Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 13  Organizing, Writing, and Outlining Presentations 369

You’d likely further your argument by acknowledging the attempts governments
and organizations have made to combat the problem:

Main Point 2: Although many states have passed laws that ban mobile

phone use while driving, these restrictions have not been particularly effec-

tive at solving the problem.

Finally, you might propose that the most promising solution lies with individuals
making commitments to drive without distractions:

Main Point 3: The only way to prevent distracted driving is to not drive

while distracted! Each of us in this room has an obligation to be part of

the solution by silencing our mobile phones in the car or even by making a

public pledge not to text and drive.

Note that each main point includes only one major idea. This prevents you
from overwhelming your audience with too much information and makes it
easier for you to supply the examples, testimonies, statistics, and facts to back
up each point. When in doubt about developing your main points, ask yourself
“Does this point prove my thesis? Does it help me achieve my specific purpose?”
If you can confidently answer yes, then you’re on the right track.

Supporting Your Main Points

Each main point—as well as your speech as a whole—is fully fleshed out with
the use of subpoints that provide support for the main points. Subpoints uti-
lize your research to back up your main points in the same way that your main
points back up your thesis statement and specific purpose; you can use a similar
test to check their usefulness, asking yourself, “Does this bit of information back
up my main point?” For example, three subpoints under our main point about
driver mobile phone use as a growing traffic safety threat might be:

c In 2010, texting while driving increased 50 percent, and two out of ten

drivers say they’ve sent text messages or e-mails while behind the

wheel (CBS News, 2011)).

c The risk of a crash is 23.2 percent greater when texting while driv-

ing versus driving when not distracted (Gardner, 2011).

c Each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed

and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are

reported to involve a distracted driver (National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, 2014).

Like main points, subpoints may—and often should—be backed
up with more information, referred to as sub-subpoints.
Well-chosen supporting points will naturally fall under your
main point in a clear hierarchy of ideas, forming the basic outline
of your speech. Each main point should be supported by a number

THINK OF YOUR MAIN

POINTS and subpoints as

Russian matryoshka dolls—

each sub-subpoint should

nest inside a subpoint, which

should nest inside your main

point. Comstock/Jupiter Images

CONNECT

When deciding which

types of material to use

to support your speech

points, keep the cultural

context in mind (Chapters

1 and 5). Cultural variables

affect the type of research

to which audience mem-

bers respond. For example,

if your audience consists

of concerned parents of

teenagers, they will likely

be responsive to statistics

and facts about teen

driving distraction.