200 9.4 Organizing and Outlining YOur Speech
I often start by jotting down a few ideas on the [computer] screen, then
move them around as necessary to build some sort of coherent pattern. I
then fill in the details as they occur to me.
What that means is that you can really start anywhere and eventu-
ally come up with an entire speech, just as you can start with any piece of
a puzzle and eventually put it together.^22
Whatever technique you choose to begin your outline, your ultimate goal is
to produce a plan that lets you judge the unity and coherence of your speech—to
see how well the parts fit together and how smoothly the speech flows. The fol-
lowing suggestions will help you to complete your preparation outline. How-
ever, keep in mind that different instructors may have different expectations for
both outline content and outline format. Be sure to understand and follow your
own instructor’s guidelines.write your PreParation outLine in comPLete sentences Like
tHose you wiLL use wHen deLivering your sPeecH Unless you
write complete sentences, you will have trouble judging the coherence of the
speech. Moreover, complete sentences will help during your early rehearsals. If
you write cryptic phrases, you might not remember what they mean.use standard outLine Form Although you did not have to use stand-
ard outline form when you began to outline your ideas, you need to do so
now. standard outline form lets you see at a glance the exact relationships
among various main ideas, subpoints, and supporting material in your speech.
It is an important tool for evaluating your speech as well as a requirement in
many public-speaking courses. An instructor who requires speech outlines will
generally expect standard outline form. To produce a correct outline, follow the
instructions given here and summarized in Figure 9.4.use standard outLine numBering Logical and fairly easy to learn,
outline numbering follows this sequence:
I. First main idea
A. First subpoint of I
B. Second subpoint of I- First subpoint of B
- Second subpoint of B
a. First subpoint of 2
b. Second subpoint of 2
II. Second main idea
Although it is unlikely that you will subdivide beyond the level of lower-
case letters (a, b, etc.) in most speech outlines, next would come numbers in pa-
rentheses and then lowercase letters in parentheses.