speech working outline

How to Write an Effective Speech Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

• The Speaker Lab
• March 8, 2024

Table of Contents

Mastering the art of speaking starts with crafting a stellar speech outline. A well-structured outline not only clarifies your message but also keeps your audience locked in.

In this article, you’ll learn how to mold outlines for various speech types, weaving in research that resonates and transitions that keep listeners on track. We’ll also show you ways to spotlight crucial points and manage the clock so every second counts. When it’s time for final prep, we’ve got smart tips for fine-tuning your work before stepping into the spotlight.

Understanding the Structure of a Speech Outline

An effective speech outline is like a map for your journey as a speaker, guiding you from start to finish. Think of it as the blueprint that gives shape to your message and ensures you hit all the right notes along the way.

Tailoring Your Outline for Different Speech Types

Different speeches have different goals: some aim to persuade, others inform or celebrate. Each type demands its own structure in an outline. For instance, a persuasive speech might highlight compelling evidence while an informative one focuses on clear explanations. Crafting your outline with precision means adapting it to fit these distinct objectives.

Incorporating Research and Supporting Data

Your credibility hinges on solid research and data that back up your claims. When writing your outline, mark the places where you’ll incorporate certain pieces of research or data. Every stat you choose should serve a purpose in supporting your narrative arc. And remember to balance others’ research with your own unique insights. After all, you want your work to stand out, not sound like someone else’s.

The Role of Transitions in Speech Flow

Slick transitions are what turn choppy ideas into smooth storytelling—think about how bridges connect disparate land masses seamlessly. They’re not just filler; they carry listeners from one thought to another while maintaining momentum.

Incorporate transitions that feel natural yet keep people hooked. To keep things smooth, outline these transitions ahead of time so nothing feels left up to chance during delivery.

Techniques for Emphasizing Key Points in Your Outline

To make certain points pop off the page—and stage—you’ll need strategies beyond bolding text or speaking louder. Use repetition wisely or pause strategically after delivering something significant. Rather than go impromptu, plan out what points you want to emphasize before you hit the stage.

Timing Your Speech Through Your Outline

A watchful eye on timing ensures you don’t overstay—or undercut—your moment under the spotlight. The rhythm set by pacing can be pre-determined through practice runs timed against sections marked clearly in outlines. Practice will help ensure that your grand finale isn’t cut short by surprise.

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Depending on the type of speech you’re giving, your speech outline will vary. The key ingredients—introduction, body, and conclusion—are always there, but nuances like tone or message will change with each speaking occasion.

Persuasive Speeches: Convincing With Clarity

When outlining a persuasive speech, arrange your arguments from strong to strongest. The primacy effect works wonders here, so make sure to start off with a strong point. And just when they think they’ve heard it all, hit them with an emotional story that clinches the deal.

You might start by sharing startling statistics about plastic pollution before pivoting to how individuals can make a difference. Back this up with data on successful recycling programs which demonstrate tangible impact, a technique that turns facts into fuel for action.

Informative Speeches: Educating Without Overwhelming

An informative speech shouldn’t feel like drinking from a fire hose of facts and figures. Instead, lay out clear subtopics in your outline and tie them together with succinct explanations—not unlike stepping stones across a stream of knowledge.

If you’re talking about breakthroughs in renewable energy technology, use bullet points to highlight different innovations then expand upon their potential implications one at a time so the audience can follow along without getting lost in technical jargon or complexity.

Ceremonial Speeches: Creating Moments That Matter

In a ceremonial speech you want to capture emotion. Accordingly, your outline should feature personal anecdotes and quotes that resonate on an emotional level. However, make sure to maintain brevity because sometimes less really is more when celebrating milestones or honoring achievements.

Instead of just going through a hero’s whole life story, share the powerful tales of how they stepped up in tough times. This approach hits home for listeners, letting them feel the impact these heroes have had on their communities and sparking an emotional bond.

Incorporating Research in Your Speech Outline

When you’re crafting a speech, the backbone of your credibility lies in solid research and data. But remember, it’s not just about piling on the facts. It’s how you weave them into your narrative that makes listeners sit up and take notice.

Selecting Credible Sources

Finding trustworthy sources is like going on a treasure hunt where not all that glitters is gold. To strike real gold, aim for academic journals or publications known for their rigorous standards. Google Scholar or industry-specific databases are great places to start your search. Be picky. Your audience can tell when you’ve done your homework versus when you’ve settled for less-than-stellar intel.

You want to arm yourself with evidence so compelling that even skeptics start nodding along. A well-chosen statistic from a reputable study does more than decorate your point—it gives it an ironclad suit of armor.

Organizing Information Effectively

Your outline isn’t just a roadmap; think of it as scaffolding that holds up your argument piece by piece. Start strong with an eye-opening factoid to hook your audience right off the bat because first impressions matter—even in speeches.

To keep things digestible, group related ideas together under clear subheadings within your outline. Stick to presenting data that backs up each key idea without wandering down tangential paths. That way, everyone stays on track.

Making Data Relatable

Sure, numbers don’t lie but they can be hard to connect to. If you plan on using stats in your speech, make them meaningful by connecting them to relatable scenarios or outcomes people care about deeply. For instance, if you’re talking health statistics, relate them back to someone’s loved ones or local hospitals. By making the personal connection for your audience, you’ll get their attention.

The trick is using these nuggets strategically throughout your talk, not dumping them all at once but rather placing each one carefully where its impact will be greatest.

Imagine your speech as a road trip. Without smooth roads and clear signs, the journey gets bumpy, and passengers might miss the scenery along the way. That’s where transitions come in. They’re like your speech’s traffic signals guiding listeners from one point to another.

Crafting Seamless Bridges Between Ideas

Transitions are more than just linguistic filler. They’re strategic connectors that carry an audience smoothly through your narrative. Start by using phrases like “on top of this” or “let’s consider,” which help you pivot naturally between points without losing momentum.

To weave these seamlessly into your outline, map out each major turn beforehand to ensure no idea is left stranded on a tangent.

Making Use of Transitional Phrases Wisely

Be cautious: overusing transitional phrases can clutter up your speech faster than rush hour traffic. Striking a balance is key—think about how often you’d want to see signposts on a highway. Enough to keep you confident but not so many that it feels overwhelming.

Pick pivotal moments for transitions when shifting gears from one major topic to another or introducing contrasting information. A little direction at critical junctures keeps everyone onboard and attentive.

Leveraging Pauses as Transition Tools

Sometimes silence speaks louder than words, and pauses are powerful tools for transitioning thoughts. A well-timed pause lets ideas resonate and gives audiences time to digest complex information before moving forward again.

This approach also allows speakers some breathing room themselves—the chance to regroup mentally before diving into their next point with renewed vigor.

Connecting Emotional Threads Throughout Your Speech

Last but not least, don’t forget emotional continuity, that intangible thread pulling heartstrings from start-to-finish. Even if topics shift drastically, maintaining an underlying emotional connection ensures everything flows together cohesively within the larger tapestry of your message.

Techniques for Emphasizing Key Points in Your Speech Outline

When you’re crafting your speech outline, shine a spotlight on what matters most so that your audience doesn’t miss your key points.

Bold and Italicize for Impact

You wouldn’t whisper your punchline in a crowded room. Similarly, why let your main ideas get lost in a sea of text? Use bold or italics to give those lines extra weight. This visual cue signals importance, so when you glance at your notes during delivery, you’ll know to emphasize those main ideas.

Analogies That Stick

A good analogy is like super glue—it makes anything stick. Weave them into your outline and watch as complex concepts become crystal clear. But remember: choose analogies that resonate with your target audience’s experiences or interests. The closer home it hits, the longer it lingers.

The Power of Repetition

If something’s important say it again. And maybe even once more after that—with flair. Repetition can feel redundant on paper, but audiences often need to hear critical messages several times before they take root.

Keep these strategies in mind when you’re ready to dive into your outline. You’ll transform those core ideas into memorable insights before you know it.

Picture this: you’re delivering a speech, and just as you’re about to reach the end, your time’s up. Ouch! Let’s make sure that never happens. Crafting an outline is not only about what to say but also how long to say it.

Finding Balance in Section Lengths

An outline isn’t just bullet points; it’s a roadmap for pacing. When outlining your speech, make sure to decide how much time you’d like to give each of your main points. You might even consider setting specific timers during rehearsals to get a real feel for each part’s duration. Generally speaking, you should allot a fairly equal amount of time for each to keep things balanced.

The Magic of Mini Milestones

To stay on track, a savvy speaker will mark time stamps or “mini milestones” on their outline. These time stamps give the speaker an idea of where should be in their speech by the time, say, 15 minutes has passed. If by checkpoint three you should be 15 minutes deep and instead you’re hitting 20 minutes, it’s time to pick up the pace or trim some fat from earlier sections. This approach helps you stay on track without having to glance at the clock after every sentence.

Utilizing Visual Aids and Multimedia in Your Outline

Pictures speak louder than words, especially when you’re on stage. Think about it: How many times have you sat through a presentation that felt like an eternity of endless bullet points? Now imagine if instead, there was a vibrant image or a short video clip to break up the monotony—it’s game-changing. That’s why integrating visual aids and multimedia into your speech outline isn’t just smart. It’s crucial for keeping your audience locked in.

Choosing Effective Visuals

Selecting the right visuals is not about flooding your slides with random images but finding those that truly amplify your message. Say you’re talking about climate change. In this case, a graph showing rising global temperatures can hit hard and illustrate your chosen statistic clearly. Remember, simplicity reigns supreme; one powerful image will always trump a cluttered collage.

Multimedia Magic

Videos are another ace up your sleeve. They can deliver testimonials more powerfully than quotes or transport viewers to places mere descriptions cannot reach. But be warned—timing is everything. Keep clips short and sweet because no one came to watch a movie—they came to hear you . You might highlight innovations using short video snippets, ensuring these moments serve as compelling punctuations rather than pauses in your narrative.

The Power of Sound

We often forget audio when we think multimedia, yet sound can evoke emotions and set tones subtly yet effectively. Think striking chords for dramatic effect or nature sounds for storytelling depth during environmental talks.

Audiences crave experiences they’ll remember long after they leave their seats. With well-chosen visuals and gripping multimedia elements woven thoughtfully into every section of your speech outline, you’ll give them exactly that.

Rehearsing with Your Speech Outline

When you’re gearing up to take the stage, your speech outline is a great tool to practice with. With a little preparation, you’ll give a performance that feels both natural and engaging.

Familiarizing Yourself with Content

To start off strong, get cozy with your outline’s content. Read through your outline aloud multiple times until the flow of words feels smooth. This will help make sure that when showtime comes around, you can deliver those lines without tripping over tough transitions or complex concepts.

Beyond mere memorization, understanding the heart behind each point allows you to speak from a place of confidence. You know this stuff—you wrote it. Now let’s bring that knowledge front and center in an authentic way.

Mimicking Presentation Conditions

Rehearsing under conditions similar to those expected during the actual presentation pays off big time. Are you going to stand or roam about? Will there be a podium? Think about these details and simulate them during rehearsal because comfort breeds confidence—and we’re all about boosting confidence.

If technology plays its part in your talk, don’t leave them out of rehearsals either. The last thing anyone needs is tech trouble during their talk.

Perfecting Pace Through Practice

Pacing matters big time when speaking. Use timed rehearsals to nail down timing. Adjust speed as needed but remember: clarity trumps velocity every single time.

You want people hanging onto every word, which is hard to do if you’re talking so fast they can barely make out what you’re saying. During rehearsals, find balance between pacing and comprehension; they should go hand-in-hand.

Finalizing Your Speech Outline for Presentation

You’ve poured hours into crafting your speech, shaping each word and idea with precision. Now, it’s time to tighten the nuts and bolts. Finalizing your outline isn’t just about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. It’s about making sure your message sticks like a perfectly thrown dart.

Reviewing Your Content for Clarity

Your first task is to strip away any fluff that might cloud your core message. Read through every point in your outline with a critical eye. Think of yourself as an editor on a mission to cut out anything that doesn’t serve a purpose. Ask yourself if you can explain each concept clearly without needing extra words or complex jargon. If not, simplify.

Strengthening Your Argument

The meat of any good presentation lies in its argument, the why behind what you’re saying. Strengthen yours by ensuring every claim has iron-clad backing—a stat here, an expert quote there. Let this be more than just facts tossed at an audience; weave them into stories they’ll remember long after they leave their seats.

Crafting Memorable Takeaways

Audiences may forget details but never how you made them feel—or think. Embed memorable takeaways throughout your outline so when folks step out into fresh air post-talk, they carry bits of wisdom with them.

This could mean distilling complex ideas down to pithy phrases or ending sections with punchy lines that resonate. It’s these golden nuggets people will mine for later reflection.

FAQs on Speech Outlines

How do you write a speech outline.

To craft an outline, jot down your main ideas, arrange them logically, and add supporting points beneath each.

What are the 3 main parts of a speech outline?

An effective speech has three core parts: an engaging introduction, a content-rich body, and a memorable conclusion.

What are the three features of a good speech outline?

A strong outline is clear, concise, and structured in logical sequence to maximize impact on listeners.

What is a working outline for a speech?

A working outline serves as your blueprint while preparing. It’s detailed but flexible enough to adjust as needed.

Crafting a speech outline is like drawing your map before the journey. It starts with structure and flows into customization for different types of talks. Remember, research and evidence are your compass—they guide you to credibility. Transitions act as bridges, connecting one idea to another smoothly. Key points? They’re landmarks so make them shine.

When delivering your speech, keep an eye on the clock and pace yourself so that every word counts.

Multimedia turns a good talk into a great show. Rehearsing polishes that gem of a presentation until it sparkles.

Last up: fine-tuning your speech outline means you step out confident, ready to deliver something memorable because this isn’t just any roadmap—it’s yours.

• Last Updated: March 5, 2024

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COMM 101: Fundamentals of Public Speaking - Valparaiso

• Delivery Skills
• Stage Fright
• Body Language / Non-Verbal Communication
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• Speech Outline Examples
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• Citation Resources This link opens in a new window

A basic speech outline should include three main sections:

• The Introduction --  This is where you tell them what you're going to tell them.
• The Body -- This is where you tell them.
• The Conclusion -- This is where you tell them what you've told them.
• Speech Outline Formatting Guide The outline for a public speech, according to COMM 101 online textbook  The Public Speaking Project , p.p. 8-9.

Use these samples to help prepare your speech outlines and bibliographies:

• Sample Speech Preparation Outline This type of outline is very detailed with all the main points and subpoints written in complete sentences. Your bibliography should be included with this outline.
• Sample Speech Speaking Outline This type of outline is very brief and uses phrases or key words for the main points and subpoints. This outline is used by the speaker during the speech.
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Module 4: Organizing and Outlining

Outlining your speech.

Most speakers and audience members would agree that an organized speech is both easier to present as well as more persuasive. Public speaking teachers especially believe in the power of organizing your speech, which is why they encourage (and often require) that you create an outline for your speech. Outlines , or textual arrangements of all the various elements of a speech, are a very common way of organizing a speech before it is delivered. Most extemporaneous speakers keep their outlines with them during the speech as a way to ensure that they do not leave out any important elements and to keep them on track. Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces the speakers to think about the main points and sub-points, the examples they wish to include, and the ways in which these elements correspond to one another. In short, the outline functions both as an organization tool and as a reference for delivering a speech.

Outline Types

“Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention” by Michigan Municipal League. CC-BY-ND .

There are two types of outlines. The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline . Also called a working, practice, or rough outline, the preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an inventive format. Stephen E. Lucas [1] put it simply: “The preparation outline is just what its name implies—an outline that helps you prepare the speech” (p. 248). When writing the preparation outline, you should focus on finalizing the purpose and thesis statements, logically ordering your main points, deciding where supporting material should be included, and refining the overall organizational pattern of your speech. As you write the preparation outline, you may find it necessary to rearrange your points or to add or subtract supporting material. You may also realize that some of your main points are sufficiently supported while others are lacking. The final draft of your preparation outline should include full sentences, making up a complete script of your entire speech. In most cases, however, the preparation outline is reserved for planning purposes only and is translated into a speaking outline before you deliver the speech.

A speaking outline is the outline you will prepare for use when delivering the speech. The speaking outline is much more succinct than the preparation outline and includes brief phrases or words that remind the speakers of the points they need to make, plus supporting material and signposts. [2] The words or phrases used on the speaking outline should briefly encapsulate all of the information needed to prompt the speaker to accurately deliver the speech. Although some cases call for reading a speech verbatim from the full-sentence outline, in most cases speakers will simply refer to their speaking outline for quick reminders and to ensure that they do not omit any important information. Because it uses just words or short phrases, and not full sentences, the speaking outline can easily be transferred to index cards that can be referenced during a speech.

Outline Structure

Because an outline is used to arrange all of the elements of your speech, it makes sense that the outline itself has an organizational hierarchy and a common format. Although there are a variety of outline styles, generally they follow the same pattern. Main ideas are preceded by Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Sub-points are preceded by capital letters (A, B, C, etc.), then Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.), and finally lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). Each level of subordination is also differentiated from its predecessor by indenting a few spaces. Indenting makes it easy to find your main points, sub-points, and the supporting points and examples below them. Since there are three sections to your speech— introduction, body, and conclusion— your outline needs to include all of them. Each of these sections is titled and the main points start with Roman numeral I.

Outline Formatting Guide

Title: Organizing Your Public Speech

Topic: Organizing public speeches

Specific Purpose Statement: To inform listeners about the various ways in which they can organize their public speeches.

Thesis Statement: A variety of organizational styles can used to organize public speeches.

Introduction Paragraph that gets the attention of the audience, establishes goodwill with the audience, states the purpose of the speech, and previews the speech and its structure.

(Transition)

I. Main point

A. Sub-point B. Sub-point C. Sub-point

1. Supporting point 2. Supporting point

Conclusion Paragraph that prepares the audience for the end of the speech, presents any final appeals, and summarizes and wraps up the speech.

Bibliography

In addition to these formatting suggestions, there are some additional elements that should be included at the beginning of your outline: the title, topic, specific purpose statement, and thesis statement. These elements are helpful to you, the speechwriter, since they remind you what, specifically, you are trying to accomplish in your speech. They are also helpful to anyone reading and assessing your outline since knowing what you want to accomplish will determine how they perceive the elements included in your outline. Additionally, you should write out the transitional statements that you will use to alert audiences that you are moving from one point to another. These are included in parentheses between main points. At the end of the outlines, you should include bibliographic information for any outside resources you mention during the speech. These should be cited using whatever citations style your professor requires. The textbox entitled “Outline Formatting Guide” provides an example of the appropriate outline format.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

Preparation Outline

This chapter contains the preparation and speaking outlines for a short speech the author of this chapter gave about how small organizations can work on issues related to climate change (see appendices). In this example, the title, specific purpose, thesis, and list of visual aids precedes the speech. Depending on your instructor’s requirements, you may need to include these details plus additional information. It is also a good idea to keep these details at the top of your document as you write the speech since they will help keep you on track to developing an organized speech that is in line with your specific purpose and helps prove your thesis. At the end of the chapter, in Appendix A, you can find a full length example of a Preparation (Full Sentence) Outline.

Speaking Outline

In Appendix B, the Preparation Outline is condensed into just a few short key words or phrases that will remind speakers to include all of their main points and supporting information. The introduction and conclusion are not included since they will simply be inserted from the Preparation Outline. It is easy to forget your catchy attention-getter or final thoughts you have prepared for your audience, so it is best to include the full sentence versions even in your speaking outline.

Using the Speaking Outline

“TAG speaks of others first” by Texas Military Forces. CC-BY-ND .

