Transitions
A transition is a sentence that indicates you are moving from one part of your speech to the next. The words in a transition should indicate that one thought is finished and a new idea is coming. The following are examples of transitions from an informative speech on Joan of Arc:
Now that we have seen how Joan of Arc prevailed at Orléans, let’s take a look at her efforts to free Paris.
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You have learned about Joan of Arc’s military strategies; next we will consider the effects of her spiritual beliefs.
Note how these transitions both introduce a new point and signal the end of the previous point. Students often have trouble creating transitions that achieve both of these tasks, as shown by the following failed attempts:
What happened when Joan of Arc attempted to free Paris?
Joan of Arc’s military strategies were influenced by her spiritual beliefs.
Neither of these sentences would make a good transition. The first one asks a question pertaining to the main point to follow (the campaign to retake Paris), but it does not help the audience see that the speaker has finished discussing Joan’s efforts at Orléans. The second sentence includes two different ideas, but it does not use any words to signal that the one idea is finished and a new main point is about to begin.
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To practice developing transitions, try Video Activity 9.3, “Patterns of Arrangement: Causal.”