The process of structuring the material to be presented in the speech
Organizing
Complete sentence representations of the main ideas used in your thesis and preview statement
Main points
A one or two sentence summary of your speech that states your general and specific goals and the previews the main points of your speech
Thesis statement
A sentence representation of the sequential and hierarchical relationships between the ideas presented in a speech.
Speech outline
A logical way to structure information that makes it easy for an audience to follow what is said
Organizational pattern
Organizing the main points by a chronological sequence or by steps in a process
Time (a.k.a sequential or chronological) order
Dramatizes the thesis using a story or series of stories that includes characters, settings, and a plot
Narrative order
Structures the main points using some logical relationship among them
Topical order
Structures the main points as reasons for accepting the thesis as desirable or true
Logical reasons order
Statements that elaborate on a main point
Subpoints
Developmental material you gathered through secondary and primary research
Supporting material
A piece of information that informs listeners why the main point is related to them or why they should care about the topic or point
Listener relevance link
Words, phrases, or sentences that show the relationship between or bridge ideas
Transitions
Complete sentence that shows the relationship between or bridges major parts of the speech
Section transition
Short word or phrase transitions that connect pieces of supporting material to the main point or subpoint they address
Signposts
A shocking expression or example used to arouse the audiences interest
Startling statement
Requests for information that encourage the audience to think about something related to your topic
Questions
A question that doesn’t require an overt response
Rhetorical question
A question that demands an overt response from the audience
Direct question
An account of something that has happened or could happen
Story
Anecdote or a piece of word play designed to be funny and make people laugh
Joke
A brief account of something that happened to you or a hypothetical situation that listeners can imagine themselves in
Personal reference
A comment made by and attributed to someone other than the speaker
Quotation
An act designed to highlight and arouse interest in a topic
Action
Wording your attention-getter so that it generates uncertainty and excites the audience
Suspense
A one of two sentence statement that provides a sense of closure by driving home the importance of your speech in a memorable way
Clincher
Describes the behavior you want your listeners to follow after they have heard your arguments
Appeal to action