7 Chapter Seven

Get Organized: Outline & Rehearse

As e learned in chapter 5, public speaking as advocacy requires well-reasoned, researched, and constructed arguments to effectively craft and convey information. When developing a speech, selecting the content and organizing it into a clear argument and outline can be tough. However, organizing information and reflecting on the best way to communicate an idea is not unique to a public speech; we do it all the time.

Stevie is trying to process how to organize the information that she’ll present to Anne – the primary audience member. She’s also processing the best way to start – or to introduce – that information to her friend, and outlining key ideas that she wants to remember.

The same is true for preparing arguments in a speech. How well a speech is organized can make or break the audience’s understanding of your content. In this chapter, we discuss ways to effectively organize your speech information (main points) into an outline that will not only support your thesis statement, but help the audience follow along easily, which increases their comprehension. To accomplish these tasks, we will introduce different organizational patterns and tips for outlining a speech. Before you can select an organizational pattern for a speech, you should first work to group your information.

Grouping

Have you ever organized a garage sale? The first step, before putting up signs or pricing items, is to go through your closets and garage and create “piles” of items that you want to sell: children’s items, tools, kitchen items, furniture, clothes, etc. Researchers have found that “chunking” information, that is, the way it is grouped, is vital to audience understanding, learning, and retention of information (Beighly, 1954; Bodeia, Powers, & Fitch-Hauser, 2006; Daniels & Whitman, 1981). Essentially, you are grouping your speech information into logical categories of information.

The Main Points of a Speech

Remember in chapter 3 when we learned about understanding a speech’s purpose, context, brainstorming, writing specific purpose statements, and developing the thesis statement? When developing a speech, we determine how to group our information into categories of information based on the thesis, which is our main argument. This means we extract separate points from the thesis to create the framework for the body of our speech called main points (Van Ry, 2023). The main points each hold equal importance addressing and fulfilling the thesis of a speech (Van Ry, 2023). Let’s look at an example of a thesis statement.

Dana is developing a speech about the joy of owning a dog and her thesis statement is as follows:

“I received my golden retriever Scooter as a puppy when I was 10 years old and having him as a pet has been the best gift anyone could ever give me!”

Dana decides to group her information by separating the thesis into the following main points.

• When I was 10 years, my parents gave me a golden retriever puppy for Christmas.
• I named the puppy Scooter after my favorite toy at the time.
• Having Scooter as a pet has made me more responsible and brought joy to my life!

Notice in the above example how Dana’s main points reflect and support the thesis providing a framework for the body of her speech outline. Also, take notice at how Dana’s main points are logical and manageable.

As we listen to a speech, we have limits to how much information we can retain. For this reason, in public speaking, we recommend using three categories to group your information into; these categories are the main points. When developing a speech, two to three main points are a reasonable amount for the speaker to manage and for the audience to follow. Developing a speech with more than three main points puts the audience at risk for information overload. Limiting your main points to three also allows you to develop each main point with meaningful evidence and support.

For example, imagine listening to a speaker begin a speech with, “I want to share with you 10 reasons literacy is important.” As an audience member, you would probably feel overwhelmed by the thought of listening to 10 main points. A more manageable approach for you and the audience would be, “I want to share with you three reasons literacy is important.”

The main points of a speech are also broken down into supportive information called subpoints. Subpoints provide more detail to the main points by presenting evidence, elaborating on and explaining the meaning of ideas, and ensuring the speech information is following a clear, logical, and organized pattern (Coffman et al., 2022). Let’s revisit the example from Dana to better understand subpoints.

When I was 10 years, my parents gave me a golden retriever puppy for Christmas.

• • I grew up as an only child in a neighborhood with few children.
  • My parents noticed I was lonely, and my therapist suggested a pet for emotional support.

I named the puppy Scooter after my favorite toy at the time.

• • I used to love playing outside for hours riding my electric scooter.
  • Seeing the puppy for the first time gave me the same sense of joy as my scooter so it was a no-brainer to give him that name.

Having Scooter as a pet has made me more responsible and brought great joy to my life!

• • After having Scooter for a year, my parents were proud of the way I would feed, walk, and clean up after him without being reminded.
  • Those bouts of loneliness I had prior to Scooter’s arrival even disappeared as he has always been a loving companion who can sense when I need a hug.

So, you may be asking, “How does this work in practice? How do I group my speech information into manageable main points?” The following sections will discuss strategies for logically organizing the main points of a speech based on your specific purpose and thesis.

