This chapter is adapted from Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

How do I organize my main points?

How to Narrow Possible Points to Main Points

When creating a speech, it’s important to remember that speeches have three clear parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction establishes the topic and whets your audience’s appetite, and the conclusion wraps everything up at your speech’s end. Your speech’s real meat happens in the body.

In this section, we discuss how to think strategically about your speech’s body, how to take your speech from a specific purpose to creating your speech’s main points, and how to organize those main points into a coherent speech. We like the word strategic because it refers to determining what is important or essential to your speech’s overall plan or purpose. Too often, new speakers just throw information together and stand up and start speaking. When that happens, audience members are left confused, and the speech’s purpose may get lost. To avoid being seen as disorganized, start thinking critically about your speech’s organization.

From Specific Purpose to Main Points

Once you’ve written down your specific purpose, think about the best way to turn that specific purpose into your main points. Main points are the key ideas you present to accomplish your speech’s specific purpose

How Many Main Points Do I Need?

While there is no magic number for how many main points a speech should have, speech experts generally agree that the fewer the number the better. First and foremost, memory-subject experts have consistently shown that people tend not to remember very much after they listen to a message or leave a conversation (Bostrom & Waldhart, 1988). While many different factors affect a listener’s ability to retain a speech’s information, how the speech is organized is an important factor (Dunham, 1964; Smith, 1951; Thompson, 1960). We recommend you use two or three main points. If your speech is less than three minutes long, then two main points will work best. If your speech is between three and ten minutes long, then it makes more sense to use three main points. According to LeFrancois, people are more likely to remember information that is meaningful, useful, interesting, different or unique, organized, visual, and simple (LeFrancois, 1999). Two or three main points are much easier for listeners to remember than ten or even five. In addition, if you have two or three main points, you’ll better develop each one with examples, statistics, or other support forms that make your speech more interesting and more memorable for your audience.

Narrowing Down Your Main Points

When you write your specific purpose and review the topic research you’ve compiled, we recommend taking a few minutes to brainstorm and develop a list of points. In brainstorming, your goal is simply to think of as many different points as you can, not to judge how valuable or important they are. Notice what information your audience needs to know to understand your topic and what information your speech needs to convey to accomplish its specific purpose. Consider the following example:

Now that you have brainstormed and developed a list of possible points, how do you go about narrowing them down to just two or three main ones? Remember, your main points are the key ideas that help build your speech. When you look over the preceding list, see that many of the points are related to one another. Your goal is to identify which minor points can be combined into main points. This process is called chunking because it involves taking smaller information chunks and putting them together with like chunks to create more fully developed information chunks. Before reading the following chunking list, see if you can determine three large chunks from the preceding list—note that not all chunks are equal.

You may notice in the preceding list that the three main points’ subpoints are a little disjointed or the topics don’t go together clearly. That’s all right. Remember that these are just general ideas. It’s also important to remember that there is often more than one way to organize a speech. Some of these points could be left out and others more fully developed depending on the purpose and audience. We’ll develop the preceding main points more fully in a moment.

Now that we’ve discussed how to take a specific purpose and turn it into a series of main points, here are some helpful hints for uniting your main points.

Uniting Your Main Points

Once you’ve generated a possible main-points list, ask yourself this question: When you look at your main points, do they fit together? For example, if you look at the three preceding main points—school districts use software in their operations; what is open-source software; name some specific open-source software packages that may be appropriate for school administrators to consider—ask yourself, Do these main points help my audience understand my specific purpose? Suppose you added a fourth main point about open-source software for musicians—would this fourth main point go with the other three? Probably not. While you may have a strong passion for open-source music software, that main point is extraneous information for the speech you are giving. It does not help accomplish your specific purpose, so toss it out.

Keeping Your Main Points Separate

The next question to ask yourself about your main points is whether they overlap too much. While some overlap may happen naturally because of a specific topic’s singular nature, the information covered within each main point should be clearly distinct from the other main points. Imagine you’re giving a speech with this specific purpose: To inform my audience about the health reasons for eating apples and oranges. You could then have three main points: eating fruits is healthy, eating apples is healthy, and eating oranges is healthy. While the two points related to apples and oranges are clearly distinct, both of those main points would probably overlap too much with the first point—that eating fruits is healthy—so, eliminate the first point and focus on the second and third. On the other hand, keep the first point and then develop two new points giving additional support to why people should eat fruit.

