FHHM1022 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Updated 202205
 Form /Organisation of a speech

Speech Outline

Visual Aids Structure of a speech

 Wow… our classmate, Faizul gave an
awesome speech on technology just now!
The things he shared were so
interesting.
Ranjeet

Yes, I agree with you, Ranjeet. The stories were

very interesting; but I had a hard time following
his speech. I couldn’t really get hold of what his
main points were. It was
really interesting, but kind of confusing too. Sarah

Ever encountered a situation like this before?

• Ranjeet and Sarah’s experience is nothing unusual.
We often hear speeches with lots of interesting
information, but when we try to recall what the
speaker said, we find it difficult to remember even
the main points.
• Even well-known speakers sometimes give
speeches that are hard to follow.
• Previously in Lecture 2, we have learnt that…
it is important that when a message is
communicated, it is organised in a certain
form/order/structure.
form / organisation is especially important
when a person communicates continuously
without interruption for a relatively long time.
(Eg. delivering a speech, telling a story, writing an essay, etc.)

• Form / Organisation – arranging your ideas in a way

that will help your audience follow and remember your
speech.
• When you are a well-organised speaker…
you are able to gather and assemble
interesting examples, hold the attention of the
audience and convey a great deal of
information in a short period of time.
your confidence level will be increased
because you have less fear of forgetting what
you planned to say.
your audience will be able to follow your
speech better and be able to remember
what you say.
• Speech Outline – a framework of the
sequential (in order) and hierarchical (most important
to least important) points we plan to present.

• Writing an outline is the most effective means of

organising your points, because you can see the
structure of what you want to say.
• Basic structure of a speech:-
i. INTRODUCTION
ii. BODY
iii. CONCLUSION
• The opening section of your speech
• To get the attention and interest of your audience
• Generally NOT more than 10% of the length of
the entire speech (approx. 30 seconds for a 5-minute speech)
Attention Purpose Thesis
Statement Statement Statement
 Attention Statement
• We have learnt in Lecture 3 that it is not easy to
get the attention and interest of the audience
• Create an opening that will get their attention!
• Research shows that the most important is the
first two (2) minutes of your speech;
once you cannot get your audience’s attention
within the first two (2) minutes, you would have
lost them completely
• A few methods / techniques to get the attention
of your audience:-
i. Jokes
ii. Stories
iii. Startling Statements
iv. Response Questions
v. Rhetorical Questions
vi. Personal References
vii. Quotations
i) Jokes
• also sometimes referred to as ‘humorous anecdote’
• something meant to be funny and makes people laugh
• relaxes both the speaker and the audience
• must be realistic, relevant and not too long
• avoid offensive jokes (sexist, ethnic jokes)
• make sure that the joke has a point that is related to
the topic or purpose of the speech
• however, consider how to handle the situation if
nobody laughs
ii) Stories
• also sometimes referred to as ‘illustrative anecdote’
• something that has happened (actual) or
could happen (fictional)
• arouses the interest of the audience and gets the
audience emotionally involved in the topic, as people
usually like to hear stories
• however, make sure the story is not too lengthy
iii) Startling Statements
• also referred to as ‘surprising fact or claim’
• a sentence or two that shocks your audience in a
certain way
• because they are shocked when they hear it,
your audience will stop what they are doing or
thinking, and focus on you (the speaker)
iv) Response Questions
• posing questions to your audience whereby audience
would be required to give answers, either by a show
of hands or verbally
• effective because your audience become active
• you will also know whether they are really listening
to you or not
• however, be careful how you structure the questions,
or else there may be no response at all from your
audience
v) Rhetorical Questions
• posing questions to your audience but not asking
for audience’s verbal response or showing of
hands, instead seeking a mental response
• to get your audience to think about what you
asked them
• a question leading to what you want to say
vi) Personal References
• a brief description of something that happened to
you or a hypothetical situation that you create and
you want your audience to imagine themselves in it
• helps to engage your audience as active participants
vii) Quotations
• a comment made by and attributed to someone
other than the speaker
• Usually well-known personalities (authors, philosophers,
political leaders, community leaders, celebrities, etc.)
• motivates the audience to listen carefully to what
the speaker is going to talk about

“The future belongs to those who believe

in the beauty of their dreams.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
(Former First Lady of USA)
 Purpose Statement
• One sentence summary that tells the audience the
general purpose of your speech
• Phrase your statement so that it is brief and clear

Examples:
“The purpose of my speech is to inform you of the importance
of vitamins in our life.”
“Through this speech, I hope to motivate all of you as you
prepare yourselves for the upcoming exams.”
 Thesis Statement
• One or two sentence summary that gives a preview of
the main points of your speech
• Gives orientation / direction to your audience, so that
they know what to expect in your speech
Examples:
“In my speech, I will be talking about three different types of
vitamins – Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E.”
“In my speech, I will be sharing three tips on how to study well,
which include; time management, healthy diet and good sleep.”
• The main section of your speech
• If not well organised, it will be difficult to deliver
the speech and it will be difficult for the audience
to follow and understand
• The longest part of the speech
Main Points Supporting Details

Transitions
 Main Points
• Can be organised according to seven (7) different
ways/patterns known as “Organisational Patterns”

