Informative speech outline: [Title]

Replace the blue placeholders with your own words and delete the grey notes as you go. Write every point as one full sentence; the Speaking outline at the end is where keywords go.

Speaker

[Your name]

Class or event

[Course and section, or the event]

Time limit

[Minutes, and the date you speak]

Audience

[Who is listening, and what they already know]

Format

[Reference style, such as APA or MLA, and any other rules from the assignment]

Purpose and central idea

  • General purpose: To inform

  • Specific purpose: To inform my audience [how, what or why …]

  • Central idea: [The answer in one sentence, naming each main point]

  • Pattern: [Chronological, spatial, topical or causal]

Narrow it until it fits one sentence. If the central idea needs a fourth “and,” cut a topic or choose a narrower question. If a main point says “should,” it belongs in a persuasive speech.

Introduction

I. Attention getter: [A moment, an object, a question or a surprising fact, in one or two sentences]

II. Reason to listen: [Why this matters to this audience]

III. Credibility: [Why you can speak on it, or where your information comes from]

IV. Preview: I'll cover [point 1], [point 2] and [point 3].

Transition: [The sentence that leads into main point I]

Body

I. [Main point 1, as one full sentence]

  • A. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure] ([Source, year])
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

  • B. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure]
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

Transition: [Sum up point I in a clause, then point toward point II]

II. [Main point 2, as one full sentence]

  • A. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure] ([Source, year])
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

  • B. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure]
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

Transition: [Sum up point II, then point toward point III]

III. [Main point 3, as one full sentence]

  • A. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure] ([Source, year])
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

  • B. [Subpoint, as one full sentence]
    1. [Detail, example or figure]
    2. [Detail, example or figure]

Transition: [Signal the end, such as “So that's the whole path.”]

See a filled-in main point

II. A word is added once its citations show it is established.

  • A. It must appear in many citations from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

  • B. A few words are established quickly; Merriam-Webster's example is AIDS in the 1980s.

Transition: Once a word has enough citations, someone has to write the entry.

From the outline of a three-and-a-half-minute talk on how words get into the dictionary.

Every division needs two parts. If a point has an A, it needs a B; if a subpoint has a 1, it needs a 2. A single item belongs in the line above it. Add a fourth main point only if the time limit allows.

Conclusion

I. Review: [The main points again, in the order of the preview, in one or two sentences]

II. Closing line: [A last line that calls back to the opening or gives the audience somewhere to go next]

Visual aids

Delete this section if you use none. Rehearse with every aid you list.

Aid

Where it appears

What it shows

[Slide, object or handout]

[Point and subpoint, such as I.B]

[One line]

[Slide, object or handout]

[Point and subpoint]

[One line]

References

Every source you cite, in the style your class uses, in alphabetical order. Name each one aloud in the speech the first time you use it.

  • [Author or organization. (Year). Title. Site or publisher. URL]

  • [Author or organization. (Year). Title. Site or publisher. URL]

Speaking outline

Make this last, from the finished outline: keywords and phrases only, plus anything you must say word for word.

  • Open: [Your first sentence, in full]

  • Preview: [point 1 · point 2 · point 3]

  • I. [Keywords] · [figure to say exactly]

  • II. [Keywords] · [quotation to read exactly]

  • III. [Keywords]

  • Close: [Your last line, in full]

Before you hand it in

  • The specific purpose starts with “To inform my audience”

  • The central idea is one sentence and names every main point

  • Every point is one full sentence with one idea

  • Every A has a B, and every 1 has a 2

  • The preview, the main points and the review match, in the same order

  • A transition is written out between every pair of main points

  • Every fact from a source has a citation and a reference entry

  • A timed read-aloud comes in under the limit