Basic Public Speaking, 2nd Edition-   The Roadmap to Confident Communications 

Douglas Parker, M.Ed.

Basic Speech Organization Skills

Several famous speakers have commented on what the most important thing to remember for effective public speaking is: "Tell 'em what you're going to tell, 'em; tell 'em; and then tell 'em what you told 'em."

As simple as this may sound, this is the format for the typical deductive public speech: the introduction (tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em); the body (tell 'em); and the conclusion (tell 'em what you told 'em).  It is important to explore the nature of these three speech elements. The following goes into detail about the functionality of each of the main components of the speech.

The Introduction has three major roles: to catch the listener's interest, to move the topic from general to specific, and to deliver the Speech Focusing Statement (see Pre-Speech Lesson Number Four in the text for details on creating a Speech Focusing Statement).  Whatever you do, do not start your speech by merely stating your topic!

Catching the Listeners' Interest

To catch the listener's interest you may want to try a few techniques.  You could ask a rhetorical question (Is humankind really heading towards disaster).  On the other hand, you could start with a short story that will pull the listener in, such as a small narrative about a soldier in battle.  It really does not matter what technique you use to attract the listener as long as you follow two basic rules:

1) The story or question you choose is germane to your topic

2) You finish the story or answer your question in your conclusion

Moving Down the Funnel

Once you have everyone's attention, you next move your introduction towards your exact topic.  Most speakers give a general background of the topic.  For example, if your topic is on World War II, you might want to discuss wars in general with such elements as arms and planes and strategy.  Then once you have set the stage, you can begin to tighten the aspects about World War II, which will be included in the body of the speech.  For example, if your topic is still World War II, you might find it a bit difficult to cover every facet of the war.  What you have to do is to zoom in on three or four of the basic areas of World War II, such as the air war, naval battles, and the major weapons used.

Think of the process like a funnel sitting on a bottle.  You start with a wide discussion at the top, and then constrict your discussion sliding down to the specifics of your topic.  By the time you hit the neck of the funnel, the audience knows exactly where you are heading and what the elements of your topic will be.

Finally, once you are sliding down the neck of the funnel and have announced the specifics of your speech, you deliver your Speech Focusing Statement.  The Speech Focusing Statement is your "tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em."

After you have your introduction, you have to move along to the "meat" of your speech - the body.  The body tells all of the facts and explains all the details of your Speech Focusing Statement.  Tips on how to construct the body are covered in the Strategy section.  You should be very careful to follow the pattern as outlined in your introduction.  If you tell your listeners that you are going to discuss issues A, B and C in your introduction, then you must discuss A, B, C, not B, C, A or C, B, A, etc.

While the order of your topics is an important issue, the logical design and construction you employ is equally as important.  In other words, what reasoning did you use for ordering your speech?  Are you showing how something developed over time?  Are you explaining why something happened the way it did?  Are you detailing how to do something?

Speech Construction Methods

To answer these concerns, there are several logical patterns you can follow when designing your speech.  Some of the most obvious methods for construction are as follows:

-Trace - show the exact steps taken on how your topic came about.

-Define and differ - first, place your topic into its class (e.g., a koala is an animal that lives in a tree).  Next, show how your topic differs from all other members of its class (the koala differs from all other tree-dwelling animals as far as it lives in Australia, is a marsupial, has thick, gray fur, and does television commercials).

-Process - show how something is done or how to do something.

-Problem solving - show how to address a specific or general concern about something.

-Describe - describe your topic with details, trying to create a mood for your listeners.  This style works well when talking about out of the ordinary topics (e.g., paint a word picture to affect the listeners' emotions.  If there was a fire, describe the searing heat and the blue-red fire rather than just listing the factual details).

Methods of Presentation

Once you have decided on the logical development of your topic, you can consider some of the various methods to present the order of your ideas:

-Chronological order - the time order in which events took place.

-Cause to effect - show how your topic was the result of essential events.

-Climax order - work from the least important information to the most important.

-Anti-climax order - work from the most to least important information.

-Spatial order - describe the physical setup of your topic.

Finally, you move to your conclusion.  To begin, never say, "in conclusion," or "at last," in your speech.  This gives the listener permission to tune you out.  It is a much better idea to simply restate your introduction and tell the audience why it was important that they listened, and what you want them to do or to get out of the presentation. 

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