CHAPTER 9
Developing and Organizing the Presentation
Resource Guide
The opening page of each chapter in Communicating at Work lists desired learning outcomes. The
Resource Guide will assist you in locating activities and resources from the text and Instructor Manual
that are relevant to each objective.
Integrated Objectives
Resources
Develop an effective strategy for a specific
presentation based on a complete analysis of the
situation.
In the text:
Activities: 1-3
Career Tip: How Much Time Does It Take to Plan
a Presentation?
Case Study: Selling to Seniors: Audience Analysis
or Audience Deception?
Culture at Work: Understanding International
Audiences
Instructor’s Manual online:
Personal Reflection for Journaling
Discussion Launchers: 1-8
Classroom Activities: 1
Identify general and specific goals for a given
speaking situation.
Key terms: general goal; specific goal
In the text:
Activities: 4,5
Ethical Challenge: Keeping Your Goals Private
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 9-11
Classroom Activities: 2
Construct a clear thesis based on an analysis of a
specific speaking situation.
Key terms: thesis statement
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 12-14
Classroom Activities: 3
Choose and develop an organizational plan for the
body of a presentation that best suits its goal and
the audience.
Key terms: cause-effect pattern; chronological
pattern; claim; comparative advantages pattern;
criteria satisfaction pattern; motivated sequence
pattern; problem-solution pattern; spatial pattern;
topical pattern
In the text:
Activities: 6-9
Technology Tip: Concept Mapping Software
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 15,16
Classroom Activities: 4-7
Written Application Exercises: 1
Create an effective introduction and conclusion for
a presentation, following the guidelines in this
chapter.
Key terms: rhetorical question
In the text:
Activities: 10
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 17,18
Classroom Activities: 8
Design a presentation that contains effective
transitions between the introduction and body,
between points in the body, and between the body
and conclusion.
Key terms: transition
In the text:
Self-Assessment: Checklist for Organizing a
Presentation
Instructor’s Manual online:
Discussion Launchers: 19,20
About Chapter 9
This chapter introduces students to many types of presentational speaking that are common in
business and professional settings. The chapter focuses on five tasks necessary for developing a
presentation: (1) analyzing the speaking situation, (2) setting a goal and developing a thesis, (3)
organizing the body of the speech, (4) planning the introduction and conclusion, and (5) adding
transitions.
The chapter highlights three essential factors students must attend to as they analyze the speaking
situation: the audience, themselves as speakers, and the occasion. In analyzing the audience, students can
use the concepts taught previously regarding gender and culture. Information from Chapter 1 on context
and from Chapter 3 on time and environment correlates with the advice on analyzing the occasion.
Defining goals and developing the thesis involve the use of low-level abstractions and clear, specific
language as taught in Chapter 4.
This chapter also describes why and how to brainstorm and organize ideas for a presentation. To help
students identify main and supporting points, review the information on high- and low-level abstractions
from Chapter 4. The types of organizational patterns described are chronological, spatial, topical, cause-
effect, problem-solution, criteria-satisfaction, comparative advantages, and the motivated sequence. The
chapter also covers various techniques for beginning and ending a presentation. The functions of
introductions, conclusions, and transitions are described and clarified with examples.
Personal Reflection for Individual Journaling Assignment
Think of a presentation you attended in which you felt as though the speaker had not accurately
analyzed the audience or the occasion. As a listener, how did this mismatch make you feel?
What will you do as a speaker to prevent your audiences from feeling that you did not accurately
analyze their needs, interests, and knowledge levels?
Discussion Launchers
1. What types of presentations will your career demand of you? Describe as many as you can. Why
might YOU be selected as the speaker in these situations, rather than one of your coworkers? If
you are called upon to speak, what can you to do ensure that your presentation is the best it can
be?
2. What do you believe a presentation can accomplish that written communication never can? What
are the disadvantages of relying on a written document when compared with an oral presentation?
3. As a listener, what are the biggest clues you have that a speaker has not taken the time to adapt
the presentation so it is appropriate for a particular situation? Think of examples of speeches you
have seen that did not take into account the situation (audience, speaker, and occasion). What
was the impact of this negligence?
4. Describe some speeches in which the speaker clearly analyzed and fine-tuned the presentation by
considering the uniqueness of the audience, the occasion, and the speaker. Explain how you knew
the preparation was thorough. What was the impact of the speaker’s mindfulness?
5. What are the most significant drawbacks of not taking the time to analyze your audience before
preparing a presentation?
6. Which demographic and cultural factors of an audience do you think a speaker should pay most
attention to during audience analysis? Explain your answer, giving examples.
