Topical Organization

Among the most popular ways of ordering speech material is a topical organization. Here, the speaker moves from one topic to the next in a way that clearly demonstrates how they are related. Usually the speaker first prepares an outline in which the main points of the speech are in the form of a traditional outline and in which some concepts are subordinated to others. Making an outline is usually a part of any speech preparation, regardless of its patterns of organization. The following topical outline was prepared by a student for a speech on the human nervous system:

I. The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. A. The brain has three distinct regions, each with a special function:

1. Forebrain

2. Midbrain

3. Hindbrain

B. The spinal cord has two distinct functions:

1. Sensory functions

2. Motor functions

II. The peripheral nervous system connects the central nervous system to the rest of the body. A. A. Afferent nerves carry neurochemical impulses from the body to the brain

1. Somatic nerves (from the extremities)

2. Visceral nerves (from the abdomen and chest)

B. Efferent nerves carry neurochemical impulses from the brain to the boy

1. Somatic nerves (to the extremities)

2. Visceral nerves (to the abdomen and chest)

Chronological Organization

Instead of arranging material topically, the speaker might choose a chronological organization, which uses time as an organization mechanism. Using this pattern, it is possible to move from a review of the past into a discussion of contemporary events, and, if desirable, conclude with a projection into the future. Or one can start by discussing a current situation and trace its origin backward in time.

Numerous themes—not simply historical ones—lend themselves to a chronological pattern of organization. The speaker might be discussing capital punishment, birth control, foreign affairs, or pornography.

Spatial Organization

A third method of arrangement is spatial organization. This pattern uses space or geographical position as an organizing principle. For example, in a speech about our solar system, one student briefly described each planet, beginning with Mercury (the one closest to the sun) and moving in order away from the sun to the planet Pluto. The spatial pattern is more limited as a means of organization, but it is one that is sometimes necessary. It might be well suited, for example, to the discussion of such topics as trade routes, territoriality among animals, and the distribution of bilingual communities within the United States. Moreover, there are times when a speaker makes use of spatial organization in only part of a speech. An instructor using topical organization in a lecture on Russian military history might also use spatial organization to analyze the military strategy used during a single battle.

Problem Solution

Another very popular pattern of organization is problem solution. We find it in speeches of every kind, particularly in affirmative speeches during debates and in speeches concentrated on persuasion. The speaker describes what he or she believes to be an existing problem and then offers a plan that will alleviate or resolve it. For example, in a speech about automation one speaker first introduced a three-part problem: (1) that automation resulted in loss of jobs; (2) that many of those who lost their jobs were not easily retrained for more highly skilled jobs; and (3) that some of those who were capable of taking on such jobs were unable to relocate. Having described this problem in some detail, she proposed a three-part solution; (1) a shorter workweek; (2) the development of new domestic industries; and (3) the creation of new foreign markets for these products.

Causal Organization

Like the problem-solution pattern, causal organization has two major divisions. The speaker argues either from cause to effect or from effect to cause. For example, a .speaker _might_describe a condition such as alcoholism and the deteriorating effects it has on the human body and then go on to discuss its underlying causes. In this case, the sequence is from effect back to cause. Under other circumstances, the causes of alcoholism (unhappiness, personal failures, and so on) might be discussed first, with the speaker then going on to discuss its effects. We have described five ways of organizing speech materials; many others are possible. To date, however, there are no acceptable data as to which pattern is most effective. This is a decision that the speaker must make on an individual basis.

Materials of Support

After deciding on the pattern of arrangement that best suits the topic, the speaker is ready to gather various materials of support—-forms of evidence that develop or strengthen each of the points to be made. These materials include examples, statistics, quotations, and analogies.

As aids in gathering supporting materials, the speaker may consult some of the standard reference works, such as Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Education Index, Biography Index, the World Almanac, any set of encyclopedias, Who's Who, Psychological Abstracts, and the Congressional Record. All these sources will be available in the reference section of most libraries. In most cases, such reference works will lead the speaker to the books, magazines, and journals that will be most helpful.

Examples

The use of examples is so much a part of other, less formal modes of communication that we tend to be unaware that it is frequently a method of support in speech making. By adding examples to a discussion the speaker can make his or her presentation more concrete. For instance, in a speech given in 1975, Representative Yvonne Burke of California first made a general statement about the acceptance of women in many new fields, including mass communication and politics. She went on to elaborate:

For example, when the national TV networks aired their usual election night extravaganzas last November, for the first time NBC and CBS had special commentators assigned to report exclusively throughout the evening on the way women were faring at the polls. Leslie Stahl reported for CBS and Barbara Walters for NBC. (Burke, in Braden, 1975, p. 144)

Sometimes the vivid detail available in an example gives the speaker a chance to make a presentation more dramatic. There is, for instance, a world of difference between discussing the effects of an earthquake in terms of damage costs and describing the experience of a single family whose home has been destroyed.

When examples were well chosen and representative of what they are intended to illustrate, they buttress the various points the speaker is trying to develop. How much a receiver can be led to infer for a given example depends upon his or her critical listening skills.

