Chapter 6: Selecting a Topic & Delivering a Speech PDF

MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION SELECTING A TOPIC AND DELIVERING A SPEECH At the end of this chapter, students will: A. Understand the requirements for choosing a topic; B. Know the qua...

MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION SELECTING A TOPIC AND DELIVERING A SPEECH At the end of this chapter, students will: A. Understand the requirements for choosing a topic; B. Know the qualities of an effective speaker; C. Know the different responsibilities of a speaker. The demand for speech is quite common now a days. Once, it was the professional man who found this demand heavy upon him. But now, speeches are very common. In schools, colleges, and universities, students running as candidates in school organizations deliver speeches convincing fellow students to vote for them. Big and small companies from organizations, associations or clubs. People who are interested to join in any of these organizations deliver speeches either from the leaders or members. Politicians are of course expected to deliver speeches most of the time. 1. The topic must be suited to the speaker. This involves two separate aspects: following: the topic should be suited to the capabilities, experience, knowledge, and intelligence of the speaker; and when possible, it ought to be suited also to the audience's concept of what the speaker's capabilities are. In other words, due priority should be observed in the selection of a topic. It is generally a mistake for an experienced youth to try to solve some world-shaking problem address delivered to his elders. 1  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION 2. The topic must be suited to the audience. The successful speaker chooses a topic to suit the experience, knowledge, and interest of the audience. That is, it should make the audience feel, "This concerns us." 3. The topic must be suited to the occasion. The chief element of the occasion may be the date (Independence Day, Christmas Day), the time (morning, noon, afternoon, evening), place (school, church, grandstand, etc.), type of activity (graduation, political rally, commencement, or commemorative activity). 4. The topic must be suited to the length of time available for the speech. The speaker who exceeds the time granted to him/her is crassly discourteous. This is a common fault. A speaker should bear in mind that the time does not belong to him/her alone. There is a fault a speaker may have which is worse than the failure to terminate the speech. the 2  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION 5. Choose a topic that is meaningful to you. The more meaningful a topic, t more likely you are to put the necessary time and effort into researching and developing your speech. The stronger your commitment to a topic, the more enthusiastically you will present it. A speaker's commitment to a topic usually transfers to the audience and gets them involved. The audience involvement in a topic can be an effective gauge of your success as a speaker. 6. Choose a topic that will allow you to convey an important thought to your audience. The thought does not have to be a matter of extreme urgency. 7. Choose a topic that is familiar and interesting to you. This will make the development and delivery of your speech easier. Researching and developing a speech will be more enjoyable if you are interested in the topic. Choosing a topic that interests you can increase the likelihood of audience interest and speaker credibility. TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A TOPIC If you have difficulty thinking of an interesting subject, there are some techniques that might help you: self-inventory; brainstorming, reviewing current magazines, newspapers, and television news programs and Internet search. All four techniques will generate a wide range of possible topics from which you can then select the most appropriate. Self-inventory A self-inventory is a list of subjects that you know about and find interesting. The list might include books and newspaper articles you've read; television shows you watch; hobbies you enjoy; sports you participate in; and community, local, national, or international issues that concern you. Here are some sources of topics that might spark your interest: 3  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION 1. Campus or Community Issues 2. Local, regional, or international issues 3. Technology/Media 4. Health Issues 5. Sports/Recreation 6. Books, Magazines, Newspapers Brainstorming Brainstorming is a technique used to generate as many ideas as possible within intensive concentration, and list all the ideas that come to mind as topics. To keep things simple, write key words or phrases only. Don't stop to think about whether amount of time. Set aside a short period of time (four to six minutes) for whether the ideas are good or bad. The goal of brainstorming is to generate a lot of ideas, so every word or phrase is appropriate. Reviewing Current Media The third way to generate topic ideas involves the popular media. The media are channels or means of communicating messages to the public such as through newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, and movies. Reviewing the current media is an excellent way of developing a list of potential topics. The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature is a