1. A POCKET GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING 5 TH EDITION Chapter 7 Selecting a Topic and Purpose

2. Exploring Topics for Your Speech  Methods  Make an inventory of your expertise.  Focus on social issues of consequence.  Pick a topic that  You are drawn to;  You want to know more about;  Is current and relevant.

3. Steer Clear of Overused and Trivial Topics  Stay away from overused topics.  Consider topics that yield fresh insights.  Beware of choosing highly charged topics.

4. Can a topic be overused? Why wouldn’t an overused topic work for your classroom speech? After all, research information is readily available. The actuality is that while all topics are valid, there are some topics, due to their popularity or public discourse, that can be seen as overused. Especially highly controversial or culturally significant topics.

5. Try Brainstorming to Generate Ideas  Brainstorming  Ideas generated suddenly  Ideas connected through word association, topic mapping, and Internet browsing

6. Try Brainstorming to Generate Ideas (cont.)  Word association  Write down a single topic.  Write things that come to mind.  Continue until you have fifteen to twenty items.  Narrow the list.  Select the best topic.

7. Try Brainstorming to Generate Ideas (cont.)  Topic (mind) mapping  Write a potential topic on paper.  Write down related ideas around it.  A topic map  Allows you to visualize relationships;  Spurs creative thinking.

8. Identify the General Purpose of Your Speech  General speech purpose  Answers the question, “What is my objective in speaking on this topic to this audience on this occasion?”

9. Identify the General Purpose of Your Speech (cont.)  Three general purposes for a speech  To inform or educate  To persuade  To mark a special occasion

10. Identify the General Purpose of Your Speech (cont.)  Inform or educate  Increase the audience’s awareness  Enhance understanding of the topic by defining, describing, explaining, or demonstrating  Persuade  Effect a change in attitudes, beliefs, and values of the audience

11. Identify the General Purpose of Your Speech (cont.)  Speech occasion often suggests a purpose  To entertain, celebrate, commensurate, inspire, or set a social agenda  Speech could be an introduction, acceptance, or after-dinner speech, a eulogy, or a roast and toast

12. Refine the Topic and Purpose  Consider what the audience already knows.  Consider what aspects are most relevant.  Pick a discrete topic category.  Restrict your main points.  Should be between two and five

13. Narrow Your Topic  Brainstorming can help narrow your topic.  Brainstorm by category.  Use an online subject directory.  Browse through related subtopic links.

14. Form a Specific Speech Purpose  Specific speech purpose  Is what you want listeners to learn, do, reconsider, or agree with;  Is specific to your aim;  Is state in action form;  Is seldom articulated in the speech itself.

15. Compose a Thesis Statement  Thesis statement (central idea)  Theme of the speech  Stated in a single, declarative sentence  Expresses what you attempt to demonstrate  Must be clearly stated  Entire speech rests on it