example of topical speech outline

Module 6: Organizing and Outlining Your Speech

Topical organization, learning objectives.

Explain the topical organizational pattern for speeches and identify when it is best used.

A topical pattern is the most common way to structure speeches, particularly speeches of information, because it is relevant to nearly any topic or type of speech. However, you should make sure to explore all other organizational patterns before selecting it in case your topic fits better elsewhere. A topical structure involves dividing your central idea into topic categories or sub-topics that surround the main topic. You should devote roughly the same amount of time to each category and each category should be distinct from each other.

Think of topical organization as a set of boxes, bins, or drawers. Items are organized according to which drawer they go in.

For example, a speech about the benefits of listening to music while exercising could follow a topical structure divided between the categories of how music can (1) increase stamina, (2) decrease boredom, and (3) improve coordination. Each sub-topic or main point is distinct, but ties back to the main speech topic.

The advantage of using a topical speech pattern is that it creates an organizational structure that is specific to the speech topic. Some speech topics don’t fit into any other category. They can’t be organized chronologically because dates are not involved. They can’t be organized spatially because geography or space isn’t involved. They don’t have steps to follow. They aren’t presenting a problem or a solution. It is important to eliminate all the other possible speech patterns before selecting topical. Once topical is selected, then the specific categories must be determined next. Make sure to select categories that are condensed enough for the speech time limit. For example, if you are explaining the five types of hurricanes in a five-minute speech, you may not have time to speak of each one individually and therefore would need to condense some categories together.

Disadvantage

The disadvantage of using a topical speech pattern is that you are limited to the categories selected. It will prove difficult to include anything outside of the categories once writing begins, so be sure that the categories selected are the most important ones to focus on and limit it to no more than five categories. Also, transitioning between categories and connecting them to one another becomes more crucial in a topical outline. A transition sentence which ties category 1 to category 2, will be important in creating an organizational, logical flow of ideas. It can be easy to sound disorganized if this connection between topics is unclear or disconnected.

Now that we have examined what a topical pattern is, consider which topics fit best into this pattern. Brainstorm some topics that don’t fit elsewhere and measure them against the other organization options to be sure topical is the best one.

To Watch: Nick Fuhrman, “The One Thing All great teachers do”

In this topically organized speech, professor and environmental educator Nick Fuhrman talks about teaching. Although the title speaks to “one” thing that great teachers do, Fuhrman lists four: celebrate mistakes, appreciate difference, relay feedback, and evaluate themselves. These four topics provide the organizational structure for the speech.

You can view the transcript for “The One Thing All Great Teachers Do | Nick Fuhrman | TEDxUGA” here (opens in new window) .

What to watch for:

Elsewhere in this course we advise against using live animals as visual aids. This is true unless A) you are expert in handling the animals in public performance and B) you have explicit permission from the event organizers to share the stage with a snake.

• The One Thing All Great Teachers Do | Nick Fuhrman | TEDxUGA. Provided by : TEDx Talks. Located at : https://youtu.be/WwTpfVQgkU0 . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Topical Organization. Authored by : Susan Bagley-Koyle with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Topical Organization. Authored by : Misti Wills with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

COMM 101: Fundamentals of Public Speaking - Valparaiso

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A basic speech outline should include three main sections:

• The Introduction --  This is where you tell them what you're going to tell them.
• The Body -- This is where you tell them.
• The Conclusion -- This is where you tell them what you've told them.
• Speech Outline Formatting Guide The outline for a public speech, according to COMM 101 online textbook  The Public Speaking Project , p.p. 8-9.

Use these samples to help prepare your speech outlines and bibliographies:

• Sample Speech Preparation Outline This type of outline is very detailed with all the main points and subpoints written in complete sentences. Your bibliography should be included with this outline.
• Sample Speech Speaking Outline This type of outline is very brief and uses phrases or key words for the main points and subpoints. This outline is used by the speaker during the speech.
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Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri

A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything – voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing you come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic you’re discussing.

So, how do you start convincing a group of strangers to share your opinion? And how do you connect with them enough to earn their trust?

Topics for your persuasive speech

We’ve made a list of persuasive speech topics you could use next time you’re asked to give one. The topics are thought-provoking and things which many people have an opinion on.

When using any of our persuasive speech ideas, make sure you have a solid knowledge about the topic you’re speaking about – and make sure you discuss counter arguments too.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• All school children should wear a uniform
• Facebook is making people more socially anxious
• It should be illegal to drive over the age of 80
• Lying isn’t always wrong
• The case for organ donation

Read our full list of  75 persuasive speech topics and ideas .

Preparation: Consider your audience

As with any speech, preparation is crucial. Before you put pen to paper, think about what you want to achieve with your speech. This will help organise your thoughts as you realistically can only cover 2-4 main points before your  audience get bored .

It’s also useful to think about who your audience are at this point. If they are unlikely to know much about your topic then you’ll need to factor in context of your topic when planning the structure and length of your speech. You should also consider their:

• Cultural or religious backgrounds
• Shared concerns, attitudes and problems
• Shared interests, beliefs and hopes
• Baseline attitude – are they hostile, neutral, or open to change?

The factors above will all determine the approach you take to writing your speech. For example, if your topic is about childhood obesity, you could begin with a story about your own children or a shared concern every parent has. This would suit an audience who are more likely to be parents than young professionals who have only just left college.

Remember the 3 main approaches to persuade others

There are three main approaches used to persuade others:

The ethos approach appeals to the audience’s ethics and morals, such as what is the ‘right thing’ to do for humanity, saving the environment, etc.

Pathos persuasion is when you appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as when you  tell a story  that makes them the main character in a difficult situation.

The logos approach to giving a persuasive speech is when you appeal to the audience’s logic – ie. your speech is essentially more driven by facts and logic. The benefit of this technique is that your point of view becomes virtually indisputable because you make the audience feel that only your view is the logical one.

• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and Persuasion

Ideas for your persuasive speech outline

1. structure of your persuasive speech.

The opening and closing of speech are the most important. Consider these carefully when thinking about your persuasive speech outline. A  strong opening  ensures you have the audience’s attention from the start and gives them a positive first impression of you.

You’ll want to  start with a strong opening  such as an attention grabbing statement, statistic of fact. These are usually dramatic or shocking, such as:

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat – Jamie Oliver

Another good way of starting a persuasive speech is to include your audience in the picture you’re trying to paint. By making them part of the story, you’re embedding an emotional connection between them and your speech.

You could do this in a more toned-down way by talking about something you know that your audience has in common with you. It’s also helpful at this point to include your credentials in a persuasive speech to gain your audience’s trust.

Obama would spend hours with his team working on the opening and closing statements of his speech.

2. Stating your argument

You should  pick between 2 and 4 themes  to discuss during your speech so that you have enough time to explain your viewpoint and convince your audience to the same way of thinking.

It’s important that each of your points transitions seamlessly into the next one so that your speech has a logical flow. Work on your  connecting sentences  between each of your themes so that your speech is easy to listen to.

Your argument should be backed up by objective research and not purely your subjective opinion. Use examples, analogies, and stories so that the audience can relate more easily to your topic, and therefore are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.

3. Addressing counter-arguments

Any balanced theory or thought  addresses and disputes counter-arguments  made against it. By addressing these, you’ll strengthen your persuasive speech by refuting your audience’s objections and you’ll show that you are knowledgeable to other thoughts on the topic.

When describing an opposing point of view, don’t explain it in a bias way – explain it in the same way someone who holds that view would describe it. That way, you won’t irritate members of your audience who disagree with you and you’ll show that you’ve reached your point of view through reasoned judgement. Simply identify any counter-argument and pose explanations against them.

• Complete Guide to Debating

4. Closing your speech

Your closing line of your speech is your last chance to convince your audience about what you’re saying. It’s also most likely to be the sentence they remember most about your entire speech so make sure it’s a good one!

The most effective persuasive speeches end  with a  call to action . For example, if you’ve been speaking about organ donation, your call to action might be asking the audience to register as donors.

Practice answering AI questions on your speech and get  feedback on your performance .

If audience members ask you questions, make sure you listen carefully and respectfully to the full question. Don’t interject in the middle of a question or become defensive.

You should show that you have carefully considered their viewpoint and refute it in an objective way (if you have opposing opinions). Ensure you remain patient, friendly and polite at all times.

Example 1: Persuasive speech outline

This example is from the Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Specific purpose

To persuade my audience to start walking in order to improve their health.

Central idea

Regular walking can improve both your mental and physical health.

Introduction

Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners, etc., etc. etc. We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?

Continue reading

Example 2: Persuasive speech

Tips for delivering your persuasive speech

• Practice, practice, and practice some more . Record yourself speaking and listen for any nervous habits you have such as a nervous laugh, excessive use of filler words, or speaking too quickly.
• Show confident body language . Stand with your legs hip width apart with your shoulders centrally aligned. Ground your feet to the floor and place your hands beside your body so that hand gestures come freely. Your audience won’t be convinced about your argument if you don’t sound confident in it. Find out more about  confident body language here .
• Don’t memorise your speech word-for-word  or read off a script. If you memorise your persuasive speech, you’ll sound less authentic and panic if you lose your place. Similarly, if you read off a script you won’t sound genuine and you won’t be able to connect with the audience by  making eye contact . In turn, you’ll come across as less trustworthy and knowledgeable. You could simply remember your key points instead, or learn your opening and closing sentences.
• Remember to use facial expressions when storytelling  – they make you more relatable. By sharing a personal story you’ll more likely be speaking your truth which will help you build a connection with the audience too. Facial expressions help bring your story to life and transport the audience into your situation.
• Keep your speech as concise as possible . When practicing the delivery, see if you can edit it to have the same meaning but in a more succinct way. This will keep the audience engaged.

The best persuasive speech ideas are those that spark a level of controversy. However, a public speech is not the time to express an opinion that is considered outside the norm. If in doubt, play it safe and stick to topics that divide opinions about 50-50.

Bear in mind who your audience are and plan your persuasive speech outline accordingly, with researched evidence to support your argument. It’s important to consider counter-arguments to show that you are knowledgeable about the topic as a whole and not bias towards your own line of thought.

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How To Write A Speech Outline

Do you have a speech coming up soon, but don’t know where to start when it comes to writing it? 

Don’t worry. 

The best way to start writing your speech is to first write an outline.

While to some, an outline may seem like an unnecessary extra step — after giving hundreds of speeches in my own career, I can assure you that first creating a speech outline is truly the best way to design a strong presentation that your audience will remember.

Should I Write A Speech Outline?

You might be wondering if you should really bother with a preparation outline. Is a speaking outline worth your time, or can you get through by just keeping your supporting points in mind?

Again, I highly recommend that all speakers create an outline as part of their speechwriting process. This step is an extremely important way to organize your main ideas and all the various elements of your speech in a way that will command your audience’s attention.

Good public speaking teachers will agree that an outline—even if it’s a rough outline—is the easiest way to propel you forward to a final draft of an organized speech that audience members will love.

Here are a few of the biggest benefits of creating an outline before diving straight into your speech.

Gain More Focus

By writing an outline, you’ll be able to center the focus of your speech where it belongs—on your thesis statement and main idea.

Remember, every illustration, example, or piece of information you share in your speech should be relevant to the key message you’re trying to deliver. And by creating an outline, you can ensure that everything relates back to your main point.

Keep Things Organized

Your speech should have an overall organizational pattern so that listeners will be able to follow your thoughts. You want your ideas to be laid out in a logical order that’s easy to track, and for all of the speech elements to correspond.

An outline serves as a structure or foundation for your speech, allowing you to see all of your main points laid out so you can easily rearrange them into an order that makes sense for easy listening.

Create Smoother Transitions

A speaking outline helps you create smoother transitions between the different parts of your speech.

When you know what’s happening before and after a certain section, it will be easy to accurately deliver transitional statements that make sense in context. Instead of seeming like several disjointed ideas, the parts of your speech will naturally flow into each other.

Save Yourself Time

An outline is an organization tool that will save you time and effort when you get ready to write the final draft of your speech. When you’re working off of an outline to write your draft, you can overcome “blank page syndrome.”

It will be much easier to finish the entire speech because the main points and sub-points are already clearly laid out for you.

Your only job is to finish filling everything in.

Preparing to Write A Speech Outline

Now that you know how helpful even the most basic of speech outlines can be in helping you write the best speech, here’s how to write the best outline for your next public speaking project.

How Long Should A Speech Outline Be?

The length of your speech outline will depend on the length of your speech. Are you giving a quick two-minute talk or a longer thirty-minute presentation? The length of your outline will reflect the length of your final speech.

Another factor that will determine the length of your outline is how much information you actually want to include in the outline. For some speakers, bullet points of your main points might be enough. In other cases, you may feel more comfortable with a full-sentence outline that offers a more comprehensive view of your speech topic.

The length of your outline will also depend on the type of outline you’re using at any given moment.

Types of Outlines

Did you know there are several outline types? Each type of outline is intended for a different stage of the speechwriting process. Here, we’re going to walk through:

• Working outlines
• Full-sentence outlines
• Speaking outlines

Working Outline

Think of your working outline as the bare bones of your speech—the scaffolding you’re using as you just start to build your presentation. To create a working outline, you will need:

• A speech topic
• An idea for the “hook” in your introduction
• A thesis statement
• 3-5 main points (each one should make a primary claim that you support with references)
• A conclusion

Each of your main points will also have sub-points, but we’ll get to those in a later step.

The benefit of a working outline is that it’s easy to move things around. If you think your main points don’t make sense in a certain order—or that one point needs to be scrapped entirely—it’s no problem to make the needed changes. You won’t be deleting any of your prior hard work because you haven’t really done any work yet.

Once you are confident in this “skeleton outline,” you can move on to the next, where you’ll start filling in more detailed information.

Full-sentence outline

As the name implies, your full-sentence outline contains full sentences. No bullet points or scribbled, “talk about x, y, z here.” Instead, research everything you want to include and write out the information in full sentences.

Why is this important? A full-sentence outline helps ensure that you are:

• Including all of the information your audience needs to know
• Organizing the material well
• Staying within any time constraints you’ve been given

Don’t skip this important step as you plan your speech.

Speaking outline

The final type of outline you’ll need is a speaking outline. When it comes to the level of detail, this outline is somewhere in between your working outline and a full-sentence outline. 

You’ll include the main parts of your speech—the introduction, main points, and conclusion. But you’ll add a little extra detail about each one, too. This might be a quote that you don’t want to misremember or just a few words to jog your memory of an anecdote to share.

When you actually give your speech, this is the outline you will use. It might seem like it makes more sense to use your detailed full-sentence outline up on stage. However, if you use this outline, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of reading your speech—which is not what you want to do. You’ll likely sound much more natural if you use your speaking outline.

How to Write A Speech Outline

We’ve covered the types of outlines you’ll work through as you write your speech. Now, let’s talk more about how you’ll come up with the information to add to each outline type.

Pick A Topic

Before you can begin writing an outline, you have to know what you’re going to be speaking about. In some situations, you may have a topic given to you—especially if you are in a public speaking class and must follow the instructor’s requirements. But in many cases, speakers must come up with their own topic for a speech.

Consider your audience and what kind of educational, humorous, or otherwise valuable information they need to hear. Your topic and message should of course be highly relevant to them. If you don’t know your audience well enough to choose a topic, that’s a problem.

Your audience is your first priority. If possible, however, it’s also helpful to choose a topic that appeals to you. What’s something you’re interested in and/or knowledgeable about? 

It will be much easier to write a speech on a topic you care about rather than one you don’t. If you can come up with a speech topic that appeals to your audience and is interesting to you, that’s the sweet spot for writing and delivering an unforgettable speech.

Write A Thesis Statement

The next step is to ask yourself two important questions:

• What do you want your audience to take away from your speech?
• How will you communicate this main message?

The key message of your speech can also be called your “thesis statement.”

Essentially, this is your main point—the most important thing you hope to get across.

You’ll most likely actually say your thesis statement verbatim during your speech. It should come at the end of your introduction. Then, you’ll spend the rest of your talk expanding on this statement, sharing more information that will prove the statement is true.

Consider writing your thesis statement right now—before you begin researching or outlining your speech. If you can refer back to this statement as you get to work, it will be much easier to make sure all of the elements correspond with each other throughout your speech.

An example of a good thesis statement might read like this:

• Going for a run every day is good for your health.
• It’s important to start saving for retirement early.
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on many small businesses.

The second part of this step is to know how you will communicate your main message . For example, if your key point is that running improves physical health, you might get this across by:

• Citing scientific studies that proved running is good for your health
• Sharing your personal experience of going for a run every day

Your goal is for all of your sub-points and supporting material to reflect and support your main point. At the end of the speech, your audience should be appropriately motivated, educated, or convinced that your thesis statement is true.

Once you have a topic for your presentation and a good thesis statement, you can move on to the bulk of the outline.

The first part of your speech is the introduction, which should include a strong “hook” to grab the attention of your audience. There are endless directions you can go to create this hook. Don’t be afraid to get creative! You might try:

• Telling a joke
• Sharing an anecdote
• Using a prop or visual aid
• Asking a question (rhetorical or otherwise)

These are just a few examples of hooks that can make your audience sit up and take notice.

The rest of your introduction shouldn’t be too long—as a general rule of thumb, you want your introduction to take up about 10% of your entire speech. But there are a few other things you need to say.

Briefly introduce yourself and who you are to communicate why the audience should trust you. Mention why you’re giving this speech. 

Explain that you’re going to cover X main points—you can quickly list them—and include your thesis statement. 

You could also mention how long your speech will be and say what your audience will take away from it (“At the end of our 15 minutes together today, you’ll understand how to write a resume”).

Then smoothly transition into the body of your speech.

Next, you’ll write the body of your speech. This is the bulk of your presentation. It will include your main points and their sub-points. Here’s how this should look:

Your subpoints might be anecdotes, visual aids, or studies. However you decide to support your main points, make them memorable and engaging. Nobody wants to sit and listen to you recite a dry list of facts.

