Week 11 & 12 Speech Organization for Informative Speech

Why Speech Organization is Important It allows you and the listeners to see what ideas you have and to put mental “hands” on the most important ones. Listeners who hear a well-organized speech believe a speaker to be much more competent and trustworthy. Listeners demand coherence. A speaker must make sure listeners can follow the progression of ideas in a speech from beginning to end. Using a clear and specific method of speech organization can boost your confidence as a speaker and improve your ability to deliver a message fluently. 2

Organizational Outline

The Introduction of Your Speech Capture the attention of your audience. Authenticate the value ‘What’s in it for me?” . Prove your credibility. Reveal the topic of your speech. Preview the body of the speech. 4

Connecting with the audience It was reported that Professor Osterweis taught students two main lessons. "First, you have to have substance - values and principles that are worth conserving. Then you have to communicate with them in a way that makes the audience feel that they have ownership of the ideas. It's almost like you have to become part of the crowd, and have them go away adopting the ideas as their own." Key Lesson: Make sure to connect with your audience with eye-contact, appropriate language, personal stories, and warm personality. The ideas you're talking about are not as important as your own personality. It's the Messenger, not the message.

How to Get the Attention & Interest of Your Audience Relate the topic to your audience, why they should be interested (what’s in it for them), why you are talking about it (experience/qualifications/credibility) Startle the audience with an arresting or intriguing statement. Refer to a shocking statistic. Question the audience. Begin with a quotation. Tell a story. Ask audience to imagine themselves in a situation. 6

Central Idea

Phrasing the Central Idea/Thesis Statement A sentence that focuses your audience’s attention on the central point of your speech. Usually in the introduction of your speech Example 1: “The three major kinds of witchcraft practiced today are black magic, sorcery, and satanism.”

Example 1 Topic: Emergencies General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the major steps in responding to emergency. Central Idea: The three major steps in responding to an emergency are surveying the scene, contacting an emergency medical service, and starting CPR if needed.

The Body of Your Speech 3 Elements in the Speech Body Main points Supporting points Connectives

Main Points and Organizational Pattern Select them carefully. Phrase them precisely. Organize them strategically. Chronological order Spatial order Causal order Topical order Problem solving order

Example of Chronological Order Specific purpose: To inform my audience of the steps in getting a professional tattoo. Central idea: There are four main steps in getting a professional tattoo. Main points: First, the skin is shaved and sterilized in the area to be tattooed. Second, the main lines of the tattoo are traced on the skin with a machine called an outliner. Third, colored pigments are applied inside the outline with a machine called a shader. Fourth, the tattoo is sterilized and bandaged.

Example of Spatial Order Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the design of the Eiffel Tower. Central idea: The Eiffel Tower is divided into three sections. Main points: The lowest section of the tower contains the entrance, a gift shop and a restaurant. The middle section of the tower consists of stairs and elevators that lead to the top. The top section of the tower includes an observation deck with a spectacular view of Paris.

Example of Causal Order Specific purpose: To inform my audience of the possible causes of the unusual occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle. Central idea: The causes of the unusual occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle have not yet been fully explained. Main points: Many unusual occurrences have taken place in the Bermuda Triangle. Experts have advanced three major explanation about the causes of these unusual occurrences.

Example of Topical Order Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the uses of lasers. Central idea: Lasers harness the power of light for a wide range of uses. Main points: Lasers have many important uses in science. Lasers have become indispensable to industry. Lasers are revolutionizing the practice of medicine.

Supporting Points Supporting materials are backup ideas for the main points. Directly support and are relevant to the main points.

Example I. Millions of people suffer from headaches. A. People have put up with headaches since the beginning of recorded history. B. More than 20 percent of Americans have severe, recurring headaches. II. There are several causes of headaches. A. Most headaches are caused by tension. B. Some headaches are caused by irregularities in the blood vessels. C. Other headaches are caused by specific illness, such as cold and sinus infections .

Supporting Materials Examples a specific instance that represents some larger class Relevance? Enough instances? Typical example? Counterexamples? Facts something that is verifiable as true Reliable source? Verifiable? Recent? Consistent? 2

Supporting Materials Statistics numerical summaries of data that are classified in a meaningful way Reliable source? Unbiased questions? Representative sample? Meaning of “average”? Expert opinion a quotation from someone with special credentials in the subject matter Source expertise? Reliability? Bias? 3

Supporting Materials Description a word picture of something Accurate? Vivid? Explanation an account, interpretation, or meaning given to something Clear? Accurate? 4

Supporting Materials Narrative an extended story that is fully developed with characters, scene, action, and plot Probability (internal coherence/believability)? Fidelity (close to real-life experiences)? 5

Finding Support Research is the process of gathering supporting materials Library Internet Interviews 6

Connectives Firstly, we’re going to … Let me begin by … I would like to start by … Let me briefly take you through what we’ll be looking at today. If we take a look at this slide … As you can see from this graph … Another area of consideration … Let’s change direction for a moment … Finally, … So what have we looked at so far? Well … Thank you for listening so patiently. Now, does anyone have any questions?

Connectives: Transition Transitions are used to indicate movement from a completed thought to a new thought. Transitions indicate what idea is being left and what idea is coming up Example: We have spent a lot of time talking the problem. It’s time now to discuss the solution. Now that we have seen that the habitual voice can be affected by vocal abuse, allow me to explain how the situation can be reversed.

Connectives: Internal Previews Internal previews direct the audience to what areas will be covered next. Internal previews generally appear once the speaker has finished a transition and after a new main point. The speaker simply previews the subpoints which make up the point being addressed. Example: (Transition) Now that we have seen serious the problem of missing children is, let’s take a look at some solutions. (Internal preview) I will focus on three in particular – stronger legal custody laws to …and…Let’s consider them in turn.

Connectives: Internal Summaries Internal summaries are the opposite of the internal preview. Rather than indicating what subpoints are to follow in the speech, internal summaries remind the listeners what subpoints have been discussed. Internal summaries are excellent ways to reinforce and clarify ideas which are essential for the audience to remember Example: In going back over the effects of … In essence, by learning to breathe properly, finding the optimum pitch of your speaking voice, and allowing your chest to do the work, you will eliminate vocal abuse forever.

Connectives: Signposts Signposts are short statements which tell the audience where the speaker is in the speech. Signposts are usually numbers of words which suggest the importance of what the speaker is about to say. Example: The first cause… The final contributing cause is… The most important thing that I would like to..

The Conclusion of Your Speech Signal the end of the speech by using cues like: Ending words Voice characteristics – tone, pace, rhythm Reinforce the central idea by: Restating the main points. Emphasize what you want your audience to do or think. Use a quotation or dramatic statement, if appropriate. Refer to the introduction. “ A speech is like a love affair, any fool can start one but to end it requires considerable skill.” 28