![The template open in Strokes: the title “Informative speech outline: [Title]”, then a details table for Speaker, Class or event, Time limit and Audience and the heading “Purpose and central idea”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-light.ce277c9f.webp&w=3840&q=75)
![The template open in Strokes: the title “Informative speech outline: [Title]”, then a details table for Speaker, Class or event, Time limit and Audience and the heading “Purpose and central idea”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-dark.c32ffa34.webp&w=3840&q=75)
When to use it
- Public speaking assignments that ask for a full-sentence or preparation outline with sources
- Speeches about an object, a process, an event, a person or a concept
- Turning a paper, a report or a research project into a talk for a general audience
- Library, museum and club talks where listeners need a clear map
- Cutting a finished outline down to keyword notes you can speak from
An informative speech outline is the plan for a speech that explains something. It sets out a specific purpose, a one-sentence central idea, an introduction that previews the main points, two to four main points in a clear order, and a conclusion that reviews them. Many public speaking classes ask for it as a full-sentence outline, with Roman numerals for main points, capital letters for subpoints and the transitions written out. This template follows that format, and the example right below fills it in.
Informative speech outline example
This is the full-sentence outline behind the dictionary talk in our informative speech examples, where the finished script lives. Read the outline first; the speaking version of it follows.
General purpose: To inform
Specific purpose: To inform my audience how a word gets into a Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Central idea: Merriam-Webster's editors collect words as citations, add a word once its citations show it is established, and revise the dictionary one stretch of the alphabet at a time.
Pattern: Chronological
Introduction
I. Attention getter: Every word in the dictionary got there the same way: somebody saw it in print and wrote it down.
II. Reason to listen: Every writer in this room adds to that record each time they publish.
III. Credibility: Everything I'll tell you comes from Merriam-Webster's own explanation of how it works.
IV. Preview: I'll cover how editors collect words, how they decide a word has arrived, and what happens once it's in.
Transition: First, collecting.
Body
I. Editors collect words by reading and marking published writing.
A. Most editors spend an hour or two a day reading books, newspapers, magazines and online publications (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).
B. Each marked example becomes a citation.
1. A citation records the word, the passage it appeared in and where that passage was published.
2. The files hold 15.7 million citations, once kept on three-by-five slips and now on computer as well.
Transition: That's how words are collected. But how many citations does a word need?
II. A word is added once its citations show it is established.
A. It must appear in many citations from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time.
B. In the dictionary's words, there must be “enough citations to allow accurate judgments about its establishment, currency, and meaning.”
C. A few words are established quickly; Merriam-Webster's example is AIDS in the 1980s.
Transition: Once a word has enough citations, someone has to write the entry.
III. Definers revise the dictionary one stretch of the alphabet at a time.
A. A definer takes a segment, such as “gri” to “gro,” and reviews its citations.
B. For each word, the definer decides whether the entry stays, is revised, is dropped or is added.
Transition: So that's the whole path, from the page to the dictionary.
Conclusion
I. Review: Editors read and mark, citations pile up, and a word with enough of them gets an entry when a definer reaches its part of the alphabet.
II. Closing line: The next time you put a new word into something you publish, you may be making a citation.
References
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). How does a word get into a Merriam-Webster dictionary? Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-words-into-dictionary
The preview, the three main points and the review use the same three ideas in the same order. Each transition sums up the point before it and asks the question the next one answers. The quotation is the only wording taken directly from the source, and the reference is in APA style; if your class uses MLA, format it that way instead.
Speaking outline sample
The full-sentence outline is for planning and handing in. For delivery, most speakers cut it down to a speaking outline: keywords and phrases on a card or a single page, big enough to read at a glance. Keep anything you must say exactly in full. Here are lines from the dictionary outline beside their speaking versions, then the whole speaking outline.