Once you have prepared the outline and are almost ready to give your speech, you should decide how you want to format your outline for presentation. Many speakers like to carry a stack of papers with them when they speak, but others are more comfortable with a smaller stack of index cards with the outline copied onto them. Moreover, speaking instructors often have requirements for how you should format the speaking outline. Whether you decide to use index cards or the printed outline, here are a few tips. First, write large enough so that you do not have to bring the cards or pages close to your eyes to read them. Second, make sure you have the cards/pages in the correct order and bound together in some way so that they do not get out of order. Third, just in case the cards/pages do get out of order (this happens too often!), be sure that you number each in the top right corner so you can quickly and easily get things organized. Fourth, try not to fiddle with the cards/pages when you are speaking. It is best to lay them down if you have a podium or table in front of you. If not, practice reading from them in front of a mirror. You should be able to look down quickly, read the text, and then return to your gaze to the audience.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. – Albert Einstein

• Lucas, Stephen E. (2004). The art of public speaking (8th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. ↵
• Beebe, S. A. & Beebe, S. J. (2003). The public speaking handbook (5th edition). Boston: Pearson. ↵
• Chapter 8 Outlining Your Speech. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Alpena Mayor Carol Shafto Speaks at 2011 Michigan Municipal League Convention. Authored by : Michigan Municipal League. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/aunJMR . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives
• TAG speaks of others first. Authored by : Texas Military Forces. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/texasmilitaryforces/5560449970/ . License : CC BY-ND: Attribution-NoDerivatives

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• Speech Crafting →

Preparation: How to write a Speech Outline (with Examples)

You have been chosen to give a speech on a particular topic and you reckon that you’re a good speech writer.

However, without a good speech outline, your speech lacks the proper skeleton to put meat on.

A speech outline is to a speech what a blueprint is to an unconstructed building.

So, how do you develop a good speech outline? First, break it down into small steps as this will make it easier for you to prioritize your ideas and organize them in the right order before you add more details to them.

How to Make an Outline for a Speech

Below are steps that will enable you to write an effective speech outline for your presentation.

You should start by asking yourself:

a) What is the big picture?

Before you begin writing your outline, you should take a step back and think about your speech as a whole.

First, think about the 3 keystones for your presentation or speech, i.e. the audience, your subject matter and of course, you, as the speaker.

Then, write a few notes down about each keystone and how they relate with each other. For instance,

• With regard to your presentation’s subject matter and the audience, what does the audience know about the subject? Do they find the subject interesting or not at all? Is the subject relevant to them?
• What do you as the speaker know about the subject in question? What are the reasons behind your presentation? Do you have any expertise on the matter? What new information will you be sharing with your audience?

A good outline will help you engage with your audience in a way that not only captures their attention but enables them to understand the subject matter.

b) What is your objective?

This refers to the goal of your presentation. Here, you should ask yourself, what do you want your audience to do after your presentation is over?

While the objective for most speakers is for their audience to know something, that may not be enough. The best presentations and speeches are those that move people to act.

If you would prefer to make an impact in such a way, then you should ensure that you are as specific as you can be when deciding on your objective in your speech outline.

c) What is your message?

Your message is what holds your presentation or speech together. This is not to mean that you shouldn’t have different parts in your speech, but it does mean that your speech should have one message that you are trying to put across.

Trying to include several different messages in your speech may confuse your audience, which makes it harder for them to understand the main point you are trying to convey. 

To do this, summarize the message of your presentation in one statement. This will not only allow you to understand the message in its entirety but also allow you to explain the message to your audience in a way that is easy to understand.

You can now use the statement you wrote above to help you develop your speech outline. Using the statement to determine whether a certain point supports your main message will ensure that your speech flows and doesn’t include any information not relevant to your subject topic.

d) How is your presentation relevant?

When it comes to a presentation or speech, the audience should always come first. That is why as a speaker, you should always keep your audience in mind when presenting.

If you have already decided on the message you will be conveying to your audience, you should now ask yourself; how is your message relevant to the audience?

If you can’t come up with a reason why your presentation is relevant, then it’s back to the drawing board for you. This could mean that you will be presenting to the wrong audience or you will be giving the wrong presentation.

You can refer back to step (c) then review steps (a) and (b) for clarity.

e) Your speech structure

This is a very important part of your presentation as without it, your speech will have no impact on the audience. Therefore, you should ensure that you include the speech structure in your speech outline.

A structure has 3 basic parts; the introduction, the body and the conclusion. It should be noted though that when working on your speech outline, a common suggestion is to begin with the body before developing both your introduction and conclusion.

Under your speech structure, the introduction is the opening of your speech/presentation. To make a good first impression on your audience, ensure that your introduction is strong.

This doesn’t have to be the usual, “Good morning, my name is YXZ…” Instead, capture your audience’s attention by either telling a story or an interesting fact, recite a quote, ask your audience to recall or imagine something or even ask a rhetorical question!

Related: How to Start a Speech to Engage Your Audience

The body of your presentation represents the bulk of your speech. You should therefore ensure that your main points can be explained in detail and that they have been organized in a logical order that makes your message easy to comprehend.

Similar to your introduction, you should finish on a strong note when it comes to your conclusion. You can do this by linking your conclusion to your introduction, after which you can then echo and summarize your message’s main points.

Different Speech Outline Examples

Below are a few examples of different speech outlines that you can use as a basis to write your own outline. Choosing the right one that works for you may depend on the type of speech you will be giving .

1. Persuasive Speech Outline

Persuasive presentations and speeches usually have a specific purpose in mind; either to urge the audience to take action on something or persuade them to adopt a certain view or opinion of something.

This type of outline allows you, the speaker, to focus on the subject matter point while arguing your case in the most effective and compelling way to your audience.

A persuasive speech outline is made up of these parts:

• An introduction
• The conclusion
• Source Citation

The first three parts are common in most if not all presentations; please refer to step (e) to familiarize yourself with them once more.

A source citation is simply citing the sources for the research and facts that you presented in your speech. Remember you are trying to persuade your audience, so authoritative sources add weight to your argument.

2. Informative Speech Outline

There are different types of informative outlines. These include:

• The informative speech outline
• The informative presentation outline
• The informative essay outline

These outlines are made up of 3 basic parts; the introduction, body and conclusion. For purposes of this article, we will be discussing the informative speech outline.

The central objective of an informative speech is to offer unique, useful and interesting information to your audience. Before choosing your informative speech topic , you should consider your overall objective.  

Additionally, there are various types of informative speeches , including:

• Concept - These are used to discuss abstract ideas like ideas and theories.
• Process - These are used when describing broad processes.
• Event - These are used to explain things that may happen, are already happening or those that have happened already.
• Object - These are used when talking about products, places or people.

In addition to this, there are patterns that can be used to organize your speech outline. These will be chosen depending on your speech type.

Types of these patterns include:

• Chronological or sequential - This pattern deals with a sequence of events; which could be useful in demonstration speeches or when discussing historical topics
• Spatial or geographic - Use this pattern when discussing topics that deal with physical spaces
• Logical - This pattern is suitable for a broad topic that has been broken down into sub-topics.
• Advantage-disadvantage - This pattern can be used when you will be examining a range of negative and positive aspects of an event or idea

Furthermore, there are 2 possibilities for preparing a speech outline; the speaking and preparation outline.

The speaking outlines make use of phrases and keywords, which helps keep you focused on the subject matter while the preparation outline is used to help you develop your speech and makes use of full sentences.

3. Demonstrative Speech Outline

A demonstrative speech is an instructional speech that teaches the audience something by demonstrating the process.

Here are the basic steps for a demonstrative speech:

• Ask yourself why you choose this topic and why it is important to the audience
• Provide an overview
• Explain the steps involved in your process
• Talk about variations, other options
• Ensure you allot time for Q&A
• Give a brief summary

For a more in-depth guide on writing demonstrative speeches, click here .

Pro-Tip: Write down the specific purpose of your speech and your topic of discussion as you formulate your generic speech outline.

Conclusion: On Speech Outline Formats

As you become better at writing and delivering speeches, you will soon learn that the different outline formats described above aren’t mutually exclusive. Rather, situations often make it necessary to mix different formats.

What are you waiting for? Go out there and grow your confidence as a speech writer and speaker!

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• How to outline a speech

Sample speech outline template

Get a printable. Learn how to outline a speech effectively.

By:  Susan Dugdale  

There's a printable sample speech outline template below for you to download, and use. 

Why? Because a well-completed outline becomes the backbone of your speech. You'll use it to  guide you logically, and carefully, through ALL the aspects you need to consider before you actually write the speech itself.

It will help you clarify what material you want to cover to fit your audience, and speech purpose, as well as help to effectively organize it.

What you'll find on this page:

• t he reasons for using a speech outline
• how to outline a speech : the 4 essentials steps involved in writing an outline - detailed sequential help, with examples, covering: 1. choosing a topic, 2. audience analysis, 3. choosing the best organizational pattern to fit your speech purpose, 4. what to put in each part of your speech: introduction, body and conclusion
• a  printable speech outline template to download  
• links to  2 completed examples of speech outlines  (a demonstration and a persuasive speech. Both with printable outlines to download.)
• a link to 7 completed examples of impromptu speech outlines , each with printable speech outline templates 
• links to more resources for preparing an effective speech  

Why bother writing a speech outline?

Because completing a speech outline is the first vital step toward preparing a successful speech.

It is often overlooked in a misguided attempt to get on with what is considered the real work: writing the speech, or the words you're going to say.

Despite what many people think, time spent completing an outline is not wasted.  Instead, it helps you save it. A nd sidestep any anxiety caused by inadequate preparation.

The process might appear daunting and horrifically time consuming but prepare a speech outline all the same.☺

What you'll learn about speech structure, matching content  to your speech purpose and your audience's needs will pay you back over and over again. I  promise you, having an outline will make giving a speech easier and less stressful. 

How to best use this page

Read the page all the way through to familiarize yourself with the terms and the process. When you're done, click the link at the foot of the page to download and print the blank sample speech outline template for your own use.

How to outline a speech: 4 essential steps

The process of outlining a speech is broken down into 4 essential steps.

(Click a heading to find out more about each one)

• deciding on your topic
• considering the audience and refining your topic to suit them
• deciding on the purpose of the speech
• choosing an organizational method to support your speech purpose
• opening greeting and attention getter
• defining your thesis statement (a summary of what your speech is about)
• establishing your credibility
• an overview and the benefit to the audience
• transition or link between introduction and body
• main ideas with supporting ideas
• examples and details
• summary of main points
• closer or call to action

Remember this old saying?

First: tell them what you're going to tell them. Second: tell them. Third: tell them what you told them.

A simple, or basic, speech outline follows that advice.

• 'Tell them what you're going to tell them' becomes your introduction
• 'Tell them' forms the body
• 'Tell them what you told them' is your conclusion

Step 1 - Preparation for writing a speech outline

You need to complete this step before you do anything else. It is made up of five smaller steps, each of them an important part of the overall process. The decisions you make at this point will have a major impact on the final outcome of your speech. 

By the time you are finished step 1 you will have:

• decided on your topic
• analyzed your audience
• refined your topic to meet the needs of your audience
• decided on the specific purpose of your speech
• chosen the best fitting of six organizational patterns to use - one matching your purpose and your material 

Start with choosing a topic

The place to begin is deciding what you are going to talk about.

For example, if you are a realtor (real estate agent) who has been asked to talk to a suburban community group residential real estate seems like a good logical topic to pick.

(If you don't have a topic in mind, go to speech topics . You'll find 100s of them ordered by speech type and theme.)

Put yourself to one side & focus on your audience

However, before you make a final decision considering more closely who will be listening to you makes better sense than assuming whatever you come up with will be right!

How do you really know what aspects of your topic are best suited to meet your audience's needs? Or what would be of real benefit for them to hear about?

The scope of the topic 'residential real estate' is huge.

Your speech could cover any number of sub-topics like: financial advice for first home buyers, how to thoroughly check a house before purchase, the rise of mortgagee default sales, the collapse of property development schemes, how to purchase properties for makeovers...

Analyze your audience

So before you settle on the exact topic of your speech analyze your audience .

Without analysis you are 'guessing' what would be interesting and relevant for them to hear.

Refine your topic

Using what you found out about your audience, decide on an aspect of your topic that will be of benefit to them and the angle you will take on it. Take care with this. One size does not fit all!

For example a speech on housing affordability which includes a step by step plan toward buying a first home will likely interest an audience of youngish, (late 20s- early 40s), people with steady professional incomes.

But for another audience, (e.g. one that is older, less financially secure, or younger and not ready to consider settling yet...), it could be completely inappropriate.

Minimize the risk of getting it wrong by finding out as much as you can about your audience.

Deciding on the purpose of your speech

What is the purpose of this speech? Why are you giving it?

Is it to persuade or inform? Is it to demonstrate, entertain, or welcome? Or is it a combination of these?

What do you want your speech to achieve? Is there a particular action you want people to take as a result of listening to you?

Your answers to all of these questions will dictate what organizational pattern you'll use for your speech, its content and tone.

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Choosing an organizational pattern or method

There are 6 basic organizational patterns or methods of arranging the body (main points) of your material. Choose the one most appropriate for your need.

1. Cause - Effect

Because event 'A' happened, event 'B' occurred.

• Because the driver was speeding, they crashed the car.
• Because of the earthquake, the city was destroyed.
• Because the minimum wage is low, families can not afford good health care.

2. Problem - Solution

The problem is 'X'. The answer is 'Y'.

• The problem is unaffordable housing. The solution is community funded housing complexes.
• The problem is unemployment. The solution is meaningful, sustainable education and employment programs.
• The problem is poor food choices. The solution is practical community outreach programs to teach people about nutrition, food buying, storage and preparation, along side living wages, educational and employment programs.

This pattern suits a broad topic which can be broken down into  naturally occurring sub-topics.

• The broad topic is 'Vocal Variety'. Its  sub-topics include rate of speech, use of pausing,  voice tone, volume, articulation...
• The broad topic is 'Organizational speech patterns'. Sub-topics could be problem-solution, cause- effect, logical...
• The broad topic is 'Residential real estate'. Its sub-topics could include houses for first-home buyers, how to apply for a mortgage, how to select the right neighborhood to buy in, the impact of high-density housing...

4. Spatial or geographic

Use this pattern for topics dealing with physical spaces.

• The 10 most popular tourist attractions in New Zealand.
• The European migration patterns of the 19th century.  
• The population shift from country to town in USA.

5. Time or chronological/sequential

These are either historical topics or demonstration speeches. The foundation of both is an ordered sequence of events.

For example:

• The history of women's suffrage in USA, the abolition of slavery 
• How to bake a cake, how to mend a puncture in a bicycle tire, or how to knot a tie 

6. Advantage - disadvantage

Use this pattern to examine the range of positive and negative aspects of an idea or event.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of private schooling?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of lowering the voting age?
• What is good about supporting local industry? What is negative about supporting local industry?

Step Two - Outlining the introduction

The 5 parts of preparing an introduction

1. greeting & attention getter.

How are you going to greet your  audience, grab their attention and compel them to listen?

You could use a rhetorical question, a startling statistic, a quotation or a humorous one-liner. To be effective it must be related to your topic and apt for your audience.

• Rhetorical question How many of you really are more afraid of public speaking than death?
• A startling statistic Apparently in USA 75% of the population experiences public speaking anxiety. Some just a little. And some a lot.
• A quotation Mark Twain famously said, there are only two types of speakers in the world: the nervous and the liars.
• Humorous Speaker of United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi set a record for the longest speech on the House floor: 8 hours and 7 minutes. Relax. I only plan on taking 15 minutes of your valuable time. * * Be careful with humor. It will only work if it's appropriate; that is fitting for the occasion, and understood by the majority of your audience. For more about Nancy's record:  Nancy Pelosi's all-day marathon speech sets record as longest continuous speech since at least 1909.

For more on effective speech openings see: How to write a speech introduction - 12 of the best ways to start a speech

2. Thesis statement

This is a short summary of your speech topic and your point of view or angle.

Example:  

Green politics is no longer a fanciful fringe fad. It is a necessity.

3. Credibility

This segment establishes your right to speak on the topic. It cites your qualification or expertise.

Using myself as an example, I can speak about preparing speeches because I've written many over the past twenty or so years. Prior to becoming a professional speech writer , I taught high school level English and drama and I also belonged to the global public speaking club Toastmasters for a long time. 

4. Summative overview

This is a brief outline of the main points you are going to cover.

Today I am going to share with you three effective ways to lessen public speaking fear.

The first and second cover aspects of preparation: writing and rehearsal or practice: actually doing the work, rather than being frightened of it. ☺  The third is about the benefits of public speaking. 

5. Benefit(s)

What's in your speech for your audience? Why will they want to hear what you've got to tell them? Be specific. Tell them.

When you make a decision to speak up in public you also gain: confidence, the ability to take on leadership roles, a growing collection of presentation skills like story telling, how to use your voice, the ability to use props well, how to listen, how to craft a speech to meet the needs of specific audiences... In short, you release the potential to become a bigger and better you * .

( * For more see  14 benefits of public speaking .)

Step Three - Outlining the body of your speech

This is the heart of your speech, the place where you lay out what you want to share with your audience.

Generally three main ideas, along with supporting examples, work more effectively than  four or five or more.  If you have a number of them to choose from, go with your three strongest points. And if one of your final three is noticeably weaker sandwich it between the other two.

If you intend to use visual aids (slides showing graphs, tables or images), or actual props, mark them in too.

Note: If you're unsure about the exact nature of links or transitions and how they work or what they are, you'll find more about them, with examples, on my page how to write a speech

• Main Idea 3 - Supporting ideas - Details and examples - Visuals or props - Transition to...

Step Four - Outlining the conclusion of your speech

There are four parts to preparing an effective conclusion to your speech. Use them to draw together and summarize all the material from your introduction and the body of your speech, and end with a clincher! 

• Summary of main ideas These are the main points you covered in the body of your speech.
• Re-statement of thesis statement Use the statement from your introduction to reinforce your message.
• Re-statement of benefit to audience Remind the audience of the benefits they'll receive through carrying out whatever your propose. Again this comes from your introduction.
• Closer, Clincher or Call to Action This is your final sentence. To ensure your speech ends with a bang rather than a whimper check out this page on how to end a speech memorably. You'll find options and examples.

Get your printable sample speech outline template

This is a simple four page PDF of all four steps and their sub- headings with spaces for you to write your notes. Click to download and print your sample speech outline now.

2 completed examples of speech outlines

Use these links to go to a fully completed:

• demonstration speech outline example  on how to leave an effective voice mail message (with a free printable sequential demonstration speech outline template) 
• persuasive speech topic outline  example on overcoming public speaking fear using Monroe's Motivated Sequence (with a free printable MMS persuasive speech outline template)

Example impromptu speech outline patterns

Impromptu speech outline patterns - seven different structural formats, each with completed examples and a free blank printable outline for you to download and use. 

Other resources for preparing successful speeches

Planning and writing, rehearsing a speech.

Once you're done with planning, completing your sample speech outline and writing find out how to rehearse. A speech is a live performance. Rehearsal helps you expose and iron out glitches before you find them out the hard way - in front of your audience.

Speech evaluation

And if your speech is being assessed check out this standard speech evaluation form to see what aspects are likely to be judged and how a rating scale works.

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How To Write A Speech Outline

Do you have a speech coming up soon, but don’t know where to start when it comes to writing it? 

Don’t worry. 

The best way to start writing your speech is to first write an outline.

While to some, an outline may seem like an unnecessary extra step — after giving hundreds of speeches in my own career, I can assure you that first creating a speech outline is truly the best way to design a strong presentation that your audience will remember.

Should I Write A Speech Outline?

You might be wondering if you should really bother with a preparation outline. Is a speaking outline worth your time, or can you get through by just keeping your supporting points in mind?

Again, I highly recommend that all speakers create an outline as part of their speechwriting process. This step is an extremely important way to organize your main ideas and all the various elements of your speech in a way that will command your audience’s attention.

Good public speaking teachers will agree that an outline—even if it’s a rough outline—is the easiest way to propel you forward to a final draft of an organized speech that audience members will love.

Here are a few of the biggest benefits of creating an outline before diving straight into your speech.

