1. Developing Your Speech Topic & Purpose
Chapter 4

2. In This Chapter How Context Influences Our Speaking Goals
Choosing Your Speech Topic
Articulating Your Purpose
Stating Your Thesis

3. Speaking Context Deciding to speak Being asked to speak
Being required to speak

4. Topic, purpose, & audience
Understand that a relationship exists between topic, purpose and audience such that the greater the connection between elements the greater the effectiveness of the speech.
Topic selection must consider the speech purpose and audience. A speaker must consider all three issues as he or she plans the speech

5. Choosing a Speech Topic
Match interests to purpose
Match expertise to purpose
Check out Web Link 4.2:
Topics about Public Policy
online at
the Invitation to Public Speaking website.

6. Brainstorming by: Free association Clustering Categories Technology
Brainstorming is the process of generating ideas randomly & uncritically, without attention to logic, connections or relevance
FIGURE 4.1
Cluster diagram (p. 78)

7. General Purpose
The broad goal of a speech

8. General Speaking Purposes
To inform
To persuade
To invite
To introduce
To commemorate
To accept

9. Specific Purpose
A focused statement identifying you want to accomplish with your speech
See Table 4.1,
General and Specific Speaking Purposes
on page 82 in the text.

10. Specific Purpose State specific speaking purpose clearly
Keep audience in the forefront of your mind

11. Specific Purpose: What you hope to accomplish Examples:
To invite my audience to explore the advantages and disadvantages of a helmet law in Ohio.
To inform my audience how to study
To inform my audience about Hospice
To persuade my audience to give blood
To persuade audience to pursue internships prior to graduation

12. Questions to ask about your Specific purpose
Does it meet the assignment?
Can it meet the time requirement?
Is it relevant to the audience?
Is it too trivial for the audience?
Is it too technical for the audience?

13. Write Specific Purpose Clearly
Ineffective: Calendars
More Effective: To inform my audience about
the four major kinds of
calendars used in the world
today.
Tip: Use full sentence form and begin with to invite, to inform, to persuade as appropriate
See page 82 for more examples.

14. Express as a Statement, Not as a Question
Ineffective: Is the U.S. space program
necessary?
More Effective: To persuade my audience that
the U.S. space program
provides many important
benefits to U.S. citizens

15. Avoid Figurative Language
Ineffective: To inform my audience that
yoga is extremely cool.
More effective: To inform my audience how
yoga can improve their health.

16. One Distinct Idea
Ineffective: To persuade my audience to become literacy tutors and to donate time to Habitat for Humanity.
More effective: To persuade my audience to become literacy tutors. or
More effective: To persuade my audience to donate time to Habitat for Humanity.

17. Be Sure the Specific Purpose Is Not Too Vague or General
Ineffective: To inform my audience about the Civil War.
More Effective: To inform my audience about the role of African-American
soldiers in the Civil War.

18. Identify the problem with each specific purpose statements:
What is attention deficit disorder?
To inform my audience about Japan.
Learn CPR.

19. Thesis Statement A single declarative sentence
Summarizes main ideas, assumptions or arguments of the speech
Main points in a nutshell

20. Stating the thesis:
A one-sentence preview of the exact content of your speech
Example:
The pyramids of ancient Egypt had three major uses - as tombs for the burial of monarchs, as temples for worshipping the gods, and as observatories for studying the stars and the planets.

21. Tips for the thesis Write a complete sentence Avoid questions
Be specific, preview your main ideas
Be focused

22. Supply the general purpose, specific purpose, and main points for a speech with the following thesis:
General Purpose:
Specific Purpose:
Thesis: The four stages of alcoholism are the warning stage, the danger stage, the crucial stage, and the chronic stage.
Main Points:
To Inform
To inform my audience of the four stages of alcoholism.
I. The first stage of alcoholism is the warning stage.
II. The second stage of alcoholism is the danger stage.
III. The third stage of alcoholism is the crucial stage.
IV. The fourth stage of alcoholism is the chronic stage.

23. Supply the general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis:
Main Points: I. The first major race in alpine skiing is the downhill.
II. The second major race in alpine skiing is the slalom.
III. The third major race in alpine skiing is the giant slalom.
To inform
To inform my audience of the three major races in alpine skiing.
The three major races in alpine skiing are the downhill, the slalom, and the giant slalom.