Balancing Main Points

One of the biggest mistakes some speakers make is to spend most of their time talking about one main point and completely neglecting their other main points. To avoid this mistake, organize your speech so as to spend roughly the same time on each main point. If you find that one main point is simply too large, divide it into two main points and consolidate your other main points into a single one.

Let’s see if our preceding example is balanced: School districts use software in their operations. What is open-source software? Name some specific open-source software packages that are appropriate for school administrators to consider. What do you think? Obviously, the answer depends on how much time you have to talk about each main point. If you have an hour to talk, then these three main points are balanced. However, if you only have five minutes to speak, you may find them wildly unbalanced because five minutes is not enough time to even explain what open-source software is. If that’s the case, rethink your specific purpose to ensure that you can cover the material in the allotted time.

Creating Parallel Structure for Main Points

Another major question to ask yourself about your main points is whether or not they have a parallel structure. Parallel structure means to structure language so that it all sounds similar. When all your main points sound similar, your audience will remember and retain them for later. Let’s look at our sample: School districts use software in their operations. What is open-source software? Name some specific open-source software packages that are appropriate for school administrators to consider. Notice that the first and third main points are statements, but the second one is a question. These main points are not parallel in structure. You can fix this in one of two ways, such as, make them all questions: What are some common school district software programs? What is open-source software? What are some specific open-source software packages that are appropriate for school administrators to consider? Or, turn them all into statements: School districts use software in their operations. Define and describe open-source software. Name some specific open-source software packages that are appropriate for school administrators to consider. Either example makes the main points’ structure grammatically parallel.

Maintaining the Main Points’ Logical Flow

The last question to ask about your main points is whether they make sense in the order you’ve placed them. In the next section we discuss common organizational speech patterns, but for now, think about your main points’ logical flow. For instance, when you look at your main points, do they progress in a logical sequential order? Does it make sense to talk about one first, another one second, and the final one last? If not, rearrange them. Often, this process is an art and not a science. But let’s look at a few examples.

When you look at these two examples, what are your immediate impressions? In the first example, does it make sense to talk about history, then problems, and finally how to eliminate school dress codes? Would it make sense to put history as your last main point? No. These main points are in a logical sequential order. What about the second example? Does it make sense to talk first about the solution, then the problem, and then define the solution? No! To rearrange a logical sequential order, explain the problem first: no rider laws; then, define your solution: what is rider law legislation; then argue for your solution: why states should have rider laws.

Elements of Effective Organization

Have you ever listened to a speech or a lecture and found yourself thinking, “I am so lost!” or “Where the heck is this speaker going?” Chances are you were confused because the speaker didn’t effectively keep the speech moving. When we are reading and encounter something we don’t understand, we have the ability to reread the paragraph to clarify. Unfortunately, we are not that lucky when it comes to listening to a speaker. We cannot pick up our universal remote and rewind the person. For this reason, you must think about how to keep your speech moving so that your audience can easily follow it. In this section, we discuss four specific techniques to guide your audience: transitions, internal previews, internal summaries, and signposts.

Transitions between Main Points

A transition is a word, phrase, or sentence that indicates that a speaker is moving from one main point to another main point. To transition, the speaker summarizes what was said in one point and previews what is going to be discussed in the next point. Let’s look at some examples, and pay attention to each sentence’s first words:

• Now that we’ve seen the problems caused by no adolescent curfew laws, let’s examine how curfew laws could benefit our community.
• Thus far, we’ve examined alcohol abuse’s history and prevalence among Native Americans, but the greatest concern is alcohol abuse’s impact on Native Americans’ health.
• Now that we’ve thoroughly examined how these two medications are similar to one another, we can consider the many clear differences between the two medications.
• While he was one of the most prolific writers in Great Britain prior to World War II, Winston Churchill continued to publish during the war years as well.

