CHAPTER 1: SPEAKING IN PUBLIC is your roommate; the other is your nine-

year-old niece.
Throughout history, people have used
3. Telling a story for a maximum impact.
public speaking as a vital means of
Instead, you carefully build up your story,
communication. What the Greek leader
adjusting your words and tone of voice to
Pericles said more than 2,500 years ago is still
get the best effect.
true today: “One who forms a judgment on any
4. Adapting to listener feedback. Whenever
point but cannot explain” it clearly “might as
you talk with someone, you are aware of
well never have thought at all on the subject.”
that person’s verbal, facial and physical
Public speaking, as its name implies, is a way
reactions
of making your ideas public – of sharing them
with other people and of influencing other DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUBLIC
people. SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION
THE POWER OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 1. Public speaking is more highly
structured. Public speaking demands
During modern times, many women and
much more detailed planning and
men around the globe have spread their ideas
preparation than ordinary conversation.
and influence through public speaking.
2. Public speaking requires more formal
THE TRADITION OF PUBLIC SPEAKING language. Slang, jargon, and bad grammar
have little place in public speeches.
Almost all cultures have an equivalent of
3. Public speaking requires a different
the English word “orator” to designate
method of delivery. When conversing
someone with special skills in public speaking.
informally, most people talk quietly, interject
The oldest known handbook on effective
stock phrases such as “like” and “you
speech was written on papyrus in Egypt some
know,” adopt a casual posture, and use
4500 years ago.
what are called vocalized pauses (“uh”, “er”,
In classical Greece and Rome, public “um”).
speaking played a central role in education and
DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE: YOUR
civic life. It was also studied extensively.
SPEECH CLASS
Aristotle’s Rhetoric, composed during the 3rd
century BCE, is still considered the most STAGE FRIGHT – the anxiety over the
important work on its subject, and many of its prospect of giving a speech in front of an
principles are followed by speakers and writers audience
today. The great Roman leader Cicero used his
ADRENALINE – a hormone released into the
speeches to defend liberty and wrote several
bloodstream in response to physical or mental
weeks about oratory in general.
stress.
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PUBLIC
- This sudden shot of adrenaline is what
SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION
makes your heart race, your hands
1. Organizing your thoughts logically. shake, your knees knock, and your skin
Suppose you were giving someone perspire.
directions to get to your house.
POSITIVE NERVOUSNESS – controlled
2. Tailoring your message to your
nervousness that helps a speaker for her or his
audience. You are a geology major. Two
presentation
people ask you how pearls are formed. One
 - Do not think of yourself as having stage
fright. Instead, think of it as “stage
excitement” or “stage enthusiasm.”
TIPS TO DEALING WITH NERVOUSNESS IN
YOUR FIRST SPEECHES
SIX (6) WAYS TO TURN NERVOUSNESS
 Be at your best physically and mentally. It is
FROM A NEGATIVE FORCE INTO A
not a good idea to stay up until 2:00 A.M.
POSITIVE ONE
partying with friends or cramming for an
exam the night before your speech. A good
1. Acquire Speaking Experience. You have night’s sleep will serve you better.
already taken the first step. You are  As you are waiting to speak, quietly tighten
enrolled in a public speaking course where and relax your leg muscles, or squeeze
you will learn about speechmaking and gain your hands together and then release them.
speaking experience. Such actions help reduce tension by
2. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. Another key to providing an outlet for your extra
gaining confidence is to pick speech topics adrenaline.
you truly care about – and then to prepare  Take a couple slow, deep breaths before
your speeches so thoroughly that you you start to speak. Most people, when they
cannot help but be successful. are tense, take short, shallow breaths,
3. Think positively. Confidence is mostly the which only reinforces their anxiety. Deep
well-known power of positive thinking. If you breathing breaks this cycle of tension and
think you can do it, you usually can. helps calm your nerves.
4. Use the Power of Visualization.  Work especially hard on your introduction.
Visualization is closely related to positive Research has shown that a speaker’s
thinking. It is used by athletes, musicians, anxiety level begins to drop significantly
actors, speakers, and others to enhance after the first 30 to 60 seconds of a
their performances in stressful situations. presentation. Once you get through the
introduction, you should find smoother
VISUALIZATION – mental imaging in which a
sailing the rest of the way.
speaker vividly pictures himself or herself
 Make eye contact with members of your
giving a successful presentation
audience. Remember that they are
- The key to visualization is creating a individual people, not a blur of faces. And
vivid mental blueprint in which you see they are your friends.
yourself succeeding in your speech.  Concentrate on communicating with your
Picture yourself in your classroom rising audience rather than worrying about your
to speak. stage fright. If you get caught up in your
speech, your audience will too.
5. Know that Most Nervousness is Not
 Use visual aids. They create interest, draw
Visible. It is hard to speak with poise and
attention away from you, and make you feel
assurance if you think you look tense and
less self-conscious
insecure.
PUBLIC SPEAKING AND CRITICAL
6. Do not Expect Perfection. It may also help
THINKING
to know that there is no such thing as a perfect
speech. WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
 To some extent, it is a matter of logic – and attitudes. No two people can have exactly
of being able to spot weaknesses in other the same frame of reference
people’s arguments and to avoid them in your
5. FEEDBACK. Communication is a two-way
own. It also involves related skills such as
process. Listeners do not simply absorb
distinguishing fact from opinion, judging the
messages like human sponges. They send
credibility of statements, and assessing the
back messages of their own. Feedback is
soundness of evidence. In the broadest sense,
the message, usually nonverbal, sent from
critical thinking is focused, organized thinking –
a listener to a speaker.
the ability to see clearly the relationships
6. INTERFERENCE. It is anything that
among ideas.
impedes the communication of a message.
Interference can be external or internal to
CRITICAL THINKING – focused, organized the listeners.
thinking about such things as the logical
INTERNAL INTERFERENCE – this comes
relationships among ideas, the soundness of
from within your audience. Examples are an
evidence, and the differences between fact and
audience having a toothache, pain, worrying
opinion
about a test in the next class period, or
THE SPEECH COMMUNICATION PROCESS someone could be brooding about an
argument with his girlfriend.
1. SPEAKER. Speech communication begins
with a speaker. He/she is the person who is EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE – these
presenting an oral message to a listener. happens outside you audience such as traffic
2. MESSAGE. It is whatever a speaker outside the building, the clatter of a radiator,
communicates to someone else. Your goal students conversing in the hall, and a room
in public speaking is to have your intended that is stifling or freezing cold.
message that is actually communicated.
7. SITUATION. It is the time and place in
Achieving this depends both on what you
which speech communication occurs.
say (the verbal message) and on how you
Conversation always takes place in a
say it (the non-verbal).
certain situation. Public speakers must be
3. CHANNEL. It is the means by which a
alert to the situation. Certain occasions –
message is communicated. When you pick
funeral, church services, graduation
up the phone to call a friend, the telephone
ceremonies – require certain kinds of
is your channel. Public speakers may use
speeches.
one or more several channels, each of
which will affect the message received by
the audience. Examples are television,
CHAPTER 2: ETHICS AND PUBLIC
radio, and a direct channels.
