1. Chapter 8: Developing Supporting Material

2. Whip Around
What are 1-2 topics you are thinking about using for your informative speech?
Think about this question and be prepared to share aloud.
You are not allowed to say, “I don’t know.”

3. Types of Supporting Material
Examples
Narratives (stories)
Testimony
Facts
Statistics

4. Offer Examples Examples Brief example
Illustrate, describe, or represent things
Make ideas, items, or events concrete
Brief example
Single illustration of a point

5. Offer Examples (cont.) Extended example Hypothetical example
Multifaceted illustration
Reiterates the point effectively
Hypothetical example
Likely outcome of a future event

6. Share Stories Story (narrative) Anecdote
Helps make sense of our experience
Includes plot, characters, setting, and timeline
Can be brief or drawn-out
Should create an emotional connection
Anecdote
A brief, interesting personal story

7. Draw on Testimony Testimony Expert testimony Lay testimony
Firsthand findings, accounts, and opinions
Expert testimony
Testimony from professionals on the topic
Lay testimony
Testimony by nonexperts

8. Draw on Testimony (cont.)
When including testimony, provide
The person’s name and qualifications;
Time and location of the testimony.

9. Provide Facts and Statistics
Documented occurrences
Back up with credible evidence
Statistics
Quantified evidence
Summarize, compare, and predict things

10. Use Statistics Accurately
Use frequencies to indicate counts.
Frequency is how often something occurs.
Frequencies can
Help listeners understand comparisons;
Indicate size;
Describe trends.

11. Use Statistics Accurately (cont.)
Use percentages to express proportion.
A percentage is a quantified proportion of a whole.
Percentages help listeners easily grasp comparisons.

12. Use Statistics Accurately (cont.)
Use averages to describe typical characteristics.
Three types
Mean (arithmetic average)
Median (center-most score in a distribution)
Mode (most frequently occurring score)

13. Use Statistics Accurately (cont.)
Present statistics ethically.
Use only reliable statistics.
Present statistics in context.
Avoid confusing statistics with “absolute truth.”

14. Refer Orally to Your Sources
Clearly identify your information source.
Provide enough context to interpret it.

15. Remember that time…
Brainstorm to create a list of brief and extended examples for use in your speech.
Based on your speech topic, what types of examples might be relevant?
How can a brief example be expanded into an extended example to illustrate a theme, an idea, or an event that might help the audience understand and remember the speech topic?
Which examples might be extended through the creation of hypothetical examples for use in the speech?

16. Summary Questions
What are the best types of supporting material for speeches?
What is the purpose of a narrative, and when should I use it?