A strong preparation outline is essential for preparing a successful presentation,but it is not the last outline you'll create.After practicing with the preparation outline and making any adjustments you deem necessary to organization and wording,you should begin to reduce it to a usable outline from which you will deliver your speech.This is the process of creating a speaking outline,which is the actual outline you will speak from when delivering your remarks. Speaking○utline After you practice and become familiar with the material in your preparation outline,you prepare the speaking outline.The speaking outline is a truncated form of the preparation outline and does not have full sentences,unless you are citing a direct quotation from a source.There are several reasons to reduce the information and words on a preparation outline when developing the speaking outline: 1.If you speak from a preparation outline,it becomes a manuscript speech,and you are less likely to adapt to audience feedback. 2.Speaking from a preparation outline encourages reading to,and not conversing with,the audience,thus resulting in the perception you are reading an essay instead of delivering a speech. 3.You are more likely to stare at the outline,thus dramatically reducing eye contact with the audience. Speaking outlines maintain several features of the preparation outline,so it is not as if you are developing a brand new outline from scratch.You still use the Roman numerals,capital letters,and numbers,and you still follow the principles of subordination,coordination, and division.This helps you clearly understand the hierarchal nature of your speech while delivering it and provides you with visual representations of the importance of information so if you run short on time,you can quickly see what you can skip.In essence,the speaking outline is a shorthand version of the preparation outline.You should find the speaking outline much easier to prepare than the preparation outline.One important thing to remember is not to add anything new to the speaking outline-keep it close to the preparation outline in this respect because that is what you have been practicing with and know best. The speaking outline also provides the opportunity to do a few things relevant to your presentation that you need not do in a preparation outline.For instance,you can add delivery cues for yourself based upon your practice with prior outlines.For instance,let's suppose you want to emphasize certain points during your speeches.On a speaking outline you can add a few reminders in the margin of your outline to give yourself a visual cue,such as a hand-drawn megaphone,or simply write in bold,"LOUDER!"Or,suppose you want to make sure you slow down to explain a specific point.Again,you can use a visual cue,such as drawing a sign that says SLOW, and color it yellow.The speaking outline is more flexible in this regard than a preparation outline,and you can modify it to meet your particular needs. Other Forms of Speaking Materials While we strongly recommend outlining a speech,we also recognize there are several other strategies and approaches speakers can take when preparing their remarks.Two such approaches we will briefly discuss here are notecards and a teleprompter. Some students like to use note cards as they allow you to put a finite portion of your speech in one easy-to-find place.If you use note cards ensure that you do not run main points together on a card,but keep ideas separate.You should use Roman numerals,capital letters,and numbers to help you understand the hierarchy of your points.You also can put delivery cues on the cards.If you use note cards be sure to number them sequentially.It is very uncomfortable if you drop your cards and have to reorder them in front of your audience.Also,make sure you know if your professor limits the number of cards you may use.Note cards can be seen as less professional than having a speaking outline on regular sized paper as you are constantly shifting between cards in front of the audience. If you use note cards,be sure to practice with them so they feel natural to you as you are speaking. Another option for delivering prepared remarks is the electronic TelePrompterTM.The teleprompter loads the draft of the speech word for word into its memory,and scrolls slowly through the speech as you speak.The device is placed on a stand that can adjust to eye level. Teleprompters are very expensive and are used most often by politicians who do not have time to practice long speeches.As such, when speakers use teleprompters they deliver manuscript speeches and have little to no room for adapting to audience feedback or going off script.If you use a teleprompter,remember that technology can fail,and having a speaking outline or note cards prepared just in case is a smart thing to do. To illustrate why it is important to have back-ups with you in case of technology failure,consider the case of Mary Fisher in 1992.Fisher was asked to speak about AlDS at the Republican National Convention that year,and was afraid that the organizers of the convention, who did not want her to speak,would turn off her teleprompter.So,rather than back down,she prepared for the worst and went on stage with a copy of her speech in her pocket in case the teleprompter failed.Thankfully,it did not,but if it had she still would have been able to deliver her remarks.A strong preparation outline is essential