7. Choose a topic that you have a strong opinion about, such as abortion, gay/lesbian rights, our
country’s stance about going to war, physician-assisted suicide, or a local environmental issue.
What is your typical reaction when a speaker attempts to persuade you to accept an argument that
is antithetical to your view? Now, put yourself in the shoes of your audience. Consider how your
audience might react if you attempted to persuade them to accept a view that directly opposes
their current position. Suggest ways you might interest them in your stance without turning them
off.
8. What can you learn from analyzing yourself as a speaker? Describe how you can apply this
knowledge, using two very different presentational speaking situations.
9. Since your specific goal statement will not be stated out loud in the speech but is a note to
yourself outlining what you hope to accomplish, why bother to write it down?
10. Since you won’t be stating your specific goal out loud to your audience in your speech, how can
audience members tell if you have a clear purpose? What verbal and nonverbal cues can you use
to signal a clear, specific purpose?
11. Are there times when a speaker might avoid describing his or her true goal yet still be ethical?
Explain your answer. How can you differentiate an ethical omission of a goal from an unethical
omission?
12. In your own words, contrast the following: general goal, specific goal, and thesis statement. Give
an example of each.
13. Why is it useful to audience members to know the speaker’s goal?
14. The text suggests that you will probably repeat your thesis several times during your presentation.
Will this make a speech seem boring or mechanical? Why or why not? Give examples of how a
speaker could repeat a thesis without sounding overly repetitive.
15. In what ways do your expectations about the organization of a speech reflect a particular culture?
16. Have you ever sat through a presentation that seemed disorganized? Illustrate with a specific
example. What impact did the lack of organization have on your ability to understand and retain
the material? What advice would you give to the speaker about improving the organization of the
presentation?
17. Recall one effective and one ineffective speech introduction that you have heard. What made
them effective or ineffective?
18. Sometimes students add the words “Well, that’s about it” or “And yeah” or “Questions?” (when
there is no time for a question-and-answer session) at the end of their speech. Have you ever
ended with such apologetic phrases? Why did you feel it was necessary to add those words? Did
they add to or detract from the conclusion? Can you suggest a more effective way to signal to the
audience that you have ended your speech?
19. As a listener, are you aware of transitions? Do you listen for them? Do they help you?
20. As a speaker, how can you create transitions that clearly guide the listener through the speech but
do not sound tedious? Write out one or two examples.
Classroom Activities
1. Situation Analysis
Objective: This activity helps students understand realistic ways of analyzing an audience before giving
a presentation.
Procedure: Divide the class into five groups. Assign one of the following potential audiences to each
group:
• parents of children at a daycare center
• a high school athletic team
• a group of coworkers from your workplace
• a community council meeting
• a community activity club (gardening; hiking; bird watching; arts & crafts, etc.)
The task of each group is to select a topic they would be qualified to talk about (speaker analysis).
They should then construct a plan for analyzing the audience and the occasion. Based on that analysis,
how would they tweak their topic to be of interest to their particular audience? Since these are
hypothetical audiences, students will have to use their imaginations to construct a description of the
audience they expect to encounter.
Class Discussion: Ask each group to
• describe the strategies they would use to obtain information about their assigned audience
• suggest probable characteristics of the assigned occasion and audience
• explain how they would tweak their topic based on the results of their hypothetical analysis
2. Specific Goals
Objective: After completing this activity, students should be able to (1) develop specific goals for a
variety of topics; (2) distinguish between specific goals used for informative compared to persuasive
speeches; and (3) gain an understanding of the elements relevant to the development of a thesis statement.
Procedure: Have each group write a specific goal for each of the following scenarios. Then, create a
possible thesis statement for each situation, based on the goals they wrote.
Informative
• An architect talking to a client (owner of an industrial company) about a new building
design
• A dental hygienist presenting information to a patient regarding sores in the mouth
resulting from drug use
• A United Way manager presenting a training session to volunteers
Persuasive
• A money manager making a presentation to a board of directors–persuading them to use
his investment plan
• A recently promoted supervisor of eight employees talking with a former coworker, who
is now a subordinate–trying to persuade the employee to begin working in the new
relationship without resentment
• A personnel director with an employee who has had a dramatic drop in work
performance–trying to persuade him to seek professional help for his drinking problem
Class Discussion: Class discussion could center on the various strategies groups used in creating their
purpose statements.
• What is the difference between a purpose statement and a thesis statement? Why would you
develop both for a presentation?
• What strategies do you use when developing purpose statements for informative speech
topics? For persuasive speech topics?
• Which of the two presentation styles is it easier to develop a thesis for?
