Public Speaking Handbook

integrating Your Supporting Material 9.2 191

Acknowledging Cultural Differences

in Organization

Although the five patterns just discussed are typical of the way in which speakers
in the United States are expected to organize and process information, they are
not necessarily typical of all cultures.^10 In fact, each culture teaches its members
patterns of thought and organization that are considered appropriate for various
occasions and audiences. On the whole, U.S. speakers tend to be more linear and
direct than speakers from Semitic, Asian, Romance, or Russian cultures. Semitic
speakers support their main points by pursuing tangents that might seem off-
topic to many U.S. speakers. Asians may only allude to a main point through
a circuitous route of illustration and parable. And speakers from Romance and
Russian cultures tend to begin with a basic principle and then move to facts and
illustrations that they only gradually connect to a main point. The models in
Figure 9.2 illustrate these culturally diverse patterns of organization.
Of course, these are very broad generalizations. But as an audience member
who recognizes the existence of cultural differences, you can better appreciate
and understand the organization of a speaker from a culture other than your
own. He or she might not be disorganized, but instead, using organizational
strategies that are different from the ones presented earlier in this chapter.

Integrating Your Supporting Material

9.2 explain how to integrate supporting material into a speech.

Once you have organized your main ideas, you are ready to flesh out the speech
with your supporting material for each idea. You might realize that in support of
your second main idea, you have an illustration, two statistics, and an opinion.
In what order should you present these items?

9.2

U.S. Semitic Asian Romance Russian

Figure 9.2 Organizational patterns of speaking will vary by culture.
Source: lieberman, Public Speaking in the Multicultural Environment, “Organizational patterns by culture”
©1997. reproduced by permission of pearson education, inc.