SPEAKING
4. LISTENER. The listener is the person who
receives the communicated message from
the speaker. Without a listener, there is no The goal of public speaking is to gain a
communication. Everything as speaker desired response from listeners – but not at
says is filtered through listener’s frame of any cost.
reference.
Speechmaking is a form of power and
FRAME OF REFERENCE – the sum of a therefore carries with it heavy ethical
person’s knowledge, experience, goals, values, responsibilities.
ETHICS is the branch of philosophy that deals 1. Make sure your goals are ethically
with issues of right and wrong in human affairs. sound. Your first responsibility as a
Questions of ethics arise whenever we ask speaker is to ask whether your goals are
whether a course of action is normal or ethically sound. As with other ethical issues,
immoral, fair or unfair, just or unjust, honest or there can be gray areas when it comes to
dishonest. assessing a speaker’s goals – areas in
which reasonable people with welldefined
ETHICS – the branch of philosophy that deals
standards of right and wrong can
with issues of right and wrong in human affairs.
legitimately disagree.
Questions of ethics also come into play 2. Be fully prepared for each speech. The
whenever a public speaker faces an audience. obligation to yourself is obvious: The better
In an ideal world, as the Greek philosopher you prepare, the better your speech will be.
Plato noted, all public speakers would be Being prepared for a speech involves
truthful and devoted to the good of society. Yet, everything from analyzing your audience to
history tells us that the power of speech is creating visual aids, organizing your ideas
often abused – sometimes with disastrous to rehearsing your delivery.
results. 3. Be honest in what you say. Nothing is
more important to ethical speechmaking
Adolf Hitler was unquestionably a
than honesty. Public speaking rests on the
persuasive speaker. His oratory galvanized the
unspoken assumption that “words can be
German people, but his aims were horrifying,
trusted, and people will be truthful”. Without
and his tactics were despicable. He remains to
this assumption, there is no basis for
this day the ultimate example of why the power
communication, no reason for one person
of the spoken word need to be guided by a
to believe anything that another says.
strong sense of ethical integrity.
4. Avoid name-calling and other forms of
As a public speaker, you will face ethical abusive language. Words may not literally
issues at every stage of the speechmaking break people’s bones, but they can leave
process – from the initial decision to speak psychological scars as surely as sticks and
through the final presentation of the message. stones can leave physical scars
And the answers will not be easy.
NAME-CALLING – It is the use of language to
ETHICAL DECISION – sound ethical decisions defame, demean, or degrade individuals or
involve weighing potential course of action groups. Such terms have been used to debase
against a set of ethical standards or guidelines people because of their sexual orientation,
religious beliefs, and ethnic background. It
But this does not mean such decisions
includes epithets.
are simply a matter of personal whim or fancy.
Sound ethical decisions involve weighing EPITHETS – words such as “fag”, “kike”,
potential course of action against a set of “nigger”, “honkey”, “wop”, “jap”, “chink”, and
ethical standards or guidelines. Just are there “spic”
guidelines for ethical conduct in public
5. Put ethical principles into practice. It is
speaking
easy to pay lip service to the importance of
ethics. It is much harder to act ethically. As
one popular book on ethics states, “Being
GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL SPEAKING
ethical means behaving ethically all the
time – not only when it is convenient”.
PLAGIARISM 1. Be courteous and attentive. Listeners
have a responsibility to be courteous and
PLAGIARISM comes from plagiarius, the Latin
attentive during the speech. This responsibility
word for kidnapper. To plagiarize means to
– which is a matter of civility – is especially
present another person’s language or ideas as
important in speech class.
your own – to give the impression you have
written or thought yourself when you have 2. Avoid prejudging the speaker. Do not
actually taken it from someone else. judge a speech by the name, race, lifestyle,
appearance, or reputation of the speaker.
PLAGIARISM – presenting another person’s
language or ideas as one’s own 3. Maintain the free and open expression of
ideas. A democratic society depends on the
1. KINDS OF PLAGIARISM
free and open expression of ideas. Just as
GLOBAL PLAGIARISM. The most blatant
public speakers need to avoid name-calling
– and unforgivable – kind of plagiarism. It is
and other tactics that can undermine free
grossly unethical. It is stealing your speech
speech, so listeners have an obligation to
entirely form another source and passing it
maintain the right of speakers to be heard.
of as your own.
2. PATCHWORK PLAGIARISM. Unlike global
plagiarism, in which a pirates an entire
CHAPTER 3: LISTENING
speech from a single source, patchwork
plagiarism occurs when a speaker pilfers Hearing is a physiological process,
from two or three sources. involving the vibration of sound waves on our
3. INCREMENTAL PLAGIARISM. It is when eardrums and the firing of electrochemical
the entire speech is cribbed more or less impulses from the inner ear to the central
verbatim from a single source or a few auditory system of the brain. Meanwhile,
sources. It occurs when the speaker fails to listening involves paying close attention to,
give credit for particular parts – increments and making sense of, what we here. Even we
– of the speech that are borrowed from think we are listening carefully, we usually
other people. grasp only 50% of what we hear. After 24
hours, we can remember only 10 percent of the
3.1. QUOTATIONS. Whenever you
original message. It is little wonder that
quote someone directly, you must
listening has been called a lost art.
attribute the words to that person. It
would make a strong addition to your LISTENING IS IMPORTANT
speech as long as you acknowledge the
Even if you do not plan to be corporate
owners/authors.
executive, the art of listening can be helpful in
3.2. PARAPHRASES. When you almost every part of your life. This is not
paraphrase an author, you restate or surprising when you realize that people spend
summarize her or his in your own words. more time listening than doing any other
You need to acknowledge the author or communicative activity – more than reading,
the person because still, with just a fair more than writing, more even than speaking
amount of his/her language, you are still
LISTENING AND CRITICAL THINKING
using his/her opinions, ideas, and
judgment. One of the ways listening can serve you is by
enhancing your skills as a critical thinker. We
GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL LISTENING
can identify four kinds of listening:
 APPRECIATIVE LISTENING – for pleasure which it is so easy to let your thoughts
or enjoyment, as we listen to music, to a wander rather than to concentrate on what
comedy routine, or to an entertaining is being said.
speech.
SPARE BRAIN TIME – the difference between
 EMPATHIC LISTENING – to provide
the rate at which most people talk (120 to 150
emotional support for the speaker, as when
words a minute) and the rate at which the brain
a psychiatrist listens to a patient or when
can process language (400 to 800 words a
we lend a sympathetic ear to a friend in
minute).
distress.
