Once you have a draft of your speech that reflects what you want to say, it’s a good idea to think about how you will move from one idea to the next. You know what transitions are—you create them every time you use words such as and, or, because, for example, and however. These are the words and phrases that link ideas together while also helping your audience follow the flow of your thoughts about a topic.
Look over your speech carefully. Use transitions like the ones below to help your listeners connect main ideas, details, and examples.
If you need to describe a process, use words such as first, second, always, then, next, later, soon, before, finally, after, earlier, afterward, and tomorrow.
In front, behind, next to, along, nearest, lowest, above, below, underneath, on the right, and in the middle can help your listener visualize where things are located.
Words such as mainly, strongest, weakest, first, second, worst, and best may be used to rank ideas or to show how important your ideas are.
Similarly, likewise, also, like, as, neither . . . nor, and either . . . or show how two or more things are similar. However, by contrast, yet, but, unlike, instead, whereas, while, and on the other hand show differences.
Words such as since, because, thus, therefore, so, due to, for this reason, and as a result can help explain cause-effect relationships.
Once you have finished revising your speech, read it out loud to yourself and look for other places where you might need to add transitions.