Organizing the Main Points of a Speech

Quite often, speakers make the mistake of minimizing or dismissing the speech development process all-together because they are knowledgeable about a topic and confident about public speaking. However, being knowledgeable about a topic and being a confident speaker does not automatically mean you can effectively deliver a speech the audience clearly follows and understands (Van Ry, 2023). A good public speaker is not just knowledgeable and confident, but they are also well-organized in a way that is considerate of their audience. If you recall from chapter 2, audiences will vary, which requires speakers to develop their speeches accordingly even if they are using a familiar topic. Therefore, a speech must have a logical structure that would work well for an audience. Once you have developed a solid thesis statement for a speech, it is imperative that the main points are well-organized and placed in a logical pattern. Logical and clear speech organization is important for the following reasons:

• The information in the speech will be more memorable for an audience as organization makes retention easier.
• Organization reduces the chance of the audience becoming lost or confused during the speech. (It is hard to regain the attention of an audience once they become confused).
• It is easier for the speaker to follow the outline or notes and present a clear speech.
• You will gain more credibility as a speaker if you are organized (Van Ry, 2023).

While there is not one right way to organize your main points, you can start by returning to your thesis statement to determine what groups are more suitable to support your specific purpose. The following section details some common organizational patterns speakers use to organize their main points for all types of speeches.

Patterns of Organization

At this point, you should see how much your audience needs organized ideas. You also know that as you do research, you will group together similar pieces of information from different sources. As you group your research information, you will want to make sure that your grouped content relates to your specific purpose statement.

Interestingly, there are some standard ways of organizing these categories, which are called “patterns of organization.” Our list is not exhaustive, but we provide insight on five organizational patterns with a few embedded examples.

Chronological

A chronological organizational pattern groups information based on time order or in a set chronology—first this occurred, then this, then this, then that. The use of a chronological pattern is appropriate when the argument needs to be traced linearly or for speeches that give instruction or demonstrate something. For a speech about creating a meaningful and memorable protest poster, providing the instructions in order will allow audience members to actively apply that information after hearing the speech.

One of the problems with chronological speeches is the tendency to create a long list of activities rather than categorizing the content. It is important to chunk the information into three to five groups so that the audience has a framework. For example, in an informative speech about the history of the Civil Rights Movement, your “grouping” or “chunking” might be:

• The movement saw African-Americans struggling for legal recognition before the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
• The movement was galvanized and motivated by the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• The movement saw its goals met in the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

It would be easy in the case of the Civil Rights Movement to list the many events that happened over decades, but that could be overwhelming for the audience. In this grouping of events, the audience is focused on three main events that pushed it forward.

As you can see, the chronological pattern is a highly-used organizational structure, since one of the ways our minds work is through time-orientation—past, present, future.

Spatial

Another common thought process involves movement in space or direction, which is called a spatial pattern. Spatial patterns are used to describe a place or object based on its location or structure.

In this example, the content is divided into logical regions based on the specific purpose and thesis by moving from northern to southern Italy, as the word “regional” would indicate. If you were to actually study Italian cooking in depth, sources will say there are twenty regions, but “covering” twenty regions in a speech is not practical, so research can help you limit and determine which regions would be most appropriate to focus on. 

A spatial organizational pattern can assist audiences in visualizing your main points by grouping based on a spatial or geographic layout.

Topical

The topical organizational pattern groups information into key categories. Many subjects will have main points that naturally divide into “types of,” “kinds of,” “sorts of,” or “categories of.” Other subjects naturally divide into “parts of the whole.”

Another principle of organization to think about when using topical organization is “climax” organization. That means putting your strongest argument or most important point last. In the example above, “unjust executions” is a bigger reason to end a practice than the cost, since an unjust execution means the loss of an innocent life and a violation of our principles. If you believe Main Point III is the strongest argument of the three, putting it last builds up to a climax.

When using a topical pattern, you want to keep your categories simple, clear, and distinct by reducing repetition or blurriness between the groupings.

Cause/Effect Pattern

In a cause/effect pattern, the main points of a topic start with the cause, followed by the effect. If the specific purpose mentions words such as “causes,” “origins,” “roots of,” “foundations,” “basis,” “grounds,” or “source,” it is a causal order; if it mentions words such as “effects,” “results,” “outcomes,” “consequences,” or “products,” it is an effect order. If it mentions both, it would be a cause/effect order.

This pattern can be helpful for an audience to understand how and/or why something has occurred. If your topic looks at a key problem, tracing how that problem originated may be worthwhile, even necessary, for an audience to track the outcomes.

Problem-Solution Pattern

The problem-solution pattern is closely related to cause/effect, but it also includes advocating for a key solution. This is a common organizational strategy used to persuade because a speaker is often asking the audience to address a problem with a concrete course of action. When you want to persuade someone to act, the first reason is usually that something is wrong!

