1. Supporting Your Ideas
Chapter 8

2. SUPPORTING MATERIALS What are supporting materials?
The materials used to support a speaker’s ideas
3 major kinds of supporting materials:
1) EXAMPLES
2) STATISTICS
3) TESTIMONY

3. 1) Examples
Example: a specific case used to illustrate or represent a group of people, ideas, conditions, experiences, or the like.
3 types of examples
#1 Brief examples
#2 Extended examples
#3 Hypothetical examples

4. #1 Brief example
A specific case referred to in passing to illustrate a point
Also called “specific instances”
These examples are used to verify a point, and are not explained further
Multiple brief examples can be used in a row to make a point by the end of the thought

5. #2 Extended example
A story, narrative, or anecdote developed at some length to illustrate a point
“extended examples” are also called “narratives”, “illustrations”, or “anecdotes”
Vivid and dramatic stories that draw in listeners
More detailed than brief examples

6. #3 Hypothetical example
An example that describes an imaginary or fictitious situation
Realistic scenarios that are not factual, but relate a general principle
Both brief examples and extended examples are factual, but hypothetical examples are not factual
“Imagine this…”

7. TIPS FOR USING EXAMPLES
Use examples to clarify your ideas
Use examples to reinforce your ideas
Use examples to personalize your ideas
Make your examples vivid and richly textured
Practice delivery to enhance your extended examples

8. 2) Statistics Statistic: Numerical data
Often cited in passing to clarify or strengthen a speaker’s points
Can also be used in combination to show magnitude of an issue
(similarly to brief examples)

9. Understanding Statistics
Statistics are easily manipulated and distorted
Are the statistics representative?
Make sure your statistics are representative of what they claim to measure (size of poll pool)
Are statistical measures used correctly?
Mean: average
Median: middle number
Mode: most frequent number
The mean, median, and mode all have the same goal, but can be chosen wisely to make a point
Are the statistics from a reliable source?

10. TIPS FOR USING STATISTICS
Use statistics to quantify your ideas
Use statistics sparingly
Identify the sources of your statistics
Explain your statistics
Round off complicated statistics
Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends

11. 3) Testimony
Testimony: quotations or paraphrases used to support a point
2 major kinds of testimony:
Expert testimony: testimony from people who are recognized experts in their fields
Peer testimony: testimony from ordinary people with firsthand experience or insight on a topic

12. Quoting vs. Paraphrasing
Direct quotation: testimony that is presented word for word Paraphrase: to restate or summarize a source’s ideas in one’s own words

13. TIPS FOR USING TESTIMONY
Quote or paraphrase accurately
Use testimony from qualified sources
Use testimony from unbiased sources
Identify the people you quote or paraphrase

14. CITING SOURCES ORALLY
What you include depends on your topic, the audience, and the kind of supporting material used
In most cases you will need to identify :
The text you are citing
The author or the sponsoring organization
The author’s qualifications
The date the document was published, posted, or updated
Ex: The endangered Monarch Butterfly population can be seen most clearly in its shrinking migration. Michael Wines, science reporter for the New York Times, reported in the paper’s January 2014 issue that in only one year, the population of butterflys that migrate to Mexico for the winter shrank by 44%