Chapter 06: Organize (CONNECTING THE PIECES)
Organize (CONNECTING THE PIECES)
The O in C.R.O.P is organizing the speech. CROP is the acronym for the steps you undergo in your speech making (Ch. 2; pg. 29).
In our discussion of the impromptu speech, you learned that structure is important because it helps your critical thinking, but not only in impromptu speeches is structure vital; in fact, all speeches have a common structure; the introduction, body, and conclusion.
PART 1
STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION (The Beginning)
Wherever you begin your speech from, that is considered the introduction.
In this discussion, we will explore what you should try to accomplish in the introduction, how you can capture the audience/listener’s attention, and some general rules and tips you can follow to accomplish excellent beginnings.
What Your Introduction Should Accomplish
- A Personal Greeting – most conversations begin with a personal greeting, like“Good morning”, and “ How are you? ”. In the introduction of your speech, tell your listeners who you are, beginning with your name, followed by a thank you to them for giving you the opportunity to share your point of view.
- Bridge Building – establish common ground with your audience. Focus on and announce very early something you and the audience have in common. This will endear you to the audience.
- Preview your Central Idea/Main Points or Purpose (the teaser) – let your audience know the reason(s) to listen to By previewing what you will cover, the audience is able to make the intellectual connection needed to follow your speech.
» Tell the audience what the speech will cover
» Tell the audience how you will transit & connect from point to point
» Tell the audience how you will conclude
- Establish Credibility – let the audience know your expertise (if no one else has introduced you). Let them know that you are qualified to speak on the intended topic. The audience will decide whether you are credible once you begin your discussion.
- Capture Attention – the most critical moment of your speech is the first 30 Within that time frame, the audience will decide whether to listen or to mentally leave. You want them to listen, and therefore, it is imperative that you capture the audience’s attention early.
HOW
» A rhetorical question will get the audience thinking about the speech.
» A quotation from a famous person will allow the audience to make an intellectual connection to your speech.
» A startling statement that is intriguing, shocking, or dramatic will force the audience to pay attention.
» A story that is provocative, amusing, suspenseful, or dramatic but relevant to the point will spark the audience’s attention.
» Humor, if it’s funny, will help to break down the initial uncertainty; a psychological barrier that exists with a first encounter.
OTHER INTRODUCTORY TIPS
- Be brief in your introduction.
- Be creative in your introduction.
- Deliver your introduction without using notes.
- Practice your introduction until it feels and sounds natural.
- Don’t apologize for anything. If you make a mistake, you will only draw attention to it by apologizing; besides, no one else will know you’ve made a mistake.
- Don’t pretend or oversell yourself, the topic, or your expertise.
- Don’t promise what you cannot deliver.
- Don’t preface your introduction with ineffective or negative statements.
PART 2
BODY (MAIN POINTS)
The body explores the core idea of your speech/conversation. You will spend at least 75% of your time enlarging and amplifying your main points.
After the first few minutes of your introduction, you can now delve into your pre-determined main point development pattern.
The main points are developed along a pre-determined strategy you will employ, and the strategy will be based on the type of speech being presented and the effort it will require to either convince and/or enlighten your audience about the topic.
BEATS
The Equality Beat is useful for most informative speeches, where each point receives equal time. For a speech with 2 main points, the beat pattern would be 4:4, and for 3 main points, the beat pattern would be 4:4:4. Equal time is spent on developing and discussing each point.
The strategy of the equality beat is to provide balanced evidence and support for each point presented. For example, a “how-to” topic might have 3 points, with each point emphasizing a particular aspect of the product or system, and each point being equally important and dependent on the other for the entire system to function properly. This provides a consistent rhythm.
The Progressive Beat is useful for both the informative and persuasive speeches, where each point progressively receives more time and, subsequently, more attention. If the speech consists of 2 main points, the beat pattern would be 2:4, and for 3 main points, the beat pattern would be 2:4:6.
The strategy of the progressive beat for the persuasive speech is to gradually build support for the topic. As momentum is built, the evidence and support appear to be stronger and stronger, and the speech could conclude with a call to action.
If the topic is controversial and a large portion of that audience remains unconvinced, instead of leading with the thesis (which would be to directly persuade the audience about that specific topic), the evidence is first provided to help allay fears or doubts individuals might still harbor (this is the soft sell approach). As support is built, progressively, more and more convincing evidence is then provided in each point to finally win persuasion for the topic and at that point, the thesis is emphasized. The rhythm feels like a crescendo, seemingly becoming louder and louder and more intense.
Similarly, for the informative speech, each point in the progressive beat pattern introduces more evidence which then expands to further develop the topic.
The Strongest Point Beat is useful for persuasive speeches, where the strongest point or argument is usually presented first and receives the most time.
The strongest point beat pattern would be 6:4 for a speech consisting of 2 main points and 6:4:2 for a speech with 3 main points. This beat pattern is appropriate for topics with already strong audience support.
The strategy of the strongest point is to come out swinging with the strongest argument so as to sure up support and fire up that audience into action, and simultaneously, rally support from those who may still be on the fence.
PATTERNS
In addition to beats, main points can be organized based on rhythmic patterns. These organizational patterns provide structure for the body, which in turn provides clarity and an easy-to-follow consistent pattern when transitioning from point to point.
- Chronological Organizational Pattern – the information in each main point is presented in the sequence or order of its occurrence. This relationship in time pattern is used extensively in informative speeches about processes, where the focus is on the provision of the steps that would lead to the creation of a product or to demonstrate how something is done. This is suitable for informative speeches.
For example, to explain the steps in preparing a particular recipe.
- Spatial Organizational Pattern – the sequence of ideas in the main points moves in a consistent directional path in space, from one physical point to This pattern must be followed for the speech to have clarity, be successful, and effective. This is suitable for informative speeches.
For example, to explain to an audience the fastest route to take when driving from New York to California.
- Cause and Effect Organizational Pattern – this speech pattern is usually structured into two parts; the cause, which might be the problem and the effect, which might be the logical outgrowth of the cause. A cause and effect might develop from the examination of events, patterns of behavior, or situations, and this speech organization pattern is intended to persuade the audience rather than to just provide informatiuon.
For example, to convince an audience of the causes and effects of global warming. The effect usually precedes a warning and/or maybe a call to action.
- Problem/Solution Organizational Pattern – this speech pattern is structured into two or more parts: the problem, which is usually presented as one idea, and the solution, which could be more than one point or The audience is first presented with the problem, and the possible solutions become the persuasive argument. The problem/solution pattern is, therefore, used more prevalently in persuasive speeches.
For example, to persuade the audience that the solutions to the problem of underage drinking would be to either lower the legal age limit or have stiffer penalties.
- Topical Organizational Pattern – this speech pattern is commonly used in classroom presentations where a topic is selected, and that topic is then broken down into sub-divisions, namely a purpose statement, thesis statement, main points, and sub-points. Each area carries the same weight of This organizational pattern is adapted for both persuasive and informative speeches, with the statements and wording formatted similarly, except for minor changes.
Examples of this speech pattern are provided below and toward the end of this discussion.
Nick Fuhrman, the speaker, elaborates on four things good teachers do; each takes the form of a topic within the main topic or purpose.
The one Thing All Great Teachers Do, Nick Fuhrman, TEDx UGA
- Temporal Organizational Pattern – this speech pattern is organized on the basis of time relationship, so there might be more than three or four parts or This pattern bares in similarity to the spatial (space sequence) and chronological ( occurrence sequence) patterns; the difference is obvious, temporal is time-sequenced. This type of speech, like space and chronological, is appropriate for informative speeches.
For example, to explain the time periods from inception to the birth of a baby.
- Motivational Organizational Pattern – this speech pattern is used by motivational speakers to motivate The persuasive information is arranged in a way that listeners are motivated to respond positively to the message.
This pattern is used to move an audience to action or remind them of actions that should be taken in order to change the course of events in their lives in positive ways. This speech is useful for both to inform and persuade, with the intent to motivate.
The Motivational Organizational Pattern involves 5 steps:
Step 1: Attention – you draw attention to a recent situation, incident, or individual by making reference to it or them.
Step 2: Need – you must demonstrate by your language and the evidence you provide that the need which you have drawn attention to exists and that something must be done about it.