 COMPREHENSIVE LISTENING – to 2. Listening too hard. This happens when we
understand the message of a speaker, as turn into human sponges, soaking up a
when we attend a classroom lecture or speaker’s every word as if every word were
listen to directions for finding a friend’s equally important. We try to remember all
house. the names, all the dates, all the places. In
 CRITICAL LISTENING – to evaluate a the process, we often miss the speaker’s
message for purposes of accepting or main point. What is worse, we may end up
rejecting it, as when we listen to the sales confusing the facts as well.
pitch of a used-car dealer or the campaign 3. Jumping to conclusions. This happens
speech of a political candidate. when we put words into a speaker’s mouth.
We are so sure we know what they mean,
Critical thinking involves a number of skills. The
we do not listen to what they say. We also
following skills are central to comprehensive
prematurely reject a speaker’s ideas as
listening:
boring or misguided. We may decide early
 summarizing information on that a speaker has nothing valuable to
 recalling facts say. Whether it be the information, point of
 distinguishing main points from minor view, or technique, you are cheating
points yourself if you prejudge the speaker and
choose not to listen.
Other skills of critical thinking are especially
4. Focusing on delivery and personal
important in critical listening. These are:
appearance. This happens when we judge
 separating facts from opinions people by the way they look or speak and
 spotting weaknesses from in reasoning do not listen to what they say. It is easy to
 judging the soundness of evidence become distracted by a speaker’s accent,
personal appearance, or vocal mannerisms
FOUR CAUSES OF POOR LISTENING
and lose sight of the message. Focusing on
1. Not concentrating. The brain is incredibly a speaker’s delivery or personal
efficient. Although we talk at a rate of 120 to appearance is one of the major sources of
150 words a minute. The brain can process interference in the communication process,
400 to 800 words a minute. This would and it is something we always need to
seem to make listening very easy, but guard against.
actually it has the opposite effect. Because
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER
we can process a speaker’s words and still
have plenty of spare “brain time”, we are 1. Take listening seriously. The first step
tempted to interrupt our listening by thinking towards becoming a better listener is to
about other things. There come points at accord listening the seriousness it
 deserves. Good listeners are not born that be on guard against unfounded assertions and
way. They have worked hard at learning sweeping generalizations. Keep an eye out for
how to listen effectively. the speaker’s evidence and for its accuracy,
2. Be an active listener. When listening to a objectivity, relevance, and sufficiency.
speech, you should not allow yourself to be
1.3. Listen for Techniques. If you want
distracted by internal or external
to become an effective speaker, you should
interference, and do not prejudge the
study the methods other people use to speak
speaker.
effectively. Analyze the methods he/she used in
ACTIVE LISTENING – giving undivided his/her introduction to gain attention, to relate
attention to a speaker in a genuine effort to to the audience, and to establish credibility and
understand the speaker’s point of view. goodwill.
3. Resist distractions. We cannot eliminate all 7. Develop note-taking skills. Note-taking is a
physical and mental distractions because we surefire way to improve your concentration and
think so much faster than a speaker can talk. keep track of a speaker’s ideas. It accurately
summarizes the speaker’s ideas. It is very
4. Do not be diverted by appearance or
clear.
delivery. You must be willing to set aside
preconceived judgements based on a person’s KEY-WORD OUTLINE – an outline that briefly
looks or manner of speech. Do not let negative notes a speaker’s main points and supporting
feelings about a speaker’s appearance or evidence in rough outline form.
delivery keep you from listening to the
message. Try not to be misled if the has an
unusually attractive appearance. It is all easy CHAPTER 4: SELECTING A TOPIC AND A
to assume that because someone is good- PURPOSE
looking and has a polished delivery, he or she
CHOOSING A TOPIC
is speaking eloquently.
The first step to speechmaking is
5. Suspend judgment. We should hear people
choosing a topic. For speeches outside the
out before reaching a final judgement. Try to
classroom, this is seldom a problem. Usually,
understand their point of view. Listen to their
the speech topic is determined by the
ideas, examine their evidence, assess their
occasion, the audience, and the speaker’s
reasoning, then make up your mind.
qualification. In a public speaking class, the
6. Focus your listening. Skilled listeners do situation is different. Students have great
not try to absorb a speaker’s every word. leeway in selecting topics.
Rather, they focus on specific things in a
TOPIC – it is the subject of the speech
speech. Here are three suggestions to help
you focus your listening. There are two broad categories of
potential topics for your classroom speeches:
1.1. Listen for Main Points. As with
(1) you know a lot about and (2) subjects you
any speech, main points are the most
want to know more about.
important things to listen for. Most speeches
contain from two to four main points. TOPIC YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT
1.2. Listen for Evidence. Identifying the Most people speak best about subjects
main points is not enough, we should look for with which they are most familiar. When
evidences that support the claims. We should
thinking about a topic, draw on your own 4. Internet Search. Another possibility is to
knowledge and experience. connect a subject-based search engine
such as google, Yahoo!, or the Librarians’
TOPICS YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE
Index to the internet. One of the
ABOUT
advantages of using the internet in this way
This happens when you decide to make is that you can make your search more and
your speech a learning experience for yourself more specific until you find just the right
and or your audience. You may choose a subject.
subject about which you already have some
DETERMINING THE GENERAL PURPOSE
knowledge or expertise but not enough to
prepare a speech without doing additional Along with choosing a topic, you need to
research. You may even select a topic that you determine the general purpose of your speech.
want to explore for the first time. Usually, it will fall into one of two overlapping
categories – to inform or to persuade.
GENERAL PURPOSE – the broad goal of a
BRAINSTORMING FOR TOPICS
speech.
If you are having trouble selecting a
1. TO INFORM. When your general purpose is
topic, there are a number of brainstorming
to inform, you act as a teacher or lecturer.
procedures you can follow to get started.
Your goal is to convey information clearly,
BRAINSTORMING – a method of generating accurately, and interestingly. Your aim is to
ideas for speech topics by free association of enhance the knowledge and understanding
words and ideas. of your listeners – to give them information
they did not have before.
1. Personal Inventory. First, make a quick
2. TO PERSUADE. When your general
inventory of your experiences, interests,
purpose is to persuade, you act as an
hobbies, skills, beliefs, and so forth. Jot
advocate or a partisan. You go beyond
down anything that comes to mind, no
giving information to espousing a cause.
matter how silly or irrelevant it may seem.
You want to change or structuralize the
2. Clustering. If the first method does not
attitudes or actions of your audience. Your
work, try to use clustering – wherein you
primary goal is to win over your listeners to
take a sheet of paper and divide it into nine
your point of view – to get them to believe
columns as follows: people, places, things,
something or do something as a result of
events, processes, concepts, natural
your speech
phenomena, problems, and plans and
policies. Then, in each column, list the first DETERMINING THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE
five or six items that come to mind.
