Chapter 3 12 Organizing the Speech Organizing the

Chapter 3. 12: Organizing the Speech

Organizing the Speech • Organizing the speech (arrangement) is the strategic process of deciding how to order speech points into a coherent and convincing pattern for your topic and audience. • Speech is composed of three general parts – Introduction- establishes the purpose of the speech and shows relevance to the audience – Body- presents main points that are intended to fulfill the speech purpose – Conclusion- ties the purpose and the main points together.

Main Points • Main points – the key ideas and major themes of the speech; – use the specific purpose and thesis statements as guides to help generate main points – Restrict number of main points (2 to 5) – Limit and narrow main points • Restrict to a single idea – Main points should be stated in parallel form (similar grammatical form and style) whenever possible (pg. 193) – Main points should reflect back to the purpose statement to keep the audience on track

Supporting Points: Substantiating the Claim • Supporting points represent the supporting material you have gathered to fill out or justify the main points and lead the audience to accept the purpose of the speech. – Supporting points appear in subordinate position to main points – indicated by indentation on outline. – The roman numeral outline is the most common format

Principles of Organizing main and supporting points • A well-organized speech is characterized by unity, coherence, and balance. – A speech exhibits unity when it contains only those points that are implied by the purpose and thesis statement. – Coherence refers to clarity and logical consistency. • Coherence can be ensured by adhering to the principle of coordination and subordination- the logical placement of ideas relative to their importance to one another. – The principle of balance suggests that appropriate emphasis or weight be given to each part of the speech relative to the other parts and to theme.

Transitions • Transitions are words, phrases, or sentences that tie the speech ideas together and enable the speaker to move smoothly from one point to the next. – Full-sentence transitions are effective when moving from one main point to another (pg. 98) – Conjunctions or phrases (signposts) can be effective (pg. 99) – Restate-forecast form- the transition restates the point just covered and previews the point to be covered next (pg. 99) – Transitions can also be stated as rhetorical questions-do not invite actual responses (pg. 102) – Previews are transitions that tell the audience what to expect next. • The preview statement describes what will be covered in the body of the speech • In the body, internal previews can be used to alert audience members to ensuring main points. • The internal summary draws together ideas before proceeding to another speech point.

Chapter 3. 13: Selecting an Organizational Arrangement

Types of Organizational Arrangements • Arranging speech points topically- the topical pattern of arrangement (categorical pattern) is used when each of the main points is a subtopic or category of the speech topic • Arranging speech points chronologically- the chronological pattern of arrangement (temporal pattern) follows the natural sequential order of the main points • Arranging speech points using a spatial pattern- the spatial pattern of arrangement suggests that main points be arranged in order of their physical proximity or direction relative to each other • Arranging speech points using a causal (cause-effect) pattern- the speaker relates something known to be a “cause” to its “effects: ” known as a causal (cause-effect) pattern of arrangement • Arranging speech points using a problem-solution pattern- the problem-solution pattern of arrangement organizes main points both to demonstrate the nature and significance of a problem and to provide justification for a proposed solution

Types of Organizational Arrangements • Arranging speech points using a narrative pattern- the narrative pattern of arrangement consists of a story or a series of short stories, replete with characters, settings, plot, and vivid imagery. • Arranging the speech points using a circular pattern- circular pattern of arrangement, the speaker develops one idea, which leads to another, which leads to a third, and so on, until he/she arrives back at the speech thesis.

Chapter 3. 14: Outlining the Speech • Plan on creating two outlines – A working outline (preparation outline) helps you refine and finalize the specific purpose and thesis statements, firm up and organize main points, and develop supporting materials to substantiate them. – A speaking outline (delivery outline) is used when practicing and presenting the speech. • Ideas in condensed form

Types of Outline Formats • The sentence outline format- each main point and supporting point is stated in sentence form as a declarative sentence • The phrase outline format- uses partial construction of the sentence form of each point, instead of using complete sentences that present precise wording for each point. • The key-word outline format uses the smallest possible units of understanding associated with a specific point to outline the main and supporting points.

Create a working outline first • Separate the introduction and conclusion from the body – Prepare the body first • List your sources • Create a title

Prepare the speaking outline • Condense full sentences into key words • Clearly indicate delivery cues – Delivery cues are brief reminder notes • Practice the speech • See page 121 for detailed steps