Review the assignment requirements. Most teachers give students a sheet of paper listing the objectives, requirements and suggested outline, which students should read and use to structure their speech.
Create an outline if the teacher didn't provide one, and list the main categories of information you plan to include in your speech. For a biographical speech about a president, for example, include an introduction, his early years, his rise to political power, his presidential years, his major achievements and a conclusion for the speech.
Research the president in your school library or on the internet, and copy a sufficient number of important facts to make the speech long enough to meet the time requirements if the teacher provided any. Be sure to include the most interesting information and leave out unnecessary details.
Write a copy of the speech, including information from your research. The Scholastic website has information about basic speech structure. Include a surprising fact in your introduction to get the audience's attention. Open each category with a clear topic sentence and supplement with pertinent details. Summarize the speech's information in your conclusion, and leave the audience appreciating the president you have just described.
Prepare note cards using the written report. Be sure your note cards have just enough information to guide you through the parts of the speech. Do not include full paragraphs of text on your cards.
Prepare a list of sources you used, if necessary, to let your teacher know where you found your information. Be sure to format the "Works Cited" page according to any guidelines the teacher gave you.