Remember, the amount of detail you include right now will depend on which outline you’re on. Your first outline, or working outline, doesn’t have to include every last little detail. Your goal is to briefly encapsulate all of the most important elements in your speech. 

But beyond that, you don’t need to write down every last detail or example right now. You don’t even have to write full sentences at this point. That will come in your second outline and other future drafts.

Your conclusion should concisely summarize the main points of your speech. You could do this by saying, “To recap as I finish up, today we learned…” and reiterate those primary points.

It’s also good to leave the audience with something to think about and/or discuss. Consider asking them a question that expands on your speech—something they can turn over in their minds the rest of the day. 

Or share one final story or quote that will leave them with lasting inspiration. Bonus points if your conclusion circles back around to your introduction or hook.

In other cases, you may want to end with a call to action. Are you promoting something? Make sure your audience knows what it is, how it will benefit them, and where they can find it. Or, your CTA might be as simple as plugging your Twitter handle and asking listeners to follow you.

Finally, don’t forget to say thank you to your audience for taking the time to listen.

Additional Helpful Speechwriting Tips

Your speech outline is important, but it’s not the only thing that goes into preparing to give a presentation. Take a look at these additional tips I recommend to help your speech succeed.

Use Visual Aids

Visual aids are a good way to make sure your audience stays engaged—that they listen closely, and remember what you said. Visual aids serve as an attention-getter for people who may not be listening closely. These aids also ensure that your points are sufficiently supported.

You might choose to incorporate any of the following in your talk:

• A PowerPoint presentation
• A chart or graph
• A whiteboard or blackboard
• A flip chart
• A prop that you hold or interact with

Don’t overdo it. Remember, your speech is the main thing you’re presenting. Any visual aids are just that—aids. They’re a side dish, not the main entrée. Select one primary type of aid for your speech.

If you decide to include visual aids, use your speaking outline to make a note of which items you will incorporate where. You may want to place these items on your working outline. They should definitely be on your full-sentence outline.

Keep Your Audience Engaged

As you write and practice your speech, make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your audience engaged the entire time. We’ve already talked about including stories and jokes, using visual aids, or asking questions to vary your talk and make it more interesting.

Your body language is another important component of audience engagement. Your posture should be straight yet relaxed, with shoulders back and feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your body open to the audience.

Make eye contact with different people in the audience. Incorporate hand gestures that emphasize certain points or draw attention to your visual aids.

Don’t be afraid to move around whatever space you have. Movement is especially helpful to indicate a clearer transition from one part of your speech to another. And smile! A simple smile goes a long way to help your audience relax.

Practice Your Speech

When you’re done with speechwriting, it’s time to get in front of the mirror and practice. Pay attention to your body language, gestures, and eye contact. 

Practice working with any visual aids or props you will be using. It’s also helpful to make a plan B—for instance, what will you do if the projector isn’t working and you can’t use your slides?

Ask a friend or family member if you can rehearse your speech for them. When you’re through, ask them questions about which parts held their attention and which ones didn’t.

You should also use your speaking outline and whatever other notes you’ll be using in your speech itself. Get used to referring to this outline as you go. But remember, don’t read anything verbatim (except maybe a quote). Your speaking outline is simply a guide to remind you where you’re going.

Learn to Speak Like A Leader

There’s a lot of work that goes into writing a speech outline. That’s undeniable. But an outline is the best way to organize and plan your presentation. When your speech outline is ready, it will be a breeze to write and then present your actual speech.

If you’re looking for more help learning how to become a strong public speaker, I recommend my free 5 Minute Speech Formula . This will help you start writing your speech and turn any idea into a powerful message.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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Rice Speechwriting

Mastering speech outlines: tips & examples, crafting a speech outline: tips & examples.

Crafting a speech can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-crafted speech outline can make all the difference in helping you deliver your message effectively. In this blog, we’ll go over why a speech outline is so important and how to prepare for creating one. We’ll also provide a step-by-step guide on how to craft a compelling speech outline. From choosing a topic that resonates with your audience to constructing a strong thesis statement and developing engaging hooks, we’ve got you covered. Additionally, we’ll share tips on perfecting your speech outline and enhancing your delivery with visual aids. Whether you’re preparing for a business presentation or giving a keynote address , this blog will provide you with all the tools you need to deliver an impactful speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Understanding the Importance of a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline is crucial for effective public speaking. It ensures a clear, logical flow of ideas and helps in organizing the content of your public speech. By providing a roadmap for the entire speech, a preparation outline ensures that the main points are communicated clearly, helping you to stay focused and on track during your public speaking engagement. The part of your speech outline also serves as a visual aid, further enhancing the structuring of your thoughts and ideas, making it an essential part of your public speaking preparation.

Benefits of a Well-Crafted Speech Outline

Crafting a well-structured speech outline is essential for delivering a compelling public speech. It ensures a clear organizational pattern, aiding in capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention throughout the speech. By logically ordering the content, a well-crafted speech outline facilitates smooth transitions between key points, supporting subpoints, and transitional statements, thus enhancing the overall coherence of the speech. Moreover, it serves as a valuable organization tool, assisting in preparing a structured and impactful public speaking presentation. Therefore, dedicating time to the preparation outline is an integral part of any successful public speech, providing a roadmap for the seamless delivery of the content.

Structuring Thoughts and Ideas

Crafting a speech outline contributes to the seamless delivery of key points in public speaking. It aids in the preparation of the body of your speech, ensuring a coherent flow of ideas and serves as a preparation outline for each part of your speech. By effectively structuring the speech topic, the public speech outline ensures the logical organization of the main points and supports the overall organization and preparation of the speech’s content. The outline facilitates a well-structured and engaging presentation to the audience, enhancing the overall impact of your public speech.

Preparing to Craft a Speech Outline

Researching the topic thoroughly is paramount for preparing a comprehensive speech outline, enabling a well-structured and informative public speech. Determining the length of the speech is essential in deciding the depth and breadth of the preparation outline, ensuring that all key points are effectively covered. Recognizing the different types of speech outlines is integral to cater to the specific requirements and expectations of the audience. Considering the instructor’s guidelines is crucial in crafting a preparation outline that aligns with the given parameters. The process of preparing a speech outline involves strategically deciding on the overall organizational pattern of the speech, ensuring a logical flow and coherence throughout the presentation.

Researching Your Topic

Thoroughly researching the topic is crucial for crafting a well-structured speech outline. It enables the identification of key points and ensures the inclusion of accurate and credible information. Familiarity with the topic is essential for preparing a comprehensive outline, part of your speech preparation. Conducting extensive research is an integral part of gathering relevant information to form the foundation of a well-crafted public speech. By understanding the significance of in-depth research, you can ensure that your public speaking content is well-prepared and effectively delivered.

Deciding on the Length of Your Speech

When crafting a speech outline, one must consider the length of the speech as a crucial factor. The chosen length not only determines the overall organization of the outline but also influences its depth and structure. It plays a significant role in decision-making regarding the content to be included. Additionally, considering the attention span of the audience members is essential in determining the ideal length of the speech. The preparation outline needs to align with the selected length to ensure that the content is tailored appropriately for the intended duration.

Recognizing Different Types of Speech Outlines

Understanding the various options in organizing a public speech is crucial for delivering an impactful presentation. Identifying the most suitable outline for your topic is key, as it influences the entire preparation process and organization of the content. Becoming familiar with different types of public speaking outlines, such as a preparation outline or a speaking outline, enables you to structure your thoughts effectively. Selecting the right type of outline, such as preparation outline or speaking outline, ensures that each part of your speech, from the introduction to the conclusion, is well-organized and cohesive. This thoughtful consideration of different types of outlines ultimately enhances the overall delivery and reception of your public speech.

Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Speech Outline

Crafting a speech outline begins with selecting a captivating topic, followed by formulating a strong thesis statement. Integrating the speech topic’s keywords is essential, and the initial outline draft should encompass the main talking points. Moreover, organizing supporting points and subpoints is crucial in the preparation outline. Each of these steps contributes to the coherent structuring of thoughts and ideas for the public speech. Embracing this process as part of your speech preparation ensures that each segment becomes a seamless part of your speech. Through this careful planning, you can align your speech with your audience, whether it’s a presentation, a social media post, or a public speaking event.

Choosing a Compelling Topic

Selecting an engaging subject ensures sustained audience interest and involvement during the public speech. The preparation outline process commences with the choice of a captivating speech topic that resonates with the audience. A compelling topic facilitates the overall structure of the public speaking outline, ensuring coherence and relevance. The topic’s significance to the audience directly influences the preparation of the public speech outline, guiding the inclusion of impactful content. Crafting a well-organized public speech outline initiates with the deliberate selection of a topic that appeals to the audience

Constructing a Strong Thesis Statement

Constructing a strong thesis statement is essential for providing clear direction to the preparation outline of a speech. It forms the foundation of logical organization, encompassing the main point and guiding the arrangement of the speech outline. A well-constructed thesis statement ensures that the speech outline effectively captures the main ideas and supporting points, making it an integral part of any public speaking engagement. This process involves careful consideration of the audience’s interests and the overall relevance of the topic to ensure a comprehensive and engaging public speech. Incorporating the NLP terms “public speaking” and “preparation outline” enhances the development of a captivating thesis statement, making it a crucial part of constructing an effective speech outline.

Developing Engaging Hooks

Crafting a captivating speech outline begins with capturing the audience’s attention using engaging hooks. Anecdotes or props can be effectively utilized to create a compelling speech introduction that instantly grabs the audience’s interest. Moreover, incorporating key words and phrases strategically within the introduction can further pique the audience’s curiosity. It’s crucial that the first thing the audience hears is attention-grabbing, setting the tone for the entire speech. These engaging hooks are essential in ensuring the audience’s undivided attention right from the start, creating a strong foundation for the rest of the speech.

Building the Body of Your Speech

To keep the audience engaged, ensure the body of your speech is well-organized in a logical order. Smoothly transition between supporting points using transitional statements. Structuring main points effectively can be done by including subpoints and bullet points. Remember, the speaker’s body language is vital for maintaining the audience’s attention. Convey the topic effectively by including main points, supporting points, and subpoints in the body of your speech. Public speaking requires a well-structured body to effectively deliver the part of your speech that contains key information and ideas. At the end of the speech, it is important to summarize and wrap up the main points to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Successful public speeches on platforms like Facebook stem from thorough preparation outlines and a well-organized body.

Perfecting Your Speech Outline

Crafting a preparation outline is a crucial part of your speech writing process. The first outline you will write is called the preparation outline, also known as a working, practice, or rough outline. The preparation outline is used to work through the various components of your speech in an inventive format. When constructing a speaking outline, it’s important to adhere to the instructor’s requirements and include a thesis statement as the main point. Start with a rough outline to establish the overall organizational pattern before refining it. Your speech writing template should consist of full sentences that guide seamless delivery during public speaking. This preparation outline will serve as a roadmap for every part of your speech, making it easier to deliver a compelling and well-structured public speech.

Reviewing and Refining Your Outline

After completing the speechwriting process, it is crucial to meticulously review and refine the outline to ensure coherence and effectiveness. The entire outline should be crafted in a way that best conveys the speech topic to the audience. This involves refining the rough outline to capture and maintain the audience’s attention throughout. During the review, special attention should be given to the thesis statement, supporting points, and subpoints to effectively refine the speech outline. It is vital to ensure that the chosen type of outline optimally organizes the key points of the speech for seamless delivery and maximum impact. Embracing this reviewing and refining stage ensures that the speech outline is primed for successful public speaking engagements.

Practicing Your Speech

Practicing your speech is essential for perfecting the delivery, including eye contact and body language, during public speaking engagements. It reinforces the main point of the preparation outline and helps emphasize key points effectively to the audience. The conclusion should also be practiced to ensure a strong and impactful end to your public speech. By practicing the speech delivery, you can maintain the audience’s attention and ensure that your message is effectively conveyed. This step is crucial in ensuring that your public speech is engaging and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Tips to Enhance Your Speech Delivery

Incorporating visual aids and props during public speaking can effectively enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more engaging for the audience. Anecdotes are an impactful way to illustrate key points, capturing the audience’s attention and enhancing the overall delivery of your speech. Establishing consistent eye contact with the audience members is crucial as it helps in creating a strong connection during the delivery of your public speech. The second aspect of your speech outline should primarily focus on the best ways to deliver your speech to the audience members, ensuring that it resonates effectively. By integrating anecdotes, props, and visual aids, you can significantly enhance the delivery of your public speech, making it more compelling and impactful.

How Can Visual Aids Improve Your Speech?

Incorporating visual aids in your speech can greatly enhance its impact. Visual aids reinforce key points, clarify complex information, and capture the audience’s attention. They create a visual impact and contribute to a memorable delivery. Utilizing visual aids effectively can take your speech to the next level.

In conclusion, crafting a well-structured speech outline is crucial for delivering a successful and impactful speech. It helps you organize your thoughts, develop a strong thesis statement, and engage your audience with compelling hooks. By structuring your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion, you can effectively convey your message and maintain a flow of ideas. Additionally, reviewing and refining your outline, as well as practicing your speech, will contribute to your confidence and delivery on the day of the speech. Don’t forget to utilize visual aids to enhance your presentation and make it more memorable for your audience. With these tips and examples, you’ll be well-equipped to create an effective speech outline and deliver a memorable speech.

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Speech Preparation #3: Don’t Skip the Speech Outline

This article describes how to support your core message with a speech outline , and provides numerous examples . This is the second step in the six-step speech preparation process .

Writing an outline is, unfortunately, a step that many skip. The most common excuse is simply “ No time. ” This is unfortunate because time spent on an outline is time well spent. It is necessary to ensure that you craft a coherent and focussed presentation .

• How to Prepare Your Presentation
• Select Your Speech Topic
• Plan Your Speech Outline
• Writing Your First Draft
• Editing Your Speech
• Add Speech Impact with Rhetorical Devices
• Staging, Gestures, and Vocal Variety
• Practicing Your Presentation
• Self-Critique: Preparation for Next Time
• Winning a Toastmasters Speech Contest

Writing a Speech Outline

• Basic Speech Outline
• Speech Outline Variants
• Outline Writing Tips
• Speech Outline Extended Example

An outline is a blueprint for your presentation .

• It highlights the key logical elements . i.e. what points are being made to logically support the core message?
• It highlights the key structural elements . e.g. introduction, body, conclusion, stories, high-level concepts
• It links these elements together in a sequence , perhaps allocating very rough timings.
• It can also map out the transitions between elements , although this may be deferred to a later stage of preparation.

Basic Speech Outlines

“ An outline is a blueprint for your presentation. ”

The basic speech outline template for structural elements is:

• Introduction

Similarly, the basic speech outline template for logical elements is the familiar advice:

• Tell them what you’re going to say
• Tell them what you’ve said

Put these together, and you have the start of a generic speech outline :

• Introduction — Establish topic and core message; list supporting points
• Supporting Point One
• Supporting Point Two
• Supporting Point Three
• Conclusion — Recap main points; summarize core message; call-to-action

It is surprising how well this simple 3-part outline template works for a wide range of speech topics. Incidentally, this same basic formula can be seen in novels, short stories, movies, plays, reports, business briefings, emails, memos, and many other forms of communication.

For many more examples , check out Why Successful Speech Outlines follow the Rule of Three .

Variants or Examples of Speech Outlines

Example: story-based outline.

Some people believe that stories are the best building blocks for speeches. For example, in The Story Factor (Annette Simmons) , the author claims that storytelling is the key to business communications .

• Attention grabbing opening which introduces the topic and core message
• Make a point
• Make another point.
• Make another point
• Memorable conclusion which ties together all three stories to support the core message.

Example: Scientific Conference Talk Outline

The outline for many scientific talks mirrors the scientific method :

• Define the problem needing a solution
• Describe the hypothesis which will explore one aspect of the problem
• Detail 1 — schematic
• Detail 2 — photograph
• Detail 3 — description
• Data analysis 1 — chart
• Data analysis 2 — chart
• Data analysis 3 — table
• Draw conclusions relating back to the hypothesis
• Suggest future actions

Example: Community Association Meeting Speech Outline

• Story to introduce the symptom (e.g. vandalism)
• Stakeholders
• A strong call-to-action motivating the audience to join the cause

Example: Business Proposal to Investors

• Be direct: “Invest $___ for %___ of the shares”
• Story to illustrate the need for the product XYZ
• Story to describe the vision of how product XYZ improves lives
• Benefit #1 (focus on benefits, not features)
• Story illustrating strength of the team
• Market analysis
• Financial projections
• Repeat call-to-action: “Invest $___ for %___ of the shares”

Other Speech Outline Writing Tips

“ When sequencing your outline points, try to avoid random order. Seek and extract the meaningful relationship. ”

Note that all of these speech outline examples are appropriate for a short six to ten minute speech . Longer time windows will obviously allow for more detailed outlines.

You may be able to customize one of the generic speech outline formats for your speech; more likely, you will need to craft your own to fit your situation. A few other things to consider:

• The granularity of your outline should be roughly one outline point per minute of speaking time, perhaps less for lengthy presentations.
• Remember that your presentation is much more than your set of slides . Your outline should reflect your speaking elements which the slides complement.
• Chronological – e.g. a biographical speech
• Spatial – e.g. an entertaining travel speech
• Cause-effect – e.g. speech relating crime rate to drug use
• Low to high importance – e.g. reasons to exercise
• Broad vision to specific details – e.g. a management speech outlining new company direction
• Your outline is not the same as cue cards , but they are related (if you use cue cards). An outline contains high-level speech elements; cue cards might additionally contain selected speech details e.g. transition phrases, key words/phrases, key numbers, or punch lines.

Speech Outline Example — Face the Wind

Here is the original outline that I put together for the Face the Wind speech. Comments follow which represent my thinking at the time of writing the outline.

