Public Speaking

Structuring the Message

Introduction

Introduction – PART IAttention-getter

• Personal references• Humor / Play-on-words• Rhetorical or action questions

(ALWAYS follow-up)• Unusual or dramatic devices• Quotes related to topic

“So, I’m going to be speaking about...”is not a good introduction

Introductions: An exercise

You are giving a speech about

_______________Come up with:

A GOODATTENTION-GETTING

INTRODUCTORYSTATEMENT

A BAD ATTENTION-GETTING

INTRODUCTORYSTATEMENT

Introduction PART IIOrienting Material

• Historical background• Definition of terms• Personal history of tie to

the topic• Are you qualified to

present the information?• How does this topic

affect the audience?

Back to our exercise

What would be appropriate orienting material for your speech?

Introduction – PART IICentral idea

• Indicates you purpose and what you want from your listeners

• Should always be part of the introduction

Body

StructureSpatial

Set a point of reference at a specific location and follow a geographic pattern

• EX: Financial tax base of the state of Maryland

StructureTime / Chronological

Order information from a beginning point to an ending one with all the steps developed in a numerical or time sequence

• EX: Development of mobile technology

StructureTopical

Ideas are organized on the basis of their similarities or other relationships

• EX: Board games – multi-player elimination, multi-player no elimination, economics and strategy, physical skills, children’s

StructureCausal

Shows how two or more events are connected in such a way that if one occurs, the other will necessarily follow

• EX: How a well-developed resume can get you your dream job

StructureComparison-contrast

Shows difference and similarities

• EX: Community colleges vs. Four-year institutions

StructureProblem-solution

Speaker identifies a problem and attempts to determine how to solve it

• EX: Local shelters are the way to eradicatie homelessness

YOUR SPEECH

How could we best arrange the body of your speech? What makes the most sense?

Transitions (a.k.a. the thing I might most grill you on)

Summarize/restate the previous statement (exception: First transition) and forecast the next one

Transitions (examples)

Now that you know what I’ll be talking about, let me begin with my first main point.

Transitions (examples)

There are many health issues caused by smoking. I plan to discuss two of them.

Transitions (examples)

When I began this speech, I told you the story about my immigrant grandfather. Now that I’m about to conclude my remarks, I want to tell you of his motto. “He always said…”

Transitions (examples)

While the problem of American dependence of foreign oil is large and significant, I believe that there is a solution that we can easily implement. My proposal will reduce oil consumption while also promoting a sense of community. We should provide tax incentives for those who carpool.

Transitions (examples)

Thus far we have seen that the second World War was fought on the air and on the land. Now I’d like to turn out attention to the war on the sea.

Transitions (examples)

Before I conclude my speech, are there any questions?

Conclusion

ConclusionSummary of major points

Clincher

• Last line of the speech, make it memorable… but NOT FLUFF!

• “That’s it” or “I’m done” are not good clinchers

• A good technique is to tie your clincher back to your attention-getting introductory statement