Step 3: Satisfaction – you present the audience with the solution or answer that would satisfy the need. You must state exactly what needs to be done to bring about satisfaction.
Step 4: Visualization – you must enable the audience to visualize or imagine the situation as it would be if the need is not satisfied.
Step 5: Action – you can provide the audience with guidelines for further action (logical appeal) or appeal directly to the audience’s needs and desires (emotional appeal) so that members are motivated into action.
CONNECTIONS
All things are connected and must be done succinctly when it comes to the main points or body of your speech. It is the connections you use that allow your points to be followed and underastood more clearly.
We will discuss 4 different types of connections, and collectively, these are referred to as connectives.
CONNECTIVES – words or phrases that join one thought to another and indicate their relationship.
- Transitions – these are verbal bridges between ideas. You might use a word, phrase, or a sentence when you, the speaker, have completed one thought and is moving to another. These transitions can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence, or even in between. For example, transition words like:
“Equally important”
“Furthermore”
“To contrast”
“In addition to”
Example: Provisions must be made for students accommodations; however, Equally important are the needs of the administrative staff.
Transition words could be used in many different ways; to introduce new ideas or add on to topics already presented. In this case, you might use the transition “in addition to” to add on. To limit and oppose, transition words such as: “unlike”, “while” or “but”, might be used, while to indicate an effect and result, a transitional phrase might be “as a result” or “because”.
Other transition words are used to describe, support, conclude, and/or summarize a sentence and to indicate a time relationship.
The key to using transitions is to make sure the word or phrase used is appropriate, adds clarity, and is in the correct context.
- Internal Previews – these are extended transitions that let the audience know what you will say next. Internal previews are used in the body of a speech to give an audience advance notice of the critical content of a main point on which you are about to It, therefore, comes before the main point.
Example: In my next point, I will provide the critical next steps to undertake so as to ensure full compliance.
This statement would most likely be followed by details, explanations, or expansion of the point.
- Internal Summaries – this is a statement that would follow a main point and act as a reminder of the critical points just made. This is an excellent way to reinforce and clarify the ideas you wish the audience to remember.
While the internal preview lets the audience know what is coming next, internal summaries let them know what they have just heard.
Example: To briefly summarize what I have just stated about internal previews and internal summaries, let me once again go over the crucial points.
The key to the internal summary is brevity and specificity about the point(s) just made before moving on to the next point.
- Sign Posts – these are brief statements that tell the audience where you are in the Transitional statements, Internal Previews, and Internal Summaries are all signposts that move your speech along.
If you think of getting directions to a friend’s house, and that friend tells you to look for a particular gas station or to count 5 traffic lights before making a left or right turn, that friend has just provided you signposts so as to ensure that you don’t get lost.
The Table of Contents in this book acts as a signpost. In the body of your speech, using words like “first”, “second”, “finally” and ”in conclusion” are all signposts that let an audience know where you are in the body of the speech, and therefore, what they can expect.
Example: …and this brings me to my final point…
OTHER TIPS FOR THE BODY (MAIN POINTS)
Keep them Separate – make sure that each main point is independent of the other main point(s).
Be careful not to lump together points that should be separate. If a main point overlaps, is similar to, or makes the same point, consolidate that point into one of your other points, or you could make that point a sub-point of one of your main points. Each main point must be distinctly different from the other.
Similar wording pattern – a similar wording pattern, as you will see in the outline sample(s), makes it easier for you to remember the point and easier for the audience to understand that point. It is also a good way to distinguish your point from the details surrounding it.
Time Balance and Management – each main point must be balanced time-wise, so think of the 4-4-4-beat pattern we discussed previously. Each main point should have a similar number of sub-points, and each main point should have the same amount of time devoted to it.
PART 3
CONCLUSION (THE END)
The third and final part of the speech is the conclusion.
In this discussion, we will explore what makes for an effective conclusion, what you should try to accomplish in the conclusion, plus techniques and tips you can utilize to accomplish memorable conclusions.
An effective conclusion
An effective conclusion should contain 3 basic elements
- The restatement of your central idea/thesis.
- A review of your main points.
- A conclusion device that would help leave a lasting impression of you and your speech in the minds of the audience.