Gain More Focus

By writing an outline, you’ll be able to center the focus of your speech where it belongs—on your thesis statement and main idea.

Remember, every illustration, example, or piece of information you share in your speech should be relevant to the key message you’re trying to deliver. And by creating an outline, you can ensure that everything relates back to your main point.

Keep Things Organized

Your speech should have an overall organizational pattern so that listeners will be able to follow your thoughts. You want your ideas to be laid out in a logical order that’s easy to track, and for all of the speech elements to correspond.

An outline serves as a structure or foundation for your speech, allowing you to see all of your main points laid out so you can easily rearrange them into an order that makes sense for easy listening.

Create Smoother Transitions

A speaking outline helps you create smoother transitions between the different parts of your speech.

When you know what’s happening before and after a certain section, it will be easy to accurately deliver transitional statements that make sense in context. Instead of seeming like several disjointed ideas, the parts of your speech will naturally flow into each other.

Save Yourself Time

An outline is an organization tool that will save you time and effort when you get ready to write the final draft of your speech. When you’re working off of an outline to write your draft, you can overcome “blank page syndrome.”

It will be much easier to finish the entire speech because the main points and sub-points are already clearly laid out for you.

Your only job is to finish filling everything in.

Preparing to Write A Speech Outline

Now that you know how helpful even the most basic of speech outlines can be in helping you write the best speech, here’s how to write the best outline for your next public speaking project.

How Long Should A Speech Outline Be?

The length of your speech outline will depend on the length of your speech. Are you giving a quick two-minute talk or a longer thirty-minute presentation? The length of your outline will reflect the length of your final speech.

Another factor that will determine the length of your outline is how much information you actually want to include in the outline. For some speakers, bullet points of your main points might be enough. In other cases, you may feel more comfortable with a full-sentence outline that offers a more comprehensive view of your speech topic.

The length of your outline will also depend on the type of outline you’re using at any given moment.

Types of Outlines

Did you know there are several outline types? Each type of outline is intended for a different stage of the speechwriting process. Here, we’re going to walk through:

• Working outlines
• Full-sentence outlines
• Speaking outlines

Working Outline

Think of your working outline as the bare bones of your speech—the scaffolding you’re using as you just start to build your presentation. To create a working outline, you will need:

• A speech topic
• An idea for the “hook” in your introduction
• A thesis statement
• 3-5 main points (each one should make a primary claim that you support with references)
• A conclusion

Each of your main points will also have sub-points, but we’ll get to those in a later step.

The benefit of a working outline is that it’s easy to move things around. If you think your main points don’t make sense in a certain order—or that one point needs to be scrapped entirely—it’s no problem to make the needed changes. You won’t be deleting any of your prior hard work because you haven’t really done any work yet.

Once you are confident in this “skeleton outline,” you can move on to the next, where you’ll start filling in more detailed information.

Full-sentence outline

As the name implies, your full-sentence outline contains full sentences. No bullet points or scribbled, “talk about x, y, z here.” Instead, research everything you want to include and write out the information in full sentences.

Why is this important? A full-sentence outline helps ensure that you are:

• Including all of the information your audience needs to know
• Organizing the material well
• Staying within any time constraints you’ve been given

Don’t skip this important step as you plan your speech.

Speaking outline

The final type of outline you’ll need is a speaking outline. When it comes to the level of detail, this outline is somewhere in between your working outline and a full-sentence outline. 

You’ll include the main parts of your speech—the introduction, main points, and conclusion. But you’ll add a little extra detail about each one, too. This might be a quote that you don’t want to misremember or just a few words to jog your memory of an anecdote to share.

When you actually give your speech, this is the outline you will use. It might seem like it makes more sense to use your detailed full-sentence outline up on stage. However, if you use this outline, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of reading your speech—which is not what you want to do. You’ll likely sound much more natural if you use your speaking outline.

How to Write A Speech Outline

We’ve covered the types of outlines you’ll work through as you write your speech. Now, let’s talk more about how you’ll come up with the information to add to each outline type.

Pick A Topic

Before you can begin writing an outline, you have to know what you’re going to be speaking about. In some situations, you may have a topic given to you—especially if you are in a public speaking class and must follow the instructor’s requirements. But in many cases, speakers must come up with their own topic for a speech.

Consider your audience and what kind of educational, humorous, or otherwise valuable information they need to hear. Your topic and message should of course be highly relevant to them. If you don’t know your audience well enough to choose a topic, that’s a problem.

Your audience is your first priority. If possible, however, it’s also helpful to choose a topic that appeals to you. What’s something you’re interested in and/or knowledgeable about? 

It will be much easier to write a speech on a topic you care about rather than one you don’t. If you can come up with a speech topic that appeals to your audience and is interesting to you, that’s the sweet spot for writing and delivering an unforgettable speech.

Write A Thesis Statement

The next step is to ask yourself two important questions:

• What do you want your audience to take away from your speech?
• How will you communicate this main message?

The key message of your speech can also be called your “thesis statement.”

Essentially, this is your main point—the most important thing you hope to get across.

You’ll most likely actually say your thesis statement verbatim during your speech. It should come at the end of your introduction. Then, you’ll spend the rest of your talk expanding on this statement, sharing more information that will prove the statement is true.

Consider writing your thesis statement right now—before you begin researching or outlining your speech. If you can refer back to this statement as you get to work, it will be much easier to make sure all of the elements correspond with each other throughout your speech.

An example of a good thesis statement might read like this:

• Going for a run every day is good for your health.
• It’s important to start saving for retirement early.
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on many small businesses.

The second part of this step is to know how you will communicate your main message . For example, if your key point is that running improves physical health, you might get this across by:

• Citing scientific studies that proved running is good for your health
• Sharing your personal experience of going for a run every day

Your goal is for all of your sub-points and supporting material to reflect and support your main point. At the end of the speech, your audience should be appropriately motivated, educated, or convinced that your thesis statement is true.

Once you have a topic for your presentation and a good thesis statement, you can move on to the bulk of the outline.

The first part of your speech is the introduction, which should include a strong “hook” to grab the attention of your audience. There are endless directions you can go to create this hook. Don’t be afraid to get creative! You might try:

• Telling a joke
• Sharing an anecdote
• Using a prop or visual aid
• Asking a question (rhetorical or otherwise)

These are just a few examples of hooks that can make your audience sit up and take notice.

The rest of your introduction shouldn’t be too long—as a general rule of thumb, you want your introduction to take up about 10% of your entire speech. But there are a few other things you need to say.

Briefly introduce yourself and who you are to communicate why the audience should trust you. Mention why you’re giving this speech. 

Explain that you’re going to cover X main points—you can quickly list them—and include your thesis statement. 

You could also mention how long your speech will be and say what your audience will take away from it (“At the end of our 15 minutes together today, you’ll understand how to write a resume”).

Then smoothly transition into the body of your speech.

Next, you’ll write the body of your speech. This is the bulk of your presentation. It will include your main points and their sub-points. Here’s how this should look:

Your subpoints might be anecdotes, visual aids, or studies. However you decide to support your main points, make them memorable and engaging. Nobody wants to sit and listen to you recite a dry list of facts.

Remember, the amount of detail you include right now will depend on which outline you’re on. Your first outline, or working outline, doesn’t have to include every last little detail. Your goal is to briefly encapsulate all of the most important elements in your speech. 

But beyond that, you don’t need to write down every last detail or example right now. You don’t even have to write full sentences at this point. That will come in your second outline and other future drafts.

Your conclusion should concisely summarize the main points of your speech. You could do this by saying, “To recap as I finish up, today we learned…” and reiterate those primary points.

It’s also good to leave the audience with something to think about and/or discuss. Consider asking them a question that expands on your speech—something they can turn over in their minds the rest of the day. 

Or share one final story or quote that will leave them with lasting inspiration. Bonus points if your conclusion circles back around to your introduction or hook.

In other cases, you may want to end with a call to action. Are you promoting something? Make sure your audience knows what it is, how it will benefit them, and where they can find it. Or, your CTA might be as simple as plugging your Twitter handle and asking listeners to follow you.

Finally, don’t forget to say thank you to your audience for taking the time to listen.

Additional Helpful Speechwriting Tips

Your speech outline is important, but it’s not the only thing that goes into preparing to give a presentation. Take a look at these additional tips I recommend to help your speech succeed.

Use Visual Aids

Visual aids are a good way to make sure your audience stays engaged—that they listen closely, and remember what you said. Visual aids serve as an attention-getter for people who may not be listening closely. These aids also ensure that your points are sufficiently supported.

You might choose to incorporate any of the following in your talk:

• A PowerPoint presentation
• A chart or graph
• A whiteboard or blackboard
• A flip chart
• A prop that you hold or interact with

Don’t overdo it. Remember, your speech is the main thing you’re presenting. Any visual aids are just that—aids. They’re a side dish, not the main entrée. Select one primary type of aid for your speech.

If you decide to include visual aids, use your speaking outline to make a note of which items you will incorporate where. You may want to place these items on your working outline. They should definitely be on your full-sentence outline.

Keep Your Audience Engaged

As you write and practice your speech, make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your audience engaged the entire time. We’ve already talked about including stories and jokes, using visual aids, or asking questions to vary your talk and make it more interesting.

Your body language is another important component of audience engagement. Your posture should be straight yet relaxed, with shoulders back and feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your body open to the audience.

Make eye contact with different people in the audience. Incorporate hand gestures that emphasize certain points or draw attention to your visual aids.

Don’t be afraid to move around whatever space you have. Movement is especially helpful to indicate a clearer transition from one part of your speech to another. And smile! A simple smile goes a long way to help your audience relax.

Practice Your Speech

When you’re done with speechwriting, it’s time to get in front of the mirror and practice. Pay attention to your body language, gestures, and eye contact. 

Practice working with any visual aids or props you will be using. It’s also helpful to make a plan B—for instance, what will you do if the projector isn’t working and you can’t use your slides?

Ask a friend or family member if you can rehearse your speech for them. When you’re through, ask them questions about which parts held their attention and which ones didn’t.

You should also use your speaking outline and whatever other notes you’ll be using in your speech itself. Get used to referring to this outline as you go. But remember, don’t read anything verbatim (except maybe a quote). Your speaking outline is simply a guide to remind you where you’re going.

Learn to Speak Like A Leader

There’s a lot of work that goes into writing a speech outline. That’s undeniable. But an outline is the best way to organize and plan your presentation. When your speech outline is ready, it will be a breeze to write and then present your actual speech.

If you’re looking for more help learning how to become a strong public speaker, I recommend my free 5 Minute Speech Formula . This will help you start writing your speech and turn any idea into a powerful message.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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How to Write a Speech Outline

Last Updated: May 23, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Emily Listmann is a Private Tutor and Life Coach in Santa Cruz, California. In 2018, she founded Mindful & Well, a natural healing and wellness coaching service. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. Emily also received her Wellness Coach Certificate from Cornell University and completed the Mindfulness Training by Mindful Schools. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 509,998 times.

A speech outline can increase your confidence and help you keep your place so you sound authoritative and in control. As you write your speech outline, focus on how you'll introduce yourself and your topic, the points you'll cover, and the interests of your audience.

Sample Outline and Writing Help

Crafting Your Introduction

• Keep in mind you may be nervous when you start your speech. Include this in your outline so you won't forget.
• If there's anything about you that relates you to your audience, or to the group that organized the event, you want to include that in your brief greeting as well – especially if you didn't have the benefit of an introduction from someone else.
• For example, you might say "Good afternoon. I'm Sally Sunshine, and I've been a volunteer with the Springfield Animal Society for five years. I'm honored they've invited me to speak here today about the importance of spaying or neutering your pets."

• When choosing your attention-getter, keep your audience in mind. Think about what would grab their attention – not necessarily what you personally find interesting or humorous.
• If you're not sure whether your attention-getter will work, try practicing it in front of friends or family members who are similar in age and interests to the people who will be in the audience when you give your speech.
• For example, if you're giving a speech on spaying and neutering pets to a group of suburban families, you might open with a humorous reference to the Disney movie "101 Dalmatians."

• Briefly explain the importance of the topic or issue you'll be discussing in your speech.
• If your speech is an informative one, explain why the information is important or relevant to your audience.
• For argumentative speeches, explain what might happen if action isn't taken on the issue.
• For example, you might say "Every year, our local animal shelter has to put down 500 unwanted cats and dogs. If all pets were spayed and neutered, it's estimated this number would decrease to under 100."

• If you're giving an argumentative speech, your thesis statement will be a statement of the ultimate point you hope to prove through the information and evidence you lay out in your speech.
• For example, the thesis statement for a speech arguing that all pet owners should spay or neuter their pets might be "Our entire community would benefit if all pets were spayed or neutered."
• The thesis statement for a more informative speech will simply summarize the type of information you're going to provide the audience through your speech.
• For a more scientific speech, your thesis statement will reflect the hypothesis of the scientific study you're presenting in your speech.

• If you're giving a speech for a class in school, your "credibility" may be as simple as the fact that you took the class and researched the topic.
• However, if you have a more personalized interest in the topic of your speech, this is a good time to mention that.
• For an argumentative speech, a personal connection to the subject matter can enhance your credibility. For example, maybe you're giving a speech about local urban housing policy and you became interested in the topic when you learned your family was facing eviction. A personal connection often can mean more to members of your audience than extensive professional experience in the area.

• There's no hard and fast rule, but speeches typically have three main points. You should list them in your introduction in the order you plan to present them in your speech. The order in which you discuss your points depends on the type of speech you're giving.
• For example, your speech on spaying or neutering pets might address the benefits to the pet first, then the benefit to the pet's family, then the benefit to the community at large. This starts small and moves outward.
• For an argumentative speech, you typically want to lead with your strongest argument and work down in order of strength.
• If you're giving an informative speech based on a historical event, you may want to provide your points chronologically. Other informative speeches may be better served by starting with the broadest point and moving to more narrow points.
• Ultimately, you want to order your points in a way that feels natural to you and will enable you to easily transition from one point to another.

Building the Body of Your Speech

• Your first point will be a top-level entry on your outline, typically noted by a Roman numeral.
• Beneath that top-level, you will have a number of sub-points which are comments, statistics, or other evidence supporting that point. Depending on how your outline is formatted, these typically will be letters or bullet points.

• As with the points themselves, with your evidence you typically want to start with the strongest or most important sub-point or piece of evidence and move down. This way, if you start running short on time, you can easily cut the last points without worrying that you're leaving out something important.
• The type of evidence or sub-points you'll want to include will depend on the type of speech you're giving.
• Try to avoid pounding your audience with long series of numbers or statistics – they typically won't retain the information. If you have a significant amount of numerical data or statistics, creating an infographic you can project during your presentation may be more useful.
• Keep in mind that additional personal stories or anecdotes can be particularly effective to get your point across in a speech.
• For example, if your first point in your speech about spaying or neutering pets is that the procedure benefits the pets themselves, you might point out that pets that are spayed or neutered live longer, are at a decreased risk for certain types of cancer, and are generally more healthy than pets who aren't spayed or neutered.

• Avoid over-thinking your transition. It really doesn't need to be incredibly sophisticated. If you can't come up with anything specific, using a simple transitional phrase will work fine.
• For example, you might say "Now that I've discussed how spaying and neutering has a positive effect on your pet's health, I want to move to the effect that spaying and neutering has on your family."
• Some of the most effective transitions turn on a particular word or phrase, such as the word "effect" in the example above.

• When choosing your sub-points or the facts that you want to emphasize in your speech, keep your audience in mind as well as the overall point. Think about what's important to them, or what they potentially would find most surprising or most interesting.

Creating Your Closing

• This transition doesn't need to be fancy – it doesn't even have to be a whole sentence. You can simply say "In conclusion," and then launch into your summary.

• You don't need to go into detail here – you're just reinforcing what you've already told your audience.
• Make sure you don't introduce any new information in your closing summary.
• For example, you might say "As you've seen, spaying or neutering your pet has substantial benefits not only for you and your pet, but also for the community at large."

• If your speech went well, you have fully proven your thesis and demonstrated its importance. This statement should relate back to the summary of your points and present a strong statement.
• Particularly for brief speeches, you can even combine your summary of points with your thesis statement in a single sentence that wraps up your speech.
• For example, you might say "Given the benefits to your pet's health, to your family, and to the overall well-being of your community, it is clear that spaying or neutering pets should be a top priority for all pet owners."

• You may want to think of a way to bring the entire speech back around to that story you initially told to grab your audience's attention.
• If you have an argumentative or similar speech, your closing lines typically will include a call to action. Give your audience an example of how important the subject of your speech is, and implore them to act on the information you gave them in a specific way.
• When making a call to action, make sure you include specific details, such as where to go, who to contact, and when to act.
• For example, you might say "For the next week, the Springfield Animal Society will be spaying and neutering pets for free at their clinic on 123 Main Street. Call 555-555-5555 to make an appointment for your furry friend today!"

• Particularly if your speech was longer or if you went over the time allotted, be sure to tell them that you appreciate their time.
• As with your initial greeting, including this in your outline ensures you won't forget it in the moment. That doesn't mean you should try to write something verbatim. Rather, you should focus on your thanks being more off-the-cuff and sincere.

• If you want to establish parameters for the questions, be sure to list these in your outline so you can mention them when you announce that you're open for questions.
• Anticipate questions that may be asked dependent on your speech topic. Preemptively answer those questions and include them in your outline.
• You also should note if you only have a specified period of time for questions, or if you're only taking a set number of questions.

Community Q&A

• Outlines can vary in how formal or informal you make them. You could either make it a full script or use shorthand with highlighted main points. Use the outline that works best for you. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 0
• Use a large font that you can easily read by glancing down. Print your outline and place it on a desk, then stand and look down at the paper. If it's too small or you find yourself leaning over to read it, increase the font size. Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 3
• Type your outline on a word-processing application. There typically will be an outline template you can use that will format the outline correctly automatically. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 3

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-introductions
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html
• ↑ https://lewisu.edu/writingcenter/pdf/final-developing-a-speech-outline.pdf
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-evidence
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/10-2-keeping-your-speech-moving/

About This Article

The best way to write a speech outline is to write the main points of your greeting and introduction in the first section, including your name and what you’ll be talking about. Then, make a second section with bullet points of all the important details you want to mention in the body of your speech. Make sure to include facts and evidence to back your argument up. Finish your outline with a section that summarizes your points concisely. To learn how to keep your audience's attention throughout your speech, keep reading below! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to write a speech outline

• June 12, 2020

What is a speech outline? Think of it as a blueprint for a successful speech or presentation. You wouldn’t start construction on a house or building without a blueprint and you shouldn’t build a speech or presentation without proper preparation. That means having a basic outline.

How do you write a speech outline?

How do you create a good speech outline? Although writing a speech outline might seem daunting at first, if you break the task into small steps, it can be easier than you think. And, when you start to look at the component parts of a speech or presentation, you realize that good speech craft is all about prioritizing your ideas, putting them in the right order and adding supporting detail.

In this post, I set out the steps that I follow when writing an effective outline that will lead to an effective speech or presentation. For the purposes of this post, I will assume that you know the topic and the audience.

The steps to writing a speech outline

Step 1 – big picture.

Before you start writing your outline, it is important to step back and think about some big picture items.

First, think about the three cornerstones to your speech or presentation: the speaker (you); your subject; and your audience. Now, think about the relationships between these three cornerstones and make some notes about each. For example,

Speaker – Subject: What do you know about the subject? Why are you speaking about it? What expertise do you have? What insights can you share with the audience?

Audience – Subject: What does the audience know about the subject? Do they like the subject? Do they not like it? How is the subject relevant for the audience?

Speaker – Audience: What do you know about the people who will attend your presentation? What do they know about you? Do you have any ongoing relationship with them?

The purpose of this step is to get you to step back from the detail and think “big picture” about your speaking engagement.

Step 2 – Objective

What is your objective for the talk? What do you want people to do when have finished speaking?

