Organizing, Researching, Supporting
Presentations that have the goal of
increasing others’ knowledge,
understanding, or abilities.
Type
Sample specific purpose
Demonstration
To show listeners how to construct an outline
Instruction
To teach listeners how to perform CPR
Description
To describe the people and land of Nepal
Explanation
To explain why (or how) hurricanes form
Briefing
To summarize the results of our new marketing strategy
Reporting
To provide detailed information on the results of our
new marketing strategy
1. Provide listeners with a clear thesis statement.
2. Connect with listeners’ values and
experiences.
3. Motivate listeners to want information.
4. Incorporate diverse perspectives.
5. Organize so listeners can follow easily.
6. Design your speech to enhance learning and
retention.
7. Involve listeners.
8. Use effective and ethical supporting materials.
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Limit the information you present.
Move from familiar to unfamiliar.
Repeat important ideas.
◦ Repetition is a powerful way to increase
retention.
1. Persuasive speeches tend to have more
controversial purposes.
2. Persuasive speeches seek more powerful
responses from listeners.
3. Persuasive speeches require greater
degrees of proof.
4. Persuasive speeches require earning
greater amounts of credibility.
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Adapt to the audience
Find research
Stress vocal variety
Avoid persuasion
Aid in comprehension
Recall information
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Generate a need
for the
information
Create information
relevance
Provide a fresh
perspective
Focus on the
unusual
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2005
8
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Chronological Order: the order in which
events happen in time
Used for giving directions, showing
how things are made, explaining the history
of something
Example: I want to explain the five
stages in the evolution of the bicycle.
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Spatial Order: the organization of things
according to their position in space.
Used for describing places, objects,
etc.
Example: I want to describe the three
levels of the community center.
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Topical Order: a topic is broken down into
parts that are arranged in an order
determined by the speaker.
Used to examine parts of a whole, a
series of reasons or a list of major features.
Example: I want to discuss three
measures of the strength of the United
States as a world power.
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Climactic Order: arranges items
according to their importance, usually
begins with the least important item of
information.
Example: I want to explain three
requirements for being a good football
coach.
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Cause-and-Effect Order: information is
arranged to show the results of specific
conditions.
Example: I want to explain the relationship
between an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity.
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Comparison-and-Contrast: items arranged to
show similarities and differences
Example: I want my audience to
understand the similarities and differences
between the major universities in our state.
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Take a moment to consider the six ways to
organize your speech.
Look back at your specific purpose. Do any
of the patterns stand out as a way you
would like to present your information?
Ask a neighbor what pattern they might
apply to your topic/purpose.
Decide your final organizational pattern
before you leave today.
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Determine whether the statements are FACT
or OPINION.
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Fact - tells something that is known to be
true, or something that really happened; a
fact is something that can be proven with
evidence.
Opinion - statements that someone believes,
thinks, or feels.
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Does the author use words that interpret or
label, such as: pretty, ugly, safe, dangerous,
evil, attractive, well-dressed, good, and so
on?
Are there words that clue you to statements
of opinion, such as: probably, perhaps,
usually, often, sometimes, on occasion, I
believe, I think, in my opinion, I feel, I
suggest?
Why is this important?
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A complete argument includes a claim,
evidence and reasoning.
You will provide three “arguments” in your
main points, and each needs to be
complete.
Claim: point you are trying to prove.
Evidence: supporting material
Reasoning: explains how the evidence
proves the claim.
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Definition: states the meaning a speaker is using
for a term/symbol
Example (Illustration): gives a real or hypothetical
case to illustrate
Narration (Anecdotes): describes a scene or event,
often a brief/amusing story
Exposition (Description): gives the steps in a
process
Citation (Quotation): states directly or indirectly
someone else’s ideas
Statistics: states facts dealing with quantities
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Source reliability: qualifications
Consensus: the accepted opinion of a
majority of the experts
Recency
Controversy
Audience: is it meaningful
Context: use the whole quote
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You will need to cite all of your sources.
Internet citation: date, web address, author’s
name, year written, page name
Minimum of three sources required
Minimum of three supporting materials
required. Hint: try to vary your evidence.
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What makes a valid web source?
How do we cite it?