Chapter 7
Speeches need strong supporting materials. If they don’t have them, the audience won’t believe what you have to say. It will leave your audience skeptical and unconvinced. You need to have specific details for your speeches or papers.
You need to make sure your supporting materials have three qualities.
1.
Make sure it is accurate.
2.
Make sure it is relevant. ( That it actually applies to the subject at hand)
3.
Make sure that it is reliable. (Is it actually something you can count on?)
The Three Major Types of Supporting Materials:
1.
Examples provide details that make ideas specific, personal, and lively. Examples have more of an impact on an audience’s beliefs than any other kind of supporting material.
Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other. –Edmund Burke, Letter on a Regicide
Peace
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past. –Patrick Henry, speech (1775)
It is the true nature of mankind to learn from mistakes, not from example. –Fred Hoyle, Into Deepest Space
If you can’t be a good example, you will just have to be a horrible warning – unknown
Example is the best precept.—Aesop (6 th cent. B.C.) “The Two Crabs”
The example of good men is visible philosophy. Saying (English)
Nothing is so contagious as example, and our every really good or bad action inspires a similar one. La
Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) Maxims
Example, the surest method of instruction.—Pliny the younger. Letters
There are three types of examples—brief, extended, and hypothetical.
1.
Brief examples are specific instances that get referred to in passing. a.
They are used when a speaker wants to illustrate a point. b.
They are used when a speaker is introducing a topic. c.
They are used well when stacked up together to back up a speaker’s point.
(When people think of romance they often think of dancing, picnics, flowers, love notes, and time spent together. When people think of romantic icons they often think of Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, or even James Bond.)
2.
Extended examples are longer and more detailed than brief examples. a.
They are often called illustrations, narratives, or anecdotes. Basically they are short stories. Not just references, they go on quite some time. b.
They tell stories very vividly and dramatically. They are an excellent way to draw the audience into the speech. They pull at the heartstrings. These are the stories of whom died doing what and the whole sad story to get people to believe something or try to get them to change their minds… These are very useful in persuasive speeches.
(I am a very bad driver. I have had close to 30 bumps, scratches, and dings. However only 4 wrecks are on my insurance. My first wreck was when I was 16. I had had my license for 2 months. I was going back into town for a U.I.L. debate meeting. Stupid me. I was in a hurry and worried about being late. It was dark and rainy and misty. My family lives about 5 miles out in the country and 2 miles of it are on a dirt

road. I started out and noticed that the mud was slick. However I didn’t take into account that the slight curve of the road would enhance that very characteristic of the road. Rapidly loosing control and desperately looking for a way to control my sliding car, I fought it instead of turning my wheels into the spin. Concentrating on not taking out the neighbor’s fence I continued to fight my car. Finally the result was taken out of my hands as my car careened through the air and played evil kinevil and jumped a 5-foot ditch. Where I promptly gutted the undercarriage of my car on a boulder and planted my transmission to come up next spring. Finally realizing that there was nothing I could do I waited for my car to stop. When it finally came to a rest, it was on its side with the drivers’ side down. I had to slowly crawl out the top of the car through the passenger door. My beautiful black Chrysler 5 th Avenue Town Car was dead. I stood looking at it for a moment of mourning. Then I slowly proceeded to walk the quarter of a mile to my neighbors’ house. Calling my father was not one of the things I was looking forward to doing but it had to be done. I never made it to my meeting.)
3.
Hypothetical examples describe an imaginary situation. a.
They are really good for relating a general principal directly to the audience. b.
Whenever a speaker uses a hypothetical example, it should be supplemented with statistics or testimony to show that the example could really occur.
(Imagine you are sitting in traffic and the light refuses to change. Just as your lane begins to move someone comes over and cuts you off. Anything that starts with Picture this or Imagine this is a hypothetical example.)
2.
There are several tips for using examples effectively. a.
Use examples to clarify ideas. ( make sure people can understand what you are saying) b.
Use examples to reinforce ideas. ( back up what you are saying) c.
Use examples to personalize ideas. ( bring home the point of what you are saying to your audience by making them feel what you are saying) d.
Use extended examples that are vivid and richly textured. ( you want your audience to almost be able to see, hear, and feel what is happening in your extended examples) e.
Practice delivery to enhance the impact of your examples. ( if you don’t know the story you are planning to tell very well, it will not impress your listeners)
2. Statistics are the second major type of supporting material.
Statistics are like alienists—they will testify for either side.—Firoello H. La Guardia, in Liberty
He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts—for support rather than illumination.--Andrew Lang, attributed.
There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.—Rex Stout, Death of a
Doxy
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Attributed to Disraeli, Mark Twain, and others.
Statistic can be used in combination to show the seriousness of an issue. They can also be cited in passing to clarify or strengthen a speaker’s points. However, statistics can be easily manipulated and distorted. You can make them say anything you want. 4 out of 5 dentists recommend this toothpaste….
Great, how much did they pay the dentists to say that. They could also have gone out and looked for dentists who liked it in the first place. You need to make sure that your statistics are representative of what they claim to measure.
You need to understand the differences between the basic statistical measure such as the mean, median and the mode.
1.
mean-the average
2.
median-the middle figure in the group once the figures are put in order from highest to lowest.
3.
Mode- the number that occurs most frequently in a group of numbers.

