First and foremost, you must determine the main points of your speech, which are the central claims that support your specific speech purpose and your thesis statement (which you learned about in Chapter 12). That is, you need to identify and organize key ideas that will lead the audience members to accept or think about what you are asking them to do, believe, or consider.

Before you begin developing your main points, you may be wondering how many you will need in your speech. Because each speech is unique, there is no easy answer, but the general rule is that audiences have trouble remembering more than three or four main points. This guideline will serve you well for the purposes of your human communication course, but always check with your instructor if you have questions.

With this in mind, let’s consider how main points work in action. Suppose you’re giving a persuasive speech advocating for listeners to resist the temptation of texting while driving. What key points do you think will influence your listeners to see the immediate dangers of this behavior? Perhaps they would be motivated to do so if they knew the scope of the problem:

Main Point 1: Driver distraction, specifically mobile phone use while operating a motor vehicle, is a growing problem in the United States. You’d likely further your argument by acknowledging the attempts governments and organizations have made to combat the problem:

Main Point 2: Although many states have passed laws that ban mobile phone use while driving, these restrictions have not been particularly effective at solving the problem.

Finally, you might propose that the most promising solution lies with individuals making commitments to drive without distractions:

Main Point 3: The only way to prevent distracted driving is to not drive while distracted! Each of us in this room has an obligation to be part of the solution by silencing our mobile phones in the car or even by making a public pledge not to text and drive.

Note that each main point includes only one major idea. This prevents you from overwhelming your audience with too much information and makes it easier for you to supply the examples, testimonies, statistics, and facts to back up each point. When in doubt about developing your main points, ask yourself “Does this point prove my thesis? Does it help me achieve my specific purpose?” If you can confidently answer yes, then you’re on the right track.