Organizing and Outlining
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This outline consists of Four parts; The Header, The Introduction, The
Body, and The Conclusion. Before you start writing your speech you
should make an outline using these 4 headings and their sub headings.
1. Header
Topic
Decide on your topic.
Audience
Analyze your audience. What do they already know about your topic? Are
they interested in the topic?
Refine and limit topic
Based on your analysis of the audience you may need to slightly change
you topic, by either changing the focus, or the scale of the topic.
Purpose Statement
Write down a clear statement of what it is you intend to achieve. What is
the purpose of your speech.
For example; The purpose of this speech is to inform the audience how to
travel in Japan without spending to much money.
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Organizational Method or Pattern
There is no single way to organize a speech. The pattern
you will select will be determined by the information you
have and the specific purpose you want to achieve. There
are six basic patterns for organizing a speech:
Logical or topical
Chronological
Spatial
Classification
Problem-Solution
Cause-effect
Once you have completed these five parts of the 'Header',
you are then ready to start planning the speech itself.
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2. Introduction
Greeting and Attention getter
How will you greet the audience? How will you get the audience's attention? Think of a
sentence that will make the audience sit up and listen.
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Thesis Statement
The 'purpose statement' is where you simply state what your goal is. However, it is not
possible to use this in the speech. You need to convert it to a 'thesis statement'. A thesis statement
is one sentence in the introduction in which you declare your purpose and topic.
For example, a thesis statement of the above purpose statement would be; 'Traveling in Japan
need not be an extravagance.'
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Credibility
If the audience do not know who you are, you will not only need to introduce yourself, but
you will also need to 'establish your credibility'. This means you will have to explain to the
audience why you are 'qualified' to speak about the subject.
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Outline of main the points - overview
What are your main points?
Why?
Tell your audience why you think your presentation will be useful to them.
3. The body
Transition
Think of a sentence that will make it clear to the audience that
you have finished the introduction, and are now about to start the
body of the speech.
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Main points and ideas
Main ideas Supporting ideas
Details & Examples Visuals
Write your main points and ideas here What ideas will you tell
the audience to support your main points?
What details or
examples do you have? Will you have any visuals to help
explain your points?
main ideas = sub-topics
supporting ideas = sub-sub topics
evidence = details and examples
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4. The conclusion
Transition
Think of a sentence that will make it clear to the audience that you have
finished the body and are now coming to the end of the speech.
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Restatement of main points
Summarize your main ideas and think of which piece of information you
really want the audience to remember.
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Closer
Think of a final sentence to help the audience remember your speech.
Note that the presentation outline is not a word-for-word script for the
speech but an outline of ideas to serve as an organizational and presentation
tool for the speaker.
Once you have finished the outline you are then ready to start writing.
Main Points, Supporting Points,
and Transitions
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Main points express the key ideas and major themes of the
speech.
Using purpose and thesis statements as guide posts.
– Specific purpose statement expresses the goal of the
speech.
– Thesis statement expresses the theme or central idea of
the speech.
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Some stats about main points.
– Audiences listen to only 2-7 at one time.
– They remember only those made in beginning and end
of speech.
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A main point should only introduce one idea.
They should also be stated in parallel form
– Points should be stated in similar grammatical form and
style.
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Always express your main points as declarative
sentences.
Supporting Points
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supporting material or evidence used to justify the main
points and lead your audience to accept the purpose of
your speech.
They are subordinate to main points.
Principles of Organizing Main
and Supporting Points
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Unity
– Avoid tangents, or moving off topic.
Coherence
– Refers to clarity and logical consistency.
– Do not jump around to different parts of the speech.
– Principle of coordination and subordination
Balance
– Give equal weight to each point you make.
Transitions: Giving Direction to
the Speech
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Transitions defined
Types of transitions
– Full-sentence transitions
– Rhetorical questions
• “Will contests be too
expensive? Well, actually…”
– Internal Preview
• Dayane Souza has overcome
many difficulties, and
throughout all of this she has
still managed to complete a
master’s degree, work a full
time job, and care for a family.
• “Next, let’s look at exactly
what sales contests can do for
us.”
– Signposts
• Next,… First,… We now
turn… finally,…
– Internal Summary
– Restate-forecast form
• “Now that we’ve established a
need for sales contests, let’s
look at what sales contests can
do for us.”
• It should be clear that an
education is very important in
today’s society. Now,
employers are even looking to
hire only individuals with
masters degrees and beyond.
Arranging Speech Points
Topically
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Topical pattern of arrangement
• I. Cultural variety
• II. Economy
• III. Recreational Activities
– This type of arrangement gives speaker greatest freedom to
structure main points according to the audience’s interests.
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Arranging Speech Points
Chronologically
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Chronological pattern of arrangement
– Needs a time ordered sequence of events.
Thesis statement:
Main Points: I.
II.
III.
Arranging Speech Points Using a
Spatial Pattern
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A spatial pattern of arrangement
– When your speech provides the audience with a
“tour” of a particular place.
• Thesis statement: El Morro National Monument in
New Mexico is captivating for its variety of natural
and historical landmarks.
– I. Visitors first see an abundant variety of plant life native
to the high-country desert.
– II. Soon visitors come upon an age-old watering hole that
has receded beneath the 200-foot cliffs.
Arranging Speech Points Using
a Causal Pattern
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Causal (cause-effect)  Multiple causes for a
pattern of arrangement single Effect: reasons
students drop out of
– Cause
college
– Effect
– Cause 1 (lack of funds)
– Cause 2 (unsatisfactory
social life)
– Cause 3 (unsatisfactory
academic performance)
– Effect (drop out of
college)
Arranging Speech Points Using a
Problem-Solution Pattern
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Problem-solution pattern of arrangement
– Two main points used:
• Problem (define what it is)
• Solution (offer a way to overcome the problem)
– More than two main points:
• The nature of the problem (identify its causes,
incidence, etc.)
• Effects of the problem (explain why it’s a problem, for
whom, etc.)
• Unsatisfactory solutions (discuss those that have not
worked)
• Proposed solution (explain why it’s expected to work)
Alternative Patterns of
Organization
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Narrative Pattern of
Arrangement
– Speech consists of a
story or a series of
short stories, complete
with characters,
settings, and a plot.
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Circle Pattern of
Arrangement
– To demonstrate how
one idea leads to
another and then
another, all of which
lead back to the speech
thesis.
Types of Outline Formats
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Working outline
– Preparation or rough outline
Speaking outline
– Delivery outline, the one you will use when practicing
and presenting your speech.
Steps in Organizing and
Outlining the Speech
Create the main speech points
Note any obvious subpoints
Select an organizational pattern
Flesh out the main points with subpoints
(supporting Material)
Create a working outline using full sentences
Transfer the working outline to a speaking outline using
phrases or key words
Types of Outlines
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Sentence Outlines
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– Each main and supporting point is
stated in sentence form as a full
declarative sentence.
– Usually used when:
• Speaker is inexperienced
• When the issue is highly
controversial or emotion- laden
for listeners.
• When the material is highly
technical and exact sentence
structure is critical
• When a good deal of material
relies on quotations and facts
from another source.
Phrase Outlines
– Uses a partial construction
of the sentence form of each
point.
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Key-Word Outlines
– Uses the smallest possible
units of understanding
associated with a specific
point to outline the main
and supporting points.