- Restatement of your Central Idea/Thesis
Restating your thesis reminds your audience about the importance of your main purpose and core idea. You should use interesting language and not just merely repeat the language of your thesis statement.
- Review of your Main Points
A brief review of your main points increases the likelihood that your audience will remember your speech’s main points. Additionally, practicing a key component in speech making, which is repetition, reinforces your message.
- Conclusion Device for a memorable speech
You can be retrospective, looking back on ways the audience can deal with the thesis.
You can be reflective, offering radiative light or thoughtfulness that the audience might find useful to take with them.
You can be projective, transferring your desires and wishes onto the audience, thus making it theirs subconsciously.
What your conclusion should accomplish
- Communicate Closure – you should clearly indicate to the audience that the speech is In order to do so effectively, you must be able to tie together all the loose ends of the speech.
You can let the audience know you’re at the end in 3 different ways:
A) By using signposts; words like “In conclusion” or “finally, in closing”.
B) Your tone of delivery should dictate your manner and mood, which might be resolute or conciliatory.
C) With an emotional close, the emotion might be a crescendo leading to a call for action or a motivation for change. The audience should clearly be moved in some way by the emotion.
- Communicate a Feeling – a conclusion that moves an audience to positive changes in their lives or motivates the audience to action must communicate a feeling that audience can relate to. You, the speaker, must establish a psychological mood that listeners will carry with them from the event.
- Reinforce your message – repeating your central idea will help you hammer home the main idea of your speech to your audience. There are techniques you can employ to make this impactful:
A) Summarize your speech – restate the main points by using your conclusion as a summary.
B) End with a quotation of a famous or well-known individual; the quote should relate to your central idea and support it.
C) Make a dramatic statement – an over-the-top or exaggerated statement, in context, could create a lasting impression.
D) Appeal directly to your audience for action. By emphasizing a sense of urgency, loyalty, and fairness if action is taken would help to move the audience to direct action.
Other Conclusion Techniques
- Conclude with a metaphor– it helps to broaden the meaning of your speech
- Use humor at the conclusion – this leaves your listeners with good feelings about you and your speech.
- Close with a quotation – use a direct quote to end and attribute it to the author.
- Close with a rhetorical question – this would encourage thoughts about the points you have made as well as the overall central idea.
- Make your last words the most memorable – audiences remember what they have seen much longer than what they have heard, and they remember the last words they have heard much longer than the first.
Conclusion Tips
- Don’t offer apologies – nowhere in your speech should you apologize. If you’re nervous, missed a point, or made an error remark, don’t apologize; you draw attention to your flaws unnecessarily, and apologizing can weaken your speech.
- No new beginnings at the end – do not introduce a new idea, point, or material in the conclusion; doing so would confuse the audience, make your speech seem disorganized, and weaken your conclusion.
- Bring energy at the end – keep the same consistent high energy throughout the speech and at the conclusion; do not let your speech fizzle at the The audience should be left with a bang and not a whimper.
- Tie up the loose ends and put a bow on it – make sure you are not second-guessed; explain everything clearly and concisely and don’t leave anything to misinterpretation.
- Conclusion, should mean, conclusion – have one conclusion and end it quickly once you’ve signaled the end. Don’t be long-winded.
PART 4
THE OUTLINE
To keep your speech organized and provide structure, you must create an outline. The outline serves as a blueprint for your speech; it is NOT your scripted speech, but rather your speech guide and road map.
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- The outline helps to ensure that your related ideas are together.
- The outline helps your thoughts flow smoothly from one to another.
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- The outline helps you maintain speech coherency.
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- Preparation Outline
- Speaking Outline
THE PREPARATION OUTLINE:
The preparation outline helps you prepare the three major parts of the speech. You will decide what the introduction would include, what you will say and how you will say, it. You will decide how the main points, sub-points, and supporting material will be organized, and what you will say at the end in the conclusion.
The preparation outline is not used for delivering your speech, rather, it is useful for organizing your speech content so that you or someone else, such as a speech writer, a teacher, or a member responsible for your speech content, might be able to research essential visual/material support for the intended speech, thereby enabling you to prepare a speaking outline.
Preparation Outline Content (Chronological order)
» Title or Topic – essentially, your general speech topic.
» General Purpose – a brief two-worded, fragmented statement of the speech type.