• Opening humor – connect with audience as typical home owner
• “Strong roots… strong tree”
• Foreshadow: neighbour’s monster tree falling
• National news (trees falling on houses), but our house okay
• Arborists: “Wind came from a different direction”
• Establish key analogy – Trees cannot face the wind.
• Michelle and Lance have strong roots
• Maximus is born
• Call-to-action: “We must face our problems”

Comments on Face the Wind Outline

At the outline stage, I set up many key elements of the speech. I determined the three main stories, planned humorous opening, identified a few key phrases to incorporate, established contrast (tree/people), used a metaphor (roots of people), and concluded with a call-to-action.

Opening – I wanted to open with humor to offset the drama later in the speech. Also, I wanted to connect with the audience as a homeowner as many in the audience are also homeowners.

Story #1 – I wanted the first story to establish the “strong roots… strong tree” connection. By establishing that trees have strong roots, it makes the fact that they were toppled in the storm (story #2) more dramatic.

Story #2 – This story was essentially an expansion of the “wind came from a different direction” theory of arborists that I picked up several months prior from my friend. The fact that trees cannot face the wind is the key analogy in this speech, although the audience doesn’t know it yet.

Story #3 – This story tells about the struggles which eventually led to the birth of Maximus. The key element here is the contrast between trees and people (who can face the wind).

Next in the Speech Preparation Series

The next article in this series discusses the causes of writer’s block and writing the first draft of your speech .

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11 comments.

Andrew, I can’t imagine not using an outline! In fact, for most of my presentations, I ONLY write an outline and use just that for all of my preparation. Can’t have a body without a skeleton!

Hi Lisa I am a student at Ashworth University. I love that school. I received my Associate in Criminal Justice, and now working on my Bachelor in Early Childhood Development. My Bachelor is online and it is kicking me Real Hard! lol I truly wish I had the confident you have about the outline. I have about 30 sheets of papers in front of me and I have NO ideal of where to start!

Thanks, good information. I needed a refresher on some of this information. Much appreciated. 🙂

i think to have a speach outline can help in the long run!!

This is an extremely good article which helps me a lot!

I am one of the students of CST 100 at Northern Virginia community college Annandale campus.

Writing an outline is such as good help. It helps me to underline all the points that I am going to say, and also it helps me not to focus on my notes so that I can make a great eye contact with my audiences. My speech goes smoothly when I do my outline before that.

Thank you for sharing! Great information to build a speech that will impact listeners. I quill share your page with others!

Fantastic resource. I suggest it to students all the time.

This was a very helpful article. Thank you. I give my second speech tomorrow. I hope to execute all you have taught us.

Very helpful!:)

Awesome Article. Definitely great starter points for anyone wanting to write a speech. I have been stuck on my speech writing and now I feel more confident in progressing forward.

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• Preparation , Structure

How to write a speech outline

• June 12, 2020

What is a speech outline? Think of it as a blueprint for a successful speech or presentation. You wouldn’t start construction on a house or building without a blueprint and you shouldn’t build a speech or presentation without proper preparation. That means having a basic outline.

How do you write a speech outline?

How do you create a good speech outline? Although writing a speech outline might seem daunting at first, if you break the task into small steps, it can be easier than you think. And, when you start to look at the component parts of a speech or presentation, you realize that good speech craft is all about prioritizing your ideas, putting them in the right order and adding supporting detail.

In this post, I set out the steps that I follow when writing an effective outline that will lead to an effective speech or presentation. For the purposes of this post, I will assume that you know the topic and the audience.

The steps to writing a speech outline

Step 1 – big picture.

Before you start writing your outline, it is important to step back and think about some big picture items.

First, think about the three cornerstones to your speech or presentation: the speaker (you); your subject; and your audience. Now, think about the relationships between these three cornerstones and make some notes about each. For example,

Speaker – Subject: What do you know about the subject? Why are you speaking about it? What expertise do you have? What insights can you share with the audience?

Audience – Subject: What does the audience know about the subject? Do they like the subject? Do they not like it? How is the subject relevant for the audience?

Speaker – Audience: What do you know about the people who will attend your presentation? What do they know about you? Do you have any ongoing relationship with them?

The purpose of this step is to get you to step back from the detail and think “big picture” about your speaking engagement.

Step 2 – Objective

What is your objective for the talk? What do you want people to do when have finished speaking?

People often tell me that they just want the audience to know something. The most powerful speeches and presentations are the ones that move people to action. If you can get people to take some concrete action, you will have made an impact.

When thinking about what you want the audience to do, be specific. For example, do you want them to increase your department’s budget or invest in your start-up or exercise three times a week? Write out your objective as follows:

“At the end of the presentation, the audience will ___________________ .”

Step 3 – Message

A speech or presentation should have a message, something that holds it together. The French call this le fil rouge – the red thread – that runs through the entirety of the presentation. People often try to pack in several messages but being too informative is not good; the result is often confusing for those listening. Of course, your message can have different parts, but it should have a single, unifying message.

Write the message of your speech in a single sentence. It must be a grammatically correct sentence, not a series of points. When you can distill your speech or presentation into a single sentence, the message will be clear in your mind. If you cannot, you need to spend more time thinking about the message. As Albert Einstein said, if you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

When developing your speech outline in the steps below, use the message as a gauge for everything that goes into the speech. As you develop your talk, as you think about adding a slide, a statistic, a story, a chart, a graph, etc., ask yourself whether it supports the key message. If it does, it can stay. If it doesn’t, leave it out.

Step 4 – Relevance

A speech or presentation is never about the speaker or her product or service or company. It is always about the audience. When speakers put the audience first , that’s when great things happen.

Now that you have your message, list the reasons why your audience should care about your message. How is your message relevant to them?

You need at least one reason. If you can’t think of any, you have a problem. Either you are giving the wrong speech or you are speaking to the wrong audience. Go back to Step 3 and reconsider your message in light of Steps 1 and 2. Keep doing this until you can list one or more reasons why people should care about what you are saying.

Step 5 – Structure

Every speech or presentation needs structure in order for it to have an impact.

There are three basic parts to ever speech or presentation: the opening; the body; and the conclusion. For the purposes of this post, I will discuss them in that order. However, when working on your speech outline, I recommend starting with the body, then working on the opening and finally the conclusion.

(a) Opening

Your opening is the introduction to your presentation. You get one chance to make a good first impression, so you want your opening to be strong. Preparation is key. A strong opening has two parts.

People’s attention is at its highest at the beginning of your presentation so you want to capitalize on it. Speakers who begin in a mundane fashion — “Good morning everyone. I’m happy to be here. My name is So-and-So and today we are going to talk about X” — often miss the opportunity to hook their audience’s attention.

There is no rule that says you have to begin with “Good morning” or something similar. There is no rule that introducing yourself has to be the first thing you do. And as for being happy, don’t say it. Show it in your smile and enthusiasm.

You can hook your audience’s attention from the outset in different ways. For example:

• Ask a rhetorical question
• Ask people to imagine something or recall a time in their lives when something happened
• Make a bold statement
• Tell an interesting fact
• Recite a quote
• Tell a story

Whatever you choose, be sure that it relates to the topic of your presentation. For your speech outline write down how you will immediately grab the audience’s attention.

(ii) Signpost

Once you have hooked them, you need to let people know where you are going with your presentation. Otherwise, the audience will get frustrated. Have you ever been in the audience and wondered: Where is he going with this? What’s her point? Like I said, it’s frustrating.

You need to signpost your talk. It doesn’t take much but it is a big help for your audience. It is a simple, informative statement of what the talk is about.

For example: “Today I want to share with you three reasons why we should open an office in southeast Asia: lower taxation; a skilled workforce; and market proximity.” Clearly, there is more to know about the proposal, but the sentence is a clear signpost to the audience as to what the presentation will be about.

The body of your presentation is where you develop your message in detail. This part represents the bulk of you presentation, so you need to give it some thought. Here’s how I go about it.

(i) Gather content

You need content for your presentation. Often, you can talk about many points in support of your message. Write them all down. Don’t edit your ideas yet. Write down everything that you could talk about, no matter how insignificant. Try to distill each idea into a word or short phrase.

When you have finished, your preparation should leave you with a sheet full of ideas. You are now ready for the next step.

(ii) Choose the most important points

Leonardo da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Too often, speakers fail to hit the mark because they try to cover too much information. People can only remember so much information. The more you add, the harder it will be for them to remember. Removing information will actually help them.

Of course, the number of points you cover will depend on how much time you have. You can cover more topics in a 30-minute presentation that you can in a 5-minute presentation.

Still, don’t try to talk about everything. What are the main points? Pick what is most important for this audience on this occasion and focus on that. You can always tell the audience that there is more to know but that you are only going to focus on a few ideas.

I know that leaving material out can be difficult, but you have to do it. Think for a moment about the complexity of the projects on which you are currently working. If you were asked to give a 20-minute presentation on any one of those projects, I’d bet that you could only cover a fraction of the detail related to it.

(iii) Order the points

Once you know the ideas you are going to discuss, you need to order them in a logical manner that supports your message. Depending on what you are talking about, you have different options. Here are five possible ways to order your content:

• Chronological (for example, the history of a company or product)
• Sequential (for example, a process or business plan)
• Climax (when trying to persuade the audience to do something; points arranged from the least important to the most important, thus building to a climax)
• Headline (also when trying to persuade the audience to do something but here, the points arranged from the most important to the least important; useful for a small audience of busy, senior, give-me-the-bottom-line-now people)
• Pros and Cons (when considering options)

Your ideas must be presented in a coherent manner so that they help people understand the reasoning behind your message.

(iv) Add supporting detail

Now that the ideas are in the right order, you want to add supporting detail for each one. Your ideas need to be supported if they are to be convincing.

Examples of supporting detail include data, charts and graphs, stories, quotes, authoritative sources, visuals, metaphors, demonstrations and more. A good presentation will have a variety of supporting material. That is why this part of the process takes a fair bit of preparation.

For each of your main points, list the things that you will use to support that point. If you are going to use slides as part of the presentation, you can even sketch out a rough idea as to what each slide will contain.

(v) Transitions

Transitions in a presentation do not make up a large part of a presentation, but they are important. Too often, the different points in a presentation blend into each other like the compartments on a train. This makes it more challenging for the audience to follow.

It is important to leave enough space between two ideas so that the audience understands that you are moving onto a new point. Just as you need to signpost what your talk is about in the opening, you also need to signal when you are moving on to a new point in your talk.

A transition can be a simple statement. For example, “The next point is …” or “Another reason in support is …” or “Now that we’ve discussed X, let’s look at Y …”. Any of these will suffice. But a simple statement will allow the audience to shift gears mentally and get ready for the next idea.

On your speech outline, make a note about how each section of the body links to the following section.

(c) Conclusion

You want to finish on a strong note. Too many people waste their conclusions with a weak “Thank you” and exit the stage. You have to resist that urge and maximize your conclusion. You can plan for it in your speech outline.

(i) Transition to conclusion

Plan how you will transition from the final point in the body of your presentation to the conclusion. It should send a clear signal to the audience that you are nearing the end. One way is to link your conclusion to your opening.

(ii) Link to opening

Most people think of a presentation as something that is linear but I like to think of it as something that is  circular . In other words, you link your conclusion to your opening.

Thus, for example, if you began with a story, you could finish the story; if you began with a quote, you could come back to the quote; if you told an interesting fact, you could reiterate it (and perhaps add another interesting fact).

Linking your conclusion to the opening is not necessary, but it always adds a nice polish to your presentation and signals to your audience that you are approaching the end. In your speech outline, write down how you might link your conclusion to your opening.

(iii) Repeat and summarize message

Repeating your message as a simple statement will reinforce it in the mind of your audience. Succinctly summarize the different points in support, in the same order in which you presented them in the body of your talk.

(iv) Call to action

As discussed in Step 2 (Objective), the most powerful presentations are the ones that move the audience to take some kind of action. Now is the time to leave the audience with your call to action.

If your call to action is a big one, have a simple first step that they can take. Studies show that if you can get people to take a small step towards a larger goal, the chances of them reaching that goal are greatly increased.

One example of a first step that I have used with a few clients is to have them insert a slide at the end of the deck with a QR code on it. The code links to a website where the audience can learn more about the topic and perhaps download PDF document. It is a simple and effective way to start moving your audience toward your objective.

Final thoughts

When you give a presentation, it is your job to get the audience across the metaphorical bridge that separates them from your idea. How do you do that? It all starts with the preparation of a good speech outline.

How do you write a speech outline? One step at a time.

Like this article?

Excellent, clear and concise overview — thank you, John! For me, including a clear call to action is my weakest point. I will definitely work on that. (I think it’s very much linked to self-confidence: “Who am I to suggest a call to action to you, audience members?” Is this a gender issue, to some extent, I wonder? I’d love to hear from other women speakers about this point. Or any observations from you as a mentor/coach/trainer, John?)

Thank you very much, Merryl. I am glad that you enjoyed the post. I understand your point about the call to action. I know that some women struggle with it, but I also know men who struggle with it as well. There is, as you say, this feeling of “Who am I to tell you what to do?” but then again, who aren’t you to tell me? At the end of the day, I will decide whether to agree with you or not. But if you don’t sound invested, the chances that I will be invested are diminished. In this regard, this post , and the wonderful video in it, about speaking with conviction might help. Good luck with your speeches and presentations!

Excellent. This one a definite keeper! Hugs Mom

Thanks, Mom. Much appreciated.

Delighted to see a mention of the Red Thread here. It’s the backbone of a great talk, but often the hardest thing for people to find (and thus why I wanted to figure out a way to help people find it).

Great suggestions here for how to build a talk from there — thank you.

Thanks a lot John I will use it today for a strategy presentation. 😉

Good luck with the presentation, Michel!

Gems! Love the questions about how much the audience likes the subject – great way to see it from their viewpoint.

Also love your point about getting people to take a small, easy step, to get the ball rolling.

That’s actually the last piece of a 3-part model I use for getting listeners to act:

1. Announce your call-to-action (A) 2. Convince people to own it (C) 3. Transform it into steps (T)

It’s as if you build a bridge between your call-to-action and your listeners’ everyday lives. (See the link for some sample techniques.)

Great post, John. A little longer, but well worth the read!

Thanks, Craig. “ACT” is a great acronym for getting people to … act. I also like the metaphor of a bridge. I often say that your audience is on one side of the river and you want to get them to see things from your side. To do that, you have to build a bridge that allows them to cross over.

Great info, thanks !

Thanks, Hector.

Thank you for sharing that consistent and concise methode on how to outline a speech which is extremeley helpful. I will certainly apply that approach in planning my speeches.

I am glad that you found it helpful, Günther. Thanks for letting me know.

Excellent post: simple, to the point, easy-to-follow, compelling. Like a speech! 🙂

Thank you for summing it up in a neat package, John!

Thank you, Lisa Marie.

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• Speech Crafting →

How to Write an Informative Speech Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

It’s the moment of truth — the anxiety-inducing moment when you realize writing the outline for your informative speech is due soon. Whether you’re looking to deliver a report on the migratory patterns of the great white stork or give a lecture on the proper techniques of candle making, knowing how to write an effective outline is essential.

That’s why we’ve put together this complete, step-by-step guide on how to write an informative speech outline. From selecting a topic to transitioning during your speech, this guide will have you well on your way to writing a compelling informative speech outline . So grab your pen and paper, put on your thinking cap, and let’s get started!

What is an Informative Speech Outline?

An informative speech outline is a document used to plan the structure and core content of a public speech. It’s used by speakers to ensure their talk covers all the important points, stays on-topic and flows logically from one point to another. By breaking down complex topics into smaller, concise sections, an effective outline can help keep a speaker organized, set objectives for their talk, support key points with evidence and promote audience engagement. A well-structured outline can also make a presentation easier to remember and act as an invaluable reminder if nerves ever get the better of the speaker. On one hand, an informative speech outline enables speakers to cover multiple ideas in an efficient manner while avoiding digressions. On the other hand, it’s important that speakers remain flexible to adjust and adapt content to meet audience needs. While there are some tried-and-tested strategies for creating outlines that work, many successful speakers prefer to tweak and modify existing outlines according to their personal preferences. In conclusion, preparing an informative speech outline can boost confidence and create an effective structure for presentations. With this in mind, let’s now look at how to structure an informative speech outline

How to Structure an Informative Speech Outline

The structure of your informative speech outline should be based on the points you need to cover during your presentation. It should list out all of the main points in an organized and logical manner, along with supporting details for each point. The main structure for an informative speech should consist of three parts: the introduction, body and conclusion.

Introduction

When starting to craft your structure, begin by introducing the topic and giving a brief synopsis of what the audience can expect to learn from your speech. By setting up what they will gain from your presentation, it will help keep them engaged throughout the rest of your talk. Additionally, include any objectives that you want to achieve by the end of your speech.

The body of an informative speech outline typically consists of three parts: main points, sub-points, and supporting details. Main points are the core topics that the speaker wishes to cover throughout the speech. These can be further broken down into sub-points, that explore the main ideas in greater detail. Supporting details provide evidence or facts about each point and can include statistics, research studies, quotes from experts, anecdotes and personal stories . When presenting an informative speech, it is important to consider each side of the topic for an even-handed discussion. If there is an argumentative element to the speech, consider incorporating both sides of the debate . It is also important to be objective when presenting facts and leave value judgments out. Once you have determined your main points and all of their supporting details, you can start ordering them in a logical fashion. The presentation should have a clear flow and move between points smoothly. Each point should be covered thoroughly without getting overly verbose; you want to make sure you are giving enough information to your audience while still being concise with your delivery.

Writing an informative speech outline can be a daunting yet rewarding process. Through the steps outlined above, speakers will have created a strong foundation for their speech and can now confidently start to research their topics . The outline serves as a guiding map for speakers to follow during their research and when writing their eventual speech drafts . Having the process of developing an informative speech broken down into easy and manageable steps helps to reduce stress and anxiety associated with preparing speeches .

• The introduction should be around 10-20% of the total speech duration and is designed to capture the audience’s attention and introduce the topic.
• The main points should make up 40-60% of the speech and provide further detail into the topic. The body should begin with a transition, include evidence or examples and have supporting details. Concluding with a recap or takeaway should take around 10-20% of the speech duration.

