Before beginning the outline, identify the purpose of your speech. If the purpose is to inform, the outline will provide clearly stated, meaningful, factual information about objects, events, ideology or procedures. A persuasive speech will provide a case or circumstance and convincing reasons why the audience should agree with the speaker. The ultimate purpose of a persuasive speech is to bring about action or change. Another purpose for a speech is to celebrate: for example, when presenting or accepting awards, commemorating an important occasion, or celebrating an achievement or a milestone. The outline for this type of speech will include a description of the occasion and some sort of praise or acknowledgement about what is being celebrated.
Every speech requires an introduction, body and conclusion. Use Roman numerals (I, II), capital letters (A,B), numbers (1,2), and lower case letters (a,b), respectively, to outline sections, topics, subtopics, and points under topics. In the introduction, greet the audience and attract their attention. There are a variety of strategies to gain attention, such as telling a story, citing a surprising statistic, repeating a quote or joke, or asking a rhetorical question. You may also need to establish your authority to speak on the topic, which may be based in education or personal experience. Next, highlight the main ideas of the speech.
In the body elaborate on your main points (usually three), and provide supporting details. For example, if the speech is about why water is important to one's health, the first main topic (A) might be about how water makes up most of human weight. Following, the first subtopic (1) could talk on how much water is in the brain. Supporting details (a) might include how lack of water causes people to have difficulty focusing (b) and how lack of water may lead to short-term memory problems. This process of outlining information will continue until all main points listed in the introduction are addressed.
For the final section, let the audience know that your speech is coming to a close. You will restate the main ideas and briefly review the major points. Close with a statement that resonates with the audience, and if a call to action is necessary, include it in this portion. Finally, write a cue to thank the audience for listening.
The story format uses supporting details each time a story is told. The scientific outline follows the scientific method: the problem is identified, followed by a hypothesis, a description of experimental procedures and data, a conclusion and implication for further study. The business proposal outline addresses the need for a product or service, and each point may include stories or data that illustrate the need.
Be sure to allot enough time, and practice the speech to ensure it is not too long or short.
Arrange the speech to create connections--for example, by using chronological order or cause-and-effect relationships.
If necessary, write the outline in complete sentences, although creating headers with information bits is standard practice. You may also use a graphic organizer rather than a traditional linear outline, but follow the same principles of organization.