Speech Outlines for Students

Speech outlines for students can greatly improve a public speaking unit. With middle school public speaking students, add a speech outline to speech lesson plans for organization. Middle school speech lessons should include an outline to give public speaking students confidence & strategies for a successful presentation. Sixth grade language arts & seventh grade language arts students are capable of writing speech outlines.

Speech outlines for students? How should you design them, especially younger students like middle school public speaking students?

Speech textbooks encourage students to write outlines for their speeches. Since audience do not have the advantage of visually seeing the words, a speech’s organization is of the utmost importance. An outline allows students to see each point individually. Creating speech outlines for students can be tricky though. You want to provide an example, but you don’t want to limit their creativity.

Writing outlines with students is an important activity. Looking at a speech line by line aids in transitions, and in creating a balance of material. An outline is also a working document. As students practice their delivery, they can easily add and subtract from an outline. When I taught middle school speech, I found that designing a speech outline with students calmed nerves and gave students a tool for practicing.

An outline is the preferred design when prepping a speech. As the teacher, you must decide which speech outline students should use: sentence or topic. Here are pros and cons when deciding between speech outlines for students.

Speech outlines for students can greatly improve a public speaking unit. With middle school public speaking students, add a speech outline to speech lesson plans for organization. Middle school speech lessons should include an outline to give public speaking students confidence & strategies for a successful presentation. Sixth grade language arts & seventh grade language arts students are capable of writing speech outlines.

Sentence Outlines

Pros: A sentence outline gives a polished picture of the speech. Students can add sentence transitions, which help an audience more than one word transitions. The speech is typically more developed than a speech from a topic outline.

Students can also read over the speech and get an idea of how the speech will sound. From a topic outline, students will need to develop different parts of the speech each time. With a sentence outline, students will hear the speech in their heads, and it may come naturally to them as they deliver the speech.

Cons: Students who dislike writing struggle with this stage. They may enjoy the different pace of a speech class, but they feel that they are writing papers with an additional step (speaking). Finally, students can be reluctant to alter a sentence outline. These outlines are longer, and students may leave a portion that needs work because that one portion interferes with the flow of the entire speech.

Topic Outlines

Pros: The short nature of topic outlines is easy to manipulate. During practice, students can add points, practice, and then move or delete what doesn’t work. It is more a working document – moldable.

Topic outlines don’t take long to write. Because they are short, students can spend more time practicing the speech than writing the speech.

Cons: Students can write the subjects and not fully think the talking points for the speech. If students practice a topic outline, they may deliver a strong speech. If students do not practice, a speech given from a topic outline is short. A topic sentence does not force students to think completely through a speech. A speaking experience like that frustrates students.

So….

What do I use? At first, I only used sentence outlines. Students were more prepared, and the longer outlines gave them structure. One time (I can’t remember why), I assigned a topic outline. And? As students progressed, the topic outlines turned into sentence outlines. Some students did not write enough information, but for the students who put forth effort, their outlines were their own, very organized and personalized. I provide students with outline examples for how-to speeches and narrative speeches. I build relationships with students and trust because they see my process.

You can always try both with classes, and then decide, or allow students to provide input. When deciding what speech outline is right for your students, consider their need for structure and abilities to create different types of outlines. Now I have students write sentence outlines until I feel they are capable of a topic outlines. I give students the goal of eventually writing a topic outline, and they are willing to work toward it.

Would public speaking lessons help you? Sign up below, and they’ll be sent your way, for free.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates about new blog posts, freebies, and teaching resources!

* indicates required

We will send you emails, but we will never sell your address.

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at [email protected]. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about our privacy practices please visit our website. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.