Organizing the Body
of the Speech
Chapter 08
Organization is Important
• It is difficult to pay attention the speaker who ramble
aimlessly from one idea to another.
• Listeners can’t flip back to the expressed ideas of the
speaker and grasp his/her ideas.
• Speaker be sure that listeners can follow the ideas in
a speech from beginning to the end.
• So the ability to organize ideas more effectively for a
speech is very important.
• Speeches be organized strategically.
• A speech should be put together in a particular
way to achieve a particular result with a
particular audience.
• The first step of speech organization is to gain
command of the three basic parts of a speech
– Introduction
– Body
– Conclusion
• In this chapter we deal with the body of the
speech. (longest and most important part)
Main Points
• The major points developed in the body of a
speech. Most speeches contain from two to five
main points.
• You should select them carefully, phrase them
precisely, and arrange them strategically.
• Let’s say your specific purpose is “to inform my
audience of the basic steps in making glass
windows”. Then your main points will be “ steps
in the window making process”.
Number of Main Points
• If you have too many main points, the
audience will have trouble sorting them
out.
• When every thing is equally important.
• So try to limit them into two to five.
Strategic Order of Main Points
• Once you identify your main points, you need to
decide in what order you will present them.
• It will affect both the clarity and persuasiveness
of your ideas.
• The most effective order depends on three
things
– Your topic
– Your purpose
– Your audience
Five Basic Patterns of Organization
Chronological Order
• A method of speech organization in which the
main points follow a time pattern.
• They may narrate a series of events in the
sequence in which they happened.
• Use to explain a process or to demonstrate how
to do something.
• Especially useful for informative speeches.
Spatial Order
• A method of speech organization in which
the main points follow a directional
pattern.
• The main points proceed from top to
bottom, left to right, front to back, inside
to outside or some other route.
• Most suitable for informative speeches.
Causal Order
• A method of speech organization in which
the main points show a cause – effect
relationship.
• According to the topic, you can first deal
with causes and then with effects, or first
with effects and then with causes.
• Used for both persuasive and informative
speeches.
Problem Solution Order
• A method of speech organization in which
the first main point deals with the
existence of a problem and the second
main point presents a solution to the
problem.
• Most appropriate for persuasive
speeches.
Topical Order
• A method of speech organization in which the
main points divide the topic into logical and
consistent subtopics.
• The main points are simply parts of above four
organizational methods.
• Because it is applicable to almost any subject
and to any kind of speech, topical order is used
more than any other method of speech
organization.
Tips for Preparing Main Points
• Keep main points separate.
• Try to use the same pattern of
wording for main points.
• Balance the amount of time
devoted to main points.
Supporting Materials
• The materials used to support a
speaker’s ideas.
• The three major kinds of supporting
materials are examples, statistics and
testimony.
Connectives
• A word or phrase that connects the ideas of a
speech and indicates the relationship between
them.
• Without connectives, a speech is disjointed and
dis- coordinated.
• Four types of speech connectives are
– Transitions
– Internal previews
– Internal summaries
– Signposts
• Transitions – a word or phrase that indicates
when a speaker has finished one thought
and is moving on to another. Let me share,
I’ve spoken so far of
• Internal previews – a statement in the body
of the speech that lets the audience know
what the speaker is going to discuss next. It
will help listeners to keep track of your
ideas.
• Internal summaries – a statement in
the body of the speech that
summarizes the speaker’s preceding
point or points.
• Signposts – a very brief statement
that indicates whether a speaker is in
the speech or that focuses attention
on key ideas.
• Depending on the needs of your
speech, you may want to use two,
three or four kinds of connectives
in combination.