Once you have chosen a topic and a
3. Reference Search. This is done by
general purpose, you must narrow your
browsing through an encyclopedia, a
choices to determine the specific purpose of
periodical database, or some other
your speech. The specific purpose should
reference work until you come across what
focus on one aspect of a topic. You should be
might be a good speech topic. One
able to state your specific purpose in a single
example is limiting yourself to letter b of the
infinitive phrase (to inform my audience about
Meriam-Webster Dictionary. In just within 10
…; to persuade my audience to …) that
minutes, you can come up with potential
indicates precisely what you hope to
topics.
accomplish with your speech. specific purpose purpose statement falls into one of the most
– a single infinitive phrase that states precisely common traps – it is too broad and ill-
what a speaker hopes to accomplish in his/her defined. It gives no clues about what the
speech. speaker believes should be done about the
topic. The more effective purpose statement
Example:
is sharp and concise. It reveals clearly what
Topic: Music therapy speaker plans to discuss.

General Purpose: to inform QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR

SPECIFIC PURPOSE
Specific Purpose: to inform my audience about
the benefits of music therapy for people with Sometimes, you will arrive at your
psychological or cognitive disabilities. specific purpose almost immediately after
choosing your topic. At other times, you may
TIPS FOR FORMULATING THE SPECIFIC
do quite a bit of research before deciding on a
PURPOSE STATEMENT
specific purpose. Much will depend on how
1. Write the purpose statement as a full familiar you are with the topic, as well as on
infinitive phrase, not as a fragment. The any special demands imposed by the
ineffective statement is adequate as an assignment, the audience, or the occasion. But
announcement of the speech topic, but it is whenever you settle on your specific purpose,
not thought out fully enough to indicate the ask yourself the following questions about it:
specific purpose.
1. Does my purpose meet the assignment?
2. Express your purpose as a statement,
– Students occasionally stumble over this
not as a question. The question might
question. Be sure you understand your
arouse the curiosity of an audience, but it is
assignment and shape your specific
not effective as a specific purpose
purpose to meet it.
statement. It gives no indication about what
2. Can I accomplish my purpose in the time
direction the speech will take or what the
allotted? – Most classroom speeches are
speaker hopes to accomplish.
quite short, ranging from four to ten
3. Avoid figurative language in your
minutes. Most people speak at an average
purpose statement. Although the
rate of 120 to 150 words a minute. This
ineffective statement indicates something of
means that a six -minute speech will consist
the speaker’s viewpoint, it does not state
of roughly 720 to 900 words.
concisely what he or she hopes to achieve.
3. Is the purpose relevant to my audience?
Figurative language can reinforce ideas
– Most students have wide-ranging
within a speech, but it is too dangerous for
backgrounds, interests, ideas, and values.
a specific statement.
And most of them are intellectually curious.
4. Limit your purpose statement to one
They can get involved in an astonishing
distinct idea. There are purpose
variety of subjects. Follow your common
statements that express two unrelated
sense and make sure you are truly
ideas, either of which could be the subject
interested in the topic.
of the speech. The easiest remedy is to
4. Is the purpose too trivial for my
select one or the other as a focus for your
audience? – Just as you need to avoid
presentation.
speech topics that are too broad or
5. Make sure your specific purpose is not
complicated, so you need to steer clear of
too vague or general. An ineffective
topics that are too superficial.
5. Is the purpose too technical for my wellworded specific purpose statement. The
audience? – Nothing puts an audience to central idea:
sleep faster than a dry and technical
1) should be expressed in s full sentence;
speech. Beware of topics that are inherently
2) should not be in the form of a question;
technical and of treating ordinary subjects
3) should avoid figurative language; and,
in a technical fashion. There are aspects of
4) should not be vague or overly general.
subjects that can be treated clearly, with a
minimum of jargon.
CHAPTER 5: ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE
PHRASING THE CENTRAL IDEA
AUDIENCE-CENTEREDNESS
The specific purpose of a speech is
what you hope to accomplish. The central idea Good public speakers are audience-
is a concise statement of what you expect to centered. They know the primary purpose of
say. Sometimes, it is called the thesis speechmaking is not to browbeat the audience
statement, the subject sentence, or the major or to blow off steam. Rather, it is to gain a
thought. Whatever the term, the central idea is desired response from listeners. You are an
usually expressed as a simple, declarative audience-centered speaker if your purpose in
sentence that refines and sharpens the specific your speech is to gain a favorable response
purpose statement. from the major groups in your audience. You
can do it by presenting yourself and your ideas
CENTRAL IDEA – a one-sentence statement
in ways that are connected with the audience’s
that sums up or encapsulates the major ideas
goals, values, and beliefs.
of a speech. Another way to think of the central
idea is as your residual message. AUDIENCE-CENTEREDNESS – keeping the
audience foremost in mind every step of
RESIDUAL MESSAGE – what a speaker
speech preparation and presentation.
wants the audience to remember after it has
forgotten everything else in a speech. Effective speakers seek to create a
bond with their listeners by emphasizing
Example:
common values, goals, and experiences.
Topic: Music therapy Communication scholars call this process
identification.
General Purpose: To inform
IDENTIFICATION – a process in which
Specific Purpose: To explain the benefits of
speakers seek to create a bond with the
music therapy for people with psychological or
audience by emphasizing common values,
cognitive disabilities.
goals, and experience.
Central Idea: Music therapy developed as a
YOUR CLASSMATES AS AN AUDIENCE
formal mode of treatment during the twentieth
century, utilizes a number of methods, and is There is a tendency – among students
explained by several theories that account for and teachers alike – to view the classroom as
its success. an artificial speaking situation. In a way, it is.
Your speech class is a testing ground where
GUIDELINES FOR THE CENTRAL IDEA
you can develop our communication skills
What makes a well-worded central idea? before applying them outside the classroom.
Essentially the same things that make a The most serious measure of success or
failure is your grade, and that is determined HERE ARE FEW OF THE MAJOR
ultimately by your teacher. DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS YOU SHOULD
CONSIDER:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AUDIENCES
1. AGE. There is no generation in which
What do you do when you listen to a
everyone thinks alike, buys the same
speech? Sometimes, you pay close attention;
products, or votes for the same political
at other times, you let your thoughts wander.
candidates. Each generation has more or
People may be compelled to attend a speech,
less common values and experiences that
but no one can make them listen. The speaker
set it apart from other generations.
must make the audience choose to pay
2. GENDER. Vocational distinctions between
attention.
the sexes have been eroding for many
EGOCENTRIC – the tendency of people to be years. Speakers who fail to take account of
concerned above all with their own values, such factors are almost certain to provoke
beliefs, and well-being. negative reactions among some listeners,
male and female alike. At the same time, it
DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
is important to recognize that men and
One of the ways speakers analyze women are not alike in all their values and
audiences is by looking at demographic traits beliefs.
such as age; gender; sexual orientation; 3. SEXUAL ORIENTATION. No matter what
religion; group membership; racial, ethnic, or one’s attitude toward gays, lesbians, or
cultural background; and the like. This is called heterosexuals, audience-centered speakers
demographic audience analysis. It consists of are alert to how their messages will be
two steps: (1) identifying the general received by people of various sexual
demographic analysis features of your orientations. When you work on your
audience, and (2) gauging the importance of speeches, keep an eye out for the
those features to a particular speaking language, examples, and other elements
situation. that may unintentionally exclude listeners
with samesex partners.
DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS – it
4. RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND CULTURAL
focuses on demographic factors such as age,
BACKGROUND. Understanding attitudes
gender, religion, sexual orientation, group
of listeners about race and ethnicity is
membership,
crucial for speakers. They do not know
While demographic audience analysis whether they are addressing a mixed-race
can be a useful tool in understanding your audience or one with little apparent racial
audience like all tools, it can be used diversity, or whether they are delivering
improperly. When analyzing demographic public speeches or simply making a few off-
information about your audience, it is essential the-cuff remarks.
that you avoid stereotyping. 5. RELIGION. You cannot assume that your
views on religion – whatever they may be –
STEREOTYPING – creating an oversimplified
are shared by your listeners. Whenever you
image of a particular group of people, usually
speak on a topic with religious dimensions,
by assuming that all members of the group are
then, be sure to consider the religious
alike.
orientations of your listeners.
6. GROUP MEMBERSHIP. Similar groups
abound on campus. Some of your
 classmates may belong to fraternities or topic and knowledge about it. People
sororities, some to Campus Crusade for tend to be interested in what they know
Christ, some to the Young Republicans, about.
some to the film society, some to the ski
3.3. ATTITUDE. The attitude of your
club, and so forth.
listeners toward your topic can be
SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS extremely important in determining how
you handle the material.
Situational audience analysis usually
builds on demographic analysis. It identifies 4. DISPOSITION TOWARD THE SPEAKER.
traits of the audience unique to the speaking The more competent listeners believe a
situation at hand. These traits include the size speaker to be, the more likely they are to
of the audience, the physical setting, and the accept what he or she says. Likewise, the
disposition of the audience toward the subject, more listeners believe that a speaker has
the speaker, and the occasion. their best interests at heart, the more likely
they are to respond positively to the
SITUATIONAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS –
speaker’s message.
audience analysis that focuses on situational
5. DISPOSITION TOWARD THE OCCASION.
factors such as the size of the audience, the
Listeners have fairly definite ideas about
physical setting for the speech, and the
the speeches they consider appropriate.
disposition of the audience toward the topic,
Speakers who seriously violate those
the speaker and the occasion.
expectations can almost always count on
1. SIZE. Most speech classes consist of infuriating the audience.
between 20 and 30 people – a small- to
medium-sized audience. This is a good size
for beginning speakers. As you gain more
experience, you may welcome the
GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE
challenge of speaking to larger groups.
AUDIENCE
2. PHYSICAL SETTING. Adverse conditions
could seriously impair audience’s Now that you know what to learn about
willingness to accept your ideas or even an audience, the question is how do you learn
listen to you at all. When you face any it? Constructing questionnaire is not something
speaking situation, it is important to know in you can be expected to master in a speech
advance if there will be any difficulties with class. By following a few basic guidelines, you
the physical setting. can learn to develop a good questionnaire for
3. DISPOSITION TOWARD THE TOPIC. You analyzing your classroom audience.
should keep your audience in mind when
1. FIXED-ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS. As
choosing a topic. Ideally, you will pick a
their name implies, it offers a fixed choice
topic that suits them as well as it suits you.
between two or more responses.
3.1. INTEREST. One of your tasks will
By limiting the possible responses, such
be to assess your listener’s interests in
questions produce clear, unambiguous
advance and to adjust your speech
answers. They also tend to yield superficial
accordingly.
answers. Other techniques are needed to get
3.2. KNOWLEDGE. There is often a beneath the surface.
strong correlation between interest in a
FIXED-ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS – identify the major characteristics of their
questions that offer a fixed choice between two audience, but many have trouble adapting their
or more alternatives. ideas to the audience. There are two major
stages in the process:
2. SCALE QUESTIONS. It resembled fixed-
alternative questions, but they allow more 1. Audience adaptation before the speech.
leeway in responding As we have seen, you must keep your
audience in mind at every stage of speech
Questions like these are especially
preparation. This involves more than simply
useful for getting at the strength of a
remembering who your listeners will be. Above
respondent’s attitudes.
all: (1) assessing how your audience is likely to
SCALE QUESTIONS – questions that require respond to what you say in your speech, and
responses at fixed intervals along a scale of (2) adjusting what you say to make it as clear,
answers. appropriate, and convincing as possible.

3. OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS. It gives 2. Audience adaptation during the speech.

maximum leeway in responding No matter how hard you prepare ahead of
time, things may not go exactly as planned on
Although open-ended questions invite
the day of your speech. If something wrong
more detailed responses than the other two
happens, do not panic. Adjustments should be
types of questions, they also increase the
done. Adjust your delivery to the changed
likelihood of getting answers that do not give
audience size. If you find you have less time
the kind of information you need.
than you had planned, condense your speech
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS – questions that to its most essential points and present them in
allow respondents to answer however they the time available. Be sure to keep an eye out
want. during your speech for audience feedback.

In putting together your own questionnaire, CHAPTER 6: GATHERING MATERIALS

keep the following principles in mind:
Gathering materials for a speech is like
1. Plan the questionnaire carefully to elicit gathering information for any project. There are
precisely the information you need. many resources available if you take
2. Use all three types of questions – fixed- advantage of them. You can interview people
alternative, scale, and open-ended. with specialized knowledge. You can do
3. Make sure the questions are clear and research on the internet, or in the library.
unambiguous. Sometimes, you can use yourself as a
4. Keep the questionnaire relatively brief. resource – whenever you have personal
experience or above-average knowledge about
ADAPTING THE AUDIENCE
a subject.
Once you have completed the audience
USING YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE AND
analysis, you should have a pretty clear picture
EXPERIENCE
of your listeners. But this does not guarantee a
successful speech. The key is how well you Everybody is an expert on something,
use what you know in preparing and presenting whether it is video games, childcare, or
the speech. This point deserves special backpacking. When you choose a topic from
attention because it poses one of the hardest your own experience, you may be tempted to
tasks facing novice speakers. Most people can depersonalize it by relying solely on facts and
figures from books. Such outside information is NEWSPAPERS. These are invaluable for
almost always necessary. But supplementing it research on many topics, historical as well as
with the personal touch can really bring your contemporary.
speeches to life.