Notice that in each example, the first few words are transition words: now that, thus far, while. Transition words are used to indicate a period of time concluding. See the Transition Words List, which contains many useful transitions to keep your speech moving.

Transition Words List

Internal Previews

In an internal preview, the speaker highlights what he or she is going to discuss within one specific main point. It works similarly to the introduction preview in which the speaker quickly outlines the speech’s three main body points.

Ausubel was the first person to examine the effect that internal previews had on retaining oral information (Ausubel, 1968). Basically, when a speaker clearly informs an audience what he or she is going to be talking about in a clear and organized manner, the audience listens for those main points and retains more of the speaker’s message. Let’s look at a sample internal preview:

To help us further understand why recycling is important, we will first explain recycling’s positive benefits and then explore how recycling can help our community.

When an audience hears that you will be exploring two different ideas within this main point, they are ready to listen for those main points as you talk about them. In essence, you’re helping your audience keep up with and navigate your speech.

Internal previews are often given after the speaker has transitioned to a main topic. For example, below see the previous internal preview with the transition to that main point.

Now that we’ve explored the effect that inconsistent recycling has on our community, let’s explore recycling’s importance for our community (transition). To help us further understand why recycling is important, we will first explain recycling’s positive benefits and then explore how recycling can help our community (internal preview).

While internal previews are definitely helpful, you do not need to include one for every main point. In fact, we recommend that you use internal previews sparingly to highlight only main points containing relatively complex information.

Internal Summaries

Whereas an internal preview helps an audience know from the beginning what you are going to talk about within a main point, an internal summary reminds an audience about what they just heard. In general, internal summaries are best used when the information within a specific main point is complicated. To write your own internal summaries, look at the summarizing transition words in the Transition Words List. Let’s look at an example:

To sum up, school bullying is a definite problem. Bullying in schools is detrimental to the victim’s grades, the victim’s standardized test scores, and the victim’s future educational outlook.

In this example, the speaker was probably talking about the impact that bullying has on an individual victim educationally. Of course, an internal summary can also be a great way to lead into a transition to the next point.

In this section, we have explored how bullying in schools is detrimental to the victim’s grades, the victim’s standardized test scores, and the victim’s future educational outlook (internal summary). Therefore, schools need to implement campus-wide, comprehensive anti-bullying programs (transition).

Unlike the more traditional transition, this speaker uses an internal summary to help the audience summarize the main point’s content. The sentence that follows then leads to the next major speech point, which is the importance of anti-bullying programs.

Signposts

Have you ever been on a road trip and watched the green rectangular mile signs pass you by? Fifty miles to go. Twenty-five miles to go. One mile to go. Speech signposts function the same way. A signpost is a guide a speaker gives the audience to help them navigate the speech’s content. In the “common sequence patterns,” of the Transition Words List, you’ll see possible signpost options. In essence, we use these short phrases at the beginning of information to help audience members keep up with what we’re discussing. For example, if you give a speech in which the main point is about the three credibility functions, use the following internal signposts:

• The first credibility function is competence.
• The second credibility function is trustworthiness.
• The final credibility function is caring or goodwill.

Signposts are simply meant to help your audience navigate your speech, so the more simplistic your signposts are, the easier it is for your audience to follow.

In addition to helping audience members navigate a speech, signposts highlight specific information the speaker thinks important. Where some signposts show the way, such as highway markers, signposts that call attention to specific information pieces are more like billboards. Look in the Transition Words List under the “emphasis” category for more useful words and phrases to highlight information. All these words are designed to help you call attention to what you are saying so that your audience will also recognize the information’s importance.

How can I use organizational patterns in my speech?

Organizational Patterns: Elements of Effective Organization

In this section we provide organizational patterns to help you create a logically organized speech. Keep in mind that some patterns are best for informative speeches, while other patterns better fit persuasive speeches. The first organizational pattern we’ll discuss is topical categories.