We use a problem-solution pattern in everyday exchanges. If you and your friends were hungry (a problem), you’d invite them to dinner (the solution). However, if they’d recently eaten you might identify a secondary problem—you miss their company, for example.

Alternatively, let’s say that you want school board members to provide more funds for music at the three local high schools in your county. Ask yourself: What is missing because music or the arts are not funded? What is the problem? How is that a problem something that the school board should intervene to resolve? How does funding those programs resolve the problems that you’ve identified?

Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

The problem-cause-solution pattern is also commonly used to persuade and advocate for a course of action. However, this pattern goes a step further than problem-solution by also addressing the cause of a problem to emphasize the need for a solution.

Of course, these pattern examples reflect simple outlines, and you would need to provide evidence to support the arguments, but they show how the different patterns can work for organizing the main points of a speech. After identifying an organizational pattern, an outline will assist you to compile information into that pattern.

Outlining

In the speech development process, outlines are a common way to organize a speech prior to delivery. Additionally, as a reminder, effective public speakers deliver speeches that are well-organized. An outline provides a visual structure where you can compile the introduction, body (main points and subpoints), and conclusion of your speech into a well-organized document. You may be asking, “Why do I need to create an outline? Can’t I just type my speech in its entirety and use that? There are several problems with skipping the outline preparation step:

• You risk developing too much or too little content for the time you are allotted to speak.
• It is more difficult to determine if important information is missing from your speech during development and delivery.
• You are more inclined to read your speech during delivery instead of delivering a well-prepared extemporaneous speech.
• If you are already nervous about public speaking, not being able to find your speech content conveniently in your notes will make things worse!

During speech preparation and delivery, outlines are important for helping a speaker conveniently avoid leaving out important elements of their speech and staying organized. There are two primary types of outlines we will discuss: preparation outlines and speaking outlines.

Preparation Outlines

Preparation outlines are comprehensive outlines including all the information in your speech. These outlines include full-sentences, in-text citations, and a reference page. If someone were to read your outline, there should be enough depth to provide a framework for what your speech would accomplish.

The main points in the body of the preparation outline may have more than one subpoint, where a speaker provides facts, statistics, other supporting evidence, personal examples, anecdotes, etc. When developing the subpoints, begin with the most important evidence. The types of information you choose for your subpoints will be based on the type of speech and the chosen organization pattern.

Generally, we recommend starting from the outline format below. Full templates and examples of speech outlines are found in the Appendices of this textbook.

Sample Outline Template

Introduction Attention Getter Establish Credibility Establish Relatability Preview Main Points (Refer to Thesis)

Body I. First Main Point A. Evidence (Subpoint) B. Warrant (Subpoint) II. Second Main Point A. Evidence (Subpoint) B. Warrant (Subpoint) III. Third main Point A. Evidence (Subpoint) B. Warrant (Subpoint)

Conclusion 1. Signal the Conclusion 2. Restate the Main Points 3. Clincher (Memorable & Strong Ending)

Like we mentioned, an outline is a visual structure, and it can aid you in determining where you need to add information. For example, if you work on a problem-solution speech, your outline may visually demonstrate that most of your research is located under the “problem” main point, signaling to you that more “solution” research is required. Outlines also assist in reminding speakers to warrant (justify) all their claims. You should think of the outline as the blueprint for your speech.

We recommend speakers begin adding information to their outlines immediately and throughout the speech development process. Although the preparation outline provides a visual structure of your speech, it is essential for speakers to also prepare a speaking outline.

Tips for Effective Outlining

Use consistent numbering. Full sentences are your friend! Use in-text citations for references to your research. Generally, numbers should be in 2’s (if there’s a 1, there should be a 2). Make sure indentations are consistent and clear. Follow your organizational pattern. Revise. Revise. Revise.

Speaking Outlines

A speaking outline is a keyword outline used to deliver a speech – often extemporaneously. As we’ll discuss in our chapter on verbal and nonverbal delivery, the notes that you use to speak can aid or hinder your delivery. A keyword outline – which you will use to rehearse and deliver your speech – will allow greater embodiment and engagement with the audience. As you practice, you will be able to pare the full preparation outline down to more convenient notes. Essentially, you are creating a set of abbreviated notes for the actual delivery of your speech. Using a keyword outline removes the temptation to read your speech, which would prevent you from maintaining eye contact with the audience being engaging overall, and in giving your best speech.

