Selecting a Topic and Connecting to the Audience

Chapter 7: Selecting a Topic and Connecting to the Audience Selecting a Speech Topic     Public speaking – the art of effective oral communication with an audience Select an audience appropriate topic (techniques): o Self-inventory – a list of subjects that you know about and find interesting; listing broad categories and then narrowing them down to specific examples o Brainstorming – a technique used to generate as many ideas as possible within a limited amount of time, which can be used to produce topics, information, or solutions to problems o Reviewing the current media – a technique for developing a list of possible topics by looking at current publications, television, movies, and other forms of public o Engage listeners with social media o Surf the web Assess the appropriateness of a topic Narrow the topic Determine the general purpose, specific purpose, and thesis of a speech    General purpose - the overall goal of a speech, usually one of the three overlapping functions: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain o Informative speech – a speech that enhances an audiences knowledge and understanding by explaining what something means, how something works, or how something is done o Persuasive speech – a speech that attempts to change listeners attitudes or behaviors by advocating or trying to gain acceptance of the speakers point of view o Entertainment speech – a speech that provides enjoyment and amusement Specific purpose – a single phrase that defines precisely what is to be accomplished in a speech o Effective specific purpose identifies  General purpose of the speech  Audience  Exact topic to be covered Thesis – a sentence that states specifically what is going to be discussed in a speech o Gives 3 main ideas to be discussed Audience analysis: Connecting with the listeners     Audience analysis – collection and interpretation of data about characteristics, attitudes, beliefs, and values of an audience Audience – collection of individuals who have come together to watch or listen to someone or something such as to listen to a speech Understand the listeners point of view Captive versus voluntary participants     o Captive participant – a person who is required to hear a particular speech o Voluntary participant – a person who chooses to listen to a particular speech Key audience information – what you should know about the audience beforehand o Demographic analysis – collection and interpretation of characteristics of individuals; excluding values, attitudes, and beliefs o Age o Gender o Cultural or ethnic background o Education o Occupation o Religion o Geographic origin o Group membership o Other Psychological analysis – collection and interpretation of data about audience members values attitudes, and beliefs o Size of audience o Physical setting o Knowledge level o Attitude and values related to topic o Attitudes related to the situation Ways to learn about the audience o Observation – collecting info about an audience in which the speaker watches the audience members and notes their behaviors and characteristics o Survey interviews – carefully planned and executed person to person Q and A session during which the speaker tries to discover specific information that will help in the preparation of a speech o Questionnaire – set of written questions that is distributed to respondents to gather desired information Use information to connect with listeners o Provoke their interest o Digital presentations require the same kind of thorough research as other fors of public communication but they allow for more creativity and interactivity in making the content come to life for the audience