» Introduction – a brief verbatim statement to introduce yourself, your topic, and your purpose.
» Specific Purpose – a specific statement that indicates why you are presenting the topic.
» Central Idea/Thesis statement – a statement that summarizes the main idea of your speech and provides us with your main points. This brief statement answers the Why of the specific purpose statement.
» Main points – brief statements that provide the argument or idea being presented on the topic. Each point must be labeled using either a general number or roman numeral.
» Sub Points – brief statements which support and follow directly under each of the main points being supported. Each sub-point must be labeled with either a letter or number.
» Transitions (between points) – a brief statement or word indicating the flow of the speech from one thought to another.
» Connectives – a thought or phrase that shows how the separate ideas within the speech are joined together.
» Conclusion – a brief verbatim statement to close the speech, wrapping up all loose ends.
» Bibliography – sources used as support for the speech content. These citations must be in the correct format.
The preparation outline content is used for both Informative and Persuasive speeches.
Guidelines for the Preparation Outline
» Use a consistent numbering pattern, either roman numerals or regular numbers; try not to mix the two, it may create confusion.
» Use a consistent and similar wording pattern for the main points.
» Label each part of the speech; ‘Main Point’, ‘Specific Purpose’, ‘Central Idea’, etc.
» The Specific Purpose statement is a brief but complete statement of 25-30 words or less.
There are five rules, with examples provided, for writing the SPECIFIC PURPOSE statement:
Ineffective:
More Effective:
Ineffective:
More Effective:
Calendars
To inform my audience about the four major kinds of calendars used in the world today.
Stem Cell Research
To persuade my audience that the federal government should increase funding for stem cell research.
Make sure your Specific Purpose is expressed as a Statement, NOT as a question.
Ineffective:
More Effective:
Ineffective:
More Effective:
What is Cinco de Mayo?
To inform my audience about the history of Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Is the U.S. space program necessary?
To persuade my audience that the U.S. space program provides many important benefits to people here on earth.
Ineffective:
More Effective:
Ineffective:
More Effective:
To inform my audience that meditation is really cool.
To inform my audience how meditation can improve their mental health.
To persuade my audience that the campus policy on roller-blading really stinks.
To persuade my audience that the campus policy on roller-blading should be revised.
Ineffective:
More Effective:
To persuade my audience to become proficient in more than one language and to donate time to Habitat for Humanity.
To persuade my audience to become proficient in more than one language.
OR
To persuade my audience to donate time to Habitat for Humanit.
Ineffective:
More Effective:
To inform my audience about the Civil war.
To inform my audience about the role of African American soldiers in the Civil War.
» The Central Idea statement is a brief but complete statement of 25-30 words or less.
THE CENTRAL IDEA
The following is a Central Idea (Thesis statement) sample for an Informative speech.
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Emergencies
To inform
To inform my audience of the major steps in responding to an emergency.
Central Idea:
The major steps in responding to an emergency are surveying the scene, contacting an emergency medical service, and starting CPR if needed.
The following is a Central Idea (Thesis statement) sample for a persuasive speech.
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Alternative-fuel vehicles
To Persuade
To persuade my audience that the federal government should speed up efforts to develop alternative-fuel vehicles.
Central Idea:
Developing alternative-fuel vehicles will help reduce American dependence on foreign oil and will help reduce air pollution.
Pay attention to the wording of the central idea statement, the amount of main points stated, and the order of each of those main points within the statement.
The Central Idea statement above identifies two main points when examined. Those main points are extracted below to provide you with correctly worded main point statements.
» The Main points are written as brief but complete statements of 20 to 25 words or less.
Main Point 1: One reason the Federal government should develop alternative–fuel vehicles is because it will help reduce American dependency on foreign oil.
Main Point 2: Another reason the Federal government should develop alternative–fuel vehicles is because it will help reduce air pollution.
» The Sub-points are written as brief but complete statements of 15 to 20 words or less.
Sub-points provide the factual and/or evidential support to the main point it falls under; therefore, sub-points are written after research is conducted.
» The Sub-point statements fall directly below the main point it supports.
Main Point 1: One reason the Federal government should develop alternative–fuel vehicles is because it will help reduce American dependency on foreign oil.
