1. Essentials of Public Speaking
Selecting
Outlining, and
Researching
Your Topic
Chapter 5
Essentials of Public Speaking
Cheryl Hamilton
5th Edition
Cheryl Hamilton, Ph.D.
Chapter 5 – Selecting, Outlining, and Researching Your Topic

2. Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic
Key Ideas
Guidelines for finding a good topic
Importance of narrowing your topic
Defining the exact purpose
The role of outlining
Ways to conduct quality research
Avoiding plagiarism
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

3. Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic
Flashback . . .
The Greek and Roman rhetoricians urged their students to research, read, and study on a daily basis. In DeOratore, Cicero, an eminent Roman politician and famous orator, wrote: “No man can be an orator complete in all points of merit who has not attained a knowledge of all important subjects and arts. For it is from knowledge that oratory must derive its beauty and fullness . . .”
(E. W. Sutton, trans. [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959], Book I, vi, 20).
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

4. Guidelines for Finding a Good Topic
Select a topic that . . .
Fits requirements of assignment
Showcases your experiences/knowledge
Interests you
You can make interesting and valuable to your audience
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

5. Defining the Exact Purpose
Let’s use Football as an example of a general topic
General Topic: Football
Exact Purpose: After hearing my speech, the
audience will be able to
Explain the divisions and conferences that compose the NFL
Understand the steps required for a team to make it to the
Super Bowl
Explain the job of coaching
Explain the argument over natural versus artificial turf
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

6. Determine the Main Points
Brainstorm for possible main points (Use Speech Builder Express to help)
Narrow to 3 – 5 possible main points
Refine your purpose if necessary
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

7. Preparing a Rough Draft Outline
Reasons to use an outline
Serves as the map for a presentation
Makes getting suggestions from others easier
Easier to determine where research and supporting materials are needed
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

8. Preparing a Rough Draft Outline
Guidelines for rough draft outlines
Does not have to be perfect
Concentrate on main points
Indicate what supports are needed
Do not include introductions and conclusions
Update as you research
Check off each support as it’s located
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

9. Researching Your Topic
The role of supporting materials
Clarify concepts and terms
Prove your position
Add interest to keep your audience listening
Research mistakes
Too much reliance on personal experience
Research done totally online
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

10. Sources of Information
Personal Experience
Printed Materials
Topic
Databases/Internet
Interviews
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

11. Begin with Printed Materials
Begin searching one or two current books on the topic
Examples of printed materials
Books
Brochures and pamphlets
Magazines and journals
Newspapers
Dictionaries and encyclopedias
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

12. Use Licensed Electronic Databases
Electronic databases available in libraries have been screened to include only reliable information
Example include
EBSCOhost (contains full-text)
First Search (contains ERIC and Medline)
Info Trac College Edition
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

13. Use the Internet With Care
Not all information on the web is authoritative
It is possible to spend hours surfing without finding what you need
Many valuable sources are not available on the web
Don’t go online until you have search some electronic databases first
Use several search engines
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

14. Types of Search Engines
Broad or complex subjects - use a hierarchical search engine such as Yahoo
For specific subjects - Use a standard search engine such as AltaVista or HotBot or an alternative search engine such as Google or Ask Jeeves
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

15. Types of Search Engines
Standard search engines
Search more of the web
Include Yahoo and HotBot
Alternative search engines
Have different ways of ranking or sorting pages
Include Google and Ask Jeeves
Metasearch Engines
Search other search engines
Include Dogpile and Surfwax
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

16. Using Boolean Operators
OR (motorcycle OR motorbike)
AND (motorcycle AND racing)
“[ ]” (“motorcycle racing”)
NOT (“motorcycle racing” NOT “dirt bike”)
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

17. Narrowing the Number of Hits
Use phrases enclosed in quotation marks
Specify additional words using + or AND
Exclude words or phrases using - or NOT
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

18. Increasing the Number of Hits
Check spelling and keywords
Use wildcards
Change full names to initials and vice versa
Don’t use “s,” “ing,” or “ed” on search words
Use fewer search words
Connect words with OR
Use alternative keywords
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

19. Evaluating Web Searches
Is author a qualified expert in the field?
Is information objective?
Is information accurate?
Is information current?
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

20. Conducting Personal Interviews
Select & contact interviewee
Plan interview using:
Introduction
Body (with open-ended questions)
Conclusion
Use results with care
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

21. Carefully Record Information
Provide quick access to materials
Identify quotes or paraphrases
Include complete source citations
Avoid unintentional plagiarism
Include a bibliography
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

22. Tannen, Talking From 9 to 5, p.37.
Sample Note Card
Male / Female Style Differences
Tannen, Talking From 9 to 5, p.37.
Researchers found that when women freshmen were asked to publicly predict their grades for the coming year, they “predicted lower grades for themselves than men did.”
However, when their predictions were made privately, neither their predictions nor their actual grades were lower than the men’s.
Chapter 5 – Selecting and Researching Your Topic

23. Essentials of Public Speaking
Selecting
Outlining, and
Researching
Your Topic
Chapter 5
Essentials of Public Speaking
Cheryl Hamilton
5th Edition
Cheryl Hamilton, Ph.D.
Chapter 5 – Selecting, Outlining, and Researching Your Topic