Public Speaking

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Public Speaking

• Chapter 5 Selecting Researching Your Topic

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Objectives

• Upon completing this session, you will be able
  to
• Select a topic
• Focus your topic
• Determine your purpose
• Develop a clear thesis statement
• Obtain responsible knowledge

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Chart Your Interests to Select Topic
• Perform 3 phases
• Select the topic
• Decide on a topic that fits both you and your
  audience
• List all and decide on most logical, given time,
  audience, and environment
• Determine your purpose
• What do you need to communicate?
• Acquire responsible knowledge
• Research the topic

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Phase 1
• Phase 2
• Phase 3

Public Speaking, 6th Ed., Osborne /Osborne, P. 121
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Selecting Researching Your Topic
Finding a Good Topic for Your Speech

• Chart your personal interests
• See list p. 122
• Browse Media for ideas if stumped
• Be careful,to summarize is to plagiarize

Figure 5.2 (Osborn / Osborn, 2003)
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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Match your interests to your audience

My Interests Audience Interests Possible Topics
Traveling/Hiking Unusual places to go Weekend adventures close to campus



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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Focusing Your Topic
• Topics noted so far are too broad
• Topics must be focused, especially short ones
• A speech is like a spotlight the more focused it
  is, the more intense the light with a smaller
  area covered. (Sir Winston Churchill)
• To focus ask What, why, when, how, where, and
  who.
• Example What is environmental pollution? Why do
  we have it? When did it become a problem? How can
  we reduce it? Where are problems greatest? Who
  suffers from it?

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Evaluating Your Topic Selection
• Does it fit the assignment?
• Can I give a speech on this topic in the allotted
  time?
• Can I learn enough about this topic to give a
  responsible speech?
• Why would I want to speak on this topic.
• Andmore importantly
• why would anyone want to hear about it?

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Topic Selected Now Determine Your Purpose
• General Function Inform? Persuade? Celebrate?
• Specific Purpose
• Example
• Topic National Parks
• General Function To Inform
• Specific Purpose To inform audience of the
  hiking trails in the High Country

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Stating Your Specific Purpose
• Informative Example
• Poor Inform audience about the high country
• Better Inform audience of the three most
  picturesque trails in the High Country
• Persuasive Example
• Persuade audience to stay alert when driving
• Persuade audience that they should not talk on
  cell phone while driving

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• The Thesis Statement
• The Thesis Statement usually reflects the
  Specific Purpose
• Example Today I want to present to you the three
  most beautiful trails in the High Country
• The Preview
• The preview follows the thesis statement and
  signals the man points to be covered
• Example First we will look at the Grandfather
  Profile Trail and then traverse the Linville
  Gorge and Virginia Creeper trails.
• Ethics Alert Be careful not to mislead in your
  thesis and preview statements.

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Variations on the Thesis and Preview Statements
• The unstated Thesis
• As a device to involve the audience in
  discovering/formulating the thesis
• Careful Make sure they form the thesis you
  intended.
• Thesis/Preview Combined
• This is where the Thesis leads naturally into the
  preview as a part of the introduction.
• Example To introduce you to the many wonders of
  hiking the High Country, today I would like to
  describe the three picturesque trails Profile,
  Gorge, and Creeper.

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Acquiring Responsible Knowledge
• Main issues
• What Respected authorities say
• Latest Developments
• Related local applications
• Delivering responsible Knowledge gives you
  audience something in return for their time

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Acquiring Responsible Knowledge
• Major sources are
• Your own knowledge and experience
• The library
• The Internet
• Interviews
• Sources provide the following to support your
  speech
• Facts
• Testimony
• Examples
• Narratives

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Personal knowledge and experience
• Lack direct experience? Arrange to get some
• Visit site
• Interview
• Journal
• The Internet
• Learn to search productively
• Avoid getting caught up in entertainment of buzz
• Be sure to cite all information about the article
  you find
• Author and credentials
• Date posted/created
• URL
• Sponsoring source/site
• Bookmark the link
• Evaluate Internet Research results using the list
  on p.136

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• Access to Information Sources
• In-depth Information Sources
• Current Information Sources
• Local Information Sources