Sub-Point: A) Alternative-fuel vehicles provide savings of over $1000 a year and 100 gallons of gas over 10,000 miles
Main Point 2: Another reason the Federal government should develop alternative–fuel vehicles is because it will help reduce air pollution.
Sub-Point: A) Compared to conventional vehicles, electric vehicles provide zero tailpipe emissions.
» Before beginning the sub-point statement, indent 5 spaces. This format separates the main point from each of its sub-points and makes the outline easier to read.
» The Introduction & Conclusion are written out verbatim (word for word) as they will be stated in the presentation, and can be placed together on a separate page with each part clearly labeled.
The following are Preparation outline samples for informative speeches, formatted and worded based on the rules provided for writing both the informative and persuasive speech outlines.
Preparation Outline (Sample A- 4 main points)
PREPARATION OUTLINE
SAMPLE
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Central Idea:
Main Point 01:
Sub-Point:
Main point 02:
Sub-Point:
Main Point 03:
Sub-Point:
Main Point 04:
Sub-Point:
Pottery Making
To Inform
To inform my audience about the four major steps in making pottery.
The four steps in making pottery are preparing the clay, shaping the clay, decorating and glazing the clay, and firing the finished product.
The first step in making pottery is preparing the clay until it is soft and smooth.
A) The prepared clay should be the consistency of yogurt.
The second step in making pottery is shaping the clay to the desired form.
A) The malleable clay is shaped methodically using a machine.
The third step in making pottery is decorating and glazing the shaped clay.
A) The clay is carefully decorated and glazed using special tools.
The fourth step in making pottery is firing the finished product to make it hard and strong.
A) The pottery is sintered at temperatures above 930 degrees F.
Note
The Introduction and Conclusion are not included in this outline sample. Both the introduction and conclusion can be placed on one page, on separate pages, or inserted within the above preparation outline. Both are written verbatim as they would be delivered by the speaker.
If the introduction and conclusion are inserted in the outline as above, the Introduction should be placed after the General Purpose, and the Conclusion at the end of the outline after the last sub-point.
Preparation Outline (Sample B-3 main points with Introduction and Conclusion)
PREPARATION OUTLINE
SAMPLE
Topic:
General Purpose:
Introduction:
Specific Purpose:
Central Idea:
Main Point 01:
Sub-Point:
Main point 02:
Sub-Point:
Main Point 03:
Sub-Point:
Leonardo Da Vinci
To Inform
“Good Morning, my name is Don X, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today about Leonardo da Vinci, an accomplished painter who has also made indelible contributions in the area of astronomy and as a visionary inventor”.
To inform my audience about the accomplishments of Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo da Vinci was an accomplished painter, inventor, and astronomer.
As a painter, Leonardo da Vinci produced The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, and other masterpieces.
A) da Vinci was a master at composition and atmospheric illusionism.
As an inventor, Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for such devices as a parachute and a flying machine.
A) da Vinci’s inventive imagination was unrivaled.
As an astronomer, Leonardo da Vinci concluded that the earth revolves around the sun.
A) da Vinci, through his work, epitomized the Renaissance humanistic-ideal.
Conclusion
“In conclusion, to recap my three main points once again, Leonardo da Vinci, through his work as a painter, created lasting masterpieces still revered hundreds of years later. His insight as an inventor has inspired today’s airplane and conventional parachute, and finally, his work as an astronomer has inspired and led to many space explorations and discoveries”.
Preparation Outline (Sample C-2 main points with the Introduction and Conclusion on a separate page)
PREPARATION OUTLINE
SAMPLE
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Central Idea:
Main Point 01:
Sub-Point:
Main point 02:
Sub-Point:
Rap Music
To Inform
To inform my audience on two ways rap music has evolved over the decades.
Two ways in which rap music has evolved over the decades are: lyrically and in musical arrangement.
One way rap music has evolved is in its lyrical content.
A) Early rap lyrics commented on social issues.
B) Today’s rap lyrics focuse on drugs, sex, and money.
Another evolvement of rap music is in its musical arrangement.
A) Early rap music used sampled music of other recording artists as background accompaniment.
B) Today’s rap music feature popular singers performing original musical accompaniments.
