Chapter 9 Organizing Your Speech

1. Chapter 9Organizing Your Speech

2. Organizing Your Speech • UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute found that over 30% of all students who entered college need study and organizational skills • You will learn more if you study with a direction or logical sequencing in mind. • This is also true with speeches since audience’s will understand more if your speech is well organized.

3. The Introduction • Your speech should be organized into 3 distinct parts. • You should begin with a well-thought introduction. • For many, the toughest part of a speech, psychologically, is the beginning. • A good introduction can “make or break” you because it sets the tone for the speech. • The first words you say to the audience must make them want to listen. • The four goals of an introduction are getting the audience’s attention, linking the attention getter to the thesis statement, stating a thesis statement, and previewing the speech’s contents.

4. The Introduction • The first step in the introduction is choosing an attention-getter. • In picking an attention-getter, you should pick what works for you and choose what feels comfortable to you. • Should you use humor? • The five types of attention-getters are asking questions, making a reference, saying a startling statement, saying a quotation, or telling a story. • Asking your audience a question fires up their curiosity and makes them active participants in your speech. • A rhetorical question is a question that the audience answers silently in their head. Safe because they often answer themselves. “Do any of you like to get your feelings hurt?” • Beware of asking the audience to answer aloud since you never know what someone will say.

5. The Introduction • Making a reference means referring to people in the audience or surroundings to try to become comfortable and conversational with your audience. • Appropriate references can allow you to work well with your audience. (people in the audience, physical surroundings, other speakers, significance of the occasion) • “I see that Caleb and Frances are in the audience.” or “For some reason, every time that we are in this room, the air-conditioning is out. Maybe we should bring our own fans next time.” • It is not all right to make a casual reference to someone in the audience whom you barely know.

6. The Introduction • A startling statement tries to shock your audience into paying attention. • The speaker below was comfortably moving her right hand as if she were keeping the beat to a song. • “I love music. I love dancing. I love how men and women, young and old, rich or poor, can move and smile and laugh and keep the rhythm to their favorite songs. However, today I’m not here to talk about music – because, ironically, every time that my hand comes down to ‘keep the beat,’ a young child is physically or sexually abused in this country. And the violence is real . . .” • It is possible to offend someone with a startling attention- getter. The audience will not forgive something that is in bad taste.

7. The Introduction • A quotation is a good way to begin a speech because it adds style and sophistication to a speech, and there are a lot of quotations from which to choose. • Good quotations are very easy to find because there are so many. • You do need to tell your audience why a quotation’s author is noteworthy. • Your quotation does not have to be serious or old to impress your audience. • You can quote your mom or dad if it applies to your speech. • “You can fool all of the people some of the time and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” – Thomas Jefferson

8. The Introduction • Telling a story is one of the most popular attention-getters. • A narrative is just a story. • Stories can be insightful, and they can also be fun for you to deliver and for your audience to hear. • Keep opening stories short and to the point. • Don’t get so caught up in your story that you lose sight of the purpose of your speech. • Stories do not have to be personal. They can be interesting accounts about other people, places, events, and so on.

9. The Introduction • The link is the bridge between your attention-getter and your thesis statement. • The link should develop a bridge between the audience and the topic. (page 212) • The thesis statementstates the overall purpose of the speech. • It is never all right to keep the audience wondering what the speech is about. The thesis statement should tell the audience your exact point. (page 213) • Let the audience recognize the thesis by signaling it boldly. • The preview statementis usually one sentence at the end of the introduction that gives the audience an overview of the major areas that will be discussed in the speech.

10. The Introduction • Select one of your classmates. • Interview your classmate – find out 2 interesting items about your classmate, his or her hobby or interest, his or her unique talent, etc. • Select one of the attention-getting devices from your notes and use it to introduce your classmate to the rest of the class. • Be sure to explain your attention getter, link it to the fact that you are introducing someone, introduce the person, and them mention two items learned during your interview. • Have fun, but stay focused on your objective – providing an introduction that will make your classmate glad you are the one doing the introduction. • Write what you will say before speaking.

11. The Body • The body of the speech is the heart of the presentation. • The two ways to make the body of your speech clear and convincing is to outline your speech and to use an organizational pattern. • An outline is the speaker’s map. It is the way you give your speech organization and direction. • The top line of your outline is a purpose statement. • The purpose statementis similar to the thesis statement since it states both your topic of your speech and your purpose for speaking. (page 217) • Everything else in the speech should relate to the purpose statement.

12. Outlining Your Speech • Main headingson your outline are the major divisions, areas, or arguments of your purpose statement that are represented by Roman numerals. (ie. I, II, III) (page 217) • Supporting materialson your outline reinforce your main headings. (page 218) • Supporting materials are identified in your outline by capital letters. • Supporting materials do not have to be written out in detail.

13. Outlining Your Speech • Do not write out your outline word for word just as you will deliver the speech. • Detailson your outline break down the supporting materials to pinpoint accuracy. Details are represented by regular numbers. (page 218) • It is not a good idea to subdivide your details of your outline. • Indentation in an outline indicates the subordination of ideas. • No parts of an outline will contain only one item. • Be sure to have transitions in your speech such as first, second, and third or first of all, for instance, and next. These are the road signs for your speech. • Sample Outline – Page 221

14. Organizational Patterns • Organizational patterns are different ways that you can present your information. • Just as there are often several roads that lead to a location, there are several organizational patterns to use in organizing your speech. • The following are the five possible organizational patterns: • Chronological - information in order of time, • Spatial - information in order of space, • Problem/Solution - problems are followed by solutions, • Cause/Effect - causes followed by effects, and • Climatic - information arranged in order of importance. • The main headings in a cause and effect outline will often be causes and effects. • It is possible to have a chronological pattern that advances climatically.

15. Organizational Patterns • In the problem/solution pattern, solutions can take three different approaches. • A policy solution asks your audience to write the president or a congressman, to start a drive, or to rally as a group. • An attitudinal solution asks your audience to change or strengthen their mental state regarding an issue. • The awareness solution reminds your audience to be conscious of what they have heard and possibly implement it in their own hands.

16. Organizational Patterns • Label the outlines on the back with the correct organizational structure. • With a partner, use your notes to complete the Organizational Structure chart.

17. The Conclusion • In a speech, you should “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, and then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” • The three goals of a conclusion are summarizing, calling for action, and making a final appeal. • The first part of your conclusion is usually the summary. • Some hints for writing a good conclusion include pointing out main headings and not being too lengthy or repetitive. • Your final statement ends your speech, clinches your argument, and makes a memorable final impression. • You might consider ending the same way that you started the speech by getting back to your beginning attention-getter.

18. The Infomercial • Purpose: • The primary objective is to persuade, either by reinforcing or altering the audience’s attitudes, beliefs, values, and/or behavior, or by introducing something new to your audience. • Choose a product you truly love or believe in and persuade your listeners that they too should love it, maybe even buy it.

19. The Infomercial • Speaking Order • Time Limit • Topic/Product Selection • Supporting Materials • Audience Analysis • Persuasive Appeals • Counterclaim • Organization/Written Work • Delivery • Grading Project work begins today through this week and delivery is on Monday 10/22 and Tuesday 10/23.