(Name) Type of Speech: (See Chapter 6)
(Date) Pattern: (See Chapter 6)
COMM 1100 – Sec. (#)
Informative Speech Outline Template (Rough/Final Draft)
(Use Chapter 6, 7, and 8 to help develop this speech.)
I. Introduction
a. Attention Getter: (Grab audience’s attention, get them involved, keep it short, be creative. Avoid starting by introducing yourself or topic.
b. Background: (One or two sentence summary on basic background info. of your topic)
c. Audience Relevance: (One sentence stating why the audience is connected to the topic – How does this topic impact their life? Why should they care? What can they learn? How can they benefit from listening?)
d. Speaker Credibility: (Explain why you are credible to talk about this topic – could include former experience, interest and knowledge, and/or state that you did research to learn more about topic)
e. Thesis: (Carefully worded declarative sentence that summarizes the points of the speech, but is not repetitive of the preview of main points)
f. Preview of Main Points: (“First we will talk about…then we will discuss…and finally we will look at…”)
Transition to 1st Main Point: (signpost and preview)
II. Main Point 1: (Summary of your main point)
a. Sub-point A: (Aspect #1 of your main point)
b. Sub-point B: (Aspect #2 of your main point) (more subpoints as needed)
Transition to 2nd Main Point: (summary, signpost, preview)
III. Main Point 2: (Summary of your main point)
a. Sub-point A: (Aspect #1 of your main point)
b. Sub-point B: (Aspect #2 of your main point) (more subpoints as needed)
Transition to 3rd Main Point: (summary, signpost, preview)
IV. Main Point 3: (Summary of your main point)
a. Sub-point A: (Aspect #1 of your main point)
b. Sub-point B: (Aspect #2 of your main point) (more subpoints as needed)
Signal the Conclusion: (signpost and a phrase that signals you’re moving to your conclusion)
V. Conclusion
a. Review Main Points: (same as preview from intro but change to past tense – “First, we talked about…” rather than, “First, we will talk about…”)
b. Restate Thesis: (from your introduction)
c. Memorable Closer: (the last thing you’re going to say – be creative and make it count!)
References
Example APA Reference:
Overbye, D. (2020, July 10). Beyond the Milky Way, a galactic wall. The New York
Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/science/astronomy-galaxies-attractor-universe.html
Last name, First Initial (Year, Month Date). Title of article in italics. Name of Source.
URL
APA Reminders:
1.) List should be in alphabetical order by author’s last name or source/organization name (if author is not present)
2.) Author’s last name should appear first, followed by a comma and first initial of first name
3.) Year always comes first, before month and date
4.) If there is no date, use (N.D.)
5.) If there is no date, use retrieved from date before URL.
Example: Retrieved January 21st, 2020, from URL.
6.) Use Chapter 7 for further help formatting both references and in-text oral citations
