Ms. Foley

Brainstorming a Topic  Before you can begin to write your speech, obviously, you must have a topic.  Having a topic that interests you and that you care about will help you write your speech  Take inventory of your interests: 1. What is your “soapbox?” What do you often argue about? 2. What do you collect? 3. What’s something unusual that you know or are interested in? 4. What do you wish you knew more about? 5. What’s a topic that really fires you up?

Identifying Purpose  Once you have a general topic, you need to decide on a purpose for you speech.  Ask yourself, “What is my objective in speaking on this topic? What do I want to accomplish?”  There are three general purposes: 1. To inform 2. To persuade 3. To mark a special occasion

Purpose – To inform  Do you aim primarily to educate or inform listeners about your topic?  The general purpose of an informative speech is to increase the audience’s awareness by imparting knowledge.

Purpose – To persuade  Is your goal to persuade listeners to accept your position on a topic and perhaps to take action?  The general purpose of the persuasive speech is to influence the attitude, beliefs, values, and behaviors of audience members.  The problem/solution speech is a hybrid of inform and persuade. First you inform your audience of the issue, then you persuade them to take action.

Purpose – Special Occasion  Are you there to mark a special occasion, such as an awards ceremony?  The general purpose of the special occasion speech will be variously to entertain, celebrate, commemorate, inspire, or set a social agenda.

Narrowing Your Topic  Once you have a general topic and purpose, you need to begin to narrow your topic.  Remember this is only a 5-10 minute speech. You can’t talk about everything in the world.  You also need to consider what elements of your topic will most interest your audience.  Keep the main points of your speech between 2- 5.