3. Specific Purpose, Thesis Statement, and Preview
Objective: After completing this activity, students should be able to distinguish among a general
purpose, a specific purpose, and a thesis statement.
Procedure: Divide the class into groups of three or four. Each group is responsible for selecting one
topic that at least one member is knowledgeable about and could make a presentation on if asked. Discuss
the importance of narrowing the topic and developing a clear specific purpose.
Each group should then develop a highly focused specific goal for the selected topic (one that would
be manageable for a five-minute speech). Ask groups to share their specific goals. The class will evaluate
how well the statements pinpoint precise and realistic outcomes. If necessary, allow the class to help each
group modify the statements until they meet the criteria.
Then, ask each group to develop a thesis statement corresponding to the stated purpose. Now, ask
groups to share their theses. Again, allow the class to help modify them as needed.
Finally, ask groups to suggest two to five main points relevant to the thesis. They should arrange
these points into a preview statement. Share previews, and modify them as needed.
Class Discussion: After you have completed the procedure above, extend the discussion by asking
questions such as
• Which steps of this process did you find most difficult?
• How, when, and where might you state your thesis in your speech?
• How can you word a thesis statement so it doesn’t sound too “canned”?
• How can you emphasize the thesis in your introduction so the audience knows it is your
thesis, without sounding too mechanical?
4. Practice with Organizational Patterns
Objective: Students will become familiar with the basic organizational patterns presented in this chapter.
Procedure: Divide the class into eight teams. Assign each team one of the organizational patterns
presented in this chapter (chronological; spatial; topical; cause-effect; problem-solution; criteria
satisfaction; comparative advantages; motivated sequence). Allow groups 10 minutes to plan a 3- to 5-
minute presentation to the class. The presentation will consist of a definition of the organizational pattern
(in the students’ own words), illustrated by an example outline. The outline example should be brief—
just a thesis statement and a list of main points. Students can choose any topic they wish for the
illustration. You will need to circulate among groups as they work on this exercise to ensure they
understand the various organizational patterns.
Class Discussion: After each group delivers its presentation, allow the class to help the group modify
any incomplete or incorrect information. In addition, elicit questions and comments from the class
regarding the organizational pattern in question.
5. Selecting the Most Effective Organizational Patterns*
Objective: Students will select the most effective organizational patterns for a variety of topics and then
develop main points.
Procedure: Distribute a list of possible topics to individual students or to small groups of students.
Instruct students to define the purpose of their presentation and to specify information about the audience
and the setting. Students should then select an organizational pattern, justify why they chose that pattern,
and identify main points they could use. If you are short of time, you could assign one topic to each group
and then share the results.
Examples of topics:
• You are planning campus tours for prospective students on your campus
• Your boss wants a status report on why the computer system crashed on your shift and
the consequences of the crash
• You are presenting a synopsis of the history of community colleges in your education
class
• You are explaining to a group of Boy Scouts how to “leave no trace” when they hike and
camp
• You want your neighbors to hire you for their lawn care in the summer and their snow
removal in the winter
• You think your friends should switch to a less-expensive cell phone service
• You think your little brother should learn how to fix a flat tire on his bike.
Class Discussion: Ask each group to share its recommendations with the class. Evaluate the pattern
choices, paying particular attention to students’ justifications. In your discussion, refer to audience and
situation analysis.
• What is your overall purpose in this situation?
• What is your relationship to the audience? How does this affect your credibility?
• How might the occasion and setting affect your choice of pattern?
• What other considerations might influence your choice of pattern?
• Why did you choose these particular main points?
*Adapted from an activity by Ron Adler, Santa Barbara Community College
6. Organizing Informative and Persuasive Presentations
Objective: This activity will allow students to practice creating main points and to begin using the
various types of organizational patterns.
Procedure: Collect several sets of information (enough for one per student or one for every two
students) on your city from the chamber of commerce. Distribute the information to groups of students.
Give them the following instructions:
Instructions for Students: Choose ONE interesting facet of your city. Using the information
provided, construct an outline for an informative speech about your topic. Your general purpose is to
inform a group of newcomers. Specify your target audience (e.g., foreign students, business
executives, families who have moved to your city recently, historians visiting the area,
conventioneers here for a week, etc.) Create your main points, and show briefly what information
you would use to support each point. After you have finished organizing your outline, write it on the
board.
Variation 1: If you have time, ask students to design a persuasive speech, using the same
information and audience. The general purpose of this speech is to persuade a group of newcomers to
visit and explore this facet of your city.
Class Discussion: The following questions could foster class discussion.
INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION:
• How did the type of information influence the organizational pattern you chose?
• How did the audience influence the organizational pattern you chose?
• Could you have presented the same information using a different organizational pattern?
PERSUASIVE PRESENTATION:
• How did you modify your speech to make it persuasive?
• Did you change the organization pattern? The introduction? The conclusion? Why?
7. Basics of Outlining
Objective: To provide outlining practice for students who do not understand the concept.
Procedure: Instruct students to view the student-produced ThinkQuest outlining activity available at
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002345/outline.html. They should follow the links until they have correctly
outlined the practice paragraph. Next, instruct students to find a simple paragraph and outline it.
Class Discussion: The following questions could be used to lead class discussion.
• Can outlining help us understand what we read? How?
• When you listen to a presentation, can you tell if the speaker has taken time to outline the
presentation before delivering it? How can you tell?
• Why does having a well-organized outline help the audience understand your information better?
• It has been said that a speaker who doesn’t prepare well for their presentation is showing
disrespect for the audience. Why would this be?
8. Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitions
Objective: To classify various types of introductions, conclusions, and transitions and to analyze how
they function in an actual speech.
Procedure: Provide each student or each pair of students with a copy of Vital Speeches. If you can get a
year’s discards from the library, it makes a great classroom set. If you can’t get copies, you may want to
use a variety of sample speeches from other places. You can find speeches online at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm or at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speeches.htm .
Instructions for Students
1. Read or skim one or more of the speeches your instructor has distributed to you. As you
read the introductions, pencil in the margin to code the parts of the introductions that you
can identify, and label the attention-getting method used if it fits into one of the
categories in your text.
2. Underline or highlight the transitions, and be ready to read to the class some of the best
examples of transitions. Write each transitional word or phrase used on a post-it note.
These will be posted on a large sheet for use in the class to give you ideas for your own
presentations.
3. Look for various techniques in the conclusions. Can you find examples of several types
of closing? Which ones? Be prepared to read to the class any particularly effective
closings you find.
4. After these elements of introductions, transitions, and conclusions have been identified,
evaluate their effectiveness in this particular speech.
Class Discussion: The following questions could be used to lead class discussion.
• Which introduction seemed most effective to you? Why?
• Did you find any types of introductions that don’t fall neatly into one of the categories in the
text? If so, list these on the board or paper provided.
• Which transitions seem especially effective? What makes them effective?
• Which criteria for transitions do they meet?
• Which types of closing statements are used?
• Which conclusions seem most effective? Why?
• If you identified any weaknesses in the introductions, transitions, or conclusions you read,
recommend changes.
Variation: You may wish to assign students to read the following articles before class, to emphasize key
points of effective introductions and conclusions:
http://www.wellwrittenwellsaid.com/successfulspeechesblog/2010/04/28/how-to-start-a-speech-the-
complete-3-step-process/
http://publicspeaker.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-end-a-speech.aspx
Written Application Exercises
1. Organizing Your Speech
Write an essay in which you address the following:
• Why is it important to set a specific goal for your speech? What elements of the speech help you
share that goal with your audience?
• Why is it important to choose an organizational pattern for your speech? How does the audience
become aware of your organizational pattern?
• Would a speech become less effective if the speaker neglected to use any of the functions of the
introduction? Which functions do you think are most important? Explain.
• What advice would you give to a classmate about writing an effective conclusion?
Video Activities
1. Identify Thesis, Preview, Main Points, Transitions, Organizational Pattern, and Conclusion
Objective: This activity provides students an opportunity to identify and evaluate various elements of
presentations. This activity helps boost students’ confidence as they view actual examples of rhetorical
devices used in short presentations.
Procedure: Bring several brief, videotaped presentations to class for the students to watch. These could
be presentations by former students that you have collected (with permission), presentations delivered by
politicians or business leaders on C-SPAN, college orientation or commencement speeches, or
motivational speeches.
For each presentation, start by showing the introduction. Ask students to identify the thesis and
preview. Next, play the body of the speech. Ask students to identify the main points and note the
transitions. Inquire whether the main points match the points listed in the preview. If students have
easily identified main points and transition, you may also ask them to classify the type of organizational
pattern being used. Finally, show the conclusion. Ask students to identify which functions of the
conclusion were filled.
Class Discussion: As a wrap-up, ask students which speech elements they found most effective and why.
When appropriate, spend some time discussing differences in the students’ perceptions. This can lead into
a discussion of various learning styles and audiences with mixed preferences.
Additional Resources
Print
Kushner, M. (2004). Presentations for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing
Easy-to-follow tips for preparation and delivery of presentations, with additional sections on
humor, managing stage fright, heading off problems, and using PowerPoint.
