What’s Next?

You have your speech topic and your specific goal. What’s next? The next step is often overlooked, but it is essential to delivering an effective speech. What is this important step? Organization! All speeches should have an organizational pattern for the main points. Let’s get started!

Organizational Patterns

Your main points can be organized by one of the organizational patterns:

• Topical: each main point is a part of the whole. Each main point is also the same. For example, each main point is a benefit or consequence.
• Spatial: each main point is one physical or geographic location
• Chronological: each main point is arranged in numerical order or by the time it occurred
• Causal: the first main point is the cause and the second main point is the effect (Note: there are only 2 main points with this pattern)

You may wish to view examples of main points in a speech and more detailed descriptions of each pattern.

Tips for Using the Organizational Patterns

It is important to choose a pattern that makes the most sense with your topic. For example, you would not use causal if it was not necessary to explain a cause and effect in your speech.

In general, you should only have 2-3 main points in your speech to ensure you are covering your topic thoroughly.

Your Turn

Some topics lend themselves to more than one organizational pattern. Choose the organizational pattern that closely correlates to the specific goal.

There are two examples below of topics that are relatively similar. Which organizational pattern would you use for each specific goal? Scroll down to the bottom of this blog for the answer.

Specific goal 1: I want to inform my audience about the benefits of exercise.

Specific goal 2: I want to inform my audience about the steps to an effective workout.

Final Thoughts

Speech organization is the key to delivering an effective speech. Your credibility increases if you have an organized speech that is easy to follow. Using one of the organizational patterns in this blog will help you organize your main points.

Leave a comment below to let me know which 0rganizational patterns you prefer to use in your speeches.

 

Answer to the exercise in Your Turn:

Specific goal 1: Topical organization because the benefits all make up the whole, and they are all the same. They are all benefits.

Specific goal 2: Chronological organization because the main points will be listed in numerical order for which they should be completed.