Organizing Your Speech

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Chapter 9

• Organizing Your Speech

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The Introduction

• An Introduction does four things
• 1. It gets the attention of the audience
• 2. It provides a clear link from your
  attention-getter to your speech topic, or
  thesis statement.
• 3. It gives your specific thesis statement.
• 4. It presents a preview of the major areas
  that will be discussed.

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1. Attention Getters

• Ask your audience a question about your topic.
• 1. This fires up their curiosity about your
  topic, it also makes them active participants in
  your speech.
• 2. It is best use a Rhetorical Question, or
  ones that dont really demand a verbal response.
  They are often safe questions because they
  answer themselves.

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Attention Getters (cont.)

• Use startling information
• 1. Startling statistic
• 2. This can sometimes backfire by offending
  the audience.
• Give a quotation
• Use humor tell a funny story, anecdote about
  your topic.

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2. The Link

• The Link serves two purposes
• 1. This is the statement that comes between
  the attention-getter and the thesis statement
  and logically connect the two.
• 2. It should develop a bridge between the
  audience members so that they are motivated to
  listen to your topic.
• Usually one sentence will do the job of the link.

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The Thesis

• The thesis should both clarify the overall goal
  of your speech (to inform, to persuade, or to
  entertain) and state your specific topic.
• The thesis should also clarify the angle or slant
  of your topic.
• What is the point of your speech?

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4. The Preview Statement

• Usually one sentence at the end of the
  introduction that gives the audience an overview
  of the major areas that will be discussed in the
  body of the speech.
• The major areas mentioned in your preview
  statement will be repeated later in the body of
  your speech with specific examples added for
  support.

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Organizing Your Speech

• The Conclusion

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The Summary

• The summary should remind your audience of the
  main headings or major areas of analysis that you
  covered in your speech.
• Repeat you speech thesis in the summary this
  guarantees that the listener remembers the point
  you are trying to make.
• Sometimes you might want to use a memorable or
  hard-hitting detail.

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The Final Clincher or Final Impression.

• Your final statement ends your speech, clinches
  your argument, and makes a memorable final
  impression.
• You can use a question, make a startling
  statement, give a quotation, tell a story, or
  make a reference. Similar to how you started
  your speech.