Chapter 8

2 types of testimony

-Expert: testimony from people who are recognized as experts in their fields -Peer: testimony from ordinary people with firsthand experience or insight on a topic

Quote or paraphrase accurately

-do not misquote someone, do not violate the meaning of statements you paraphrase, do not quote out of context -taking the quote out of context is highly unethical because it creates a false impression

Identify 3 major kinds of supporting materials

-examples, statistics, and testimony

Identify the sources of your stats

-gives statistics more credibility and the speaker more success overall

Identify the people you quote or paraphrase

-identify the source is your ethical responsibility -name and qualifications

Use stats to quantify your ideas

-important in displaying the existence of a problem -gives ideas numerical precision

Use stats sparingly

-insert only when they are needed and make sure they are easy to grasp

Practice delivery to enhance your extended examples

-maintain eye contact and practice your example, so that it does not fall flat and carries out the intended meaning or impact of the example

Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends

-makes it easier to comprehend and can save a lot of time

Identify 3 basic statistical measures

-mean: average -median: middle number mode: most frequent number

Round off complicated statistics

-only use exact statistics if there is an importance/need for precision that way listeners can understand the information easily

Use examples to personalize your ideas

-people are interested in people, consider the human interest when creating a speech

Use examples to clarify your ideas

-put abstract ideas into concrete terms that listeners can easily understand

Use examples to reinforce your ideas

-puts the facts and figures into human terms that everyone can understand

Tips for using testimony

-quote or paraphrase accurately, use testimony from qualified sources, use testimony from unbiased sources, identify the people you quote or paraphrase

Use testimony from unbiased sources

-source needs to be credible, objective

Use testimony from qualified sources

-speech will be much more credible if you use sources qualified on the subject at hand

Make your examples vivid and richly textured

-supplies everyday details that bring the example to life -more vivid= more impact that they are likely to have on your audience

Explain your statistics

-they need to be interpreted and related to your listeners -important when dealing with large numbers since they are hard to visualize -find a way to bring your statistics home to your audience

Tips and guidelines for using statistics

-use statistics to quantify your idea, use statistics sparingly, i.d. the sources of your stats, explain your stats, round off complicated stats, use visual aids to clarify statistical trends

Know tips for using examples

Use examples to clarify your ideas; use examples to reinforce your ideas; use examples to personalize your ideas; make your examples vivid and richly textured; practice delivery to enhance your extended example

Identify 3 types of examples

brief: may be referred to passing to illustrate a point; can be piled upon one another to create the desired impression extended: a story, narrative, or anecdote developed at some length to illustrate a point; pull listeners into the speech hypothetical: describes an imaginary or fictitious situation; relate a general principle; good idea to follow up with statistics or testimony to show that it is not too far-fetched