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Chapter 12
Organizing Your Speech
What you’ll know:
• The components of an effective speech outline
• How to determine the main points of your speech
• Elements of an effective speech introduction
• Elements of an effective speech conclusion
What you’ll be able to do:
• Construct an effective thesis statement for your speech
• Craft clear main points related to your specific speech goal
• Prepare a complete speech outline
• Create effective transitions
• Create an effective introduction
• Create an effective conclusion
• Prepare an accurate reference list
Chapter Outline
I. Organizing the Speech Outline: the process of selecting and structuring ideas you will present in
your speech
1. Speech outline: the sentence representation of the hierarchical and sequential
relationships between the ideas presented in a speech
2. Writing main points as complete sentences help express the association of the points with
the key elements of the thesis statement
3. Wording main points
a. Does the main point statement specify how it is related to the goal?
b. Are the main points parallel in structure? (parallel: wording in more than one sentence
that follows the same structural pattern, often using the same introductory words).
4. Selecting an organizational pattern for main points
a. Time order: organizing main points by a chronological sequence or by steps in a
process
b. Narrative order: dramatizes the thesis using a story or series of stories that includes
characters, settings, and a plot
c. Topical order: organizing the main points by categories or divisions of a subject
d. Logical reasons order: used when the main points are the rationale or proof that
support the thesis
5. Selecting and outlining supporting material
III. Developing the Introduction
A. The introduction
1. Getting attention
2. Stories
3. Jokes
4. Personal reference: a brief account of something that happened to you or a hypothetical
situation that listeners can imagine themselves in
5. Quotations: a comment made by and attributed to someone other than the speaker
6. Action: an act designed to highlight and arouse interest in a topic
7. Suspense: an introduction that is worded so that what is described remains uncertain or
mysterious
B. Establish relevance
C. Establish credibility
D. State the thesis
IV. Developing the Conclusion
V. Compiling the Reference List
Discussion and Assignment Ideas
I. Cultural differences in main-point organization abound. When speaking to a multicultural
audience, should a speaker use an organizational pattern based on his or her culturally-derived
organizational preference or use a pattern that would appeal to the primary listener’s cultural
preference (if they differ)? Discuss.
II. Quotes: These can be used to introduce topics, question perspectives, or gain individual opinion.
Providing students with a quote and prompting them to write or reflect on their personal feelings
about the quote can help to spark discussion and interest. Suggested prompts may include “Define this
concept in your own words”; “Do you agree with this statement? Explain”; “What text material can be
used to support or refute this idea?”
Don’t agonize. Organize.
—Florynce R. Kennedy
In this world no one rules by love; if you are but amiable, you are no hero; to be powerful, you
must be strong, and to have dominion you must have a genius for organizing.
—John Henry Newman
III. Imagine the worst introduction you have ever heard. Describe it. If the speaker had asked for
constructive criticism, what would you have said and how would you have said it? (Be sure to use
previous course concepts as you formulate your answer.)
IV. Think of an effective speech or speaker you admire. In what way did organization contribute to the
speech’s or the speaker’s effectiveness? How did transition sentences make the speech flow more
smoothly?
Technology Resources
Access cengagebrain.com Web Links 12.1: Writing Different Types of Thesis Statements. Which type
of thesis statement—analytical, expository, or persuasive—lends itself to your speech topic? What is
the advantage of the type of thesis statement you have chosen? Are there any disadvantages?
Movies
Movies and movie clips can be used to help students grasp concepts. Clips can be shown in class, or
movies can be assigned as homework. Following the movie clips, ask students written or oral
questions. These questions should address pertinent concepts, thereby actively engaging students in
discussion.
Clueless (1995)
Rated: PG-13 (Double entendres, profanity)
Synopsis: A modern retelling of Jane Austin’s Emma, this movie tells the story of a young 16-year-old
Cher and her best friend, Dionne, and their superficial voyage through high school, attempting to do as
little work as possible while searching for true love.
Additional movie suggestions: Malcolm X (1992) (Harvard University Address: introduction,
organization, conclusion); Norma Rae (1979) (Reuben Warshovsky’s address to plant workers in
unions: attention-grabbing introduction, memorable conclusion)
Other Media Resources
Chapter Activities
12.1: What Makes a Good Outline?
Purpose: To allow students to see examples of student-generated outlines
Time: 20 minutes
Materials: Make copies of several outlines you have received from former students. The exercise
works well if you include a few mediocre examples along with the excellent ones.
(Make sure to get your students’ permission to use their work, or block out identifying
12.2: Developing Main Points
Purpose: To illustrate that any topic can be developed into many speeches
Time: 15 minutes
12.3: Speech Introductions
Purpose: To give students practice with creating different types of attention-getters for their
introductions
Time: 30 minutes
Process: Since many students are likely to be satisfied with the first introduction they think of
for a speech, the goal of this exercise is to have them create different types of
introductions before deciding on the one they could use in a speech. Prepare enough
3 x 5 cards with the following types of speech introductions so that each student in
class can have a card. (That is, to have 28 cards you would need to create four cards for
each type of introduction.)
startling statement quotation
question suspense
story role play/demonstration
personal reference
Have each student in class draw a type of introduction. Then announce one topic and a
sample of the information that would be covered in a speech about that topic. Here are
12.4: Cultural Diversity and Speech Organization
Purpose: To make students aware that organizational strategies for public speaking
presentations vary by culture—although the organizational strategies taught in this
course are highly effective throughout the dominant US. culture, diverse speakers and
audiences may use and expect other types of organization
Time: 20 minutes of discussion
Process: Provide students with copies of a manuscript of a speech given by a speaker who is
not from dominant U.S. culture. As homework, ask students to read and outline the
speech. When students bring their outlines to the next class period, have them divide
into groups of four to discuss their work. Refer them to the organizational patterns
described in the textbook. Then ask them to process the manuscript with the following
Suggested speech manuscripts
Maria Stewart , “African Rights and Liberty”
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?”
Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet”
Russell Means, “For the World to Live, ‘Europe’ Must Die”
Suggested sources of speech manuscripts
Kelly, C. K., E. A. Laffon, and R. E. McKerrow, R.E. (Eds.). (1994). Diversity in
public communication. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
Anderson, J. (Ed.). (1984). Outspoken women: Speeches by American women
reformers 1635-1935. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
Journal Assignments
A. Culture and Speech Organization
Many cultures use storytelling to structure public presentations. Can you provide examples of such
speeches that you have heard? Why were they effective? With a multi-cultural audience, in which
listeners represent many different backgrounds, how should the speaker organize his or her speech?
What determines the most effective organizational structure: speaker, audience, topic, occasion, or a
combination of these elements?
B. Listening to Speeches
Go to a speech either on or off campus, on any subject. Write a few paragraphs about the speech,
C. Playing with Organization?
If you were asked to give a speech on five random objects in your room, which organizational pattern
would you choose? Pick the objects and indicate which pattern you think would be the most effective
and why. What transitions would you use to move from your discussion of each object to another?
