Module 3 Developing speech

before you start a speech

Decide on both a general purpose and a specific purpose before you start the research process.

Main ideas

Effective speakers are good thinkers; they know how to play with words and thoughts

In the video, Melissa Beall says that it is important for speakers to maintain an awareness of cultural differences and similarities that may be present in their audiences in regard to listening. What is one way for a speaker to do this?

by gathering and analyzing information about the audience

invention

he ability to develop or discover ideas that result in new insights or new approaches to old problems.

audience adaptation

the process of ethically using information about an audience in order to adapt one's message so that it is clear and achieves the speaking objective

audience analysis

the process of examining information about those who are expected to listen to a speech

Develop a sentence that captures the central idea of a speech.

A central idea states the essence of your speech in a one-sentence summary.

To persuade

A speech to persuade seeks to change or reinforce listeners' attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior. Ads on the TV, radio, and Internet; sermons; political speeches; and sales presentations are designed to persuade.

To entertain

After-dinner speeches and comic monologues are intended mainly as entertainment. The key to an effective, entertaining speech lies in your choice of stories, examples, and illustrations, as well as in your delivery.

How To: Create and Use a Specific-Purpose Statement

Always consider your audience. Start with the phrase At the end of my speech the audience will [be able to] . . . Add your audience-centered goal. State the response you desire, in precise, measurable terms. Write down your specific purpose, and keep it before you as you read and gather ideas for your talk. Use your specific purpose to guide your research and help you choose supporting materials. Modify your purpose, if necessary, as you continue to work on your speech.

Select and narrow an appropriate topic for a speech.

Answers to three questions can help you select and narrow your speech topic: Who is the audience? What are my interests, talents, and experiences? And what is the occasion?

Gather Effective Supporting Material

Learn to research Internet and library resources. Look for materials throughout your daily life. Relate materials to your audience. Tell stories and give vivid descriptions. Make statistics understandable.

In the video, Melissa Beall says that there are differences between the listening behaviors of people from different cultures. According to the text, depending on your audience, you may want to adjust your delivery style, topic, chosen examples, and

Pattern of organizaion

Identify successful strategies for rehearsing a speech.

Practice making eye contact with your imaginary audience as often as you can. For video, do not use overly animated gestures or facial expressions. Speak loudly enough for all in the room to hear. If you are not sure what to do with your hands when you rehearse, just keep them at your side. Focus on your message, rather than worrying about how to gesture.

Identify successful strategies for rehearsing a speechh

Rehearse your speech several times in a way that recreates the actual speech presentation experience.

Sample Outline

Topic General Purpose Specific Purpose Central Idea Introduction Body Conclusion

Think About These Questions

Self Assessment. Explain how you think your culture influences your expectations of a public speaker. Ethics Assessment. One of your friends took public speaking last year and still has a file of speech outlines. Is it ethical to use one of your friend's outlines as the basis for a speech you will deliver? Explain your answer. Critical Assessment. Shara is preparing to address the city council in an effort to tell its members about the Food for Friendship program she has organized in her neighborhood. What steps should she follow to prepare and deliver an effective speech?

Describe several types of supporting material that could be used to support speech ideas

Supporting material consists of facts, examples, definitions, and quotations from others that illustrate, amplify, clarify, provide evidence, or tell a story. You can find supporting material through the Internet, library resources, other people, or your daily life.

Describe the essential elements of effective speech delivery.

The essential aspects of effective delivery include good eye contact with your listeners, a voice that can be heard by all, and appropriate gestures and posture that seem natural.

Divide Your Speech

The introduction helps capture attention, serves as an overview of the speech, and provides the audience with reasons to listen to you. The body presents the main content of your speech. The conclusion summarizes your key ideas.

What are the three general purposes for giving speeches?

To inform. To persuade. To entertain.

Identify three strategies for generating the main ideas for a speech.

Virtually any speech can be organized by answering the following three questions: Does the central idea have logical divisions? Are there several reasons the central idea is true? Can you support the central idea with a series of steps?

Describe the essential elements of effective speech delivery

When you are introduced, walk calmly and confidently to the front of the room. Establish eye contact with your audience. Smile naturally. Deliver your attention-catching opening sentence. Concentrate on your message and your audience. Deliver your speech in a conversational style. Deliver your speech just as you rehearsed it before your imaginary audience: Maintain eye contact. Speak loudly enough to be heard. Use some natural variation in pitch. Remember the advice of columnist Ann Landers: "Be sincere, be brief, and be seated."

To inform

When you inform, you teach, define, illustrate, clarify, or elaborate on a topic. The primary objective of class lectures, seminars, and workshops is to inform.

you may discover a topic by asking three standard questions:

Who is the audience? What are my interests, talents, and experiences? What is the occasion? The amount of time you spend preparing for your speech is one of the best predictors of a good grade on your speech

Explain why it is important to be audience-centered during each step of the speechmaking process.

Your audience influences your topic selection and every aspect of presenting a speech.

Differentiate between a general speech purpose and a specific speech purpose.

Your general purpose is the overarching goal of your speech (to inform, persuade, entertain, or some combination of these purposes). Your specific purpose is a concise statement of what you want your listeners to be able to do when you finish your speech.

Develop a speech with three main organizational parts—an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Your introduction provides an overview of your main points, the body of your speech presents the key points, and the conclusion summarizes what you have said.

Specific purpose

a concise statement indicating what you want your listeners to be able to do when you finish your speech. For example, "At the end of my speech, the class will be able to identify three counseling facilities on campus and describe the best way to get help at each one."

Open-ended questions

allow for unrestricted answers without limiting responses to specific choices or alternatives. An open-ended question asks, "What do you believe is the best way to lower our district's high-school drop-out rate?" rather than a yes-or-no question, such as, "Do you believe that a longer school year will lower the drop-out rate?" Use open-ended questions when you want more detailed information from your audience.

Melissa Beall's message that you should carefully consider and adapt to the listening expectations of audience members from different cultures reinforces the central theme of the text, which is ___________.

always make choices in designing and delivering your speech with your audience in mind

Central Idea

of your speech, sometimes called your thesis statement. Your central idea identifies the essence of your message. Think of it as a one-sentence summary of your speech. Topic. General Purpose. Specific Purpose. Central Idea.

Closed-ended questions

offer alternatives from which to choose. Multiple-choice, true/false, and agree/disagree questions are examples of closed-ended questions.