REFERENCE WORKS. These are usually kept
Even if your life stories are not that in a part of the library called the reference
dramatic, you can still put them to work for you. section. The right reference work can save you
By thinking over your past experiences – hours of time by putting at your fingertips a
gathering material from yourself – you can fond wealth of information that might be difficult to
many supporting details for your speeches. locate through database or the library
catalogue. Reference work refers to a work
DOING LIBRARY SEARCH
that synthesizes a large amount of related
Even in this age of the internet, you will information for easy access by researchers.
get some of the information for your speeches
ENCYCLOPEDIAS. These seek to provide
from the library. It contains many resources to
accurate, objective information about all
help you find what you need, including
branches of human knowledge and can be
librarians, the catalogue, periodical databases,
excellent place to begin your research. We are
newspapers, and reference works.
all familiar with general encyclopedias such as
LIBRARIANS. Librarians are experts in their the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the
own field, trained in library use and research Encyclopedia Americana. General
methods. If you have questions, do not hesitate encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference
to ask a librarian. work that provides information about all
branches of human knowledge. Meanwhile,
THE CATALOGUE. It lists all the books,
special encyclopedia is a comprehensive
periodicals, and other resources owned by the
reference work devoted to a specific subject
library. Although there are many different
such as religion, art, law, science, music, etc.
computer systems for library catalogues, most
allow you to search for books by author, title, YEARBOOKS. As the name implies,
subject, or keyword. yearbooks are published annually. They
contain an amazing amount of current
CALL NUMBER. It is the key to finding a book.
information that would otherwise be all but
It is a number used in libraries to classify books
impossible to track down. The World Almanac
and periodicals and to indicate where they can
is a treasure trove of information. Among the
be found on the shelves.
things you can discover in it are the most-
PERIODICAL DATABASES. It allows you to watched television shows over previous year,
locate magazine or journal articles. It is actually professional and collegiate sports records, the
a research aid that catalogues articles from a literacy rate of Afghanistan, and the natural
large number of journals or magazines. resources of Peru. Meanwhile, Facts on File is
a weekly digest of national and foreign news
ABSTRACT. It is a summary of a magazine or
event. At the end of the year, all the weekly
journal article, written by someone other than
issues are published together as Facts on File
the original author. In some cases, you may get
Yearbook. It is available in both print and online
an abstract of the article in addition to – or
versions.
instead of – the full text.
QUOTATION BOOKS. It contains more than
25,000 quotations from historical and
contemporary figures. It has long been documents and publications. These include
regarded as an indispensable source for Statistical Abstract and World Factbook.
speakers and writers alike. The best-known
MULTICULTURAL RESOURCES. The internet
collection of quotations is Bartlett’s Familiar
is a global phenomenon, and it mirrors the
Quotations.
internationalism and diversity of our time. If you
BIOGRAPHICAL AIDS. It is a reference work are speaking on a topic with multicultural
that provides information about people. When dimensions, you can use Yahoo! Regional,
you need information about people in the WWW Virtual Library, Princeton University
news, you can turn to one of the many Library Asian-American Studies, etc.
reference works that contain brief life and
EVALUATING INTERNET DOCUMENTS The
career facts about contemporary men and
most trusted resources on the web are those
women. They include International Who’s Who,
derived from printed works. But not most web
Who’s Who in America, etc.
documents exist only in electronic from. Of
SEARCHING THE INTERNET these, few have gone through the kind of
editorial review that is designed to ensure a
The internet has been called the world’s
basic level of reliability in printed works.
largest library. Unlike a library, internet has no
central information desk, no librarians, no AUTHORSHIP. Is the author of the web
catalogue, and no reference section. You can document clearly identified? What are her/his
unearth a great deal of information on the qualifications? Is the author an expert on the
internet, but you cannot always find the same topic? Can her/his data and opinions be
range and depth as in a good library. That is accepted as objective an unbiased?
why experts advise that you use the internet to
SPONSORSHIP. Many web documents are
supplement, not to replace, library research.
published by businesses, government
Search Engines. These are the keys to finding agencies, publicinterest groups, and the like.
materials on the internet. There are numerous One way to gauge the credibility of a web
search engines, but the most widely used by document is to look at the last three letters of
far is Google. its URL. The letters .gov and .edu are reserved
for government agencies and educational
SPECIALIZED RESEARCH RESOURCES.
institutions.
Search aids are extremely helpful, but they are
not the only vehicles for finding information RECENCY. One of the advantages of using
online. Because the internet is so vast, it is the internet for research is that it often has
helpful to have a list of premium web sites that more recent information than you can find in
you can turn to with confidence. printed sources. The best way to determine the
recency of an internet document is to look for a
VIRTUAL LIBRARIES. These are search
copyright date, publication date, or date of last
engines that combine internet technology with
version at the top or bottom of the document.
traditional library methods of assessing data.
Here are the two best: (1) Librarians’ Internet INTERVIEWING
Index and (2) Internet Public Library.
Most people think of interviewing in
GOVERNMENT RESOURCES. One of the terms of job interviews or conversations with
great strengths of the internet as a research celebrities. But there is another kind of
tool is the access it provides to government interview – the research (or investigative)
interview. This interview is conducted to gather flexible. Here are several steps you can take to
information for a speech. help make things proceed smoothly.
BEFORE THE INTERVIEW. The outcome of DRESS APPROPRIATELY AND BE ON TIME.
most interviews is decided by how well the The director is a busy person, yet he agrees to
interviewer prepares. Here are five steps you have an interview with you, so show up on
should take ahead of time to help ensure a time. Since the interview is a special occasion.
successful outcome. You should dress appropriately.
DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF THE REPEAT THE PURPOSE OF THE
INTERVIEW. You have done library and INTERVIEW. Before you plunge into your
internet research, but you still have a lot of questions, you should take a moment to
questions about the situation at your school. restate the purpose of the interview. You are
You decide to get answers from someone more likely to get clear, helpful answers if your
associated with the athletic program. In that subject knows you are following a certain line
decision, you have formulated a purpose for an of questioning.
interview.
SET UP THE RECORDER, IF YOU ARE
DECIDE WHOM TO INTERVIEW. Selecting USING ONE. If the interviewee agreed to be
the athletic director would be presumptuous. In recorded, the recorder should be as casual and
dealing with administrative organizations, club inconspicuous as possible. Do not fiddle
leaders should be the one to be interviewed. endlessly with the machine. With luck, your
subject will ignore it too.
ARRANGE THE INTERVIEW. Since the
athletic director is busy, work out a plan for KEEP THE INTERVIEW ON TRACK. Your
setting up the interview. You go to the athletic goal is to get answers to the questions you
office to request the interview, then the director have prepared. Throughout the interview, you
agrees. You set up the interview for three days pursue new leads when they appear, improvise
later. follow-up questions when called for, then move
on gain in an orderly fashion.
DECIDE WHETHER TO RECORD THE
INTERVIEW. Recording an interview is LISTEN CAREFULLY. When you do not
advantageous because it gives you an exact understand something, ask for clarification. If
record you can check later for direct quotes you are not using a recorder and hear a
and important facts. statement you want to quote directly, you ask
the director to repeat it to make sure you get it
PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS. You now face
exactly right.
the most important of your pre-interview tasks
– working out the questions you will ask. You DO NOT OVERSTAY YOUR WELCOME.
should devise questions that are sensible, Keep within the stipulated time period for the
intelligent and meaningful. You should avoid interview, unless your subject clearly wants to
questions you can answer without the prolong the session. When the interview is
interview, leading questions, and hostile, over, you thank the athletic director for taking
loaded questions. the time to talk with you.
