从大的方面看，英语演讲词实际上是属于一种特殊的说明文或议论文，其基本组成部分是：
1)开始时对听众的称呼语 最常用的是 Ladies and gentlemen，也可根据不同情况，选用 Fellow students, Distinguished guests, Mr Chairman, Honorable Judges(评委)等等。
2)提出论题 由于演讲的时间限制，必须开门见山，提出论题。提出论题的方法有各种各样，但最生动，最能引起注意的是用举例法。比如：你要呼吁大家关心贫穷地区的孩子，你可以用亲眼看到的或者收集到的那些贫穷孩子多么需要帮助的实例开始。另外，用具体的统计数据也是一个有效的引出论题的方法，比如：你要谈遵守交通规则的话题，你可以从举一系列有关车辆、车祸等的数据开始。
3)论证 对提出的论题，不可主观地妄下结论，而要进行客观的论证。这是演讲中最需要下功夫的部分。关键是要把道理讲清楚。常见的论证方法有举例法、因果法、对比法等等，可参见英语议论文的有关章节。
4)结论
结论要简明扼要，以给听众留下深刻印象。
5)结尾 结尾要简洁，不要拉拉扯扯，说个没完。特别是不要受汉语影响，说些类似“准备不足，请谅解”，“请批评指正”这样的废话。最普通的结尾就是：Thank you very much for your attention。

范例：
Ladies and Gentlemen , Good afternoon! I'm very glad to stand here and give you a short speech. today my topic is “youth”。 I hope you will like it , and found the importance in your youth so that more cherish it.
First I want to ask you some questions:
1、 Do you know what is youth?
2、 How do you master your youth?
Youth
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind ; it is not rosy cheeks , red lips and supple knees, it is a matter of the emotions : it is the freshne; it is the freshneof the deep springs of life .
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite , for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20 . Nobody grows old merely by a number of years . We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years wrinkle the skin , but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul . Worry , fear , self –distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust .
Whether 60 of 16 , there is in every human being 's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living . In the center of your heart and my heart there's a wirelestation : so long as it receives messages of beauty , hope ,cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long as you are young .
When the aerials are down , and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old ,even at 20 , but as long as your aerials are up ,to catch waves of optimism , there is hope you may die young at 80.
Thank you!