Signposting

One of the major problems with my thesis' draft according to Suzanne is 'lack of signposting'. Here are some explanations of it. Taken from http://communicatebetter.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-is-signposting.html. Might be useful for you.

What is signposting?

Imagine driving around an unfamiliar urban town. Sounds hard right? Now imagine driving around without the help of signposts to help guide you around.

In the same manner where signposts help motorists get to their desired destination, you can help your audience understand you better by using the technique known as “signposting”.

We all do some signposting in our natural conversation. Phases such as “on the other hand” and “in conclusion” are effective signposts that we use in everyday life.

So, what is signposting anyway?

Signposting is a technique to help people follow the meaning of what you are saying.

They act as guides to help the reader follow what you are saying throughout a conversation, helps in establishing rapport and helps them to categories what you are saying.

Here are more examples of signposting

To Begin Introducing your Point, you might consider starting with...

• I'd like to begin by...
• Let's start by...
• First of all, I'll...
• Starting with...
• To start with...
• I'll begin by...

For Finishing a Topic, try...

• Well, I've finished talking about...
• Well, that's all I have to say about...
• We've considered...
• So much for this subject...

To Start another topic, why not use...

• Now, let us move on to.
• Next, let us consider...
• Turning to...
• Moving on to...
• I would like now to discuss...

Applying Signposting Techniques in a discussion...

• So, where does that lead us?
• Let us consider this in more detail...
• What does this all mean?
• Translated this into real terms...

Giving an example...

• Here’s an example. I was...
• For example,...
• A good example of this is...
• To illustrate,...
• To give you an example,...
• To illustrate this point...
• Let’s consider a hypothetical situation for a moment. If you were to...
• Let me play the devil’s advocate for a moment. What might happen if...

To Summarize and conclude...

• In conclusion,...
• To conclude,...
• So, let's sum up, shall we?
• I would like now to recap...
• Let’s summarize what we’ve covered briefly...
• Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we've covered...
• To sum up the main points...

To summarize what we’ve covered briefly, signposting is an effective method to help your audience follow what you are saying. Do try to keep it in mind whether you are communicating with a single individual, or to an entire audience.