1. Selecting a Topic and Purpose
Chapter 4
Selecting a Topic and Purpose

2. Choosing a Topic Not difficult in out-of-class experiences
Topic = subject of speech
Two broad categories
Topics you know a lot about
Topics you want to know more about
Key to a good speech is not found in topic alone… but in how you develop it

3. All Else Fails: Brainstorming
4 Techniques
Personal Inventory
Experiences, interests, hobbies, skills, beliefs…
Find a general subject area?
Clustering (9 columns)
Still stuck? Choose 3 and free associate
Reference Search
Internet Search

4. Determining the General Purpose
General purpose = goal of the speech
3 main types:
To Inform
To Persuade
To Entertain
In-class this is provided

5. Determining the Specific Purpose
Specific Purpose = A single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in their speech
Should focus on one aspect of a topic

6. Examples: Topic: Emergencies Topic: Calendars
General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the major steps in responding to an emergency.
Topic: Calendars
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the four major kinds of calendars used in the world today

7. Tips for Formulating the Specific Purpose
Write the purpose statement as a full, infinitive phrase, not as a fragment
Calendars vs. previous example
Express purpose as a statement, not a question

8. Tips for Formulating the Specific Purpose (cont’d)
Avoid figurative language
“sweet” & “throwing the baby out with the bath water”
Limit your purpose statement to one distinct idea –do not use “and to”
Make sure that it is not too vague or general

9. Questions to ask about your Specific Purpose
Does my purpose meet my assignment?
Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted?
Is the purpose relevant to my audience?
Is the purpose too trivial for my audience?
Is the purpose too technical for my audience?

10. Phrasing the Central Idea
Central Idea = A one sentence statement that sums up or encapsulates the major ideas of a speech
More precise than your topic and specific purpose
Consider: What would you tell your friends about your speech?

11. Book says: Central Idea is also your Residual Message
Residual message = what a speaker wants the audience to remember after it has forgotten everything else in a speech – “take home message”
Did you have one in your job interview?

12. Guidelines for the Central Idea
It should be expressed in a full sentence
It should not be in the form of a question
It should avoid figurative language
It should not be vague or overly general
If you can’t state it yet, you do not understand your topic well enough

13. Chapter 6
Gathering Materials

14. Using your own knowledge and experience
Do not depersonalize your speech by simply relying on facts and figures from books
Personal stories can add interest, realism and vividness to a speech

15. Doing Library Research
Librarians
Doctors vs Librarians
Catalogues
Card/Computer
Call numbers

16. Doing Library Research (cont’d)
Periodical Indexes
A research aid that catalogues articles from a large number of journals or magazines
Abstract listing – a summary of a magazine or journal article, written by someone other than the original author
General Indexes – “Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature”
Special Indexes – Social Sciences Index, Applied Science and Technology Index

17. Doing Library Research (cont’d)
Newspaper Index
A research aid that catalogues articles from one or more newspapers
Reference Works
A work that synthesizes a large amount of related information for easy access by researchers
Encyclopedias (General/Specific)
Yearbooks*
Dictionaries
Quotation books
Biographical Aids*
Atlases and Gazetteers*

18. The Internet
The Internet = The Global Collection of interlinked computer networks
When did you first start using the Internet?
How old were you?
Do you know more about it than your parents? Your Grandparents?

19. Searching the Internet
www = (World Wide Web) A global hypertext information system that allows users to access text, graphics, audio and moving images from the Internet
Browsers – Computer program for navigating the WWW
Link – A connection between two documents or sections of a document on the WWW

20. Searching the Internet (cont’d)
Search Aids:
Search Engines: index web pages and checks them for sites that match a researcher’s request
Metasearch engines: a search aid that sends the researcher’s request to several search engines at once
Virtual Libraries: combine Internet Technology with traditional library methods of cataloguing and assessing data

21. Searching the Internet (cont’d)
Keyword Searches
Subject Searches
Bookmarks
URL – Uniform Resource Locator
A string of letters or numbers that identify the location of a given website on the Internet

22. Specialized Online Research Resources
Government
Reference
Periodical
News
Multicultural

23. Evaluating Internet Documents
Who can publish a web page?
Authorship: is the author an expert? Examine their qualifications. Consider Bias.
Sponsorship: is a sponsoring organization actually providing the content?
Recency: How old is the Information, does this matter?

24. Interviewing No Time in class – look in your book for more information
Book provides:
Before, During and After Interview stage information

25. Tips for doing research
Start Early
Make a preliminary bibliography
Take notes efficiently
Use index cards
Record the source of the note on each card
Separate card for each note
Distinguish between yours, a quote and paraphrase
Think about your materials as you research