Topical Categories Organizational Patterns

Topical categories are by far the most common speech organizational pattern. Topical categories function as a way to help the speaker organize the message consistently. To use this organizational pattern, create topic categories or information chunks that go together to help support your original specific purpose. Let’s look at an example.

Specific
Purpose To inform college students about Internet dating’s uses and misuses.
Main Points

1. Define and describe Internet dating.
2. Explain some strategies to enhance your Internet dating experience.
3. List some warning signs to look for in potential online dates.

In this speech, the speaker talks about how to find other people online and to date them. Specifically, the speaker starts by explaining what Internet dating is; then, how to make Internet dating better for audience members; and finally, the speaker ends by discussing some negative Internet dating aspects. Again, notice that the information is chunked into three categories or topics and that the second and third could be reversed and still provide a logical speech structure.

Compare and Contrast Organizational Patterns

To compare and contrast is another speech organizational pattern. While this pattern clearly lends itself easily to two main points, you can also create a third point by giving basic information about what is being compared and what is being contrasted. Let’s look at two examples: the first one will be a two-point example, and the second, a three-point example.

Specific
Purpose To inform physicians about Drug X, a newer drug with similar applications to Drug Y.
Main Points

1. Show how Drug X and Drug Y are similar.
2. Show how Drug X and Drug Y differ.

Specific
Purpose To inform physicians about Drug X, a newer drug with similar applications to Drug Y.
Main Points

1. Explain both Drug X and Drug Y’s basic purpose and use.
2. Show how Drug X and Drug Y are similar.
3. Show how Drug X and Drug Y differ.

If you use the compare and contrast pattern for persuasive purposes in the preceding examples, make sure that when you show how Drug X and Drug Y differ, you clearly state why Drug X is the better choice for physicians to adopt. In essence, make sure that when you compare the two drugs, you show that Drug X has all the benefits of Drug Y, but when you contrast the two drugs, show how Drug X is superior to Drug Y in some way.

Comparative Advantages Organizational Patterns

Comparative advantages organizational patterns are used to compare items side-by-side and show why one of them is more advantageous than the other. For example, let’s say that you’re giving a speech on which e-book reader is better: Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Nobles’ Nook. Here’s how you could organize this speech:

Specific
Purpose To persuade my audience that the Nook is more advantageous than the Kindle.
Main Points

1. The Nook allows owners to trade and loan books to other owners or people who have downloaded the Nook software, while the Kindle does not.
2. The Nook has a color touch-screen, while the Kindle’s screen is black and grey and noninteractive.
3.  The Nook’s memory can be expanded through microSD, while the Kindle’s memory cannot be upgraded.

As you can see from this speech’s organization, the simple speech’s goal is to show why one thing has more positives than something else. Obviously, when you are demonstrating comparative advantages, the items you are comparing need to be functional equivalents—or, as the saying goes, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Spatial Organizational Patterns

Spatial organizational patterns place information according to how things fit together in physical space. This pattern is best used when your main points are oriented to different locations that can exist independently. The basic reason to choose this format is to show that the main points have clear locations. We’ll look at two examples: one involving physical geography and one involving a different spatial order.

Specific
Purpose To inform history students about the states that seceded from the United States during the Civil War.

Main Points

1. Locate and describe the Confederate states just below the Mason-Dixon Line, which are Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
2. Locate and describe the Confederate states in the deep South, which are South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
3. Locate and describe the western Confederate states, which are Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.

If you look at a basic United States’ map, you’ll notice that these state groupings are created because of their geographic location to one another. In essence, the states create three spatial territories to explain.

Now let’s look at a spatial speech unrelated to geography.

Specific
Purpose To explain to college biology students how the urinary system works.

Main Points

1. Locate and describe the kidneys and ureters.
2. Locate and describe the bladder.
3. Locate and describe the sphincter and urethra.

In this example, we still have three basic spatial areas. If you look at a urinary-system model, the first step is the kidney, which takes waste through the ureters to the bladder, which then relies on the sphincter muscle to excrete waste through the urethra. All we’ve done in this example is create a spatial speech order for discussing how waste is removed from the human body through the urinary system. It is spatial because the organizational pattern is determined by each body part’s physical location in relation to the others discussed.