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• www.libraryspot.com links to most major
  encyclopedias
• www.oed.com for Oxford English Dictionary
• Dmoz.org/reference/dictionaries for list

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• Access to Information Sources
• Readers Guide to Periodical Literature
• Business Periodical Index
• Library of Congress Subject Headings
• Gives you the key terms by which to search the
  indexes
• Search Engines on the internet

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• Access to Information Sources
• In-depth Information Sources
• Periodicals
• Books
• Book Review Index
• Journals
• See list at end of Chapter 5
• Remember to cite sources, give credit to
  originators of ideas.

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• Access to Information Sources
• In-depth Information Sources
• Current Information Sources
• The internet
• Log onto local papers
• www.ecola.com list newspapers online
• The Library
• Facts on File (A weekly Publication)

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Using the Resources of
• Background Information Sources
• Access to Information Sources
• In-depth Information Sources
• Current Information Sources
• Local Information Sources
• Library
• Vertical file of Newspaper Clippings pamphlets,
  and other materials about local people and issues
• Local newspaper archives
• Ecola newsstand at www.ecola.com/archive/press

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Interviewing for Information
• Excellent source of facts, testimony, examples,
  and stories
• Problem If you dont know much about the subject
  you may not be able to properly evaluate what you
  hear.
• In general the benefits outweigh the drawbacks
• To get good sources, check you local library
  clippings or newspaper archives for good local
  interview candidates
• Dont forget campus sources Expert professors
  staff
• You can interview on the telephone, via mail or
  e-mail but face-to-face is best

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Making Contact
• Write a letter explaining why you want to
  interview them
• Send an e-mail
• Prepare for the interview
• Complete library and Internet research first
• Write out interview questions ahead of time
• Make sure responses will be relevant
• Make them opened ended rather than closed ended
• Design in a sequence so that they guide a line of
  thought

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Preparing Your Interview (contd.)
• If so then structure
• Word questions so as not to be abrasive or
  provoking
• How to record the answers
• Recording avoids later misquotes or
  misunderstandings but
• Must ask permission
• Some people just freeze up or wont allow
• Take good notes and ask for clarification when in
  doubt

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Conducting The Interview
• Arrive on time and well prepared
• Dress appropriately and with respect to person
  being interviewed
• Shows you take this interview and your task
  seriously
• Let the expert do most of the talking
• Adapt to the flow of the conversation
• Be alert for opportunities to follow up. Use
• Probes-Questions that as a person to elaborate on
  a response
• Mirror questions-Reflect back a part of the
  response to encourage further discussion.

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Conducting The Interview
• Arrive on time and Dress appropriately
• Shows you take this interview and your task
  seriously
• Let the expert do most of the talking
• Adapt to the flow of the conversation
• Be alert for opportunities to follow up. Use
• Probes-Questions that ask a person to elaborate
• Mirror questions-Reflect back a part of the
  response to encourage further discussion.
• Verifiers Confirms the meaning of something
  said
• Reinforcer Encourages the person to expand
  further.
• Smiles, nods or phrases such as, I see.

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Buttoning Things Up
• Verify the quotes you intend to use with the
  person so that you dont misquote
• After the interview, find a quiet place to go
  over your notes and make sure you clarify them
  while the discussion is fresh in your mind
• Place all possible content on note cards to
• Have all you need and more to finally construct
  speech
• Handle and sort categories
• Source cards Contain standard bibliographic
  information
• Information cards Hold facts, figures, examples
  or quotations

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Selecting Researching Your Topic

• Testing Information
• Does this source contain helpful and relevant
  information?
• Does it cite experts who I can quote to support
  my position?
• Are there interesting, clarifying examples?
• Are there stories that will enliven my topic?
• Is the information and are the sources
• Reliable, trustworthy, and in agreement?
• Thorough? Keep searching until no longer
  surprised
• Recent?
• Precise Accurate for where and when you speak?

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Summary

• Having completed this session, you are able to
• Select a topic
• Focus your topic
• Determine your purpose
• Develop a clear thesis statement
• Obtain responsible knowledge