While crafting an informative speech outline is a necessary step in order for your presentation to run smoothly, there are many different styles and approaches you can use when creating one. Ultimately though, the goal is always to ensure that the information presented is factual and relevant to both you and your audience. By carefully designing and structuring an effective outline, both you and your audience will be sure to benefit greatly from it when it comes time for delivering a successful presentation .

Now that speakers know how to create an effective outline, it’s time to begin researching the content they plan to include in their speeches. In the next section we’ll discuss how to conduct research for an informative speech so speakers are armed with all the facts necessary to deliver an interesting and engaging presentation .

How to Research for an Informative Speech

When researching an informative speech, it’s important to find valid and reliable sources of information. There are many ways that one can seek out research for an informative speech, and no single method will guarantee a thorough reliable research. Depending on the complexity of the topic and the depth of knowledge required, a variety of methods should be utilized. The first step when researching for an informative speech should be to evaluate your present knowledge of the subject. This will help to determine what specific areas require additional research, and give clues as to where you might start looking for evidence. It is important to know the basic perspectives and arguments surrounding your chosen topic in order to select good sources and avoid biased materials. Textbooks, academic journals, newspaper articles, broadcasts, or credible websites are good starting points for informational speeches. As you search for information and evidence, be sure to use trustworthy authors who cite their sources. These sources refer to experts in the field whose opinions add credibility and can bolster your argument with facts and data. Evaluating these sources is particularly important as they form the foundation of your speech content and structure. Analyze each source critically by looking into who wrote it and evaluating how recent or relevant it is to the current conversation on your chosen topic. As with any research paper, one must strive for accuracy when gathering evidence while also surveying alternative positions on a topic. Considering both sides of a debate allows your speech to provide accurate information while remaining objective. This will also encourage audience members to draw their conclusions instead of taking your word for it. Furthermore, verifying sources from multiple angles (multiple avenues) ensures that information is fact-checked versus opinionated or biased pieces which might distort accuracy or mislead an audience member seeking truth about a controversial issue. At this stage in preparing for an informative speech, research should have been carried out thoroughly enough to allow confidently delivering evidence-based statements about a chosen topic. With all of this necessary groundwork completed, it’s time to move onto the next stage: sourcing different types of evidence which will allow you to illustrate your point in an even more helpful way. It is now time to transition into discussing “Sources & Evidence”.

Sources and Evidence

When crafting an informative speech outline, it is important to include accurate sources and valid evidence. Your audience needs to be sure that the content you are presenting not only reflects a clear understanding of the topic but is also backed up with reliable sources. For example, if you are speaking about climate change, include research studies, statistics, surveys and other forms of data that provide concrete evidence that supports your argument or position. Additionally, be sure to cite any sources used in the speech so that your audience can double-check the accuracy. In some cases, particularly when discussing sensitive topics, each side of the issue should be addressed. Not only does this make for a more balanced discussion, it also allows you to show respect for different points of view without compromising your own opinion or position. Presenting both sides briefly will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and show your ability to present a well-rounded argument. Knowing how to source accurately and objectively is key to creating an informative speech outline which will be compelling and engaging for an audience. With the right sources and evidence utilized correctly, you can ensure that your argument is both authoritative and convincing. With these fundamentals in place, you can move on to developing tips for crafting an informative speech for maximum impact and engagement with the listeners.

Tips for Crafting an Informative Speech

When crafting an informative speech, there are certain tips and tricks that you can use to make sure your outline is the best it can be. Firstly, if you are speaking about a controversial issue, make sure you present both sides of the argument in an unbiased manner. Rely on researching credible sources, and discuss different points of views objectively. Additionally, organize and prioritize your points so that they are easy to follow and follow a logical progression. Begin with introducing a succinct thesis statement that briefly summarizes the main points of your speech. This will give the audience a clear idea of what topics you will be discussing and help retain their attention throughout your speech. Furthermore, be mindful to weave in personal anecdotes or relevant stories so that the audience can better relate to your ideas. Make sure the anecdotes have a purpose and demonstrate the key themes effectively. Acquiring creative ways to present data or statistics is also important; avoid inundating the audience with too many facts and figures all at once. Finally, ensure that all visual aids such as props, charts or slides remain relevant to the subject matter being discussed. Visual aids not only keep listeners engaged but also make difficult concepts easier to understand. With these handy tips in mind, you should be well on your way to constructing an effective informative speech outline! Now let’s move onto exploring some examples of effective informative speech outlines so that we can get a better idea of how it’s done.

Examples of Effective Informative Speech Outlines

Informative speeches must be compelling and provide relevant details, making them effective and impactful. In order to create an effective outline, speakers must first conduct extensive research on the chosen topic. An effective informative speech outline will clearly provide the audience with enough information to keep them engaged while also adhering to a specific timeframe. The following are examples of how to effectively organize an informative speech: I. Introduction: A. Stimulate their interest – pose a question, present intriguing facts or establish a humorous story B. Clearly state the main focus of the speech C. Establish your credibility– explain your experience/research conducted for the speech II. Supporting Points: A. Each point should contain facts and statistics related to your main idea B. Each point should have its own solid evidence that supports it III. Conclusion: A. Summarize supporting points B. Revisit your introduction point and explain how it’s been updated/changed through the course of the discussion C. Offer a final statement or call to action IV. Bibliography: A. Cite all sources used in creating the speech (provide an alphabetical list) Debate both sides of argument if applicable: N/A

Commonly Asked Questions

What techniques can i use to ensure my informative speech outline is organized and cohesive.

When crafting an informative speech outline, there are several techniques you can use to ensure your speech is organized and cohesive. First of all, make sure your speech follows a logical flow by using signposting , outlining the main ideas at the beginning of the speech and then bulleting out your supporting points. Additionally, you can use transitions throughout the speech to create a smooth order for your thoughts, such as ‘next’ and ‘finally’. Furthermore, it is important that each point in your outline has a specific purpose or goal, to avoid rambling and confusion. Finally, use visual aids such as charts and diagrams to emphasise key ideas and add clarity and structure to your speech. By following these techniques , you can ensure your informative speech outline is well organized and easy to follow.

How should I structure the order of the information in an informative speech outline?

The structure of an informative speech outline should be simple and organized, following a linear step-by-step process. First, you should introduce the topic to your audience and provide an overview of the main points. Next, give an explanation of each point, offer evidence or examples to support it, and explain how it relates to the overall subject matter. Finally, you should conclude with a summary of the main points and a call for action. When structuring the order of information in an informative speech outline, it is important to keep topics distinct from one another and stick to the logical progression that you have established in your introduction. Additionally, pay attention to chronology if appropriate; when discussing historical events, for example, make sure that they are presented in the correct order. Moreover, use transition phrases throughout your outline to help move ideas along smoothly. Finally, utilize both verbal and visual aids such as diagrams or graphics to illustrate complex knowledge effectively and engage your audience throughout your presentation.

What are the essential components of an informative speech outline?

The essential components of an informative speech outline are the introduction, body, and conclusion. Introduction: The introduction should establish the topic of your speech, provide background information, and lead into the main purpose of your speech. It’s also important to include a strong attention-grabbing hook in order to grab the audience’s attention. Body: The body is where you expand on the main points that were outlined in the introduction. It should provide evidence and arguments to support these points, as well as explain any counterarguments that might be relevant. Additionally, it should answer any questions or objections your audience may have about the topic. Conclusion: The conclusion should restate the purpose of your speech and summarize the main points from the body of your speech. It should also leave your audience feeling inspired and motivated to take some kind of action after hearing your speech. In short, an effective informative speech outline should strongly focus on bringing all of these elements together in a cohesive structure to ensure that you deliver an engaging presentation that educates and informs your audience.

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How to Write a Speech Outline

Last Updated: May 23, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Emily Listmann is a Private Tutor and Life Coach in Santa Cruz, California. In 2018, she founded Mindful & Well, a natural healing and wellness coaching service. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. Emily also received her Wellness Coach Certificate from Cornell University and completed the Mindfulness Training by Mindful Schools. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 510,417 times.

A speech outline can increase your confidence and help you keep your place so you sound authoritative and in control. As you write your speech outline, focus on how you'll introduce yourself and your topic, the points you'll cover, and the interests of your audience.

Sample Outline and Writing Help

Crafting Your Introduction

• Keep in mind you may be nervous when you start your speech. Include this in your outline so you won't forget.
• If there's anything about you that relates you to your audience, or to the group that organized the event, you want to include that in your brief greeting as well – especially if you didn't have the benefit of an introduction from someone else.
• For example, you might say "Good afternoon. I'm Sally Sunshine, and I've been a volunteer with the Springfield Animal Society for five years. I'm honored they've invited me to speak here today about the importance of spaying or neutering your pets."

• When choosing your attention-getter, keep your audience in mind. Think about what would grab their attention – not necessarily what you personally find interesting or humorous.
• If you're not sure whether your attention-getter will work, try practicing it in front of friends or family members who are similar in age and interests to the people who will be in the audience when you give your speech.
• For example, if you're giving a speech on spaying and neutering pets to a group of suburban families, you might open with a humorous reference to the Disney movie "101 Dalmatians."

• Briefly explain the importance of the topic or issue you'll be discussing in your speech.
• If your speech is an informative one, explain why the information is important or relevant to your audience.
• For argumentative speeches, explain what might happen if action isn't taken on the issue.
• For example, you might say "Every year, our local animal shelter has to put down 500 unwanted cats and dogs. If all pets were spayed and neutered, it's estimated this number would decrease to under 100."

• If you're giving an argumentative speech, your thesis statement will be a statement of the ultimate point you hope to prove through the information and evidence you lay out in your speech.
• For example, the thesis statement for a speech arguing that all pet owners should spay or neuter their pets might be "Our entire community would benefit if all pets were spayed or neutered."
• The thesis statement for a more informative speech will simply summarize the type of information you're going to provide the audience through your speech.
• For a more scientific speech, your thesis statement will reflect the hypothesis of the scientific study you're presenting in your speech.

• If you're giving a speech for a class in school, your "credibility" may be as simple as the fact that you took the class and researched the topic.
• However, if you have a more personalized interest in the topic of your speech, this is a good time to mention that.
• For an argumentative speech, a personal connection to the subject matter can enhance your credibility. For example, maybe you're giving a speech about local urban housing policy and you became interested in the topic when you learned your family was facing eviction. A personal connection often can mean more to members of your audience than extensive professional experience in the area.

• There's no hard and fast rule, but speeches typically have three main points. You should list them in your introduction in the order you plan to present them in your speech. The order in which you discuss your points depends on the type of speech you're giving.
• For example, your speech on spaying or neutering pets might address the benefits to the pet first, then the benefit to the pet's family, then the benefit to the community at large. This starts small and moves outward.
• For an argumentative speech, you typically want to lead with your strongest argument and work down in order of strength.
• If you're giving an informative speech based on a historical event, you may want to provide your points chronologically. Other informative speeches may be better served by starting with the broadest point and moving to more narrow points.
• Ultimately, you want to order your points in a way that feels natural to you and will enable you to easily transition from one point to another.

Building the Body of Your Speech

• Your first point will be a top-level entry on your outline, typically noted by a Roman numeral.
• Beneath that top-level, you will have a number of sub-points which are comments, statistics, or other evidence supporting that point. Depending on how your outline is formatted, these typically will be letters or bullet points.

• As with the points themselves, with your evidence you typically want to start with the strongest or most important sub-point or piece of evidence and move down. This way, if you start running short on time, you can easily cut the last points without worrying that you're leaving out something important.
• The type of evidence or sub-points you'll want to include will depend on the type of speech you're giving.
• Try to avoid pounding your audience with long series of numbers or statistics – they typically won't retain the information. If you have a significant amount of numerical data or statistics, creating an infographic you can project during your presentation may be more useful.
• Keep in mind that additional personal stories or anecdotes can be particularly effective to get your point across in a speech.
• For example, if your first point in your speech about spaying or neutering pets is that the procedure benefits the pets themselves, you might point out that pets that are spayed or neutered live longer, are at a decreased risk for certain types of cancer, and are generally more healthy than pets who aren't spayed or neutered.

• Avoid over-thinking your transition. It really doesn't need to be incredibly sophisticated. If you can't come up with anything specific, using a simple transitional phrase will work fine.
• For example, you might say "Now that I've discussed how spaying and neutering has a positive effect on your pet's health, I want to move to the effect that spaying and neutering has on your family."
• Some of the most effective transitions turn on a particular word or phrase, such as the word "effect" in the example above.

• When choosing your sub-points or the facts that you want to emphasize in your speech, keep your audience in mind as well as the overall point. Think about what's important to them, or what they potentially would find most surprising or most interesting.

Creating Your Closing

• This transition doesn't need to be fancy – it doesn't even have to be a whole sentence. You can simply say "In conclusion," and then launch into your summary.

• You don't need to go into detail here – you're just reinforcing what you've already told your audience.
• Make sure you don't introduce any new information in your closing summary.
• For example, you might say "As you've seen, spaying or neutering your pet has substantial benefits not only for you and your pet, but also for the community at large."

• If your speech went well, you have fully proven your thesis and demonstrated its importance. This statement should relate back to the summary of your points and present a strong statement.
• Particularly for brief speeches, you can even combine your summary of points with your thesis statement in a single sentence that wraps up your speech.
• For example, you might say "Given the benefits to your pet's health, to your family, and to the overall well-being of your community, it is clear that spaying or neutering pets should be a top priority for all pet owners."

• You may want to think of a way to bring the entire speech back around to that story you initially told to grab your audience's attention.
• If you have an argumentative or similar speech, your closing lines typically will include a call to action. Give your audience an example of how important the subject of your speech is, and implore them to act on the information you gave them in a specific way.
• When making a call to action, make sure you include specific details, such as where to go, who to contact, and when to act.
• For example, you might say "For the next week, the Springfield Animal Society will be spaying and neutering pets for free at their clinic on 123 Main Street. Call 555-555-5555 to make an appointment for your furry friend today!"

• Particularly if your speech was longer or if you went over the time allotted, be sure to tell them that you appreciate their time.
• As with your initial greeting, including this in your outline ensures you won't forget it in the moment. That doesn't mean you should try to write something verbatim. Rather, you should focus on your thanks being more off-the-cuff and sincere.

• If you want to establish parameters for the questions, be sure to list these in your outline so you can mention them when you announce that you're open for questions.
• Anticipate questions that may be asked dependent on your speech topic. Preemptively answer those questions and include them in your outline.
• You also should note if you only have a specified period of time for questions, or if you're only taking a set number of questions.

Community Q&A

• Outlines can vary in how formal or informal you make them. You could either make it a full script or use shorthand with highlighted main points. Use the outline that works best for you. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 0
• Use a large font that you can easily read by glancing down. Print your outline and place it on a desk, then stand and look down at the paper. If it's too small or you find yourself leaning over to read it, increase the font size. Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 3
• Type your outline on a word-processing application. There typically will be an outline template you can use that will format the outline correctly automatically. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 3

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• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-introductions
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html
• ↑ https://lewisu.edu/writingcenter/pdf/final-developing-a-speech-outline.pdf
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-evidence
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/10-2-keeping-your-speech-moving/

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The best way to write a speech outline is to write the main points of your greeting and introduction in the first section, including your name and what you’ll be talking about. Then, make a second section with bullet points of all the important details you want to mention in the body of your speech. Make sure to include facts and evidence to back your argument up. Finish your outline with a section that summarizes your points concisely. To learn how to keep your audience's attention throughout your speech, keep reading below! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Informative Speech Outline

43 Informative Speech Outline Templates & Examples

Are you looking for ways to make your informative speech interesting? There are multiple ways through which you can make it sound interesting to your audience. If you are a student, you may have to write such kind of speeches every now and then. Besides students, business owners also have to come up with such kind of speeches for their audience.

Table of Contents

• 1 Informative Speech Outline Examples
• 2 What is an Informative Speech?
• 3.1 Definitional Speech
• 3.2 Descriptive Speech
• 3.3 Explanatory Speech
• 3.4 Demonstration Speech
• 4 Informative Speech Outline Templates
• 5.1 Eye Contact
• 5.2 Tone of Your Voice
• 5.3 Expressive Hand and Body Gestures
• 6 Informative Speech Samples
• 7 Tips for Your Informative Speech from a Professional

You can use multiple ways to enhance your informative speeches. In order to know more about informative speeches, its types, and how you can make it sound interesting, read through this article

Informative Speech Outline Examples

What is an Informative Speech?

An informative speech is a type of speech mostly based on facts and figure. The facts are presented in front of the audience to teach them about a specific topic. It is necessary for an informative speech to have reliable sources to support claims. At times, presenters think to add some life to their speeches by putting in visual aids, images or appealing photographs. This is done to ensure that the audience remains engaged and not get overwhelmed with just facts and figures. As the name implies, an informative speech likely focuses on the general information covering history, evolution and other necessary information in order to teach the audience about a specific topic. For instance, if you are giving an informative speech about baking bread, you can explain the history of bread, its evolution and how to bake it efficiently. Sometimes, people often think that informative essays and informative speeches are one as the same thing, but it is not so. Unlike informative essays , the presentation is the key element for informative speeches.

Furthermore, while giving an informative speech, your tone can vary. You can fluctuate your tone, raising your voice or talking normally. But most importantly, you should include credible sources to support your ideas and claims. The audience can become more knowledgeable on the subject. The speaker of the informative speech should be well-versed about the entire subject and able to answer the detailed questions that are asked. The speaker should do thorough research on the topic and should be able to defend their side.

Normally, there are four types of topics for informative speeches: concepts, objects, events, and processes. Like other types of speeches, an informative speech also has an introduction, body, and conclusion. So, make sure you do include all the parts in order to make the right kind of informative speech outline. If you are not sure about the informative speech outline, you can download the informative speech outline template. We have several different kinds of informative speech outline examples for you. Simply download any of them and edit it with your speech.

