1.
Chapter 4
Public Speaking

2.
Agenda
• We will begin by covering chapter #4
• Next we will begin chapter #5
• You will be given your quiz #1
• You will receive your grades from your artifact speech

3.
Chapter 4 – Developing Your Purpose & Your Topic
• What is it you want to accomplish with your speech?
• Inform? Persuade? Give instruction? Receive an emotional response?
• Even in one-on-one conversations we often have a “goal”
• To get a promotion
• Make someone laugh
• Learn about the other person…etc.

4.
Continued…
• Having a well-defined purpose is especially important in public speaking.
• Identifying a clear purpose is essential from the very beginning of your
speech preparation.
• You have to know what is expected from you, what you plan to do in
response, and what you can expect to accomplish as a result.

5.
What’s your purpose?

6.
Four Key Steps
• 1. Determine your general purpose.
• 2. Evaluate and select your speech topic.
• 3. Combine your general purpose and topic to identify your specific
purpose.
• 4. Phrase the thesis of your speech as you develop your topic.

7.
General Purpose
• The speaker’s overall objective (goal): to inform, to persuade, to
entertain.
• “What do you want your speech to do?”

8.
Speaking to Inform
• Topic: The main subject, idea, or theme of a speech.
• Your goal is to describe, explain, or demonstrate something.
• Examples?

9.
Speaking to Persuade
• You attempt to reinforce, modify, or change audience members’
beliefs, attitudes, opinions, values, and behaviors.
• You want to promote the audience to alter their thinking and possibly
take action.
• Examples?

10.
Speaking to Entertain
• Speaker seeks to captivate audience members and have them enjoy the
speech.
• …Special occasions, award ceremonies, company parties, roasts,
toasts, etc.

11.
Always keep your general purpose in mind…
• To inform…
• To persuade…
• To entertain ….
• As you develop your work you will find a more specific purpose.

12.
Brainstorming
• Brainstorming: A free-form way of generating ideas without
immediately evaluating them.
• What are some ways you can “brainstorm” to find a speech topic?

13.
Brainstorming Techniques
• Online news articles
• Webpage images
• Radio talk shows
• Television programming
• Conversations with interesting people
• Ask others for insight

14.
Brainstorming continued…
• It is important to also set aside a SPECIFIC time to brainstorm.
• Ask yourself key questions…
• “What do I talk or text about with my friends?”
• “What are my interests and hobbies?”
• “What unique experiences have I had?”
• “What am I passionate about?”
• “What would I like to learn about?”

15.
Still stuck?
• Check headlines of newspapers.
• Current events appeal to audiences.
• Look for articles or posts that interest you.
• What images have impressed you?
• Go to google and see what is visually interesting that might get your audience members’
attention…example: natural disasters, terrorism, bullying issues, etc.

16.
Rules for Brainstorming
• 1. Generate as many ideas as possible (but don’t get too crazy)
• 2. Write down every idea-whatever comes to mind (still don’t get too
crazy)
• 3. Avoid evaluating your ideas
• 4. Be as creative and imaginative as possible (here it is okay to get a little
crazy)

17.
Evaluating and Selecting Topic Ideas
• Good public speakers always carefully consider the needs and interests
of their audiences.
• However, before you select a topic, you almost must think about your
own interests and knowledge, the availability of resources, and the
time and setting for your speech.
• “What’s going to be successful?”

18.
Consider Your Own Interests?
• How interested am I in this topic?
• What do I know about this topic?
• How comfortable will I be talking about this topic?

19.
If you love Star Wars…Why not?

20.
Consider the Audience
• How relevant is this topic to my audience?
• Why/what do audience members need to know about this topic?
• Will I be able to interest my audience about this topic?
• How much does my audience already know about this topic?

21.
Consider Your Resource Availability
• Will you be able to have sufficient and credible information?
• Is there a lot of information “out there” on this topic?
• Your audience will not be persuaded if your speech is too “thin”
• Think books, online articles, news reports, interviews with experts, etc.

22.
Consider Time
• Would you be able to cover this topic in the allotted time?
• Don’t try to “squeeze” things in or “stretch” them out.
• Your audience will notice this!
• You don’t want to run out of time before you cover all the main points.
• Going under or over time can result in your final grade changing
dramatically.

23.
Setting & Occasion
• The place where you’ll present your speech influences the selection and
treatment of topics.
• Large auditorium?
• Conference room?
• Online?
• Are you speaking to 10,000, 1,000, 100, or 10 people?

24.
Setting & Occasion continued…
• Will they be able to see your facial expressions?
• How personal are you “allowed” to be with your audience?
• What’s appropriate?

25.
Specific Purpose
• Specific purpose: A concise statement articulating what the speaker
will achieve in giving a speech.
• General: To inform.
• Specific: To inform my audience about the two branches of our campus’s
student government; executive and legislative.
• Be prepared to give examples of general/specific on exams.

26.
Specific Purpose to Inform
• To inform my audience about…
• To explain to my audience why…
• To make my audience aware of…
• To demonstrate to my audience how to…

27.
Specific Purpose to Persuade
• To persuade my audience to…
• To convince my audience that…
• To deepen the empathy my audience feels for…
• To motivate my audience to…

28.
Specific Purpose to Entertain
• To entertain my audience with…
• To amuse my audience with…
• To delight my audience with…
• To inspire my audience with…

29.
Thesis Statement
• Thesis: Single declarative sentence that captures the essence or central
idea of a speech.
• Your audience should be aware of your thesis statement…share with your
audience want you are going to talk about…preview your speech in the
beginning.
• What’s the central idea?
• Please see page 74 for examples to use when writing your own thesis
statement.

30.
Working Outline
• Once you know your general purpose, select a topic, and determine the
specific purpose of your speech, you’re ready to begin putting together your
working outline.
• Working outline: An outline that guides you during the initial stages of
topic development, helping to keep you focused on your general
purpose and clarify your specific purpose.
• See page 75 for more information about working outlines.

31.
Now that you have brainstormed topics…brainstorm
ideas you might want to include in your speech.
• Topic: Selecting a college major.
• Ideas:
• Careers goals after college
• The university’s reputation in the chosen field
• How long it will take to graduate
• The student’s life goals
• Etc.

32.
Please see page 78 of your textbook.
• There is an example of a speech found on pages 78-79.
• Notice the clear thesis statement in the beginning (you need this in all of
your speeches).
• You will be completing a worksheet on this speech and turning it in on
October 5th.