ORGANIZING YOUR SPEECH → direct question: a question that seeks an overt
• Organizing: the process of arranging your speech
material, is guided by what you learned from your
audience analysis.
• Formal speech outline: a full sentence outline of your
speech that includes internal references and a complete
reference list
• Develop the body:
○ identifying and arranging the main points
→ preparation outline: a draft of main points not
formed into complete sentences
→ parallel structure: the main points all follow the
same structural pattern
→ organizational pattern: a logical way to structure
information that makes it easy for an audience to
follow
→ time (a.k.a. sequential or chronological) order:
organizing the main points by a chronological
sequence or by steps in a process
→ narrative order: dramatizes the thesis using a
story or series of stories that includes characters,
settings, and a plot
→ topical order: structures the main points using
some logical relationship among them
→ logical reasons order: structures the main points
as reasons for accepting the thesis as desirable or
true
○ crafting them into a well-phrased thesis statement
→ thesis statement: a one- or two-sentence
summary that states your general and specific
goals and previews the main points of your
speech
→ outline: a written framework of the sequential
and hierarchical relationships among ideas
○ developing each main point with appropriate
supporting material (evidence and reasoning)
→ subpoints: statements that elaborate on a main
point
→ supporting material: developmental material
gathered through secondary and primary
research
→ listener relevance link: a piece of information
that informs listeners why the topic or main
point is relevant to them
○ creating transitions to move smoothly from one
main point to the next
→ transitions: words, phrases, or sentences that
show the relationship between and bridge ideas
→ section transition: complete sentence that shows
the relationship between and bridges major
parts of the speech
→ signposts: words or short phrases that connect
pieces of supporting material to the main point
or subpoint they address
• Develop the introduction:
○ Get attention
→ startling statement: a shocking expression or
example
→ questions: requests for information that
encourage the audience to think about something
related to your topic
→ rhetorical question: a question that doesn’t
require an overt response
response from the audience
→ story: an account of something that has
happened or could happen
→ joke: anecdote or a piece of wordplay designed to
make people laugh
→ personal reference: a brief account of something
that happened to you or
→ a hypothetical situation: that listeners can
imagine themselves in
→ quotation: a comment made by and attributed to
someone other than the speaker
→ action: an act designed to highlight and arouse
interest in a topic
→ suspense: wording your attention-getter so that
it generates uncertainty and excites the audience
○ Establish relevance:
→ Sometimes your attention-getting statement will
also serve this function, but if it doesn’t, you need
to provide a personal connection between your
topic and your audience.
○ Establish credibility:
→ credibility: the perception your audience has
about your competence and character
○ State the thesis
• Develop the conclusion
○ Summarize goal and main points
○ Clinch
→ clincher: a short statement that provides a sense
of closure by driving home the importance of
your speech in a memorable way
→ vivid imagery: to develop vivid imagery, you can
use any of the devices we discussed for getting
attention (startling statement, question, story,
joke, personal reference, quotation, action, or
suspense)
→ appeal to action: describes the behavior you
want your listeners to follow after they have
heard your arguments
• Compile the reference list and formal outline
○ the two standard methods of organizing source lists
are (1) alphabetically by author’s last name or (2) by
content category, with items listed alphabetically by
author within each category
PRESENTATIONAL AIDS
• presentational aid: any visual, audio, audiovisual, or
other sensory material used to enhance a verbal message
• Types of Presentational Aids
○ visual aids: enhance a speech by allowing audience
members to see what it is you are describing or
explaining
→ actual objects: inanimate or animate physical
samples of the idea being communicated
→ model: a three-dimensional scaled- down or
scaled-up version of an actual object
→ Photographs: enlarged before-and-after photos
of target sites would be effective in helping the
audience understand the pin- point accuracy of
these weapons.
→ Simple drawing and diagrams: a type of drawing
that shows how the whole relates to its parts
 → Maps: allows you to orient audiences to
landmarks (mountains, rivers, and lakes), states,
cities, land routes, weather systems, and so on.