People often tell me that they just want the audience to know something. The most powerful speeches and presentations are the ones that move people to action. If you can get people to take some concrete action, you will have made an impact.

When thinking about what you want the audience to do, be specific. For example, do you want them to increase your department’s budget or invest in your start-up or exercise three times a week? Write out your objective as follows:

“At the end of the presentation, the audience will ___________________ .”

Step 3 – Message

A speech or presentation should have a message, something that holds it together. The French call this le fil rouge – the red thread – that runs through the entirety of the presentation. People often try to pack in several messages but being too informative is not good; the result is often confusing for those listening. Of course, your message can have different parts, but it should have a single, unifying message.

Write the message of your speech in a single sentence. It must be a grammatically correct sentence, not a series of points. When you can distill your speech or presentation into a single sentence, the message will be clear in your mind. If you cannot, you need to spend more time thinking about the message. As Albert Einstein said, if you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

When developing your speech outline in the steps below, use the message as a gauge for everything that goes into the speech. As you develop your talk, as you think about adding a slide, a statistic, a story, a chart, a graph, etc., ask yourself whether it supports the key message. If it does, it can stay. If it doesn’t, leave it out.

Step 4 – Relevance

A speech or presentation is never about the speaker or her product or service or company. It is always about the audience. When speakers put the audience first , that’s when great things happen.

Now that you have your message, list the reasons why your audience should care about your message. How is your message relevant to them?

You need at least one reason. If you can’t think of any, you have a problem. Either you are giving the wrong speech or you are speaking to the wrong audience. Go back to Step 3 and reconsider your message in light of Steps 1 and 2. Keep doing this until you can list one or more reasons why people should care about what you are saying.

Step 5 – Structure

Every speech or presentation needs structure in order for it to have an impact.

There are three basic parts to ever speech or presentation: the opening; the body; and the conclusion. For the purposes of this post, I will discuss them in that order. However, when working on your speech outline, I recommend starting with the body, then working on the opening and finally the conclusion.

(a) Opening

Your opening is the introduction to your presentation. You get one chance to make a good first impression, so you want your opening to be strong. Preparation is key. A strong opening has two parts.

People’s attention is at its highest at the beginning of your presentation so you want to capitalize on it. Speakers who begin in a mundane fashion — “Good morning everyone. I’m happy to be here. My name is So-and-So and today we are going to talk about X” — often miss the opportunity to hook their audience’s attention.

There is no rule that says you have to begin with “Good morning” or something similar. There is no rule that introducing yourself has to be the first thing you do. And as for being happy, don’t say it. Show it in your smile and enthusiasm.

You can hook your audience’s attention from the outset in different ways. For example:

• Ask a rhetorical question
• Ask people to imagine something or recall a time in their lives when something happened
• Make a bold statement
• Tell an interesting fact
• Recite a quote
• Tell a story

Whatever you choose, be sure that it relates to the topic of your presentation. For your speech outline write down how you will immediately grab the audience’s attention.

(ii) Signpost

Once you have hooked them, you need to let people know where you are going with your presentation. Otherwise, the audience will get frustrated. Have you ever been in the audience and wondered: Where is he going with this? What’s her point? Like I said, it’s frustrating.

You need to signpost your talk. It doesn’t take much but it is a big help for your audience. It is a simple, informative statement of what the talk is about.

For example: “Today I want to share with you three reasons why we should open an office in southeast Asia: lower taxation; a skilled workforce; and market proximity.” Clearly, there is more to know about the proposal, but the sentence is a clear signpost to the audience as to what the presentation will be about.

The body of your presentation is where you develop your message in detail. This part represents the bulk of you presentation, so you need to give it some thought. Here’s how I go about it.

(i) Gather content

You need content for your presentation. Often, you can talk about many points in support of your message. Write them all down. Don’t edit your ideas yet. Write down everything that you could talk about, no matter how insignificant. Try to distill each idea into a word or short phrase.

When you have finished, your preparation should leave you with a sheet full of ideas. You are now ready for the next step.

(ii) Choose the most important points

Leonardo da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Too often, speakers fail to hit the mark because they try to cover too much information. People can only remember so much information. The more you add, the harder it will be for them to remember. Removing information will actually help them.

Of course, the number of points you cover will depend on how much time you have. You can cover more topics in a 30-minute presentation that you can in a 5-minute presentation.

Still, don’t try to talk about everything. What are the main points? Pick what is most important for this audience on this occasion and focus on that. You can always tell the audience that there is more to know but that you are only going to focus on a few ideas.

I know that leaving material out can be difficult, but you have to do it. Think for a moment about the complexity of the projects on which you are currently working. If you were asked to give a 20-minute presentation on any one of those projects, I’d bet that you could only cover a fraction of the detail related to it.

(iii) Order the points

Once you know the ideas you are going to discuss, you need to order them in a logical manner that supports your message. Depending on what you are talking about, you have different options. Here are five possible ways to order your content:

• Chronological (for example, the history of a company or product)
• Sequential (for example, a process or business plan)
• Climax (when trying to persuade the audience to do something; points arranged from the least important to the most important, thus building to a climax)
• Headline (also when trying to persuade the audience to do something but here, the points arranged from the most important to the least important; useful for a small audience of busy, senior, give-me-the-bottom-line-now people)
• Pros and Cons (when considering options)

Your ideas must be presented in a coherent manner so that they help people understand the reasoning behind your message.

(iv) Add supporting detail

Now that the ideas are in the right order, you want to add supporting detail for each one. Your ideas need to be supported if they are to be convincing.

Examples of supporting detail include data, charts and graphs, stories, quotes, authoritative sources, visuals, metaphors, demonstrations and more. A good presentation will have a variety of supporting material. That is why this part of the process takes a fair bit of preparation.

For each of your main points, list the things that you will use to support that point. If you are going to use slides as part of the presentation, you can even sketch out a rough idea as to what each slide will contain.

(v) Transitions

Transitions in a presentation do not make up a large part of a presentation, but they are important. Too often, the different points in a presentation blend into each other like the compartments on a train. This makes it more challenging for the audience to follow.

It is important to leave enough space between two ideas so that the audience understands that you are moving onto a new point. Just as you need to signpost what your talk is about in the opening, you also need to signal when you are moving on to a new point in your talk.

A transition can be a simple statement. For example, “The next point is …” or “Another reason in support is …” or “Now that we’ve discussed X, let’s look at Y …”. Any of these will suffice. But a simple statement will allow the audience to shift gears mentally and get ready for the next idea.

On your speech outline, make a note about how each section of the body links to the following section.

(c) Conclusion

You want to finish on a strong note. Too many people waste their conclusions with a weak “Thank you” and exit the stage. You have to resist that urge and maximize your conclusion. You can plan for it in your speech outline.

(i) Transition to conclusion

Plan how you will transition from the final point in the body of your presentation to the conclusion. It should send a clear signal to the audience that you are nearing the end. One way is to link your conclusion to your opening.

(ii) Link to opening

Most people think of a presentation as something that is linear but I like to think of it as something that is  circular . In other words, you link your conclusion to your opening.

Thus, for example, if you began with a story, you could finish the story; if you began with a quote, you could come back to the quote; if you told an interesting fact, you could reiterate it (and perhaps add another interesting fact).

Linking your conclusion to the opening is not necessary, but it always adds a nice polish to your presentation and signals to your audience that you are approaching the end. In your speech outline, write down how you might link your conclusion to your opening.

(iii) Repeat and summarize message

Repeating your message as a simple statement will reinforce it in the mind of your audience. Succinctly summarize the different points in support, in the same order in which you presented them in the body of your talk.

(iv) Call to action

As discussed in Step 2 (Objective), the most powerful presentations are the ones that move the audience to take some kind of action. Now is the time to leave the audience with your call to action.

If your call to action is a big one, have a simple first step that they can take. Studies show that if you can get people to take a small step towards a larger goal, the chances of them reaching that goal are greatly increased.

One example of a first step that I have used with a few clients is to have them insert a slide at the end of the deck with a QR code on it. The code links to a website where the audience can learn more about the topic and perhaps download PDF document. It is a simple and effective way to start moving your audience toward your objective.

Final thoughts

When you give a presentation, it is your job to get the audience across the metaphorical bridge that separates them from your idea. How do you do that? It all starts with the preparation of a good speech outline.

How do you write a speech outline? One step at a time.

Like this article?

Excellent, clear and concise overview — thank you, John! For me, including a clear call to action is my weakest point. I will definitely work on that. (I think it’s very much linked to self-confidence: “Who am I to suggest a call to action to you, audience members?” Is this a gender issue, to some extent, I wonder? I’d love to hear from other women speakers about this point. Or any observations from you as a mentor/coach/trainer, John?)

Thank you very much, Merryl. I am glad that you enjoyed the post. I understand your point about the call to action. I know that some women struggle with it, but I also know men who struggle with it as well. There is, as you say, this feeling of “Who am I to tell you what to do?” but then again, who aren’t you to tell me? At the end of the day, I will decide whether to agree with you or not. But if you don’t sound invested, the chances that I will be invested are diminished. In this regard, this post , and the wonderful video in it, about speaking with conviction might help. Good luck with your speeches and presentations!

Excellent. This one a definite keeper! Hugs Mom

Thanks, Mom. Much appreciated.

Delighted to see a mention of the Red Thread here. It’s the backbone of a great talk, but often the hardest thing for people to find (and thus why I wanted to figure out a way to help people find it).

Great suggestions here for how to build a talk from there — thank you.

Thanks a lot John I will use it today for a strategy presentation. 😉

Good luck with the presentation, Michel!

Gems! Love the questions about how much the audience likes the subject – great way to see it from their viewpoint.

Also love your point about getting people to take a small, easy step, to get the ball rolling.

That’s actually the last piece of a 3-part model I use for getting listeners to act:

1. Announce your call-to-action (A) 2. Convince people to own it (C) 3. Transform it into steps (T)

It’s as if you build a bridge between your call-to-action and your listeners’ everyday lives. (See the link for some sample techniques.)

Great post, John. A little longer, but well worth the read!

Thanks, Craig. “ACT” is a great acronym for getting people to … act. I also like the metaphor of a bridge. I often say that your audience is on one side of the river and you want to get them to see things from your side. To do that, you have to build a bridge that allows them to cross over.

Great info, thanks !

Thanks, Hector.

Thank you for sharing that consistent and concise methode on how to outline a speech which is extremeley helpful. I will certainly apply that approach in planning my speeches.

I am glad that you found it helpful, Günther. Thanks for letting me know.

Excellent post: simple, to the point, easy-to-follow, compelling. Like a speech! 🙂

Thank you for summing it up in a neat package, John!

Thank you, Lisa Marie.

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CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International

Rice Speechwriting

Mastering speech outlines: tips & examples, crafting a speech outline: tips & examples.

Crafting a speech can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-crafted speech outline can make all the difference in helping you deliver your message effectively. In this blog, we’ll go over why a speech outline is so important and how to prepare for creating one. We’ll also provide a step-by-step guide on how to craft a compelling speech outline. From choosing a topic that resonates with your audience to constructing a strong thesis statement and developing engaging hooks, we’ve got you covered. Additionally, we’ll share tips on perfecting your speech outline and enhancing your delivery with visual aids. Whether you’re preparing for a business presentation or giving a keynote address , this blog will provide you with all the tools you need to deliver an impactful speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Understanding the Importance of a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline is crucial for effective public speaking. It ensures a clear, logical flow of ideas and helps in organizing the content of your public speech. By providing a roadmap for the entire speech, a preparation outline ensures that the main points are communicated clearly, helping you to stay focused and on track during your public speaking engagement. The part of your speech outline also serves as a visual aid, further enhancing the structuring of your thoughts and ideas, making it an essential part of your public speaking preparation.

Benefits of a Well-Crafted Speech Outline

Crafting a well-structured speech outline is essential for delivering a compelling public speech. It ensures a clear organizational pattern, aiding in capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention throughout the speech. By logically ordering the content, a well-crafted speech outline facilitates smooth transitions between key points, supporting subpoints, and transitional statements, thus enhancing the overall coherence of the speech. Moreover, it serves as a valuable organization tool, assisting in preparing a structured and impactful public speaking presentation. Therefore, dedicating time to the preparation outline is an integral part of any successful public speech, providing a roadmap for the seamless delivery of the content.

Structuring Thoughts and Ideas

Crafting a speech outline contributes to the seamless delivery of key points in public speaking. It aids in the preparation of the body of your speech, ensuring a coherent flow of ideas and serves as a preparation outline for each part of your speech. By effectively structuring the speech topic, the public speech outline ensures the logical organization of the main points and supports the overall organization and preparation of the speech’s content. The outline facilitates a well-structured and engaging presentation to the audience, enhancing the overall impact of your public speech.

Preparing to Craft a Speech Outline

Researching the topic thoroughly is paramount for preparing a comprehensive speech outline, enabling a well-structured and informative public speech. Determining the length of the speech is essential in deciding the depth and breadth of the preparation outline, ensuring that all key points are effectively covered. Recognizing the different types of speech outlines is integral to cater to the specific requirements and expectations of the audience. Considering the instructor’s guidelines is crucial in crafting a preparation outline that aligns with the given parameters. The process of preparing a speech outline involves strategically deciding on the overall organizational pattern of the speech, ensuring a logical flow and coherence throughout the presentation.

Researching Your Topic

Thoroughly researching the topic is crucial for crafting a well-structured speech outline. It enables the identification of key points and ensures the inclusion of accurate and credible information. Familiarity with the topic is essential for preparing a comprehensive outline, part of your speech preparation. Conducting extensive research is an integral part of gathering relevant information to form the foundation of a well-crafted public speech. By understanding the significance of in-depth research, you can ensure that your public speaking content is well-prepared and effectively delivered.

Deciding on the Length of Your Speech

When crafting a speech outline, one must consider the length of the speech as a crucial factor. The chosen length not only determines the overall organization of the outline but also influences its depth and structure. It plays a significant role in decision-making regarding the content to be included. Additionally, considering the attention span of the audience members is essential in determining the ideal length of the speech. The preparation outline needs to align with the selected length to ensure that the content is tailored appropriately for the intended duration.

Recognizing Different Types of Speech Outlines

Understanding the various options in organizing a public speech is crucial for delivering an impactful presentation. Identifying the most suitable outline for your topic is key, as it influences the entire preparation process and organization of the content. Becoming familiar with different types of public speaking outlines, such as a preparation outline or a speaking outline, enables you to structure your thoughts effectively. Selecting the right type of outline, such as preparation outline or speaking outline, ensures that each part of your speech, from the introduction to the conclusion, is well-organized and cohesive. This thoughtful consideration of different types of outlines ultimately enhances the overall delivery and reception of your public speech.

Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline begins with selecting a captivating topic, followed by formulating a strong thesis statement. Integrating the speech topic’s keywords is essential, and the initial outline draft should encompass the main talking points. Moreover, organizing supporting points and subpoints is crucial in the preparation outline. Each of these steps contributes to the coherent structuring of thoughts and ideas for the public speech. Embracing this process as part of your speech preparation ensures that each segment becomes a seamless part of your speech. Through this careful planning, you can align your speech with your audience, whether it’s a presentation, a social media post, or a public speaking event.

Choosing a Compelling Topic

Selecting an engaging subject ensures sustained audience interest and involvement during the public speech. The preparation outline process commences with the choice of a captivating speech topic that resonates with the audience. A compelling topic facilitates the overall structure of the public speaking outline, ensuring coherence and relevance. The topic’s significance to the audience directly influences the preparation of the public speech outline, guiding the inclusion of impactful content. Crafting a well-organized public speech outline initiates with the deliberate selection of a topic that appeals to the audience

Constructing a Strong Thesis Statement

Constructing a strong thesis statement is essential for providing clear direction to the preparation outline of a speech. It forms the foundation of logical organization, encompassing the main point and guiding the arrangement of the speech outline. A well-constructed thesis statement ensures that the speech outline effectively captures the main ideas and supporting points, making it an integral part of any public speaking engagement. This process involves careful consideration of the audience’s interests and the overall relevance of the topic to ensure a comprehensive and engaging public speech. Incorporating the NLP terms “public speaking” and “preparation outline” enhances the development of a captivating thesis statement, making it a crucial part of constructing an effective speech outline.

Developing Engaging Hooks

Crafting a captivating speech outline begins with capturing the audience’s attention using engaging hooks. Anecdotes or props can be effectively utilized to create a compelling speech introduction that instantly grabs the audience’s interest. Moreover, incorporating key words and phrases strategically within the introduction can further pique the audience’s curiosity. It’s crucial that the first thing the audience hears is attention-grabbing, setting the tone for the entire speech. These engaging hooks are essential in ensuring the audience’s undivided attention right from the start, creating a strong foundation for the rest of the speech.

Building the Body of Your Speech

To keep the audience engaged, ensure the body of your speech is well-organized in a logical order. Smoothly transition between supporting points using transitional statements. Structuring main points effectively can be done by including subpoints and bullet points. Remember, the speaker’s body language is vital for maintaining the audience’s attention. Convey the topic effectively by including main points, supporting points, and subpoints in the body of your speech. Public speaking requires a well-structured body to effectively deliver the part of your speech that contains key information and ideas. At the end of the speech, it is important to summarize and wrap up the main points to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Successful public speeches on platforms like Facebook stem from thorough preparation outlines and a well-organized body.

Perfecting Your Speech Outline

Crafting a preparation outline is a crucial part of your speech writing process. The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline, also known as a working, practice, or rough outline. The preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an inventive format. When constructing a speaking outline, it’s important to adhere to the instructor’s requirements and include a thesis statement as the main point. Start with a rough outline to establish the overall organizational pattern before refining it. Your speech writing template should consist of full sentences that guide seamless delivery during public speaking. This preparation outline will serve as a roadmap for every part of your speech, making it easier to deliver a compelling and well-structured public speech.

Reviewing and Refining Your Outline

After completing the speechwriting process, it is crucial to meticulously review and refine the outline to ensure coherence and effectiveness. The entire outline should be crafted in a way that best conveys the speech topic to the audience. This involves refining the rough outline to capture and maintain the audience’s attention throughout. During the review, special attention should be given to the thesis statement, supporting points, and subpoints to effectively refine the speech outline. It is vital to ensure that the chosen type of outline optimally organizes the key points of the speech for seamless delivery and maximum impact. Embracing this reviewing and refining stage ensures that the speech outline is primed for successful public speaking engagements.

Practicing Your Speech

Practicing your speech is essential for perfecting the delivery, including eye contact and body language, during public speaking engagements. It reinforces the main point of the preparation outline and helps emphasize key points effectively to the audience. The conclusion should also be practiced to ensure a strong and impactful end to your public speech. By practicing the speech delivery, you can maintain the audience’s attention and ensure that your message is effectively conveyed. This step is crucial in ensuring that your public speech is engaging and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Tips to Enhance Your Speech Delivery

Incorporating visual aids and props during public speaking can effectively enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more engaging for the audience. Anecdotes are an impactful way to illustrate key points, capturing the audience’s attention and enhancing the overall delivery of your speech. Establishing consistent eye contact with the audience members is crucial as it helps in creating a strong connection during the delivery of your public speech. The second aspect of your speech outline should primarily focus on the best ways to deliver your speech to the audience members, ensuring that it resonates effectively. By integrating anecdotes, props, and visual aids, you can significantly enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more compelling and impactful.

How Can Visual Aids Improve Your Speech?

Incorporating visual aids in your speech can greatly enhance its impact. Visual aids reinforce key points, clarify complex information, and capture the audience’s attention. They create a visual impact and contribute to a memorable delivery. Utilizing visual aids effectively can take your speech to the next level.

In conclusion, crafting a well-structured speech outline is crucial for delivering a successful and impactful speech. It helps you organize your thoughts, develop a strong thesis statement, and engage your audience with compelling hooks. By structuring your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion, you can effectively convey your message and maintain a flow of ideas. Additionally, reviewing and refining your outline, as well as practicing your speech, will contribute to your confidence and delivery on the day of the speech. Don’t forget to utilize visual aids to enhance your presentation and make it more memorable for your audience. With these tips and examples, you’ll be well-equipped to create an effective speech outline and deliver a memorable speech.

