Planning Your Speech

Topic, Type, and Purpose

Finding Speech Topics: Tips on selecting a speech topic. (5:34)

Narrowing a Speech Topic: Advice on how to narrow your speech topic. (2:00)

General and Specific Speech Purposes: Understand the difference between the general and specific purpose of your speech. (1:39)

Draw A Mind Map: Although most mind maps are simply words, students may enjoy the idea of drawing topics in a mind map exercise to generate speech topics.

Audience

Analyzing Your Audience: Tips for analyzing your audience and selecting your topic from a professional public speaker. (1:44)

Dr. So What’s Guide: Audience Analysis: How to conduct an audience analysis to guide your speech planning. (6:58)

Knowing Your Audience: Five steps to getting to know your audience before your speech. (4:41)

Thesis Statement

How to Write a Speech Thesis: Tips on writing a thesis statement. (2:23)

Developing Your Thesis: All speeches must have a thesis statement: the main argument.  This passage describes thesis formation.

Organization

Understanding Speech Organization The lecturer first gives a general lecture about the benefits of organizing a speech and then highlights the different formats covered in the chapter.

Topical Order: It’s Part of the Whole: This article explains the topical speaking format structure with examples

Cause-and-Effect Order: It’s Relational : This lecture explains the meaning of cause and effect.

Understanding Speech Organization: The lecturer first gives a general lecture about the benefits of organizing a speech and then highlights the different formats covered in the chapter.

Main Ideas for Your Speech

Creating the Main Points of a Speech Outline: Tips form students on creating the main points of a speech outline. (1:15)

Transitions

Using Transitional Statements in Public Speaking: Advice on using transitions effectively in your public speaking. (1:27)

25 Transitional Phrases That Will Make Your Next Speech Like butter: This post lists transitional phrases what will help your speech glide from point to point.

Introduction

Introducing Your Speech: The lecturer explains how to succeed with an introduction.

Establish Topic Credibility: The speaker gives some tips on establishing credibility which is important to gain the audience’s trust and attention. 

Get Your Audience’s Attention:  Use Humor: This speaker tells how to being a speech with humor without telling a joke.  

Conclusion

Concluding Your Speech : The speaker describes three effective ways to conclude a speech, followed by examples of closings from real speeches.

Restate the Central idea or Thesis: The speaker gives some tips on establishing credibility which is important to gain the audience’s trust and attention. 

Achieve Closure: Since your closing determines whether you achieve the goal of your speech or not, this presentation presents an effective technique:  The Dialogue Close

Presentation Aids

Visual Aids in Public Speaking: Tips for using visual aids effectively in public speaking. (22:41)

Purdue Owl: Visual Rhetoric: Consider the basics of visual rhetoric to enhance the effectiveness your presentation aids. (6:36)

The Most Effective Use of PowerPoint: A tutorial on using PowerPoint in your presentation. (4:04)

References

APA Formatting: Reference List Basics: Introduction to the basics of APA style citations. (3:18)

APA Reference Lists – A More Detailed Explanation: A detailed guide to APA reference style. (5:18)

MLA Formatting – List of Works Cited: An introduction to citing sources with MLA style. (8:17)

Oral Citations: How to orally cite sources as you present your speech. (2:30)