Structuring a Speech, step by step
Six parts, in order.
- ExordiumWin attention and goodwill. Say why this, why now, why you.
- NarratioThe facts as you have them, told plainly and in order.
- PartitioState what you will argue, and in how many parts.
- ConfirmatioYour proof, strongest argument placed first or last, not buried.
- RefutatioThe main objection, stated fairly and answered.
- PeroratioRecapitulate, then ask for the specific thing you want.
Listeners remember the opening and the close best. Put nothing load-bearing in the middle that they cannot afford to lose.
Questions about the Structuring a Speech poster
- What’s on the Structuring a Speech poster?
- 6 numbered steps. Six parts, in order. Exordium — Win attention and goodwill. Say why this, why now, why you.; Narratio — The facts as you have them, told plainly and in order.; Partitio — State what you will argue, and in how many parts.; Confirmatio — Your proof, strongest argument placed first or last, not buried.; Refutatio — The main objection, stated fairly and answered.; Peroratio — Recapitulate, then ask for the specific thing you want.. Listeners remember the opening and the close best. Put nothing load-bearing in the middle that they cannot afford to lose.
- Who is the Structuring a Speech poster for?
- Structuring a Speech belongs to the Communications & Media section rather than to a school year, because humanities is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning rhetoric & argument can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Structuring a Speech poster?
- When writing a talk that must persuade rather than inform. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Structuring a Speech belongs on the wall where that humanities work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Structuring a Speech?
- The Five Canons, Kinds of Claim and Deduction & Induction sit alongside Structuring a Speech in the Communications & Media section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.The Five CanonsKinds of ClaimDeduction & Induction
- Is the Structuring a Speech poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Structuring a Speech downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Communications & Media section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Structuring a Speech poster print at?
- Structuring a Speech is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Structuring a Speech loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Structuring a Speech on the same wall.
The Five Canons
Communications & Media
Kinds of Claim
Communications & Media
Deduction & Induction
Communications & Media
The Enthymeme
Communications & Media
Ethos, Pathos, Logos
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Refutation & Concession
Communications & Media
Delivery
Communications & Media
Fallacies of Evidence
Communications & Media
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