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7.4 Outlining Your Speech

Click below to play an audio file of this section of the chapter sponsored by the Women for OSU Partnering to Impact grant.

Most speakers and audience members would agree that an organized speech is both easier to present as well as more persuasive. Public speaking teachers especially believe in the power of organizing your speech, which is why they encourage (and often require) that you create an outline for your speech. Outlines, or textual arrangements of all the various elements of a speech, are a very common way of organizing a speech before it is delivered. Most extemporaneous speakers keep their outlines with them during the speech as a way to ensure that they do not leave out any important elements and to keep them on track. Writing an outline is also important to the speechwriting process since doing so forces the speakers to think about the main ideas, known as main points, and subpoints, the examples they wish to include, and the ways in which these elements correspond to one another. In short, the outline functions both as an organization tool and as a reference for delivering a speech.

Outline Types

There are two types of outlines, the preparation outline and the speaking outline.

Preparation Outline

The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline . Also called a skeletal, working, practice, or rough outline, the preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an organized format. Stephen E. Lucas (2004) put it simply: “The preparation outline is just what its name implies—an outline that helps you prepare the speech.” When writing the preparation outline, you should focus on  finalizing the specific purpose and thesis statement, logically ordering your main points, deciding where supporting material should be included, and refining the overall organizational pattern of your speech. As you write the preparation outline, you may find it necessary to rearrange your points or to add or subtract supporting material. You may also realize that some of your main points are sufficiently supported while others are lacking. The final draft of your preparation outline should include full sentences. In most cases, however, the preparation outline is reserved for planning purposes only and is translated into a speaking outline before you deliver the speech. Keep in mind though, even a full sentence outline is not an essay.

Speaking Outline

A speaking outline is the outline you will prepare for use when delivering the speech. The speaking outline is much more succinct than the preparation outline and includes brief phrases or words that remind the speakers of the points they need to make, plus supporting material and signposts (Beebe & Beebe, 2003). The words or phrases used on the speaking outline should briefly encapsulate all of the information needed to prompt the speaker to accurately deliver the speech. Although some cases call for reading a speech verbatim from the full-sentence outline, in most cases speakers will simply refer to their speaking outline for quick reminders and to ensure that they do not omit any important information. Because it uses just words or short phrases, and not full sentences, the speaking outline can easily be transferred to index cards that can be referenced during a speech. However, check with your instructor regarding what you will be allowed to use for your speech.

Components of Outlines

The main components of the outlines are the main points, subordination and coordination, parallelism, division, and the connection of main points.

Main Points

Main points are the main ideas in the speech. In other words, the main points are what your audience should remember from your talk, and they are phrased as single, declarative sentences. These are never phrased as a question, nor can they be a quote or form of citation. Any supporting material you have will be put in your outline as a subpoint. Since this is a public speaking class, your instructor will decide how long your speeches will be, but in general, you can assume that no speech will be longer than 10 minutes in length. Given that alone, we can make one assumption. All speeches will fall between 2 to 5 main points based simply on length. If you are working on an outline and you have ten main points, something is wrong, and you need to revisit your ideas to see how you need to reorganize your points.

All main points are preceded by Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.). Subpoints are preceded by capital letters (A, B, C, etc.), then Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.), lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). You can subordinate further than this. Speak with your instructor regarding his or her specific instructions. Each level of subordination is also differentiated from its predecessor by indenting a few spaces. Indenting makes it easy to find your main points, subpoints, and the supporting points and examples below them.

Let’s work on understanding how to take main points and break them into smaller ideas by subordinating them further and further as we go by using the following outline example:

Topic : Dog

Specific Purpose : To inform my audience about characteristics of dogs

Thesis : There are many types of dogs that individuals can select from before deciding which would make the best family pet.

Preview : First, I will describe the characteristics of large breed dogs, and then I will discuss characteristics of small breed dogs.

I.     First, let’s look at the characteristics of large breed dogs      A.     Some large breed dogs need daily activity.      B.     Some large breed dogs are dog friendly.      C.     Some large breed dogs drool.           1.     If you are particularly neat, you may not want one of these.               a.     Bloodhounds drool the most.                   1)     After eating is one of the times drooling is bad.                   2)     The drooling is horrible after they drink, so beware!               b.    English bloodhounds drool a lot as well.           2.     If you live in an apartment, these breeds could pose a problem. II.    Next, let’s look at the characteristics of small breed dogs.      A.     Some small breed dogs need daily activity.      B.     Some small breed dogs are dog friendly.      C.     Some small breed dogs are friendly to strangers.           1.    Welsh Terriers love strangers.               a.     They will jump on people.               b.     They will wag their tails and nuzzle.           2.    Beagles love strangers.           3.    Cockapoos also love strangers.

Subordination and Coordination

You should have noticed that as ideas were broken down, or subordinated, there was a hierarchy to the order. To check your outline for coherence, think of the outline as a staircase. All of the points that are beneath and on a diagonal to the points above them are subordinate points. So using the above example, points A, B, and C dealt with characteristics of large breed dogs, and those points are all subordinate to main point I. Similarly, points 1 and 2 under point C both dealt with drool, so those are subordinate. This is the subordination of points. If we had discussed food under point C, you would know that something didn’t make sense. You will also see that there is coordination of points. As part of the hierarchy, coordination simply means that all of the numbers or letters should represent the same idea. In this example, A, B, and C were all characteristics, so those are all coordinate to each other. Had C been “German Shepherd,” then the outline would have been incorrect because that is a type of dog, not a characteristic.

Parallelism

Another important rule in outlining is known as parallelism . This means that when possible, you begin your sentences in a similar way, using a similar grammatical structure. For example, in the previous example on dogs, some of the sentences began “some large breed dogs.” This type of structure adds clarity to your speaking. Students often worry that parallelism will sound boring. It’s actually the opposite! It adds clarity. However, if you had ten sentences in a row, we would never recommend you begin them all the same way. That is where transitions come into the picture and break up any monotony that could occur.

The principle of division is an important part of outlining. When you have a main point, you will be explaining it. You should have enough meaningful information that you can divide it into two subpoints A and B. If subpoint A has enough information that you can explain it, then it, too, should be able to be divided into two subpoints. So, division means this: If you have an A, then you need a B; if you have a 1, then you need a 2, and so on. What if you cannot divided the point? In a case like that you would simply incorporate the information in the point above.

Connecting Your Main Points

One way to connect points is to include transitional statements . Transitional statements are phrases or sentences that lead from one distinct- but-connected idea to another. They are used to alert the audience to the fact that you are getting ready to discuss something else. When moving from one point to another, your transition may just be a word or short phrase, known as a sign post. For instance, you might say “next,” “also,” or “moreover.” You can also enumerate your speech points and signal transitions by starting each point with “First,” “Second,” “Third,” et cetera. You might also incorporate non-verbal transitions, such as brief pauses or a movement across the stage. Pausing to look at your audience, stepping out from behind a podium, or even raising or lowering the rate of your voice can signal to audience members that you are transitioning.

Another way to incorporate transitions into your speech is by offering internal summaries and internal previews within your speech. Summaries provide a recap of what has already been said, making it more likely that audiences will remember the points that they hear again. For example, an internal summary may sound like this:

So far, we have seen that the pencil has a long and interesting history. We also looked at the many uses the pencil has that you may not have known about previously.

Like the name implies, internal previews lay out what will occur next in your speech. They are longer than transitional words or signposts .

Next, let us explore what types of pencils there are to pick from that will be best for your specific project.

Additionally, summaries can be combined with internal previews to alert audience members that the next point builds on those that they have already heard.

Now that I have told you about the history of the pencil, as well as its many uses, let’s look at what types of pencils you can pick from that might be best for your project.

It is important to understand that if you use an internal summary and internal preview between main points, you need to state a clear main point following the internal preview. Here’s an example integrating all of the points on the pencil:

I. First, let me tell you about the history of the pencil.

So far we have seen that the pencil has a long and interesting history. Now, we can look at how the pencil can be used (internal summary, signpost, and internal preview).

II. The pencil has many different uses, ranging from writing to many types of drawing.

Now that I have told you about the history of the pencil, as well as its many uses, let’s look at what types of pencils you can pick from that might be best for your project (Signpost, internal summary and preview).

III. There are over fifteen different types of pencils to choose from ranging in hardness and color.

Had Meg, the student mentioned in the opening anecdote, taken some time to work through the organizational process, it is likely her speech would have gone much more smoothly when she finished her introduction. It is very common for beginning speakers to spend a great deal of their time preparing catchy introductions, fancy PowerPoint presentations, and nice conclusions, which are all very important. However, the body of any speech is where the speaker must make effective arguments, provide helpful information, entertain, and the like, so it makes sense that speakers should devote a proportionate amount of time to these areas as well. By following this chapter, as well as studying the other chapters in this text, you should be prepared to craft interesting, compelling, and organized speeches.

This resource is available at no cost at https://open.library.okstate.edu/speech2713/

used to work through the various components of your speech in an organized format

much more succinct than the preparation outline and includes brief phrases or words that remind the speakers of the points they need to make, plus supporting material and signposts

the main ideas in the speech

a hierarchy to the order of the points of a speech

all of the numbers or letters of points should represent the same idea

the repetition of grammatical structures that correspond in sound, meter, or meaning

if you have an A, then you need a B; if you have a 1, then you need a 2, and so on

phrases or sentences that lead from one distinct- but-connected idea to another

transition using just a word or short phrase

Introduction to Speech Communication Copyright © 2021 by Individual authors retain copyright of their work. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

How to Craft a Masterful Outline of Speech

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

I’m sure you have all seen at least one captivating Ted Talk online. One thing you probably noticed is how smoothly it went. I can assure you that every public speaker has done their homework and put together an outline of speech before presenting it in front of an audience. This wouldn’t be possible without some preparation beforehand.

An outline done right can do wonders for organizing your speech, and public speaking teachers often stress the importance of this organization tool. A rough outline can help you come up with more main points and sub-points for your arguments. It will help you brainstorm ideas. Some people use index cards with keywords or brief phrases from their speech outline to help them accurately deliver their speech.

The outline functions as a visual aid, too. Some people with photographic memory can use the outline as supporting material and ensure they do not forget crucial elements of their speech. Logically ordering your speech points can also smoothen your speechwriting process.

The speech outline is one of the most critical elements to have. Simply put, it has two main functions: it’s a point of reference and an organizational tool. Our guide will help you understand how an outline is used, the structure of an outline, and the different types, so you can create the most helpful outline for you.

In this article:

Preparation Outline

Speaking outline, the big picture, type of speech, call to action, speech outline structure, coordination, parallelism, transitions, speech outline types.

The preparation outline is your first draft. It includes the bare bones of your speech, and it’s often referred to as a working/rough/practice outline. You will write the main points of your speech, the supporting points, organized logically, and the other various components, such as attention getter and so on (we expand on the parts of a speech outline further in the article).

The preparation outline is used to help put your thoughts on paper and arrange your material. It is also the place where you should pay attention to your arguments. Are they convincing or lacking evidence? You might need to rearrange some parts to make your speech flows better. Don’t be afraid of removing parts of your preparation outline if they don’t make sense.

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The preparation outline is then transformed into a speaking outline. Even though your preparation outline should include full sentences, don’t forget your it is not an essay. Try not to get carried away with writing, and use it to get your textual arguments in order.

The speaking outline is your reference point. Unlike the preparation outline, this one is more concise includes keywords to serve as quick reminders during your speech. These short phrases should briefly encapsulate your main points, conclusion, introduction, and an attention grabber. Unlike the first outline, which uses long sentences and breakdowns of your textual arguments, the speaking outline could easily fit on cue cards and help prepare for your speech.

You shouldn’t solely rely on index cards, however, as you may come across as unprepared in the eyes of the audience. Most speakers use them to prepare for their speech and simply refer to them when they get stuck. Make sure to check the instructor’s requirements to see if you’re allowed index cards during your speech.

Things to Consider Before Outlining Your Speech

Before you get into arranging your outline, it’s essential to think about the big picture. Before you begin, consider three things: think about the speaker, the subject, and the audience. Here is more detail about each element:

Speaker – Why are you discussing the topic at hand? Why does this subject matter to you? Do you have any significant insights on the topic? Do you have any expertise or qualifications that can help convince the audience of the legitimacy of your words?

Subject – Are you covering a controversial topic? How do you think your audience will react to it? Are you going to make some interesting points? Try to predict the audience’s reaction s you can be more prepared for your speech.

Audience – What do you know about your audience? Are they all from a particular age group? Are they qualified in the same area you are? Are they familiar with your work? Has the audience paid to listen to your speech?

Try to take a step back and look at the big picture. You might find some exciting takeaways when doing that.

Think about the purpose of your speech. Are you there to convince the audience to do something? Or is your goal to inform the audience of some less-known facts? Generally speaking, there are two common categories of speech, and yours most likely falls under one of them:

Informative speech – the primary purpose of the informative speech is to educate the audience on a subject. The goal is to have the audience learn something and leave your speech with a better understanding of a specific subject. We have an in-depth article about informative speech outline with examples here .

Persuasive speech – a persuasive speech aims to convince the audience to do something or change their opinion on a topic. It is similar to a sales pitch and combines credibility, logic, and emotion to help convince the listener. We have in-depth article about persuasive speech outline here .

Before you start outlining your speech, make sure you have chosen your preferred type, as the outlines vary depending on your speech category.

The title is highly underestimated when making a speech outline. Logically we think that we don’t need one. Since we are more or less presenting the speech verbatim, we are not exactly going to stand in front of an audience quoting our speech title. But we might still need one. A title helps summarize your main goal. It holds the central idea behind your speech. You will have no trouble writing a title once you are sure what message you are trying to deliver.

What is the central idea of your speech? Is there e certain question you are aiming to answer? Determine the essential message behind your speech. Try to sum it up in a single sentence. Try to explain your message simply, without overcomplicating it.

Use your central message as a reference point throughout your speech. When you get stuck, write up your main points and supporting arguments, and always ask yourself, do they support the key message? If not, they might be redundant.

In order to make a captivating speech and maintain the audience’s attention, you need to think about the relevance of your message. You should always put the audience first, so now that you have your key message prepared, list the reasons why the audience should care about your message. Is it relevant to them somehow?

Think of at least one reason why the speech should matter to your audience. For example, if you’re writing a persuasive speech about texting and driving, the audience would find it relevant because it concerns their safety. If you can’t think of a relevant reason why the listeners should care about your speech, reconsider your message.

You have probably heard about hooks before when you used this technique to begin your essays. The hook is the attention-getter, and it is paramount to your speech. It’s the first sentence your audience will hear and usually determines whether or not your audience would listen to the rest of your speech. There are many clever ways to start your talk and ensure you’re being heard:

• Ask the audience a rhetorical question.
• Start with a joke.
• Tell a short personal story.
• Recite a quote.
• Prompt the audience members to do something.

Speaking of encouraging the audience to do something, this brings us to our next point.

When presenting a persuasive speech, you’ll most likely need a call to action. The most convincing speeches prompt the audience to make some kind of action. You can ask them to raise a hand if they have done something (drink more than 5 cups of coffee a day). Alternatively, you can ask them to scan a QR code to reveal some useful information on the topic at hand. These small steps will move the audience in the right direction.

Now that you have prepared thoroughly, you can formulate your speech outline. Get familiar with the main points of your speech. You can find examples and references below, explaining each topic. Remember that all the various elements of your speech will make an organizational pattern supporting your central thesis (key message). An organized speech has main points, typically between 2 and 5, and any supporting material is put in your outline as a sub-point.

A Roman numeral numbers every main point, while subpoints are listed with capital letters. The hierarchal order that follows is Arabic numerals and, finally, lowercase letters. For further subordination, speak to your tutor or the person in charge of your public speaking project.

Here is the basic speech outline, including an introduction, body, and conclusion. For planning purposes, each section is explained to understand the textual arrangements best. Examples are given later in the text.

Every basic speech outline includes an introduction. This is your speech opening, and it needs to be robust and captivating. It is critical to prepare a compelling introduction. An introduction has 3-5 parts, depending on the length of your speech.

• Attention getter – Capture the audience’s attention.
• Thesis statement – Your key message is introduced here with a couple of short sentences.
• Motivation – Explain how this speech will be relevant to the audience
• Qualifications – Explain to the audience why you are qualified to discuss this topic
• Transition – Smoothly transition the audience to the next part of your speech

The body is an integral part of any basic speech. Here you can develop your thesis in detail. The body holds the bulk of the information you will be presenting in front of an audience. It is important to do plenty of research on your speech topic. Gather content you might need during your talk. are you going to need any visual aids? Perhaps make some charts of your statistics. Or, if you’re going for a humorous approach, some memes on the topic can get the audience laughing and hungry to hear more on the topic. Aim for a sheet full of ideas. It’s worth noting that too much information doesn’t mean better speech. Once you have gathered all your engaging material, subtract some supporting material that you feel isn’t genuinely helping your presentation. You shouldn’t try to talk about everything. Instead, choose what is most important and focus on making it relevant and believable by adding sub-points:

• First subpoint (Give some support to the reason above)
• Sufficiently supported statements (Provide more factual arguments to support the above statements)
• Sufficiently supported statements
• Second subpoint (Structured like the one above, with its supporting point listed below)
• Sufficiently supported statements (…)
• More points, following the above guidelines
• Transitional statement
• First subpoint (Supporting the main point)
• Continue organizing your outline this way.
• First subpoint (supporting the main point)
• Continue your outline as shown above.

The grand finale of your speech is where you must tie together all previous elements in a clear and solid point.

• Summary – Here, all your main ideas and points will connect together and formulate a convincing conclusion. You can provide short examples of why the listeners should agree with your proposed thesis:
• Call to action – give the audience members a suggestion, something they can do to support what they have learned. Or instead, think of a unique or memorable ending to your speech.
• Closure – Bring the speech to an end by thanking the audience for their time.
• Bibliography – in some cases, you might get asked for your bibliography of references. If you’re using many statements, quotes, or statistics from various sources, remember to collect them throughout your research.

Let’s help you visualize these instructions and see how these elements correspond by looking at an example.

Topic: Hypoalergenic Cats

Specific Purpose: To debunk the myth of hypoallergenic cats.

Thesis: Despite there being breeds of cats known as “hypoallergenic”, no cat breed is guaranteed to relieve you of your allergy symptoms.

Preview: I will talk about the misconceptions behind cat allergies and explain how they work.

Here is an example of the structure of a Body:

• People are allergic to a protein called FEL D1.
• The protein is contained in the cat’s saliva.
• The saliva is being transferred to the cat’s fur during their cleaning process.
• This fur is spread around your house in the form of dander.
• People are not allergic to a cat’s fur, just the protein.
• This means you could be allergic to some cats, not all of them.
• Get a check-up and find out if there are any medications you can take to ease your allergy symptoms.
• Vacuum regularly around your house to reduce cat hair and dander spreading.
• Swap your drapes with blinds and carpets with hardwood floors. That way, less fur will stick to your furniture.
• Buy HEPA air filters for every room.
• Clean out their litterbox more often.
• No cat is hypoallergenic.
• All cats make the protein FEL D1.
• Some breeds are known to produce less FEL D1, but there is no guarantee you won’t be allergic to them.
• Even the “naked” cat breeds such as Sphynx, Donskoy, Bambino, etc., produce FEL D1.
• Buying “hypoallergenic cats” only creates a bigger rehoming problem.
• Many cat breeders like to use the myth of hypoallergenic cats to sell expensive cat breeds.
• Once people realize the cat isn’t hypoallergenic, they can no longer keep it.
• The cat is either thrown out, put in a shelter, or resold, creating tons of stress for the animal or potentially resulting in its death.

