1. Choosing your topic Limiting your topic Determining your purpose Finding support for your topic

2. Know your Purpose Purpose is what you intend to achieve in your speech. Your general purpose is the overall intent of your speech. Speech to inform: presents new information to an audience or gives new insights into information that an audience already has Speech to persuade: tries to change an attitude or a belief, or to move an audience to action Speech to suit a special occasion: entertains or amuses an audience or recognizes a specific reason for the audience being present and promotes group bonding or social cohesion

3. Know your Purpose The specific purpose of a speech is its goal, stated in a complete sentence. If the general purpose of your speech is to inform, then your specific purpose will be a statement of the particular information you will present to the audience. Example: Joel is presenting an informative speech on placekicking. His specific purpose could be stated, “I want to explain the steps in soccer-style placekicking.”

4. Writing Your Thesis Statement A thesis statement is a complete sentence that expresses the speaker’s most important idea, or key point, about a topic. It guides the development of a speech.

5. Example #1 Specific purpose: “I want to explain the characteristics of the six major classifications of show dogs.” Thesis statement: “Show dogs are classified according to their characteristics as hounds, terriers, working dogs, toys, sporting dogs, and nonsporting dogs.”

6. Example #2 Specific purpose: “I want to convince the class that they should read To Kill a Mockingbird.” Thesis statement: “To Kill a Mockingbird is an excellent book to read because it features interesting characters, thought-provoking issues, and an exciting plot.”

7. Subject: Football Topic: placekicking Limited topic: soccer-style placekicking General purpose: to inform Specific purpose: I want to explain the four steps in soccer-style placekicking. Thesis Statement: The four steps in soccer-style placekicking are to spot the ball, to mark off the steps, to approach the ball, and to kick the ball.

8. Support for your thesis statement Facts and opinions Facts: information that can be proven or verified, by testing or observing or by consulting reference materials Opinions: express personal beliefs or attitudes (personal preference) Expert opinions: a statement of belief about a subject from a person who is recognized as an authority on that subject. (Ex. Rocket scientist-expert on space travel)

9. Support for your thesis statement Examples and illustrations An example is a single instance that supports or develops a statement. An illustration is a detailed example.

10. Support for your thesis statement Anecdotes These are brief, often amusing stories. The purpose of an anecdote is to give information in a form that an audience will remember. Anecdotes can help make your speech more interesting and enjoyable as well as informative.

11. Support for your thesis statement Listen to examples of other types of support: Statistics Comparisons Definitions Descriptions Quotations

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