Your speaking outline should have far fewer words than the preparation version, arranged in key phrases, and readable notes. Your speaking outline should also provide cues to assist you during speech delivery such as, “slow down for emphasis,” “pause after sharing this example,” or “change slide” to help with visual aids. Our biggest suggestion is to make the speaking outline workable for you. Writing your speaking outline on note cards makes it easier to manage while you are speaking, and is less distracting to the audience than holding a larger piece of paper.

Finally, always double check that your speaking outline includes your oral citations, so you do not forget to cite (refer to chapter 4)! During a speech, an author’s name, credentials, publication date, and sponsoring organization will be difficult to remember, so add all references directly into your notes. Below is a sample keyword outline.

Sample speaking (keyword) outline

Introduction Start with startling statistic: “According to a February 2024 report by the New York Times about health and wellness…...” Pause for emphasis. Talk about researching health and wellness to establish credibility Relate topic to the audience by saying, “Like me, most of you have gone to the doctor before or know someone who has and received bad report.” Today, I will discuss….

Body I. Health and Wellness in the U.S. A. In 2023, the National Center for Health Statistics found significant disparities in health outcomes… Show chart of health disparities B. Nutrition plays significant role in weight loss and overall health C. Proper nutrients support bodily & immune functions, tissue repair, & hormone regulation. D. Exercise burns calories, boosts metabolism, builds muscles, & creates a healthy heart and is good for mental health. Transition: Next, we will discuss the impact of these health disparities. Change slide. II. Lack of proper nutrition & exercise A. Unbalanced diet causes diseases, physical challenges, & poor mental health B. Lack of exercise leads to loss of muscle & weight gain. Show slide with impact of health disparities Transition: Lastly, let’s look at ways to combat these disparities. III. Need to find ways to be healthy A. Finding healthy recipes within a budget & exercising B. Balanced diet & exercise proven to improve overall health and wellness outcomes – Allison Jones & Frank Brown, Health Researchers, Journal of Nutrition & Exercise (2022). Show slide with tips and resources.

Conclusion Signal the conclusion Restate the main points, emphasizing the need for change Clincher (strong, memorable final statement)

Notice how unlike the preparation outline, the sample keyword outline does not have full sentences throughout. Instead, the sample has short phrases, speaking cues for direction, and in-text citations for convenience. This is just one way to create a speaking outline, but the overall goal is to find ways to conveniently pare down the preparation outline into a keyword outline conducive to engaging speech delivery. Once you are familiar with your topic, you can cut down the number of words more and more and just use words that remind you of your main points.

At this point, you may be realizing that preparing for public speaking does not always follow a completely linear process. When developing your speech, you might begin outlining with one organizational pattern in mind, only to reorganize the main points into a new pattern after more research has been conducted. These are all OK options. Wherever your process takes you, however, you will need to make sure that each section of your speech outline connects to the other with what we call connective statements.

Connective Statements and Internal Organization

Connective statements are broad terms that encompass several types of statements or phrases that are generally designed to help “connect” parts of your speech making it easier for audience members to follow such as, “First we will discuss the importance of sleep to our health.” Connectives are tools for helping the audience listen, retain information, and follow your structure. Connectives should also be incorporated into the preparation and speaking outlines.

Connectives perform several functions:

• Remind the audience of what has come before.
• Remind the audience of the central focus or purpose of the speech.
• Forecast what is coming next.
• Help the audience have a sense of context in the speech—where are we?
• Explain the logical connection between the previous main idea and the next one, or the previous subpoint and the next one.
• Explain your own mental processes in arranging the material as you have.
• Keep the audience’s attention through repetition and a sense of movement.

Connectives can include internal summaries, signposting or internal previews. Each of these terms help connect the main ideas of your speech for the audience, but they have different emphases and are useful for different types of speeches. Below we will discuss each type of connective and provide examples.

Types of Connectives and Examples

Internal summaries emphasize what has come before and remind the audience of what has been covered.

Internal previews let your audience know what is coming up next in the speech and what to expect with regard to the content of your speech.

Transitions serve as bridges between seemingly disconnected (but related) material, most commonly between your main points. At a bare minimum your transition is saying, “Now that we have looked at or talked about X, let’s look at (or talk about) Y.”

This is a great transition, and notice that it does not contain words that sound like you are narrating your own speech, like “I told you about King Tut, and now I will tell you about his burial chamber”. Instead, it clearly connects the ideas in the main points and informs the audience about how these ideas form a cohesive and organized speech.

Signposts emphasize the physical movement through the speech content and let the audience know exactly where they are as they follow along during the speech. Signposting can be as simple as “First,” “Next,” “Lastly” or using numbers such as “First,” “Second,” and Third,”. Signposts can also be lengthier, but in general signposting is meant to be a brief way to let your audience know where you are in the speech. It may help to think of these like the mile markers you see along interstates that tell you where you are or like signs letting you know how many more miles until you reach your destination.

