Basic Outline Format For A Speech printable pdf download

Basic Outline Format

for a Speech

An outline is one of the best ways to assist you in the preparation of your presentation.

Too often, when we approach speech writing, we think in terms of a complete

speech—not in terms of an outline. It’s extremely important to begin every speech—

regardless of the audience and setting—with a clear and thorough outline. Your audi-

ence will be able to follow your speech only if it is very clearly organized. Here are a

few general guidelines to follow:

•

Develop most of the outline with key words in order to assure that you will extempo-

rize and talk to your audience.

•

You should write your thesis statement, transition sentences, and all main point

statements as complete sentences so that you have an outline and speech that is

easy to follow.

•

Keep in mind that when you present a written work (e.g., a term paper) you cannot

present the entire paper. You must decide what information in your paper is neces-

sary for your audience to best understand the content of your message.

•

Think about your time limits. It’s generally best to stick to 3-5 main points. Your

audience will appreciate your efforts to organize your thoughts.

•

Notice the indentations in the example below. Replicating these indentations in

your outline will create an effective and convenient reference during your speech.

Here is a typical presentation structure:

Introduction

A. Attention getter: Pull the audience in with something interesting (a story, interesting stats, a

quotation, etc.).

B. Introduction of topic: Give the audience a brief glimpse at what you are talking about, maybe

some background info they need to best understand your topic.

C. Credibility statement: What qualifies you to speak on this topic? What would connect you

with the audience and make them want to listen to you?

D. Thesis/preview statement: This single complete sentence has two purposes: 1) it serves as

your transition between the introduction and the body of the speech and 2) it provide sound-

bite descriptions of your main points so listeners know what areas of the topic you will be

covered.

(Transition: Indicates where you are going next in the presentation)

Body

Main point statement: one clear statement that tells the audience what this section is about.

A. Sub-point: This level of the outline supports the above main point. The number of sub-points

depends how you would like to explain/support your main point. For example, more detail

may require more sub-points.

1. Sub sub-point: This level provides further support for the above sub-point.

a. Support: This level can provide the direct evidence to support the above sub

-point [e.g., sources, etc.]; place your in-text citation here. If you are using

your own reasoning as your support, then you may not need this level.)

b. Support

2. Sub sub-point

Basic Outline Format For A Speech

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