Impromptu Speech!
Let’s get started!
But wait! Let’s go over outlines!
How to Write an
Outline
Organizing your Information
Title your Outline
O Give your outline a title that matches your
thesis statement.
O For example:
People Should Not Buy Puppies
from Pet Stores
Roman Numerals, ABC’s, and
1,2,3’s
O Start with your main ideas. Use Roman numerals for
the BIGGEST ideas.
O Write out roman numerals up to 10
O The next biggest ideas get capital letters.
O Under those, we use 1,2,3’s
O For our smallest parts, we use lower case letters.
First Main Idea
O Pick your first main idea, and start off with a Roman
Numeral I with a period and 2 spaces after it, like this…
I.
Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
(You don’t need a period or a complete sentence.)
Support Your Main Idea
O Use a capital letter for your first main
support. Indent for each level you go down
from the main idea.
I.
Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
A. Inhumane conditions in mills
No A’s without B’s, or 1’s
without 2’s, etc.
O You must have at least 2 points if you go to
the next level.
I.
Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
A. Inhumane conditions in mills
B. Unhealthy puppies
Add more support to each
idea, as needed
I.
Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
A. Inhumane conditions in mills
1. females bred too often
2. crowded conditions
3. often unsanitary
If you need more details, add
lower case letters
I.
Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
A. Inhumane conditions in mills
1. females bred too often
a. Unhealthy for mother and
puppies
When you finish your first
main idea…
O Start again with Roman number II.
II.
Not bred for personality
A. May be harder to train
1. too much time in crates
2. may be more aggressive
B. May suffer from anxiety
Each idea MUST support
the one above it.
O NOT:
I. Get dogs from puppy mills
A. Labrador Retrievers currently
most popular breed in U.S.
(We’re talking about puppy mills – not breeds.)
Complete Outline
O Be sure all of your ideas are on your outline
O Outlines contain ideas, not complete facts or quotes
O Outlines can contain notes such as “quote from USA
Today about breeding” to show where your quotes
belong
Example
I. Pet stores get dogs from puppy mills
A. Inhumane conditions in mills
1. Females bred too often
a. Unhealthy for mothers
and puppies
b. Quote from CNN about
frequency of breeding
Review
Title to match thesis
Thesis (Intro)
II. Main points use Roman numerals
A. All numbers and letters are followed by a period and
2 spaces
B. Indent with each new level
1. Roman numerals
2. Capital letters
3. Numbers
4. Lowercase letters
I.
In a group, try to put outline in
order.
Great. Now let’s just
brainstorm.
O Generate a list of nouns. Be different/interesting:
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Step 2. Develop quick thinking!
O Come up with as many words you can that
associate with at least 6 of these nouns
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Now, Write an outline
O Develop a speech off of one noun and the
associated words. You can develop a
persuasive speech, informative, opinion
based, advice based…
O You need to have at least three main points
and several sub points under each.
O Share!
Impromptu Reflection
O What was easy, fun, or difficult about this
O
O
O
O
type of speech?
What would you do differently if you did this
speech again?
When might you use impromptu speaking?
What could you do to improve your
impromptu skills?
Whose speech did you like and why?