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Sample Informative Speech Outline
Title: Star Trek
Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the history of the television show Star
Trek, including the history of Star Trek, the meaning behind Star Trek, and the impact
left behind by Star Trek.
Thesis Statement: Star Trek, which originally ran from 1966 to 1969, and has spawned
at least five spin-off television shows, eleven motion pictures, and billions of dollars
worth of revenue, is a “cultural phenomenon,” which has made an extreme impact on the
world (Kozinets 1).
Introduction
I. On October 4, 1958, known later on as “Sputnik Night,” the world was
changed as we knew it (Launius).
II. Star Trek, which originally ran from 1966 to 1969, and has spawned at least
five spin-off television shows, eleven motion pictures, and billions of dollars
worth of revenue, is a “cultural phenomenon,” which has made an extreme
impact on the world (Kozinets 1).
III. I will be talking today about the history of the television show Star Trek, the
meaning behind Star Trek, and the impact left behind by Star Trek.
IV. In addition to watching the entirety of Star Trek: The Original Series, and
most of Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, I have done research into the
science and physics behind Star Trek, as well as the history behind the show.
(Transition…Unless you have been living underneath a rock, in a dark cave, millions of
miles away from a single other living being for the entirety of your life, I am sure that
each and every one of you have at least heard the name Star Trek, but how many of you
actually know the history behind the franchise?)
Body
I. The original Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966 had an
interesting and unusual history towards its success.
A. Star Trek was created and produced during the height of the Cold War and
the middle of the Russia-United States race to put a man in space
(Kozinets 3).
B. Star Trek lasted three seasons, and starred William Shatener as Captain
James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as the logical First Officer Commander
Spock, DeForest Kelley as Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, Nichelle
Nichols as Lt. Uhura, George Takei as Lt. Sulu, and Walter Koenig as
Ensign Chekov.
(Transition…Next, I will be talking about the meaning behind Star Trek.)