Week 11 & 12
Speech
Organization
for Informative
Speech
Why Speech Organization is
Important




It allows you and the listeners to see what ideas you
have and to put mental “hands” on the most
important ones.
Listeners who hear a well-organized speech believe
a speaker to be much more competent and
trustworthy.
Listeners demand coherence. A speaker must make
sure listeners can follow the progression of ideas in
a speech from beginning to end.
Using a clear and specific method of speech
organization can boost your confidence as a
speaker and improve your ability to deliver a
message fluently.
Organizational Outline
The Introduction of Your Speech
1. Capture the attention of your audience.
2. Authenticate the value ‘What’s in it for
me?” .
3. Prove your credibility.
4. Reveal the topic of your speech.
5. Preview the body of the speech.
Connecting with the audience
 It was reported that Professor Osterweis taught
students two main lessons. "First, you have to have
substance - values and principles that are worth
conserving. Then you have to communicate with them
in a way that makes the audience feel that they have
ownership of the ideas. It's almost like you have to
become part of the crowd, and have them go away
adopting the ideas as their own."
 Key Lesson: Make sure to connect with your audience
with eye-contact, appropriate language, personal
stories, and warm personality. The ideas you're talking
about are not as important as your own personality.
It's the Messenger, not the message.
How to Get the Attention & Interest
of Your Audience







Relate the topic to your audience, why they should be
interested (what’s in it for them), why you are talking
about it (experience/qualifications/credibility)
Startle the audience with an arresting or intriguing
statement.
Refer to a shocking statistic.
Question the audience.
Begin with a quotation.
Tell a story.
Ask audience to imagine themselves in a situation.
Central Idea
Phrasing the Central Idea/Thesis
Statement
A sentence that focuses your audience’s
attention on the central point of your
speech.
Usually in the introduction of your speech
Example 1: “The three major kinds of
witchcraft practiced today are black
magic, sorcery, and satanism.”
Example 1
 Topic: Emergencies
 General Purpose: To inform
 Specific Purpose:
To inform my audience of the major steps in
responding to emergency.
 Central Idea:
The three major steps in responding to an emergency
are surveying the scene, contacting an emergency
medical service, and starting CPR if needed.
The Body of Your Speech
3 Elements in the
Speech Body
1. Main points
2. Supporting points
3. Connectives
Main Points and Organizational
Pattern
 Select them carefully.
 Phrase them precisely.
 Organize them strategically.
1. Chronological order
2. Spatial order
3. Causal order
4. Topical order
5. Problem solving order
Example of Chronological Order
Specific purpose: To inform my audience of the steps in getting a
professional tattoo.
Central idea: There are four main steps in getting a professional
tattoo.
Main points:
I.
First, the skin is shaved and sterilized in the area to be
tattooed.
II.
Second, the main lines of the tattoo are traced on the skin
with a machine called an outliner.
III.
Third, colored pigments are applied inside the outline with a
machine called a shader.
IV.
Fourth, the tattoo is sterilized and bandaged.
Example of Spatial Order
Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the design
of the Eiffel Tower.
Central idea: The Eiffel Tower is divided into three sections.
Main points:
I.
The lowest section of the tower contains the
entrance, a gift shop and a restaurant.
II.
The middle section of the tower consists of stairs and
elevators that lead to the top.
III. The top section of the tower includes an observation
deck with a spectacular view of Paris.
Example of Causal Order
Specific purpose: To inform my audience of the possible
causes of the unusual occurrences in the Bermuda
Triangle.
Central idea: The causes of the unusual occurrences in the
Bermuda Triangle have not yet been fully explained.
Main points:
I.
Many unusual occurrences have taken place in the
Bermuda Triangle.
II.
Experts have advanced three major explanation
about the causes of these unusual occurrences.
Example of Topical Order
Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the
uses of lasers.
Central idea: Lasers harness the power of light for a
wide range of uses.
Main points:
I.
Lasers have many important uses in science.
II. Lasers have become indispensable to industry.
III. Lasers are revolutionizing the practice of
medicine.
Supporting Points
 Supporting materials are backup ideas
for the main points.
 Directly support and are relevant to the
main points.
Example
I.
II.
Millions of people suffer from headaches.
A. People have put up with headaches since the beginning
of recorded history.
B. More than 20 percent of Americans have severe,
recurring headaches.
There are several causes of headaches.
A. Most headaches are caused by tension.
B. Some headaches are caused by irregularities in the blood
vessels.
C. Other headaches are caused by specific illness, such as
cold and sinus infections .
Supporting Materials
 Examples
 a specific instance that represents some larger
class
 Relevance? Enough instances? Typical example?
Counterexamples?
 Facts
 something that is verifiable as true
 Reliable source? Verifiable? Recent? Consistent?
Supporting Materials
 Statistics
 numerical summaries of data that are classified in
a meaningful way
 Reliable source? Unbiased questions?
Representative sample? Meaning of “average”?
 Expert opinion
 a quotation from someone with special
credentials in the subject matter
 Source expertise? Reliability? Bias?
Supporting Materials
 Description
 a word picture of something
Accurate? Vivid?
 Explanation
 an account, interpretation, or meaning
given to something
Clear? Accurate?
Supporting Materials
 Narrative
 an extended story that is fully developed
with characters, scene, action, and plot
 Probability (internal
coherence/believability)?
 Fidelity (close to real-life experiences)?
Finding Support
Research is the process of gathering
supporting materials
 Library
 Internet
 Interviews
Connectives












