Public Speaking

Organize Your Main Points (^117)
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that a mileage tax should replace the
gas tax.
Central Idea: States are not getting enough tax revenues to repair roads and
infrastructure, so we should tax miles driven instead of gasoline.
I. Gasoline tax revenues are inadequate for infrastructure repair.
A. All users put wear-and-tear on highways, but some pay less for their use.
B. Taxing one type of vehicle more than another is unfair.
II. Taxing mileage instead of gasoline would help solve the problem.
A. It would bring in revenue based on usage.
B. It would solve the fairness issue.
Given the same topic, if your purpose were to inform, you’d describe the revenue
problem and then introduce your listeners to a variety of solutions, not just one.
Pro–Con Organization
When you need to explore both sides of a controversial
issue, the pro–con pattern is very useful. Classify all
the arguments in favor of the issue under the pro label,
and then list the arguments against it under the con
label. Here is an example of pro–con organization on
the topic of linking attendance to grades in college
classes.^8
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of
the arguments for and against mandatory attendance
policies.
Central Idea: The policy of linking class atten-
dance to grades has both positive and negative
arguments.
I. Proponents make a number of arguments in favor
of mandatory attendance.^9
A. Better attendance is linked to better grades.
B. Establishing good participation habits helps in
life after college.
C. Attendance is important for others in the class.
II. Critics give many reasons for discontinuing man-
datory attendance.
A. A captive audience is not ideal for learning.
B. Students should be able to choose.
C. The professor is paid regardless of attendance.
This organizational pattern is best when your
goal is to explain the nature of an issue in an investi-
gative report. It lets your listeners weigh the evidence
and evaluate the arguments for themselves. If your
purpose is to advocate for one set of arguments over
another, choose a different overall pattern.
Topical Organization
If your material doesn’t really fit into any of these patterns, use the most common
pattern—the topical pattern. Here, you classify the major points into subdivisions,
each of which is part of the whole. Although every point contributes to an overall
pro–con pattern presents
arguments in favor of and
arguments against an issue
topical pattern divides a
subject into subtopics, each
of which is part of the whole
Should Division I college athletes be paid? This is just one of many
issues where some say yes; others say no. A pro–con speech gives
listeners both sides so they can make up their own minds.
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