can be calm and proud of yourself.