Firstly, we’re going to …
Let me begin by …
I would like to start by …
Let me briefly take you through what we’ll be looking at today.
If we take a look at this slide …
As you can see from this graph …
Another area of consideration …
Let’s change direction for a moment …
Finally, …
So what have we looked at so far? Well …
Thank you for listening so patiently.
Now, does anyone have any questions?
Connectives: Transition
 Transitions are used to indicate movement from a
completed thought to a new thought. Transitions indicate
what idea is being left and what idea is coming up
Example:
 We have spent a lot of time talking the problem. It’s time
now to discuss the solution.
 Now that we have seen that the habitual voice can be
affected by vocal abuse, allow me to explain how the
situation can be reversed.
Connectives: Internal Previews
 Internal previews direct the audience to what areas will be
covered next. Internal previews generally appear once the
speaker has finished a transition and after a new main
point. The speaker simply previews the subpoints which
make up the point being addressed.
Example:
 (Transition) Now that we have seen serious the problem
of missing children is, let’s take a look at some solutions.
(Internal preview) I will focus on three in particular –
stronger legal custody laws to …and…Let’s consider
them in turn.
Connectives: Internal Summaries
 Internal summaries are the opposite of the internal preview.
Rather than indicating what subpoints are to follow in the
speech, internal summaries remind the listeners what
subpoints have been discussed. Internal summaries are
excellent ways to reinforce and clarify ideas which are
essential for the audience to remember
Example:
 In going back over the effects of …
 In essence, by learning to breathe properly, finding the
optimum pitch of your speaking voice, and allowing your
chest to do the work, you will eliminate vocal abuse forever.
Connectives: Signposts
 Signposts are short statements which tell the audience
where the speaker is in the speech. Signposts are
usually numbers of words which suggest the
importance of what the speaker is about to say.
Example:
 The first cause…
 The final contributing cause is…
 The most important thing that I would like to..
The Conclusion of Your Speech
1.
Signal the end of the speech by using cues like:
•
•
2.
Ending words
Voice characteristics – tone, pace, rhythm
Reinforce the central idea by:
•
•
•
•
Restating the main points.
Emphasize what you want your audience to do or think.
Use a quotation or dramatic statement, if appropriate.
Refer to the introduction.
“ A speech is like a love affair, any fool can start one but to end it
requires considerable skill.”