MICHAEL GROSE
Winning Student Leadership Election Speeches 3 Tips to Guide Candidates to Success
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iving a great student leadership election speech can make a massive difference to a student’s chances of being elected. One may possess all the desired qualities to do a great job but fall at the most important election hurdle – giving a winning speech. The following student-friendly strategies, developed over more than 20 years as a professional speaker, will help every student give a winning student leadership election speech.
1. Simplify Design
Teachers Matter
Speech design is the trickiest part for most students.
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The best student election speech follows a structure, which stops rambling and provides guideposts for listeners to follow. Listeners, like travellers, feel comfortable when they know where they are going, so structure is confidencebuilding for the audience as well as the speaker. There are many structures or frameworks for presentations, but perhaps the simplest and best structure for students is to follow the Rule of 3. This rule is that the talk has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Within each section, three points are made. Students should spend more time on the body of the talk than the introduction or conclusion since that is where the substance lies.
Introduction
The job of the introduction is to get the audience’s attention, let them know what they will hear and introduce the speaker. Students can grab attention with a very short story or anecdote; make a bold statement about being a leader or say something funny or humorous. They should also let people know who they are, briefly outlining any leadership experience they may have had. Then they can signal what they will cover in the remainder of the speech.
Body
The Rule of 3 applies in the body of the speech as well. Students should give three compelling reasons why they can do the leadership job the best. The reasons can relate to some or all of the following: • Character - Mention honesty, kindness, reliability. • Competency – One might mention being a good organiser, good teammate, or that they have great ideas.
• Contribution - What would one do if elected, what causes would be supported, what one would do well.
Conclusion
In the last part of the talk, students should remind people why they’d do a good job, how they will contribute and that they deserve to be voted for– a final call to action. Students