| Full-sentence outline | Speaking outline | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Full-sentence outlineI. Attention getter: Every word in the dictionary got there the same way: somebody saw it in print and wrote it down. | Speaking outlineOPEN (say in full): “Every word in the dictionary got there the same way…” | What changedKept word for word, because the first line is the one you can't afford to fumble |
| Full-sentence outlineIV. Preview: I'll cover how editors collect words, how they decide a word has arrived, and what happens once it's in. | Speaking outlinePREVIEW: collect · decide · define | What changedCut to three verbs, one per main point |
| Full-sentence outlineI.A. Most editors spend an hour or two a day reading books, newspapers, magazines and online publications (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). | Speaking outline“reading and marking,” 1–2 hours a day | What changedThe citation and the list of publications go; the phrase you'll quote stays |
| Full-sentence outlineI.B.2. The files hold 15.7 million citations, once kept on three-by-five slips and now on computer as well. | Speaking outline3x5 slips, now on computer: 15.7 MILLION | What changedThe figure stays exact, in capitals so you stress it |
| Full-sentence outlineII.B. In the dictionary's words, there must be “enough citations to allow accurate judgments about its establishment, currency, and meaning.” | Speaking outlineREAD: “enough citations to allow accurate judgments…” | What changedThe quotation stays whole, marked to be read, not paraphrased |
| Full-sentence outlineTransition: That's how words are collected. But how many citations does a word need? | Speaking outline[That's collecting. How many does a word need?] | What changedShortened and bracketed, so it reads as a turn rather than a point |
| Full-sentence outlineReferences: Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). How does a word get into a Merriam-Webster dictionary? | Speaking outlineNot on the card | What changedYou name the source aloud instead |
Speaking outline · the dictionary talk
OPEN (say in full): "Every word in the dictionary got there the same way. Somebody saw it in print and wrote it down."
Writers here = part of the record · source: M-W's own explanation
PREVIEW: collect · decide · define
I. COLLECT
"reading and marking," 1-2 hours a day
citation = word + passage + where published
3x5 slips, now on computer: 15.7 MILLION
[That's collecting. How many does a word need?]
II. DECIDE
many citations · wide range · long time
READ: "enough citations to allow accurate judgments about its establishment, currency, and meaning"
fast exception: AIDS, 1980s
[Enough citations = someone writes the entry]
III. DEFINE
definers · "gri" to "gro"
stay / revise / drop / add · words leave too
CLOSE: read and mark, pile up, entry
LAST LINE (say in full): "...you may be making a citation."Capitals mark what to stress, and the bracketed lines are the transitions. On note cards, give each main point a card of its own.
How to use this template
- Write the purpose and the central idea first
The general purpose is always “to inform.” The specific purpose finishes the sentence “To inform my audience how (or what, or why)…”. The central idea is the answer, in one sentence that names your main points. If you can't write it, the topic is still too broad. These informative speech topics are already narrowed to questions with answers.
- Choose an organizational pattern
Decide the order before you write the points: chronological, spatial, topical or causal. The table further down matches each pattern to a speech goal. The pattern decides what each main point is, and it hands you most of your transitions.
- Write each point as one full sentence
Main points get Roman numerals, subpoints capital letters, and the details under them Arabic numerals. Each symbol holds one sentence with one idea. Put each piece of support under the point it supports, with its source in parentheses.
- Write the transitions and oral citations out
A transition moves the audience from one point to the next: “That's how words are collected. But how many citations does a word need?” Write each one in full between the main points, and do the same for the sources you'll name aloud (“According to Merriam-Webster…”), so they're part of the script.
- Make a speaking outline for delivery
When the full outline is done, copy it into the Speaking outline section at the end of the template: keywords only, plus anything you must say word for word, such as the first and last lines, quotations and numbers. Rehearse from that version, out loud and with a timer.
Informative speech outline format
These are the parts many public speaking courses use, in their usual order. Your assignment sheet may rename some (the central idea is often called the thesis), so follow its labels where they differ. The credibility line is what rhetoric calls ethos: why this audience should trust you on this subject.