DURING THE INTERVIEW. Every interview is AFTER THE INTERVIEW. Although the
unique. Because the session will seldom go interview is done, the interviewing process is
exactly as you plan, you need to be alert and not. You must now review and transcribe your
notes.
REVIEW YOUR NOTES AS SOON AS USE EXAMPLES TO CLARIFY IDEAS.
POSSIBLE. When you leave the athletic Examples are an excellent way to clarify
director’s office, the interview is fresh in your unfamiliar or complex ideas. They put abstract
mind. You know what the cryptic comments ideas into concrete terms that listeners can
and scrawls in your notes mean. But as time easily understand.
passes, the details will become hazy.
USE EXAMPLES TO REINFORCE YOUR
TRANSCRIBE YOUR NOTES. Once you settle IDEAS. When you use such examples, make
on the most important ideas and information sure it is representative – that it does not deal
from the interview, you should transcribe that with rare or exceptional cases.
material, so it is in the same format as the rest
USE EXAMPLES TO PERSONALIZE YOUR
of your research notes.
IDEAS. Whenever you talk to a general
audience, you can include examples that will
add human interest to your speech.
CHAPTER 7: SUPPORTING YOUR IDEAS
MAKE YOUR EXAMPLES VIVID AND
Good speeches are not composed of
RICHLY TEXTURE. The richly textured
hot air and generalizations. They need strong
example supplies everyday details that bring
supporting materials to bolster the speaker’s
the example to life. The more vivid your
point of view. The skillful use of supporting
examples, the more impact they are likely to
materials often makes the difference between a
have on your audience.
poor speech and a good one. Supporting
materials are used to support a speaker’s PRACTICE DELIVERY TO ENHANCE YOUR
ideas. These include: EXTENDED EXAMPLES. Since extended
examples are just like stories or narratives, its
EXAMPLES. It is a specific case used to
impact depends as much on delivery as on
illustrate or to represent a group of people,
content. You should think of yourself as a
ideas, conditions, experiences, or the like. It
speaker.
gives us a specific incident to focus on.
MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT WITH YOUR
BRIEF EXAMPLES. These are called specific
AUDIENCE. Do not rely on your notes while
instances. They may be referred to in passing
telling the story or the example.
to illustrate a point. Another way to use brief
examples is to pile them one upon the other STATISTICS. These are numerical data. Most
until you create the desired impression. of us would be hard-pressed to say. Yet we feel
more secure in our knowledge when we can
EXTENDED EXAMPLES. These are often
express it numerically. Statistics, when used
called narratives, illustrations, or anecdotes. By
properly, is an effective way to clarify and
telling a story vividly and dramatically, they pull
support ideas.
listeners into the speech.
UNDERSTANDING STATISTICS
HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES. These are
examples that describe an imaginary or Numbers do not lie, but they can be
fictitious situation. Usually, such examples are manipulated and distorted. One can play with
brief stories that relate a general principle. statistics in all kinds of areas.
TIPS FOR USING EXAMPLES ARE THE STATISTICS REPRESENTATIVE?
Make sure your statistics are representative of
what they claim to measure. It should mirror important when you deal with large numbers,
the proportion of the respondent or group. since they are hard to visualize.
ARE STATISTICAL MEASURES USED ROUND OFF COMPLICATED STATISTICS.
CORRECTLY? You should be familiar with the For intriguing figures and for those that are too
mean, median, and the mode. The mean – complicated to be readily understood by the
popularly called the average – is determined by listeners, unless there is an important reason
summing all the items in a group and dividing to give an exact number, you should round
by the number of items. The median is the them off.
middle figure in a group once the figures are
USE VISUAL AIDS TO CLARIFY
put in order from highest to lowest. The mode
STATISTICAL TRENDS. Visual aids can save
is the number that occurs most frequently in a
you a lot of time. It will also make your listeners
group of numbers. All
easily understand and comprehend your
ARE THE STATISTICS FROM A RELIABLE statistics.
SOURCE? As a speaker, you must be aware
TESTIMONY. These are the quotations or
of possible bias in the use of numbers. Since
paraphrases used to support a point. Just as
statistics can be interpreted so many ways and
you are likely to be swayed by your friends’
put so many uses, you should seek figures
recommendations, so audiences tend to
gather by objective, nonpartisan sources.
respect the opinions of people who have
TIPS FOR USING STATISTICS special knowledge or experience on the topic
at hand. By quoting or paraphrasing such
USE STATISTICS TO QUANTIFY YOUR
people, you can give your ideas greater
IDEAS. The main value of statistics is to give
strength and impact. These include:
your ideas numerical precision. This can be
especially important when you are trying to EXPERT TESTIMONY. This comes from
document the existence of a problem.. people who are acknowledged authorities in
their fields. Citing the views of people who are
USE STATISTICS SPARINGLY. As helpful as
experts is a good way to lend credibility to your
statistics can be, nothing puts an audience to
speeches.
sleep faster than a speech cluttered with
numbers from beginning to end. Insert EXPERT TESTIMONY is even more important
statistics only when they are needed, and then when a topic is controversial or when the
make sure they are easy to grasp. audience is skeptical about a speaker’s point of
view.
IDENTIFY THE SOURCES OF YOUR
STATISTICS. Figures are easy to manipulate. PEER TESTIMONY. These are opinions of
This is why careful listeners keep an ear out for people like us; not prominent figures, but
the sources of a speaker’s statistics. As a ordinary citizens who have firsthand
speaker, mentioning the sources of your experience on the topic.
statistics would make your speech more
QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING. Direct
successful.
quotation is a testimony that is presented word
EXPLAIN YOUR STATISTICS. Statistics do for word. Meanwhile, to paraphrase is to
not speak for themselves. They need to be restate or summarize a source’s ideas in one’s
interpreted and related to your listeners. own words.
Explaining statistics mean is particularly
 The standard rule is that quotations are RESPONSIBILITY. If you use another person’s
most effective when they are brief, when they words or ideas without giving credit to that
convey meaning better than you can, and person, you will be guilty of plagiarism, whether
when they are particularly eloquent, witty, or it is a quotation or a paraphrase.
compelling.