Additionally, informative speech is unlike the persuasive speech as it just highlights the facts and figures in order to draw upon conclusions. On the contrary, persuasive speech has certain opinions and conclusions in the speech besides the sourceable facts. An informative speech has limitless options. From fictitious to non-fictitious topics, informative speeches can be given on any kind of topic. But just make sure that you have enough knowledge about it. All in all, the main goal of the informative speech is to provide enlightenment about the specific topic the audience does not know about.

Types of Informative Speeches

Now that you have understood what actually informative speech is, you should also understand that there are different types of speeches. Check out the four types below.

Definitional Speech

In the definitional speeches, the speaker explains the meaning of theories, concepts, issues and philosophies that the audience may not know about. In such types of speeches, the speakers may begin by providing a history of the topic and background to the subject. Let’s continue the similar example which we mentioned above of baking bread.

Considering this example under this form of speech, the speaker would elucidate about what a bread actually is, the history of the bread, how it changed from time and what are the parts of a bread called. The speaker will give shape to such kinds of things throughout the speech.

Descriptive Speech

The purpose of a descriptive speech is to provide vivid and detailed information of a person, place, animal, or thing. Also, it is supported by a word picture. This kind of informative speech is different from the definitional speeches because it helps in determining the characteristics, functions, features and the key points of the topic.

For instance, if you are providing a speech on the famous Statue of Liberty in the United States, you should let the audience know all about its nuts and bolts. You should know what kind of material is used in order to make it, how it was made, what is its historical significance, why is it located on that spot etc. There are many things that you need to answer in these kinds of descriptive speeches.

Explanatory Speech

An explanatory speech is also known as a briefing. Explanatory speech is somehow like descriptive speech as both of them share the function of clarifying the topic. But these kinds of speeches mostly focus on reports of historical and current events, transformations, customs, inventions, outcomes, policies, and options.

Additionally, these speeches focus on the explanations more, considering how and why aspect most importantly. On the contrary, descriptive speeches do not go in too many details while the explanatory speeches go into depth.

Demonstration Speech

Demonstration speech type is also one of the informative speech types that help listeners determine how to accomplish or perform things on their own. This type of speech is based on demonstration. When speakers have to give this type of speech, they focus on the processes having a series of steps which has specific beginning and ending. These types of speeches are normally given to the audience who do not have any know-how about the product. For instance, if a representative is giving speech to the audience in public about a product, they would use demonstration speech approach.

Also, there are certain products that include set of tools and associated features. It can be quite challenging to write the demonstration speeches as they may include several objects, steps, features, related events or relationships. If you want to prepare this speech, you should first remember to keep safety of the audience in your mind. You should make sure that the tools or elements you are using do not hurt the audience.

For instance, if you want to give a demonstration speech using fire, make sure that you do it carefully. There have been many cases in history when demonstration speeches have gone wrong. So, you must ensure to keep the safety of the audience in your mind. Besides, if you want to write a demonstration speech, we have a template available for that too. Simply download it and edit the outline with respect to your needs.

Informative Speech Outline Templates

Checklist for Your Informative Speech

According to a research, when you give speech to the audience, words are the least important part while communicating. As per the study, when you do face-to-face conversation with others, you need to focus on your actions. Here are some elements that you need to take care of. Find the checklist for your informative speech below.

Eye Contact

Your audience will get bored if you just read through the text on the presentation. This would not help the audience in understanding the speech you are giving to them. A good speech is the one which is supported by proper eye contact and is accompanied with good presentation skills. Also, according to a study, effective communication is based on trust.

Your audience will trust you if you make an eye contact with them. You should see into the eyes of the audience in order to evaluate if they are interested and grasping the idea or not. The cooperation increases when we watch the audience. When you would make an eye contact, it would increase trustworthiness and also encourage future cooperation.

Tone of Your Voice

In addition to making an eye contact, the tone of your voice is equally important when it comes to giving a speech. Your audience will not be interested if you give the speech in a monotonous tone. Also, informative speeches may also get dull due to the facts and figures in it. Along with the tone of your voice, the facial expressions also matter.

According to experts, if the tome remains the same, neural dissonance takes place inside the brain causing confusion in the person. In order to express joy, your voice should become increasingly melodic and when you want to portray sadness, you can shift your tone to monotonic. There is a lot of variability in both, the speed and tone.

Expressive Hand and Body Gestures

Hand and body gestures also play a very important role. Your audience would get really very bored if you stand straight in one position and do not use your hand and body gestures. The gestures are really very important as they help in the comprehending the language. Audience’s brain would want both, your sound as well as your body movements in order to accurately perceive what is meant.

According to a research, if our gestures and words are dissimilar, it will likely create a confusing state for the listener’s brain. So, you need to ensure that you use your hand and body gestures during your speech but make sure that you do it at the right time. We would suggest you to practice speaking in front of the mirror and use your hands in order to describe the words that you are going to speak in front of the audience.

Informative Speech Samples

Tips for Your Informative Speech from a Professional

If you want to write an effective informative speech, then you should be following the tips below by the professional.

• You should be providing information in every minute of your speech. There should not be any filler texts or information. An informative speech is made for the core reason to make every minute worth for the audience. Keep in mind that you are not trying to impress them; you are just trying to provide them information during your speech.
• In addition to providing information to the audience, you should also give examples of real world situations so that your audience can relate to the information on practical basis. You are just there to help your audience learn information.
• Make sure that you make an eye contact with your audience in order to help them trust you. Remember that your goal is to educate the audience and make them believe in what you say.
• You should be quite sincere and credible about the speech you are giving to your audience. You should not put the information that you think is not reliable.
• At the end of the information speech, you should be ready to ask questions. Or let your audience know that you would ask them in the end so that they stay prepared by the end of the session.

Informative speech outline is readily available on our main website. If you are looking for informative speech outline template of any type, you can download it from our main website and use for your effective informative speech. We hope our templates help you in giving the best speech.

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• How to plan a speech

Planning your speech

- a complete, unabridged guide with multiple examples to help plan a successful speech ☺.

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 06-05-2023

Planning your speech is where your success begins. I do not jest! 

In your imagination you may hear yourself being stunning, the audience clapping wildly  as they rise to their feet to give you a standing ovation.

You may see yourself being deluged in red roses and offered several speaking contracts. Obviously, they are all lucrative but you choose the one with optional extras: an extended holiday in the South of France …

But first you have to begin at the beginning: planning your speech. Without a plan you are whistling in the wind, dreaming.

What's on this page:

How to plan a speech step by step:

• gathering the information to write your speech
• brainstorming : what is a brainstorm, examples of brainstorms, getting started, with full step by step explanations and examples
• how to shape material to fit an audience, the speech setting, and time allocation
• an example speech outline
• how and why to research
• how to meet varying learning style needs: visual, auditory, and  kinesthetic
• links to other useful pages: how to rehearse, make cue-cards...

Planning your speech from the start

A note about these notes.

These notes are general guidelines for ALL types of speeches. I know they are long.

(Actually that's an understatement! They are very long.)

I also know if you take the time to go through them they'll give you a solid introduction to thorough speech preparation.

They cover the basics of good presentation planning, research, writing and rehearsal: aspects you’ll want to consider regardless of the type of speech you’re giving.

Gathering your information

Once you have information about:

• WHY you are going to speak (the purpose of your speech),
• WHO you are going to speak to (your audience),
• WHAT your general or specific subject matter is,
• HOW long the speech is to be,
• and WHERE it is...,

you are ready to make a rough or draft outline.

This will be your guide for writing.

You may alter the outline as you go along, as better or different ideas occur to you and that’s OK. It shows you’re flexible and thinking but before we can change anything we have to have something to start with.

To get to the outline stage in the speech planning process we first need to collect up all the "why", "who", "what", "when", "how", and "where" information needed. And that begins with a brainstorm * .

* What is a brainstorm?

A brainstorm is the name given to a commonly used, and effective, technique for generating lots of ideas on a topic, or theme, fast.

Using a heading as a prompt to get you thinking, you quickly note everything you can think of relating to it. You do not edit yourself.  You simply let the ideas flow until you can think of no more, making no judgements about whether it's a good idea, a silly idea, or a right or wrong one.

Ultimately, some will be more useful than others. You will sort through and order them later. However, the first step in the brainstorming process, is to accept everything you think of without hesitation. Stopping to decide what's OK and what's not breaks the flow.

If you'd like to see what a completed brainstorm looks like I have examples of them on my site. You'll see they provided the ideas that were then used to write the example speeches.

• one for a maid of honor speech
• one for a 50th wedding anniversary speech
• and another for a farewell speech for a colleague

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Brainstorm to begin planning your speech

The brainstorm you are going to do is about making sure you thoroughly understand everything you possibly can about the speech you intend to give.

On a large piece of paper or in a word document write these headings with enough space between them for notes.   

WHY are you giving this speech?

What is the purpose of the speech? Do you intend to inspire? To motivate? To entertain? To inform? Or perhaps you want to combine several, like to inform, motivate and inspire?

Knowing what you want your audience to think, feel and do as a result of listening to your speech is the WHY underpinning your presentation. It will help guide what content you use and how you structure it.

WHO is your audience?

Write down as much as you know about the audience.

This will give you ideas about what they will want to hear and be interested in. It will also be your guide when it comes to shaping your material. (More about this later!)

For now, make notes covering:

• the number of people expected to be in your audience,
• their age group,
• ethnicity, if appropriate,
• and the common, or uniting factors they share,
• and specific interests they may have.

Why is knowing who you're talking to vital?

Find out more about why being in harmony with your audience is so important. Check out building rapport.

Examples of WHY, WHO, WHAT...brainstorm notes 

Meet Martha Brown. She's fictional. I've made her, and the presentation she's preparing for up, to show you how the brainstorming part of the planning process works.

Martha's been asked to give a motivational speech to a group of women whose background is similar to her own. She, too, came from a family who struggled financially.

Today she is one of the few amongst her relatives who has maintained a marriage, raised children and has a successful business. Her small catering firm specializes in delivering beautifully presented gourmet meals and finger food on demand.

The organizer of the event wants her to share her life story as a guide or inspiration.

Martha is conscious of her good fortune but also knows the starting point, or the seed, lay within her. She desired the change of circumstances so much she enabled them to happen.

WHY is Martha giving this presentation?

What's the principal purpose behind Martha's speech? What does she want her audience to think, feel or do as a result of listening to her? 

Let's put ourselves in her shoes.

She wants to:

• motivate and inspire her audience
• give them hope 
• show them there is a way out of the circumstances they find themselves in

WHO is Martha's audience?

These are Martha's notes covering the key points about her audience.

• Approximately 25 people ( number )
• Mostly mid to late 30s (age)
• All women (gender)
• Mixed ethnic background but all speak English (ethnicity)
• City dwellers (uniting factor)
• Mostly work inside the home (uniting factor)
• Many have children (uniting factor)
• Interested in achieving work/life balance for themselves and their families and in particular a better financial situation (interest/uniting factor)
• All belong to the same church group (uniting factor)

WHAT are you going to talk about?

Write down the title and/or type of speech you have been asked to prepare. Now using your notes from the WHO section of your brainstorm, begin another set.

This time you are looking to see how WHAT you're going to talk about can be specifically shaped to meet and serve the interests of your audience.

Let's look at an example of WHAT

How does martha shape her life story to fit her audience.

She doesn't want to overwhelm them with information so they can’t think straight or digest it. That will turn them off.

They will think it’s too difficult and beyond them. They may listen, be interested, but they won’t  identify  with it.

She wants them to feel they can take from her experience and use it to enrich their own lives.

Her notes for WHAT may look like this:

• S peech Title How to win a future for your family when the kids need feeding and the bills want paying.
• Content - main points
• I am like you – I get too busy to plan ahead, I have a tendency to deal with what or whoever squeals loudest, I get tired …
• Before and after – life before I made the decision to start my own business – life after I made the decision. Comparisons – several examples.
• The hardest part of making the decision and acting on it was … Examples.
• The best part of making the decision … Examples. People who inspired me to act.
• What I’ve learned in the process about my family, others and myself … Examples.
• How I keep myself inspired … goal setting, listening and learning from others
• The future – a possible way forward for you, the women in the audience listening.

It’s not a speech yet but you can see the beginnings of its shape and how she’s used her knowledge of the audience to ensure giving them something they’ll enjoy listening to and identify with.

How? (How long will I speak for? How will I deliver my speech?)

There are two important 'hows' to consider.

1. How long have I got to speak?

The first is HOW long have I got to speak.

The time allocation you have been given will determine what you put into your speech and what you will leave out.

If you have a relatively short time, 3-5 minutes, you will need to either focus on one major topic with examples to illustrate or settle for covering a maximum of three lightly.

The purpose of your speech and your audience will help you make the most relevant choice. A longer time gives you more freedom to develop several ideas/themes fully.

2. How will I deliver my presentation?

The second 'how' relates to the method of presentation. HOW will you deliver this speech?

For example:

• Will this be a speech told with humor?
• Will you have a 'show and tell'? (This is when you take objects relevant to your speech to illustrate your points. It could be photographs or other items if they are suitable to transport.)
• Could you give a demonstration?

Shaping delivery to meet different learning styles

When you consider this 'how' bear in mind the different needs of your audience. Most people have a preferred mode for receiving information. That is their learning style.

Some people understand well through listening. They are called 'auditory'.

Some people get most of their understanding through looking. They are called 'visual'.

Others receive and understand information best when they can touch, feel or do what is being explained to them. These are the 'kinesthetics'.

Most of us have a preference for one or two modes. For instance, I am 'auditory' and 'visual'. I want to hear and see.  

A considerate speaker tries to include all three modes (learning styles) in their speech.

(For more on catering for learning styles with examples see the foot of the page.)

Delivery and time are yoked together

How you to choose to deliver your presentation is governed by the time you have available. If it is short, you may have to leave out a 'show and tell' or a demonstration but you will always be able to include something to meet all three modes satisfactorily.

'HOW' example from Martha's brainstorm notes 

Let’s return to Martha’s Notes to see what she does with the 'how' segment of her brainstorm.

How long? Time available = 10 minutes. (Maybe a little more but that depends on the rest of the agenda of the meeting and how well it flows. Could be some space for questions from the audience and answer.)

How to present? Definitely with humor! Also take some fliers, business cards and samples of finger food along. These can be available for people to pick up at the end of the presentation.

WHEN will this speech be given?

WHEN has two aspects you'll want to take into consideration.

The first is the actual date you have to have it ready for delivery. That lets you know how much time you have for preparation. Is it three weeks, six weeks, or two days?

You'll use that information to plan your workflow. For example, allocating yourself one week to get your preliminary outline and any research required, completed.   

The second aspect is the actual time of day and season you deliver a speech. This can have an impact on what you do and say.

For example: You can use an early bird start in the middle of winter on a wet Monday morning effectively by acknowledging the efforts people have made to be there, and by making sure the heaters are on and there's hot coffee available.

Finding ways of tying in what is happening in the 'here and now' is a good way to connect with your audience.

A word of warning : Be conscious about presenting difficult or challenging material when people are either both tired and hungry (just before lunch or dinner) or when they’ve just eaten! Concentration spans are not at their best in either situation. If possible save this type of content for a mid-morning or afternoon slot.

Martha’s Notes, WHEN:  2.45pm, Wednesday, 2nd August – Summer heat

WHERE will this presentation take place?

The environment/room/space you are to speak can play a big role in shaping the final presentation of your speech.

Points to consider are:

• Where will I be in relation to the audience?
• Will they see me easily?
• Will they hear me easily?
• Do I need a microphone?
• Is there a place to put notes if I’m using them?
• Where can I set up my samples for people to take them easily?
• Are there power points if I want to use any electronic devices?
• Do I have to provide everything I want to use (e.g.: computer, screen, leads…)?

Many fully prepared, beautifully rehearsed speeches fail because insufficient thought has gone into where they are to take place.

It’s no fun when people can neither see nor hear you or the carefully thought through demonstration is stymied through lack of an electric socket in the right place!

Martha’s Notes, WHERE: Church meeting room. It can seat everybody comfortably and there’s room for a table to put out a display of fliers and trays of food, paper napkins etc. Arrange the chairs in a horseshoe or semi-circle so everybody can see clearly.

Pulling the brainstorm notes together in an outline

Once you've worked your way through making notes under your WHY, WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHEN, and WHERE headings, you're ready for the next step.

That's picking and choosing, then re-ordering and re-writing the material you've taken from the WHAT and HOW segments of your brainstorm until you're satisfied it flows well and meets your speech purpose.

After you’ve completed outlining your speech, you’ll be ready to do any extra research required, and then you’re on to the task of writing your speech.

Martha's completed outline

Here's Martha’s Finished Outline as an example. 

Speech length : 15 minutes with extra time for a 'Question and Answer' session at the end of the presentation.

Speech title : How to win a future for your family when the kids need feeding, and the bills want paying

Introduction (2.5 minutes): Thanks for coming today … Summer heat, we’d all rather be at beach reading a book under a sun umbrella….etc. But I hope I’ve got something for you that’ll more than make up for it. I look around the hall and I see a lot of women just like me: women, who work hard, love their families, etc., … want the best for them.

(Insert anecdotal humor, perhaps a small personal story about credit cards. For instance, the only way I could manage them was to banish them the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet. Or use them to test how sharp my scissors were.)

Main Idea 1 (3 minutes): Introduce business and what it is.

Explain how it functions on a daily basis. Briefly outline long-term goals.

(Quick show-and-tell with flyers and food. Invite people to sample at end and ask questions.)

Main idea 2 (3.5 minutes): My life before the business (tie to women in audience). My life after business started. What I have achieved. The hardest part about starting, staying in business. The best part about starting, staying in business. People who have inspired me.

Main idea 3 (3.5 minutes): What I’ve learned in the process about my family, others and myself … Examples. How I keep myself inspired … goal setting, listening and learning from others

Summary : (2.5 minutes): Very quick round up of principal points. The future – the way forward for you, the women in the audience listening. Invite questions if time. Remind them about the fliers and the food! Thank organizers.

