If you’re trying to call an audience to action to address a particular problem, the problem-solution pattern of organization can be especially effective. This pattern involves dramatizing an obstacle and then narrowing alternative remedies down to the one that you recommend. The message is organized to focus on three key points:

Topics that lend themselves to this pattern include business, social, economic, and political problems for which you can propose a workable solution. For example, the persuasive speech described earlier about convincing listeners not to text while driving follows this pattern. The first main point established the problem, the second point described the ineffectiveness of current government efforts to address the issue, and the third point proposed a solution—that listeners themselves make the pledge not to text while driving.