| Part | What goes in it | From the example above |
|---|---|---|
| PartTitle | What goes in itA short, plain title | From the example aboveHow a word gets into the dictionary |
| PartGeneral purpose | What goes in itAlways “to inform” | From the example aboveTo inform |
| PartSpecific purpose | What goes in it“To inform my audience how, what or why…” | From the example above…how a word gets into a Merriam-Webster dictionary |
| PartCentral idea | What goes in itThe answer in one sentence, naming the main points | From the example aboveEditors collect words, add one when the evidence is strong enough, and revise the dictionary letter by letter |
| PartIntroduction | What goes in itI. Attention getter · II. Reason to listen · III. Credibility · IV. Preview | From the example above“Every word in the dictionary got there the same way.” |
| PartBody | What goes in itTwo to four main points (I, II, III), with subpoints (A, B) and details (1, 2) | From the example aboveI. Editors collect words by reading and marking. |
| PartTransitions | What goes in itOne full sentence between main points | From the example above“But how many citations does a word need?” |
| PartConclusion | What goes in itI. Review of the main points · II. Closing line | From the example above“You may be making a citation.” |
| PartReferences | What goes in itEvery source, in the style your class uses | From the example aboveMerriam-Webster (n.d.) |
Many instructors check the same handful of outline rules. Run through them before you hand anything in:
The parallel-wording rule is the same one that applies to any list in prose; see parallel structure for how to fix points that start in three different ways.
Choose an organizational pattern
Four patterns cover most informative speeches. Start from what you want the audience to be able to do afterward, then pick the pattern that serves that goal.
| Pattern | Use it when your goal is to… | Main points for a sample topic |
|---|---|---|
| PatternChronological | Use it when your goal is to…Show how something happens or happened, step by step: a process, an event, a life | Main points for a sample topicHow a weather forecast is made: I. observations are collected · II. computer models turn them into predictions · III. forecasters turn predictions into the forecast you see |
| PatternSpatial | Use it when your goal is to…Help the audience picture where the parts are and how they fit: an object, a place, a system you can point at | Main points for a sample topicHow the eye makes a picture: I. the front of the eye focuses light · II. the retina turns light into signals · III. the brain builds the image |
| PatternTopical | Use it when your goal is to…Break a concept into its natural parts, so the audience can explain each one | Main points for a sample topicHow inflation is measured: I. the basket · II. the prices · III. the limits |
| PatternCausal | Use it when your goal is to…Explain why something happens, so the audience can trace cause to effect | Main points for a sample topicWhy cutting onions makes you cry: I. cutting breaks the onion's cells · II. a chemical released from them reaches your eyes · III. your eyes make tears to wash it away |
One subject can take more than one pattern. A speech on a person runs chronologically (early life, the work, the legacy) when the goal is to show how a life unfolded, and topically (the scientist, the businesswoman, the outsider) when the goal is to show the sides of one person. Decide the goal first; the pattern follows.
Tips for a stronger outline
- Budget the clock. Keep the introduction and the conclusion short, together about a fifth of the time, and split the rest evenly across the main points. At about 130 words a minute, a four-minute speech is roughly 520 words.
- Write the review from the preview. Copy the preview into the conclusion and change “I'll cover” to “We've seen.” If they no longer match, the body has drifted.
- Mark the visual aids. Note in the outline where each slide, object or handout appears, and rehearse with every one of them, so handling a prop on the day doesn't eat your time.
- Check the assignment's format. Some classes want references in APA, some in MLA, and some want time marks or a word count in the margin. The assignment sheet wins over any template, including this one.
For openings that do more than say hello, see how to start a speech. For a looser outline with a time budget per section, the general speech outline template works for any kind of speech.
Frequently asked questions
How many main points should an informative speech have?
Two to four, and three is the usual choice for a speech of four to seven minutes. A few well-supported points are easier to follow than many thin ones. If you have five, two of them are probably subpoints of the others, or belong in a different speech.
What is the difference between a full-sentence outline and a speaking outline?
A full-sentence outline, sometimes called a preparation outline, writes every point as a complete sentence with its sources, and it is the version you plan with and hand in. A speaking outline cuts that down to keywords and phrases you can read at a glance while you talk, with the opening, the closing line and quotations written in full.
Do I need sources in an informative speech outline?
Yes, for any fact you didn't know before you started researching. Cite the source next to the point it supports, name it aloud in the speech, and list it in the references in the style your class uses. Your own experience needs no citation, but say that it's yours.
