6. Developing Your Speech Flashcards
(4 cards)
Select and Narrow Your Topic
Selecting a topic: Consider your audience, Consider the occasion, Consider yourself
Strategies for selecting a topic: Brainstorming / Listening and Reading for topic ideas / Scanning web directories
Narrowing the topic
Determine Your Purpose
General purpose
Specific purpose:
- Use precise language in wording the sp: Precise (at the end of my speech, the audience will be able to list 5 points of interest in the town of Hannibal, Missouri)
- Limit the speific p. to a single idea (at the end of my speech, the audience will be able to write a simple computer program in BASIC)
- Be sure that your s.p. meets the interests, expectations and levels of knowledge of your audience
Behavioral statements of purpose = the aim of public speaking is to win a response from the audience.
Develop Your Central Idea
the thesis = the central idea
Purpose statement - focus on audience behavior (e.g the audience will be able to explain how censorship of school textbooks harms children)
Central idea - focus on the content of the speech (e.g. censorship of school textbooks threatens the rights of school children)
How to put central idea into words?
- write a complete declarative sentence (e.g Mantaining your car regularly can ensure that it provides reliable transpportation)
- specific language (e.g Killing 14,000 people and inflicting, Hurricane Mitch changed forever the lives of citizens of Honduras instead of Hurricane Mitch affected Central America)
- a single idea
- audience-centered idea
Generate and Preview Your Main Ideas
Write the CI at the top of a clean sheet of paper and ask the following questions :
1. Does the CI have logical divisions?
2. Can you think of several reasons the CI is true?
3. Can you support your CI with a series of steps or a chronological progression?