source of hundreds of up-to-date topics. For example, you will find listings of articles on education, government, finance, marketing, crime, health, television violence, technology, and entertainment. Surfing the Web The rapid development of technology, the ever-increasing number of websites, and the amount of new information on the Web provide unique opportunities for students in a speech communication class. Using one or more of the many topics for the careful student. Because information is often not reviewed and search engines available can provide unique topics and sources of information accepted by experts or authorities on the subject. Use the same process you use when evaluating other sources and information, 4  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION asking these questions: 1. Who is the author or producer? What are the author's credentials? 2. How reliable is the source? What is the authority or expertise of the individual or group that created the site? 3. How complete and accurate is the information? 4. For whom is the information intended? 5. Is the Web page up to date? 6. Does the writing on the page follow basic rules of grammar, spelling, and usage? Is the language used appropriately? 7. Is the Webmaster identified? How you find your topic is not the critical issue, but it is important that you begin looking as soon as possible. Students who have succeeded in selecting appropriate topics as soon as the assignment is given do not find difficulty. Students who are late almost always have more difficulty finding an appropriate topic. Whenever you come across something that you think might be a good idea, write it down. The more ideas you can accumulate, the easier your job of selecting a good topic. The earlier you choose your topic, the more time you will have to research, prepare, and practice your speech. Organize the Body of Your Speech You have now chosen a topic. Once you have thoroughly researched your topic, you can simplify your writing task by carefully organizing your material. All speeches are Organizing your speech involves arranging its parts into a systematic and Organized into three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. You should think about what your thesis statement which will help you in the organizing Process. Organize the Body of Your Speech The body of a speech presents the main content and organizing it will help you formulate your thesis statement. To ensure that the body of your speech is well organized, your content must be divided into main points that are thoughtfully selected and stated. Develop the Main Points Relate main points, specific purpose, and thesis. The main points serve as the basis for the thesis statement. Together, the specific purpose and the thesis will determine the direction of the speech. Here is an example: To persuade the audience that eating breakfast can SPECIFIC PURPOSE benefit them in three particular ways. 5  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Eating breakfast gives the body energy to begin and THESIS maintain the daily tasks, causes metabolic processes to work efficiently, and provides enough energy to make it through the day without snacking. Main points: I. Breakfast is the meal that fuels the body to have energy to complete the daily tasks. II. Breakfast is the meal that makes the metabolic process begin its work. III. Breakfast is the meal that helps the bodies function efficiently throughout the day. Main points, like the specific purpose and thesis should be carefully developed and written. They should also be specific, vivid, relevant, and parallel in structure. The more specific the main points, the less confusion they BE SPECIFIC will create and the more meaningful they will be to the audience. To communicate effectively, make your message animated USE VIVID and interesting. Direct, fresh language given in the active LANGUAGE voice can bring a sense of excitement, urgency, and forcefulness to what you say. You are more likely to keep listeners interested in what you have to say using fresh language to present your ideas in new and exciting ways. Main points that are relevant to the audience's immediate SHOW RELEVANCE interests encourage greater involvement and empathy. For instance, instead of saying, "Air pollution has reached high levels," say "Air pollution in our city has reached high levels." Using direct references to the audience, whenever possible, increases the link between you, what are saying, you and your audience. CREATE PARRALEL Main points should be expressed in parallel structure, using similar grammatical patterns and wordings, when STRUCTURE possible. 