Research, Organization, and Visual Aids…Oh, my!!! What you need to know to write a speech 

Gathering Materials Print: A source that is or was originally a printed source (ie. Book, magazine, journal, etc). It can be accessed either in real life or electronically. Electronic: A source that has never been a printed source and is accessed via the internet. (ie. Websites)

Print Sources Books Magazines and Journals Newspapers Government Documents Reference Works: Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, yearbooks, books of quotations Television/Radio Transcripts Interviews

Finding Sources Readers Guide to Periodical Literature: Books used to locate articles on specific topics. Online Databases: Infohio Search Engines

Website Credibility Check Domain (.com, .edu, .org, .net., biz, etc.) Date of publication Author Citation of sources with the website Corroboration of information with other websites

Documentation APA Documentation Go to www.citationmachine.net

Organization Introduction, body, and conclusion format.

Organization: The Introduction…Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Attention Getter Thesis Preview of main points Transition to first main point

Organization: The Body… Tell ‘em Topic Sentence that includes the main point. Discussion of the main point. Supporting materials to support the main point

Organization: The conclusion…Tell ‘em what you told ‘em Reiterate the main points. Reconnect with the Attention Getter.

Organizational Patterns: Informative Speaking Topical: Organizes the speech by topic and subtopics. Chronological: Organizes the speech in regards to a time sequence. Spatial: Organizes the speech according to geographical or physical structure.

Organizational Patterns: Informative Speaking Causal: Organizes the speech by cause and effect. Pro-Con: Organizes the speech by Presenting both sides of the issue. This is a balanced approach to a controversial topic which would still be considered informative.

Organizational Patterns: Informative Speaking Mnemonic or Gimmick: Organizes the speech according to a special memory device, alliteration, rhyme, or initial letters that spell a word.

Organizational Patterns: Informative Speaking Mnemonic example: Improving Listening L- look at the other person A- ask questions D- don’t interrupt D- don’t change the subject E- express emotions with control R- responsively listen

The Attention Getter To gain the audience’s attention Anecdote Quote Statistic Shocking fact Rhetorical question

Types of Supporting Materials Examples: a specific illustration of people, places, objects, actions, experiences, or conditions. Brief examples Extended examples Actual examples Hypothetical examples

Types of Supporting Materials Definitions: explanation of a word, phrase, or concept. Definition by synonym Definition by etymology Definition by example Definition by operation

Types of Supporting Materials Narration: storytelling Personal narrative Third-person narrative Anecdote

Types of Supporting Materials Comparison: Association of two items by examining the similarities Literal comparison Figurative comparison

Types of Supporting Materials Contrast: Association of two items by examining the differences. Literal contrast Figurative contrast

Types of Supporting Materials Statistics: data collected in the form of numbers Do not rely only on statistics Round off statistics Use units of measure that the audience understands Use Presentational aids to represent or clarify relationships among statistics Stress the impact of large numbers

Types of Supporting Materials Expert Testimony: Quotations or paraphrases of an authoritative source to clarify or prove a point.

Types of Supporting Materials Opinion: Unproven ideas that are formed based on past experiences or experiments Expert opinion: Opinions given by professionals in the area of study being dicussed.

Visual Aids Visual Aid: A visual representation of a concept 5 Classifications Objects Graphics Film & Video Handouts

Objects A specific item A scaled representation of a larger object (model) People or animals

Graphics Graphic: two-dimensional visual aid, including pictures, diagrams, graphs, charts, and maps.

Types of Graphs Line Graph: good at depicting trends over time.

Types of Graphs Bar Graph: diagram used to show quantitative comparisons among variables.

Types of Graphs Pie Charts: used to show the relative proportions of a whole.

Maps A graphic representation of real or imaginary geographic location.

Do’s and Don’ts of VA’s Do make it big enough for the entire room to see. Don’t make it so big it is too difficult to use Do make it neat and easy to see/read Don’t use letters or pictures that are too small

Do’s and Don’ts of VA’s Do refer to the VA while giving the speech. Don’t face the VA when referring to it.