Organizing Your Main Ideas

What is Organization?

• The process of putting your ideas and information together in a way that will make sense to listeners.

• Macrostructure-• Introduction, body, conclusion

• Microstructures-• The language and style choices you

make.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Select a Design for Your Main Points• You determine your main points by

considering what specific questions must be answered so that your audience will understand your topic.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Ask what listeners must know in order

to:• Understand the Thesis statement of an

informative speech.• Agree with the thesis of a persuasive speech.• Act in the way you advocate in your

persuasive speech.• Once you have answered these

questions you can determine the relationships among them.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Chronological Design • Your main points will follow a time

sequence.• Used when demonstrating a process or

procedure.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Causal Design• A causal pattern organizes organizes

main points in a way that shows a cause and effect relationship.

• Medical topics often follow this pattern because you can talk about symptoms and their roots.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Spatial Design• Used when you want to create a mental

picture of what an object or place looks like based on location or direction.

• Location and direction relates to relationships such as north to south, near to far, top to bottom, left to right.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Topical Design• Used when you divide a topic into

subtopics or categories.• Can be used to discuss several different

viewpoints on the same subject, idea, concept, or problem.

Developing the Body of Your Speech• Comparison and Contrast Pattern• Useful for speeches about unfamiliar

concepts, events, beliefs, or processes.• Using this topic makes unfamiliar topics

more familiar to listeners.

Integrating Support Material • Sort Supporting Material by your

main points.• Add subdivisions where needed.• Consider learning styles:• Definitions, descriptions and

explanations appeal to thinkers.• Testimonials and Hypothetical examples

appeal to feelers.• Action plans and formulas appeal to

doers.

Integrating Support Material• Consider listener relevance.

Incorporate Connectives

• Transitions are words or phrases that show the relationship between two points and let the audience know you have completed one main point and are moving on to a new point.

• Tell why you have included some supporting material.

• Signposts are words or phases that let the listener know where you are in a speech- ex. “first, second, third, in short, finally”