Summary - Core speech planning questions

That’s it! Very short, sweet and simple.

There’s nothing magical about planning your speech. It's just methodical: one-step-after-another. If you find yourself flustered go back to the core brainstorm headings and ask yourself the key questions once more.

• WHY am I giving this presentation? What is my purpose?What do I want my audience to do, think, or feel as a result of having heard me speak?
• WHO is this speech for?
• WHAT am I going to tell them that’s relevant and interesting?
• HOW long is the speech expected to be?
• HOW am I going to present it?
• WHEN is the speech for? (Date, day, time, season)
• WHERE is the speech going to happen? (Hall, outdoors, stadium…)

Write your answers down and let them be your guide.

Remember this is not your finished speech.

It’s your outline * : a map of what you’re going to cover.

Don’t spend too much time trying to get it perfect. You’ll want that energy for researching, writing and rehearsing!

And guess what is coming up next?

* If you'd like more about outlining a speech, including a printable outline template to use, go to sample speech outline .

Getting from planning to delivery

Here are links to articles on:

• how to research your speech . The reasons for research are discussed under the heading below -"When and What to Research"
• how to write your speech
• how to prepare and use cue cards. The benefits of using cue cards over reading from a word-for-word script are enormous. Because you are freed from having to focus on your notes you can interact with your audience directly. Your speech becomes more spontaneous and "in-the-moment".
• how to use story telling to enrich your speech . Do consider weaving your personal stories into your speech. They add tremendous audience appeal. 
• how to use props. If you're planning a "show and tell" type speech, this page is essential reading.
• how to rehearse. Rehearsal will lift your speech from ordinary to extraordinary. You'll find out privately where the glitches are, rather than publicly. It gives you an opportunity to refine your delivery.  I think it's absolutely essential!  

When and what to research

If you already know your subject thoroughly, inside out, back to front and sideways, there will be no need to research and you can skip this part of planning your speech.

BUT if you don’t, the outline should point up the gaps needing to be filled with specific information.

In our example it there seems little need for Martha to do any further research, as this speech is her personal story.

However, there are a number of ways she could strengthen her speech and add real benefits for her audience.

For example: she could bring along fliers from local training institutions providing courses especially geared for women setting up business on their own or she could provide a list of business women in the community willing to mentor and advise women in start-ups. A reading list would be helpful, as would a resource list.

All of these ideas need researching before presenting.

Careful research adds authority to your work. It shows care, thought and dedication to getting it right. Your audience will appreciate and respect you for it.

NB. If you are presenting material as fact rather than as opinion, check it! Make sure you know rather than think you know. If you can’t find out, then say so.

PS. Remember those modes or preferred learning styles?

Did you pick how Martha planned to meet each of them in her outline?

For the 'auditory' learners she would tell her story using her voice in a lively, interesting-to-listen-to way! Nothing turns an auditory focused person's ears off faster than a monotone drawl.

For the 'visual' people, she would provide fliers and food to see. Plus her appearance and body language would 'say' to them, this is a vibrant, purpose-filled person who loves what she does.

And lastly, she would use 'word pictures' to illustrate the points she made in her speech. The 'visual' would literally 'see' where she was coming from by using their imagination to recreate her images in their own minds!

For the 'kinesthetics', Martha planned to actively tell her story. She would use vivid 'action' words describing how she did things.

Example: ' I started a business.'  is bland. It doesn't communicate any of the effort or feelings involved.

By contrast: ' I started my own business. What a journey! I know you've watched your children learning to walk. Well, that was me! I fell. I skinned my knees and bruised myself. I got up, took two steps and crashed again...'

You get the idea. This is action, living and real.

The 'kinesthetic' folk will appreciate and know what she is talking about.

Additionally, Martha's fliers and food will appeal too. They can hold them, actively read the fliers and taste the food.

Lastly, they will be aware of what Martha does while she's talking to them. Is she conveying energy, excitement and action in her body language? If so, she'll have them with her!

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25+ Informative Speech Topics To Engage Your Audience

• The Speaker Lab
• September 1, 2024

Table of Contents

A well-chosen topic is key. Not only does it hook your audience from the start, but it also ensures they’ll remember what you said long after. With so many possibilities, however, where do you even begin? Picking a speech topic can be difficult, but if you’re looking for informative speech topics , look no further. We’ve compiled a list of informative speech topics spanning a wide range of categories, from technology and social media to psychology and mental health. Each one has been chosen carefully so that your audience will learn loads while staying entertained. Whether you’re passionate about green living or sports, there’s a topic out there that’ll catch your attention and spark conversations.

What is an Informative Speech?

The main goal of an informative speech is to educate your audience about a specific subject. Accordingly, you want to present the information in a way that’s easy to understand and remember. Depending on your topic and goal, you can choose to speak on objects, processes, events, or concepts. Whatever type of informative speech you choose, just make sure it aligns with your audience’s interests and needs.

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Key Elements of an Informative Speech

To deliver an effective informative speech, there are a few key elements to keep in mind:

• Choose a clear, specific topic
• Conduct thorough research using credible sources
• Organize your speech in a logical, easy-to-follow structure
• Use engaging language and delivery techniques
• Conclude with a strong summary of your main points

By incorporating these elements into your speech writing process, you’ll be well on your way to delivering an informative and memorable speech.

How to Choose an Informative Speech Topic

Now that you know the basics of informative speeches, it’s time to choose your topic. But with so many options out there, where do you even begin? Don’t stress—we’ve got some tips to help you narrow down your choices and find the perfect informative speech topic.

Brainstorming Ideas

The first step in choosing a topic is to brainstorm potential ideas. Think about your interests, hobbies, and areas of expertise. What topics do you find fascinating? What do you want to learn more about? Jot down any and all ideas that come to mind, no matter how silly or far-fetched they may seem. After all, you never know what might spark inspiration for a great speech topic.

Narrowing Down Your Options

Once you have a list of potential topics, it’s time to start narrowing them down. Consider factors like the length of your speech, your audience’s interests and background knowledge, and the amount of research required for each topic.

Try to choose a topic that’s specific enough to cover in depth, but not so narrow that you’ll struggle to find enough information. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box—sometimes the most unique and creative informative speech topics are the most engaging.

Considering Your Audience

Your audience should always be at the forefront of your mind when choosing a speech topic. What do they want to learn about? What will capture their attention and keep them engaged? Consider factors like age, background, and interests when selecting your topic. You want to choose something that will resonate with your audience and leave them feeling informed and inspired.

Researching Your Topic

Once you’ve settled on a topic, it’s time to start researching. Look for credible sources like academic journals, reputable news outlets, and expert interviews to gather information and statistics. As you research, take notes and organize your findings into an outline. This will help you structure your speech and ensure you cover all the key points. Remember, the more knowledgeable you are about your topic, the more confident and engaging you’ll be when delivering your speech. So don’t skimp on the research phase.

Informative Speech Topics About Education

Education is a topic that affects us all, making it a great choice for an informative speech. Whether you’re passionate about bilingual education, curious about the pros and cons of online classes, or interested in the importance of physical education, there are plenty of angles to explore.

Some potential education-related informative speech topics include:

• The history of education in America
• The benefits and challenges of homeschooling
• The role of technology in modern education
• The importance of early childhood education
• The debate over standardized testing in schools

No matter which topic you choose, make sure to back up your points with research and statistics. And don’t be afraid to share your own experiences and opinions. After all, an informative speech is a great opportunity to educate and inspire your audience.

Psychology and Mental Health Informative Speech Topics

When it comes to informative speech topics about psychology and mental health, there’s no shortage of fascinating subjects to explore. From the inner workings of the human mind to the impact of mental well-being on our daily lives, this field offers a wealth of insights and discoveries. For instance, did you know that regular exercise can have a profound effect on our psychological well-being ? Studies have shown that physical activity can help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, while also boosting self-esteem and cognitive function. If topics like these interest you, then you may consider giving an informative speech on psychology and mental health.

The Mind-Body Connection

The mind-body connection is another topic that’s ripe for exploration in an informative speech. Our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs can have a powerful impact on our physical health, and vice versa. For example, chronic stress has been linked to a range of health problems, from heart disease to digestive issues. Meanwhile, embracing activities such as mindfulness or meditating brings with it perks aplenty. Bettering our brains alongside our bodies is only the start.

Of course, no discussion of psychology would be complete without delving into the complexities of human behavior. When you look at the way we build friendships or decide what’s next, there’s always something new and exciting to talk about. Wondering what to discuss? We’ve got a handful of killer suggestions ready for your upcoming presentation.

• The psychology of persuasion
• The impact of birth order on personality
• The science of habit formation
• The role of empathy in social interactions

Informative Speech Topics on Social Issues and Human Rights

Social issues and human rights are another rich source of informative speech topics. Not only are they relevant, but these topics are also great at keeping your audience hooked.

One topic that’s been in the spotlight in recent years is the impact of social media on our lives. While platforms like Facebook and Twitter have undoubtedly brought people together in new ways, they’ve also raised concerns about privacy, addiction, and the spread of misinformation. An informative speech on this topic might explore the pros and cons of social media use, as well as strategies for using these platforms in a healthy and responsible way.

Another pressing social issue is the ongoing fight for human rights around the world. Countries around the world have countless stories of courage and resilience just waiting to be told. So if you’re wondering what to discuss, take a look at these suggestions.

• The history of the civil rights movement
• The impact of gender discrimination on women’s lives
• The challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers
• The role of activism in promoting social change

Technology and Social Media Informative Speech Topics

Technology and social media are transforming the way we live, work, and communicate. As a result, these topics offer endless possibilities for informative speeches that educate and inspire.

One recent technological development has been the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). From self-driving cars to personalized medicine, AI is poised to revolutionize nearly every aspect of our lives. If you chose to do an informative speech on AI, you could weigh the good against the bad—what amazing things AI can do for us and where it might trip us up.

Diving into another area, let’s talk about social media. In addition to the impact of social media on our personal lives, there’s also the question of how these platforms are shaping our political discourse and our society as a whole. Wondering what to discuss? We’ve got a handful of killer suggestions ready for your upcoming presentation.

• The role of social media in political campaigns
• The impact of online echo chambers on public opinion
• The ethics of social media data collection and use
• The potential for social media to promote social change

Environmental and Sustainability Informative Speech Topics

Environmental issues and sustainability are some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today. From climate change to plastic pollution, you’re never out of options for stirring speeches.

Climate change is, of course, a particularly urgent environmental topic. The scientific consensus is clear: By living the way we currently do, we’re pushing our planet’s temperature higher alarmingly quick, putting everything and everyone at risk. An informative speech on this topic might explore the causes and effects of climate change, as well as the steps we can take to mitigate its impact.

Other potential informative speech topics related to the environment and sustainability might include:

• The benefits of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power
• The impact of deforestation on biodiversity and climate change
• The problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways
• The role of sustainable agriculture in feeding a growing population

No matter which topic you choose, an informative speech on psychology, social issues, technology, or the environment has the power to educate, inspire, and motivate your audience to take action. Dive into topics deeply and share what you find to spark change one reader at a time.

Unique and Creative Informative Speech Topics

Looking for a speech topic that’s a little out of the ordinary? Something that will really make your audience sit up and take notice? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Choosing a unique or creative topic is a surefire way to make your informative speech memorable. It’s a chance to showcase your personality and interests while still delivering valuable information. In addition, it’s just more fun to research and write about something a little offbeat. Below are a few creative ideas to get you going.

• Unusual holidays and festivals around the world
• The history and science behind a common food item (like chocolate or coffee)
• How a popular board game or toy is made
• The life and accomplishments of a little-known historical figure
• The psychology of optical illusions and how they trick our brains

The key is to find a topic that piques your curiosity and hasn’t been done to death. Dig deep into your hobbies, passions, and areas of expertise. Chances are, there’s a fascinating informative speech topic hiding in there somewhere. In fact, some of the best informative speeches are the ones that take a familiar topic and approach it from a completely new angle. For example, instead of giving a generic speech about the importance of recycling, you could focus on the surprising ways recycled materials are used in fashion or art.

The possibilities are endless. With a little creativity and research, you can craft a truly unique informative speech that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.

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Tips for Delivering an Engaging Informative Speech

You’ve chosen the perfect informative speech topic, done your research, and written a great speech outline . Now comes the hard part: actually delivering the speech in front of an audience. Don’t worry, though, because we have your back.

Giving a great speech is all about preparation and practice. The more comfortable you are with your material, the more confident and engaging you’ll be on stage. Here are a few tips to help you deliver an informative speech that will keep your audience hooked from beginning to end.

Organizing Your Speech

The structure of your speech is just as important as the content itself. A well-organized informative speech has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Start with an attention-grabbing introduction that previews your main points. Use the body of your speech to dive deeper into each point, using examples and stories to illustrate your ideas. Finally, wrap things up with a memorable conclusion that reinforces your key takeaways.

Using Visual Aids

Visual aids like slides, charts, or props can be a great way to enhance your informative speech and make complex topics more accessible. Just be sure to use them sparingly and strategically. Too many visuals can be distracting, so choose ones that really drive home your main points. And always have a backup plan in case of technical difficulties.

Connecting with Your Audience

At the end of the day, the goal of any informative speech is to educate and engage your audience. To do that, you need to find ways to make your topic relatable and relevant to their lives. Use examples and anecdotes that resonate with their experiences. Make eye contact, smile, and use gestures to convey your enthusiasm for the subject. And don’t be afraid to inject a little humor or personality into your delivery.

Practicing and Refining Your Delivery

The old saying “practice makes perfect” definitely applies to public speaking . The more you rehearse your informative speech, the more natural and polished your delivery will become. Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself on video, or grab a friend to be your audience. Pay attention to your pacing, clarity, and body language . And don’t forget to time yourself to make sure you’re staying within the allotted time limit.

Remember, delivering a great informative speech is a skill that anyone can learn with a little practice and preparation. So take a deep breath, trust in your abilities, and go out there and crush it.

FAQs About Informative Speech Topics

What are the 5 useful topics of an informative speech.

Consider technology trends, mental health awareness, climate change impacts, historical events analysis, and modern educational methods for engaging speeches.

What is a good informative speech?

A good one dives deep into facts and insights without trying to sway opinions. It’s clear, precise, and keeps listeners hooked.

What is an appropriate topic for an informative speech about a concept?

The evolution of artificial intelligence presents a rich ground to explore concepts ranging from ethics to its societal impact.

Which topic is best for speech?

Pick something you’re passionate about. If it sparks your interest, chances are high it’ll engage your audience too.

To truly master an informative speech, you have to get excited about your chosen subject. Spend ample time researching every nook and cranny then wrap it up by enthralling everyone through compelling narratives peppered with interesting tidbits. Use the informative speech topics we’ve shared with you and you’re all set to create a presentation that not only shares knowledge but also keeps your audience hooked and leaves them thinking.

So, whether you’re a student, professional speaker, or simply looking to enhance your public speaking skills, embrace the power of informative speeches. Choose a topic that ignites your curiosity, and watch as your words inspire and educate others.

• Last Updated: August 28, 2024

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Meeting Outline

Meeting minutes generator.

Do you want to learn how to set up a meeting plan so that you can run a productive meeting? When handling a business meeting, you might be in charge of a large number of people. A successful meeting schedule will help you cover the necessary content, stay on track, and ensure that your community gets the best out of their time.

A meeting agenda is a list of activities or topics that you may want to discuss at the meeting. Its purpose is to provide participants with a clear picture of what will happen during the conference, who leads each task, and how long each step should take. Having this information before and during the meeting can help for a smooth and efficient process. To learn more about the meeting outline, continue reading the following.

10+ Meeting Outline Examples in PDF

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10. District Meeting Outline

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Size: 107 KB

What Is a Meeting Outline?

As mentioned above meeting agenda is a list of events that attendees hope to complete during their gathering. It has several functions:

• Give Attendees Advance Notice of the Subject.
• Get a Good Understanding of What You’re Looking for During the Meeting.
• Keep Everyone’s Attention on the Subject at Hand.
• Determine the Meeting’s Speed.
• Used as a Time-Management Technique.

How To Create a Meeting Outline?

Either you have a short or an hour meeting, you must be aware of the proper methods in writing a meeting outline. To help you, here are steps that you need to follow:

Step 1: Identify Your Goal

The first thing that you need to do when creating a meeting outline is to identify your goal . Be sure that the purpose of your meeting is clear. And any task you want to do is connected to your target. To keep the conference as focused as possible, make sure to set an attainable goal. For instance, your goal is to approve the company’s monthly promotional budget. Set it first before anything else. 

Step 2: Ask Feedback from Your Audience

If you want to keep the guests involved during the conference , get their reviews ahead of time. As such, you can make sure the meeting suits their needs. Also, you can invite them to suggest what subjects or questions they want to talk about during the conference. Once you have a list of suggestions from the members, you will go through them and determine which ones to use.

Step 3: Take Note of the Questions You Want to Address

After knowing your meeting’s objective and topic you want to discuss , list the questions you will need to answer. On specific meeting agendas, usually, a subject is written as a phrase.

Step 4: Estimate the Time You Need to Spend on Each Topic

Next, figure out how much time you’ll devote to each task.  Each portion of the checklist means that you have ample flexibility to discuss all of the issues on the agenda. Also, it aids participants in fitting their comments and questions within the allotted time.

How to conduct a meeting?

In conducting a meeting, you should define the objectives, invite the right people, select a physical setting, send meeting minutes , review the topic, and start the conference. A successful conference concludes with a course of action that goes beyond the initial goal.

How to start a meeting speech?

It is polite to make small talk when waiting for the meeting to begin, whether you are hosting or attending the meeting. Talk about stuff other than the conference, such as the weather, your family, or your weekend plans .

When to close a meeting?

A meeting can come to an end for a variety of reasons. It’s possible that time will run out or everything is already covered. Some business meetings , staff meetings, or team meetings will conclude sooner than anticipated, while others run late. A conference could be cut short on occasion due to an unforeseen issue or situation.

