Outlining Sections 14.1-2 The Fun of Outlining and Why Outlining? The Fun of Outlining The more fully you can come to understand the outline as both rule-bound and creative, the more fully you will experience its usefulness and its power to deliver your message in a unified, coherent way.If you omit a step in reasoning, your speech will be vulnerable to lapses in logic, lapses in the evidence you need to make your case, and the risk of becoming a disjointed, disorienting message.In a speech, you must be attentive to reasoning in logical steps so that your audience understands the meaning you intend to convey. Why Outline? Background In order for your speech to be as effective as possible, it needs to be organized into logical patterns.Information will need to be presented in a way your audience can understand. Why Standard OutlinesYou can make decisions about your main points more clearly.You can more easily examine the specific information you will use to support those points.You can analyze the language you will use within the speech. What happens if you don’t use an outline?You’ll lose logical integrity (a characteristic of reasoning in which each claim is carefully supported by an orderly sequence of the right kind of evidence and by the right amount of evidence).Your speech might become a list of bullet points with no apparent connection to each other except the topic.Your audience won’t be able to follow your logical progression in the speech itself, which will hurt your attempts to inform, persuade, or entertain. Reasons for Strong Outlines Tests scope of content - a comparison of each main point to the thesis statement.If you find a poor match, you will know you’ve wandered outside the scope of the thesis.When you write in outline form, it is much easier to test the scope of your content because you can visually locate specific information easily and then check it against your thesis statement. Tests Logical Relation of PartsOften the main points of a speech can be arranged into a logical pattern. Common Organizational PatternsA chronological pattern arranges main ideas in the order events occur.A cause-and-effect pattern calls on you to describe a specific situation and explain what the effect is.A biographical pattern is usually chronological. In describing the events of an individual’s life, you will want to choose the three most significant events.A comparison-contrast pattern appears to dictate just two main points, but you can easily create a third point by giving basic information about what is being compared and what is being contrasted. Tests Relevance of Supporting IdeasWhen you create an outline, you can clearly see that you need supporting evidence for each of your main points.Expert OpinionYour sources should come from experts in relevant fields.The evidence might even be expert opinion but not the opinions of ordinary people.Expert opinion will provide stronger support for your p.

1. Outlining
Sections 14.1-2
The Fun of Outlining
and
Why Outlining?
The Fun of Outlining The more fully you can come to
understand the outline as both rule-bound and creative, the more
fully you will experience its usefulness and its power to deliver
your message in a unified, coherent way.If you omit a step in
reasoning, your speech will be vulnerable to lapses in logic,
lapses in the evidence you need to make your case, and the risk
of becoming a disjointed, disorienting message.In a speech, you
must be attentive to reasoning in logical steps so that your
audience understands the meaning you intend to convey.
Why Outline?

2. Background In order for your speech to be as effective as
possible, it needs to be organized into logical
patterns.Information will need to be presented in a way your
audience can understand.
Why Standard OutlinesYou can make decisions about your main
points more clearly.You can more easily examine the specific
information you will use to support those points.You can
analyze the language you will use within the speech.
What happens if you don’t use an outline?You’ll lose logical
integrity (a characteristic of reasoning in which each claim is
carefully supported by an orderly sequence of the right kind of
evidence and by the right amount of evidence).Your speech
might become a list of bullet points with no apparent connection
to each other except the topic.Your audience won’t be able to
follow your logical progression in the speech itself, which will
hurt your attempts to inform, persuade, or entertain.
Reasons for
Strong Outlines Tests scope of content - a comparison of each
main point to the thesis statement.If you find a poor match, you
will know you’ve wandered outside the scope of the
thesis.When you write in outline form, it is much easier to test
the scope of your content because you can visually locate
specific information easily and then check it against your thesis

3. statement.
Tests Logical Relation of PartsOften the main points of a
speech can be arranged into a logical pattern.
Common Organizational PatternsA chronological pattern
arranges main ideas in the order events occur.A cause-and-
effect pattern calls on you to describe a specific situation and
explain what the effect is.A biographical pattern is usually
chronological. In describing the events of an individual’s life,
you will want to choose the three most significant events.A
comparison-contrast pattern appears to dictate just two main
points, but you can easily create a third point by giving basic
information about what is being compared and what is being
contrasted.
Tests Relevance of Supporting IdeasWhen you create an outline,
you can clearly see that you need supporting evidence for each
of your main points.Expert OpinionYour sources should come
from experts in relevant fields.The evidence might even be
expert opinion but not the opinions of ordinary people.Expert
opinion will provide stronger support for your point.When
creating your outline, list the sources of your information
clearly.From the beginning of the supporting point, you need to
fully cite your source so your audience can assess its
importance.
Test the Balance and Proportion of the SpeechPart of the value

4. of writing an outline is the visual space you use for each of
your main points.Is each main point of approximately the same
importance?Does each main point have the same number of
supporting points?If you find that one of your main points has
eight supporting points while the others only have three each,
you can either:Choose the best three from the eight supporting
points.Strengthen the authoritative support for your other two
main points.
Serves as Notes
During the SpeechAlthough we recommend writing a full-
sentence outline during the speech preparation phase, you
should also create a shortened outline that you can use as notes
allowing for a strong delivery.If you were to use the full-
sentence outline when delivering your speech, you would do a
great deal of reading, which would limit your ability to give eye
contact and use gestures, hurting your connection with your
audience.
The Five Card MethodYour first 4 x 6 notecard can contain your
thesis statement and other key words and phrases that will help
you present your introduction.Your second card can contain
your first main point, together with key words and phrases to
act as a map to follow as you present.Your third card can
contain your second main point, together with key words and
phrases to act as a map to follow as you present.Your fourth
card can contain your third main point, together with key words
and phrases to act as a map to follow as you present.Your final
card should contain your review of the main points, a
restatement of your thesis, and your concluding device.

