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Chapter 14
Organizing, Writing, and Outlining Presentations
CHAPTER OUTCOMES
• Organize and support your main points
• Choose an appropriate organizational pattern for your speech
• Move smoothly from point to point
• Choose appropriate and powerful language
• Develop a strong introduction and conclusion, crucial parts of all speeches
• Prepare an effective outline
LECTURE NOTES
• Organizing Your Speech focuses on identifying your main points and developing your
supporting points, plus considering useful ways to arrange those points and connect them in
your speech.
o Identifying Your Main Points
− Each main point should include only one major idea to avoid overwhelming your
audience.
o Supporting Your Main Points
o Arranging Your Points discusses choosing one of the following common patterns:
settings.
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− Motivated sequence patterns, first developed by Alan Monroe, consist of five steps that
are based on the psychological elements of advertising: attention, need, satisfaction,
visualization, and action.
• Connecting Your Points discusses moving smoothly between one point to the next. This
requires using communicative tools to connect your main points.
summaries, which allow the speaker to reiterate points.
• Using Language That Works discusses making competent language choices that bring your
ideas to life right before your audience’s eyes.
− Think of the audience when choosing words.
• A metaphor does not contain the word like or as—it presents the comparison as though
it were a statement of fact.
• Crafting a Strong Introduction discusses the three important goals of an effective
introduction to a speech, which should accomplish the following:
o Capture Your Audience’s Attention:
− Making your audience laugh
o Introduce Your Purpose and Thesis:
− Preview Your Main Points
− Connect with Your Audience
• Your audience will arrive with three questions in mind: What is the nature of your
speech? Is the speech worth their time? Will they like or trust you?
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− Final stories tie in to your main point and make a related point.
− Reference your introduction by adding more to it or answering an original question.
o Challenge the Audience to Respond
− Help the audience understand what they should do with this newly learned information.
− Many persuasive speeches use a call to action to challenge listeners to react in response
to a speech.
• Outlining Your Speech describes the importance of creating an effective outline to assist you
in organizing your speech, assure that you have all citations in order, and aid in delivery.
• Essentials of Outlining
o The essentials of outlining include the following:
− Use standard symbols.
− Use subdivisions properly.
− Separate the parts of your speech.
− Call our your specific purpose and thesis.
− Cite your sources.
− Give your speech a title.
• Styles of Outlines
The three outline styles are arranged from the most detailed to the least.
− Sentence outlines contain the full text of your speech.
− Phrase outlines use phrases to serve as reminders for each point and subpoint.
− Key-word outlines use key words to jog the speaker’s memory about specifics for the
speech.
• From Preparation Outline to Speaking Outline
• After preparing an outline to develop your main and supporting points, establish a speaking
outline.
− Preparation outlines (working outlines) firm up your thesis statement, establish and
organize your main points, and develop your supporting points.
− Speaking outlines (delivery outlines) represent the final speech plan, complete with
details, delivery tips, and important notes about presentational aids.
− Delivery cues are brief reminders related to the delivery of your speech that are for your
purposes only.
− Oral citations, or source materials to be included in your narrative, should also be
in your speaking outline.
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What are some examples of similes, metaphors, and allusions?
2. What are some examples of speeches that would be best given in a topical pattern? In a
spatial pattern? In a chronological pattern?
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particular vacation spot. Topical patterns organize things into categories, such as talking
about different majors someone might study in college.
3. What do you find to be interesting beginnings of speeches?
4. What are some ways that language can be used to tie a speech to an audience? To turn off an
audience?
1. Outlining a Speech
2. Memorable Speaking
3. What Kind of Memory?
4. Rhetorical Analysis?
1.
Which Pattern Is This?
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1. Broad topic ideas for various speeches (e.g., eating disorders)
2. Blank paper and writing implements for students
Directions:
2. Have students form seven groups.* Assign to each group one of the following
organizational patterns:
•
Chronological Pattern
3. Have the groups work together to create a rough speech outline on the sample topic using
2. Connect the Points
Goal: To help students understand the use of transition statements, internal previews, and
1. Two unrelated main points from a speech
1. Write the two unrelated main points on the board or put them on an overhead or computer
screen.
2. Have the students come up with transition statements, internal previews, or internal
summaries for the two main points.
3. Speed Outlining
Goal: To have students understand how to put together an outline in the correct format
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1. Two to four copies of an example outline from Chapter 14 of the text. Cut each outline into
ten to twelve sections
2. Glue sticks for each group
4. Timer or watch with a minute hand
Directions:
2. Give each group a cut up outline.
4. For a greater challenge to students, use only one copy of the outline, and tape pieces onto
students’ backs in a random order. Have students arrange themselves in the correct order.
1.
What are the organizational patterns discussed in the chapter? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each?
4.
What are the differences between a phrase outline and a key-word outline?
5.
How can comparisons help the audience relate to ideas?
MEDIA
Good Night, and Good Luck. (Warner Independent, 2005)
During the anticommunist blacklist era of the 1950s, television journalist Edward R.
narrative patterns, topical patterns, and many more.
Seinfeld, “The Betrayal” (Shapiro/West Productions, 1997; Season 9, Episode 8)
Scenes depicting the story of the friends’ trip to India are shown in reverse order. Play the
entire episode and have students analyze the organizational strategy. Ask them to consider
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the pros and cons of such an organization. Also ask them to consider whether this type of
organizational strategy works as a narrative or an attention-grabbing technique.
Speechless (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1994)
separate fact from fiction. Ask students to pull out any facts that relate to the organization
in speech writing.
The West Wing, television series available on streaming video services (Warner
Home Video, 2007)
speechwriting process. Have they had any of the same experiences when writing their own
speeches?
Madam Secretary, television series available on Netflix (CBS Television, 2017)
episodes will help students see how writing is organized in a high power environment.