WEEK 13: CHAPTER 11  Uncertainty reduction theory – explains the

processes we go through to get to know.

The ancient philosophers coined the terms:
To determine a specific speech goal adapted to the
 Rhetoric and oratory – to describe the
rhetorical situation, begin by identifying lots of subjects
processes of preparing and delivering effective
and topics that interest you. Then, based on your analysis
public speeches.
of both the audience and the occasion, narrow your list
Public Speaking – was the primary means by which to down to include only those that
conduct business, debate public issues, make public
(a) interest you and you know something
decisions, and gain and maintain power.
about,
“The audience is the end and object of the speech.”- (b) can be adapted to address the needs,
Aristotle interests, and expectations of the
audience, and
RHETORICAL CANONS (c) are appropriate for the occasion.
1. Invention IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TOPICS
2. Arrangement
3. Delivery Good speech topics come from subjects we have some
- Presentations – are the communication tools knowledge about and interest in.
that can be used as demonstrations
A subject is a broad area of knowledge, such as
4. Style
contemporary cinema, renewable energy, computer
5. Memory
technology, or the Middle East.
ELEMENTS/ INGREDIENTS MODE OF A topic is a narrower aspect of a subject.
DELIVERY
SUBJECTS
1. Impromptu
You can identify subjects by listing those that:
2. Extemporaneous topics in any subject
3. Manuscript (1) are important to you and area can be of
4. Memorization (2) you know something about. interest when
they are adapted to
CHAPTER 11: TOPIC SELECTION & Subjects may be related to careers that: address the needs
and expectations of
DEVELOPMENT the audience
- interest you,
PUBLIC SPEAKING – is simply a sustained formal - your major area of study, special skills or
presentation by a speaker to an audience. competencies you have or admire,
- your hobbies,
This chapter focuses on the first steps in effective
- as well as your social, economic, or political
speechmaking:
interests.
(1) Selecting a specific speech goal that is adapted to
BRAINSTORMING AND CONCEPT MAP
the rhetorical situation and
(2) Gathering and evaluating information to develop Brainstorming is an uncritical, non-evaluative
your speech. process of generating associated ideas.
o When you brainstorm, you list as many ideas
Determine an Appropriate Speech Topic and Goal
as you can think of without evaluating them.
Rhetorical situation is the composite of you (and Concept mapping is a visual means of exploring
your knowledge and intentions), the audience (and connections between a subject and related ideas.
their knowledge and expectations), and the occasion o To generate connections, you might ask
(setting, purpose, and constraints). yourself questions about your subject,
o Effective speakers address all three focusing on who, what, where, when, and
throughout the speech preparation and how. (Moon, Hoffman, Novak, & Canas, 2011).
presentation process.
ANALYZE THE AUDIENCE
 Exigence - reason the speech needs to be given.
 Audience analysis – Because audience is a o Because addressing the specific needs and
crucial component of the rhetorical situation, expectations of your intended audience is integral
effective speech goals are based on audience to the rhetorical situation, you need to examine
analysis, the study of the intended audience. who they are by collecting both demographic and
 Audience Adaptation - process of tailoring the subject-related data.
speech to address their unique needs, interests,
and expectations.
o This information will help you select and tailor
your topic and goal to meet their needs, interests,
and expectations.
Demographic Data – Helpful demographic
information includes, for example, each person’s
approximate age, education level, sex, income,
occupation, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity,
religion, geographic uniqueness, and first language.
Subject-Related Data – You also want to collect
subject-related audience disposition data, including:
- their level of knowledge,
- initial level of interest in, and
- attitude toward the potential topics you are
considering.
o Once you know this information, you can
use a process of elimination to choose a
topic and goal that will offer some new
information, insight, or perspective for them
Data-Gathering Methods – You can use several
different methods to gather data about your audience.
1. Conduct a survey.
o Although it is not always possible, the most
direct way to collect audience data is to
survey them.
 A survey is a direct examination of
people to gather information about their
ideas and opinions.
2. Observe Informally
o you can learn a lot through informal
observation
3. Question a representative.
o When you are invited to speak to a group
you are unfamiliar with,
o ask your contact person for demographic
and subject-related audience data related to
your topic.
