Speech Skill

Speech
Specialisation	Stealth
Perks	9
Perk Points To Fill	13
Governing Stone	The Thief Stone
Also Called	Speechcraft

Speech governs persuasion and trade in Skyrim. It is the only skill whose main benefit is money rather than combat, and the game's files call it Speechcraft.

Trading Is Most Of The Value

Haggling improves buying and selling prices across five ranks. Allure, Merchant and Investor extend what you can trade and with whom, and Master Trader raises every merchant's available gold. Fence allows selling stolen goods to any merchant you have invested in.

For a character selling crafted gear from the Smithing and Alchemy trees, Speech converts that output into gold at a much better rate.

Persuade And Intimidate

Dialogue checks are decided by the skill level against a difficulty rating, and Persuasion and Intimidation perks improve those odds. Bribery unlocks paying for the same result. The difficulty tiers run from very easy to very hard, and a high Speech opens dialogue options that are otherwise closed.

Perks By Purpose

Nine perks, thirteen points.

Purpose	Perks
Better prices	Haggling, five ranks
Wider trade	Allure, Merchant, Investor
Merchant gold	Master Trader
Stolen goods	Fence
Dialogue	Persuasion, Intimidation, Bribery

Progression

The eighteen skills split three ways. Full list on Skills.

Specialisation	Stone	This skill
Magic	The Mage Stone	-
Combat	The Warrior Stone	-
Stealth	The Thief Stone	Yes