If you are preparing for your upcoming company meeting, the information and template indicated above can really help. So take note of everything for a successful end. Don’t hesitate to grab the available meeting templates . They are all easy to use.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Summarize a team meeting about project progress, obstacles, and next steps.

Draft minutes for a board meeting covering financial reports, new initiatives, and partnership discussions.

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How to Craft a Memorable Message, According to Science

• Charan Ranganath

Four ways to make your point in a way that sticks.

Numerous researches have shown that we forget much of what we experience in a day. Knowing this, how do you create messages so there is a better chance of people remembering them? The author uses concepts from memory science to help you craft messages — whether it’s a presentation, an email, or a speech — that will be likely to stick. One way to craft a memorable message is to chunk it up. Explicitly tie together the points that you want to convey under the umbrella of a central idea. With this approach, your listener can stitch the pieces together in a meaningful way and build a rich memory for that material. Or, when communicating about a complex topic, you can make your message memorable with a concrete example instead of something vague. Remember to provide callbacks as recalling something that we previously learned can make it stronger and easier to access when we will need it. Lastly, spark their curiosity. The key to memorable communication lies not in conveying the answer, but in establishing a compelling question.

Imagine sitting in a meeting where someone is giving a presentation. You’re somewhat interested in the topic, and the speaker seems to be doing a good job. The meeting ends, and 30 minutes later, you try to recall what was discussed. You can remember that the coffee was weak, the room was too cold, and the speaker was wearing a pink tie … but you can’t remember what he was talking about.

• Dr. Charan Ranganath is a professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and the director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, and the author of the book Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold On to What Matters (Penguin Random House).

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Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Self Introduction Speech [Topics + Outline Sample]

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

This page deals with self introduction speech topics for classroom or other public speaking events an opportunities in life for a good first impression.

In this article:

Sample Introduction Speech Topics

Sample self introduction speech outline.

Another short manner for introducing yourself is the elevator speech, meant for business purposes.

The key question for successful and effective presenting yourself to others in both occasions is: how much and what information do you want the audience to know about you?

Due to the fact you have to write your talk around one theme, I recommend to develop one aspect of your life. That aspect will tell who you are and what you are about. Some people call this type a one-point preliminary, because it is based on one speaking idea.

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Look at the sample self introduction speech topics and pick out the aspects of your personal life you want to share with the audience. Approach the list below with the who, the what, the whereabouts, for sure the why, the how and when questions. That is an effective way to outline your first thoughts.

• What activity has played or plays an important part in your life? Tell the story and distract the message.
• What is your main personal goal?
• What do you like very much? Your hobby?
• What do you hate or dislike? Your aversions?
• Do you have developed a very special skill?
• What is your lifestyle?
• Can you come up with a turning point or milestone in you life?
• What is your hobby or interest in your spare time?
• What is a pet peeve or another very familiar topic you like to talk about, to do or to discuss?
• Where you are from? Do your roots reveal something about yourself that is new for the audience? That always works in a small nice text for introducing your biggest personal features.
• Is there an object or prop that means a lot to you?
• What distinguishes you from other individuals in class?

Now that you have picked out a central thesis, use this example profiler I have created:

Grab their attention . Immediately bring in your central message and come to the point.

Give some background information . Tell why it is important to you, why you are doing it, why you want to tell them, etcetera.

Now work out your item of discussion in a few sentences. Draw the contours, make it personal.

Give an example .

In conclusion, offer a memorable answer in your self-introduction speech on the question the listeners probably will have when they listen to your public speaking efforts: what’s in it for me? Tell how this aspect of your life makes who you are and what you are. It will be the perfect ending of your spoken presentation.

113 Extemporaneous Speech Topics

147 Unique Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

2 thoughts on “Self Introduction Speech [Topics + Outline Sample]”

i think that talking about some people that have influenced you the most really gives good base to your speech and it helps you by writing about things that you are familiar with so if you write about what has inspired you and what you care about you can easily write about anything.

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Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings

President Joe Biden has a lot of unfinished business from his first term that he intends to continue if reelected. It’s a far different vision for the country than Donald Trump has outlined during his own campaign. (Nov. 12)

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla.Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - President Donald Trump pumps his fist after speaking in the East Room of the White House, early Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Washington. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pa. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods.. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women Lilac Luncheon, June 27, 2023, in Concord, N.H. Trump is already laying a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term as president. Priorities on the Republican’s agenda include a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban and tariffs on all imported goods.. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures after speaking Oct. 11, 2023, at Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Hialeah, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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NEW YORK (AP) — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.

Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term.

His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals . If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term. His presidency, especially the early days, was marked by chaos, infighting and a wave of hastily written executive orders that were quickly overturned by the courts.

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Some of his current ideas would probably end up in court or impeded by Congress. But Trump’s campaign and allied groups are assembling policy books with detailed plans.

A look at his agenda:

DISMANTLING THE ‘DEEP STATE’

Trump would try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.”

He would try to accomplish that by reissuing a 2020 executive order known as “Schedule F.” That would allow him to reclassify masses of employees, with a particular focus, he has said, on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.” Given his anger at the FBI and federal prosecutors pursuing criminal cases against him, Trump probably would target people linked to those prosecutions for retribution.

Beyond the firings, he wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.

THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER

Trump has pledged to “immediately stop the invasion of our southern border” and end illegal immigration.

As part of that plan, he says he would immediately direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.

In a bid to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. He also wants to build more of the border wall.

Trump wants to reimpose his travel ban that originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and expand it to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country.” In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, he has pledged to put in place “ideological screening” for immigrants. His aim: bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs,” as well as those who “empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists.”

To deter migrants, he has said he would end birthright citizenship, using an an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order would prevent federal agencies from granting automatic citizenship to the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. It would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to be eligible for passports, Social Security numbers and other benefits.

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Trump says he will institute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods. Penalties would increase if trade partners manipulate their currencies or engage in other unfair trading practices.

He will urge that Congress pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” giving the president authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes one on the U.S.

Much of the agenda focuses on China. Trump has proposed a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods, including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. He wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardize America’s national security.”

FOREIGN POLICY

Trump claims that even before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.

It is unclear whether he would insist that Russia withdraw from territory in Ukraine it seized in the war that it launched in February 2022.

Trump has said he will stand with Israel in its war with Hamas and support Israel’s efforts to “destroy” the militant group. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

Trump says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.

As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare dollars.

He would push Congress to prohibit hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states.

Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy before medical intervention. At that point, hormone treatments such as puberty blockers are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations, including the American Medical Association.

Trump’s goal, he says, is for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, including China.

Under the mantra “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” he says he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He would roll back Biden administration efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.

And again, he says, he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden admiration targeting incandescent lightbulbs, gas stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.

Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges.

He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay to reward good teachers and allow the direct election of school principals by parents.

He has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools.

Trump also wants a say in school curricula, vowing to fight for “patriotic education.” He says that under his administration, schools will “teach students to love their country, not to hate their country like they’re taught right now” and will promote “the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.”

To protect students, he says he will support school districts that allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. He would provide federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.

HOMELESSNESS

Trump wants to force the homeless off city streets by building tent cities on large open parcels of inexpensive land. At the same time, he says he will work with states to ban urban camping, giving violators the choice between being arrested or receiving treatment.

He also wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”

PUBLIC SAFETY

Trump would again push to send the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violence. He would use the federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.

He says he will require local law enforcement agencies that receive Justice Department grants to use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk. As a deterrent, he says local police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he said in one recent speech.

Trump has called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. He has also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.

At Military-Themed Event, Trump Slams Harris Over Afghanistan: Election Updates

The former president has made America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 a central focus of his attacks on Democrats over foreign policy and national security issues.

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Michael Gold Simon J. Levien and Maggie Astor

Here’s the latest on the presidential race.

On the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members, former President Donald J. Trump held two military-themed campaign events and attacked his rival over the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

At a conference in Detroit for the National Guard Association of the United States, Mr. Trump argued that American’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was a domino that led to global conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Mr. Trump said. He added, “It gave us Russia going into Ukraine. It gave us the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, because it gave us lack of respect.”

The Biden administration has noted that Mr. Trump made a deal with the Taliban in 2020 that set a timeline for America’s exit, and Democrats have argued that Mr. Trump flip-flopped on the withdrawal after Mr. Biden saw it through.

Ms. Harris will hit the campaign trail next on Wednesday, when she and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, are scheduled to begin a bus tour in Georgia. Ms. Harris is also scheduled to hold a rally in Savannah, Ga., on Thursday. On Monday and Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will campaign in Wisconsin on Ms. Harris’s behalf.

Election Day is just 71 days away. Here’s what else to know:

Harris-Trump debate: The two campaigns are again at odds over the presidential debate scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC, with Mr. Trump questioning on social media why he would participate in the debate. And Ms. Harris’s campaign asked that both candidates’ microphones be live throughout the full broadcast, a change from the rules that the Biden campaign had agreed to for the June debate.

Georgia lawsuit: Democrats sued the Georgia state election board , arguing that new measures approved this month seeking to alter the election certification process were illegal and could create chaos on Election Day.

Trump and Vance: Mr. Trump is scheduled to give a keynote address at a meeting of the conservative group Moms for Liberty on Friday, a day after his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, holds a fund-raiser in Florida. Mr. Trump’s campaign website also shows a town-hall event in La Crosse, Wis., on Thursday and a rally in Johnstown, Pa., on Friday.

First to vote: In Pennsylvania, perhaps the most important battleground state, some voting options start Sept. 16. In Minnesota and Virginia, Democratic-leaning states that are unlikely to be closely contested in the presidential race but have important down-ballot races, voting starts Sept. 20.

Big fund-raising numbers: Ms. Harris’s campaign said on Sunday that it had raised $540 million over the last month, including $82 million during the Democratic National Convention last week.

A generational gap: New York Times/Siena College polls this month found an extraordinary gender gap in support for Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump among members of Generation Z — much larger than the gaps among members of previous generations. The Upshot spoke with young women and men to examine what was driving the shift.

Nate Schweber

In the Hamptons, Doug Emhoff calls Kamala Harris a ‘joyful warrior.’

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, told receptive crowds at two fund-raisers in the Hamptons on Monday evening that his wife had met the moment — quickly winning the Democratic Party’s support for her candidacy under difficult circumstances after President Biden dropped out of the race.

“She’s just the most badass version of Kamala Harris,” he said, “when we needed it most.”

Mr. Emhoff spoke at the homes of supporters of Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign — on patios beside large, expensive houses, in backyards landscaped with oaks, hydrangeas and swimming pools. He traveled via a seven-car motorcade. Both events — one in Water Mill, the other in Sag Harbor — had many dozens of attendees. “My wife could be the next president of the United States,” he said at in Sag Harbor. “That would be pretty cool!”

Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, was scheduled to introduce Mr. Emhoff in Sag Harbor but had tested positive in the morning for Covid. Her husband took her place and expressed a friendly touch of jealousy at the prospect of Mr. Emhoff getting to be the country’s first “first gentleman.”

“He’s going to get the only job I really wanted for the last 20 years,” former President Bill Clinton said. “And he’ll be great at it.”

The events raised more than $2 million for Ms. Harris’s campaign and for other Democratic candidates.

At both events, Mr. Emhoff detailed how Ms. Harris had pushed him to crusade against antisemitism.

He described Ms. Harris as a capitalist who is for business growth — but also reminded his wealthy audience about her history of prosecuting lawbreaking businesses.

“If you cheat, if you take advantage of folks,” he said, “there you go, there has got to be consequences for that.”

And he characterized her as a “joyful warrior.”

“There’s the joy,” he said, “there’s also the warrior.”

In Sag Harbor, Mr. Emhoff spoke about Ms. Harris’s commitment to abortion rights and her respect for veterans. He contrasted her positions to those of Donald J. Trump, reminding the crowd about insulting comments about the military by the former president.

Laurie Tisch, who attended the event in Sag Harbor, imagined a different title for Mr. Emhoff, should Ms. Harris win the presidential race.

“Isn’t he a mensch?” she said. “We’re going to call him the First Mensch.”

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Chris Cameron

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, said in an interview that ran tonight that he had been asked to join the Trump campaign’s presidential transition team to “help pick the people who will be running the government.” “I’m looking forward to that,” Kennedy told Tucker Carlson in the interview. The Trump campaign did not immediately confirm Kennedy’s addition to the transition team when asked for comment.

In a podcast interview that ran on Monday, Donald Trump again attacked current military leadership as “woke,” and mocked his former chief of staff and the man he appointed as his top military adviser as “stupid.” “Milley was a stupid person, very stupid,” Trump said of Gen. Mark A. Milley, whom he picked to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . He added of his onetime chief of staff , “Guys like John Kelly are one of the — he’s one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met. A bully, but a weak bully. And, you know, we just have some stupid people. Kelly wasn’t so involved in that, but we have some really stupid people at the top.”

Former aides to Bush, Romney and McCain back Harris over Trump.

More than 200 people who previously worked for President George W. Bush and Senators Mitt Romney and John McCain have signed a letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Many of the more prominent signatories, including a chief of staff, a legislative director and a deputy campaign manager for Mr. McCain, had signed a letter supporting President Biden in the 2020 election. Others work for organizations like The Bulwark and the Lincoln Project that oppose former President Donald J. Trump’s leadership of the Republican Party.

But the former Republican officials’ renewed support of the Democratic ticket reflects how Mr. Trump has transformed the Republican Party under his leadership, as well as deep and persistent opposition to his candidacy from those who served Republican presidential candidates.

Mr. Romney, Mr. Bush and other high-profile Republicans skipped the Republican nominating convention last month, while the Harris campaign made significant efforts to highlight the support of anti-Trump Republicans — as well as former members of Mr. Trump’s staff who no longer support him — with speaking slots at the Democratic convention last week.

“We have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz,” the letter said. “That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”

The signatories include Mark Salter, a former chief of staff for Mr. McCain; Joe Donoghue, the senator’s former legislative director; Reed Galen, his deputy campaign manager and a co-founder of the Lincoln Project; Mike Murphy, a former McCain campaign strategist; Jean Becker, a chief of staff for George H.W. Bush; and Jim Swift, a senior editor of The Bulwark.

Nick Corasaniti

Democrats sue the Georgia state election board, warning of ‘chaos.’

Democrats sued the Georgia state election board on Monday, arguing that measures approved by the board this month seeking to alter the election certification process in the state were illegal and could create chaos on Election Day.

The lawsuit claims that the board intended to give local election officials a broad license to “hunt for purported election irregularities of any kind, potentially delaying certification and displacing longstanding (and court-supervised) processes for addressing fraud.”

The lawsuit was filed in state court by local election officials, political candidates, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia with support from Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. The move comes weeks after the state election board voted 3-2 to pass rules to give election officials authority to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into elections before certification and to require that county election officials be given “all election related documentation” before certification. Both rules, the lawsuit argues, create the impression that local election officials have discretionary power over certifying election results.

The political spotlight has pivoted back to Georgia in recent weeks, since President Biden withdrew from the presidential race and polls have shown Ms. Harris closing the gap with former President Donald J. Trump in the critical swing state. The increasingly close nature of the race there has thrust the actions of the state election board to center stage.

Members of the board who voted to pass the new rules said that they would not permit officials to ignore deadlines for certification set by state law. But the lawsuit notes that some local election officials in Georgia have already sought to delay or refuse certification, and that the new measures add to a legal uncertainty that undermines the entire election process across the state.

“These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the postelection process and — if interpreted as their drafters have suggested — invite chaos by establishing new processes at odds with existing statutory duties,” the lawsuit argues.

The suit is asking the court to clearly state that certification is mandatory and cannot be delayed by election officials. It also seeks clarification that the courts, and not local election boards, are the venue for resolving disputes about alleged irregularities or fraud.

Delaying certification, the lawsuit argues, could also result in “mass disenfranchisement of eligible, registered Georgians.”

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Democrats pointed to praise that members of the state election board received from Mr. Trump, and recalled the Trump effort to overturn the result in Georgia in 2020.

“The three members Donald Trump called his ‘pit bulls’ for ‘victory’ disagree, and they’re determined to establish a new power of not certifying an election result should their preferred candidate lose — as he did in 2020,” said Representative Nikema Williams, the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Members of the state board of election did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit lands months after right-wing election activists obtained a 3-2 majority on the state election board, and began passing a host of rules and regulations that aligned with conservative goals.

During meetings in which both rules were passed, election officials from across the state weighed in, saying that some of the board’s proposals would create difficulties for local election officials so close to the election and cause unneeded extra work and costs.

In a statement, Quentin Fulks, a deputy campaign manager for Ms. Harris, framed the new rules as part of a broader effort by Republicans “to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results when they lose again in November.”

The shift in the board, and the new rules, have alarmed Democrats, voting-rights groups and even some Republicans, who have said that the board has exceeded its authority.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state, chastised the state election board this month, stating that the last-minute changes were undermining confidence in elections and risking the integrity of the election.

“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Mr. Raffensperger said in a statement. “Misguided attempts by the State Election Board will delay election results and undermine chain of custody safeguards. Georgia voters reject this 11th-hour chaos, and so should the unelected members of the State Election Board.”

An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of a deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris. He is Quentin Fulks, not Quinten Fulks. The story also mis-characterized Mr. Fulk’s statement. He said that Georgia’s new election rules -- not the Democrats’ lawsuit -- were part of a broader effort by Republicans “to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results.”

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Jill Stein will remain on the ballot in Wisconsin after a court order.

Jill Stein, the presidential candidate for the Green Party, will remain on the ballot in Wisconsin, the state’s Supreme Court said, after the court declared a Democratic technical challenge to her ballot access moot on Monday.

The three-page order, left unsigned by members of the court, represented a significant victory for Ms. Stein’s third-party presidential bid, as the Green Party had been disqualified from the ballot in Wisconsin in 2020 . The presence of Ms. Stein — a minor left-wing candidate — on the ballot could also pose a risk to Vice President Kamala Harris’s prospects in Wisconsin, which has been won on razor-thin margins in recent presidential races.