Sample with the Introduction and Conclusion on one page:
INTRODUCTION:
Hi, my name is (state your name). Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today about (state your topic and thesis). At the conclusion of my speech, it is my hope that you would understand (state what each main point would unveil). Let’s get right to it. My first point (transition into the body of your speech beginning with the first main point).
Your introduction must be verbatim or scripted word for word according to what you will say in your introduction.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, I would like to once again recap my main points, which are (recap each main point). (State your drawn conclusion). Thank you for giving these points your attention and consideration. I would gladly welcome questions at this point.
Your conclusion must be verbatim or scripted word for word according to what you will say in your conclusion.
THE SPEAKING OUTLINE:
The Speaking Outline is a condensed version of your Preparation outline; its purpose is to help you remember what you want to say.
While the preparation outline structure remains intact, the wording changes drastically. You are allowed to use abbreviated sentences and statements.
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- Include key words or phrases to jog your memory instead of statements or long phrases.
- Include statistics & quotations; numbers and quotes you cite should be accurate. Therefore, it is a good idea to place these items on separate index cards for reference.
GUIDELINES
- Follow the visual frame work used in the preparation outline. Maintaining the same format helps you keep the speech organized and easy to follow.
- Make sure the outline is plainly legible. To do so, apply the following:
A) Use large lettering
B) Leave extra space between lines
C) Provide adequate margins
B) Write or type on 4 x 6 or 5 x 8 index cards
- Keep the outlines as brief as possible – you can use fragmented statements.
- Give yourself cues for delivering the speech, such as directions or key words:
A) You can do this by underlining or highlighting key ideas to be
B) You can write down specific cues (e.g. pause, repeat, slow down, louder etc).
USE SPEAKER’S NOTES
Speaker’s notes are the notations you make for transitioning from the introduction, through each main point in the body of the speech, finally to the closing of your speech.
As the speaker, what is of utmost importance is for you to be able to maintain a good flow from one point to the next, which means coherency throughout your speech.
Included below are a few additional tips you can apply to your speaking outline as you prepare.
While it is best to use index cards, if you end up using a loose leaf notebook, write the speaking outline in the notebook so the pages cannot be rearranged if dropped.
FOR INDEX CARDS
- Number the cards or pages and check the sequence before you commence speaking.
- Leave space between the headings and in the margins; this helps you to focus on the individual points in your outline.
- Use bold, dark, easy to read lettering, and write or type large enough so you can read the information at a glance.
- Use only one side of the paper; it saves time and prevents the confusion in having to flip a card.
- Never staple the cards or papers together; you want to be able to go through each card quickly and easily.
Below is an example of what you may see written on a 4 X 6 or 5 X 8 index card speaking outline.
You may, or may not include the titles such as Specific Purpose, Central Idea, Main points etc.
INDEX CARD 01
Opening slide:
Transitional slides (rap culture images, w/ rap music sounds, background)
INTRO:
Evolutions of RAP MUSIC
INDEX CARD 02
- Rap’s Lyrical evolution
- Rap’s Musical evolution
INDEX CARD 03
Transitional slides (juxtapose images new/old school rap lyrics side by side)
M P (I): Early/old school rap – Lyrical content
Supportive musical sounds/images: A) Social issue commentary in lyrics (show lyrics / play selected popular rap song(s))
INDEX CARD 04
Transitional slides (juxtapose images new/old school rap lyrics side by side)
Today’s/new school rap – Lyrical content
B) Drugs, sex, bling commentary in lyrics (show lyrics / play selected popular rap song )
INDEX CARD 05
Transitional slides (Images rap artiste & musician on stage)
M P (II): Early/old school rap – rap music arrangement (sampled)
Supportive musical sounds/images: A) Music sampling (sound w/image of artiste) (play original pre-sampled music ONLY)
segue to: (play rap song w/ sampled music)
INDEX CARD 06
Transitional slides (Images rap artiste & musician on stage)
Today’s/new school rap – rap music arrangement (performed)
Supportive musical sounds/images: B) Rap artiste performing song (sound w/image of artiste)
(play original rap song w/ featured singer)
INDEX CARD 07
CLOSE
Transitional slides (rap culture images, w/ rap music sounds, background)
See the actual speaking outline below which has been converted to the index cards above.