Connectives are an important way to assist the audience in understanding where you’re going, where you are, and where you’ve been. We recommend labeling them directly in your outline to make sure they are integrated clearly into the speech.

The organization and outlining of your speech may not be the most interesting part to think about, but without it, great ideas will seem jumbled and confusing to your audience. Even more, good connectives will ensure your audience can follow you and understand the logical connections you are making with your main ideas, introduction, and conclusion. Now that we have discussed strategies for organizing and outlining a speech, let’s talk about how this information relates to speech delivery.

Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.

So, you have developed your speech, preparation outline, and keyword speaking outline. Now it is time to begin rehearsing your delivery. Having a clear understanding and appreciation for aesthetic choices (speaking style) —including verbal, nonverbal delivery, and the use of presentation aids— will enhance your understanding of public speaking. While understanding these ideas is important, the best way to achieve effective speech delivery and manage nervousness is by rehearsing in advance.

“I already know how to rehearse a speech,” you may be thinking. But like any ability, sport, or game, people proficient in those areas have insight to offer. It is possible that you could learn to masterfully cook on your own, but having an experienced chef at your side would lead to unexpected insights and increase your proficiency. So, trust us – we are speech experts.

When you begin the rehearsal process, the first step is figuring out which type of delivery you’ll be using. There are four main types of delivery that we’ll outline.

Types of Delivery

The content, purpose, and situation for your presentation will partially dictate how you rehearse because they will inform what type of delivery style you select. There are four general types of delivery: impromptu, extemporaneous, the use of a manuscript, and memorized.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, also known as BARCS.”

Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the movie?” Your response has not been preplanned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting and your boss says, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project. . .” and you have no time in advance to plan out or write a response.

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of their message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are brief and focused.

We recommend practicing the skill of impromptu speaking as often as possible. How do you practice for an unexpected speech? Always expect the unexpected and seize opportunities to speak. The following examples are ways you can gain more experience with impromptu speaking:

• When in class, volunteer to answer questions and contribute to class discussions.
• Attend networking events and introduce yourself to people.
• When attending special events (weddings, worship services, family celebrations, award ceremonies, etc.), respond to unexpected requests for speakers.

Impromptu speaking is also a good way to learn how you can reduce using vocalized pauses in a formal setting. Informal conversations and settings help us become more conscious of our vocalized fillers, including, “like”, “so, “uh” and “um.”

Extemporaneous

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. Your two formal speeches in your public speaking class will both require you to speak extemporaneously, so pay special attention to how you can be prepared.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. By using notes rather than a full manuscript (or everything that you’re going to say), the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as it progresses. It also allows for flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or make a change to adapt to your audience, you can do so. The outline also helps you be aware of main ideas vs. supporting ideas.

Extemporaneous speaking is the style used in most public speaking situations, so most of the information in the subsequent sections of this chapter is focused on this kind of speaking. The following are a few video examples of speakers with strong extemporaneous skills:

• Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Prize Laureate and education advocate)
• Anderson Cooper (Journalist)
• Oprah Winfrey (Media mogul)
• Barack Obama (Former US President)
• Emma Watson (Actress and activist)
• Lin-Manuel Miranda (Playwright, composer, and actor)

Manuscript

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a manuscript speech, the speaker maintains their attention on the printed page except when using presentation aids.

The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. This can be extremely important in some circumstances. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would typically be mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence structure. A manuscript speech may also be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a funeral), when your speech must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion or decorum the situation deserves.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (well-known authors often do this for book readings), the presentation delivery may be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and the speaker before the delivery begins. Finally, because the full notes are required, speakers often require a lectern to place their notes, restricting movement and the ability to engage with the audience. Without something to place the notes on, speakers have to manage full-page speaking notes, and that can be distracting.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, such as a teleprompter, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously and maintaining eye contact while using an autocue device.

However, success in this medium depends on two factors:

(1) The speaker is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script.

(2) The speech is written in a style that sounds conversational.

Memorized

Memorized speaking is reciting a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses presentation aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage.

Memorization, however, can be tricky. First, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. If you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be difficult to find your place and continue. Obviously, memorizing a typical five-minute classroom speech takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to do so successfully.

Once you identify what type of delivery style you’ll use in a speech, it’s time to rehearse.

Rehearsal

Rehearsal sounds like homework, we know. Rehearsing your speech, however, doesn’t just assist in increasing your speech grade. Rehearsing is your commitment to bettering your foundational communication skills for years to come.