Chronological Organizational Patterns

Chronological organizational patterns place the main idea’s points in a timeline in which items or events appear or occur—whether backward or forward. Here’s a simple example.

Specific
Purpose To inform my audience about the books written by Winston Churchill.

Main Points

1. Examine Winston Churchill’s writings, style, and content prior to World War II.
2. Examine Winston Churchill’s writings, style, and content during World War II.
3. Examine Winston Churchill’s writings, style, and content after World War II.

In this example, we’re looking at Winston Churchill’s writings in relation to before, during, and after World War II. By placing his writings into these three categories, we develop a system for understanding this material based on Churchill’s own life. Note that you could also use reverse chronological order and start with Churchill’s writings after World War II, progressing backward to his earliest writings.

Biographical Organizational Patterns

As you might guess, biographical organizational patterns are generally used when a speaker wants to describe a person’s life—either their own, or someone they know personally, or a famous person. Biographical speeches by nature tend to be informative or entertaining; they are usually not persuasive. Let’s look at an example.

Specific
Purpose To inform my audience about the early life of Marilyn Manson.

Main Points

1. Describe Brian Hugh Warner’s early life and his beginning feud with Christianity.
2. Describe Warner’s stint as a music journalist in Florida.
3. Describe Warner’s decision to create Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids.

In this example, we see how Brian Warner, through three major life periods, ultimately became the musician known as Marilyn Manson.

These three stages are presented in chronological order, but the biographical pattern does not have to be chronological. For example, it could compare and contrast different periods of the subject’s life, or it could focus topically on the subject’s different accomplishments.

Causal Organizational Patterns

Causal organizational patterns are used to explain cause-and-effect relationships. When you use a causal organizational pattern, your speech will have two basic main points: cause and effect. In the first main point, talk about a phenomenon’s causes, and in the second main point, show how the causes lead to either a specific effect or a small set of effects. Let’s look at an example.

Specific
Purpose To inform my audience about the problems associated with drinking among Native American tribal members.

Main Points

1. Explain the history and prevalence of Native Americans drinking alcohol.
2. Explain the effects that alcohol abuse has on Native Americans and how this differs from other populations’ experiences.

In this case, the first main point is about the history and prevalence of Native Americans drinking alcohol (the cause). The second point then examines the effects that alcohol abuse has on Native Americans and how it differs from other population groups (the effect).
However, a causal organizational pattern can also begin with an effect and then explore one or more causes. In the following example, the effect is the number of domestic violence arrests.

Specific
Purpose To inform local voters about the domestic violence problem in our city.

Main Points

1. Explain that there are significantly more domestic violence arrests in our city than in comparably sized cities in our state.
2. List possible causes for the arrest statistics, which may be unrelated to the actual domestic violence incidents.

In this example, the possible causes for the difference might include stricter law enforcement, greater likelihood that neighbors report an incident, and police training that emphasizes arrests as opposed to other outcomes. Examining these possible causes may suggest that despite the arrest statistics, the actual number of domestic violence incidents in your city may not be greater than in other comparably sized cities.

Problem-Cause-Solution Organizational Pattern

Problem-cause-solution organizational patterns first present a problem, then identify what is causing the problem, and then recommend a solution to correct the problem. Let’s look at an example.

Specific
Purpose To persuade a civic group to support a citywide curfew for individuals under age eighteen.

1. Main Points
   Demonstrate that youth committing vandalism and violence is having a negative effect on our community (problem).
2. Show how youth committing vandalism and violence goes up after 10:00 pm in our community (cause).
3. Explain how instituting a mandatory curfew at 10:00 pm would reduce youth committing vandalism and violence within our community (solution).

In this speech, the speaker wants to persuade people to pass a new curfew for people under eighteen. To help persuade the civic group members, the speaker first shows that vandalism and violence are community problems. Once the speaker has shown the problem, the speaker then explains to the audience that this problem’s cause is youth outside after 10:00 pm. Lastly, the speaker provides the mandatory 10:00 pm curfew as a solution to the vandalism and violence problem within the community. The problem-cause-solution format for speeches generally lends itself to persuasive topics because the speaker is asking an audience to believe in and adopt a specific solution.