The following speaking outline sample is for you to see its resemblance to the preparation outline, but it is less wordy.
SPEAKING OUTLINE
SAMPLE
Topic:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Central Idea:
Main Point 01:
Sub-Point:
Main point 02:
Sub-Point:
Rap Music
To Inform
Transitional slides (rap culture images, w/ rap music sounds)
Two Evolutions of RAP MUSIC over the past two decades
- Rap’s Lyrical evolution
- Rap’s Musical evolution
Transitional slides (juxtapose image new/old school rap lyrics side by side)
Early/old school rap – Lyrical content
A) Social issue commentary in lyrics (show lyrics / play selected rap song(s) using popular rap artiste)
Today’s/new school rap – Lyrical content
B) Drugs, sex, bling commentary (show lyrics / play selected rap song(s) using popular rap artiste)
Transitional Slides (Images rap artiste & musician on stage)
Early/old school rap – rap music arrangement (sampled)
A) Music sampling (sound w/image of artiste)
(play original music pre-sampled) (play rap song w/ sampled music)
Today’s/new school rap – rap music arrangement
B) Rap artiste performing song
(sound w/image of artiste)
(play original rap song w/ featured singer)
The introduction and conclusion are not indexed as part of the speaking outline because both should be memorized and practiced to be delivered verbatim. The sample included is for you to have an idea of the content of each.
Introduction
Good afternoon, my name is Student X and thank you for this opportunity to speak about a very prominent topic, rap music. Rap music has surged into our mainstream cultural orbit, changing the musical landscape and revolutionizing our culture in the way we dress, dance, speak, and communicate with each other.
My concentration today will be on two ways rap music has evolved lyrically and musically from old school rap to new age rap.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would once again like to recap my two main points involving the evolution of rap music in the areas of lyrical content and musical arrangement.
In my first point, I covered how the lyrics of rap music moved from soft social issue commentary to lyrics glorifying sex, money, drugs, and sometimes hard core social issues. My second point discussed the movement from rapping over sampled music to rappers partnering with singers who would actually perform on originally created rap songs.
This concludes my speech and I thank you for listening. I would now entertain any questions you may have.
PART 5
SUMMARY
After this discussion on organizing your speech, you learned that structure is vital to a speech and to having a conversation. In fact, without structure, our lives would be simply chaotic.
There are three parts to the speech structure; the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. You learned what each part should accomplish.
Your introduction introduces you, the speaker, previews your speech content, and attempts to do all this in a captivating way. The body includes your main points; this is where you provide the core details of your speech, make internal connections from point to point, and external connections to members of a captivated audience, while attempting to clarify your point of view or position. The conclusion wraps up the speech, bringing it to a close, usually in a summary of your salient points.
You learned that having a well written, correctly worded, and formatted outline helps with structure. The two types of outlines are the Preparation and Speaking outlines.
The Preparation outline is a blue print of your entire speech and is useful for organizing your speech content. Keep in mind, it is not your scripted speech, rather, it provides your ideas in brief statements within a clearly formatted structure.
The Speaking outline is a condensed version of your preparation outline, similarly formatted, but instead of statements, the speaking outline consists of personalized abbreviated or bulleted notes, key words or phrases, notations for transitioning from the introduction, through the main points, finally to the close of the speech, and brief directional cues that would help jog your memory, as well as help you maintain a good flow and coherency to your speech.
Using index cards for your speaking outline during the actual speech, rather than 8 ½ X 11 sheets of paper with notes, is the most effective method of delivery; it is less cumbersome and distracting, and forces you to engage with your audience, rather than attempt to read a script to them.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Try to recall a movie or play you have seen or a book you have read in which the first few minutes of the opening scene captured your What was it about the appeal of that movie, play, or book that captured your imagination or held your attention? Discuss how you would translate that appeal to the opening of a speech.
- Why do you think structure is so vital when presenting a speech? Discuss the role you believe structure has played in your life and in major decisions you have made. How has it affected the outcome?
- Try to recall a movie or play you have seen or a book you have read in which the ending created lasting What was it about the conclusion or ending of that story that elicited the emotions you felt? Discuss how you would translate that appeal to the conclusion of a speech.