6  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION LIMIT THE NUMBER OF MAIN POINTS The number of main points in your speech will depend on at least three considerations: 1. The time available to deliver the speech 2. The content to be covered in the speech 3. The amount of information that the audience can reasonably comprehend and remember The time available for most classroom speeches is limited by practical considerations. As a result, most classroom speeches have no more than five main points, and the majority have two or three. Try to balance the amount of time that you devote to each main point. For example, if you are assigned to five-to-seven-minute speech, plan to allow about two minutes for the introduction and conclusion, distributing the remaining time equally among the main points. Order the Main Points Once you have identified your main points, you must decide the order in which to present them. The most effective order of presentation depends on the topic, the purpose and the audience. Several basic patterns of presentation have been recommended and used over the years. These are: 1. Time Sequence. In the time-sequence or chronological pattern, the presentation begins at a particular point in time and continues either forward or backward. The key is to follow a natural time sequence and avoid jumping haphazardly from one date to another. This pattern is especially useful for tracing the steps in a process, the relationship within a series of events, or the development of ideas. The time-sequence pattern can also be used to explain a process. Topics such as the development of a small business, how to train a dog, how to write a research paper, all have specific steps that must be completed in the correct sequence for successful results. 2. The Spatial Pattern. In spatial pattern of presentation, the content of a speech is organized according to relationship in space. This method is especially appropriate for presentations describing distances, directions, or physical surroundings. For example, explaining the floor plan of new building. A spatial pattern describes the relationships between all the main points. 3. The Topical Pattern. The topical pattern divides the main topic into a series of related sub-topics. Each sub-topic becomes a main point in the speech, and all main points are joined to form a coherent whole. In this way, the topical pattern is a unifying structure. The topical pattern is most likely to be used when none of the other patterns of organization can be applied to the topic or purpose of a speech. 7  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION 4. The Cause-Effect Pattern. In the cause-effect pattern, the speaker explains the causes of an event, problem, or issue and discusses its consequences results that follow from them or describe conditions or events and then point A speaker may either describe certain forces or factors and then show out the forces or factors that caused them. CONNECT MAIN POINTS A conversation can move from one unrelated topic to another without losing meaning or impact, but for a speaker to communicate effectively with an audience, the thoughts in the speech must be systematically connected. The four most common connecting devices that speakers use, singly or in combination, are transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries. Phrases and words to link ideas are called transitions. They form a bridge between what has already been TRANSITIONS presented and what will be presented next. Transitions are typically used between an introduction and the body of the speech, between main ideas, between supporting materials, and between the body and the conclusion. A transition can review information that has already been presented, preview information to come, or summarize key thoughts. Just as a traffic sign warns drivers about travel SIGNPOSTS conditions, signposts are words, phrases and short statements that let the audience know what is ahead. An internal preview gives advance warning, or a INTERNAL PREVIEWS preview, of the point meaning of literature." or points to be covered. INTERNAL An internal summary is a short review statement given at the end of a main point. SUMMARIES 8  MODULE: OLENG01 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Qualities of an Effective Speakers By cultivating certain personal qualities, you can enhance the likelihood that you will accept your message. The most effective speakers are ethical, knowledgeable, prepared, and self-confident. ETHICS Ethics plays an important role in communication. As speakers, you are responsible for what to tell others. You must communicate with honesty, sincerity, and integrity. In addition, a responsible, ethical speaker presents worthwhile and accurate information in a fair manner. You should cite the sources of information you intend to use. KNOWLEDGE Knowledge is a speaker's greatest asset. Knowing your subject is essential if you plan to reach your listeners. Noted speakers are almost always avid readers. To enhance your understanding of events, people, and values, you must read and observe things around you. You know that it is easier to talk about things you are familiar with than those you are not. Many colleges, universities, and businesses have identified the characteristics of an "educated person." As an educated person, keep abreast of current events. You should read all kinds of books, at least one you should not only know about past international, national, local events, but also trade (professional) magazines, and one daily newspaper, in addition to listening to news broadcasts and documentaries. PREPARATION A successful speech is somewhat like a successful business meeting or athletic event - all require planning, preparation, and work. Preparation includes not only A successful speech is somewhat like a successful business meeting or athletic practice but also a process of thinking through all possible audience responses so a speaker, could effectively handle questions. Effective speakers should sound conversational, not mechanical. Too much practice, though, can make you lose the spark of spontaneity and reduce effectiveness. 9