David Strange, a staff member of the Democratic National Committee, filed a complaint to the Wisconsin Elections Commission this month asserting that the Green Party was ineligible to place a presidential candidate on the ballot because the party had no candidates for state office, or state officeholders, who could nominate presidential electors — those who officially cast votes for a presidential candidate in the Electoral College.

The order by the state’s Supreme Court, which offered few details for its reasoning, said that it had determined “that the petitioner is not entitled to the relief he seeks” and that “all other pending motions are denied as moot.”

An election last year in Wisconsin , the most expensive judicial election in American history, was won by a liberal judge and tipped the balance of the court from the conservatives.

The decision on Monday represents the latest legal battle over ballot access for third-party candidates, which both Democrats and Republicans believe could shape the outcome of the election by pulling support from Ms. Harris and former President Donald J. Trump in key states like Wisconsin. Democrats had made significant efforts to undermine Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ballot access — concerned that he could draw more support from Democrats than Republicans — before he ended his independent presidential candidacy and backed Mr. Trump.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Mr. Trump in Wisconsin by a margin of 22,748 votes . Ms. Stein, who was also the Green Party candidate in 2016, won 31,072 votes while Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, won 106,674 votes that year. Mr. Biden won the state by 20,682 votes in 2020 after the Green Party candidate failed to qualify.

Michael Gold

Trump hits Harris over ‘humiliation’ in the military’s Afghanistan exit.

Former President Donald J. Trump wrapped himself in military imagery on Monday, attacking the Biden administration over its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Observing the third anniversary of a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul, the Afghan capital, he visited Arlington National Cemetery, then later spoke in Detroit to a gathering of National Guard members.

During his remarks in Detroit, at a conference for the National Guard Association of the United States, Mr. Trump blamed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the bombing and America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which he argued led to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

As he has attacked Democrats over foreign policy and national security issues this year, Mr. Trump, who often highlights his allegiance to the troops, has made the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 a central focus. He and his allies have pointed frequently to the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed 13 American service members and as many as 170 civilians, arguing that the Biden administration’s handling of the event showed a disregard for American service members.

Still, Mr. Trump has been fending off criticism from Democrats and some veterans groups that he has been insufficiently respectful of the military and has made comments in which he has appeared to mock, attack or express disdain for service members who are wounded, captured or killed.

During their national convention, Democrats repeatedly brought up the claim that Mr. Trump, while president, called veterans “suckers” and “losers.” And this month Mr. Trump drew the ire of veterans groups after he described the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, as being “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, because service members who receive it are often severely wounded or dead.

Mr. Trump and his campaign drew a contrast on Monday between his decision to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where he laid three wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknowns to honor the troops killed at the airport attack, and Ms. Harris’s role in the withdrawal.

In an interview with CNN in 2021, Ms. Harris said she was the last person in the room when Mr. Biden decided to pull out from Afghanistan. Mr. Trump has pointed to that remark as proof that she was directly involved with and bore some responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal.

In a statement on Monday, Ms. Harris mourned the loss of the 13 American soldiers killed in the airport attack and said she honored those who served in the 20-year war in Afghanistan. She also reiterated her support for Mr. Biden’s “courageous and right decision” to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the Harris campaign, attacked Mr. Trump’s leadership. “The Biden-Harris administration inherited a mess from Donald Trump,” he said in a statement. “Trump wants America to forget that he had four years to get out of Afghanistan, but failed to do it. ”

During his speech in Detroit, Mr. Trump noted that he was criticizing “not that we withdrew, but the way we did it.” He repeated his promise to demand the resignations of senior miliary officials involved in the withdrawal. He also repeated his insistence that he could bring the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to an end immediately after being elected, though he has yet to offer specific plans for doing so.

As he spoke to Air and Army National Guard officers and service members and their families, Mr. Trump insisted that Democrats were “waging war” on the “rights and liberties” that the military was deployed to defend.

And Mr. Trump, whose false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election led some of his supporters to attack the Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power, insisted he would “make American democracy great again.”

Mr. Trump covered a range of topics in his Detroit speech, though he largely stayed focused on issues he could tie to the National Guard, like military concerns and foreign policy. He used the deployment of the Texas National Guard to the border as a peg for extensive remarks on immigration. And as he attacked Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, for voicing support for protesters after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, Mr. Trump bragged about supporting the deployment of the National Guard to stop looting or violence.

Still, Mr. Trump’s remarks veered occasionally into asides, including questioning Harris’s becoming the Democratic nominee without winning a vote in a primary race, accusing Democrats of weaponizing the Justice Department against him and attacking Europeans for taking advantage of America on trade.

Mr. Trump also promised to create a separate Space National Guard to work with Space Force, the military branch whose creation he oversaw. He again bragged about telling NATO members that he would not defend them from Russian aggression unless they raised their military spending. NATO members have made informal commitments to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on their militaries, and more than 20 of the alliance’s 32 members were on track to hit that target as of July.

But in his speech, Mr. Trump said that he would insist NATO members “spend at least 3 percent,” a target that he could not set unilaterally but that raises questions about his continued commitment to the alliance .

Mr. Trump at one point invited Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman, who has since left the Democratic Party, to the stage to formally endorse him. She served two combat tours in the Middle East and is helping him with debate preparations .

After his cemetery visit earlier on Monday, he stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church, Va., where he appeared with Hung Cao, who is the Republican Senate candidate in the state and a retired Navy captain. Standing next to Mr. Cao, he lamented the deaths at the Abbey Gate bombing, saying “these are people that should have never been killed.”

Mr. Trump and his campaign are hoping to flip Virginia, which has not been won by a Republican in a presidential race since 2004. At the restaurant, he said he thought Mr. Cao had strong chances of winning, even though Virginia was “traditionally not necessarily for Republicans, but I’m not the average Republican and neither are you.” In front of a crowd of Asian Americans, Mr. Trump also said he believed Mr. Cao’s “name alone should get you elected, right?”

Chris Cameron contributed reporting from Falls Church, Va.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien

An administrative law judge in Georgia has kicked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the state’s ballot, on the grounds that the New York address listed on his petitions was invalid. He had used the same Katonah, N.Y. address for ballot petitions in many states, and earlier this month a New York judge ruled that it was a “sham.” Of course, Kennedy says he is in the process of withdrawing from the ballot in swing states , so this may be a moot point.

Trump, speaking to the National Guard Association of the United States, vowed to push for a “Space National Guard” if he is elected in November. Trump signed the bill that created Space Force, the sixth and newest branch of the U.S. military, in 2019. The association has advocated for a separate Space National Guard, arguing against incorporating existing members of the Air National Guard into Space Force.

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who served two combat tours in the Middle East, just formally endorsed Donald Trump in Detroit. Her endorsement is not as a surprise: Gabbard left the Democratic Party after her 2020 presidential run and has been helping Trump with debate prep.

Speaking to an association of members of the National Guard, Donald Trump accused his political opponents of having “waged war” on the rights and liberties that soldiers of the National Guard “risked your lives to defend.” Trump has repeatedly tried to portray his political opponents as antidemocratic in a bid to blunt criticism over his actions in spurring a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Today in Detroit, he said this election was “a fight between communism and freedom, a very serious fight.”

Kid Rock, the pro-Trump musician from Michigan, just took the stage ahead of Donald Trump at an annual conference of the National Guard Association happening in Detroit. The musician, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, performed shortly before Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention and has become one of the leading entertainers to back the former president.

Maggie Astor

The Foo Fighters have joined the list of artists saying they don’t want Donald Trump to use their music: “No,” they said on X when asked if they had authorized Trump’s use of the song “My Hero” to welcome Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a rally stage. Celine Dion issued a similar statement earlier this month, and the estate of Isaac Hayes is suing Trump for using one of his songs.

No — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) August 24, 2024

When a reporter asked if he would consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the post of health and human services secretary if he were re-elected, Trump said they had not talked about it. But he added that Kennedy “knows a lot about the subject,” and that he had made a good impression within the Republican Party.

Trump told members of the news media during a campaign event in Northern Virginia that he thought ABC should be “shut out” of hosting a debate, but then added that he and his team were still “thinking about” whether he should participate in the one scheduled for Sept. 10, adding that Harris and her team “also want to change the rules.”

Trump Still ‘Thinking About’ Participating in Presidential Debate

During a campaign stop in northern virginia, donald trump raised the possibility of not participating in the presidential debate with vice president kamala harris on abc news, claiming that the network’s executives and anchors were biased against him..

I think ABC is really — should be shut out. I’d much rather do it on NBC. I’d much rather do it on CBS, frankly. I think CBS is very unfair. But the best of the group — and certainly I’d do it on Fox, I’d even do it on CNN. I thought CNN treated us very fairly the last time. I think Jake Tapper was very fair and Dana Bash was very fair. They also want to change the rules. You know, the deal was we keep the same rules. Now all of a sudden, they want to make a change in the rules because she can’t answer questions. Why doesn’t she do a couple of question-answer? Why doesn’t she do something like I’m doing right now? The agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time. In that case, it was muted. I didn’t like it the last time, but it worked out fine. I mean, ask Biden how it worked out. It was fine. And I think it should be the same. We agreed to the same rules, same rules and same specifications, and I think that’s probably what it should be. But they’re trying to change it.

Trump also said it didn’t matter to him if the microphones were muted at times during his debate with Harris.

“I’d rather have it probably on,” Trump said. “But the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time.”

Theodore Schleifer

JD Vance is keeping up his aggressive fund-raising schedule on behalf of Trump, who himself doesn’t headline that many finance events. Vance had two events this weekend in the Hamptons, one a Sunday dinner hosted by Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets. Tomorrow he’s headed to a fund-raiser in Nashville, and on Thursday he has one in Dade City, Fla. After Labor Day, he’ll hit fund-raisers in Phoenix (Sept. 5) and Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., (Sept. 6); an event hosted by the tech investor David Sacks in Los Angeles (Sept. 8); and an event in Manhattan hosted by another tech investor, Keith Rabois, and his husband, Jacob Helberg (Sept. 12).

For the wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump was accompanied by two marines who were injured in the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan: Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart, who was paralyzed in the attack and now uses a wheelchair, and Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost his right arm and left leg.

Trump has just laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, a marine killed in the Abbey Gate bombing three years ago during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Among those present at this wreath ceremony is Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman and Democrat who has rebranded herself as a celebrity among Trump’s supporters. She is also helping Trump prepare for his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump laid three wreaths at the tomb, two honoring Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee — two marines killed in the Abbey Gate bombing — and another wreath dedicated to all 13 service members who were killed in the attack.

Michael M. Grynbaum and Maggie Astor

Trump tussles with Harris over the ABC debate.

At the weigh-in before a big bout, prizefighters often taunt their opponents in an effort to try to psych them out.

So it goes with the presidential pugilists set to meet next month in the city of Rocky Balboa.

The Harris and Trump campaigns squabbled on Monday over the ground rules of their coming ABC News debate in Philadelphia, with each side trying to score political points off the other. And within hours, the Trump campaign found its argument undermined by an unlikely foil: Mr. Trump himself.

The tussle began on Sunday when former President Donald J. Trump blasted ABC in a social media post, suggesting that the network’s anchors and executives were biased against him and threatening, not for the first time, to pull out of the event. “I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Mr. Trump wrote.

Then, on Monday, Ms. Harris’s campaign went public with an effort to change one of the agreed-upon conditions for the debate: that each candidate’s microphone be muted when it isn’t their turn to speak.

“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Harris campaign, told Politico.

He added a dig for good measure: “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”

Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, shot back. “ABC offered the exact same debate rules as CNN, and we accepted — as did the Harris camp,” he wrote, referring to the CNN debate between Mr. Trump and President Biden in June, when the muted microphones rule was in effect.

Mr. Miller tossed in a gibe of his own: “Now, after the Harris campaign has begun debate prep, they’re clearly concerned about what they’re seeing from Harris’ performance.”

But when Mr. Trump was asked about the microphone issue by reporters in Virginia, he seemed to back away from the fierce objections of his team.

He told members of the news media that it “doesn’t matter to me” whether the microphones were muted, adding, “I’d rather have it probably on. But the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time.” Mr. Trump also said that ABC should be “shut out” of hosting the debate, while adding he was still “thinking about” whether he should participate.

For its part, ABC News declined to comment.

When Mr. Biden was the Democratic nominee, his team pushed hard for the muted microphones rule, arguing that Mr. Trump could not be trusted to stay silent when Mr. Biden was speaking.

But Ms. Harris was not in charge of the campaign at that point. Her camp’s reversal on the muting rule seems intended to underscore reports that the vice president’s rise in the polls has rattled Mr. Trump. (Mr. Trump has vociferously denied those reports.) One of Ms. Harris’s standout moments in her 2020 vice-presidential debate came when Mike Pence, on a live microphone, seemed to interrupt her, prompting a memorable rejoinder from Ms. Harris: “I’m speaking.”

Mr. Trump has called for his own variations on the debate rules, urging Ms. Harris to participate in a debate sponsored by Fox News “ with a full arena audience .”

For decades, the televised forums were organized by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. But this year, the commission was sidelined when Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump agreed to negotiate directly with television networks, and to hold the events earlier than the commission had scheduled. The candidates agreed to a debate on CNN on June 27, and a debate on ABC News on Sept. 10.

The exact format and ground rules of the ABC debate have been in flux, but both campaigns have broadly agreed to a format similar to that of the CNN debate that took place between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. More than 51 million Americans watched that debate live, by far the biggest audience of any political event this year, a sign of how consequential the televised forums can be in a tight presidential race.

ABC’s debate is scheduled to last for 90 minutes and be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis are the moderators.

Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump have never debated face-to-face. Ms. Harris’s team has signaled it is open to another debate in October, but no plans have been set. Several television networks are jockeying for the right to host that debate if it does ultimately occur.

Michael Gold , Jonathan Swan , Chris Cameron and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.

Former President Donald Trump will attend a wreath-laying ceremony this morning at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor 13 American troops who were killed in the Abbey Gate bombing during the withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago. Trump has frequently cited the bombing and the death toll to criticize President Biden and his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Vance defends tariffs and claims Trump would veto a national abortion ban.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, denied in an interview with NBC News on Sunday that tariffs had caused higher costs for Americans, as economists have documented, and said he believed Mr. Trump would veto a federal abortion ban, trying to blunt two potent lines of attack from Democrats.

Mr. Vance also equivocated when asked repeatedly whether the mass deportations of undocumented migrants Mr. Trump has called for would involve separating families.

In a lengthy exchange on tariffs, Mr. Vance denied that the tariffs Mr. Trump had imposed during his first term in office had raised prices for Americans, though data shows they did , and maintained that they had brought a significant number of jobs back to the United States, though data shows they didn’t .

“When Kamala Harris says if we do the thing that Trump already did, it’s going to be way worse than it was last time, I just don’t think that makes a lot of sense,” he said, adding, “Donald Trump already did it, he brought a lot of jobs back, and it didn’t cause inflation.”

In response to follow-up questions from NBC’s Kristen Welker, Mr. Vance described the theoretical argument for tariffs — that they would encourage companies to produce goods domestically by punishing them for importing from countries, he said, like China.

Mr. Vance did not acknowledge a nonpartisan study by the National Bureau of Economic Research showing that Mr. Trump’s tariffs did not accomplish that goal. At one point, Mr. Vance suggested that even if consumers did end up paying more, it wouldn’t matter because the higher costs would be offset by higher wages.

The Biden administration has adopted some of Mr. Trump’s protectionist trade policies, keeping in place many of his tariffs and adding new ones. But since replacing Mr. Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, Ms. Harris has denounced Mr. Trump’s proposals to expand tariffs. She has not said specifically which of the existing ones she would keep or remove.

Ms. Welker also asked whether Mr. Vance could say definitively that, if elected, he and Mr. Trump would not “impose a federal ban on abortion.”

“I can absolutely commit to that,” he said. He added, when asked if that meant Mr. Trump would veto a bill like the 15-week ban Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, has proposed, “If you’re not supporting it as the president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it.”

Mr. Vance — who had expressed support for national abortion restrictions before he was Mr. Trump’s running mate — went on to try to parse the meaning of the word “ban.” Mr. Graham’s bill would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks’ gestation, but Mr. Vance said that “Lindsey Graham himself has not advocated a federal abortion ban. Lindsey Graham has advocated a federal minimum standard.” (Mr. Vance added that Mr. Trump didn’t support that either.)

Appearing on NBC immediately after the Vance interview aired, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said Democrats should not trust Mr. Vance’s or Mr. Trump’s recent pledges not to pursue a national abortion ban, given that Mr. Trump has boasted about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and that Mr. Vance urged the Justice Department last year to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act to stop the mailing of abortion pills.

“American women are not stupid,” Ms. Warren said, “and we are not going to trust the futures of our daughters and granddaughters to two men who have openly bragged about blocking access to abortion.”

In one of the most contentious portions of Mr. Vance’s interview, Ms. Welker asked him three times whether families would be separated under Mr. Trump’s proposed mass deportations of undocumented migrants — a possibility, for example, when one member of a family is in the country illegally and others are not. Mr. Vance did not give a direct answer.

He obliquely acknowledged the possibility before claiming, without providing evidence, that the Biden-Harris administration’s policies were separating more families than a Trump-Vance administration would.

“I think that families are currently being separated, and you’re certainly going to have to deport some people in this country,” he said.

“So that’s a yes?” Ms. Welker asked.

“No,” Mr. Vance said.

He added, “You start with the most violent criminals,” before revisiting his claims that the policies of the Biden administration had allowed children to fall into the hands of drug cartels and sex traffickers.

Mr. Vance also said he was glad Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had endorsed the Trump ticket . Mr. Kennedy has said, falsely, that vaccines cause autism, linked antidepressants to school shootings and refused to “take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates.”

“There are things that Robert Kennedy has said that I disagree with. I’m sure there are things that I’ve said that he’s going to disagree with,” he said. “But I think what his endorsement represents is that Donald J. Trump’s Republican Party is a big-tent party.”