Leech, T. (2004). How to prepare, stage, and deliver winning presentations. New York: AMACOM.
Addresses the role of presentations in business today. Adopts a systematic approach to
presentations, covering how to plan, organize, support, stage, and deliver presentations. Also
includes chapters on team presentations and international presentations.
Sprague, J., Stuart, D., & Bodary, D. (2002). The speaker’s handbook (9th ed.). Boston: Cengage
Learning.
This excellent handbook covers the basics of public speaking in a way that is easy to reference
and find just the point of information you are looking for. It is extremely functional and well
organized. The book is an extraordinary help for planning and presenting informative, persuasive,
and special-occasion speeches.
Steele, W. R. (2009) Presentation skills 201: How to take it to the next level as a confident, engaging
presenter. Parker, CO: OutskirtsPress, Inc.
Offering numerous tips on successful speaking, this book is easy to read and includes personal
examples. Aimed at both the novice and the seasoned speaker.
DVD
Be Prepared to Speak. 30 min. Toastmasters.
A classic Toastmasters production, this video shows the preparation and presentation of a speech
and gives practical ideas for success. The only problem is that it illustrates writing the
introduction before writing the body of the presentation. Toastmasters is an organization
dedicated to helping individuals improve their public-speaking skills. A wide array of resources is
available from http://www.toastmasters.org/.
Business Communication: Speaking (1996) 23 min. Cambridge Educational films.
Traces the speaking preparations of a new employee who must make a presentation.
Face To Face: A Common-Sense Approach to Developing Effective Business Communication Skills. Vol.
I. Part 2: Planning, Organizing, and Developing the Presentation. 30 min. The Educational Video Group.
Excellent information on beginning steps for presentational speaking.
Finding Information (1996) 30 min. RMI Media.
Steps for effective research; appropriate use of oral footnotes; why the library is a primary source
of information; various sources of information, including personal interviews.
Great Moments from Great Speeches. 108 min. The Educational Video Group.
Uses 30 three-minute film clips from 25 speakers from FDR (1933) to William Clinton (1993).
Introductions and Conclusions. (1997) 30 min. Insight Media.
Gaining attention; previewing the speech; recapping the main points; conveying a final message.
Organizing the Speech. 30 minutes. VTAE.
Develops the ideas of three parts of a speech, gaining attention, patterns of organization, four
types of delivery, and methods of conclusion.
Planning Your Speech. 13 min. Coronet.
Presentation Cornerstones: Foundation for a Successful Presentation (2004) 16 min. Media Training
Worldwide.
Business trainer TJ Walker walks the viewer through steps to present a message the audience will
remember and act on.
Public Speaking: Time to Stand. (2000) 27 min. Cambridge Educational Films
Tina Dupree, founder of the Progressional Speakers’ Network, explains proven strategies for
successful speaking.
Researching a Topic. 11 min. McGraw-Hill.
The Speaker’s Purpose and Occasion. 30 min. VTAE
Reviews three purposes of speeches, types of speeches, requirements of each type of speech, and
the way a speaker must consider the occasion in preparing for a speech.
Speaking Essentials. (2010) 25 min. Cambridge Educational films.
Provides basic tips for successful business presentations, ranging from overcoming anxiety to
scoping out your location.
Successful Speaking: Organizing a Speech. (26min) The Educational Video Group.
Explains topical, spatial, chronological, cause-effect, and problem-solution organizational
patterns.
Web
American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm
Includes text, photo, and audio versions of famous speeches.
American Rhetoric Top 100 Speeches
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/newtop100speeches.htm
Ferguson Center for Public Speaking:
http://www.hsc.edu/Academics/Speaking-Center/For-Students/Preparing-and-Delivering-Your-
Presentation.html
Several articles with ideas for planning and delivering the presentation
http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/academics/SpeakingCenter/OralPresentationScoringRubric.pdf
Provides a six level scoring guide (for instructors)
InformativeSpeechTopics.info
http://www.informativespeechtopics.info/public-speaking-outline-tool.html
This site presents a step-by-step process for outlining a speech.
The Public Speaker
http://publicspeaker.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-end-a-speech.aspx
How to craft an effective conclusion for your speech.
SpeakingTips.com
http://www.speaking-tips.com/Articles/How-To-Organize-The-Body-Of-A-Speech.aspx
This article summarizes advice for organizing the body of a speech.
Toastmasters Speech Series
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/2008/04/24/toastmasters-speech-0-competent-communicator/
This site presents a collection of articles about the fundamentals of public speaking.