PRINCIPLES OF OUTLINING
I. All items of information in your outline should be directly related to your purpose
A. Immediate purpose is what you expect to achieve by end of your speech
1. Examples
a. Have them remember three main points
b. Sign a petition
c. Read an article
B. Long-term goal is what you expect to achieve over aq longer period of time
1. Examples
a. Get them to vote for a candidate
b. Get them to change their attitude
c. Get them to join a group
II. An outline should be an abstract of a speech
A. Outline form encourages summarizing without putting in every word of the speech
B. Allows reader of an outline to follow main points easily and to quickly see important parts of the message
III. An outline consists of single units of information
A. Usually in form of complete sentence that express a single idea
1. Bad example:
Handguns should be banned because they cause half the deaths of all guns and half of all murders are committed by relatives or friends of the victim.
2. Good example:
I. Government regulations of handguns should be implemented to reduce the number of murders in the country
A. Half of the murders in the US are committed by criminals using handguns
B. Half of the murders in the US are committed by relatives, friends, or acquaintances of the victim
IV. Outline should indicate the importance of an item with an outlining symbol
A. Main points indicated with Roman numerals
1. Number of main points in a speech should be limited to the number you can reasonably cover, explain, or provide in the time permitted.
2. Most five-minute speeches have from one to three main points. Even hour-long speeches must have a limited number of main points because audiences seem unable to remember more than seven main points.
B. Subpoints support the main points and are of less importance. These are indicated by capital letters
1. Usually two subpoints under a main point are regarded as the minimum if any subpoints are to be used at all
2. Just as with main points, subpoints should be limited in number due to the inability of the audience to remember many
a. A good guideline is to present two or three of your best pieces of support material in support of each main point
3. Sub-subpoints are even less important than subpoints. These are introdced with arabic numbers. Usually limited to maximum of three
V. Outline should provide margins that indicate relative importance of the items
A. The larger the margin on the left, the less important is the item to your speech
B. Each subheading must line up with the others of that category
VI. Content of an item in an outline should be less than or subordinate to the content of items with higher-order symbols or smaller left-hand margins
A. Intems in an outline can be ranked in importance by symbols, margins, and content
VII. Items should appear in parallel form
A. Similar or same style throughout. Be consistant.