Internet Search
• Connect to a subian’s Index to the
Determining the Specific Purpose
• Specific purpose: a single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in his or her speech. For example:
• This array of topics is from A to Z. • It just happened naturally. • There’re literally endless possibilities for speech topics-from A to Z.
Choosing a Topic
National or international concerns such as global warming, media violence, or stock-market regulations. • Avoid political topics.
Brainstorming for Topics
1. How to Have a Successful Job Interview 2. Changchun: The Movie City of China 3. A Tour of Nanhu Lake 4. Migraine Headache: You Can Live With It
Topics You Want to Know More About
• To inform my audience about recent discoveries of dinosaur fossils. • To inform my audience about the benefits of music therapy for people with psychological disabilities. • To persuade my audience that personal happiness is more important than financial success. • To persuade my audience that the nationwide college entrance examination is the best way to select qualified student.
• Brainstorming: a method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words and ideas. • Procedures: 1. Personal inventory 2. Clustering 3. Internet search
• Make your speech a learning experience. • A subject about which you already have some knowledge or expertise but not enough to prepare a speech without doing additional research. • Want to explore for the first time. • Subjects about which you hold strong opinions and beliefs, such as:
• Problems: cyber crime; childhood obesity; college entrance exam; divorce. • Plans and Policies: developing solar power; changing graduation requirements; building a new computer center; recycling.
• Processes: dreaming; taking photographs; cooking Yunnan food; carving jade. • Concepts: Buddhism; multiculturalism; medical ethics; feminism. • Natural Phenomenon: earthquakes; tsunami(海啸); glaciers; ice age. tsunami( );
Clustering 聚类法
• Take a sheet of paper and divide it into nine columns as follows: People, Places, Things, Events, Processes, Concepts, Natural Phenomenon, Problems, Plans and Policies. • List in each column the first four or five items that come to mind. Result:
Ineffective: Calendars. More Effective: To inform my audience
about the four major kinds of calendars used in the world today.
• The ineffective statement is adequate as an announcement of the speech topic. • But it is not thought out fully enough to indicate the specific purpose.
• Subjects you know a lot about. • Subjects you want to know more about.
Topics You Know a Lot About
• Most people speak best about subjects with which they are most familiar. • Think a topic, draw on your own knowledge and experience. • Here are a few examples of topics based on your personal knowledge:
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Sub lists for movies, Three Gorges, and Yang Liwei: 1. Movies: Academy Awards; prizes; lotteries; gambling. 2. Three Gorges: Yangtze River; Chongqing; mountains; flooding. 3. Yang Liwei: astronauts; space program; moon; aliens.
• These specific purpose statements are so clear. • They state what the speaker wants to say and what the speaker wants the audience to know. • It helps keep the audience at the center of your attention.
• Topic: the subject of a speech. • First step in speechmaking. • The topic is determined by: occasion, audience, speaker’s qualifications.
Two Broad Categories of Topics
Tips for The Specific Purpose Statement
Formulating a specific purpose is the most important early step in developing a successful speech.
Write the Purpose Statement as a Full Infinitive Phrase
Whatever the means you use for selecting a topic, start early! Jot down ideas for topics as theye General Purpose
• General purpose: the broad goal of a speech. • To inform: act as a teacher or lecturer, give information. • To persuade: act as an advocate or a partisan, win over your listeners to your point of view-go get them to believe something or do something.
• People: my family; Mao Zedong; Yang Liwei; Guo Jingjing. • Places: my hometown; my province; Three Gorges; Dujiangyan. • Things: cell phones; MP3; movies; cartoons. • Events: graduation; marriage; Olympic Games; World Cup.
Selecting a Topic and a Purpose