5. Section 14.3
Types of Outlines
Working Outline
What is a
Working Outline?An outline you use for developing your
speech.A working outline undergoes many changes on its way to
completion.This is the outline where you lay out the basic
structure of your speech.
Should Contain Your
Basic Structure You must have a general and specific
purpose.An introduction, including a grabber; and a concrete,
specific thesis statement and preview.Each of your three main
body sections.Include working transitions between each of your
five main areas.A conclusion including a restatement of your
main points, a restatement of your thesis, and a concluding
device.
The working outline shouldn’t be thought of a “rough copy,”
but as a careful step in the development of your message.

6. See the textbook for a sample of a working outline.
Full-Sentence OutlineYour full-sentence outline should contain
full sentences only.
Why Sentence Outlines are ImportantYou have a full plan of
everything you intend to say to your audience, so that you will
not have to struggle with wordings or examples.You have a
clear idea of how much time it will take to present your
speech.It contributes a fundamental ingredient of good
preparation, part of your ethical responsibility to your audience.
See the textbook for a sample of a full-sentence outline.
Why Labeling Main Parts is Important in a Sentence OutlineAs
you develop your message, you will sometimes find it necessary
to go back and look at your wording in another part of the
outline. The labels make this easier. The labels work as a
checklist so that you can make sure you’ve included everything
you intended to.It helps you prepare your speaking outline.
References and a
Sentence OutlineYou’ll also notice the full references at the end

7. of the outline.The references should match the citations within
the outline.
Speaking OutlineSpeaking outline: A pared down version of the
sentence outline that consists primarily of key words and
phrases to help a speaker remember the full content of the
sentence outline.If you have your full-sentence outline with
you, you will end up reading, rather than speaking, to your
audience.Again, we recommend the five card method discussed
earlier.
Why Use Notecards?The presence of your full-sentence outline
will make it appear that you don’t know the content of your
speech.The temptation to read the speech directly from the full-
sentence outline is nearly overwhelming.Sheets of paper are
noisier and more awkward than cards.It’s easier to lose your
place using the full outline.Cards just look better. This is also
the type of information that should appear on your Power Point.
Tips for Preparing and Using NotecardsLimit yourself to five
notecards. You should number your cards and write on one side
only.Make sure you clearly number your notecards – very
helpful if they get dropped.Each card should contain key words
and key phrases but not full sentences.
Tips for Preparing and Using Notecards cont.Add cards as
necessary only if you have a lengthy direct quotation that is
important for your speech.Practice using your notecards to

8. become comfortable delivering your speech from the cards.You
may want to include notes about presentation aids on your cards
to remember to use a presentation aid in a specific part of your
speech.
See the textbook for a sample of a speaking outline using five
notecards.
Section 14.4
Using Outlining for Success
Five Principles for a
Logical Outline
SingularityEach part of an outline should express one idea and
one idea only.Make sure your thesis statement expresses one
idea only.Each main point should express one clear idea.If many
different ideas are required to build a complete message, you
can handle them in separate sentences with the use of such
transitions as, “at the same time,” “alternately,” “in response to
that event,” or some other transition that clarifies the
relationship between two separate ideas.
ConsistencyBeyond the grammatical requirements of subject-

9. verb agreement, you will want to maintain a consistent
approach.Unless your speech has a chronological structure that
begins in the past and ends in the future, you should choose a
tense, past or present, to use throughout the speech.You should
choose language and use it consistently throughout the speech.
If an idea or concept goes by multiple names, choose one of
them and stick with that name to avoid confusing your
audience.Define your terms and use those terms only to
designate the meanings in your definition.
AdequacyDefinitions of TermsYou should use concrete
language as much as you can.You should define any key terms
in your speech to ensure everyone understands what you mean
by those key terms.You may not find any definition of a key
term that conveys your meaning. Therefore, you will need to
define for your audience what you mean in your speech by that
key term.
Adequacy cont.Support for Your Main PointsEvidence of the
right kind and the right weight are needed.If you make a
substantial claim, you need expert sources.This means you need
at least two well-known experts from the institutions that
provide news (newspapers, television news, or news radio).They
should be credible sources, not with extreme views whose
contact with reality is questioned.
UniformityA full-sentence outline readily shows whether you
are giving “equal time” to each of your three main points.A
full-sentence outline shows whether each main point is directly
related to the thesis statement.

