COMPOSING YOUR SPEECH

DEVELOPING YOUR SPEECH THESIS

 Speech Thesis
- Is one compete sentence that identifies the central idea of your presentation for your
audience. This statement is the foundation for composing your speech.
3 Requirements to have a good Speech Thesis:
- It evolves from your specific purpose statement. You adapt the idea based on what you
discover during research and to be more specific to your actual speech.
- The speech thesis clearly demonstrates to the audience your overall point on the topic.
- The thesis provides clues as how your main points will develop.
Note:
The speech thesis is stated directly during the introduction of your presentation, whereas the
specific purpose guides your research.
Example:
Specific purpose: I want to inform my audience how to effectively handle bullying in the workplace.
Speech thesis: Workplace bullying is in intolerable situation that can be effectively curbed through
specific action.

IDENTIFYING AND SUPPORTING YOUR MAIN POINTS

The speech thesis reflects your point of view or positon on the topic and you need evidences to back up
your ideas. You do this by identifying your main points and providing supporting materials.

With your speech thesis drafted, you can begin to structure your speech – that is, determine what will
you say in each part of your presentation.
Most speeches have three parts:
 Introduction: You lay your groundwork for your speech by connecting with your audience,
disclosing your speech thesis, establishing your credibility and previewing your main points.
 Body: You develop your speech thesis with main points and supporting evidences. This is the
heart of your presentation.
 Conclusion: You summarize your main points and share any final thoughts on your topic.

IDENTIFYING YOUR MAIN POINTS

 Main points – is the key statements or principles that support your speech thesis and help your
audience understand your message. These are the ideas that build case for why your thesis
statement is true.

Ways to identify your Main points:

- Ask yourself what essential information is necessary to support your thesis.

- You also can identify main points for your thesis by looking for themes in your research.

Guidelines to remember when developing your main points:

- A speech should contain a small number of main points, usually two to five.
- Each main point must support your thesis statement
 - Each main point should focus on only one idea.

Some main points may need to be further divided into subpoints, specific principles derived from
breaking down main points. It is useful if a particular main point can be broken down into parts or steps.

SUPPORTING YOUR MAIN POINTS

Supporting materials includes definitions, statistics, examples, and testimony—the proof you need to
back up your claims.

 Definitions – be aware of when you may have to define terms for your listeners. After all
differences in language use can cause misunderstandings.
 Statistics – is a number that summarizes a formal observation about a phenomenon and help
you make a compelling point.
Few things to keep in mind when using statistics:
- Think about using a visual chart or graph to summarize statistical information.
- Round off large numbers.
- Place statistics in a context that will be meaningful to our audience
- Statistics should be used sparingly.
 Examples – main points are made vivid and clear when you use examples, or specific references
that illustrate ideas. You can use real examples, hypothetical examples and analogy.
- Real examples are drawn from actual events or occurrences
- Hypothetical example is an imagined event or occurrences-- to make a point.
- Analogy is a special type of example which compares something that is familiar to your
audience with something that is unfamiliar to them but that you want them to understand.
 Testimony – is a common way that speakers support main points by relying on the words or
experiences of others. It is either expert testimony or layperson testimony.
- Expert testimony comes from those who, by way of their academic study, work experience
or research, have special knowledge about your topic.
- Layperson testimony derived from those who have personal experiences with the topic.

Testimony can be presented in your speech by direct quotation or paraphrasing.

ORGANIZING YOUR SPEECH

You need to develop a clear organization for your speech, transition smoothly throughout the
presentation and keep your audience engaged.

SELETING AN ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERN

There are five common organizational patterns: topical, chronological, spatial, cause-effect, and
problem-solution.

 Topical – use this pattern when your main points can be organized into categories or subtopics.
 Chronological – you can use this pattern when your main points suggest a time sequence or a
series of steps. Speeches about process or how to do or make something often use this pattern.
 Spatial- shows listeners how things are related within a physical space.
 Cause-effect – enables you to show how events or forces will lead to (or did lead to) specific
outcomes.
  Problem-solution – helps you motivate listeners to take action to address a challenge. In this
arrangement, you describe a problem and then present a solution.

USING CONNECTIVES

Once you’ve arranged your main points in an organizational pattern, think about how connectives –
words and phrases that linked your ideas together – will help you move from one idea to the next.

Four types of connectives:

1. Internal Previews – these statements let your audience in on what you are going to tell them
before you do. Consider this internal preview in a speech about why students drop out of
school:
Three factors contribute to student drop out. These are the lack of academic readiness, financial need, and
poor advertisement. Let’s look at each of these in turn.

2. Internal Summaries – provides a short review of information you’ve discussed within a section
of the speech.
As you just heard, poor academic preparations, inadequate finances, and misguided advice prior to
enrollment are contributing causes to student dropout rates.

3. Transitional Phrases – you can use this connective when you want to indicate that you’re
shifting to another point or idea. These phrases provide a verbal signal that you are moving on:
Now that we’ve examined the reasons for students drop out, let’s focus on what you can do to prevent it.

4. Signposts – are brief words – often numbers – that quickly introduces a new idea. Words like
first, second, next, additionally, and finally are signposts as in the following:
Additionally, students can take action to control the forces causing them to drop out.
KEEPING LISTENERS ENGAGED

When planning your organizational pattern and use of connectives, also think about ways to keep your audience
engaged:

 Integrate novelty. Look for ways to tell your audience something they don’t already know. You also
achieve novelty by having an appropriate mix of statistics, testimony, and examples to support your
points.
 Use appropriate humor. A funny story or joke invites attentions and is memorable. After all, most people
like to laugh. But use humor sparingly, and make it relevant (Gruner, 1985).
 Tells a story. Stories work best when they contain descriptive language, evoke emotions, and, of course,
are relevant to the points you’re making.
 Integrate presentation aids. Consider how charts, graphs, images, videos, animations, and other materials
can be brought into your presentation to support your point.