M7 Organizing the Speech (1)

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech UNIT – 7:ORGANIZING SPEECH Structure 7.0 Learning objective 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Organizing patterns 7.3 Outlining a speech 7.4 Types of outline 7.5 Purpose of a speech 7.6 Composition of a speech 7.7 Transition 7.8 Summary 7.9 Glossary 7.10 References 7.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVE After studying this unit, you will be able to: ● Explain Organization Pattern ● State types of Outlines ● Explain the Purpose of speech ● Illustrate composition of speech Page 1 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech 7.1 INTRODUCTION Speech organization is effectively taking the information one wishes to present and arranging it in a logical order. It comes down to two things: credibility and audience understanding. You want your speech to be organized because it will be more enjoyable, easier to understand, and add credibility to both you and the speech itself. Oh, don't forget, people will also remember the information better if it is organized. In this module, we will look at how organizing your speech can help make it more effective and at methods of organizing a speech, which also can boost effectiveness. Organizing speeches serves two important functions.  First, organization helps improve clarity of thought in a systematic way.  Second, organization increases the likelihood that the speech will be effective. There is a strategy in play. Information that is organized using the main idea followed by main points and other details is easier to understand. When the information in a speech flow, the audience will more likely pay attention. It also shows credibility and thorough knowledge of the topic. Just like writing a term paper, your speech should begin with the main idea or the central purpose of the speech. Audiences are unlikely to understand disorganized speeches and even less likely to think that disorganized speakers are reliable or credible. Having the main idea allows you to immediately focus your speech. Think about what you want the audience to walk away with. How you develop your speech will help you ensure that your audience will understand your speech. It will also allow you to ensure your speech is credible. Once you decide on the main idea, think about smaller pieces of that idea, which are your main points, and smaller chunks of information to break down the main idea. These should reinforce your main idea. Include at least two or three Page 2 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech main points. You don't want to include so many that the main idea becomes clouded by the smaller details, which could make your speech difficult for the audience to follow and understand. Then, as you begin to further flesh out your speech, you will use supporting materials, like examples, statistics, testimony, or a narrative, that back your claims. These will add credibility to your speech. 7.2 ORGANIZING PATTERNS This section is going to provide you with a number of organizational patterns to help you create a logically organized speech. Topical By far the most common pattern for organizing a speech is a topical organizational pattern, organizing by categories or dividing the topic into subtopics. The categories function as a way to help the speaker organize the message in a consistent fashion. The goal of a topical speech pattern is to create categories (or chunks) of information that go together to help support your original specific purpose. Let’s look at an example where the speaker is trying to inform a group of high school students about the College life. The speaker divides the information into three basic categories: what it’s like to live in the dorms or hostels, what classes are like, and what life is like on campus. Almost anyone could take this basic speech and specifically tailor the speech to fit her or his own university or college. The main points in this example could be rearranged and the organizational pattern would still be effective because there is no inherent logic to the sequence of points. Page 3 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech Chronological The chronological organizational pattern organizes the main idea in time order or in a sequential pattern—whether backward or forward. For example, topics of an historical nature are best organized using this pattern. When using a chronological pattern, each main section/subtopics of information represents a particular period of time, and the sub- points contained within each main section refer to significant events that occurred within that time frame Spatial The spatial organizational pattern organizes information according to how things fit together in physical space, either geographically or directionally. This pattern is best used when your main points are oriented to different locations that can exist independently. The basic reason to choose this format is to show that the main points have clear locations. We’ll look at one example here which is to explain to a group of college biology students how the urinary system works. If you look at a model of the urinary system, the first step is the kidney, which then takes waste through the ureters to the bladder, which then relies on the sphincter muscle to excrete waste through the urethra. All we’ve done in this example is create a spatial speech order for discussing how waste is removed from the human body through the urinary system. It is spatial because the organization pattern is determined by the physical location of each body part in relation to the others discussed. Cause-And-Effect Pattern Another way of organizing a speech on a particular topic is to look at the subject in terms of cause and effect. For example, if we eat too much food and do not exercise, we gain weight. Eating food without exercising is the “cause;” weight gain is the “effect.” There may be multiple causes and multiple effects. Page 4 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech 7.3 OUTLINING A SPEECH Most speakers and audience members would agree that an organized speech is both easier to present as well as more persuasive. Public speaking teachers especially believe in the power of organizing your speech, which is why they encourage (and often require) that you create an outline for your speech. Outlines, or textual arrangements of all the various elements of a speech, are a very common way of organizing a speech before it is delivered. Most extemporaneous speakers keep their outlines with them during the speech as a way to ensure that they do not leave out any important elements and to keep them on track. Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces the speakers to think about the main points and sub-points, the examples they wish to include, and how these elements correspond to one another. In short, the outline functions both as an organization tool and as a reference for delivering a speech. 7.4 TYPES OF OUTLINE There are two types of outlines, the preparation outline, and the speaking outline. Preparation Outline The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline. Also called a skeletal, working, practice, or rough outline, the preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an organized format. Stephen E. Lucas (2004) put it simply: “The preparation outline is just what its name implies—an outline that helps you prepare the speech.” When writing the preparation outline, you should focus on finalizing the specific purpose and thesis statement, logically ordering your main points, deciding where Page 5 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech supporting material should be included and refining the overall organizational pattern of your speech. As you write the preparation outline, you may find it necessary to rearrange your points or to add or subtract supporting material. You may also realize that some of your main points are sufficiently supported while others are lacking. The final draft of your preparation outline should include full sentences. In most cases, however, the preparation outline is reserved for planning purposes only and is translated into a speaking outline before you deliver the speech. Keep in mind though, that even a full- sentence outline is not an essay. Speaking Outline A speaking outline is an outline you will prepare for use when delivering the speech. The speaking outline is much more succinct than the preparation outline and includes brief phrases or words that remind the speakers of the points they need to make, plus supporting material and signposts. The words or phrases used on the speaking outline should briefly encapsulate all the information needed to prompt the speaker to accurately deliver the speech. Although some cases call for reading a speech verbatim from the full-sentence outline, in most cases speakers will simply refer to their speaking outline for quick reminders and to ensure that they do not omit any important information. Because it uses just words or short phrases, and not full sentences, the speaking outline can easily be transferred to index cards that can be referenced during a speech. However, check with your instructor regarding what you will be allowed to use for your speech. 7.5 PURPOSE OF THE SPEECH Speeches have traditionally been seen to have one of three broad purposes: to inform, to persuade, and — well, to be honest, different words are used for the third kind of speech purpose: to inspire, to amuse, to please, or to entertain. These broad goals are commonly Page 6 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech known as a speaker’s general-purpose, since, in general, you are trying to inform, persuade, or entertain your audience without regard to specifically what the topic will be. Perhaps you could think of them as appealing to the understanding of the audience (informative), the will or action (persuasive), and the emotion or pleasure. Now that you know your general purpose (to inform, persuade, or entertain), you can start to move in the direction of the specific purpose. A specific purpose statement builds on your general-purpose (to inform) and makes it more specific (as the name suggests). So, if your first speech is informative, your general purpose will be to inform your audience about a very specific realm of knowledge. In writing your specific purpose statement, you will take three contributing elements that will come together to help you determine your specific purpose:  You (your interests, your background, past jobs, experience, education, major),  Your audience  The context or setting. 7.6 COMPOSITION OF THE SPEECH The introduction of the speech establishes the first, crucial contact between the speaker and the audience. For most classroom speeches, the introduction should last less than a minute. The introduction needs to accomplish three things:  Focus your audience's attention. Speakers must have an “attention grabber” to interest the audience—a joke, astonishing fact, or anecdote. (Rhetorical questions like “Haven’t you ever wondered how…” are notoriously ineffective.) The introduction is the place where the main claim or idea should be stated very clearly to give the audience a sense of the purpose of the speech. Speakers need to orient the audience and make connections between what they know or are already interested in and the speech topic.  Establish goodwill and credibility. Many people believe the most important part of persuasion was ethos or the character the speaker exhibited to the audience. Page 7 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech The audience needs to see the speaker as someone to listen to attentively and sympathetically. Ethos is generated by both the delivery style and content of the speech. Making eye contact with the audience and displaying confidence in voice and body are two important ways to establish ethos. In addition, if you express ideas that are original and intelligent, you will show what “intellectual character.” Audiences pay attention to habits of thought that are interesting and worth listening to.  