Organisational Patterns
1. Topical pattern
2. Problem-Solution pattern
3. Chronological pattern
4. Spatial pattern
5. Causal pattern
6. Pro-Con pattern
7. Mnemonic / Gimmick pattern
1. Topical pattern
• Used when you have several points to present, and
you divide the points into subtopics, each
becoming a main point in the speech.
Examples:
1. Topic : Festivals
i. Chinese New Year
ii. Hari Raya Aidilfitri
iii. Deepavali
2. Topic : Pollution
i. Air Pollution
ii. Water Pollution
iii. Noise Pollution
• Useful for speeches to inform.
2. Problem-Solution pattern
• Used when you divide your speech into two (2) main
parts – first part talks about the existence of a
problem and the second part provides solutions
how to overcome the problem.
Examples:
1. Topic : Obesity
• Obesity (problem)
• Monitoring food intake (solution)
• Exercising regularly (solution)
2. Topic : Environmental Pollution
• Environmental pollution (problem)
• Banning of open-burning (solution)
• Using public transport (solution)
• Useful for speeches to persuade.
3. (Kronos=time)Chronological pattern
• Used when your main points are arranged according
to time sequence (date, month, year, time, etc.), narrating
a series of events in the sequence in which they
happened, starting from the earliest to the latest.

Example:
 Topic : Movement Control Order (MCO)
i. 18th March 2020 – Movement Control Order (MCO)
ii. 4th May 2020 – Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO)
iii. 10th June 2020 – Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO)
• Also used when your main points are explaining a
process or demonstrating how to do something.

Example:
Topic : How to bake a chocolate cake
i. Firstly, ….
ii. Secondly, ….
iii. Finally, …

• Useful for speeches to inform.

4. Spatial pattern
• Used when your main points talks about a certain
physical space / geographical area.
Examples:
1. Topic : Seven Wonders of the World
• Great Wall of China
• Taj Mahal
• Great Pyramid of Giza

2. Topic : Buildings in a University

• Lecture theaters
• Library
• Science labs

• Useful for speeches to inform.

5. Causal pattern
• Used when you want to show a cause-effect
relationship – first part talks about the cause of an
event and the second part talks about the effects.
Examples:
1. Topic : Economic Downturn
• Economic downturn (cause)
• Poverty (effect)
• Retrenchment of workers (effect)
2. Topic : Poor Leadership of Country
• Poor leadership (cause)
• Rioting / demonstrations (effect)
• Migration (effect)

• Useful for speeches to inform.

6. Pro-Con pattern
• Used when you have two (2) main things to talk
about – comparing the advantages and the
disadvantages.
Examples:
1. Topic : Buying a car
i. Convenience (advantage)
ii. Depreciation of value (disadvantage)

2. Topic : Owning a house

i. Peace of mind (advantage)
ii. Unaffordable cost (disadvantage)

• Useful for speeches to persuade.

7. Mnemonic / Gimmick pattern
• Used when you develop your main points using the
first alphabet of the word to represent something.
Examples:
1. Topic : 4C’s of a successful man
i. Cash
ii. Car
iii. Credit card
iv. Condoninium

• Helps the audience to remember better.

• Useful for speeches to inform.
 Supporting Details

• Includes definitions / elaborations / explanations /

evidence / examples of the main point

• To support / strengthen the main point

 Transitions
• Also known as “connectors”
• Words or phrases that indicate when a speaker has just
completed one thought and is moving to another
• A word or phrase that connects / links one point to
another, one paragraph to the next
• Ensures smooth, logical flow of ideas
Examples:
 “Now that we have a clear understanding of the problem, let me
share the solution with you.”
 “Keeping those points in mind about sign language, let’s return to
the sentence I started off with and see if we can learn the signs.”
• The final section of your speech

• To summarise what you have said earlier

• To reinforce (strengthen) your purpose statement

• To reinforce your thesis statement

• It is generally not more than 5% of the length of the

entire speech (approx. 15 seconds for a 5-minute speech)
Summarise Reinforce Reinforce
Purpose Thesis
Statement Statement
 Summarise +
Reinforce Purpose Statement &
Reinforce Thesis Statement
• One or two sentence summary that tells the audience
what you have already talked about in your speech and
briefly recap your main points

Eg. “In conclusion, I have informed you of the importance of

vitamins in our life. Therefore don’t forget to take
Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E daily so that you will have a
healthy and happy life.”
 “a picture is worth a thousand words”
 “seeing is believing”
 “it is ten times harder to command the ear
than to catch the eye”
 Preparing Visual Aids

• Visual Aid: a form of supporting material that

allows the audience to see as they listen to the
information.
• A good visual aid is when they are…
a) large enough to be seen by everyone in the
audience.
b) small enough to be carried to the location of the
speech.
 Types of Visual Aids

1. Objects
 Actual/real item
 3-D model
Eg. a house (small-scale), molecules (large-scale) or
dummy for CPR (life-size)
2. Graphics
 pictures: photos, drawings, etc.
 diagrams: showing parts of an object / steps in a
process
 graphs: line, bar & pie chart
 charts
 maps

3. Electronic Aids
 Power Point slides
 video clips
 audio clips
4. Handouts
 copies of any notes /brochures /flyers /booklets/
pamphlets handed out to the audience
 when the information cannot be effectively
displayed or the audience needs to study or refer
to it after the speech
 Importance of using Visual Aid

a) Increases message clarity

• provides visual reinforcement

b) Reinforces message impact

• dramatises the verbal message

c) Retain the information

• audience will be able to remember better when
they see compared to when they listen
 Hasling, J. (2010). The audience, the message,
the speaker. (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
Higher Education. (pg. 90-101)

 Verderber, K.S., Verderber, R.F. & Sellnow, D.D. (2017).

Communicate! (15th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth.
(pg. 254-257, 275-281)

 Lucas, S.E. (2020). The art of Public Speaking. (13th ed.).

New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
(pg. 63-65, 158-171, 250-255)
Updated 202205