Public Speaking

118 CHAPTER^9 Organizing Your Main Points

understanding of the subject, the points themselves can be ordered in different ways.

For instance, Daisy used these points:^10

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of three stereotypical portrayals of

Latinas in the media.

Central Idea: Latinas in media are typically stereotyped as cantina girls, suffering

senoritas, or vamps.

I. Cantina girls are teasing, dancing entertainers of easy virtue.

II. Suffering senoritas start well, usually go bad, and end up sacrificing themselves to

protect an endangered lover.

III. Vamps deviously use their wiles to gain desired ends, often at the expense of men.

She could easily change the order of these points.

Choose the Best Pattern

A single topic can be organized in a number of ways, so determine which pattern works

best given your purposes, supporting materials, audience, and assignment. For instance,

you could effectively develop a speech on hip-hop using any one of these three patterns:

Chronological: Hip-hop developed over several decades.

I. Although its roots are much older, rap as we know it dates back to the 1970s.

II. It became very controversial in the late 1980s and 1990s with gangsta rap.

III. Rap continues to evolve with contributions from new talent and new places.

Spatial: In the 1990s US rappers were in two general regions.

I. East Coast rappers were generally based in New York.

II. California was the base for most West Coast rappers.

Topical: Although men dominate in hip-hop, women make their mark.

I. Nicki Minaj is well known.

II. Gift Uh Gab has quality lyrics.

III. Rapsody has been around for a while.

Use these patterns to organize your speech as a whole or combine patterns to

organize the points within your speech. For instance, a speech on the history of

gambling in the United States could have the main points ordered chronologically with

subpoints organized topically. Table 9.1 summarizes these basic patterns.

TabLe 9.1

Summary of Traditional Organizational Patterns

Chronological Puts points in a sequential or time order

Spatial Arranges points by place or location

Cause–Effect Explains reasons for (causes) and implications (effects)

of a subject

Problem–Solution Describes a harmful problem and tells possible ways to solve it

Pro–Con Reports on the arguments both for and against an issue

Topical Makes each point a subtopic of the subject

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