Statistics

Sometimes a speaker can summarize much numerical data through the use of statistics and at the same time increase his or her authoritativeness with reference to the subject being discussed. When Lee Iacocca spoke to the National Association of Manufacturers, he used statistics to dramatize the need for educa­tional success. He said:

We're turning out high school graduates who will have a hard time even understanding the problems, let alone tackling them. Somebody did a study …. Seventy-five percent of our high school students don't know what inflation is ... 66 percent don't know what profits are ... and 55 percent don't have a clue as to what a government budget deficit is. (So the size has no meaning to them.)

… 60,000 of our graduates last year could barely read their diplomas. (I couldn't read mine either, but it was in Latin. Theirs were in English.) (1989, p. 456)

In addition to clarifying and developing a point, statistics can sometimes present a revealing overview of the topic under consideration. Thus in one talk on job satisfaction, the speaker quoted several dissatisfied workers who had been interviewed concerning their jobs. But then he went on to show his audience a bar graph based upon Gallup polls. The bar graph illustrated that the negative reactions were not at all representative of the work force.

In certain settings—mass and organizational communication, for example—it is common practice for a speaker to use such a visual presentation of statistics. Another popular visual presentation of statistics is the line chart. Statistics may be represented in several other graphic ways, but of course, they are most frequently introduced directly into the body of the speech. In general, statistics seem most appropriate when the speaker can make a particular point more clearly and concisely with them than with elaborate description.

Quotations

The most obvious use of quotation within a speech is for the dramatic, sometimes eloquent qualities that can be conveyed to the audience. The speeches of Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Kennedy, and other public figures are constantly being tapped for their power and command of language. Many phrases and sentences of their speeches have entered the language. Paraphrase would not seem to do them justice. For example, it would be difficult and self-defeating to paraphrase John Kennedy's famous

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

Even speakers known for their eloquence and command of language make use of quotation for dramatic effect, particularly in the opening or conclusion of a talk. For example, in "I Have a Dream," a speech that is exemplary for its ,, eloquence-and poower, Martin Luther King Jr., concluded by quoting the words of a spiritual

When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the Old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!" (King, in Linkugel et al., 1969, p. 294)

Of course, quotations are cited for many reasons other than eloquence. If the quoted source has knowledge or experience greater than that of the speaker, the quotation may be used to add validity to the speaker's argument and, indirectly, to enhance credibility. In our discussions of social influence and conformity (see Chapters 3 and 9) we have seen that attitudes and beliefs become more acceptable to us if we think they have been accepted by others—especially if those other are perceived as being of higher status. It is one thing for a speaker to assert that the government's fiscal policies have failed. It is quite another, however, to quote a Harvard economics professor who says exactly the same thing. To most audiences the expert's opinion is much more credible.

There are numerous other examples. In arguing about the effects of alcohol on the human body, a speaker might support his or her position with quotations from medical authorities. Lawyers in court frequently call on or cite an expert witness to establish the validity of their cases: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the coroner's report showed that the cause of death was a bullet wound indicating the angle of the bullet was downward. We have established that my client is twelve inches shorter than the deceased and could not have fired the gun from such an angle. Therefore, my client could not have committed the murder."

Analogies

A speaker who draws an analogy makes a comparison between two things or situations on the basis of their partial similarities. As a method of support, an analogy can function in several different ways.

First of all, an analogy may be used for clarification. For example, one speaker was discussing the effect of a college degree on a person's earning power throughout his or her career. She compared the college graduate to a stone flung by a slingshot (education). For a short time, she explained, the college student's earning power is impeded, but the college graduate catches up and then shoots past the average wage earner who holds no degree.

An analogy may also be used to dramatize a point. Thus a speaker might compare dumping industrial wastes into the environment to adding a spoonful of dirt to each of our meals. Or he or she might use an analogy to make a point seem less significant. The speaker might argue, for example, that the environment is so vast that pollutants have no more effect than would adding a spoonful of dirt to an ocean.

On many occasions an analogy is the most concise way to get a complex idea or point across. Often the analogy is an extended comparison, as in the following speech. Here the speaker argues that the "paralysis of leadership" in government is the result of the action of special interest groups:

When you think of a top policy maker trying to solve ... problems, you might think of a man trying to win a game of checkers. Someone leans over his shoulder and puts a thumb on one checker, saying "Go right ahead and play. Just don't move this checker." Someone else leans over the other shoulder and does the same with another checker. A third person walks up and immobilizes another checker. And so on. Pretty soon all thumbs, no moves.

Think of the thumbs as the special interests that come into play in almost every major government decision. The only unrealistic thing about the comparison is that in real life the thumbs are invisible. The owners of the thumbs don't really want to paralyze the whole process. Each just wants to immobilize one checker. But collectively they prevent a solution. (Gardner, in Braden, 1975, p. 160)

In this case, analogy is used as a means of persuasion. That is a frequent practice in public speaking, one that was explored more fully when we discussed critical listening.

During the course of a speech a speaker sometimes makes use of many kinds of supporting materials. For example, in arguing that United States foreign aid policy was not meeting its objectives, one student gave examples of specific countries that had worsening relations with the United States even though they were receiving a substantial amount of foreign aid. He used statistics to show the increasing amount of aid to various countries over the year and the simultaneous rise of communism in some of those countries. He also gave quotations from experts on foreign relations who argued that our foreign aid policy was ineffective. Finally, he drew an analogy between the United States giving foreign aid and a person playing the stock market: "When an investment does not pay off," he said, "it is wise to stop investing in a losing cause and reinvest in another, more profitable venture."

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1638