Public Speaking

Organize Your Main Points (^115)
Process speeches, in which several steps, stages, or cycles follow one another in fairly
predictable sequences, almost automatically fall into a chronological pattern. Typically,
chronological speeches are informative. Here are the main points in a biographical
speech followed by a process speech:
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the beginning, the evolution, and
the breakup of the Beatles.
Central Idea: The Beatles began as the Quarrymen, evolved from the Silver Beetles
to the Beatles, became the most famous band in the world, and finally broke up.
I. John Lennon formed the Quarrymen when he was 16.
II. A few years later they became the Silver Beetles and finally the Beatles.
III. They gained their reputation in Europe before storming the United States.
IV. After a dozen successful years, they went their individual ways.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the cycle of domestic violence.
Central Idea: The cycle of domestic violence typically has three stages.^4
I. Phase one: Tension builds.
II. Phase two: The abuse takes place.
III. Phase three: The batterer promises to change in the honeymoon period.
The key is that events must occur in a sequence and follow a clear “first, next, finally”
pattern. Occasionally, speakers vary the pattern by beginning with the final point before
showing the events that led up to it. For instance, a speaker could first describe the
Beatles’ breakup and then go back to describe the band’s history.
Spatial Organization
A less common way to organize points is to use the spatial pattern and organize by
location. This pattern is useful for informative speeches about places or things made
up of levels or layers. You could move top-to-bottom, east-to-west, region-to-region,
floor-to-floor of a building, and so on. Here is an example of spatial organization:
process speech describes a
sequence of steps or stages
that follow one another in a
fairly predictable pattern
spatial pattern presents
points by place or location
Spatial patterns are useful for
topics that can be organized
by space such as information
about various wings of a
hospital.
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