Information Competency for Speech Construction
John A. Cagle
Vincent L. BloomDepartment of Communication
Stages in Preparing a SpeechDecision to
Speak
Purpose &Subject
InformationNeeds
Evaluate information
Personal
Interviews
Books
Periodicals
Internet
Organize
Language
Practice
DeliverSpeech
EvaluateResults
Create thesis &arguments
Purpose and Decision to Start
Problem exigency gives rise to need for solution and communication
Build your personal motivation for the tasks ahead
Purpose of speech determined: informative, persuasive, entertaining
Plan how to use your time well
Need for Information
Before you can speak, you've got to have something to say.
Speaking should be based on truth. Use scholarly tools to facilitate
research--the quest for information and knowledge.
Problem Question
Purpose, interests, what you know about your topic and are interested in
Process begins with forming a problem question to guide your research.
The problem question is what we expect to answer through our research.
Often the question is initially general, but it gets refined as you begin and continue your research.
Techniques to Explore, Discover, and Develop Ideas
brainstorm lists focused freewriting clustering thinking
Generate Information Needs Determine questions to identify what you
need to know Consider all the sources of information
available to you– Personal resources– People to interview– Documents available– Books, periodicals, reference materials– Internet resources
What kinds of things will you need to know to answer the question? – Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
What are the facts? – What are the critical events? What is the
timeline in the history of the problem? What are the causes and effects in a problem?
Identify topics or specific questions Seek information to answer by using
personal, documentary, library, and Internet resources
RESEARCH STRATEGY CHECKLIST Start early Determine where you
need to go. Understand the layout
of the library. Develop primary
bibliography. Identify priorities.
Read progressively. Read selectively. Read efficiently. Be open to new ideas. Look for multiple
sources & varied types of supporting material.
Know when to stop.
RESEARCH STRATEGY CHECKLIST Start early Determine where you
need to go. Understand the layout
of the library. Develop primary
bibliography. Identify priorities.
Read progressively. Read selectively. Read efficiently. Be open to new ideas. Look for multiple
sources & varied types of supporting material.
Know when to stop.
Taking Notes and Keeping Records “Access” books, periodical articles, and
other materials Read carefully in light of your purpose
and topic Build bibliography as you go Keep notes clear, accurate, and
organized
Thesis
State WHAT you want to say in the speech in a single sentence.
The central idea of the speech is called a thesis.
Remember that the thesis should be appropriate to the scope and purpose of the assignment and the occasion.
Development
Development is the expansion of the thesis, identifying the main lines of development, the major arguments proving your point, and so forth.
Types of developmental material include definitions, facts, quotations, statistics, comparisons, contrasts, examples, illustrations, and so forth.
Types of Supporting Material
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
“Last semester I went out with some buddies of mine to have a good time. We were partying hard: I got really wasted. I meanI’ve never been so trashed in my life! A few weeks ago, I saw some pictures of myself that I don’t even remember being in. Itwas great! That is --- until I rolled my new sports car. The police tell me that I was lucky to walk out of there alive. I was even more lucky to avoid hurting someone else. Many drunkdrivers aren’t so lucky.”
Common Knowledge
MAXIM:
“You can’t trust peoplewho made the mess to
clean it up.”
MAXIM:
“Work expands to fill thetime available for its
completion”
The beliefs and values generally shared by members of a society or culture. These are often expressed in the forms of maxims:– “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
DIRECT OBSERVATION
“When I first came to school, I thought the dorm food was really overpriced. So I decided to check the local eatingplaces out to see if I could do better. Imagine my surprise!When I went to Jimmy John’s sandwich shop, I priced a moderate lunch -- just a sandwich and a drink -- at $4.66.A light lunch ar Burger King, only a salad and a drink, costs $4.48. In comparison, lunch at the residence hall costs $4.95,and you can eat all you want.”