4. Make educated guesses.
o If you can’t get information in any other
way, you can make educated guesses
o based on indirect data such as the general
makeup of the people who live in a certain
community, belong to a certain
organization, or are likely to attend the
speech event
Ethical Use of Audience Data Once you have
collected audience data you can use it to tailor your
speech to their interests, needs, and expectations.
o To demonstrate respect for everyone, you
will want to avoid making inappropriate or
inaccurate assumptions based on the data
you’ve collected.
1. Marginalizing is the practice of ignoring the
values, needs, and interests of some audience
members, leaving them to feel excluded.
2. Stereotyping is assuming all members of a group
have similar knowledge, behaviors, or beliefs
simply because they belong to that group.
 Audience diversity is the range of demographic
and subject specific differences represented in an
audience.
EXAMINE THE OCCASION
Occasion is made up of the expected purpose and
setting (location) for the speech
1. What is the intended purpose (exigence) of the
speech?
- In other words, why does the audience think
this speech is being given?
2. What is the expected length?
- Time limits for classroom speeches are
usually quite short, so choose a topic that is
narrow enough to be accomplished in the
brief time allotted.
3. Where will the speech be given?
- Rooms vary in size, shape, lighting, and
seating arrangements. Some are a single
level, some have stages or platforms, and
some have tiered seating
4. When will the speech be given?
- A speech given early in the morning requires
a different approach from one given right
after lunch or in the evening
5. What equipment is necessary and available?
- Would you like to use a microphone, lectern,
flip chart, smart board, or computer, LCD
projector, and speakers to display visuals and
audio-visuals?
- It is your responsibility to check with your
host to make sure the equipment can be made
available or make alternative arrangements.
SELECT A TOPIC
o Are any topics too simple or too difficult for
this audience’s knowledge base? If so,
eliminate those topics.
o Are some topics likely to bore the audience
and you can’t think of any way to pique their
interest with new information or a new
perspective on them? Eliminate those, as
well.
WRITE A SPEECH GOAL STATEMENT
GENERAL AND SPECIFIC SPEECH GOALS
General goal is the overall intent of the speech. Most
speeches intend to entertain, inform, or persuade,
even though each type can include elements of the
others.
Specific speech goal (or specific purpose) is a single
statement that identifies the desired response a
speaker wants from the audience.
PHRASING A SPECIFIC GOAL STATEMENT
1. Write a first draft of your specific speech goal
statement.
2. Make sure the goal statement contains only one
central idea.
3. Revise the statement until it clearly articulates the
desired audience response.
Locate and Evaluate Information Sources
How can you quickly find the best information related to
your specific speech goal? You can start by assessing your
own knowledge and experience.
Secondary Research – Then you can move to
secondary research, which is the process of locating
information discovered by other people.
o This includes doing Internet and library
searches for relevant books, articles, general
references, and Web sites.
Primary Research – If the information you find from
secondary sources doesn’t answer all your questions,
you may need to conduct primary research, which is
the process of collecting data about your topic directly
from the real world.
PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
o Share your credentials—your experiences or
education that qualifies you to speak with
authority on a subject.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
INTERNET SOURCES
Blogs are Web sites that provide personal viewpoints
of their author. They can be created and maintained
by an individual or an organization.
o They might focus on a particular subject and
include images, audios, and audiovisuals.
o Because they are often biased toward the
opinion of the blogger, information on them
may have to be verified with other sources.
Online social networks are Web sites where
communities of people interact with one another.
Some popular examples include Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter, and Instagram.
OTHER TYPES OF SOURCES
1. Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia entries (including Wikipedia)
can serve as a good starting point by
providing an overview of the basic
terminology associated with a topic.
2. Books
- If your topic has been around for a while,
there are likely to be books written about it.
3. Articles
- Articles, which may contain more current or
highly specialized information on your topic
than a book would, are published in
periodicals—magazines and journals that
appear at regular intervals.
4. News media
- articles can provide facts about and
interpretations of both contemporary and
historical issues and provide information
about local issues and perspectives.
5. Statistical Sources
- present numerical information on a wide
variety of subjects.
