Chapter 7 – Preparing Your Speech

Developing Your Topic

Choose a topic of interest to you if possible

Make a list of interesting topics

Be enthusiastic about your topic

Analyze your Audience

How can you create interest among the audience in your topic?

Audience Analysis – Learning everything you can about the background, attitudes, and interests of the people who will listen to you.

Consider your Timing

Time Limit – Narrow your topic to fit your time limit.

Timeliness – The quality of being current, up-to-date.

Become an Expert

Research

Be able to give your audience new information.

Organizing your Thoughts

Start with what you already know

Know what you are looking for – Prepare to support your statements.

1 – Facts – An event or a truth that is known to exist or has been observed.

2 – Statistics – A collection of facts stated in numerical terms.

3 – Testimony – The quoting or restating of another person’s opinion to support a point. Testimony is opinion.

4 – Narrative – Supporting material in the form of a story, either real or imaginary. Usually supports facts or statistics.

5 – Examples – Specific instances or occurrences of a situation or principle you are attempting to describe. May include the other forms of support.

6 – Comparisons – The presentation of similarities and differences. Also may include other forms of support.

Find good sources of supporting material – Go from general to specific (Example -Books, magazines, newspapers, interviews, television, radio, internet, your own poll or survey)

Record your Evidence

Write down your sources

Use a consistent system for recording evidence

Example – Use a 3 x 5 note card – list your topic, information and source.

Select a pattern of speech organization

1 – Chronological Pattern – an organizational arrangement of a speech that proceeds from past to present to future. Must move forward in time sequence.

2 – Spatial – An organizational pattern by space arrangement. Useful when describing a place.

3 – Topical – An organizational pattern in which the subject is broken down into its natural parts. Example – A speech about “The United States Congress”- Divided into the House and the Senate, Republican and Democrat.

4 – Problem-Solution Pattern – The first part of the speech describes the problem while the second part describes the solution.

5 – Monroe’s Motivated Sequence – Consists of 5 steps (Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, and Action)

6 – String-of-Beads Pattern – Used mainly for entertaining, it consists of a series of stories or jokes tied loosely together to a central theme.

Outlining the Speech

Start with a Purpose

Purpose Sentence – A sentence stating the specific intent of a speech.

Develop Main Points and Sub Points

Main Points – The major divisions of a speech outline, most speeches should have only a few main points.

Sub Points – The subdivision of the main points in an outline

See pg. 168 – Sample outline

You should always have an Introduction, Body and Conclusion

Rehearsing

Find a place to speak aloud

Set the pattern of ideas in your mind – You are trying to remember ideas not memorize words.

Rehearse in front of friends if possible.

Time your rehearsals.