Chapter 6 and 7 Review January 29, 2008

brainstorm This is noncritical free association to generate as many ideas as possible in a short time.

self-generated topics These are speech subjects based on the speaker’s interests, experiences, and knowledge.

audience-generated topics These are speech subjects geared to the interests and needs of a speaker’s listeners.

occasion-generated topics These are speech subjects derived from the particular circumstances, seasons, holidays, or life events.

research-generated topics These are speech subjects discovered by investigating a variety of sources.

visual brainstorming This is an informal written outline achieved by free associating around a key word or idea.

speech to inform This is a speech designed to convey new and/or useful information in a balanced, objective way.

speech to persuade This is a speech designed to influence listeners’ beliefs and/or actions.

speech to convince This is a persuasive speech designed to influence audience beliefs and attitudes rather than behaviors.

speech to actuate This is a persuasive speech designed to influence audience behaviors.

speech to entertain This is a speech designed to make a point through the creative, organized use of humorous supporting materials.

general purpose This is the broad goal of a speech (such as to persuade, to inform, to entertain, etc.)

specific purpose This is a statement of the general purpose of a speech, the speaker’s intended audience, and the limited goal or outcome.

thesis statement This is a one sentence synopsis of the speaker’s message.

Why is it important to focus your topic? Explain using examples of a focused topic and an unfocused topic. It is important to focus your topic in order to guide your research. It also allows you to address more substance in your speech. Additionally, limiting your topic gives you time to support the ideas you present in your speech. Unfocused topic: football Focused topic: the Super Bowl

What four questions can you ask yourself to guide your topic selection? Explain why each one is important. Does this topic interest me? –Don’t pick one that doesn’t, please! Is this topic interesting or important to my listeners? –Remember your audience Am I likely to find sufficient supporting materials on this topic? –Very obscure topics may be difficult to present Do I know enough about this topic to start researching it and interpret what I discover? –What prior knowledge do you have?

Short answer Since people are more likely to open up more when they interact verbally and nonverbally, which interview format is likely to give you the most information? –Face-to-face interviewing will likely give you the most information. What is the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature? –It is a resource that indexes magazine articles. Who is most prolific publisher in the United States? –The United States federal government

Short answer, continued What were the first books to come to the U.S.? –Almanacs and Bibles What is the first step in researching a topic? –The first step is assessing your personal knowledge. What are the advantages of interviewing as a way of conducting research? –The person you interview may be able to suggest other sources of information. –An interview can help you adapt your topic to your specific audience. –Personal interviews can enhance your image as a speaker. –On some topics, a personal interview may be your only option.

True/False Questions Almanacs are excellent sources when you need specific facts and background information on a topic. TRUE Generally speaking, information retrieved from Internet sources is less likely to have the level of quality assurance as database sources. TRUE Information you retrieve by using academic search engines will be less focused and of lower quality than you are likely to gather using a general, commercial search tool. FALSE Research is not just one-step of the speech construction process but rather it should occur throughout the process. TRUE You should assess your personal knowledge of a speech topic after developing your research plan. FALSE

Fill in the Blank RESEARCH is the gathering of evidence and arguments you will need to understand, develop, and explain your topic. A(n) SPEECH FILE is a file that contains each speech you have given. From , the sum total of humankind’s knowledge DOUBLED. The advantage of using DATABASE indexes is that the information you get has presumably already been evaluated. Yahoo and Google are examples of two widely used SEARCH ENGINES.

Describe an article file and explain why it is important. An article file includes informative articles on topics that interest you. This gives you a head start on selecting and researching topics for speeches.

What questions begin your research plan? What is their purpose? What information do I need? Where am I most likely to find it? How can I obtain this information? How will time constraints affect my research options?

What are ethical dilemmas and how do they affect speech making? Use examples to illustrate your points. What do you think? You have a choice regarding the topics you want to present. Sometimes, topics that are exciting may not be appropriate.