What is the most effective way to memorize a speech. Actually, time out: I don’t believe that most people should try to memorize a speech.
Why do I think so? It is incredibly difficult, time consuming, and there comes a greater chance of error. If you get stuck mid speech then everyone will know that you are standing on a high wire and are about to fall off.
However, if you are determined to memorize a speech, then I do want to help you. My recommendation is to read the speech out loud many many times to the point that it starts to form grooves in your brain. Get to the point where it sounds good when you are reading it. Print out the speech in a large font, read it, record yourself reading it with your smartphone.
Then I recommend you to listen to it again and again and again. Whether you are on a bus, a train, or a plane- listen to it several times a day for a week or more. After a while, it becomes a story that is easy for you to convey because you are simply reliving it.
So to sum it up, the key is to recording yourself saying the speech, creating a role model for yourself in your own voice, and then hearing it enough times that it becomes second nature.