Printed Page 271

As the person who has developed your speech, you will know what your main points are, when you are moving from one point to the next, and what part of the speech you are delivering at any point in time. However, without assistance from you, your audience members will have difficulty keeping track of your organization. To see how difficult this task is, watch a speech with two or three classmates and have each person try to outline the speaker’s main points. Unless the speech is very well organized, chances are good that you will each have different perceptions of what the main points were.

To make the structure of your speech easy for audience members to follow, you need to insert organizing words, phrases, and sentences throughout your presentation. These words, phrases, and sentences offer the audience clear signals that will help them identify your main points and navigate your supporting information. The primary types of organizing language include transitions, signposts, and internal previews and summaries.