The difference between a novice speaker and an advanced speaker is in how they bridge the gap between ideas. Learning to use transitions effectively will help take your speaking to the advanced level. Transitions can be one word, a phrase, or a full sentence.
The audience is dying to know the relationship between ideas. Their brains are hard-wired for that. It’s more important when you are speaking than when you are writing because the listeners can’t go back – they have to get it when it happens. If the brain is bored, or gets tired because it’s overwhelmed, or gets confused – it can’t stay in that place, so it daydreams, creating its own interest.
Speech Coach Max Dixon, Westside Toastmasters.
So, let’s get started. I have included various transition types for you to consider. These do little good if you read them and do not use them. This list works best if you read it now and then revisit it every time you write a speech.
Steve Jobs Commencement to Stanford University
Steve Jobs clearly previews his main points, “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.” He flows smoothly between points with clear transitions.
Introduce an example
Connective:
A word or phrase that connects the ideas of a speech and indicates the relationship between them.
Transitions:
A word or phrase that indicates when a speaker had finished one thought and it moving on to another.
Internal preview:
A statement in the body of the speech that tells the audience what the speaker is going to discuss next.
Internal summary:
A statement in the body of the speech that summarizes the speaker’s preceding point or points.
Signpost:
A very brief statement that indicates where a speaker is in the speech or that focuses attention on key ideas.
From the Art of Public Speaking by Stephen Lucas
THOUGHTS FROM A FORMER STUDENT
One thing I learned in class that made me a better speechwriter was to pay attention to the transitions. In our outlines, there was space for our main points, but also our transitions between them. At the beginning of the semester, I thought this was a waste of time planning out my transition for a speech and that I would just wing it the day of, but I soon realized how important they were. Transitions are like the finishing touches that make everything fall together in a speech.
You may have some interesting points or facts to give to your audience, but without transitions, you have nothing to connect your points and create a narrative. An audience is much more interested in a talk if there is a continuing idea or theme, and transitions help create this. I found this out by watching the other students in my class as they learned to use transitions as well. I loved the speeches that were clearly organized and had a common idea with transitions.
Zoe Lawless, Honors Public Speaking, University of Arkansas
Many people don’t think about movement as a type of transition, but it can be a very powerful way to help your audience transition between ideas.
John Chappelear, speech consultant, suggests that the use of silence can be powerful. It is powerful, but it is not easy. Being able to stand silently in front of a large audience for 15-45 seconds requires practice. Sometimes you can use silence as a way to let the audience catch up and think deeply about what you just said.
Problems with Transitions
These are some of the most common problems with transitions:
Now you have a list of ideas to use when you write your next speech, let’s talk about how to use transitions effectively. Speakers typically struggle as they end one point and seek to move to the next idea. This usually happens because of poor planning, not enough practice, and poor note management. Let’s talk about these one at a time. First, poor planning happens because a speaker does not put enough time and effort into writing the speech. Second, not enough practice happened because even when a speech is practiced, it is practiced with regards to getting through the main points and not about moving smoothly between points. Finally, poor note management. Let me give you some tricks.
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Allgood, E., & Ebersole, T. (Eds.). (2017). COMM 2100 public speaking: A workbook for student success. Fountainhead Press.
Beqiri, G. (2018). Speech transitions: Words and phrases to connect your ideas. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/speech-transitions-words-phrases
Dugan, A. (2013, August 26). Speech transitions: Magical words and phrases.
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-transitions/
Jobs, S. (2005). Steve Jobs commencement address to Stanford University. [Video]. YouTube. https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/14/jobs-061505/ Standard YouTube License.
Lawless, Z. (2020). Honors Public Speaking, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Used with permission.
Lucas, S.E. (2009). The art of public speaking. McGraw Hill.
