W.A. Kelly Huff, Ph.D.

A well-organized speech includes three clear parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. These
are otherwise known as: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

    1. capture the attention of the audience
    2. motivate them to listen
    3. present the central idea
    4. indicate your qualifications
    5. preview the main ideas to be given.
    6. comprise about 10 to 15 percent of the total speech time and lead
        smoothly into the body

    1. should make up about 75 to 85 percent of the speech
    2. consists of the main points and supporting materials
    3. makes clear transitions from one point to another

    1. short and to the point
    2. comprises from 5 to 10 percent of the total time
    3. includes some combination of the following:
        a. summary of the main pints
        b. restatement of the central idea
        c. a question
        d. a call to action
        e. a vision of the future

Ten Most Basic Organizational Patterns of a Speech (note: the textbook lists just five):

In order to move your listeners smoothly from one point to the next, transitions or links
between each point must be employed. Transitions act like guideposts for the audience.

Transitions. Some transitional words include also, in addition, on the other hand, conversely, however.

Internal Previews.

Use a Figure of Speech: Try out one of the figures of speech such as alliteration, antithesis,
parallel structure, metaphor or concrete description.

Some people believe that the conclusion is the most important part of the speech.

It is also critical to give the speech closure with the final content and the delivery that
dramatizes the finality of your speech.

Never introduce new material in your conclusion. You have already introduced your points.
If it was important, you would have mentioned it then.

End with a summary of the main ideas developed in your speech. As you end your speech,
provide a summary that restates your thesis and main ideas. This will reinforce your points.

Guidelines for Outlines

    State the specific purpose of your speech.

    Identify the central idea.

    Label the Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.

    Use a consistent pattern of symbolization and indentation:

        When outlining, I needs II, A needs B, 1 needs 2, a needs b.

If you don't have enough material for two subpoints, then you don't need to list a subpoint.
So, to reiterate, you cannot have I without II, A without B, 1 without 2, a without b, i without ii, etc.

            II. Body

                A.    Main Point

                        1.    Subpoint

                            a.    Sub subpoint
                            b.    Sub subpoint

                       2. Subpoint

                 B. Main Point

                        1.    Subpoint

                            a.    Sub subpoint
                            b.    Sub subpoint

    Use full, complete sentences for main points and subpoints.

    Attach a bibliography.

    Give the speech a title.

The Speaker’s Body

    Generally, we can consider body communication in two parts:

        (1) the gestures you make with your body
        (2) your body’s appearance.

Kinesics is the study of body gestures and movement.

Personal Appearance.

Movement.

Gestures.

Eye Contact.

A principle purpose in public speaking is informing. The informative speaker seeks to impart knowledge or develop an understanding of the speech topic.

    (1) make the ideas clear and understandable
    (2) connect the unfamiliar with the familiar
    (3) present important points more than once
    (4) tell listeners how to apply the information.

We can test the quality of information by answering the following questions:

    (1) Is the information reliable?
    (2) Is the information accurate?
    (3) Is the information relevant?
    (4) Is the information varied?
    (5) Is the information appropriate?

    1. demonstration speeches: a.k.a. the how-to speech or instructional speech
    2. definition speeches: can be literal or abstract
        a. define by example
        b. define by comparison or contrast
        c. define by etymology: origin of a word
        d. define by details
        e. define with sensory aids
    3. description speeches: uses sensory appeals to give the listener a clear picture of what
        is being communicated, such as what it felt like “to be there.”
        a. introducing yourself
        b. introducing others
        c. describing a place
        d. describing an event
        e. describing historical events
    4. exposition, or expository speeches: to inform or explain about a concept, process,
        idea, or belief.
        a. speeches to explain a process: Example: how a generator works; how the heart
            functions, etc.
        b. speeches to instruct: Example: what controls the tide; the ideas of Marshall
            McLuhan.
        c. reviews: of books, TV shows, plays, etc.
        d. explanation: to make things clear or understandable, such as what this course
            is about, what classes you need to take, etc. Two rules: you must thoroughly
            understand something before you can explain it to someone else, and you must
            use words that are clear to your audience.
        e. analysis: breaking down a situation or concept into its parts in order to examine
            each part separately.
            Example: “How our Government Operates: legislative, executive, and judicial.”

Chapter Fifteen – Speaking to Persuade

The Importance of Persuasion

    Persuasion: The process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people’s beliefs or actions.

Questions of Fact

There are similarities between a persuasive question of fact speech and an informative speech. However, with an informative speech,
the speaker is nonpartisan. The purpose is to give information as impartially as possible and not to argue for a particular perspective. With a persuasive speech, the speaker is partisan. The speaker is an advocate for his or her position.

Questions of value

Questions of value are NOT your personal opinion. If you say you enjoy something, then that is your personal taste and not a value.

Questions of policy

Questions of policy arise daily in almost everything we do.

    When speaking on a question of policy, you may have one of two goals:

        Speeches to gain passive agreement

        Speeches to gain immediate action

        Whichever goal you have, question of policy speeches face three basic issues:

            Need

            Plan

            Practicality

Effective organization is crucial when you attempt to persuade audiences on a question of policy.

Problem-Solution Order: the first main point deals with the existence of the problem and the second main point presents a solution
to the problem.

Problem-Cause-Solution Order: a variation of the problem-solution order, this method has three main points. The first
identifies a problem; the second analyzes the causes of the problems, and the third presents a solution to the problem.

Comparative Advantages Order: also known as the “Method of Residues,” this is a method of organization in which
you eliminate alternatives and argue for the remaining option. The method of residues is a variation on the problem-solution speech.
The speaker first outlines several solutions to a problem. Then, the speaker explains why each of the proposed solutions --
except the last solution -- is not satisfactory. Finally, reasons are given for adopting the solution that remains.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence:   Developed in the 1930s by Purdue University speech professor Alan H. Monroe,
this pattern offers an important alternative in the organization of persuasive messages that seek a specific action from
the audience. Persuaders in many fields use the pattern because of its motivational emphasis. Advertisers make
extensive use of it, as is evident in magazine ads and radio and TV commercials. The major reason the motivated
sequence is such an effective way of organizing persuasive speeches that seek action from listeners is because it
follows the process of human thinking.

The motivated sequence has five steps:

(1)    Attention: awakening the receivers’ perception and encouraging them to concentrate on our message. A rhetorical question or striking statement can be employed.

(2)    Need: we identify something that the audience needs, such as a product or a solution to a particular problem.

(3)    Satisfaction: a proposal to satisfy the need; a way receivers can correct the problem.

(4)    Visualization: help listeners to picture the good results of satisfying the need in the way we have proposed. Using vivid imagery, we describe the benefits that listeners will experience, such as more sex appeal, higher profits, greater safety.

(5)    Action: we are ready to ask them to actualize what they have visualized. We must call for a specific action.

Chapter Sixteen – Methods of Persuasion

A persuasive speech also offers plenty of information about a subject, but it goes a step or
two further. A persuasive speech seeks to influence attitudes, beliefs, or actions consistent
with the specific purpose.

Koch (1998) defines persuasion as: “a conscious attempt to influence the thought or
behavior of others through the use of personal, psychological, and logical appeals.”

Proof is important to persuasion. There are three appeals or types of proof in the definition
that persuaders use to sell their products more effectively: personal proof, psychological, and logical.

            1. competence
            2. integrity
            3. goodwill
            4. image