When you rehearse, you are asking: what kind of aesthetic choices do I want to implement? Aesthetic choices can be enhanced or limited based on the situation and context in which you’re speaking, both physically and culturally. For example, if you are speaking outside without a microphone, your embodiment of the speech and aesthetic scene would differ from a speech with a lectern in a small classroom.

This might be a good place to dispel a few myths about public speaking that can influence perceptions of rehearsal:

Myth #1: You are either born a good public speaker or not. While someone may have certain characteristics that are attractive in our cultural understanding of public speaking, a good amount of rehearsal time will create conditions for everyone to become better speakers. Public speaking is a skill, which means it can be taught, and it can be mastered, by those willing to learn and put in the time to rehearse.

Myth #2: Practice makes perfect. It is possible to practice incorrectly, so in that case, practice will make permanent, not perfect. There is a right way and a wrong way to practice a speech, just as there is a right way and a wrong way to practice a musical instrument, or any sport.

Myth #3: Public speaking is just reading what you wrote or reading and talking at the same time. Consider this: Many of our public speaking teachers have strong public speaking abilities, but it doesn’t mean they were blessed with a universal speaking gene at birth. Instead, they have likely spent years working in jobs where they speak a lot in front of people. Some may have participated in speech competitions or other types of performances, or practiced writing arguments, responding to ideas, and crafting their speaking skills. When they give professional presentations, they likely spend lots of time workshopping their speech to determine the best type of delivery, where to emphasize certain words, when to move, and the overall experience they want for their specific audience. With all of this experience and practice comes confidence that they will make the best use of the rehearsal process, which in turn leads to a more consistent performance.

Have you found yourself believing any of these myths? Sadly, we often rely on these myths to talk ourselves into believing that public speaking is not for us – it never was and it never will be.

You might have attempted rehearsal in the past and thought, “How am I supposed to remember all these words and all these bodily movements at the same time?! It’s impossible!” It is true that there is a lot going on when you give a public speech, and focusing on your aesthetic delivery requires a conscious effort. Think about the classic party trick of rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time. In the first attempt, you may have struggled (like some of us!). With practice, though, you can find strategies that allow you to accomplish this task that, at first glance, seems like too much.

One major misconception about rehearsal is that it begins when your speech is completely written. There is no need to wait, so start rehearsing as soon as you can. Too often, speakers wait until the entire speech is complete – it’s been created, written, and is on paper. We recommend, however, embedding rehearsal workshops throughout your speech preparation. Why?

Rehearsal and workshopping will assist you in translating the written argument into verbal form. “How does this sound?” or “I think I know another example that would work well here.” Using rehearsal time to workshop content allows you to listen to the sound of your argument out loud rather than reading it on paper only.

Rehearsal is an ongoing process and part of your entire public speaking preparation.

Check the Space

We may sound like a broken record, we know, but we’ll say it again: think about the context – including the space that you’re speaking in. The space—and resources available within it—will influence your rehearsal because you’ll know the spatial opportunities and constraints. Let’s talk through some key questions that you should ask about the space where you will be speaking.

Is there a lectern or podium? If so, should I use it? Many speaking spaces include a lectern or a podium. A lectern is a small raised surface, usually with a slanted top, where a speaker can place notes during a speech. A podium is a raised platform or stage. Both the lectern and podium allow speakers stability while they present, and there’s the added bonus of having a place to rest your speaking notes.

However, even for experienced speakers, it is all too tempting to grip the edges of the lectern with both hands for security.

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You might even wish you could hide behind it or be tempted to keep your hands at your sides because you justify that they will not be visible to your audience. Be aware of these temptations so you can manage them effectively and present yourself to your audience in a manner they will perceive as confident.

If you are going to use a lectern, your rehearsal should integrate a similar structure. As you rehearse, try stepping to the side or front of the lectern when speaking with free hands, only occasionally standing at the lectern to consult your notes. This will enhance your eye contact as well as free up your hands for gesturing.  When using a lectern in the classroom, check with the instructor for how to use it for your graded speeches.

What size is the space? If you are accustomed to being in a classroom of a certain size, you will need to make adjustments when speaking in a smaller or larger space.

A large auditorium can be intimidating. Most of us are used to sitting in the seats, not standing on the stage! Because it may be difficult to find a space that large while you rehearse, keep a few things in mind:

• Be aware that your voice is likely to echo, especially if far fewer people are in the space than it can hold, so speak more slowly than usual and make use of pauses to mark the ends of phrases and sentences. When you rehearse, slow down to account for the echo – listen to find ways to speak slowly while avoiding a robotic tone.
• Your facial expressions and gestures should be larger and more exaggerated so they are visible from farther away. If you are using presentation aids, they need to be large enough to be visible from the back of the auditorium. Of course, if you can get the audience to move to the front, that is the best situation.

