You deliver what you think is an organized presentation in your mind you can clearly see
that you have main points supporting your central idea or thesis statement and you know what you're saying,
unfortunately your audience can't see the organization in your head they just hear the words and also
unfortunately many times they get completely lost in the speech. Unlike a written presentation your audience cant
look forward or backwards to figure out where you were going or where you have been, that's why speakers must
build redundancy into those speeches since we can't see your organization you must help us out with both your
words and your voice you need to give us signposts and that's what this video is about making it easy for your
audience to follow your presentation this video will focus on some key terms as well as types of signposts
and when to use signposts. Let's start with some key terms that often confuse many students beginning
with the Speech Purpose there are 3 general speech purposes to inform, to persuade, or to entertain and
they're called general speech purposes for reason those are very general and not specific to the speech that
would be the Specific Speech Purpose to inform my audience about exercises that can be done at home, or
to persuade my audience to exercise at home, or to entertain my audience with stories about my exercise
experiences that brings us to the thesis statement also called the central idea.This is your main point or your
argument in your speech all speeches should develop an argument if you're introducing yourself your argument
might be that you're an interesting person, or that books have been an important part of your life and so on the
rest of your speech would then support that point that main argument, in a persuasive speech it might be that
we don't exercise enough and that we can address that problem by exercising at home it is usually one single
sentence it may not be explicitly stated that can be woven in with the creative introduction for example.
According to a 2013 report from the Centers for Disease Control nearly 80% of adult Americans do not get the
recommended amount of exercise each week many of us want to exercise but going to the gym is not
only expensive it may also be very inconvenient a gym membership however is not the only way you can get
your exercise in, there are many ways you can get your heart rate up and your weight down all in the comfort
of your own home if you were listening to this you probably figured out the thesis or the central idea
the argument is that there are several exercises that people can do at home.
Notice that this is not explicitly stated in the intro but you get the feeling from it, also notice that the specific
purpose focuses on audience behavior while the thesis statement focuses on the content of the speech and
that leads us to sign posts outside of a speech situation sign posts are thought of as written signs that give you
with the indication or direction next town 50 miles ahead, right turn ahead, or this way to the group fitness
room in a speech however a signpost is a verbal statement used to orient the audience telling them where
you are going, where you have been,what's coming up next how a point fits within the presentation, and so on.
Sign posts have been called the glue that holds the speech together making it a unified cohesive
presentation that the audience can easily follow just as there are different types of glue there are different types
of signposts, and as there are different types of brands, there may be different names for the types of signposts
a speech or essay for that matter is set up so that the audience gets the thesis and remember that's the main
claim or argument early in the speech in the speeches introduction the speech then is organized into points that
will develop or support that thesis and then the thesis is reiterated at the end in the conclusion notice that
nothing here is connected it's very disjointed you need some glue in order to connect everything together to
make it a much more cohesive presentation. With that in mind we will start first with the initial preview and the
final summary way back in 356 BC Aristotle advice speakers to use the Triptych which said "Tell your
audience what you will tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them" in our terms we're talking
about the initial preview statement, the body of the speech, and the final summary statement oftentimes
we eliminate the words initial and final just calling them the preview in summary statements the preview
statement comes right at the end of the introduction, and before the first point you may hear the preview
statement referred to as the speeches blueprint or road map. It specifically tells the audience the main points of
the speech assume you're doing an informative speech on exercises you can do at home with your main points
being exercises that can be done without equipment, those that can be done with simple
equipment, and others that can be done with multi-purpose equipment your previous statement could be
"Today we will cover some exercises you can do that don't require any equipment, some that you can do with
simple equipment like barbells, and finally some that you can do with the use of multi-purpose equipment."
It tells the audience of points you are planning to cover in the speech in the order that you
plan to cover them the final summary is placed after the final points it restates the main ideas reminding the
audience what you have covered in a speech it is essentially the flip side of the
preview statement again it is specific to the main points of the speech now you can do some exercises that don't
require any equipment, some with simple equipment, and some with multi-purpose equipment of course you
can be a little more creative with the wording and perhaps a little less specific but think of it as your
audience wants to take notes writing down the speeches main points before you start speaking so they can check
off that you actually covered them. Even if you have signpost included in your speech your audience still may
not recognize them as signposts you must pay attention to your non-verbals such as your tone of voice, rate of
speed, pausing, and even your use of body movement remember your audience can't see the
signpost they have to sound like signposts. Let's turn next to transitions they help the audience see the
connection between points which is why they may sometimes be called connectors there are transitions
between the main points as well as sometimes within main points and you may need to have a transition from
your initial preview to your first point to smoothly get us into the speech just as we said earlier with the initial
preview in summary statement transitions may be communicated verbally or non-verbally but we're going
to concentrate on verbal transitions. Transitions indicate that the speaker has finished one part and is moving on
to the next, one way is to use repetition such as a keyword or a synonym that refers back to a keyword in
your speech on exercise you might have used the word simple in your first point to move to your second point
you could say beyond these simple exercises you can and you're repeating the word simple
or simple could be replaced with the synonym basics as in moving beyond the basics another method is to use
transitional words or phrases such as now we can or additionally or there is one more.
Notice that in this case I use the transitional phrase another method to introduce this second point
enumeration is counting or putting things in order for example you may say second, next, or finally an excellent
technique especially to connect main points is to use the reflect back and look forward method remind us of what
has been covered and then set us up for the next point such as now that you know what types of exercise you
can do with no equipment reflecting back let's talk about how adding in a few pieces of equipment can enhance
your home exercise regime looking forward and some of these can be done in the
form of a question like what's next or knowing the basics is helpful but can adding in a few simple pieces
of equipment really make a difference. That takes us to the last type of signpost which are internal previews and
summaries remember we've already talked about the initial preview and final summary they occur at the
beginning and at the end of the presentation which are external or outside the body of the speech but you can
also include previews and summaries within your main points internal to the body of the speech at the beginning
of your first point you might say "let's focus on three simple exercises you can easily do without equipment"
providing an internal preview or at the end of your first point you might say "3 basic exercises sit-ups, squats,
and mountain climbers all easily able to be done at home."
So there you have it some key terms types of signposts and where to put them and by now you should be able to
recognize that I just gave you with final summary there are lots of places where you can have redundancy in
your speech but be careful of overusing signposts too few and your audience may be lost but
too many and your audience will be bored.
Quiz time Where can signpost be used in a speech? What is the difference between a thesis
statement and a preview statement? and finally What are some ways that you can transition between your
points? Your job as a speaker is to communicate your message effectively if your audience can't follow
your argument then they won't be able to get your message.