Name
Date
Course
Informative Speech Outline
“I don’t want to talk about it!”: Topic Avoidance
Specific purpose: To inform my audience about topic avoidance
Central idea: Today we will be discussing the idea of topic avoidance.
Method of organization: Topical
Introduction
Think back over the past week of your life. Has anyone asked you a question that you
didn’t want to answer? Maybe the question was too personal or simply something you
felt uncomfortable discussing with that particular person. It probably does not come as a
surprise that there are certain topics that individuals routinely avoid. Today we will be
discussing the idea of topic avoidance. After many weeks of research, I’ve found some
very interesting information about topic avoidance that I think will shed some light on
what happens when you don’t want to talk about something. Better understanding topic
avoidance will help you as you communicate with family and friends. We will consider
what topic avoidance is, why it occurs, what topics we avoid, and how this influences
family communication.
Comment [S1]: Attention getter
Comment [S2]: Central idea
Comment [S3]: Credibility
Comment [S4]: Importance
Comment [S5]: Preview.
Body
I.
II.
The concept of topic avoidance first came to light in a conference
presentation by Afifi (1993). The roots of the theory lie in research about
uncertainty reduction theory and self-disclosure (Afifi & Burgoon, 1998).
A. Self-disclosure has long been a topic of interest for scholars.
B. According to Afifi & Burgoon (1998), topic avoidance can be
defined as the purposeful evasion of communication about a
certain issue with a partner. For example, we might deliberately
avoid talking about a new romantic relationship with a parent or
not talk about work with our partner.
C. Some other research has chosen to define topic avoidance even
more specifically as “a goal-oriented communicative behavior
whereby individuals strategically try to keep a conversation from
certain foci,” (Dailey & Palomares, 2004).
Individuals avoid topics for a variety of reasons. Afifi & Guerrero (1995)
have identified four general reasons that individuals engage in topic
avoidance.
A. We may avoid topics for self protection, which allows us to
avoid criticism or vulnerability. I may not want to hear someone
criticize a decision I have made, so I can choose not to bring it
up.
B. Individuals may also avoid for relationship protection, which
allows us to avoid conflict or relational dissolution. If you are
Comment [S6]: APA is correct and also
represents how this could be stated in the
presentation.
Comment [S7]: Hypothetical example
Comment [S8]: Example
III.
IV.
afraid that your partner will break up with you because of a
shocking secret from your past, you may wish to keep that
information hidden.
C. Partner unresponsiveness may also cause us to avoid by
allowing us to a situation in which a partner will be unable or
unwilling to provide support for us. When we know that a
person cannot deal with certain information, we may avoid even
brining up the topic. For example, if some people diagnosed
with chronic illness may not tell friends because they know they
their friend will not be able to handle it.
D. And finally, in situations where we feel that disclosure would not
be socially acceptable, we may avoid due to social
inappropriateness. For example, there are certain things that
society may dictate that we “just don’t speak about.”
Research has also considered topics that are commonly avoided.
A. Baxter and Wilmot (1985) found that individuals tend to avoid
discussing relationship’s status, extra-relationship activities,
relationship norms, prior relationships, conflict-inducing topics,
and negative information.
B. In a 1995 study, Guerrero and Afifi examined topic avoidance in
family relationships.
1. Adolescents avoid discussing negative life experiences and
dating experiences with parents than siblings and more with
males.
2. They also avoided discussing sexual matters with opposite
sex family members.
3. Female dyads (daughter/mother, sisters) practiced the least
topic avoidance on topics involving relationships or
friendships.
4. Males avoided discussing relationship issues, negative life
experiences, dating, and friendships more than females.
C. For example, on an episode of the show Friends, Joey did not
want to reveal Monica and Chandler’s relationship to the other
characters. We see that he was visibly uncomfortable with the
process of avoiding the topic.
Topic avoidance has been found to be fairly common in family
communication.
A. For example, in a study of 207 adolescents, Afifi and Schrodt
(2003) found that individuals utilized topic avoidance to
maintain uncertainty in situations such as post-divorce family
life. They also found that there was a positive relationship
between topic avoidance about one’s family state and uncertainty
for individuals in stepfamilies and post-divorce single parent
families. In other words, people were using topic avoidance to
cultivate uncertainty in some family relationships. This may
Comment [S9]: Hypothetical example
Comment [S10]: Hypothetical example
Comment [S11]: Example
Comment [S12]: Support from academic
research
Comment [S13]: Reference to popular culture
Comment [S14]: Support from academic
research
have been beneficial for the family members, by allowing them
to reconcile their various family affiliations.
B. However, topic avoidance is not always positive in families.
Afifi, Olson, and Armstrong (2004) examined the “chilling
effect” and family secrets. Individuals in this study reported
being more likely to continue concealing information from
family members if they believed that it would hurt them or
others.
Conclusion
So now that we know more about topic avoidance. We’ve considered what topic
avoidance is, why it occurs, the topics we avoid and how it influences our communication
with our families. The next time a parent or friend asks you that question that you don’t
want to talk about, you’ll know more about what you’re doing and why you are doing it.
Rest assured, you’re not the only one who may not want to spill the details of your love
life or describe every last detail of your latest shopping trip. Maybe the next time
someone says “I don’t want to talk about it,” you’ll consider their motivations as well
before you press for more information.
References
<insert APA style reference list here>
Comment [S15]: Review.
Comment [S16]: Closing.
Comment [S17]: Insert APA style reference
sheet.