Limited space is not as disconcerting for most speakers as enormous space, and it has the advantage of minimizing the tendency to pace back and forth while you speak. A small space does call for more careful management of note cards and presentation aids, as your audience will be able to see up close what you are doing with your hands.

What about acoustics? The acoustics of your speaking space can often dictate an audience’s ability to hear and comprehend what you’re saying. If you are speaking outside, your voice is likely to carry and be less insulated than a theatre or small classroom. Remember, if your audience can’t hear you, they can’t experience your speech.

Check for a microphone: using a microphone will amplify your voice, so it is a good choice to increase your volume in an open or large acoustic space.

       

Image 7.1

A microphone can drastically affect projection and acoustics

Remember that a microphone may require that you slow down for the sound to carry. Check to see if the microphone is handheld or can be clipped on. This may seem like a small difference, but it will affect your ability to move and gesture, so this small detail can make a larger impact on your aesthetic choices.

If you have never spoken with a microphone, ask to do a sound check and use that time to perform the first few lines of your speech to get an understanding of how your language will sound through a microphone in that space.

Workshop Strategies

Rehearsal means workshopping the embodiment of your speech. This is a key process because, as we’ve mentioned, a speech is experienced differently by the audience than if they were reading your words on a page. The sooner you begin and the sooner you become comfortable with rehearsal, the better your content will translate to the audience. Let’s talk through some rehearsal strategies and best practices. Rather than a linear process, view these processes and strategies as circular or recursive – continue returning to each one throughout your rehearsal.

Conduct a self-assessment: We often hear, “oh no; I hate to listen to myself talk”, and we get it. It can feel strange to self-assess. While difficult and sometimes frustrating, it is important to know what kind of speaker you are and what you would like to improve. For example, are you quiet and often asked to speak up? Or, conversely, are you a loud talker whose booming voice fills up the room with ease?

These general questions about your communication style can begin giving you valuable insight into your strengths as a speaker, and the answers will provide focus areas for your rehearsal. If you know that you’re a quick-talker, you’ll want to pay attention to pace and consciously integrate additional pauses. If you struggle with eye contact, asking a friend to rehearse with you can increase your comfort with engaging through eye contact.

You can only gain so much knowledge about your speaking strengths by investigating your general communication style. The best way to get a baseline understanding of your speaking style is to—you guessed it – watch yourself give a speech. It may feel awkward, but it’s worth it. When watching yourself, we recommend that you identify any aesthetic choices that emerge more than once. After all, you’re looking for key areas to improve, so you want to hone in on things that seem to trip you up over and over.

With that in mind, we recommend two ways to approach conducting a self-assessment:

• Start with general questions.
• Move toward specific examples.

Figure 7.1 guides you through this process.

Conducting a Self-Assessment

As you watch yourself speak, take general notes about your aesthetic experience as though you are an audience member. What kind of overall aesthetic experience is being portrayed? What thoughts, feelings, and emotions am I leaving the audience with? Does this match the overall tone of the content? What were successful moments where, as I watched, I felt particularly engaged with the speech? What aesthetic choices were present? What did I do that successfully delivered the content? How was that idea organized or supported? Did I use language that I want to remember? What were moments that felt jarring or disconnected? How did I deliver the content? What didn’t work? Was the content confusing? What sounded off? Did I provide enough support or evidence? What would I change to more successful?

Figure 7.1

In conducting a self-assessment, your main goal is to identify opportunities for improvement and understand your current strengths. The more comfortable you become with self-assessing, the less likely you’ll finish a speech and say, “I have no idea what I just did.”

Rehearse with all your speaking materials: Rehearse with everything that you will speak with. Too often, speakers use their full outline (or even a full manuscript) when rehearsing and make a speaking outline right before standing up to speak. If you’re used to looking down at a full-length paper, using a notecard and a few keywords will feel radically strange and different in the moment. Prepare your notecards in advance and rehearse with them. Speaking notes are your friend, and workshopping with your notes will create consistency and familiarity when you speak formally.

Speaking notes provide more benefits than just becoming familiar with your speech. You can, for example, create cues on your notes that communicate with your future speaking self. Do you have trouble with projection? Use a green highlighter on your speaking notes to remind yourself to “speak up!” The more you rehearse with that green mark, the more confidently and consciously you can work on projecting your voice.

