Preparation Outline

Your preparation outline details your speech’s introduction, body, and conclusion. It also lists the references you used to develop your speech and your specific purpose and speech thesis statements. This outline is a great way to keep track of all the information in your speech. You will likely make several drafts of it as you practice your speech and add or delete information as needed. Be sure to keep your outline up to date, so that it reflects your latest thoughts about the speech’s structure. You can find an example of a preparation outline on pages 370–373. When creating your preparation outline, keep the following principles in mind: