What is Organization?

As discussed in the lesson Listening Strategy: Recognize Organizational Patterns, there are three important considerations for predicting the organization of spoken English: Purpose, Topic, and Audience. Just as these three points can help you listen for important information and prepare for what the speaker will say next, you can use these features to follow patterns for your own speaking. Following an expected pattern allows the listener to use their energy to focus on your message rather than your use of language. Think of the difference between the experience of hiking on a well-marked trail vs true wilderness. Following a trail allows the hikers to focus on the beauty of the surrounding nature more fully than if they have to constantly make decisions about the safest and most direct way to arrive at their destination. 

The purpose will help you identify what type of information you want to include. Do you need to explain a sequence of events? Do you have reasons and examples to support your claim? Or do you need to consider what would be the most entertaining information for your listener?

The topic will naturally help you narrow down the details you will include to support your purpose. How detailed does the sequence need to be? Is this information that needs to be explained in painstaking detail? Or would a brief explanation be sufficient for your purpose?

The audience will help focus your speaking even more. What type of vocabulary are you able to use with this specific set of listeners? What is the expectation for turn-taking during this conversation? Does the person have a good understanding of the topic? Does the listener have a different opinion on the points?

After identifying your purpose, topic, and audience, you should have a clear idea of the content you need to include in your speaking. What is your main idea? What are the supporting details and examples you need to include? What order makes the most sense for presenting those ideas?

For example, some speakers choose to begin by telling a specific story (example). They then explain the concepts illustrated in that story. By beginning with something specific and personal, they get the attention of the listener so that the more abstract concepts are easier to understand. 

In other situations, a speaker might begin with a definition or a clearly stated thesis statement. Depending on the audience, they may then transition into highly specific and new information about that topic, or they may give a general overview of the ideas. 

At every step, the speaker should be thinking about what the listener needs to hear next. Does the listener look confused? Maybe another example is needed before you continue. Does the listener have a limited amount of time? Perhaps the important details need to be shortened. Does the listener need more context? And so on. 

Presenting the content in a simple, logical way according to the needs of the listener is the most basic and necessary step for organization. Adding transitions can help, but the content should be easy to follow from one point to the next even without the help of transitions.

How do I transition between ideas?

Let's return to the comparison of organized speech to hiking on a trail. Many trails are clear and easy to follow exactly as they are because visually they are very obvious to the hiker. However, the added presence of trail markers such as signs, fences, or cairns (stacks of rocks) can make it even easier for the hikers to stay on the correct path. This is similar to how content itself can often be sufficiently organized without additional signs to the listener, but the presence of verbal signposts can make it even easier for the audience to understand what the speaker wants to communicate.

Some transitions are very basic. The presence of connecting words such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet (also known as FANBOYS) are used frequently in English to create a relationship between ideas. Without much thought or effort, a speaker can include these to help move smoothly from one point to the next.

Some transitions are grammatically based. The use of time clauses, for example, can establish a chronological relationship between two ideas. In fact, the main purpose for including grammatical instruction on these clause structures during this semester is so that you begin to naturally incorporate these transitions/connections in your speaking.

Additionally, there are some transition words and phrases that are specifically used to indicate a specific organizational pattern. Click through the tabs below to see words and phrases often used for the different speaking purposes.

Different purposes and content will use different combinations of transition words or phrases. For example, a comedian who is performing will likely use a combination of time transitions to explain a situation and interesting adverbs (such as surprisingly or suddenly) to create a sense of story. 

A marketing team may use opposing words to talk negatively about a competing product and addition and cause effect words and phrases to emphasize the unique value their own product can provide.