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Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 9: Organizing Your Speech
Learning Objectives
1-1 Explain why organization matters
1-2 Explain the principle of redundancy and why it is useful in a speech
1-3 Identify linear organization and list some examples of this format
1-4 Identify configural organization and list examples of this format
1-5 Discuss how culture influences organizational preference
Outline
I. Understanding Speech Organization
A. In some ways, creating a speech is comparable to writing an essay, but it is also
very different.
1. Both contain a clear beginning (introduction), middle, and end
(conclusion).
2. Audience members listen to a speaker deliver a speech only once but
readers are able to review a written message multiple times for meaning.
3. Speakers use shorter sentences when compared to writers to ensure the
audience understands a message.
4. Writers use headings and subheadings, whereas speakers find ways to let
the organization reveal itself naturally to the audience.
II. A speech has linear format if the main points are directly related to the thesis or topic
sentence presented in the introduction.
A. There are five traditional or linear approaches to ordering material: chronological,
spatial, cause-and-effect, problem-solution and topical order.
1.A chronological order involves explaining to your audience members the order
in which events happened.
a. Useful in informative speeches
2. Spatial order presents main points in space and are used in informative
speeches primarily.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
a. Used most frequently in informative speeches
3. Cause-and-effect order arranges the main points on the basis of the causes of
a problem and the related effects and can be used in informative and persuasive
speeches.
a. The order in which each is discussed may vary, e.g. cause and then effect
or effect and then cause.
b. The order is versatile and can be used in both informative and persuasive
speeches.
4. Problem-Solution organizational patterns involve identifying a significant
problem and then describing the solution that will alleviate the problem and are
used in persuasive speeches.
a. Used more frequently in persuasive speeches.
5. Topical order refers to when main points that are arranged into a sequence
a. Topical order can be used in any type of speech.
III. Speeches organized in listener responsible cultures are organized using configural
formats that are less explicit and lack hard evidence or proof in support of a position.
A. There are three main types of configural organizational patterns.
1. Deferred thesis pattern occurs when the main points gradually build to
the speaker’s thesis, which is not revealed until the end of the speech.
2. The web pattern involves threads of thought that refer back to the
speaker’s central purpose.
3. The narrative pattern involves a story or series of stories that are told
without stating a thesis or developing it within main points.
a. The speaker may discover the main points using a series of
illustrations and parables.
b. Indirection and implication rather than transitions are used to
circle and connect ideas, establish main points and lead the
audience to a conclusion.
