Types of Speeches (with examples)

Speech Types

A speech is a form of communication in which a sender constructs a message and transmits it to a receiver or an audience using a code (which is usually the language) through an oral or written channel.

Discourse is a genre of the rhetoric characterized by the personal, subjective, unique and argued approach to a special and previously prepared topic, within the framework of a situation that may be a public event or an assembly.

The speeches use expressive strategies typical of the Verbal communication as the argumentation, the persuasion and the Rhetorical questions, in order to capture the interest of the public. That is why the function of language that prevails in a discourse is the appellative, since it focuses on the receiver and seeks to convey a message that generates a certain attitude.

How are speeches classified?

The speeches are differentiated according to different criteria:

Examples of types of speech

1. Example of political speech

Today, all of us, through our presence here and through celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, bring splendor and hope to newborn freedom. From the experience of an inordinate human catastrophe that has lasted too long, a society of which all humanity is proud must be born.

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Our daily acts as ordinary South Africans must produce an authentic South African reality that reaffirms humanity's belief in justice, strengthen your confidence in the nobility of the human soul and give encouragement to all our hopes of a splendid life to everybody. We owe all this to ourselves and we owe it to the peoples of the world who are so well represented here today (…).

Nelson Mandela's inauguration speech - May 10, 1994

1. Example of religious speech

Brothers and sisters, good afternoon.

You know that the duty of the conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother cardinals have come looking for him almost to the end of the world... but here we are. I thank you for the welcome. The diocesan community of Rome has its bishop. Thanks. And first of all, I would like to pray for our Bishop Emeritus, Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, so that the Lord blesses him and Our Lady protects him (…).

First greeting from Pope Francis - March 13, 2013

1. Advertising speech example

Introducing the revolutionary new extra-large lint brush that removes all fur without difficulty and cleans instantly with its own container. (…) Cleans everything, twice the amount in half the time of other lint remover brushes (…). We all love pets, you cuddle with your cat and play with your dog, but the fur they shed is very annoying. (…) How do you get rid of all that fur? With Fur free.

Fur free lint brush kit

1. Example of business speech

Good morning to everyone present, to those who do not know me, I am the founder of Ford Motor Company, businessman and billionaire, but those are just labels, Right?, since I am the same as you, perhaps with more knowledge or perhaps not, but at the end of the day, if you shoot me, I will bleed, because I am a human like you guys. What I have come to today on this extraordinary occasion is to tell you a little about yourselves, even if it sounds very crazy of me (…).

Henry Ford Public Speech

1. Academic speech example

Welcome to Hogwarts. The beginning of the year banquet will be held shortly, but before you take your places in the great dining room you will have to be selected for your homes. The selection is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of the house that touches you, you will sleep in the bedrooms of your houses and you will spend your free time in the common room of the house.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced notable witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn the houses points, while any infraction of the rules will cause them to lose them. At the end of the year, the house that obtains the most points will be awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope that all of you will be a source of pride for the house that touches you (…).

Welcome speech by Professor McGonagall at harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)

1. Example of artistic speech

The butterfly flutters
as if desperate
in this world

Haiku by Kabayashi Issa (1763-1828)

1. Example of scientific-technological discourse

What impact do new technologies have on human life? Society has been asking this question for years, practically since the Industrial Revolution, but it has gained enormous strength since the Digital Revolution of the late twentieth century and the incorporation of new technologies, and the Internet to almost all aspects of our life. But is it all positive in that sense? What advantages and what risks does the presence of these devices imply in all corners of life? How does our way of thinking, acting and feeling influence?

Speech on technological change

1. Historical speech example

(…) History, then, is all this: it helps us to understand the past but also to understand the present. To continue what is right and retrace what is wrong. The story has to do with us, as Yupanki says. (…) History helps us to interpret the present and improve it. History perhaps like very few disciplines reminds us of our principles. Many thanks.

TED talk by Felipe Pigna What is history for? (2014)

Parts of the speech

Speech characteristics

To generate the desired effect, the speeches must be:

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