There’s nothing less engaging than a speech that sounds like it’s been written by a robot. From monotone delivery to painfully long sentences and overly formal language, it’s easy to lose your audience if your speech doesn’t feel real.

But how do you successfully script a speech without it sounding scripted*?* Is it even possible? The answer is yes, and the irony is that most ‘robotic’ sounding scripts are a side effect of trying to do things ‘right’. Because the best speeches don’t sound too polished or formal – they feel natural, conversational, and real.

Below, we share tips on how to prepare a speech without it sounding scripted, from the writing process to your delivery.

Writing your script

Write the way you speak

One of the simplest and most effective ways to make your speech sound natural is to speak as you would in a real conversation. You’ve probably never used the words ‘moreover’ or ‘in conclusion’ when talking to a friend, so don’t include them now.

Writing the way you speak won’t make you look unprofessional. Instead, it’ll make you seem more personable and engaging, which is crucial if you want your audience to take in what you’re saying.

Here are some things to remember for writing the way you speak:

Use slang (if appropriate): Feel free to use slang if appropriate (and if you’re sure the audience will understand what it means). It’s a great way to inject some humour into your speech and keep your audience engaged.
Use contractions: Saying “you’re” instead of “you are” will instantly make your speech sound less robotic.
Be clear, warm and direct: You want your audience members to feel like you’re speaking directly to each of them. So instead of saying “this phone has 48 hours of battery life”, try “you’ll only have to charge this phone every 2 days”.
Avoid overly formal words and phrases: Like we said above, no one says words like ‘moreover’ and ‘therefore’ in real life.
Keep things short and simple: Everyone in your audience should be able to understand and keep up with what you’re saying. That means you should avoid long sentences over 30 words or complex jargon, which can make your script feel less human.
You don’t always have to follow the rules: In the same way that you should write like you speak, it’s okay to break the rules of grammar in your script. This is especially true if you find yourself having to work against your usual dialect just to ‘sound correct’. In almost all cases, it’s best to stick with what feels right for you, rather than what is formally right.

Write like you’re talking to just one person

When you envision yourself giving a speech, you probably imagine addressing lots of different people. But this adds a certain pressure that can cause you to overthink and write more formally.

Picturing yourself talking to just one person will help you produce a script that sounds less ‘speechy’, and more like a genuine talk or conversation. Choosing someone you actually know can also help alleviate your nerves and eliminate the need to ‘perform’, which, of course, can make your speech feel more scripted. Again, if it doesn’t sound like how you would speak in real life, change it.

Keep things dynamic

Nothing sounds more scripted and robotic than a monotone delivery. When your tone doesn’t change, your audience loses interest fast. To avoid this, add rhythm to your script by mixing up longer and shorter sentences. You should also change your pitch, volume, and tone to match what you’re saying.

Try marking up your script with cues like (pause), (emphasise), or even underline or italicise key words. This will help you deliver a dynamic and engaging speech without having to overthink it on the day.

Here are some ways you can markup your script:

Bold, italic, or underline: Indicate where you would like to emphasise or inflect your words.
Capital letters: Indicate when you’d like to raise your volume, shout, or sound more excited.
Ellipses (…): Indicate where you’d like to pause or build suspense before moving onto the next point.
Dashes (–): Indicate a shift in tone or pace to reflect a change of thought or extra detail.
Brackets: Use brackets to add explicit directions to your speech e.g. [whispering], [smiling], [pointing at my phone], etc.

Use stories

Something that separates good speeches from great speeches is the inclusion of short, personal anecdotes. Storytelling is one of the most powerful skills when it comes to scriptwriting, as a good story instantly makes you more relatable, engaging, and trustworthy.

Include a short anecdote in your speech if you can. Many speakers talk about their ‘eureka’ moments, or the event that made them passionate about their field.

Read it aloud

Reading your speech aloud is the best thing you can do to analyse what sounds natural and what doesn’t. It can help you with your pacing, too.

We tend to speak more quickly when we’re nervous, often without realising it. But speaking too quickly can make your speech feel rushed, monotonous and scripted. To avoid this, try and speak at a rate of around 150 words per minute. We recommend using a free teleprompter app and adjusting the scroll speed so that you can stay on pace without overthinking it.

When reading your script aloud, don’t just read it sitting down. Perform it standing up, with the same energy as you plan to bring on the day. It may feel silly at first, but it’s the best way to rehearse and get more comfortable with every detail, helping it feel more natural. You can even record these practice sessions and take notes on what you’d like to improve on the next run-through.