Now that you know the structure of a speech, you are almost ready to start writing it. By all means, if this has inspired you, grab a sheet of paper and write down the ideas that come to mind. But before you start putting your outline on paper, double-check you are familiar with the rules of outlining a speech.

Rules in Outlining

Speech outlines follow a specific set of rules. Going by these rules will only help you polish the particular details that make your speech stand out. To double-check that your speech makes sense, go through your outline and give it another read to check for coherence. Here are some characteristics you should pay attention to:

Think of your outline as a staircase – your final draft should have subordinate points diagonally placed beneath your main points. They should all interlink and reference one another.

Looking at the example from the section above, points A. and B. explain what determines a cat allergy and what doesn’t. Points 1-3 give information on why the protein affects people and debunks the myth that people are allergic to cat hair . Points 1-3 are called subordination of point, just like  A., B., and C. are to main point III. Your overall organizational pattern should not only include Roman numerals, points, and thesis statements. It should be cohesive and coordinated. 

Another important part of speech writing is parallelism. It is the concept of beginning sentences similarly whenever possible, using similar grammar. Pay attention to our example once again. Note section II and the subordinate points of main point B. – all points start with a verb: “Get,” “Vacuum”, “Swap,” “Clean.” This type of structure adds clarity to your speaking and shows you have really paid attention to your full-sentence outline. Don’t worry about sounding boring – parallelism helps you sound acute!

Another essential part of your speech outline is division. The concept is simple – when you’re trying to make one point, you should also try to expand it. If your point is convincing enough, it will have plenty of meaningful information that you can lengthen in sections A. and B. Similarly. You can use a supporting point for sub-points A. and B. to help expand them, and so on. Remember you’re doing this only to support your main thesis statement. If your sub-points aren’t doing that, you might be waffling on and confusing your audience.

A clever way to connect your main points is by using transitional statements. In most cases, speakers use these sentences to glue together two distinctive (yet connected) ideas. That way, the audience is prepared that something else is being discussed. You have used transitional sentences in essay writing. Maybe these words will ring a bell: “next”, “also”, “moreover”, “firstly”. These words and phrases will greatly improve your writing skills and, eventually, your entire speech.

There is another way you can integrate a transition into your speech – by using non-verbal transitions. Adding brief pauses or moving around the stage grabs the audience’s attention and helps them understand some other concept is being introduced. Most extemporaneous speakers take it to another level by stepping out of the podium or raising or lowering their voice rate. These can all be signals to your audience that a transition is taking place.

A third way to include transitions into your speech outline is to make internal summaries. To write an internal summary, summarize what has already been said in a brief sentence or two. For example:

So far, we have explored why n cat can be hypoallergenic. But does that mean you can be less allergic to some cats?

We have hinted at the next point in our speech with this question. We could also use  a summary to build on an issue we are currently expanding:

Now that you understand how cat allergies work, let’s see if there is a way to share your life with a cat despite being allergic.

How to Write an Outline for a Persuasive Speech, with Examples

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Chapter 14: Outlining

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

Why is outlining important for a speech?

Why Outlining Is Important for a Speech

For your presented speech to be as effective as possible, organize your information into logical patterns that your audience can understand. This especially applies if you already know much about your topic. Take careful steps to include pertinent information that your audience might not know and to explain relationships that might not be evident to them. Using a standard outline format helps you to make decisions about your main points, about choosing information to support those points, and about crafting the appropriate language to use. Without an outline, your message is liable to lose logical integrity. It might even deteriorate into a bullet-point list with no apparent cohesiveness,—except for the topic—leaving your audience relieved when your speech is finally over.

In this chapter, we discuss three outline types: a working outline, a full-sentence outline, and a speaking outline. For working outlines and full-sentence outlines, write in complete sentences; for speaking outlines, write in phrases We’ll give detailed outline examples later in the chapter, but for this first section, we’ll discuss general outlining principles.

An Outline Tests Your Specific Purpose’s Clarity

A full-sentence outline lays a strong foundation. It compels you to have one clear and specific purpose and helps to frame a clear, concrete thesis statement. An outline helps you to exclude irrelevant information that does not directly focus on your thesis, and it reduces the research you must do because you will clearly identify the supporting evidence you need. And when presenting, an outline helps you remember your speech’s central message.

Also, a solid full-sentence outline helps your audience understand and remember your message because they will be able to follow your reasoning. Creating an outline is a task too often perceived as busywork, unnecessary, time consuming, and restrictive. However, students who carefully write a full-sentence outline characteristically give powerful presentations with excellent messages.

An Outline Tests Your Content’s Scope

A clear, concrete thesis statement acts as your outline’s compass. Explicate each main point, then, test your content’s scope by comparing each main point to the thesis statement. If you find a poor match, you will know you’ve wandered outside your thesis statement’s scope, as you will see in the example below.

Specific Purpose: To inform property owners about the economics of wind farms generating electrical energy.

• Your first main point: modern windmills require a very small land base, making real estate cost’s low. This is directly related to the economics thesis. Now, supply information to support your claim that only a small land base is needed.
• Your second main point: you might be tempted to claim that windmills don’t pollute in the ways other sources do. However, you will quickly note that this claim is unrelated to the economics thesis, so stay within this scope. A better second main point: once windmills are in place, they require virtually no maintenance. This claim is related to the economics thesis. Now, supply information to support this claim.
• Your third point: windmill-generated electrical energy is more profitable compared to other sources—many audience members will want to know this. This point is clearly related to the economics thesis, and you will easily find information from authoritative sources to support this claim.

When you write in outline form, it is much easier to test your content’s scope because you can visually locate specific information very easily and then check it against your thesis statement.

An Outline Tests Your Main Points’ Logical Patterns

You have many topic choices, therefore, there are many ways to logically organize your content. In the example above, we simply list three main points that are important economics to consider about wind farms. You can also arrange a speech’s main points into a logical pattern. We discuss these patterns in the Organizing the Speech Body section. Whatever logical pattern you use, if you examine your thesis statement and then look at your outline’s three main points, you will see the logical way in which they relate.

An Outline Tests Your Supporting Ideas’ Relevance

When you create an outline, you clearly see that you need supporting evidence for each main point. For instance, your first main point claims that windmills require less land than other utilities. Therefore, provide supporting evidence about the acreage windmills require and the acreage other energy-generating sites require, such as nuclear power plants or hydroelectric generators. Use expert sources in economics, economic development, or engineering to support your claims. You can even include an expert’s opinion, but not an ordinary person’s opinion. The expert opinion provides stronger support for your point.

Similarly, the second point claims that once a windmill is in place, there is virtually no maintenance cost. To support this claim, provide annual windmill-maintenance costs and compare these to the alternative energy-generating sites’ annual maintenance costs. If you compare nuclear power plants to support your first main point, compare nuclear power plants again to be consistent. It becomes very clear, then, that the third main point about windmill-generated energy’s profitability needs authoritative references to compare it to nuclear power-generated energy’s profitability. In this third main point, use just a few well-selected statistics from authoritative sources to support you claims, and compare them to the other energy sources you’ve cited.

An Outline Tests Your Speech’s Balance and Proportion

Writing a full-sentence outline is visually valuable. You immediately see whether each main point’s importance is approximately equal. Does each main point have the same number of supporting points? If you find that your first main point has eight supporting points while the others only have three each, you have two choices: either choose the best three from the eight supporting points or strengthen the authoritative support for your other two main points. Remember, use the best supporting evidence you can find even if it means conducting more research.

An Outline Serves as Your Speaking Notes

In addition to writing a full-sentence outline to prepare your speech, create a shortened outline to use as speaking notes to ensure a strong delivery. If you were to use the full-sentence outline when delivering your speech, you would be reading too much, which limits your ability to give eye contact and use gestures, and it hurts your audience connection. For this reason, write a short-phrase outline on 4 × 6 notecards to use when you deliver your speech.

Within the speech-writing process, there exists commonly agreed upon principles for creating an outline. The following are important factors to consider when creating a logical and coherent outline:

Singularity

For clarity, make sure your thesis statement expresses one single idea. Use this single idea optimally as a guide to build your outline. The same holds true for your three main points: each must express one clear single idea. If many different ideas are required to build a complete message, present them in separate sentences using transitions such as “at the same time,” “alternately,” “in response to that event,” or some other transition that clarifies the relationship between two separate ideas. As a reminder, for your audience’s sake, maintain clarity.

A full-sentence outline readily shows whether you are giving equal time to each three main points. For example, are you providing each three main points with corresponding supporting evidence? Also, are you showing each main point’s direct relationship to the thesis statement?

Consistency

Framing a thesis statement with one clear single idea will help you maintain consistency throughout your speech. Beyond the usual grammatical subject-verb agreement requirements, maintain a consistent approach. For instance, unless your speech has a chronological structure that begins in the past and ends in the future, choose a consistent tense, past or present, to use throughout the speech. Similarly, choose a language and use it consistently, for example, use humanity instead of mankind or humans, and use that term throughout.

To ensure your audience understands your speech, do not assume that what is obvious to you is also obvious to your audience. Pay attention to using adequate language in two ways: how you define terms and how you support your main points. And use concrete language as much as you can. For instance, if you use the word community, you’re using an abstract term that can mean many things. So, define for your audience what you mean by community. And when you use evidence to support your main points, use the right kind and the right weight. For instance, if you make a substantial claim, such as all printed news sources will be obsolete within ten years, you must use expert sources to support that claim.

Parallelism

Parallelism refers to the idea that the three main points follow the same structure or use the same language. Parallelism also allows you to check for inconsistencies and self-contradictory statements. For instance, does anything within your second main point contradict anything in your first main point? Examining your content’s parallelism strengthens your message’s clarity.

What are the three types of outlines?

Outlines are designed to evolve throughout your speech-preparation process, so in this section, we discuss the three types—a working outline, a full-sentence outline, and a speaking outline—and how you progress from each. Also, we discuss how using speaking-outline notecards help you as a speaker.

Working Outline

Use a working outline to develop your speech. This is the outline you use to lay out your speech’s basic structure, so it changes many times before it is complete. A great strategy to begin your working outline is to type out labels for each element. Later, fill in the content. The following are the outline labels that you must have:

Working Outline Labels

General Purpose

Specific Purpose

Introduction/Grabber

Thesis Statement

Main Point I

• supporting point

Main Point II

Main Point III

Also, a working outline allows you to work out your message’s kinks. For instance, let’s say you’ve made the claim that coal mining is a hazardous occupation, but you cannot find authoritative supporting evidence. Now, you must re-examine that main point to assess its validity. You might have to change that main point to be able to support it. If you do so, however, you must make sure that the new main point is a logical part of the thesis statement, the three main points, and the conclusion sequence. Don’t think of your working outline as a rough copy, but as a careful step in developing your message. It will take time to develop, but is well worth it as it lays your speech’s entire foundation. Here is a working outline example:

Name: Anomaly May McGillicuddy

Topic: Smart dust

General Purpose: To inform

Specific Purpose: To inform college science students about smart dust’s potential.

Main Ideas:

• Smart dust is an assembly of microcomputers.
• Smart dust can be used by the military—no. No—smart dust could be an enormous asset in covert military operations. (That’s better because it is clearer and precise).
• Smart dust could also have daily life applications.

Introduction: (Grabber) (fill in later)

Thesis Statement: Thus far, researchers hypothesize that smart dust could be used for everything from tracking hospital patients, to early natural-disaster warnings, to defending against bioterrorism.

Preview: Today, I’m going to explain what smart dust is and the various near-future smart dust applications. To help us understand the small of it all, I will first examine what smart dust is and how it works. I will then examine some smart-dust military applications. And I’ll end by discussing some smart dust-nonmilitary applications.

Transition: (fill in later)

Main Point I: Dr. Kris Pister, a robotics lab professor at the University of California, Berkeley, originally conceived the smart-dust idea in 1998 as part of a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

• (supporting point)

Main Point II: Because smart dust was originally conceptualized under a grant from DARPA, smart-dust military uses have been widely theorized and examined.

Main Point III: According to the smart-dust project website, smart dust could quickly become a common part of our daily lives.

Conclusion: (Bring your message full circle and create a psychologically satisfying closure.)

This working outline stage turns out to be a good place to go back and examine whether all the main points are directly related to the thesis statement and to each other. If so, your message has a strong potential for a unified focus. But if one main-point relationship is weak, this is the time to strengthen it. It will be more difficult to strengthen it later, for two reasons: first, the sheer amount of text on your pages will make the visual task more difficult, and second, it becomes increasingly difficult to change things in which you have invested much time and thought.

You can see that this working outline lays a strong foundation for the rest of your message. Its organization is visually apparent. Once you are confident in your basic message’s internal unity, begin filling in the supporting points in descending detail—that is, from the general main points, to the particular supporting points, and then to greater detail. The outline makes it visually apparent where information fits and allows you to assess your supporting points to be sure they’re authoritative and directly relevant to the main points they must support.

Now, let’s discuss transitions. Sometimes, and not surprisingly, transitions seem troublesome to write because we often omit them in informal conversations. Our conversation partners understand what we mean because of our gestures and vocal strategies. And even when we do include transitions, we don’t generally identify them as transitions. But in a speech, we must use effective transitions as a gateway from one main point to the next. The listener needs to know when a speaker is moving from one main point to the next.

In the next outline type—the full-sentence outline, take a look at the transitions and see how they make the listener aware of when you shift focus to the next main point.

Full-Sentence Outline

Write a full-sentence outline in full sentences only. There are several reasons why a full-sentence outline is important. First, this outline type includes a full plan of everything you intend to say to your audience so that you will not have to struggle with wordings or examples. Second, this outline type provides a clear idea of how much time it will take to present your speech. Third, a full-sentence outline showcases your ethical responsibility to your audience by detailing how fundamentally well-prepared you are. This is how a full-sentence outline looks:

Specific Purpose: To inform college science students about smart-dust’s potential.

• Smart dust could be an enormous asset in covert military operations.

Introduction/Grabber: In 2002, famed science-fiction writer Michael Crichton released his book Prey, which was about a swarm of nanomachines that were feeding off living tissue. The nanomachines were solar powered, self-sufficient, and intelligent. Most disturbingly, the nanomachines could work together as a swarm as it took over and killed its prey in its need for new resources. This nanotechnology-sophistication level is surprisingly more science fact than science fiction. In 2000, Kahn, Katz, and Pister, three electrical engineering and computer science professors at the University of California, Berkeley, hypothesized in the Journal of Communications and Networks that wireless networks of tiny microelectromechanical sensors, or MEMS; robots; or devices could detect phenomena including light, temperature, or vibration. By 2004, Fortune Magazine listed “smart dust” as the first in their “Top 10 Tech Trends to Bet On.”

Thesis Statement: Thus far, researchers hypothesized that smart dust could be used for everything from tracking hospital patients, to early natural-disaster warnings, to bioterrorism defense.

Preview: Today, I’m going to explain what smart dust is and the various near-future smart dust applications. To help us understand the small of it all, I’ll first discuss what smart dust is and how it works. I’ll then discuss some smart-dust military applications. And I’ll end by discussing some smart-dust nonmilitary applications.

Transition: To help us understand smart dust, I’ll begin by first examining what smart dust is.

• According to a 2001 article by Bret Warneke, Matt Last, Brian Liebowitz, and Kris Pister titled “Smart Dust: Communicating with a Cubic-Millimeter Computer” published in Computer , Pister’s goal was to build a device that contained a built-in sensor, a communication device, and a small computer that could be integrated into a one-cubic-millimeter package.
• Each individual dust piece, called a mote, would then have the ability to interact with other motes and supercomputers.
• As Steve Lohr wrote in the January 30, 2010, edition of the New York Times in an article titled “Smart Dust? Not Quite, But We’re Getting There,” smart dust could eventually consist of “Tiny digital sensors, strewn around the globe, gathering all sorts of information and communicating with powerful computer networks to monitor, measure, and understand the physical world in new ways.”

Transition: Now that we know what smart dust is, let’s switch gears and talk about some the smart-dust military applications.

• Major Scott Dickson, in a Blue Horizons paper written for the US Air Force Center for Strategy and Technology’s Air War College, sees smart dust as helping the military in battlespace awareness, homeland security, and identifying weapons of mass destruction.
• Furthermore, Major Dickson also believes it may be possible to create smart dust that has the ability to defeat communications-jamming equipment created by foreign governments, which could help the US military not only communicate among itself, but could also increase communications with civilians in military combat zones.
• According to a 2010 article written by Jessica Griggs in New Scientist , one of the first smart-dust benefits could be an early defense warning for space storms and other debris that could be catastrophic.

Transition: Now that we’ve explored some of smart-dust’s military benefits, let’s switch gears and see how smart dust may be able to impact our daily lives.

• Steve Lohr, in his 2010 New York Times article, wrote, “The applications for sensor-based computing, experts say, include buildings that manage their own energy use, bridges that sense motion and metal fatigue to tell engineers they need repairs, cars that track traffic patterns and report potholes, and fruit and vegetable shipments that tell grocers when they ripen and begin to spoil.”
• Theoretically, we could all be injected with smart dust, which detects adverse body changes instantly and relays information to our physicians.
• Smart dust could detect microscopic center-cell formations or alert us when we’ve been infected by a bacterium or virus, which could speed up treatment and prolong all our lives.

Transition: Today, we’ve explored what smart dust is, how the US military could use smart dust, and how smart dust could impact all our lives in the near future.

Conclusion: While smart dust is quickly transferring from science fiction to science fact, experts agree that smart dust’s full potential will probably not occur until 2025. Smart dust is definitely in our near future, but swarms of smart-dust eating people as was depicted in Michael Crichton’s 2002 novel, Prey, isn’t reality. However, as with any technological advance, there are definite ethical considerations and worries related to smart dust. Even Dr. Kris Pister’s smart-dust project website admits that as smart dust becomes more readily available, one of the trade-offs will be privacy. Pister responds to these critiques by saying, “As an engineer, or a scientist, or a hair stylist, everyone needs to evaluate what they do in terms of its positive and negative effect. If I thought that the negatives of working on this project were greater than or even comparable to the positives, I wouldn’t be working on it. As it turns out, I think that the potential benefits of this technology far outweigh the risks to personal privacy.”

References Crichton, M. (2002). Prey. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Dickson, S. (2007, April). Enabling battlespace persistent surveillance: the firm, function, and future of smart dust (Blue Horizons Paper, Center for Strategy and Technology, USAF Air War College). Retrieved from USAF Air War College website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cst/bh_dickson.pdf

Griggs, J. (2010, February 6). Smart dust to provide solar early warning defense. New Scientist, 205(2746), 22.

Kahn, J. M., Katz, R. H., & Pister, K. S. J. (2000). Emerging challenges: Mobile networking for “smart dust.” Journal of Communications and Networks , 2, 188–196.

Lohr, S. (2010, January 30). Smart dust? Not quite, but we’re getting there. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Pister, K., Kahn, J., & Boser, B. (n.d.). Smart dust: Autonomous sensing and communication at the cubic millimeter. Retrieved from http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~pister/SmartDust

Steel, D. (2005, March). Smart dust: UH ISRC technology briefing. Retrieved from http://www.uhisrc.com

Vogelstein, F., Boyle, M., Lewis, P., Kirkpatrick, D., Lashinsky, A.,…Chen, C. (2004, February 23). 10 tech trends to bet on. Fortune, 149(4), 74–88.

Warneke, B., Last, M., Liebowitz, B., & Pister, K. S. J. (2001). Smart dust: Communicating with a cubic millimeter computer. Computer , 31, 44–51.

When you prepare your full-sentence outline carefully, it may take as much as one- and one-half hours to complete the outline’s first part from your name at the top through the introduction. When you’ve completed that part, take a break and do something else. When you return to the outline, complete your draft in another one- and one-half hours. After that, you only need to do a detailed check for completeness, accuracy, relevance, balance, omitted words, and consistency. If you find errors, instead of being frustrated, be glad you can catch these errors before you stand up in front of your audience.