DOCUMENTS
“According to the student handbook we got as freshman, cheating is a “serious breach of our commitment to ethical behavior as students” and we will be punished with a “failing grade in the class and possible expulsion from the University.”
STATISTICS
Statistics are patterns of recording frequency with which something occurs; they take such forms as medians, averages, ratios, indices, and standardized scores. They become more meaningful when they are compared to some base line or other pattern of numbers.
TESTIMONY
Factual testimony– “It is a fact that event X happened on
Wednesday, and it can be verified by those who saw the event. I am one of those who saw it.”
Opinion testimony– “It is my opinion that the Bulldogs will win more
football games than they will lose in 1998”
BUILDING A SPEECH: Critically analyze and evaluate the information
TESTING THE STRENGTH
OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL
TESTING THE STRENGTH
OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Are you sure your memory is reliable?
Is your experience generalizable?
Will others interpret it the same way?COMMON KNOWLEDGE
Are you sure the audience shares it?
Are you sure it is correct? DIRECT OBSERVATION Are you sure of what you saw?
Might you have been swayed by bias?
EXAMPLES
Are they representative?
Are there enough of them?
DOCUMENTS
Can they be trusted?
Are they properly interpreted?
Is the context made clear?
STATISTICS
Are appropriate measures used?
Are they reliable and valid?
Have they been interpreted properly?
TESTIMONY Does the source have access to the
data? Is the person an expert on the
subject?
TESTING THE STRENGTH
OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Are you sure your memory is reliable?
Is your experience generalizable?
Will others interpret it the same way?COMMON KNOWLEDGE
Are you sure the audience shares it?
Are you sure it is correct? DIRECT OBSERVATION Are you sure of what you saw?
Might you have been swayed by bias?
EXAMPLES
Are they representative?
Are there enough of them?
DOCUMENTS
Can they be trusted?
Are they properly interpreted?
Is the context made clear?
STATISTICS
Are appropriate measures used?
Are they reliable and valid?
Have they been interpreted properly?
TESTIMONY Does the source have access to the
data? Is the person an expert on the
subject?
BUILDING A SPEECH: NEXT STEPS
Assess speech materials in terms of your thesis and arguments
Decide how much to emphasis to each argument
Go on to planning organization
Introduction
Exordium: Secure attention and interest.
Narratio: Give needed background on topic (what does audience need to understand to appreciate your points?
Partitio: State the purpose of speech and preview the major parts
Partitio
Orient audience to the thesis or purpose of speech: state the thesis directly – "The purpose of this speech is to. . . ."
"Preview" the major developmental parts of the speech: state this directly – "First, the history of the problem will be
explored; second, the consequences. . . ."
Body (Confirmatio)
Body of speech contains the main ideas of the speech and appropriate developmental material.
Arrangement of the main ideas/developmental material should be determined by the subject matter and purpose.
Conclusion (Conclusio)
Summarize thesis and main points Show relevance to the course (or
reason you wrote speech) Stimulate audience to want to know
more, do something, think of the implications of your speech, etc.)
Transitional Material
Throughout speech, thesis should be abundantly clear.
Relate each main idea to thesis and to other ideas.
Use transitional “sign post” words (therefore, however, first, etc.)
Read Through Speech Outline
Read through the entire speech aloud to familiarize yourself with the ideas and their organization
Spontaneously and creatively speak from the outline
Make note of difficult parts of outline
Practice Delivery
Deliver speech aloud as if you were in front of audience
Strive to speak clearly Speak directly to audience and maintain
eye contact Try not to read your notes Go through entire speech without
stopping
Practice, Practice, Practice
Review written plan or speaking notes if needed
Assess use of time and revise if needed
Delivering the speech
Review your notes just prior to speaking Plan any last minute additions--e.g., a
comment on something a previous speaker has said
“Plunge in, and trust to God to get you out.” --Patrick Henry
Judging the Communication Product and the Process
Evaluate your speech in terms of your initial objectives and in terms of the standards of evaluating speeches