COMM 1010

Jack Stout
December 3, 2016
Informative Speech Outline
Specific Goal: My audience will learn about the effects of stress on the body, how to detect them, and how to
cope or overcome any stress they may be currently experiencing.
Application: The audience will benefit from learning about how to combat their stress in order to live a more
relaxed, and happy lifestyle.
Ethos: Primary Ethos: I have studied stress on and off for the past few years in order to combat stress in
myself. I also have taken several trainings on how to help others combat negative effects of stress.
Secondary Ethos: I will cite three references out loud during my speech.
Pathos: Helping everyone relate to a hard day filled with stressors will help everyone understand how it feels
emotionally to be under high amounts of stress.
Logos: I will discuss medical proof that high amounts of stress can have major negative effects on the body.
Audience Assessment: My audience likely knows how stress feels, but may not know about the effects it has
on them, or how to detect the different forms of stress.
Adaptation to Audience: I will define hard words, and use analogies to help people better connect with the
message I am attempting to get across.
Pattern of Organization: My remarks will be organized by topic.
Introduction
I.

Hook: What if I told you that there are just under 100 different ways that stress effects your
body? (Rhetorical Question)

II.

Thesis: Knowing how stress affects you can not only help you live a better, and happier life; it
can also help you live a longer one.
Preview: I will begin by discussing why it is important to know what stress is so the audience
can better understand why each topic to know is relevant.
A. First I will discuss how stress effects the body.
B. Second I will discuss how we can detect our stress.
C. Third I will discuss how we can cope with the stress we are experiencing.

III.

Transition: Stress can have many different effects on our bodies, and to give you an idea of how
important managing out stress is, I will begin by discussing how stress begins to hurt us.
IV.

Body
It is important to note that not all forms of stress are bad. In fact, there are types of stress that
are actually beneficial to our health.
A. The definition of stress is: The physical or psychological response to internal or external
stressors. (Psychology, 2009)
B. The difference between Eustress and Distress. How eustress helps the body.
C. Prolonged stress has been linked to heart disease, eating disorders, sleep related issues, and
early aging.

Transition: An important part of prevention is being able to detect how stress is effecting your
body. This will require a good amount of knowledge yourself, and an understanding of your
overall health.
V.

An important aspect of stress is learning how to detect Eustress, and Distress. Self-awareness
helps us to understand what our stressors are.
A. The body reacts differently do Eustress and Distress, and knowing the differences could
mean improved health. (Connie, 1987)
B. Many people admit that they have a hard time detecting which types of stress they are
experiencing.
C. How each person can learn who detect their stress.
Transition: The most important part in all of this is to raise awareness about stress as an actual
force within our lives, and to give us to power to cope with the stress that we are under each
day.

VI.

Although there is not a cookie-cutter answer for how to cope with stress, hopefully these tips
will give you some good ways to help you cut down on stress and improve your well-being.
A. Physical ways to reduce stress include, exercise, eating better food, and surrounding
yourself with positive and uplifting people.
B. Mental ways to reduce stress include prioritizing items, making a to-do list, taking short
breaks, or using positive self-talk to calm yourself down.
Transition: Although stress cannot be completely avoided, it is important to remember that it is
part of life. We must learn how to cope with it, because there is not a way to completely avoid
it.
Conclusion

VII.

A. Accurately detecting, and managing stress is not only helpful for reducing stress, but also
helps to boost productivity in the workplace, and maintain your calm.
B. 80% of people report that they are experiencing stress. (Wilson, 2013)
References

Connie, S. (1987). Fighting invisible tigers. Free spirit Publishing.

Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2009). Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: Worth.
Wilson, D. (2013). Stress remedy: Master your body's synergy and optimize your health. Port Jefferson, NY:
Empowering Wellness Press.