→ chart: a graphic representation that distills a lot
of information into an easily interpreted visual
format
→ flow chart: uses symbols and connecting lines to
diagram the progression through a complicated
process
→ organizational chart: shows the structure of an
organization in terms of rank and chain of
command
→ pie chart: shows the relationships among parts of
a single unit
→ graph: a diagram that presents numerical
information
→ bar graph: uses vertical or horizontal bars to
show relationships between two or more
variables
→ line graph: indicates the changes in one or more
variables over time
○ audio aids: enhance a verbal message through sound
○ audiovisual aids: enhance a verbal message through
a combination of sight and sound
○ other sensory aids: enhance a verbal message
through smell, touch, or taste
• Choosing presentational aids
○ Choose aids that:
→ illustrate the most important ideas to understand
and remember.
→ clarify complex ideas that are difficult to explain
verbally.
→ are appropriate for the size of the audience.
→ make dull information and details more
interesting.
→ you will feel comfortable using and transporting
to the speech site.
→ enhance rather than overwhelm the verbal
message.
→ you have the time and money to prepare
→ demonstrate cultural sensitivity and do not
offend members of your audience
• Preparing Presentational Aids
○ Limit the reading required of the audience
○ Customize presentational aids from other sources
○ Use a photo, print, or type size that can be seen easily
and a volume and sound quality that can be heard
easily by your entire audience
○ Use a consistent print style that is easy to read
○ Make sure information is laid out in a way that is
aesthetically pleasing
○ Use graphic illustrations in visuals
○ Use color strategically
• Displaying Presentational Aids
○ Posters: the easiest method for displaying simple
drawings, charts, maps, photos, and graphs
○ Whiteboards or Chalkboards: because a whiteboard
or chalkboard is a staple in every college classroom,
many novice (and ill-prepared) speakers rely on this
method for displaying their visual aids
○ Flip chart: a large pad of paper mounted on an easel
○ Handout: material printed on sheets of paper
○ Document Cameras: another simple way to project
drawings, charts, photos, and graphs is using a
document camera, such as an Elmo.
○ Computers, CD/DVD Players, and LCD Projectors:
most people today prefer to present audio and
audiovisual recordings, as well as computerized slide
shows using a computer and an LCD projector.
LANGUAGE AND ORAL STYLE
• Audience adaptation: the process of tailoring your
speech to the specific audience and occasion
• Oral style: how one conveys messages through the spoken
word
○ An effective oral style
→ tends toward short sentences and familiar
language
→ features plural personal pronouns
→ features descriptive words and phrases that
appeal to the ear in ways that sustain listener
interest and promote retention
→ incorporates clear macrostructural elements
• Speaking appropriately: using language that adapts to
the needs, interests, knowledge, and attitudes of the
audience
○ verbal immediacy: the psychological distance
between speaker and audience
○ Relevance
→ timeliness: how the information can be used now
→ timely: information audience members can use
now
→ proximity: information in relation to listeners’
personal space
○ Common Ground: background, knowledge, attitudes,
experiences, and philosophies shared by speaker and
audience
→ Use plural personal pronouns
→ Ask rhetorical questions
→ Draw from common experiences
○ Speaker credibility
→ credibility: the confidence an audience places in
the truthfulness of what a speaker says
○ Linguistic Sensitivity
→ choose words that are respectful of others and
avoid potentially offensive language
→ generic language: words used that apply to one
co-cultural group as though they represent
everyone
→ nonparallel language: words that are changed
because of the sex, race, or other group
characteristics of the individual
– marking: the addition of sex, race, age, or
other group designation to a description
– irrelevant association: emphasing one
person’s relationship to another when doing
so is not necessary to make the point
→ offensive humor: dirty jokes and racist, sexist, or
other “-ist” remarks may not be intended to be
offensive
→ profanity and vulgar: not considered appropriate
language.