Give a preview. Mentioning the main points to be covered in the body prepares the audience to listen to them. Repetition is an important aspect of public speaking, for listening is an imperfect art, and audience members nearly always tune out in parts--sometimes to think about previous parts of the speech, sometimes for other reasons. The preview should end with a transition, a brief phrase, or a pause to signal to the audience that the speech is moving out of the introduction and into the body. Body of The Speech The body follows and is itself structured by a mode of organization, a logical or culturally specific pattern of thinking about ideas, events, objects, and processes. In the body, the fewer the main points the better. For short classroom speeches, under 10 minutes, speeches should not have more than three main points. For longer speeches, more than five main points ensure that audiences will have trouble following and remembering the speech. In the speech, the main points should be clearly stated and \"signposted,\" marked off as distinct and important to the audience. Transitions often serve to signpost new points, as do pauses before an important idea. Additionally, speakers might number main points—first, second, third or next, or finally. Always make it easy for the audience to recognize and follow key ideas. Page 8 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech Outline Format: A. All components of your speech should be labelled and formatted consistently. Body Body I. Main Point I. The title of the speech (if you choose to A. Subpoint include one) should be centered above the B. Subpoint header for the introduction. 1. Sub-subpoint a. Sub-sub-subpoint II. Use a header label for each section (the b. Sub-sub-subpoint introduction, body, and conclusion). (Transition III. Main points are identified with Roman statement) numerals and are all equally indented down II. Main Point the page. A. Subpoint A. Sub points are identified with capital letters and 1. Sub-subpoint B. Subpoint are indented one tab from the main point they 1. Sub-subpoint support. 2. Sub-subpoint 1. Sub-subpoints are identified with numbers and are indented one tab from the subpoint they support. When you use this pattern of symbolization, you are creating a visual framework for your speech, which illustrates the relationship among your ideas. Each argument you make has a place on the outline, and everything indented to the right of that argument is evidence you are using to support it. Page 9 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech 7.7 TRANSITION Transitions are words or sentences that help your audience understand the flow of your speech or presentation. They make it easy for your audience to follow along. A transition is a signpost that tells the audience where you are going, just like signposts along the highway tell you which direction you are heading. When a speaker says, “You’ve seen what the product can do, let’s now look at market opportunity”, the audience knows that the speaker is leaving one topic and moving on to the next. Good transitions show the relationship between parts of a speech. They display the logic of the speech. Common transition phrases include in addition to, furthermore, even more, next, after that, then, as a result, beyond that, in contrast, however, and on the other hand. One special type of transition is called the internal summary, a brief restatement of the main point being completed.  Promise to return in a minute—or your best estimate of how long the hold will last. If you think the delay will be longer than a couple of minutes, ask for a number and a time when you can call back.  If, despite your best efforts, the delay is taking longer than anticipated, check in with the caller so that he doesn't feel abandoned. Again, offer to call back, \"rather than keep you holding.\"  When you return to the phone, apologize for the inconvenience, and thank the caller for his patience.  Use the caller's name frequently to add a sense of connection. Having a mode of organization means grouping similar material together and linking the parts together with transitions. A transition can be a single word or a phrase or even a sentence or two. It connects one idea to another and helps the audience follow along. Things that are obvious to you will not necessarily be obvious to your audience. Transitions can help. Page 10 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech 7.8 SUMMARY  It is important to create an organize and outline before you deliver your speech, as it will act as your guide to effectively sequence your information and ensure you touch on all your main points.  Outlining allows you help construct and organize ideas in a sequential manner to ensure your speech flows smoothly.  It is very common for beginning speakers to spend a great deal of their time preparing catchy introductions, fancy PowerPoint presentations, and nice conclusions, which are all very important. However, the body of any speech is where the speaker must make effective arguments, provide helpful information, entertain, and the like, so it makes sense that speakers should devote a proportionate amount of time to these areas as well.  It is important to keep in mind that your outline is only a guide. The purpose of it is to aid you in delivering a clear speech that flows smoothly and effectively, communicating all your ideas.  An outline is not a script of your speech with the exact text you want to say, nor is it a rigid structure that you must follow exactly when giving your speech. 7.9 GLOSSARY  Spatial: The spatial speech pattern organizes information according to how things fit together in physical space  Chronological speech: organized speech pattern organizes its main points following a sequence of events or occurrences according to the time they took place  Topical speech: of immediate relevance, interest, or importance owing to its relation to current events. Page 11 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022

Art of Public Speaking: Organizing Speech  Transition: A transition is a phrase or sentence that indicates that a speaker is moving from one main point to another main point in a speech. 7.10 References  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless communications/chapter/transitions/  https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics- of-public-speaking/s13-02-using-common-organizing-patter.html  https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_stand-up-speak-out-the-practice-and-ethics- of-public-speaking/s09-01-general-purposes-of-speaking.html Page 12 of 12 All Rights Reserved. Vol. TLE001/03-2022