Gesticulate

Most of us speak with our hands when we talk – it makes us look comfortable and confident. But when you’re put in the spotlight, you might feel like you’ve never used your arms before. Gesticulation will make your speech feel more authentic – it can both emphasise your point and make you look truly passionate about what you’re saying.

While you’re marking up your script, add notes or cues for when you might want to gesticulate. For example, you could hold your hands out wide toward your audience, palms facing up, when asking them a question, or touch your chest when referring to yourself.

Practice with different audiences

Practising your speech in front of different audiences can help you gauge how natural it sounds, and make any necessary adjustments. It’s a good idea to vary the demographic you practise in front of, e.g. friends, family and colleagues. Feedback from these audiences will help you identify things like overly formal phrases or stiff delivery.

Optional: use bullet points

If you’re a very confident speaker, you might prefer to use bullet points rather than writing out the entirety of your speech. People who are great at speaking off the cuff might feel uncomfortable or robotic reading straight from a script and prefer this option.

If you choose bullet points instead of a scripted speech, just make sure your points have structure and that each section flows well into the next. You may also find it helpful to include key phrases or transition prompts to guide you smoothly from one point to the next.

Have a backup plan

Things don’t always go to plan when delivering a speech to a live audience. For live speeches, keep a few mental notes or keywords ready in case you lose your place. This can help you recover smoothly without diving back into a robotic tone.

Delivering your speech

Warm up your voice

Warming up your voice only takes a few minutes, but it can make a big difference to how you come across. As mentioned earlier, making your speech dynamic relies on varying your tone and volume, and warming up is key to doing this smoothly. It helps loosen your lips, tongue, and vocal cords, reducing the chance of strain.

Warming up can also help steady a shaky or breathy voice caused by nerves, and make it easier to project clearly. There are plenty of vocal warm-up videos on YouTube – some are even designed specifically for public speaking.

Speak clearly, but don’t overarticulate

Of course, it’s important to speak clearly so that your audience can understand you. But that can come with its own dangers, because overarticulating can make you sound unnatural – as if you’re reading from a script.

One handy trick is to record your speech and upload it into the CapCut mobile app. You can then apply autocaptions – a feature which automatically transcribes your audio into text. If a lot of words are mistranscribed, that’s a sign that you should speak a little more clearly. Or if you feel like you’re having to strain to articulate every word, pare it down a little bit to avoid sounding rigid or forced.

Speak slowly

People tend to speak at a faster pace when they’re nervous, often without realising. And if you race through your script, it’s more likely to sound scripted. You’re also more likely to trip over your words, and your audience may find it difficult to digest what you’re saying.

To sound most natural and confident, try to speak at a rate between 130-160 words per minute – this is the average pace for public speakers. It might feel uncomfortable at first to slow down your speaking rate, but it will make a huge difference to your delivery. It also gives you a little bit more time to think, meaning you’re less likely to make mistakes!

Pro tip: Use a teleprompter app to control your rate of speech. Teleprompter Pro’s customisable scroll speed allows you to time your speaking rate to perfection, without even thinking about it!

Embrace pauses

While we’re on the subject of speaking slowly, you should also embrace pauses throughout your speech. Intentional pasues are a great way to encourage your audience to really think about the point you’ve just made. Plus, they’ll help hide the fact that you’re reading your speech from a script!

It’s tempting to fill silences will ‘umm’s and ‘ahh’s, but this can make you look nervous and unsure. Instead, allow for some silence and enjoy the power it brings.

Don’t read it – say it

This tip might not make much sense at first, but here’s what we mean: instead of reading your script word-for-word out loud, look at one whole sentence at a time, memorise it, and then say it from memory.

This way, you can really focus on the meaning of your words, and put more emotion behind your delivery. It’s a simple technique, but it could make a huge difference to how your speech is received.

Use a teleprompter

Learning your speech by heart requires a lot of time and energy, and what if you forget your lines halfway through? You also probably don’t want to just read off a piece of paper in front of you – that’s a sure-fire way to make it sound scripted. Luckily, there’s an option which can give you the best of both worlds: a teleprompter app.

Teleprompter Pro is a free teleprompter app you can import your script into. It even lets you adjust settings like scroll speed and text styling, and even edit the script directly within the app. All this means you can save a lot of time tweaking your script to perfection. Teleprompter Pro also has a built-in selfie camera, so you can tweak your script as you practise!

How to Prepare a Speech Without It Sounding Scripted