YOU MUST GET YOUR STATISTICS FROM RELIABLE SOURCES
There are several tips for using statistics.
1.
Use statistics to quantify ideas. The main value of statistics is that they give a number to ideas. It really helps enhance the impact of your speech when you are able to quantify ideas.
2.
Use statistics sparingly. You don’t want to clutter your speech with numbers. Don’t use too many of them.
3.
Identify the source of your statistics. Enough said. Let me know where you get your information.
4.
Statistics should be explained and made meaningful to the audience. They don’t speak for themselves.
You have to interpret them and relate them to the audience.
5.
Complicated statistics should be rounded off. Unless there is a specific reason for saying that there is
86.3256 % of something…. Round it to 86%.
6.
Clarify statistical trends with visual aids. Do I want a Picture? Yes! Charts, Graphs, Pictures are all good here. You need to learn how to use them anyway. Its often hard to get the meaning of statistical trends when they are presented verbally.
7.
Statistics can be found in many sources. Newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals, are good sources of statistics. I gave you a bunch of web sites that would be good for you to use.
Testimony is the third kind of basic supporting material.
Testimony can be highly effective when used in a speech. Listeners are often influenced by people who have special knowledge or experience on a topic.
There are two types of testimony—expert testimony and peer testimony.
1.
Expert testimony- information from people who are acknowledged authorities in their fields.
This type of information helps when the speaker isn’t an expert on the speech topic. It is especially important when the topic is controversial or when the audience is skeptical about the speaker’s point of view. ( someone who has studied it and learned it but who hasn’t actually done it eg. Doctor, psychologist, lawyer)
2.
Peer testimony-ordinary people who have first hand experience with a topic. This information is more personal than expert testimony. It usually has greater authenticity and emotional impact than expert testimony. (someone who has been there and lived to tell the tale, they have brought back the t-shirt eg. The person who went to the doctor, psychologist or lawyer)
Testimony can be presented by quoting or paraphrasing. Kind of like I do with the information from my sources. Some I quote some I paraphrase.
You can quote word for word but those are mainly effective when they are brief, convey the information better than the speaker’s own words, are eloquent, witty, or compelling. (in other words, when they are smooth, intelligent, smart, or they draw you into the speech)
You can paraphrase when the wording of a quotation is obscure or odd. You don’t want to try to quote something you can’t say. Paraphrasing is also good when the quotation is longer than two or three sentences. You can summarize it. Trust me. Summarizing long passages is a good thing to do.
There are 4 tips for using testimony well.
1.
Quote or paraphrase accurately. Nothing irritates people more than being misquoted. Its also not ethical.
2.
Use testimony from qualified sources. You want to get information from people who actually know what they are talking about. You don’t want to quote some kid in Australia who is just blogging for fun.

3.
The source here thinks that you need to use testimony from unbiased sources. Your teacher believes that all sources are biased and that it won’t do you a lick of good to try to find one that is unbiased.
The best thing you can do is to recognize the bias that your source has and then work with it in some way. People just aren’t neutral.
4.
ALWAYS IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE BEING QUOTED OR PARAPHRASED!