You will notice that the various speech parts, for instance, the transitions and main points, are labeled. There are compelling reasons for these labels. First, as you develop your message, you will sometimes find it necessary to go back and look at your wording in another part of the outline. Your labels help you find particular passages easily. Second, the labels work as a checklist so that you can make sure you’ve included everything you intended. Third, the labels helps you prepare your speaking outline.

You’ll also notice the full references at the outline’s end. They match the citations within the outline. Sometimes, while preparing a speech, a speaker finds it important to go back to an original source to be sure the message will be accurate. If you type in your references as you develop your speech rather than afterward, they will be a convenience to you if they are complete and accurate.

Don’t think of the references as busywork or drudgery. Although they’re more time consuming than text, they are good practice for the more advanced academic work you will do in the immediate future.

Speaking Outline and The Advantages of Using Presentation Notes

Your full-sentence outline prepares you to present a clear and well-organized message, but your speaking outline will include far less detail. Resist the temptation to use your full-sentence outline as your speaking outline. The temptation is real for at least two reasons. First, once you feel that you’ve carefully crafted every word sequence in your speech, you might not want to sacrifice quality when you shift to vocal presentation. Second, if you feel anxious about how well you will do in front of an audience, you may want to use your full-sentence outline as a safety net. In our experience, however, if you have your full-sentence outline with you, you will end up reading rather than speaking to your audience. Remember, do not read, instead, use carefully prepared notecards.

Your speech will probably have five main components: introduction, main point one, main point two, main point three, and the conclusion. Therefore, we recommend using five notecards—one for each component.

How will five notecards suffice in helping you produce a complete, rich delivery? Why can’t you use the full-sentence outline you labored so hard to write? First, your full-sentence outline will make it appear that you don’t know your speech’s content. Second, the temptation to read the speech directly from the full-sentence outline is nearly overwhelming; even if you resist this temptation, you will find yourself struggling to remember the words on the page rather than speaking extemporaneously. Third, paper is noisier and more awkward than cards. Fourth, it’s easier to lose your place using the full outline. Finally, cards just look better. Carefully prepared cards, together with practice, will help you more than you might think.

Use 4 × 6 cards. The smaller 3 × 5 cards are too small to provide space for visually organized notes. Number your cards, and write on one side only. Numbering is helpful if you happen to drop your cards, and writing on one side only means that while you are speaking, the audience is not distracted by your handwritten notes and reminders to yourself. Make sure that each card contains only key words and key phrases, but not full sentences.

Some speeches will include direct or extended quotations from expert sources. These quotations might be highly technical or difficult to memorize, but they must be presented correctly. This is a circumstance in which you include a sixth card in your notecard sequence. This is the one time you may read fully from a card. If your quotation is important, and the exact wording is crucial, your audience will understand that.

How are notecards sufficient? When they are carefully written and then you practice your speech using them, they will reveal that they work. If, during practice, you find that one card doesn’t work well enough, you can rewrite that card. Using carefully prepared, sparingly worded cards help you resist the temptation to rely on overhead transparencies or PowerPoint slides to get you through the presentation as well. Although they will never provide your exact full-sentence outline word sequence, they’ll keep you organized during your speech. The trick to selecting your cards’ phrases and quotations is to identify the labels that will trigger a recall sequence. For instance, if the phrase “more science fact” triggers connections between Crichton’s science fiction events in the novel Prey versus real science developments, that card phrase will support you through a fairly extended part of your introduction.

Ultimately, you must discover what works for you and then select those words that best jog your recall. Having identified what works, make a preliminary five-card set written on one side only, and practice with them. Revise and refine them as you would an outline.

The following is a hypothetical card set for the smart-dust speech:

Notecards Transcript

Creating and using a card set similar to the examples will help you condense and deliver an impressive set of specialized information. But, what if you lose your place during a speech? With a card set, it will take less time to find your place than with a full-sentence outline. You will not be rustling paper, and because your cards are written on one side only, you can keep them in order without flipping them back and forth to check both sides. What if you go blank? Take a few seconds to recall what you’ve said and how it leads to your next points. There may be several seconds of silence in the middle of your speech, and it may seem like minutes to you, but you can regain your footing most easily with a small well-prepared card set. Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to put your entire speech on cards in little tiny writing. You will end up reading word sequences to your audience instead of delivering a memorable message!

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

Imageegaml. (2009, April 29). Hand Holding Blank Index Card stock photo [Image]. iStock Photo. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/hand-holding-blank-index-card-gm115027533-9233893?utm_source=pixabay&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=SRP_image_sponsored&referrer_url=http%3A//pixabay.com/images/search/index%2520card/&utm_term=index%20card

Powell, B. (2021, July). Notecard 1 [Image]. Instructional Media Services, Salt Lake Community College.

Powell, B. (2021, July). Notecard 2 [Image]. Instructional Media Services, Salt Lake Community College.

Powell, B. (2021, July). Notecard 3 [Image]. Instructional Media Services, Salt Lake Community College.

Powell, B. (2021, July). Notecard 4 [Image]. Instructional Media Services, Salt Lake Community College.

Powell, B. (2021, July). Notecard 5 [Image]. Instructional Media Services, Salt Lake Community College.

Strategicgains. (2011, November 3). Using Outlines to Create a Presentation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DeQRARzwmI

Tom706. (2007, April 4). parallelism [Image]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/quelqu/446195756/

to develop the implications of : analyze logically

Public Speaking Copyright © 2022 by Sarah Billington and Shirene McKay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri

A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything – voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing you come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic you’re discussing.

So, how do you start convincing a group of strangers to share your opinion? And how do you connect with them enough to earn their trust?

Topics for your persuasive speech

We’ve made a list of persuasive speech topics you could use next time you’re asked to give one. The topics are thought-provoking and things which many people have an opinion on.

When using any of our persuasive speech ideas, make sure you have a solid knowledge about the topic you’re speaking about – and make sure you discuss counter arguments too.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• All school children should wear a uniform
• Facebook is making people more socially anxious
• It should be illegal to drive over the age of 80
• Lying isn’t always wrong
• The case for organ donation

Read our full list of  75 persuasive speech topics and ideas .

Preparation: Consider your audience

As with any speech, preparation is crucial. Before you put pen to paper, think about what you want to achieve with your speech. This will help organise your thoughts as you realistically can only cover 2-4 main points before your  audience get bored .

It’s also useful to think about who your audience are at this point. If they are unlikely to know much about your topic then you’ll need to factor in context of your topic when planning the structure and length of your speech. You should also consider their:

• Cultural or religious backgrounds
• Shared concerns, attitudes and problems
• Shared interests, beliefs and hopes
• Baseline attitude – are they hostile, neutral, or open to change?

The factors above will all determine the approach you take to writing your speech. For example, if your topic is about childhood obesity, you could begin with a story about your own children or a shared concern every parent has. This would suit an audience who are more likely to be parents than young professionals who have only just left college.

Remember the 3 main approaches to persuade others

There are three main approaches used to persuade others:

The ethos approach appeals to the audience’s ethics and morals, such as what is the ‘right thing’ to do for humanity, saving the environment, etc.

Pathos persuasion is when you appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as when you  tell a story  that makes them the main character in a difficult situation.

The logos approach to giving a persuasive speech is when you appeal to the audience’s logic – ie. your speech is essentially more driven by facts and logic. The benefit of this technique is that your point of view becomes virtually indisputable because you make the audience feel that only your view is the logical one.

• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and Persuasion

Ideas for your persuasive speech outline

1. structure of your persuasive speech.

The opening and closing of speech are the most important. Consider these carefully when thinking about your persuasive speech outline. A  strong opening  ensures you have the audience’s attention from the start and gives them a positive first impression of you.

You’ll want to  start with a strong opening  such as an attention grabbing statement, statistic of fact. These are usually dramatic or shocking, such as:

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat – Jamie Oliver

Another good way of starting a persuasive speech is to include your audience in the picture you’re trying to paint. By making them part of the story, you’re embedding an emotional connection between them and your speech.

You could do this in a more toned-down way by talking about something you know that your audience has in common with you. It’s also helpful at this point to include your credentials in a persuasive speech to gain your audience’s trust.

Obama would spend hours with his team working on the opening and closing statements of his speech.

2. Stating your argument

You should  pick between 2 and 4 themes  to discuss during your speech so that you have enough time to explain your viewpoint and convince your audience to the same way of thinking.

It’s important that each of your points transitions seamlessly into the next one so that your speech has a logical flow. Work on your  connecting sentences  between each of your themes so that your speech is easy to listen to.

Your argument should be backed up by objective research and not purely your subjective opinion. Use examples, analogies, and stories so that the audience can relate more easily to your topic, and therefore are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.

3. Addressing counter-arguments

Any balanced theory or thought  addresses and disputes counter-arguments  made against it. By addressing these, you’ll strengthen your persuasive speech by refuting your audience’s objections and you’ll show that you are knowledgeable to other thoughts on the topic.

When describing an opposing point of view, don’t explain it in a bias way – explain it in the same way someone who holds that view would describe it. That way, you won’t irritate members of your audience who disagree with you and you’ll show that you’ve reached your point of view through reasoned judgement. Simply identify any counter-argument and pose explanations against them.

• Complete Guide to Debating

4. Closing your speech

Your closing line of your speech is your last chance to convince your audience about what you’re saying. It’s also most likely to be the sentence they remember most about your entire speech so make sure it’s a good one!

The most effective persuasive speeches end  with a  call to action . For example, if you’ve been speaking about organ donation, your call to action might be asking the audience to register as donors.

Practice answering AI questions on your speech and get  feedback on your performance .

If audience members ask you questions, make sure you listen carefully and respectfully to the full question. Don’t interject in the middle of a question or become defensive.

You should show that you have carefully considered their viewpoint and refute it in an objective way (if you have opposing opinions). Ensure you remain patient, friendly and polite at all times.

Example 1: Persuasive speech outline

This example is from the Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Specific purpose

To persuade my audience to start walking in order to improve their health.

Central idea

Regular walking can improve both your mental and physical health.

Introduction

Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners, etc., etc. etc. We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?

Continue reading

Example 2: Persuasive speech

Tips for delivering your persuasive speech

• Practice, practice, and practice some more . Record yourself speaking and listen for any nervous habits you have such as a nervous laugh, excessive use of filler words, or speaking too quickly.
• Show confident body language . Stand with your legs hip width apart with your shoulders centrally aligned. Ground your feet to the floor and place your hands beside your body so that hand gestures come freely. Your audience won’t be convinced about your argument if you don’t sound confident in it. Find out more about  confident body language here .
• Don’t memorise your speech word-for-word  or read off a script. If you memorise your persuasive speech, you’ll sound less authentic and panic if you lose your place. Similarly, if you read off a script you won’t sound genuine and you won’t be able to connect with the audience by  making eye contact . In turn, you’ll come across as less trustworthy and knowledgeable. You could simply remember your key points instead, or learn your opening and closing sentences.
• Remember to use facial expressions when storytelling  – they make you more relatable. By sharing a personal story you’ll more likely be speaking your truth which will help you build a connection with the audience too. Facial expressions help bring your story to life and transport the audience into your situation.
• Keep your speech as concise as possible . When practicing the delivery, see if you can edit it to have the same meaning but in a more succinct way. This will keep the audience engaged.

The best persuasive speech ideas are those that spark a level of controversy. However, a public speech is not the time to express an opinion that is considered outside the norm. If in doubt, play it safe and stick to topics that divide opinions about 50-50.

Bear in mind who your audience are and plan your persuasive speech outline accordingly, with researched evidence to support your argument. It’s important to consider counter-arguments to show that you are knowledgeable about the topic as a whole and not bias towards your own line of thought.

How a Speech Outline Can Help You Persuade Your Audience

Contrary to many politicians, Winston Churchill wrote all of his speeches. From his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech addressed to the House of Commons in 1940 to the scores of others, Churchill  wrote and delivered his speeches  in his own way. Despite his contemporaries describing him as “a word-spinner,” and, “a second-rate rhetorician,” people remember Winston Churchill’s words even today. And in his hand during a persuasive speech, you could almost certainly see a piece of parchment that was his speech outline.

Why Use a Speech Outline?

An organized speech is also more persuasive. A speech where you show your points in a scattershot manner, even if they’re good points, won’t have the same impact as one where you lay out your main points in a logical, convincing fashion. In other words, writing an outline for a persuasive speech will help your comments stay with your audience for longer.

The Two Outline Types

Preparation outline, speaking outline.

The speaking outline is what many people think of when they hear the term “speech outline.” This is the outline you’ll actually have with you when you deliver your speech. The speaking outline shows all the points you want to hit, including any phrases or quotes you’ll want to say word for word. The points serve as helpful guides, allowing you to navigate your way through the speech without needing to look at your papers constantly. This outline acts as a reference point to make sure you provide all the information you want but still sound natural in your delivery. Many people choose to put this outline on notecards that they carry with them as they give their speeches.

Speech Outline Template

Purpose statement, thesis statement, introduction.

The introduction is what will hook your audience. Once you know how to start a speech, you’ll be able to grab people’s attention so you can begin to persuade them. An introduction also establishes a connection with the audience. It indicates why they should listen to you. Openings can also serve as a preview of what you plan on talking about. Getting the speech introduction right is vital because if you lose the audience initially, it becomes challenging to win their attention back.

Bibliography

Transitions.

While preparing your speech, you should also prepare transitions between each of the above sections. Whether moving from the intro to the body or the main point to a sub-point, transitions help smooth out a speech and keep people following along with little effort. Make sure your transitions flow seamlessly from one point to the next. Without them, a speech can come across as jarring and difficult to understand.

Speech Outline Example

Use a speech outline for next time.

Dale Carnegie once said, “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” By creating a speech outline, you’ll show your audience the poise of a practiced public speaker, even if you still get nervous. An outline will help you give an effective speech, one you can be proud you gave no matter what the topic is about. 

Want to learn more skills as a leader?  The following articles can help:

Top 18 Conflict Resolution Skills Every Leader Needs

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

12.1 Why Outline?

Learning objectives.

• Outlines help maintain the speech’s focus on the thesis by allowing the speaker to test the scope of content, assess logical relationships between ideas, and evaluate the relevance of supporting ideas.
• Outlines help organize a message that the audience can understand by visually showing the balance and proportion of a speech.
• Outlines can help you deliver clear meanings by serving as the foundation for speaking notes you will use during your presentation.

Screenshot from this youtube video. .

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. This is especially true if you already know a great deal about your topic. You will need to take careful steps to include pertinent information your audience might not know and to explain relationships that might not be evident to them. Using a standard outline format, you can make decisions about your main points, the specific information you will use to support those points, and the language you will use. Without an outline, your message is liable to lose logical integrity . It might even deteriorate into a list of bullet points with no apparent connection to each other except the topic, leaving your audience relieved when your speech is finally over.

A full-sentence outline lays a strong foundation for your message. It will call on you to have one clear and specific purpose for your message. As we have seen in other chapters of this book, writing your specific purpose in clear language serves you well. It helps you frame a clear, concrete thesis statement. It helps you exclude irrelevant information. It helps you focus only on information that directly bears on your thesis. It reduces the amount of research you must do. It suggests what kind of supporting evidence is needed, so less effort is expended in trying to figure out what to do next. It helps both you and your audience remember the central message of your speech.

Finally, a solid full-sentence outline helps your audience understand your message because they will be able to follow your reasoning. Remember that live audiences for oral communications lack the ability to “rewind” your message to figure out what you said, so it is critically important to help the audience follow your reasoning as it reaches their ears.

Your authors have noted among their past and present students a reluctance to write full-sentence outlines. It’s a task too often perceived as busywork, unnecessary, time consuming, and restricted. On one hand, we understand that reluctance. But on the other hand, we find that students who carefully write a full-sentence outline show a stronger tendency to give powerful presentations of excellent messages.

Tests Scope of Content

When you begin with a clear, concrete thesis statement, it acts as kind of a compass for your outline. Each of the main points should directly explicate . The test of the scope will be 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.

Let’s say the general purpose of your speech is to inform, and your broad topic area is wind-generated energy. Now you must narrow this to a specific purpose. You have many choices, but let’s say your specific purpose is to inform a group of property owners about the economics of wind farms where electrical energy is generated.

Your first main point could be that modern windmills require a very small land base, making the cost of real estate low. This is directly related to economics. All you need is information to support your claim that only a small land base is needed.

In your second main point, you might be tempted to claim that windmills don’t pollute in the ways other sources do. However, you will quickly note that this claim is unrelated to the thesis. You must resist the temptation to add it. Perhaps in another speech, your thesis will address environmental impact, but in this speech, you must stay within the economic scope. Perhaps you will say that once windmills are in place, they require virtually no maintenance. This claim is related to the thesis. Now all you need is supporting information to support this second claim.

Your third point, the point some audience members will want to hear, is the cost for generating electrical energy with windmills compared with other sources. This is clearly within the scope of energy economics. You should have no difficulty finding authoritative sources of information to support that claim.

When you write in outline form, it is much easier to test the scope of your content because you can visually locate specific information very easily and then check it against your thesis statement.

Tests Logical Relation of Parts

You have many choices for your topic, and therefore, there are many ways your content can be logically organized. In the example above, we simply listed three main points that were important economic considerations about wind farms. Often the main points of a speech can be arranged into a logical pattern; let’s take a look at some such patterns.

A chronological pattern arranges main ideas in the order events occur. In some instances, reverse order might make sense. For instance, if your topic is archaeology, you might use the reverse order, describing the newest artifacts first.

A cause-and-effect pattern calls on you to describe a specific situation and explain what the effect is. However, most effects have more than one cause. Even dental cavities have multiple causes: genetics, poor nutrition, teeth too tightly spaced, sugar, ineffective brushing, and so on. If you choose a cause-and-effect pattern, make sure you have enough reliable support to do the topic justice.

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. Otherwise, the speech will end up as a very lengthy and often pointless time line or bullet point list. For example, Mark Twain had several clear phases in his life. They include his life as a Mississippi riverboat captain, his success as a world-renowned writer and speaker, and his family life. A simple time line would present great difficulty in highlighting the relationships between important events. An outline, however, would help you emphasize the key events that contributed to Mark Twain’s extraordinary life.

Although a comparison-contrast pattern appears to dictate just two main points, McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond explain how a comparison-and-contrast can be structured as a speech with three main points. They say that “you can easily create a third point by giving basic information about what is being compared and what is being contrasted. For example, if you are giving a speech about two different medications, you could start by discussing what the medications’ basic purposes are. Then you could talk about the similarities, and then the differences, between the two medications” (McCroskey, Wrench, & Richmond, 2003).

Whatever logical pattern you use, if you examine your thesis statement and then look at the three main points in your outline, you should easily be able to see the logical way in which they relate.

Tests Relevance of Supporting Ideas

When you create an outline, you can clearly see that you need supporting evidence for each of your main points. For instance, using the example above, your first main point claims that less land is needed for windmills than for other utilities. Your supporting evidence should be about the amount of acreage required for a windmill and the amount of acreage required for other energy generation sites, such as nuclear power plants or hydroelectric generators. Your sources should come from experts in economics, economic development, or engineering. The evidence might even be expert opinion but not the opinions of ordinary people. The expert opinion will provide stronger support for your point.

Similarly, your second point claims that once a wind turbine is in place, there is virtually no maintenance cost. Your supporting evidence should show how much annual maintenance for a windmill costs and what the costs are for other energy plants. If you used a comparison with nuclear plants to support your first main point, you should do so again for the sake of consistency. It becomes very clear, then, that the third main point about the amount of electricity and its profitability needs authoritative references to compare it to the profit from energy generated at a nuclear power plant. In this third main point, you should make use of just a few well-selected statistics from authoritative sources to show the effectiveness of wind farms compared to the other energy sources you’ve cited.

Where do you find the kind of information you would need to support these main points? A reference librarian can quickly guide you to authoritative statistics manuals and help you make use of them.

