Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
Topic & Purpose Statement
Pre-activity
Instruction for teacher:
Goal:
 Students will be able to choose a topic and narrow it down
 Students will be able to determine the purpose of their presentations
 Students will be able to make purpose statements
Activity 1
 Give students a topic. Working in pairs, ask students to brainstorm what else can be talked
about using this topic. (This is to give students some practice in narrowing the topic.)
Activity 2
 Ask students to watch this video http://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_mali_what_teachers_make.html
about “What Teachers Make” by Taylor Mali.
 After that ask them to match it with the following types of presentation and justify their
answer(s):
a. Informative
b. Entertainment
c. Persuasive
speech
Speech
Speech
Activity 3

Ask students to watch the video by Taylor Mali again. Use Handout A to analyze the
presentation.
Handout A
Presenter’s Name: _________________________________________________________
Presentation Type:__________________________________________________________
Purpose: To ______________________________________________________________
Topic: ___________________________________________________________________
Main points:
a. ___________________________________________________________________
b. ___________________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________________
Purpose Statement:
I want the audience to _______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
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Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
Homework:
 Ask students to choose one of the presentation types and determine their purpose. Based on
this purpose, ask them to pick a topic. A topic can be as few as a single word such as “Health,
Sustainability, Education, etc.”
 After that, ask students to ask themselves: “If I only have time to tell them one thing about
my topic, what should it be?” and then ask them to come up with two or three main topics.

Finally, using Handout A ask them to compose their purpose statements and write them down.
Post- activity
Goal: students will be able to distinguish the purpose, topic, and purpose statements of a presentation.
Instruction for teacher:
1. In a group of three, ask students to share the answers of their homework.
2. See if they have the same answers and ask them to explain why they choose to answer that way.
Take Home Reading
Topic & Purpose Statement
I. Determining your topic
Your topic answer the question, “What do I want my audience to know. Your topic is the subject
matter of your presentation. A topic is often simple words, such as Agriculture in Thailand.
a. Selecting a good topic
Four basic questions can be the keys to choosing a good topic for a presentation. The answers to
these questions can help you find a topic that suits you, your audience, and your purpose.
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Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
Questions for choosing a good topic
1. What type of presentation are you supposed to give?
Make sure you know what type of presentation you want to give. Is it informative,
persuasive, or entertainment speech?
 An Informative speech instructs, explains, describes, enlightens, demonstrates, clarifies,
corrects, or reminds.
 A persuasive speech seeks to change audience’s opinions and/or behavior.
 An entertainment speech tries to amuse, interest, divert, or “warm up” and audience.
Some skilled speakers will try to do all three in order to make more interesting and
compelling presentations.
2. What topic interests you?
Many speakers have no trouble answering this question. If you have difficulty identifying a
topic that interests you, ask yourself some leading questions.







I’ve always wanted to know more about __________
If I had to read one book of non-fiction, it would be __________
If I had an unexpected week off, I would __________
If I could give away a million dollars, I would __________
If I could make one new law, I would __________
I’ve always wanted other people to understand __________
My favorite topic of conversation is __________
By the time you have finished answering the questions, you may have dozens of good topics
for a presentation.
3. What do you know about this topic?
Everyone is good at something. Everyone knows more about a few things than most of other
people do. Your work and personal experiences as well as your skills are a good source of
topics. Do not underestimate your experiences and skills. Rely on your expertise and
enlighten your audience.
4. What topics will appeal to your audience?
As you consider potential topics, think about ways to make your topic appealing to your
audience. Link your interests to those of your audience.
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Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
b. Narrow your topic
At this point, you should make sure that you have appropriately narrowed or modified your topic
in order to achieve your purpose and adapt to your listeners’ needs and interests. Narrowing a
topic involves selecting the most important and interesting ideas and information for inclusion in
your presentation rather than trying to tell your audience everything you know or have learned
about the topic.
Although you may be an expert in your topic, your audience may be hearing about it for the first
time. Don’t bury them with too many information. Ask yourself: “If I only have time to tell them
one thing about my topic, what should it be?” Most likely, conveying a single important idea
will be enough to achieve your purpose. Focus on two or three main points, not five or six.
Consider the amount of time you have to speak and narrow your topic to suit those limits.
III. Develop a purpose statement: S-A-R
The first and most crucial step in developing a good speech is identifying your purpose. Ask, “What
do I want my audience to know, think, feel, or do as a result of my presentation?”
Purposes focuses on why. Ask: “Why am I speaking, and what outcome do I want?” Having a clear
purpose does not guarantee that you will achieve it. But without a purpose you will find it difficult to
decide what to say, what materials to include in your speech, and even how to deliver your
presentation.
For example:
o I want to explain why all children must be immunized before starting kindergarten.
o I want to persuade the audience to visit the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai.
o I want to describe summer season in Thailand.
Same topic may have different purposes. Look at these two purposes:
 I want the audience to know and appreciate the variety of agriculture in Thailand.
 I want the audience to promote agriculture in Thailand to the world.
Once you know why you are speaking and what you are speaking about, you should develop a clear
purpose statement to guide your preparation.
A purpose statement asks the question “What is the main idea that you want to communicate to your
listeners?” It identifies the main idea in your presentation or the stand that you are going to take on an
issue. Effective purpose statements share these three characteristics.
Specificity – a clear and specific purpose statement gives you both scope and direction while
preparing a presentation. A specific purpose statement narrows your topic to the content appropriate
for a specific audience and occasion within the assigned limitations of time and space.
Achievability – Inexperienced speakers often make the mistakes of either trying to cover too much
material in a presentation or asking too much of their audience. Since an audience can absorb only a
limited amount of information during a single speech, present a few key points rather than an
encyclopedia of ideas.
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Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
In general, a presentation should contain at least two key points and no more than five. Three are
ideal. Because changing audience attitudes about a firmly hold belief can take months rather than
minutes, set goals that are achievable rather than unreasonable.
Relevance – If your topic is irrelevant to your audience’s needs, you
will have trouble achieving your purpose. Make sure your audience
understands why your purpose and topic are important to them and their
lives.
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Riana Helen Agnesia – Topic, & Purpose Statement – ELI L/S 80
References:
Engleberg, I. & Raimes, A. (2002). Pocket Keys for Speakers. NY: Houghton Mifflin.
Harrington, D. & LeBeau, C. (1996). Speaking of Speech: Basic Presentation Skills for Beginners.
Tokyo: MacMillan Language House.
Mandel, S. (2000). Effective Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide for Better Speaking. (3rd Ed.)
California: Crisp Learning.
Reinhart, S.M. (2002). Giving Academic Presentations. Michigan: Michigan Press
Templeton, M. & Fitzgerald, S. S. (1999). Great Presentation Skills. NY: McGraw-Hill.
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