What are Transitions?

In general, whenever a speaker wants to speak on a particular topic, there is a lot of research on that topic. A speaker’s research usually leads to an enormous amount of points which are critical to fulfilling the purpose of the speech. But how does a speaker present these points in a manner that guides the audience through the speech? They use Transitions. Transitions are words or phrases that connects one point or part of a speech to another point or part of a speech. According to the website sixminutes.dlugan.com, “Speech transitions are magical words and phrases that help your argument flow smoothly“. There are two different kinds of transitions a speaker can use: verbal and nonverbal. There are numerous types of verbal and non-verbal transitions that a speaker can incorporate in their speech which will be addressed in How to Use Transitions section.

Why are Transitions Important?

Using smooth transitions helps the audience have a clear understanding of the speaker’s message. If there are a lack of transitions the speaker’s impact on the audience will quickly decline.This problem is similar to reading a comic strip with scenes that do not flow into the next. It’s exhausting and confusing for the audience.

When a speaker is preparing their persuasive speech they must set time aside to create a smooth transitions between their points. When the speaker presents their speech it should be as smooth and easy to follow as Bill Watterson’s comic strip:

Where does the Speaker use Transitions?

Transitions should should be used after the speaker’s introduction, between each main point, within each main point, and before the conclusion.

Why use Transitions between Points?

A good speaker should make sure his/her audience are guided through the structure of the speech. Transition between points lets the audience quickly absorb the previous point and get ready for the next point the speaker is about to give. In the absence of transition between points, the audience is left with the extra task of structuring the speech for easy processing and absorption. This extra task might lead to the audience getting lost in the speech and the speaker loosing his credibility as a speaker who knows how to keep the audience engaged in a speech.

How to use Transitions

There are several transition styles. Each of this can be used depending on the users’ preference. These transition styles include:

Verbal transitions

1) Review-preview- Review preview is an internal summary which is an extended form of simple transitional statements. The speaker tells the audience what part they have covered, some of its main points, how it fits in with the topic, and what you are going to talk about next. The review preview is used to ensure the  audience’s attention is maintained and they have a clear understanding of the speaker’s framework which helps the key points stick in their memory. An example of the review-preview style would be, “Now that I have discussed why making yourself a healthy breakfast is important, (i) how it gives you the energy you need in the morning (ii) it increases your productivity; and (iii) it prevents you from overeating later in the day, I will now talk about how you can achieve making yourself a healthy breakfast.”

2) Questions- There are three different question style used to create an effective transition in a speech. Questions can be used to introduce a new section or topic; moreover, it engages the audience. This includes rhetorical questions, direct questions and loaded questions.

• Rhetorical questions- Rhetorical questions is an open question to the speaker. This gives the speaker opportunity to pause, look around the room to make eye contact with the audience and answer the question. An example would be, ” Can anyone tell me the number of recyclable materials there are in a paper coffee cup ? As you may know, there are…”
• Direct questions- A direct question is an open question to the audience that requires them to answer. An example would be, “Can anyone tell me why we choose to text a contact rather than verbally communicating with them?”
• Loaded questions- Loaded questions are designed to get the audience to produce a common misconception of a situation that the speaker later clarifies to emphasize their main message. The speaker first asks a rhetorical or direct question to the audience to lead them to a partial snapshot of a situation and then answers, correcting the situation. An example of this would be, ” What is the reason that car accidents are most likely to happen between midnight and 6 a.m? -Alcohol? Drugs?…Actually, you’ll be surprised to learn that the reason is sleep-deprived driving.”

3) Sign-posting– Signposts are usually one word or a short phrase that effectively highlights key points and creates connection between your ideas. Signposts can be broken up into several categories which include: making a contrast, adding an extra point, highlighting importance, cause & effect, time/sequence, emphasizing, giving a reason, and offering an alternative. An example of a signpost transition where the purpose is to offer an alternative would be, “Conversely, we could also consider…”

4) Themed transition- Themed transitions, like the name suggests, use a common theme or subject throughout the entire speech. This theme is somehow related to the topic of your speech or the point you are trying to get across to your audience. Two main ways of achieving these themed transitions are:

• By selecting a specific part of your topic that can show a linear movement throughout your speech. For example, say you are trying to convince people to take the train instead of another mode of transportation. You could use transitions such as, “Continuing down the track …” or “Rolling into the next station …”.
• By referring back to the theme of your speech as to engrave this main idea into your audience members mind. By returning to one main key point or idea, you can solidify with your audience what you are really trying to achieve with your speech by connecting each paragraph or thought back to this single point. A good example of this type of transitions can be seen throughout Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign using “Yes we can“. This strategy is also known as call and response. Call and response is a method of communication where the speaker has a specific word, phrase, or action that they will use, the call, which the audience will then respond to with another specific word, phrase, or action, the response. One place that this type of communication is very apparent is during religous events and rituals.

