For Additional Material

Transitions

Transitions are those verbal markers that link ideas to one another. They can be large ideas (main points) or supporting examples within your speech. Use the following list to help you better lay out your speech for the audience.

For additional material:

Furthermore
Moreover
Also
In addition
Similarly

To summarize:

Therefore
Finally
So
In summation
In conclusion

To contrast:

However
On the other hand
Still
Although
While

Elaborating material:

Specifically
That is to say
For example
In other words
For instance

To give reasons:

Because
Since
For
As a result
Consequently

To process time movement or chronological material:

Then
Next
Secondly
Third
As
When

Citing Sources within Your Speech

One of the biggest issues that students have with their speech is how to cite their sources in an oral address. In papers, you can use quotation marks and parenthetical citations to visually communicate that information. That’s not possible in speech.

The easiest way to cite speech is to frontload the information in a sentence using “According to…”.

According to Geoffrey Batchen, in his book Each Wild Idea….
According to his official website, Roger Ebert believes….
According to a 2005 study by the Audit Bureau of Circulations…
According to the previously cited film, Food Inc. …

One of the things that happens when you continually use this method of citation is that you may start to sound like a broken record. Also consider backloading your sources.

“All intellectual enterprise is a collective effort,” according to Geoffrey Batchen in his book Each Wild Idea.
Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, is about an “existential car driver” according to Roger Ebert’s movie review, on his official website.
Sixty percent of all Americans read a newspaper daily, according to a 2005 report by the Audit Bureaus of Circulations.

Things to not do in your speeches include the following:

According to
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “ethnography” as…
Wikipedia.com (or ask.com, or answers.com, or anything similar site) says that David Mamet….

Be creative, but complete, when you cite your sources. Consider these suggestions from the Agnes Scott Speaking Center:

(

a book?

Forty-five years ago, in her book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson warned the nation about the dangerous environmental effects of pesticides.

a journal article?

The Fall 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports a significant correlation between childhood obesity and the number of hours spent playing video games.

a newspaper?

The "National Intelligence Estimate casts strong doubts on the viability of the Bush administration strategy in Iraq," according to an article in the August 23, 2007 edition of the New York Times.

a website?

An article on the Electronic Privacy Information Center web site contends that proposed changes in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act "will leave millions of Americans subject to electronic surveillance, without court review."

a periodical?

The August 24, 2007 issue of Time Magazine reports that over 19 million Chinese-manufactured toys were contaminated with lead paint.

an interview?

In an August 2007 interview with Dr. Raymond Riley, professor of electronic music, he states that new computer software changes radically how composers approach film music.

a speech?

In her 2008 commencement address, Dr. Elizabeth Kiss encouraged Agnes Scott women to seek leadership roles in their workplace, their community and their school.

Remember: Cite accurately and provide enough information to enable your audience to locate the source.