Styles of Outlines

Styles of Outlines

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There are three basic approaches you can take to outlining your speech, which vary according to the level of detail. All three formats—sentence outlines, phrase outlines, and key-word outlines—can be valuable tools in developing and eventually delivering your speech. In most cases, you’ll move from one format to another as you progress from preparing your speech to actually delivering it.

Sentence Outline. The first type of outline is the sentence outline, which offers the full text of what you want to say in your speech. Sentence outlines are generally used as you develop and prepare early drafts because they help you become more comfortable with all aspects of your speech; they are typically not ideal for your actual presentation because you may wind up reading directly from the outline, missing out on valuable eye contact with the audience. Consider the following example from Sample Speech Outline 12.1 regarding sleep deprivation:

  1. There are many causes of sleep deprivation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    1. Busy work and family schedules contribute to sleep deprivation.
      1. As college students, many of us are trying to handle full-time course work and full- or part-time jobs to help pay for tuition, in addition to maintaining relationships with loved ones.
      2. New parents are often incredibly sleep deprived as they attempt to adjust to life with an infant as well as those infamous nighttime feedings.
      3. Shift workers (including police officers, nurses, pilots, and so on) often have trouble establishing good sleep habits because their schedules change frequently and they are sometimes required to work the night shift.
    2. Late-night television and Internet use can also interfere with the ability to fall asleep or can prevent individuals from adhering to a bedtime schedule.
    3. The use of caffeine and alcohol can also make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
    4. Some medical conditions—including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea—also make sleeping incredibly difficult.

Phrase Outline. A phrase outline takes parts of sentences and uses those phrases as instant reminders of what the point or subpoint means. Consider the following example:

  1. Many causes of sleep deprivation (CDC)
    1. Busy work and personal lives
      1. Students struggling with school and work
      2. New parents adjusting to baby schedule
      3. Shift work disrupts sleep
    2. Using TV or computer late at night
    3. Use of caffeine and alcohol
    4. Medical conditions—insomnia and sleep apnea

The phrase outline is often preferred because it offers speakers a clear road map of their presentation, with reminders of key points and phrases, while also allowing speakers to deliver a speech rather than simply to read it.

Key-Word Outline. A key-word outline is the briefest possible outline, consisting of specific “key words” from the sentence outline to jog the speaker’s memory. This type of outline allows the speaker to maintain maximum eye contact with the audience, though the speaker must be extremely familiar with the content of the speech. An example of a key-word outline is as follows:

  1. SD causes (CDC)
    1. Family and work
      1. College students
      2. New parents
      3. Shift workers
    2. Television and Internet
    3. Caffeine and alcohol
    4. Medical conditions—insomnia, apnea

THINGS TO TRY

Read a famous or familiar speech (such as Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech), and create an outline for it. Can you follow a clear sequence of points? Do the subpoints support the speaker’s main points?