Information Competency for Speech Construction

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Information Competency for Speech Construction

• John A. Cagle
• Vincent L. Bloom
• Department of Communication

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Stages in Preparing a Speech
Decision to Speak
Organize
Create thesis arguments
Language
Evaluate information
Purpose Subject
Practice
Personal
Interviews
Deliver Speech
Books
Information Needs
Periodicals
Internet
Evaluate Results
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Exigency

• Something motivates the need for communication
• You make a decision to begin

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Purpose and Decision to Start

• Problem exigency gives rise to need for solution
  and communication
• Build your personal motivation for the tasks
  ahead
• Purpose of speech determined informative,
  persuasive, entertaining
• Plan how to use your time well

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Research
Finding Information
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Need for Information

• Before you can speak, you've got to have
  something to say.
• Speaking should be based on truth.
• Use scholarly tools to facilitate research--the
  quest for information and knowledge.

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Problem Question

• Purpose, interests, what you know about your
  topic and are interested in
• Process begins with forming a problem question to
  guide your research.
• The problem question is what we expect to answer
  through our research.
• Often the question is initially general, but it
  gets refined as you begin and continue your
  research.

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Techniques to Explore, Discover, and Develop Ideas

• brainstorm lists
• focused freewriting
• clustering
• thinking

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Generate Information Needs

• Determine questions to identify what you need to
  know
• Consider all the sources of information available
  to you
• Personal resources
• People to interview
• Documents available
• Books, periodicals, reference materials
• Internet resources

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• What kinds of things will you need to know to
  answer the question?
• Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? What are the
  facts?
• What are the critical events? What is the
  timeline in the history of the problem? What are
  the causes and effects in a problem?
• Identify topics or specific questions
• Seek information to answer by using personal,
  documentary, library, and Internet resources

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RESEARCH STRATEGY CHECKLIST

• Start early
• Determine where you need to go.
• Understand the layout of the library.
• Develop primary bibliography.
• Identify priorities.

• Read progressively.
• Read selectively.
• Read efficiently.
• Be open to new ideas.
• Look for multiple sources varied types of
  supporting material.
• Know when to stop.

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RESEARCH STRATEGY CHECKLIST

• Start early
• Determine where you need to go.
• Understand the layout of the library.
• Develop primary bibliography.
• Identify priorities.

• Read progressively.
• Read selectively.
• Read efficiently.
• Be open to new ideas.
• Look for multiple sources varied types of
  supporting material.
• Know when to stop.

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Taking Notes and Keeping Records

• Access books, periodical articles, and other
  materials
• Read carefully in light of your purpose and topic
• Build bibliography as you go
• Keep notes clear, accurate, and organized

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Invention
Planning what to say
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Thesis

• State WHAT you want to say in the speech in a
  single sentence.
• The central idea of the speech is called a
  thesis.
• Remember that the thesis should be appropriate to
  the scope and purpose of the assignment and the
  occasion.

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Development

• Development is the expansion of the thesis,
  identifying the main lines of development, the
  major arguments proving your point, and so forth.
• Types of developmental material include
  definitions, facts, quotations, statistics,
  comparisons, contrasts, examples, illustrations,
  and so forth.

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Types of Supporting Material
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Last semester I went out with some buddies of
mine to have a good time. We were partying
hard I got really wasted. I mean Ive never been
so trashed in my life! A few weeks ago, I saw
some pictures of myself that I dont even
remember being in. It was great! That is ---
until I rolled my new sports car. The police
tell me that I was lucky to walk out of there
alive. I was even more lucky to avoid hurting
someone else. Many drunk drivers arent so lucky.
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Common Knowledge

• The beliefs and values generally shared by
  members of a society or culture. These are often
  expressed in the forms of maxims
• If you want something done right, do it
  yourself.

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DIRECT OBSERVATION
When I first came to school, I thought the dorm
food was really overpriced. So I decided to
check the local eating places out to see if I
could do better. Imagine my surprise! When I
went to Jimmy Johns sandwich shop, I priced a
moderate lunch -- just a sandwich and a drink --
at 4.66. A light lunch ar Burger King, only a
salad and a drink, costs 4.48. In comparison,
lunch at the residence hall costs 4.95, and you
can eat all you want.
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EXAMPLES

• Brief examples
• Hypothetical example
• Anecdote
• Case Study

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DOCUMENTS
According to the student handbook we got as
freshman, cheating is a serious breach of our
commitment to ethical behavior as students and
we will be punished with a failing grade in the
class and possible expulsion from the University.
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STATISTICS

• Statistics are patterns of recording frequency
  with which something occurs they take such
  forms as medians, averages, ratios, indices, and
  standardized scores. They become more meaningful
  when they are compared to some base line or other
  pattern of numbers.