○ Cultural Diversity: language rules and expectations
vary from culture to culture
• Speaking clearly: using words that convey one’s meaning
precisely
○ Specific language: words that narrow what is
understood from a general category to a particular
item or group within it
○ Choose familiar terms
→ jargon: the unique technical terminology of a
trade or profession
→ slang: informal, nonstandard vocabulary and
definitions assigned to words by a social group or
co-culture
○ Limit vocalized pauses
→ vocalized pauses: unnecessary words interjected
to fill moments of silence
• Speaking vividly
○ vivid language: words that are full of life
○ sensory language: words that appeal to seeing,
hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling
○ rhetorical figures of speech: make striking
comparisons between things that are not obviously
alike
→ rhetorical structures of speech: combine ideas in
a particular way
○ simile: a direct comparison of dissimilar things using
the word like or as
○ metaphor: an implied comparison between two
unlike things, expressed without using like or as
○ analogy: an extended metaphor
○ alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words that are near one another
○ assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in a phrase or
phrases
○ onomatopoeia: use of words that sound like the things
they stand for
○ personification: attributing human qualities to a
concept or an inanimate object
○ repetition: restating words, phrases, or sentences for
emphasis
○ antithesis: combining contrasting ideas in the same
sentence
DELIVERY
• public speaking apprehension: the level of fear a person
experiences when anticipating or actually speaking to an
audience
• anticipation phase: anxiety we experience before giving
the speech
• confrontation phase: the surge of anxiety we experience
when beginning to deliver the speech
• adaptation phase: the period during which our anxiety
gradually decreases
• Management Techniques
○ Communication Orientation Motivation (COM):
adopting a communication rather than performance
orientation toward speeches
○ performance orientation: believing we must impress a
hypercritical audience with our knowledge and
delivery
○ communication orientation: focusing on talking with
others about an important topic and getting the
message across to them
○ visualization: developing a mental picture of yourself
giving a masterful speech
○ systematic desensitization: gradually visualizing and
then engaging in more frightening speaking events
○ cognitive restructuring: replacing anxiety-arousing
negative self-talk with anxiety- reducing positive
self-talk
○ public speaking skills training: the systematic
teaching of the skills associated with preparing and
delivering an effective public speech
• Characteristics of Effective Delivery Style
○ delivery: how a message is communicated orally and
visually through the use of voice and body
○ conversational style: presenting a speech so that your
audience feels you are talking with them
○ spontaneity: the ability to sound natural when giving
a speech
○ animated: lively and dynamic
○ intelligible: understandable
○ articulation: using the tongue, palate, teeth, jaw
movement, and lips to shape vocalized sounds that
combine to produce a word
○ pronunciation: the form and accent of various
syllables of a word
○ accent: the articulation, inflection, tone, and speech
habits typical of the native speakers of a language
○ vocal expression: variations in pitch, volume, rate, and
quality that affect the meaning an audience gets from
the sentences you speak
○ monotone: a voice in which the pitch, volume, and
rate remain constant, with no word, idea, or sentence
differing significantly from any other
○ pauses: moments of silence strategically used to
enhance meaning
○ Use of body:
→ Appearance: some speakers think that what they
wear doesn’t or shouldn’t affect the success of
their speech.
– Consider the audience and occasion
– Consider your topic and purpose
– Avoid extremes
→ Posture is how you hold your body
→ Poise: graceful and controlled use of the body
→ Eye contact: involves looking at people in all
parts of the room (including the camera if being
recorded) throughout the speech
– Audience contact: when speaking to large
audiences, create a sense of looking listeners
in the eye even though you actually cannot
→ facial expression: is the arrangement of facial
muscles to express emotions
– nonverbal immediacy: communicating
through body language that you are
personable and likeable
→ gestures: are the movements of your hands,
arms, and fingers
→ movement: refers to changing your body
position.
– motivated movement: movement with a
specific purpose
• Delivery methods:
○ impromptu speech: a speech that is delivered with
only seconds or minutes of advance notice
 ○ scripted speech: a speech prepared by creating a
complete written manuscript and delivered by rote
memory or by reading a written copy
○ extemporaneous speech: a speech that is researched
and planned ahead of time, although the exact
wording is not scripted and will vary from
presentation to presentation
• Rehearsals
○ Rehearsing: the iterative process of practicing your
speech aloud
→ Preparing speaking notes:
– speaking notes: a key word outline of your
speech
→ Handling presentational aids:
– Carefully plan when to use presentational
aids
– Consider audience needs carefully
– Position presentational aids and equipment
before beginning your speech
– Share a presentational aid only when talking
about it
– Display presentational aids so that everyone
in the audience can see and hear them
– Reference the presentational aid during the
speech
– Talk to your audience, not to the
presentational aid
– Resist the temptation to pass objects
through the audience
→ Practice rounds:
– First Practice Round: Record (audio and
video) your practice session so you can ana-
lyze the delivery and make improvements
– Analysis: Watch and listen to the recorded
performance while reviewing your complete
outline
– Second Practice: Repeat the six steps
outlined for the first practice
– Additional Practice Rounds: After you have
completed one full practice round—
consisting of two practices and the analysis
in between them—put the speech away until
that night or the next day
→ Adapting Your Speech for Virtual Audiences