AMTOBUL

Communication Across the Curriculum
Monmouth College

AMTOBUL

(23 October 2006)

Do your formerly organized students suddenly offer a grab-bag of random, wandering, unfocused information when making an oral presentation in your course? Remind your students of AMTOBUL—they'll remember it from CATA 101—and your problems will be solved.

The tradition of organizing a speech into the three areas of introduction, body, and conclusion is a long accepted one. In CATA 101, the tradition is also followed, but we provide students with a model that is a bit more elaborate, the A-M-T-O-B-U-L Model.

Dr. Marty Freeney, past professor of Speech Communication at Monmouth College, developed the acronym, which stands for these steps of an effectively organized speech: Attention, Motivation, Thesis (recently added), Overview, Body, Underview, and Last Thought.

If your students need a refresher, remind them of the following, which you can adapt as needed for your own discipline, of course (for a more detailed version, see the CATA 101 Resource Pages):

Attention:
Grab your audience’s attention in a manner appropriate to your purpose, using such devices as an engaging narrative; a surprising thought, example, or illustration; a well-phrased quotation; humor; or some physical activity, to name just a few.

Motivation:
Provide your audience with a reason for listening by showing them how your speech topic relates to their interests or experiences.

Thesis:
Generally, a one-sentence statement of your speech’s argument. More specifically, your thesis is:

	an arguable assertion (the term you’ll hear most frequently at Monmouth College).
	the main point you’ll make about your subject—it expresses one major idea about the subject.
	the controlling idea of your speech.
	what you’re trying to prove—you want to persuade your listeners that your thesis is valid.
	broad or narrow enough to be thoroughly covered in your allotted time.
	written with specific language.

Overview:
Let your audience know the main points you will cover in the body of your speech (similar to a Table of Contents in a book).

Body:
Impress your audience not only with your content but also with your organization, transitions, internal summaries, and cues.

Underview:
Help your audience to remember your presentation by restating your main points, rephrasing your thesis, or presenting an overall summary of what you discussed.

Last Thought:
Leave your audience with a lasting impression and give your speech a sense of completion, using a quotation, a narrative, a call to action, or a thought-provoking statement, to name just a few useful devices.

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