6. Biographies
- When you need an account of a person’s life,
from thumbnail sketches to reasonably
complete essays, you can use a biographical
reference source.
7. Quotation Books and Web Sites
- A good quotation can be especially
provocative as well as informative, and there
are times you want to use a quotation from a
respected person.
8. Government Documents
- If your topic is related to public policy,
government documents may provide useful
information.
SKIM SOURCES
Skimming is a method of rapidly viewing a work to
determine what is covered and how.
You can start by reading the abstract—a short
paragraph summarizing the research findings.
EVALUATE SOURCES
Valid sources report factual information that can be
counted on to be true.
Accurate sources present unbiased information that
often includes a balanced discussion of controversial
ideas.
Reliable sources are those with a history of
presenting accurate information.
1. Authority. The first test of a source is the
expertise of its author and/or the reputation of the
publishing or sponsoring organization.
2. Objectivity. Although all authors have a
stance—an attitude, perspective, or viewpoint on
a topic—be wary of information that seems
excessively slanted.
3. Currency. In general, more recent information is
preferred (unless, for example, you are
documenting a historical event).
4. Relevance. During your research, you will likely
come across a great deal of interesting
information.
 PRIMARY RESEARCH
FIELDWORK OBSERVATIONS
o You might choose to learn about a group of
people and their practices by conducting
fieldwork observations, which is a method also
known as ethnography.
SURVEYS
o Recall that a survey is an examination to get
information about peoples’ ideas and opinions.
Surveys may be conducted in person, over the
phone, via the Internet, or in writing.
INTERVIEWS
o Like media reporters, you may get some of your
best information from an interview—a planned,
structured conversation where one person asks
questions and another answers them.
ORIGINAL ARTIFACT OR DOCUMENT
EXAMINATIONS
o Sometimes the information you need has not been
published. Rather, it may exist in an original
unpublished source, such as an ancient
manuscript, a diary, personal correspondence, or
company files.
EXPERIMENTS
o You can design an experiment to test a
hypothesis, which is an educated guess about a
cause-and-effect relationship between two or
more things.
Identify and Evaluate a Variety of Information
 These include factual statements, expert opinions,
and elaborations. You may find the information
written in narrative form or presented as a graphic
in visual form.
FACTUAL STATEMENTS
o One way to verify whether a statement is accurate
is to check it against other sources on the same
subject.
1. Statistics. Statistics are numerical facts.
- can provide impressive support for a point,
but when statistics are poorly used in a
speech, they may be boring and, in some
instances, downright deceiving.
2. Examples. Examples are specific instances that
illustrate a general factual statement.
EXPERT OPINIONS
Expert opinions are interpretations and judgments
made by an expert in a subject area. They can help
explain what facts mean or put them into perspective.
An expert is a person who has mastered a specific
subject, usually through long-term study, and who is
recognized by other people in the field as being a
knowledgeable and trustworthy authority.
o When you use expert opinions in your speech,
remember to cite their credentials.
ELABORATIONS
1. Anecdotes and narratives.
- Anecdotes are brief, often amusing stories;
- Narratives are accounts, personal
experiences, tales, or lengthier stories.
2. Comparisons and contrasts.
- One of the best ways to give meaning to new
ideas or facts is through comparison and
contrast.
- Comparisons illuminate a point by showing
similarities, whereas contrasts highlight
differences.
3. Quotations.
- At times, information you find will be so well
stated that you want to quote it directly in
your speech.
- Plagiarism, the unethical act of presenting
another person’s work as your own.
DIVERSE CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
o When identifying supporting material, be sure to
include a variety of cultural perspectives.
RECORD INFORMATION AND SOURCES
o You need to record it accurately and keep a
careful account of your sources so you can cite
them appropriately during your speech.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Annotated bibliography is a preliminary record of
the relevant sources you find as you conduct your
research.
- APA
- MLA
RESEARCH CARDS
Research cards are individual 3 3 5- or 4 3 6-inch
index cards or electronic facsimiles that record one
piece of information relevant to your speech along
with a key word or main idea and the bibliographic
information identifying where you found it.
CITE SOURCES
ORAL FOOTNOTES
Oral footnotes are references to an original source,
made at the point in the speech where information
from that source is presented.