Public Speaking Chapter 7

Primary Source

The original collector and interpreter of information or data

Vertical Search Engine

A Web site that indexes World Wide Web information in a specific field

Analogy

A comparison

Figurative Analogy

A comparison between two essentially dissimilar things that share some common feature on which the comparison depends

Literal Analogy

A comparison between two similar things

Extended Illustration

A detailed example

Preliminary Bibliography

A list of potential resources to be used in the preparation of a speech

Variety

A mix of illustrations, opinions, definitions, and statistics is much more interesting and convincing than the exclusive use of any one type of supporting material.

Explanation

A statement that makes clear how something is done or why it exists in its present form or existed in its past form

Operational Definition

A statement that shows how something works or what it does

Illustration

A story or anecdote that provides an example of an idea, issue, or problem a speaker is discussing

Description

A word picture of something

Boolean Search

An advanced Web-searching technique that allows a user to narrow a subject or key word search by adding various requirements

Hypothetical Illustration

An example that might happen but that has not actually occured

Secondary Source

An individual, organization, or publication that reports information or data gathered by another entity

Expert Testimony

An opinion offered by someone who is an authority on a subject

Literary Quotation

An opinion or description by a writer who speaks in a memorable and often poetic way -- use sparingly

Lay Testimony

An opinion or description offered by a nonexpert who has firsthand experience

Brief Illustration

An unelaborated example, often only a sentence or two long

Humor

Audiences usually appreciate a touch humor in an example or opinion. Only if your audience is unlikely to understand the humor or if your speech is on a very somber and serious topic is humor not appropriate

Magnitude

Bigger is better. Larger numbers, more convincing statistics. More support from experts, more credible

Domain

Category in which a Web site is located on the Internet, indicated by the last three letters of the site's URL

Concreteness

If you need to discuss abstract ideas, explain them with concrete example and specific statistics

A statement about what a term means or how it is applied in a specific instance

Is constructed by both placing a term in the general class to which it belongs and differentiating it from all other members of that class.

Statistics

Numerical Data that summarize facts or samples

Opinions

Statements expressing an individual's attitudes, beliefs, or values

Online Databases

Subscription-based electronic resources that may offer access to abstracts and/ or the full text of entries, as well as bibliographic data

Proximity

The best supporting material is whatever is the most relevant to your listeners, or the closest to home. If you can demonstrate how an incident could affect audience members themselves, that illustration will have far greater impact than a more remote one.

World Wide Web

The primary information-delivery system on the Internet

Suitability

Your final decision about whether to use a certain piece of supporting material will depend on its suitability to you, your speech, the occasion, and -- as we continue to stress throughout the book-- your audience. For example, you would probably use more statistics in a speech to a group of scientists than an after-luncheon talk to the local Rotary Club