10. ParallelismThe idea that the three main points follow the same
structure or make use of the same kind of language.Parallelism
also allows you to check for inconsistencies and self-
contradictory statements.
Concluding With Power
Sections 13.1 & 13.2
Almost to the Finish Line
and
Why Conclusions Matter
The Functions Fulfilled by the Conclusion
Signals the EndMany speakers really don’t prepare their
audience for the end.When a speaker just suddenly stops
speaking, the audience is left confused and disappointed.We

11. want to make sure that audiences are left knowledgeable and
satisfied with our speeches.
Aids Audience Memory of
Your Speech
Ebbinghaus’ (1885) Serial Position EffectHe found an
individual’s ability to remember information in a list (e.g., a
grocery list, a chores list, or a to-do list) depends on the
location of an item on the list.He found that items toward the
top of the list and items toward the bottom of the list tended to
have the highest recall rates.
Primacy and Recency Primacy: Information that is presented
first.Recency: Information that is presented last.The serial
position effect basically finds that information at the beginning
of a list (primacy) and information at the end of the list
(recency) are easier to recall than information in the middle of
the list.
Ray Ehrensberger’s StudyTest Ebbinghaus’ serial position
effect in public speaking.Ehrensberger created an experiment
that rearranged the ordering of a speech to determine the recall
of information.Ehrensberger found that the information
delivered during the conclusion (recency) had the highest level
of recall overall.

12. Section 13.3
Steps of a Conclusion
Steps of a Conclusion
Restatement of the ThesisA thesis statement is a short,
declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea
of a speech.Restating the thesis in your conclusion reminds the
audience of the major purpose or goal of your speech, helping
them remember it better.
Review of Main PointsOne of the biggest differences between
written and oral communication is the necessity of repetition in
oral communication.When we preview our main points in the
introduction, effectively discuss and make transitions to our
main points during the body of the speech, and finally, review
the main points in the conclusion, we increase the likelihood
that the audience will retain our main points after the speech is
over.
Concluding DeviceA concluding device is essentially the final
thought you want your audience members to have when you stop
speaking.

13. Miller’s Ten Concluding Devices
Conclude with a ChallengeA challenge is a call to engage in
some kind of activity that requires a contest or special
effort.The goal of a challenge is to get audience members to go
out of their way to do something different that involves effort
on their part.
Conclude with a QuotationRecite a quotation relevant to the
speech topic.Some quotations will have a clear call to action,
while other quotations summarize or provoke thought.
Conclude with a SummaryA speaker simply elongates the
review of the main points.While this may not be the most
exciting concluding device, it can be useful for information that
was highly technical or complex or for speeches lasting longer
than thirty minutes.
Conclude by Visualizing the FutureThe goal here is to help your
audience see a different future based on the information within
your speech.Speakers use visualization of the future to depict
how society would be, or how individual listeners’ lives would
be different, if the speaker’s persuasive attempt worked.If your
goal is to persuade people to adopt your point of view, then,
showing that your vision of the future is a positive one is
important.

14. Conclude with an
Appeal for Action
Appeal for ActionWhen a speaker asks her or his audience to
engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking.When a
speaker concludes by asking the audience “to do” or “to think”
in a specific manner, the speaker wants to see an actual
change.Ultimately, the speaker is asking the audience to engage
in action.This concluding device is innately persuasive, so you
should not use it for an informative speech.
Types of AppealsLong-term call to action: Asks for people to
engage in behavior in the future.Immediate call to action: Asks
people to engage in behavior right now.
Conclude by InspirationThe word “inspire” means to affect or
arouse someone.The ultimate goal of an inspiration concluding
device is similar to an “appeal for action” but the ultimate goal
is more lofty or ambiguous; the goal is to stir someone’s
emotions in a specific manner.
Conclude with AdviceAdvice: A speaker’s opinion about what
should or should not be done.The problem with opinions is that
everyone has one, and one person’s opinion is not necessarily
any more correct than another’s.There needs to be a really good

15. reason your opinion—and therefore your advice—should matter
to your audience.As such, unless you are a noted expert, this
concluding device may not be appropriate.
Conclude by
Proposing a
Solution
Offer a solution to the problem discussed within a
speech.Although this can be an effective conclusion, a speaker
must ask herself or himself whether the solution should be
discussed in more depth as a stand-alone main point within the
body of the speech so that audience concerns about the proposed
solution may be addressed.
Conclude with a QuestionAsk a rhetorical question that forces
the audience to ponder an idea.The goal of this is to get
audience members thinking, not have them actually answer the
question out loud.

16. Conclude with a Reference to AudienceThis concluding device
is when a speaker attempts to answer the basic audience
question, “What’s in it for me?”The goal of this concluding
device is to spell out the direct benefits a behavior or thought
change has for audience members.
Informative vs. Persuasive ConclusionsNot all concluding
devices are equally beneficial for both informative and
persuasive conclusions.
Your Speech Purpose and Concluding DevicesTypes of
Concluding DevicesGeneral Purposes of
SpeechesInformativePersuasiveEntertainingChallengexxQuotati
onxxxSummaryxxxVisualizing the
FuturexxxAppealxxInspirationalxxxAdvicexxProposal of