#Signpost definition how to#

This can be an effective strategy to encourage selective retention of your content. A signpost can mark a historical site, a business, or the distance to a city. Ultimately, these practices help you reinforce relationships between points, examples, and ideas in your message. /sanpost/ /sanpst/ IPA guide Other forms: signposts signposted signposting A signpost is a raised marker on the side of a road that provides some kind of information like how many miles you have to travel to a landmark (like the golden arches of McDonald's). If you were to use the word “item” near the beginning of every sentence, for example, the reader would no longer be able to use that word to identify transitions between major points.

See Chapter 14 for information on how repetition can be used effectively in oral communication.Īs effective as repetition can be, however, you want to be careful not to overdo it. Beginning with the internal summary that four items are needed for the kit, strategic repetition also conveys the writer’s rationale for the structure of their document. Specifically, repeating the number sequence and the word “item” helps the reader identify significant pieces of information, as well as the transitions between them. The home emergency kit example also demonstrates the importance of repetition in foreshadowing and signposting. These internal summaries help your audience keep track of progress as your message continues. As you cover each of the items, you can say, “The first item,” “The second item,” “Now we’ve got X and Y in our kit what else do we need? Our third item is,” and so forth. If you begin by stating that there are four main items needed for the kit, you are foreshadowing your message and helping your audience to watch or listen for four items.

#Signpost definition how to#

These strategies work by reviewing what has been covered and by highlighting what is coming next.Īs a simple example, suppose you are writing or presenting information on how to assemble a home emergency preparedness kit. Like signposts, internal summaries and foreshadowing help the audience to keep track of where they are in the message. You can help your audience avoid this confusion by signaling to them when a change is coming.Ĭommon signposts include “on the one hand,” “on the other hand,” “the solution to this problem is,” “the reason for this is,” “for example,” “to illustrate,” and “in conclusion” or “in summary.” Internal Summaries and Foreshadowing

Readers and listeners can sometimes be lulled into “losing their place”-forgetting what point is being made or how far along in the discussion the writer or speaker has gotten. Signposts (or indicators), are key words that alert the audience to a change in topic, a tangential explanation, an example, or a conclusion.