Page 261 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

228 Part 3 Putting Theory Into Practice

B. Many industries are moving overseas.
C. Our trade defi cit is growing.
[Cause] II. We have a system of government that is too tied to special interests.
A. Lobbyists infl uence Congress to make bad economic decisions.
B. Politicians are more interested in getting reelected than in solving
problems.
C. Only by breaking the power of special interests can we get our econ-
omy back on track.

Whether we move from cause to effect or from effect to cause, we need to pro-
vide proof of the causal links asserted in the speech. Simply because two things
Monroe’s
occur one after the other does not prove one caused the other. For example, just
motivated-sequence
because a car breaks down doesn’t mean the last person to drive it is responsible
A fi ve-step organizational
for the breakdown.
scheme, developed
by speech professor
Alan Monroe, including
(1) attention, (2) need, Monroe’s Motivated-Sequence
(3) satisfaction, (4) visual-
ization, and (5) action. A fi ve-step organizational scheme developed by speech professor Alan Monroe,
2
and thus termed Monroe’s motivated-sequence, is another useful pattern.
These fi ve steps overlap somewhat with the introduction and conclusion of a
speech, as well as the body. They are as follows:

[Introduction] I. Attention: Gain your audience’s attention.
[Body] II. Need: Show the audience that a need exists that affects them.
[Body] III. Satisfaction: Present the solution to the need.
[Body] IV. Visualization: Help the audience imagine how their need will be met in the
future.
[Conclusion] V. Action: State what actions must be taken to fulfi ll the need.

To see how this motivated sequence might work, consider a speech on na-
tional health insurance:

I. Attention: A child dies when her parents can’t afford to take her to the
doctor.
II. Need: You could become one of millions of uninsured Americans who face
fi nancial ruin if they become seriously ill.
III. Satisfaction: National health insurance would guarantee all Americans the
right to health care, regardless of their income.
IV. Visualization: The United States would join nations like Canada, where no
one fears seeing a doctor because of the cost.
V. Action: Write your senator and representative today, urging the passage of
national health insurance.
Obviously, the motivated-sequence pattern is most directly suited to persua-
sive presentations. However, an informative presentation could use at least some
of these steps, because informative speaking typically is the fi rst step in a per-
suasive campaign. In an informative presentation, it is important to show the
audience why they need to learn the information being presented and, of course,
to satisfy that need. Helping an audience visualize how they will use the infor-
mation is also valuable. And often the speaker will then want the audience to
put what they have learned into action.