Psychological Organizational Patterns

Psychological organizational patterns arrange your main ideas by a logical sequence: “a” leads to “b” and “b” leads to “c.” This organizational pattern is designed to follow a logical argument, so this format lends itself to persuasive speeches very easily. Let’s look at an example.

Specific
Purpose To persuade nurses to use humor in healing the patient.

Main Points

1. How laughing affects the body.
2. How the body’s response to laughing can help healing.
3. Strategies for using humor in healing.

In this speech, the speaker starts by discussing how humor affects the body. If a patient is exposed to humor (a), then the patient’s body actually physiologically responds in ways that help healing (b). For example, it reduces stress, decreases blood pressure, bolsters one’s immune system, etc. Because of these benefits, nurses should use humor that helps with healing (c).

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Organizational Pattern

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence organizational pattern provides sequential steps for the speaker to follow in presenting information and the subsequent reaction a speaker desires from his or her audience. These sequences are attention, need, problem, satisfaction, solution, visualization, results, action or approval. Alan H. Monroe’s motivated sequence is one of the most commonly cited and discussed organizational patterns for persuasive speeches. The purpose of Monroe’s motivated sequence is to help speakers “sequence supporting materials and motivational appeals to form a useful organizational pattern for speeches as a whole” (German et al., 2010).

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence List provides Monroe’s basic motivated sequence steps.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence List

Let’s look at an example of how Monroe’s Motivated Sequence organizational pattern works for a speech.

Specific Purpose To persuade my classroom peers that the United States should have stronger laws governing for-profit medical experiments.

Main Points Attention: Want to make nine thousand dollars for just three weeks work lying around and not doing much? Then be a human guinea pig. Admittedly, you’ll have a tube down your throat most of those three weeks, but you’ll earn three thousand dollars a week.

1. Need: Every day, many uneducated and lower socioeconomic-status citizens are preyed on by medical and pharmaceutical companies to participate in for-profit medical and drug experiments. Do you want one of your family members to fall prey to this unethical scheme?
2. Satisfaction: The United States should have stronger laws governing for-profit medical experiments to ensure that uneducated and lower-socioeconomic-status citizens are protected.
3. Visualization: If we enact tougher experiment oversight, we can ensure that medical and pharmaceutical research is conducted in a way that adheres to basic American decency and values. If we do not enact tougher experiment oversight, we could find ourselves in a world where the lines between research subject, guinea pig, and patient become increasingly blurred.Action: To prevent the atrocities associated with for-profit medical and pharmaceutical experiments, please sign this petition asking the US Department of Health and Human Services to pass stricter regulations on this out-of-control preying industry.

This example shows how you can take a basic speech topic and use Monroe’s motivated sequence to clearly and easily outline your speech efficiently and effectively.

Selecting an Organizational Pattern

The preceding organizational patterns are potentially useful for organizing your speech’s main points. However, not all organizational patterns work for all speeches. For example, as we mentioned earlier, the biographical pattern is useful when you are telling someone’s life story. And the compare and contrast, problem-cause-solution, and psychological organizational patterns are well-suited for persuasive speaking. Your challenge is to choose the best pattern for the particular speech you are giving.

Be aware that it is also possible to combine two or more organizational patterns to meet your specific speech goals. For example, you can discuss a problem and then compare and contrast several different possible solutions. Such a speech combines elements of the compare and contrast and problem-cause-solution patterns. When considering which organizational pattern to use, keep in mind your specific purpose, your audience, and the actual speech material itself to decide which pattern you think will work best.

References

University of Minnesota. (2011). Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Media References

MacEntee, S. (2011, May 5). presentation outline [Image]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5690542503

Marquardt, C. (2013, August 16). REWIND [Image]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nubui/9550939064/

Twentyfour Students. (2011, September 16). Organization makes you flow [Image]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/53771866@N05/6151951253/

Wynn, M. (2010, May 12). Lightbulb! [Image]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthew_wynn/4601859272/