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TESTIMONY

• Factual testimony
• It is a fact that event X happened on Wednesday,
  and it can be verified by those who saw the
  event. I am one of those who saw it.
• Opinion testimony
• It is my opinion that the Bulldogs will win more
  football games than they will lose in 1998

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BUILDING A SPEECH Critically analyze and
evaluate the information
TESTING THE STRENGTH OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL
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TESTING THE STRENGTH OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL
EXAMPLES Are they representative? Are
there enough of them?
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE Are you sure your
memory is reliable? Is your experience
generalizable? Will others interpret it the
same way?
DOCUMENTS Can they be trusted? Are they
properly interpreted? Is the context made
clear?
COMMON KNOWLEDGE Are you sure the audience
shares it? Are you sure it is correct?
DIRECT OBSERVATION Are you sure of what you
saw? Might you have been swayed by bias?
STATISTICS Are appropriate measures used?
Are they reliable and valid? Have they been
interpreted properly?
TESTIMONY Does the source have access to the
data? Is the person an expert on the
subject?
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TESTING THE STRENGTH OF SUPPORTING MATERIAL
EXAMPLES Are they representative? Are
there enough of them?
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE Are you sure your
memory is reliable? Is your experience
generalizable? Will others interpret it the
same way?
DOCUMENTS Can they be trusted? Are they
properly interpreted? Is the context made
clear?
COMMON KNOWLEDGE Are you sure the audience
shares it? Are you sure it is correct?
DIRECT OBSERVATION Are you sure of what you
saw? Might you have been swayed by bias?
STATISTICS Are appropriate measures used?
Are they reliable and valid? Have they been
interpreted properly?
TESTIMONY Does the source have access to the
data? Is the person an expert on the
subject?
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BUILDING A SPEECH NEXT STEPS

• Assess speech materials in terms of your thesis
  and arguments
• Decide how much to emphasis to each argument
• Go on to planning organization

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Organizing the speech
Planning the introduction, body, conclusion
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Introduction

• Exordium Secure attention and interest.
• Narratio Give needed background on topic (what
  does audience need to understand to appreciate
  your points?
• Partitio State the purpose of speech and
  preview the major parts

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Partitio

• Orient audience to the thesis or purpose of
  speech state the thesis directly
• "The purpose of this speech is to. . . ."
• "Preview" the major developmental parts of the
  speech state this directly
• "First, the history of the problem will be
  explored second, the consequences. . . ."

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Body (Confirmatio)

• Body of speech contains the main ideas of the
  speech and appropriate developmental material.
• Arrangement of the main ideas/developmental
  material should be determined by the subject
  matter and purpose.

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Conclusion (Conclusio)

• Summarize thesis and main points
• Show relevance to the course (or reason you wrote
  speech)
• Stimulate audience to want to know more, do
  something, think of the implications of your
  speech, etc.)

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Transitional Material

• Throughout speech, thesis should be abundantly
  clear.
• Relate each main idea to thesis and to other
  ideas.
• Use transitional sign post words (therefore,
  however, first, etc.)

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Preparing for Delivery
Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking.
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Read Through Speech Outline

• Read through the entire speech aloud to
  familiarize yourself with the ideas and their
  organization
• Spontaneously and creatively speak from the
  outline
• Make note of difficult parts of outline

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Prepare Speaking Notes

• Reduce written plan or outline to key words
• Keep notes to a minimum

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Practice Delivery

• Deliver speech aloud as if you were in front of
  audience
• Strive to speak clearly
• Speak directly to audience and maintain eye
  contact
• Try not to read your notes
• Go through entire speech without stopping

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Practice, Practice, Practice

• Review written plan or speaking notes if needed
• Assess use of time and revise if needed

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Delivering the speech

• Review your notes just prior to speaking
• Plan any last minute additions--e.g., a comment
  on something a previous speaker has said
• Plunge in, and trust to God to get you out.
  --Patrick Henry

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Judging the Communication Product and the Process

• Evaluate your speech in terms of your initial
  objectives and in terms of the standards of
  evaluating speeches

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Stages in Preparing a Speech
Decision to Speak
Organize
Create thesis arguments
Language
Evaluate information
Purpose Subject
Practice
Personal
Interviews
Deliver Speech
Books
Information Needs
Periodicals
Internet
Evaluate Results