An important step you will notice is that the full-sentence outline includes its authoritative sources within the text. This is a major departure from the way you’ve learned to write a research paper. In the research paper, you can add that information to the end of a sentence, leaving the reader to turn to the last page for a fuller citation. In a speech, however, your listeners can’t do that. From the beginning of the supporting point, you need to fully cite your source so your audience can assess its importance.

Because this is such a profound change from the academic habits that you’re probably used to, you will have to make a concerted effort to overcome the habits of the past and provide the information your listeners need when they need it.

Test the Balance and Proportion of the Speech

Part of the value of writing a full-sentence 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 have two choices: either choose the best three from the eight supporting points or strengthen the authoritative support for your other two main points.

Remember that you should use the best supporting evidence you can find even if it means investing more time in your search for knowledge.

Serves as Notes during the Speech

Although 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. For this reason, we recommend writing a short-phrase outline on 4 × 6 notecards to use when you deliver your speech. The good news is that your three main points suggest how you should prepare your notecards.

Your first 4 × 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. If your first main point has an exact quotation you plan to present, you can include that on your card. Your third notecard should be related to your second main point, your fourth card should be about your third main point, and your fifth card should be related to your conclusion. In this way, your five notecards follow the very same organizational pattern as your full outline. In the next section, we will explore more fully how to create a speaking outline.

Key Takeaways

• Your outline can help you stay focused on the thesis of your presentation as you prepare your presentation by testing the scope of your content, examining logical relationships between topics, and checking the relevance of supporting ideas.
• Your outline can help you organize your message by making sure that all of your main points are well developed.
• Your outline can help you stay focused during your presentation by forming the foundation for your speaking outline, which lets you connect to your audience and be clear in the message you’re presenting.
• In one sentence, write a clear, compelling thesis statement about each of the following topics: the effects of schoolyard bullying, the impact of alcohol on brain development, and the impact of the most recent volcano eruption in Iceland. Fully cite the sources where you verify that your thesis statements are actually true.
• Prepare a full-sentence outline for your next speech assignment. Trade outlines with a classmate and check through the outline for logical sequence of ideas, presence of credible support, proper citation, and clear organization. Give feedback to your partner on areas where he or she has done well and where the outline might be improved.
• Transfer information from your speech outline to notecards using the guidelines described above. Practice delivering your speech for a small audience (e.g., family member, group of friends or classmates) using first the outline and then the notecards. Ask the audience for feedback comparing your delivery using the two formats.

McCroskey, J. C., Wrench, J. S., & Richmond, V. P., (2003). Principles of public speaking . Indianapolis, IN: The College Network.

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Speech Preparation #3: Don’t Skip the Speech Outline

This article describes how to support your core message with a speech outline , and provides numerous examples . This is the second step in the six-step speech preparation process .

Writing an outline is, unfortunately, a step that many skip. The most common excuse is simply “ No time. ” This is unfortunate because time spent on an outline is time well spent. It is necessary to ensure that you craft a coherent and focussed presentation .

• How to Prepare Your Presentation
• Select Your Speech Topic
• Plan Your Speech Outline
• Writing Your First Draft
• Editing Your Speech
• Add Speech Impact with Rhetorical Devices
• Staging, Gestures, and Vocal Variety
• Practicing Your Presentation
• Self-Critique: Preparation for Next Time
• Winning a Toastmasters Speech Contest

Writing a Speech Outline

• Basic Speech Outline
• Speech Outline Variants
• Outline Writing Tips
• Speech Outline Extended Example

An outline is a blueprint for your presentation .

• It highlights the key logical elements . i.e. what points are being made to logically support the core message?
• It highlights the key structural elements . e.g. introduction, body, conclusion, stories, high-level concepts
• It links these elements together in a sequence , perhaps allocating very rough timings.
• It can also map out the transitions between elements , although this may be deferred to a later stage of preparation.

Basic Speech Outlines

“ An outline is a blueprint for your presentation. ”

The basic speech outline template for structural elements is:

• Introduction

Similarly, the basic speech outline template for logical elements is the familiar advice:

• Tell them what you’re going to say
• Tell them what you’ve said

Put these together, and you have the start of a generic speech outline :

• Introduction — Establish topic and core message; list supporting points
• Supporting Point One
• Supporting Point Two
• Supporting Point Three
• Conclusion — Recap main points; summarize core message; call-to-action

It is surprising how well this simple 3-part outline template works for a wide range of speech topics. Incidentally, this same basic formula can be seen in novels, short stories, movies, plays, reports, business briefings, emails, memos, and many other forms of communication.

For many more examples , check out Why Successful Speech Outlines follow the Rule of Three .

Variants or Examples of Speech Outlines

Example: story-based outline.

Some people believe that stories are the best building blocks for speeches. For example, in The Story Factor (Annette Simmons) , the author claims that storytelling is the key to business communications .

• Attention grabbing opening which introduces the topic and core message
• Make a point
• Make another point.
• Make another point
• Memorable conclusion which ties together all three stories to support the core message.

Example: Scientific Conference Talk Outline

The outline for many scientific talks mirrors the scientific method :

• Define the problem needing a solution
• Describe the hypothesis which will explore one aspect of the problem
• Detail 1 — schematic
• Detail 2 — photograph
• Detail 3 — description
• Data analysis 1 — chart
• Data analysis 2 — chart
• Data analysis 3 — table
• Draw conclusions relating back to the hypothesis
• Suggest future actions

Example: Community Association Meeting Speech Outline

• Story to introduce the symptom (e.g. vandalism)
• Stakeholders
• A strong call-to-action motivating the audience to join the cause

Example: Business Proposal to Investors

• Be direct: “Invest $___ for %___ of the shares”
• Story to illustrate the need for the product XYZ
• Story to describe the vision of how product XYZ improves lives
• Benefit #1 (focus on benefits, not features)
• Story illustrating strength of the team
• Market analysis
• Financial projections
• Repeat call-to-action: “Invest $___ for %___ of the shares”

Other Speech Outline Writing Tips

“ When sequencing your outline points, try to avoid random order. Seek and extract the meaningful relationship. ”

Note that all of these speech outline examples are appropriate for a short six to ten minute speech . Longer time windows will obviously allow for more detailed outlines.

You may be able to customize one of the generic speech outline formats for your speech; more likely, you will need to craft your own to fit your situation. A few other things to consider:

• The granularity of your outline should be roughly one outline point per minute of speaking time, perhaps less for lengthy presentations.
• Remember that your presentation is much more than your set of slides . Your outline should reflect your speaking elements which the slides complement.
• Chronological – e.g. a biographical speech
• Spatial – e.g. an entertaining travel speech
• Cause-effect – e.g. speech relating crime rate to drug use
• Low to high importance – e.g. reasons to exercise
• Broad vision to specific details – e.g. a management speech outlining new company direction
• Your outline is not the same as cue cards , but they are related (if you use cue cards). An outline contains high-level speech elements; cue cards might additionally contain selected speech details e.g. transition phrases, key words/phrases, key numbers, or punch lines.

Speech Outline Example — Face the Wind

Here is the original outline that I put together for the Face the Wind speech. Comments follow which represent my thinking at the time of writing the outline.

• Opening humor – connect with audience as typical home owner
• “Strong roots… strong tree”
• Foreshadow: neighbour’s monster tree falling
• National news (trees falling on houses), but our house okay
• Arborists: “Wind came from a different direction”
• Establish key analogy – Trees cannot face the wind.
• Michelle and Lance have strong roots
• Maximus is born
• Call-to-action: “We must face our problems”

Comments on Face the Wind Outline

At the outline stage, I set up many key elements of the speech. I determined the three main stories, planned humorous opening, identified a few key phrases to incorporate, established contrast (tree/people), used a metaphor (roots of people), and concluded with a call-to-action.

Opening – I wanted to open with humor to offset the drama later in the speech. Also, I wanted to connect with the audience as a homeowner as many in the audience are also homeowners.

Story #1 – I wanted the first story to establish the “strong roots… strong tree” connection. By establishing that trees have strong roots, it makes the fact that they were toppled in the storm (story #2) more dramatic.

Story #2 – This story was essentially an expansion of the “wind came from a different direction” theory of arborists that I picked up several months prior from my friend. The fact that trees cannot face the wind is the key analogy in this speech, although the audience doesn’t know it yet.

Story #3 – This story tells about the struggles which eventually led to the birth of Maximus. The key element here is the contrast between trees and people (who can face the wind).

Next in the Speech Preparation Series

The next article in this series discusses the causes of writer’s block and writing the first draft of your speech .

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11 comments.

Andrew, I can’t imagine not using an outline! In fact, for most of my presentations, I ONLY write an outline and use just that for all of my preparation. Can’t have a body without a skeleton!

Hi Lisa I am a student at Ashworth University. I love that school. I received my Associate in Criminal Justice, and now working on my Bachelor in Early Childhood Development. My Bachelor is online and it is kicking me Real Hard! lol I truly wish I had the confident you have about the outline. I have about 30 sheets of papers in front of me and I have NO ideal of where to start!

Thanks, good information. I needed a refresher on some of this information. Much appreciated. 🙂

i think to have a speach outline can help in the long run!!

This is an extremely good article which helps me a lot!

I am one of the students of CST 100 at Northern Virginia community college Annandale campus.

Writing an outline is such as good help. It helps me to underline all the points that I am going to say, and also it helps me not to focus on my notes so that I can make a great eye contact with my audiences. My speech goes smoothly when I do my outline before that.

Thank you for sharing! Great information to build a speech that will impact listeners. I quill share your page with others!

Fantastic resource. I suggest it to students all the time.

This was a very helpful article. Thank you. I give my second speech tomorrow. I hope to execute all you have taught us.

Very helpful!:)

Awesome Article. Definitely great starter points for anyone wanting to write a speech. I have been stuck on my speech writing and now I feel more confident in progressing forward.

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• Informative Speech Outline

43 Informative Speech Outline Templates & Examples

Are you looking for ways to make your informative speech interesting? There are multiple ways through which you can make it sound interesting to your audience. If you are a student, you may have to write such kind of speeches every now and then. Besides students, business owners also have to come up with such kind of speeches for their audience.

Table of Contents

• 1 Informative Speech Outline Examples
• 2 What is an Informative Speech?
• 3.1 Definitional Speech
• 3.2 Descriptive Speech
• 3.3 Explanatory Speech
• 3.4 Demonstration Speech
• 4 Informative Speech Outline Templates
• 5.1 Eye Contact
• 5.2 Tone of Your Voice
• 5.3 Expressive Hand and Body Gestures
• 6 Informative Speech Samples
• 7 Tips for Your Informative Speech from a Professional

You can use multiple ways to enhance your informative speeches. In order to know more about informative speeches, its types, and how you can make it sound interesting, read through this article

Informative Speech Outline Examples

What is an Informative Speech?

An informative speech is a type of speech mostly based on facts and figure. The facts are presented in front of the audience to teach them about a specific topic. It is necessary for an informative speech to have reliable sources to support claims. At times, presenters think to add some life to their speeches by putting in visual aids, images or appealing photographs. This is done to ensure that the audience remains engaged and not get overwhelmed with just facts and figures. As the name implies, an informative speech likely focuses on the general information covering history, evolution and other necessary information in order to teach the audience about a specific topic. For instance, if you are giving an informative speech about baking bread, you can explain the history of bread, its evolution and how to bake it efficiently. Sometimes, people often think that informative essays and informative speeches are one as the same thing, but it is not so. Unlike informative essays , the presentation is the key element for informative speeches.

Furthermore, while giving an informative speech, your tone can vary. You can fluctuate your tone, raising your voice or talking normally. But most importantly, you should include credible sources to support your ideas and claims. The audience can become more knowledgeable on the subject. The speaker of the informative speech should be well-versed about the entire subject and able to answer the detailed questions that are asked. The speaker should do thorough research on the topic and should be able to defend their side.

Normally, there are four types of topics for informative speeches: concepts, objects, events, and processes. Like other types of speeches, an informative speech also has an introduction, body, and conclusion. So, make sure you do include all the parts in order to make the right kind of informative speech outline. If you are not sure about the informative speech outline, you can download the informative speech outline template. We have several different kinds of informative speech outline examples for you. Simply download any of them and edit it with your speech.

Additionally, informative speech is unlike the persuasive speech as it just highlights the facts and figures in order to draw upon conclusions. On the contrary, persuasive speech has certain opinions and conclusions in the speech besides the sourceable facts. An informative speech has limitless options. From fictitious to non-fictitious topics, informative speeches can be given on any kind of topic. But just make sure that you have enough knowledge about it. All in all, the main goal of the informative speech is to provide enlightenment about the specific topic the audience does not know about.

Types of Informative Speeches

Now that you have understood what actually informative speech is, you should also understand that there are different types of speeches. Check out the four types below.

Definitional Speech

In the definitional speeches, the speaker explains the meaning of theories, concepts, issues and philosophies that the audience may not know about. In such types of speeches, the speakers may begin by providing a history of the topic and background to the subject. Let’s continue the similar example which we mentioned above of baking bread.

Considering this example under this form of speech, the speaker would elucidate about what a bread actually is, the history of the bread, how it changed from time and what are the parts of a bread called. The speaker will give shape to such kinds of things throughout the speech.

Descriptive Speech

The purpose of a descriptive speech is to provide vivid and detailed information of a person, place, animal, or thing. Also, it is supported by a word picture. This kind of informative speech is different from the definitional speeches because it helps in determining the characteristics, functions, features and the key points of the topic.

For instance, if you are providing a speech on the famous Statue of Liberty in the United States, you should let the audience know all about its nuts and bolts. You should know what kind of material is used in order to make it, how it was made, what is its historical significance, why is it located on that spot etc. There are many things that you need to answer in these kinds of descriptive speeches.

Explanatory Speech

An explanatory speech is also known as a briefing. Explanatory speech is somehow like descriptive speech as both of them share the function of clarifying the topic. But these kinds of speeches mostly focus on reports of historical and current events, transformations, customs, inventions, outcomes, policies, and options.

Additionally, these speeches focus on the explanations more, considering how and why aspect most importantly. On the contrary, descriptive speeches do not go in too many details while the explanatory speeches go into depth.

Demonstration Speech

Demonstration speech type is also one of the informative speech types that help listeners determine how to accomplish or perform things on their own. This type of speech is based on demonstration. When speakers have to give this type of speech, they focus on the processes having a series of steps which has specific beginning and ending. These types of speeches are normally given to the audience who do not have any know-how about the product. For instance, if a representative is giving speech to the audience in public about a product, they would use demonstration speech approach.

Also, there are certain products that include set of tools and associated features. It can be quite challenging to write the demonstration speeches as they may include several objects, steps, features, related events or relationships. If you want to prepare this speech, you should first remember to keep safety of the audience in your mind. You should make sure that the tools or elements you are using do not hurt the audience.

For instance, if you want to give a demonstration speech using fire, make sure that you do it carefully. There have been many cases in history when demonstration speeches have gone wrong. So, you must ensure to keep the safety of the audience in your mind. Besides, if you want to write a demonstration speech, we have a template available for that too. Simply download it and edit the outline with respect to your needs.

Informative Speech Outline Templates

Checklist for Your Informative Speech

According to a research, when you give speech to the audience, words are the least important part while communicating. As per the study, when you do face-to-face conversation with others, you need to focus on your actions. Here are some elements that you need to take care of. Find the checklist for your informative speech below.

Eye Contact

Your audience will get bored if you just read through the text on the presentation. This would not help the audience in understanding the speech you are giving to them. A good speech is the one which is supported by proper eye contact and is accompanied with good presentation skills. Also, according to a study, effective communication is based on trust.

Your audience will trust you if you make an eye contact with them. You should see into the eyes of the audience in order to evaluate if they are interested and grasping the idea or not. The cooperation increases when we watch the audience. When you would make an eye contact, it would increase trustworthiness and also encourage future cooperation.

Tone of Your Voice

In addition to making an eye contact, the tone of your voice is equally important when it comes to giving a speech. Your audience will not be interested if you give the speech in a monotonous tone. Also, informative speeches may also get dull due to the facts and figures in it. Along with the tone of your voice, the facial expressions also matter.

According to experts, if the tome remains the same, neural dissonance takes place inside the brain causing confusion in the person. In order to express joy, your voice should become increasingly melodic and when you want to portray sadness, you can shift your tone to monotonic. There is a lot of variability in both, the speed and tone.

Expressive Hand and Body Gestures

Hand and body gestures also play a very important role. Your audience would get really very bored if you stand straight in one position and do not use your hand and body gestures. The gestures are really very important as they help in the comprehending the language. Audience’s brain would want both, your sound as well as your body movements in order to accurately perceive what is meant.

According to a research, if our gestures and words are dissimilar, it will likely create a confusing state for the listener’s brain. So, you need to ensure that you use your hand and body gestures during your speech but make sure that you do it at the right time. We would suggest you to practice speaking in front of the mirror and use your hands in order to describe the words that you are going to speak in front of the audience.

Informative Speech Samples

Tips for Your Informative Speech from a Professional

If you want to write an effective informative speech, then you should be following the tips below by the professional.

• You should be providing information in every minute of your speech. There should not be any filler texts or information. An informative speech is made for the core reason to make every minute worth for the audience. Keep in mind that you are not trying to impress them; you are just trying to provide them information during your speech.
• In addition to providing information to the audience, you should also give examples of real world situations so that your audience can relate to the information on practical basis. You are just there to help your audience learn information.
• Make sure that you make an eye contact with your audience in order to help them trust you. Remember that your goal is to educate the audience and make them believe in what you say.
• You should be quite sincere and credible about the speech you are giving to your audience. You should not put the information that you think is not reliable.
• At the end of the information speech, you should be ready to ask questions. Or let your audience know that you would ask them in the end so that they stay prepared by the end of the session.

Informative speech outline is readily available on our main website. If you are looking for informative speech outline template of any type, you can download it from our main website and use for your effective informative speech. We hope our templates help you in giving the best speech.

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‘Let’s get to work!’: Barack Obama takes stage for Kamala Harris at DNC

Former US president lays out what’s at stake and why Harris-Walz should lead the country.

Former United States President Barack Obama has taken to the stage of the Democratic National Convention in a show of support for Kamala Harris in her 11th-hour bid to become the country’s next president in November’s election.

Obama walked onto the stage in Chicago to deafening applause from a crowd that had just heard from Obama’s wife Michelle, Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff and other veterans of the party, as well as Republicans who had abandoned their party because of Donald Trump.

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The first Black American ever elected to the White House, 63-year-old Obama quickly showed his skills as an orator, paying tribute to President Joe Biden as a man he was “proud to call president, but even prouder to call my friend”.

Acknowledging the scale of the fight facing Harris and her running mate Tim Walz to win the White House over the next 11 weeks, he urged people to “fight for an America we can believe in” and get out the vote.

“This will be a tight race in a divided country; a country where too many Americans are still struggling,” he warned.

“Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his own ends,” Obama added. “We do not need four more years of bluster, bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America is ready for a new chapter. For a new story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”

Obama, who spoke for more than half an hour, has thrown his considerable political capital behind Harris as she seeks to make history on November 5 and become the first woman, and first person of Black and South Asian descent, to be elected president.

Obama was preceded on stage by his wife Michelle, who was welcomed with raucous applause, cheers and whistles.

“Hope is making a comeback,” she said, as she embarked on an enthusiastic endorsement of Harris and Walz.

The former first lady spoke of the need for the country to turn the page on fear and division, and cautioned that Trump would try to distort Harris’s truth , much as he did “everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” referring to her and her husband.

“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” she said to deafening applause.

The Obamas were in the White House from 2009-2017.

“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?” she asked, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Trump and his vice presidential running mate, JD Vance, are also barnstorming key battleground states this week in a bid to steer attention away from the convention in Chicago.

Republicans who have left the party, including Trump’s former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former Trump voter Kyle Sweetser, also addressed the Democrat convention on Tuesday.