for preparing a successful presentation, but it is not the last outline you’ll create. After practicing with the preparation outline and making any adjustments you deem necessary to organization and wording, you should begin to reduce it to a usable outline from which you will deliver your speech. This is the process of creating a speaking outline, which is the actual outline you will speak from when delivering your remarks. Speaking Outline After you practice and become familiar with the material in your preparation outline, you prepare the speaking outline. The speaking outline is a truncated form of the preparation outline and does not have full sentences, unless you are citing a direct quotation from a source. There are several reasons to reduce the information and words on a preparation outline when developing the speaking outline: 1. If you speak from a preparation outline, it becomes a manuscript speech, and you are less likely to adapt to audience feedback. 2. Speaking from a preparation outline encourages reading to, and not conversing with, the audience, thus resulting in the perception you are reading an essay instead of delivering a speech. 3. You are more likely to stare at the outline, thus dramatically reducing eye contact with the audience. Speaking outlines maintain several features of the preparation outline, so it is not as if you are developing a brand new outline from scratch. You still use the Roman numerals, capital letters, and numbers, and you still follow the principles of subordination, coordination, and division. This helps you clearly understand the hierarchal nature of your speech while delivering it and provides you with visual representations of the importance of information so if you run short on time, you can quickly see what you can skip. In essence, the speaking outline is a shorthand version of the preparation outline. You should find the speaking outline much easier to prepare than the preparation outline. One important thing to remember is not to add anything new to the speaking outline—keep it close to the preparation outline in this respect because that is what you have been practicing with and know best. The speaking outline also provides the opportunity to do a few things relevant to your presentation that you need not do in a preparation outline. For instance, you can add delivery cues for yourself based upon your practice with prior outlines. For instance, let’s suppose you want to emphasize certain points during your speeches. On a speaking outline you can add a few reminders in the margin of your outline to give yourself a visual cue, such as a hand-drawn megaphone, or simply write in bold, “LOUDER!” Or, suppose you want to make sure you slow down to explain a specific point. Again, you can use a visual cue, such as drawing a sign that says SLOW, and color it yellow. The speaking outline is more flexible in this regard than a preparation outline, and you can modify it to meet your particular needs. Other Forms of Speaking Materials While we strongly recommend outlining a speech, we also recognize there are several other strategies and approaches speakers can take when preparing their remarks. Two such approaches we will briefly discuss here are notecards and a teleprompter. Some students like to use note cards as they allow you to put a finite portion of your speech in one easy-to-find place. If you use note cards ensure that you do not run main points together on a card, but keep ideas separate. You should use Roman numerals, capital letters, and numbers to help you understand the hierarchy of your points. You also can put delivery cues on the cards. If you use note cards be sure to number them sequentially. It is very uncomfortable if you drop your cards and have to reorder them in front of your audience. Also, make sure you know if your professor limits the number of cards you may use. Note cards can be seen as less professional than having a speaking outline on regular sized paper as you are constantly shifting between cards in front of the audience. If you use note cards, be sure to practice with them so they feel natural to you as you are speaking. Another option for delivering prepared remarks is the electronic TelePrompter™. The teleprompter loads the draft of the speech word for word into its memory, and scrolls slowly through the speech as you speak. The device is placed on a stand that can adjust to eye level. Teleprompters are very expensive and are used most often by politicians who do not have time to practice long speeches. As such, when speakers use teleprompters they deliver manuscript speeches and have little to no room for adapting to audience feedback or going off script. If you use a teleprompter, remember that technology can fail, and having a speaking outline or note cards prepared just in case is a smart thing to do. To illustrate why it is important to have back-ups with you in case of technology failure, consider the case of Mary Fisher in 1992. Fisher was asked to speak about AIDS at the Republican National Convention that year, and was afraid that the organizers of the convention, who did not want her to speak, would turn off her teleprompter. So, rather than back down, she prepared for the worst and went on stage with a copy of her speech in her pocket in case the teleprompter failed. Thankfully, it did not, but if it had she still would have been able to deliver her remarks