When using themed transitions, it is important to try and still make the transitions sound fluid and natural. If it is very obvious that you are trying to use a theme transition, it may come of as a cheesy way of moving from point to point to your audience and could take away from your credibility as a speaker.

5) Transitional Statements- Transitional statements mark your transition from one discrete point to another. Examples of these statements would be using phrases such as, ” First of all, secondly, to wrap up, etc,” to ease into the next point.

6) Back-Linking- Back-linking is achieved when the speaker relates to a point they have already mentioned in their speech to introduce a new point. An example would be, “As you might remember in the first part of my speech I pointed out….Now in this final point I will outline…”

7) Anecdotes- Anecdotes or a story drawn from personal experience can introduce the next point the speaker is going to introduce to the audience. An example would be, “I used to eat a chocolate granola bar for my breakfast and realized it did not keep me full for more than half an hour. I decided I needed to change my ways and eat a healthy, wholesome breakfast. The problem was I didn’t know how to make myself a good breakfast. I want to address how I taught myself how make a good breakfast and provide you a little information as how you can achieve this yourself.”

Non-Verbal Transitions

1) Physical Movement- A speaker can use physical movement to literally move from one point to another. We saw this example in Dana’s speech about ways to wake up in the morning by using the three different learning styles: Visual, Kinesthetic, and Auditory. She had three posters in front of her depicting these styles and moved from one to the other when she transitioned to the next point.

2) Visual Aids– A picture slide can mark the change from one point to another, yet the speaker must be wary that it clearly to the next topic being discussed.

What makes a Good or Bad Transition?

One of the most common go to transitions that you will hear is “so”. Although “so” shows that you are transitioning from one point to another, it is very bland. Although, using this example, you can see that a transition need not be some elaborate sentence to show movement from one point to another. Sometimes, a single word is sufficient for a transition from one idea to the next. Here are some different transitional words and phrases for various situations:

• Additive- Used for addition, introduction, or to show similarity to other ideas. This type of transition is broken into: Addition, Introduction, Reference, Similarity, Identification, and Clarification. For example, instead of saying “From these points, you can see that water is an esential part of life. So now, how can you help ensure everyone has access to fresh drinking water?” you could say “From these points, you can see that water is an essential part of life. As well as being an essential part of life, clean drinkable water is a basic human right that everyone should have access to, but what can we do to ensure this?” The additive transition in this example is “As well (as this)”.
• Adverse- Used to signal conflict, contradiction, or dismissal. Sub sections for adverse transitions include: Conflict, Emphasis, Concession, Dismissal, and Replacement. For example, instead of saying “The fact is that nuclear energy has been used for bombs, killing thousands. So, you might be thinking that nuclear energy is bad, but nuclear energy can be used peacefully too.” you could say “The fact is that nuclear energy has been used for bombs, killing thousands. However, nuclear energy can be used peacefully too.” The adverse transition in this example is “However”.
• Causal- Used to signal cause and effect or reason and result.  This is further broken down into: Cause/Reason, Condition, Effect/Result, Purpose, and Consequence. For example, instead of saying “As you can see, wood is an essential building material used all over the world. So, how does this relate to deforestation?” you could say “As you can see, wood is an essential building material used all over the world. As a result of this huge demand for lumber, deforestation has occured.” The causal transition in this example is “As a result (of this)”.
• Sequential- Used to signal a chronological or logical sequence. Sequential transitions include: Numerical, Continuation, Conclusion, Digression, Resumption, and Summation. When choosing a transition, it is important to keep in mind that you are trying to have a smooth flow from one point to the next. When coming up with a speech, try several transitions to see which one comes out the smoothest and the most natural. For example, instead of saying “From these statisitcs, you can see that donating blood is very important. So, now that you know donating blood is something everyone should do, what can you do to help?” you could say “From these statisitcs, you can see that donating blood is very important. But how can you help? To start with, you can go do a blood drive and donate.” The sequential transition in this example is “To start with”.

References

Photograph from Publication Figure 1: Watterson, Bill. 2007. Interlude: Calvin and Hobbes. Date accessed: April 4, 2013. http://distractionware.com/blog/2007/02/interlude-calvin-and-hobbes/

Photograph from Publication Figure 2: Unknown Author. October 2012. Transitions in Your Speech Bridge the Gap. Date accessed: March 18th, 2014. http://www.virtualspeechcoach.com/2012/10/17/transitions-in-your-speech-bridge-the-gap/

Rose, David. 2011. Public Speaking and Transitions: Transitions and Signposting “Speaking glue”. Date accessed: March 15, 2014. http://lacstrainingblog.com/2011/04/08/public-speaking-and-presentations-23-transitions-and-signposting-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%98speaking-glue%E2%80%99/

Sayer, Wendy.Speech Transitions.University of Southern Mississipi Speaking Center. Date accessed: March 12, 2014. {nolink:}}Fogel, Peter. December 2010. How to Create Smooth Transitions During Your Speech. Date accessed: April 2, 2014. http://www.peterfogel.com/publicspeaklikeapro/?p=222