Page 253 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

220 Part 3 Putting Theory Into Practice

points is too much for an audience to absorb. Three main points seems to be
ideal. The audience (not to mention the speaker) usually can easily grasp three
key ideas, especially if they are organized in a memorable way. As the number
of points increases, each main idea tends to be devalued, and the chances of
forgetting one or more ideas increases. Obviously, some topics do not fi t into
three neat pigeonholes. But if we end up with six, seven, or eight main points,
our speech is likely to suffer. Either we are trying to cover too much, or we really
have six to eight subpoints, which could be organized into fewer main points,
each with two or three subpoints.

Focus

The main points should fully develop the thesis statement without going beyond
the focus of the speech. For example, if we are speaking about trends in contem-
porary music, our thesis statement might be “Pop music is more diverse than
ever.” This statement then could be divided into three main points:
I. Pop music is international.
II. Pop music is multicultural.
III. Pop music is multitongued.
Think of the thesis statement as limiting the territory covered by the speech.
As we construct the body, we include only those items that directly support our
thesis statement. At the same time, we do not allow our thesis statement to be
incompletely supported. By the end of the speech, we should have fulfi lled the
promise of the thesis statement—no more, no less.
Each main point should focus on one main idea. For example, this main point
is confusing:
I. Today’s pop music is international; the heart of the recording industry is in
Los Angeles.
These ideas should be expressed in two separate main points.
I. Today’s pop music is international.
II. Even so, the heart of the recording industry remains in Los Angeles.
Using two separate points does not mean they are unrelated. However, the two
ideas are clearly different.

Parallel Structure

Main points form the essence of a speech, so they should be clear, concise, and
memorable. One technique to help achieve this is to construct main points in
parallel fashion. For example, which of the following versions of main points
would work best for our pop music speech? Here is one version:
I. Today’s pop music comes from all over the world.
II. Many cultures are represented in today’s pop music.
III. The language of pop music is no longer simply English.
Or consider this version:
I. Pop music transcends national boundaries.
II. Pop music transcends culture.
III. Pop music transcends language.