---
name: speech-structures
description: "Blueprints for structuring a speech end-to-end — the universal arc, Monroe's Motivated Sequence, problem-solution, narrative, and thematic patterns plus occasion templates (keynote, toast, eulogy, apology, and more); load when choosing how to outline or structure a speech before drafting prose."
---

# Speech Structures

## Overview
Structure is the load-bearing skeleton of a speech; pick it before writing a sentence of prose. This skill maps five reusable architectures and seven occasion templates, each paired with the single move that makes it land. Match the internal engine to your goal and the outer shape to the occasion.

## When to Use
- Outlining a new draft before writing prose.
- The middle sags, momentum stalls, or the audience "gets lost."
- Fitting a general pattern to a specific occasion (keynote, toast, eulogy, apology).
- Turning raw talking points or a brain-dump into an ordered arc.
- Deciding whether the piece should inform, persuade, honor, or entertain.

## Instructions

### Universal arc (default)
Hook → Context → Thesis → 2–4 body beats → Callback → Close.
- **Hook**: a concrete image, question, or 10-second story — never logistics or thanks.
- **Context**: why this, why now, why me — under 60 seconds.
- **Thesis**: one sentence the audience can repeat afterward.
- **Body beats**: each is claim + evidence + example.
- **Callback**: return to the hook, now transformed by the thesis.
- **Close**: restate the thesis in fresh words, then one line of forward motion.

### Monroe's Motivated Sequence (persuasion)
Attention → Need → Satisfaction → Visualization → Action.
- **Need**: prove the problem is real *and* theirs.
- **Visualization**: paint the after-world, or the cost of inaction.
- **Action**: one specific, doable ask ("Text YES to 55555 before you leave").

### Problem–Solution
Problem (stakes) → Cause → Solution → Feasibility → Call. Best when the audience already feels the pain.

### Chronological / Narrative
Before → turning point → after, or past → present → future. One protagonist, one clear pivot. Best for origin stories, journeys, case studies.

### Thematic / Spatial
Group by theme ("three forces reshaping X") or by space (region to region). Open each section with parallel phrasing so the grid is felt. Best when items are peers with no natural sequence.

### Occasion templates (length | key move)
- **Keynote** — 18–40 min | Frame → 3 movements, each with a story → callback. *One big idea, repeated; earn it with a personal stake early.*
- **Persuasive / policy** — 8–20 min | Monroe's or Problem–Solution. *Make one concrete, measurable ask.*
- **Commencement** — 10–15 min | 2–3 lessons hung on one metaphor. *Give permission, not instructions.*
- **Wedding toast** — 2–4 min | Setup → one story showing character → turn to the couple → raise glass. *One story, not a résumé; end on the marriage.*
- **Eulogy** — 3–7 min | Who they were → 1–2 vivid anecdotes → what they leave us. *Let one small, specific memory carry the love.*
- **Award acceptance** — 1–3 min | Gratitude → what it means → credit others → forward line. *Thank fast, then say something bigger than thanks.*
- **Apology** — 2–5 min | Name the harm → take full ownership → their impact → concrete repair → changed behavior. *Own it without excuse before anything else.*

### Choosing a structure
1. Name the goal: inform, persuade, honor/mark, or entertain.
2. Persuade → Monroe's or Problem–Solution. Honor/mark → occasion template + narrative. Inform → thematic or chronological. Unsure → universal arc.
3. Let the occasion cap length and set tone; let the goal pick the internal engine.
4. One framework per speech. Nesting a mini-arc inside a beat is fine; switching frameworks midway is not.

## Pitfalls
- Opening with thanks or logistics — you burn your best attention window on housekeeping.
- More than four body points — audiences retain three; the rest blur.
- A thesis no one can paraphrase — if you can't say it in one sentence, they can't remember it.
- Persuading without a single concrete action step.
- A toast or eulogy that lists traits instead of telling one specific story.
- "If I offended anyone" apologies — conditional ownership reads as a second offense.
- Picking a structure by habit rather than by goal plus occasion.