Types of Transitions

Introduction

Transitions enable the flow of a speech. A speech without transitions often seems choppy, and can even seem disorganized. Many tools for transitions allow a speaker to reiterate the central ideas they are trying to express.

Types of Transitions

Transitional Phrase: A word or phrase that indicates when a speaker has finished one thought and is moving onto another one.

Options:

• However;
• But;
• Nevertheless;
• On the contrary;
• Because;
• And;
• Lastly;
• Yet;
• On the other hand.

Example

In addition to being hilarious, The Office is also very entertaining. Consequently, there have been many people who try to imitate Dwight, but none can even come close.

Internal previews are more detailed then simple transitional phrases, but serve a similar function. While the preview in the introduction discloses to the audience the general points to be made in the speech, the internal preview outlines the critical points to be made within the body of the speech.

Internal previews cue the audience to listen for the key elements within major points. Examples of internal previews include statements like "there are a couple of points I would like to make here,""there is both a problem and a solution to propose," or "there are several items to note in this section." Each of these statements might be followed by more detailed, though brief, explanations of what is to come in the speech.

Examples

• I will be focusing on two main points--Why Jim and Pam should get married, and why Michael Scott needs to get married.
• Before I get started I would like to go over the three best episodes of The Office, which are "Diversity Day," "Beach Day," and lastly "Casino Night."

Internal Summaries

Internal summaries, in contrast to internal previews, review the key points a speaker just made. These regular summaries help the audience to remember the key points just articulated by the speaker.

Examples of internal summaries include statements like "I have reviewed…,""Now that I have talked about a couple of the key points," or "to summarize briefly what was just discussed…." Each of these statements would be followed by more specific but still brief summaries. Internal summaries reinforce the key issues in the speech.

Examples

• I hope I have made it clear that The Office is the best show ever, because it is relevant to the audience, it makes fun of so many different people but still gets away with it, and it is just plain funny.

Signposts

Signposts are often the numerical indications of the main body points. Many speakers utilize "first, second, third" type numbering to indicate where they are in their speech.

Signposts allow an audience to remember the key points and follow along in the speech. They serve to clearly distinguish main body points from each other and also from the introduction and conclusion. Signposts can also be used as questions.

Examples:

• First I will discuss with you the importance of convincing everyone about the greatness of The Office.
• To begin with, we must talk about how The Office came to be.
• Why do you think The Office is the number one show today?

Transitions are so important to a speech. Without them, your audience may just think that you are rambling.