In addition to speaking notes, you should rehearse with any other materials that will be present – a visual aid, a table, a chair, etc. If you’re using PowerPoint, you’ll want to rehearse with it in slideshow mode to make sure you are familiar with the presentation software. Also, if you are using PowerPoint, practice with a clicker so you can adjust how you use your hands. As you rehearse, ask: “Do I need to hold this the entire time? Can I seamlessly place it on a table nearby? How long does the audience need to experience each slide?”

The more you integrate these materials into your rehearsal, the better prepared you will be for speech delivery.

Rehearse repeatedly. That’s right. Rehearsal is a repetitive process and not something you should do only once. While a self-assessment is a key part of rehearsal, you may be unable to video record yourself prior to a speech or presentation. In that case, starting over and workshopping repeatedly will be key.

As you begin workshopping, listen to the argumentative flow of your content and ask yourself, “Does this make sense? Can any of my ideas be clarified? Does the transition connect the main points fully? Does the concluding thought (clincher) sound impactful? Listening to the arguments will allow you to make aesthetic and delivery choices that will enhance the speech delivery. Try it different ways. Listen. Try it another way. Listen. Do it again.

Successful rehearsal is a process of self-reflection and being comfortable critiquing your own presentational style. However, we also recommend that you ask others for help – feedback will provide you with different perspectives. Although these rehearsal techniques should always happen multiple days before the day of your speech, we also provide some recommendations for the day of your speech.

The Day of Your Speech

Rehearsal continues until the moment you speak, including the day-of preparation. There are a few day-of rehearsal techniques that we recommend.

Warm up your voice. Have you ever begun talking and instead of a clear, articulate sentence, your voice sounded scratchy and awkward? Perhaps you had to clear your throat for your voice to return. That’s because your muscles weren’t warmed up. When you begin your speech, you want your voice and vocal cords to be warmed up to allow higher blood flow to reduce hoarseness. Consider the following warm-up exercises:

• Avoid holding tenseness by dropping the shoulders and taking a few deep breaths.
• Open your mouth as wide as possible, close it, and open it again.
• Warm up the tongue by rolling the tongue a few times (you know the sound).
• Select a few words and work to over-enunciate them by placing extra emphasis as you speak out loud.

These are just a few suggestions to get your vocals warmed up. We know these sound a bit weird, and we don’t often see people standing in the hallway stretching out their mouth or vocal cords. But that’s OK! Find a private spot and try to be comfortable in warming up your vocals.

Warm up your body. Your speech is a full-body experience, so warming up your body is key. Because public speaking is embodied, you want to feel connected with all parts of your body so that you can comfortably and confidently engage. There is no “right way” to warm up, so use warm-up techniques that work best for you. Try some deep breathing, stretching, and shaking out your limbs.

Warming up your body by stretching can also help reduce the jittery feelings of communication anxiety. If you’re feeling anxious, try implementing strategies to reduce communication apprehension. We recommend looking back over the section of chapter 1 that provides suggestions on how to reduce and/or manage communication apprehension.

Finally, trust yourself. You have worked hard. You know your stuff. Help the audience experience your speech and all the time and labor you put into developing and rehearsing it.

Conclusion

We worked to identify key delivery types and techniques – impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized. You now have helpful starting places when workshopping a speech. In the end, it is always worth your time to carefully prepare for your final delivery. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse.

 

References

Beighley, K. (1954). An experimental study of the effect of three speech variables on listener comprehension. Speech Monographs, 21(4), 248-253.

Bodiea, G. D., Powers, W. G., & Fitch-Hauser, M. (2006). Chunking, priming and active learning: Toward an innovative and blended approach to teaching communication-related skills. Interactive Learning Environments, 14(2), 119-135.

Coffman, J. S., Holmes, T. L., & Luster, P. A. (2022). COMM 1311: Fundamentals of speech communication. Digital Commons@PVAMU. https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pv-open-education-resources/10/

Daniels, T. D. & Whitman, R. F. (1981). The effects of message introduction, message structure, and verbal organizing ability upon learning of message information. Human Communication Research, 7(2), 147-160.

Van Ry, V. (2023). The body section of a speech. Sociological Communication. Boise State University. https://boisestate.pressbooks.pub/soc122/chapter/10-4-the-body-section-of-a-speech/

Whitman, R. F. & Timmis, J. H. (1975). The influence of verbal organizational structure and verbal organizing skills on select measures of learning. Human Communication Research, 1, 293-301. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1975.tb00277

Yun, K. A., Costantini, C., & Billingsley, S. (2012). The effect of taking a public speaking class on one’s writing abilities. Communication Research Reports, 29(4), 285-291. doi:10.1080/08824096.2012.723270