CITING SOURCES ORALLY. Oral source
Paraphrasing is better than quotation citations do not follow a standard format. What
when: (1) the wording of the quotation is you include depends on your topic, your
obscure or cumbersome; (2) a quotation is audience, the kind of supporting material you
longer than two or three sentences. Audiences are using, and the claim you are making. The
often tune out partway through lengthy key is to tell your audience enough that they
quotations, which tend to interrupt the flow of will know where you got your information and
the speaker’s ideas. why they should accept it as qualified and
credible. In most cases, you will need to
TIPS FOR USING TESTIMONY
identify some combination of the following:
QUOTE OR PARAPHRASE ACCURATELY.
 the book, magazine, newspaper, or web
Make sure you do not misquote someone;
document you are citing
make sure you do not violate the meaning of
 the author or sponsoring organization of
statements you paraphrase; make sure you do
the document
not quote out of context. The most subtle and
 the author’s qualifications with regard to
dangerous. Quoting out of context when you
the topic
quote a statement in such a way to distort its
 the date on which the document was
meaning by removing the statement from the
published, posted, or updated
words and phrases surrounding it.
USE TESTIMONY FROM QUALIFIED
SOURCES. Being a celebrity or an authority in
one area does not make someone competent
in other areas. Listeners will find your
speeches much more credible if you use CHAPTER 8: ORGANIZING A SPEECH
testimony sources qualified on the subject at
Obviously, when the objects you
hand. As we have seen, this may include either
possess are well organized, they serve you
recognized or ordinary citizens with special
better. Organization allows you to see what you
experience on the speech topic.
have and to put your hands immediately on the
USE TESTIMONY FROM UNBIASED garment, the tool, the piece of paper, the CD
SOURCES. Careful listeners are suspicious of you want without frenzied search.
testimony from biased or self-interested
Much the same is true of your
sources. Be sure to use testimony from
speeches. If they are well organized, they will
credible, objective authorities. Identify the
serve you better. Organizations allows you and
People You Quote or Paraphrase. The usual
your listeners to see what ideas you have and
way to identify your source is to name the
to put mental “hands” on the most important
person and sketch his or her qualifications
ones.
before presenting the testimony.
ORGANIZATION IS IMPORTANT
IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF TESTIMONY
IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT ETHICAL
 Speakers with organized speeches tend to speech might run, if you have too many main
be much more competent and trustworthy points, the audience will have trouble sorting
than those who do not. them out.
 Listeners demand coherence, that is why,
If, when you list your main points, you
the speaker must be sure that the listeners
find that you have too many, you may be able
can follow the progression of ideas in a
to condense them into categories.
speech from beginning to end. This requires
that speeches be organized strategically. STRATEGIC ORDER OF MAIN POINTS
 Strategic organization us putting up a
Once you establish the main points, you need
speech together in a particular way to
to decide the order in which you will present
achieve a particular result with a particular
them. The most effective order depends on
audience.
three things – your topic, your purpose, and
 When you work to organize your speeches,
your audience.
you gain practice in the general skills of
establishing clear relationship of ideas. CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. A method of
 Using a clear, specific method of speech speech organization in which the main points
organization can boost your confidence as follow a time pattern. They may narrate a
a speaker and improve your ability to series of events in the sequence in which they
deliver a message fluently. happened. It is also used in speeches
 The body is the longest and most important explaining a process or demonstrating wo to do
part. You will usually prepare the body first. something. This order is especially useful for
It is easier to create an effective informative speeches.
introduction after you know exactly what
SPATIAL ORDER. It is a method of speech
you will say in the body.
organization in which the main points follow a
 The process of organizing the bod of a
directional pattern. That is, the main points
speech begins when you determine the
proceed from top to bottom, left to right, front to
amin pints.
back, inside to outside, east to west, or some
other route. This is good for informative
speeches as well.
CAUSAL ORDER. Speeches arranged in
MAIN POINTS
causal order organize main points so as to
Main points are the central features of show a causeeffect relationship. When you put
your speech. You should select them carefully, your speech in causal order, you have to main
phrase them precisely, and arrange them points – one dealing with the causes of an
strategically. Main points are actually are the event, the other dealing with its effects.
major developed in the body of speech. Most Because of its versatility, causal order can be
speeches contain from two to five main points. used for both persuasive speeches and
informative speeches.
PROBLEM-SOLUTION ORDER. It is a method
NUMBER OF MAIN POINTS
of speech organization in which the first main
You will not have time in your classroom point deals with the existence of a problem and
speeches to develop more than four or five the second main point presents a solution to
main points, and most speeches will contain the problem. This is most appropriate for
only two or three. Regardless of how long a persuasive speeches.
TOPICAL ORDER. A method of speech uncoordinated – much as a person would be
organization in which the main points divide the without ligaments and tendons to join the
topic into logical and consistent subtopics. It is bones and hold the organs in place. Although
applicable to almost any subject and to any we all have stock phrases that we use to fill the
other method of speech organization. space between thoughts in speechmaking,
they can distract listeners by calling attention to
TIPS FOR PREPARING MAIN POINTS
themselves. That is why connectives are of
1. KEEP MAIN POINTS SEPARATE. Each help. Four types of speech connectives are
main point in a speech should be clearly transitions, internal previews, internal
dependent of the others. Here are two sets of summaries, and signposts.
main points about the process of producing a
TRANSITIONS. These are words or phrases
Broadway play:
that indicate when a speaker has just
2. TRY TO USE THE SAME PATTERN OF completed one thought and is moving on to
WORDING FOR MAIN POINTS. Your main another. Technically, the transitions state both
points should follow a consistent pattern of the idea the speaker is leaving and the idea
wording throughout. It is easier to understand she or he is coming up to.
and it is easier to remember by the listeners.
INTERNAL PREVIEWS. These let the
Try to keep the wording parallel when you can,
audience know what the speaker will take up
for it is a good way to make your main points
next, but they are more detailed than
stand out from the details surrounding them.
transitions. In effect, an internal preview works
3. BALANCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME just like the preview statement in a speech
DEVOTED TO MAIN POINTS. Because your introduction, except that it comes in the body of
main points are so important, you want to be the speech —usually as the speaker is starting
sure they all receive enough emphasis to be to discuss a main point. Internal previews are
clear and convincing. This means allowing often combined with transitions.
sufficient time to develop each main point. This
INTERNAL SUMMARIES. These are the
is not to say that all maim points must receive
reverse of the internal previews. Rather than
exactly equal emphasis, but only that they
letting listeners know what is coming up next,
should be roughly balanced.
internal summaries remind listeners of what
SUPPORTING MATERIALS These are the they have just heard. Such summaries are
materials used to support a speaker’s ideas. usually use when a speaker finishes a
The three major kinds of supporting materials complicated or particular important main point
are examples, statistics, and testimony. We or set of main points.
need to stress only the importance of
SIGNPOST. Signpost are very brief statements
organizing your supporting materials so that
that indicate exactly where you are in the
they are directly relevant to the main points
speech. Frequently they are just numbers.
they are supposed to support. These were
Questions are particularly effective as
already discussed in the previous chapter.
signposts because they invite subliminal
CONNECTIVES answers and thereby get the audience more
involved with the speech. It is a very brief
These are words and phrases that
statement that indicates where a speaker is in
connect the ideas of a speech and indicates
the speech or that focuses attention on key
the relationship between them. Without
ideas.
connectives, a speech is disjointed and