10 Sure-fire Steps to Writing a Speech Outline

Dr. Greg Waddell

Your boss has asked you to give a speech at the annual meeting. Now you wonder why you accepted. Panic is
setting in; what should you do? To get started, prepare an outline. Your confidence will increase the more you
think through your message before getting behind the podium. Here are ten simple steps that will help you write
an effective speech outline.

1. Choose your theme. Use a two-to-five-word phrase to describe the topic of your speech. Make sure the
phrase is broad enough to cover the whole speech and narrow enough to stay focused.

Example: The Courage of Dissent

2. Turn your theme into a thesis statement. Turn your theme into a full sentence with a subject and a verb. For
example, "the courage of dissent" is a great theme but it is not a full sentence because it lacks a verb. When
you turn your theme into a full sentence, it becomes your thesis statement.

Example: "In a world that stresses community responsibility, leaders must remember the value of dissent."

3. Identify a question to ask about your thesis. Usually several possible questions pop into mind immediately.
Take for example the question, "Why?" Why is dissent so important? That question would naturally lead to a
message about individual freedom and ethics. The question, "what?" could lead to a definition of the concept
of dissent. For our example, we’ll use the question, "How?"

Example: “How?”

4. Answer the question with a classification key word. When you hear that question, what are some one-word
answers that come to mind? I think of "ways," "means," "forms," "manners," and so on. The word that you use
to answer the question from step three is your classification key word. It will always be plural because it
represents a group or classification of things. Think of it like a box or container with a label on it to indicate
what you should place inside the box. For our example, let us take the key word "forms."

Example: “forms”

5. Use your key word in a transitional sentence. Now that you have your classification key word, you want to
turn it also into a full sentence. This full sentence will describe all of your main points that will make up the
body of your speech. Here is a possible transitional sentence formulated from our key word "forms":

Example: “The need for dissent may appear in various forms throughout your leadership
career.”
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6. Prepare you main points. In the previous steps, you prepared the runway; now the speech will take flight.
Prepare from two to six points (three will often make a nicely balanced message). Each of your main points fits
into the classification described by your key word. In our example, each point will be a "form" of dissent.

Example:
I. Leaders oppose immorality, even when their associates embrace it.
II. Leaders defend the weak, even though the majority ignores them.
III. Leaders resist corruption, even when doing so causes them personal loss.
IV. Leaders struggle against their own inner demons, even though the masses are
not even aware of them.

7. Reinforce your main points with supporting points. Now you need to add flesh to your skeleton. Under each
of your main points, add supporting points that serve to buttress you main points. Avoid adding supporting
material that has nothing to do with the main point. For example, take the second point above: "Leaders
defend the weak, even though the majority ignores them." Your supporting points might look like this:

Example:
I. "Leaders defend the weak, even though the majority ignores them."
A. The crowd does not defend the weak.
B. Government does not defend the weak.
C. Business does not defend the weak.
D. The weak cannot defend themselves.

You do this with each of your main points. As an alternative, a story could also serve as your supporting
material, as long as it relates to the main point. Whatever strategy you use, it should not divert from the main
point.

8. Write your conclusion. The objective here is for your audience to take action. While outside the scope of this
article, the conclusion is the place where you bring everything to a center and you appeal to your audience to
do something.

9. Write your introduction. This may sound counterintuitive but think about it, you cannot tell people where you
are going until you know yourself. Do not worry; you have already written most of your introduction because
it will include your thesis statement and transitional sentence. Add a gripping story to grab the audience's
attention and you have a great speech.

10. Rehearse your delivery. Go through your outline several times, aloud, until you become audibly familiar with
your own voice. When you get up there to give your speech, do not slavishly read your outline. Relax. Look
people in the eyes. The natural structure that you have outlined will flow like a conversation
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