As well as being of immense practical value in fashioning better speeches, skill in arranging and outlining information can have far-reaching positive effects on many aspects of your academic and professional life. As noted in Chapter 1, written and verbal skill in communication rank first in employers’ “wish list” for employees. Employers seek workers who can communicate ideas logically and convincingly. Nearly all professional-level jobs, for example, require you to prepare well-organized written/oral reports and visual presentations, to both internal and external audiences. Similarly, written assignments in the classroom depend upon how convincingly and logically you present your viewpoint. Learning how to arrange ideas compellingly and gaining proficiency with outlining—a skill that depends on the logical coordination and subordination of ideas—will serve you well as a public speaker and in these other arenas (see Tables 11.1 and Table 11.2).

Chapter 12 describes organizational patterns you can use to order speech points to greatest effect, and Chapter 13 illustrates the three types of outline formats speakers use to prepare and deliver speeches. In this chapter we examine the elements of the speech body—main points, supporting points, and transitions—and their function and placement within an outline.