Public Speaking:
An Audience-Centered Approach – 7th edition
Chapter 9
Organizing
Your
Speech
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Steven A. Beebe & Susan J. Beebe
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
“Organized
thought
is the
basis of
organized
action.”
- Alfred North Whitehead
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
•
•
•
•
•
•
Topically.
Chronologically.
Spatially.
Cause & Effect.
Problem & Solution.
Acknowledging Cultural
Differences in Organization.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Organizing Ideas Topically
•
•
•
Ideas naturally divide.
Ideas cover types of topics.
Ideas broken down by:
 Recency (save most
memorable point for last).
 Primacy (first point is most
convincing).
 Complexity (simple to complex
points).
 Speaker decisions (on what
themes should be points).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Topically
Benefits of
bilingual education
I. Cultural
II. Intellectual
III. Professional
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Types of living
arrangements for
college students
Dormitory
Apartment
Fraternity/Sorority
Home
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Ordering Ideas Chronologically
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•
•
•
Ideas arranged based
on sequence of steps.
Ideas need to be
arranged in
specific order.
History speeches.
“How to” speeches
(process).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Chronologically
Stripping paint
From furniture
I. Prepare surface
II. Apply chemicals
III. Remove with
scraper
IV. Clean and sand.
Evolution
of Rock & Roll
I. 1960’s Rock & Roll
II. 1970’s Rock & Roll
III. 1980’s Rock & Roll
IV. 1990’s Rock & Roll
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Arranging Ideas Spatially
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•
•
When each idea has a
specific location or
direction.
Can focus on different
parts of a building,
organization,
machine, etc.
Can examine different
regions of a city, nation,
continent, etc.
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Organizing Your Main Ideas
Spatially
Regions impacted by
Hurricane Katrina
I.
II.
II.
IV.
New Orleans
State of Louisiana
State of Mississippi
State of Alabama
Places to study
on campus
I. Classrooms
II. Student Union
III. Libraries
IV. Computer Labs
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Organizing Ideas to show
Cause and Effect
•
•
•
Ideas show relationship
between certain factors
and certain results.
From effect to cause.
From cause to effect.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Cause and Effect
Effect to Cause
I.
II.
Huge
national
debt
(Effect)
Government
overspending.
(Cause)
Cause to Effect
I.
II.
Increased
pollution
emissions
(Cause)
Warmer global
climate
(Effect)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Organizing Ideas by
Problem & Solution
•
•
•
A relationship
between something that is
wrong, and how it can be corrected.
From problem to solution.
From solution to problem.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Problem and Solution
Problem to Solution
Solution to Problem
I.
Increased crime
on college campuses
(Problem)
II.
Stricter enforcement of II.
Campus Security Act.
Assign student ID #’s.
Use key cards in
II.
buildings
(Solutions)
II.
III.
I.
Service learning
benefits students & the
community (Solution)
Cities have a lack of
volunteers for social
service agencies.
Students are not
getting real world
experience (Problems)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Organizing Your Main Ideas
Acknowledging Cultural
Differences in Organization
U.S.
Speakers
• More linear.
• More direct.
Semitic
Speakers
• More likely
to pursue
tangents.
• May appear
“off topic.”
Asian
Speakers
• More likely
to be
circuitous.
• Not as
direct.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Romance
and Russian
Speakers
• Start with
a basic
principle.
• Gradually
connect to
a main
point.
Subdividing Your Main Ideas
•
•
Arrange main points
with one pattern, and
subpoints with
another pattern.
Consider how ideas
naturally divide; those
logical divisions will determine
the types of patterns to follow.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Subdividing Your Main Ideas
An example:
I.
II.
Problems with campus parking
A. Parking in East Halls
B. Parking in North Halls
C. Parking in Admin Central
Solutions to the problems
A. This year: Expand Campus
lots on Memorial Street.
B. Next year: Renovate
Woodbury Garage
C. Third year: Finalize joint
ownership of the city garage.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
(Problem
and Solution)
(Spatial)
(Problem
and Solution)
(Chronological)
Integrating Your
Supporting Material
•
•
Write notes for supporting
material on note cards.
Place each note card
under the idea that
it supports.
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Organizing Your
Supporting Material
By primacy
Give the most
powerful support first.
By recency
Save the strongest
support for last.
Give more detailed support
first, or at the end.
Begin with
simple support.
Begin with opinions & inferences.
End with facts & statistics.
By specificity
By complexity
By “soft” &
“hard” evidence
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Developing Signposts
• Ways of moving from idea to idea.
• Types:
 Transitions (indicate changes):
 Verbal- “first, next, therefore, etc.”
 Nonverbal- pause, change in pitch,
walk to another location, etc.
 Previews (indicate what comes next).
 Summaries (review what was said):
 Final Summaries (review all points).
 Internal Summaries (review portions
inside body).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Supplementing Signposts
with Presentation Aids
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•
•
Overhead transparencies
could signal the next idea.
Showing slides can signal
movements from one idea
to the next.
Playing a video can preview
the next point.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009