Developing an Effective Speech Outline, Exercises of Construction

Developing an Effective Speech Outline

If you were planning to build a house from scratch, you would require a plan

or blueprint to follow. This blueprint would show you exactly where every

door, window, wall, and stairway was located and show its relationship to

every other structural detail. This blueprint would provide you with "at a

glance" answers to questions concerning content and structure of your

words: "To inform my audience*" or "To persuade my audience*"

(Remember: This statement needs to be sufficiently narrowed so that

you can cover the topic effectively and still meet time constraints.

You will not say your specific purpose statement aloud - - it is a

statement of intent only!)

2. State your Central Idea. Essentially, the central idea statement is

equivalent to a thesis statement in a written essay, summarizing what

you expect to cover in a speech in a single sentence. It is what you

will say during the introduction of your speech. For example, "Three

introduction.)

3. Label the Introduction, Body and Conclusion sections of your outline.

Labeling the parts of your speech not only ensures that you have all

the parts, but it also provides a marker to help you locate where you

are when speaking.

4. Use a Consistent Pattern of Symbolization and Indentation. The key

word here is consistency. You need to provide your eyes with easily

recognizable focal points. After all, one of the objectives you hope