In what ways does organizing a speech resemble organizing a piece of written work? How does it differ? Are there any organizational tools that a writer can use that a speaker cannot? Does a speaker have any options that a writer does not?

Which kinds of organizational patterns do you think are most common in public speaking? Is there one kind of pattern that you think can work for almost any speech?

Select a speech from a Web site such as AmericanRhetoric.com or Gifts of Speech (gos.sbc.edu). How could you revise the main points or add organizing language to make the speech’s structure more apparent to the audience?

In the illustration on page 271, the speaker dons a large hat whenever he makes a main point. Although this is clearly an exaggeration, might a speaker use nonverbal cues or presentation aids to help the audience navigate his or her speech? Would such tools work if the speech itself did not make proper use of organizing language?