COMM 101
Developing a Speech
General Purpose: to inform, to persuade, to entertain
Specific Purpose: precisely what you hope to accomplish with the audience. Be sure to
keep your audience in mind as you formulate the specific purpose.
Guidelines for formulating the specific purpose.
1. Make sure that your specific purpose contains a behavioral objective--something
specific that you want your audience to do following your speech.
2. Use precise language in the wording.
Imprecise: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to explain some
things about the planets in our solar system.
Precise: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to list the nine
planets in our solar system.
3. Limit the specific purpose to a single idea (narrow your topic)
Two ideas: At the end of my speech, the audience will know the nine planets and
some constellations.
One idea: Precise: At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to list the
nine planets in our solar system.
4. Be sure that your specific purpose meets the interests, expectations, and levels of
knowledge of your audience.
Questions to ask about your specific purpose:
Does my purpose meet the assignment?
Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted?
Is the purpose relevant to my audience?
Is the purpose too trivial or technical for my audience?
Central Idea: the thesis of a speech; a broad, one-sentence summation of the core idea
of your speech.
Formulating a central idea:
1. Reflect a consideration of the audience in the wording of your central idea.
2. The central idea should be a single idea.
3. Use a declarative statement rather than a question.
Ineffective: What is chronic fatigue syndrome?
Effective: Chronic fatigue syndrome is a serious affliction which affects many
people in the United States each year.
4. Although the central idea is broader than the specific purpose, be sure to use specific
language rather than vague generalities.
Ineffective: There are many problems associated with fad dieting.
Effective: Although fad diets produce quick weight loss, they can lead to serious
health problems by creating deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.
Main Points: The main points are the central features of your speech. You should select
them carefully, phrase them precisely and arrange them strategically. Remember, to
consider your audience when generating your main points.
Guidelines for generating main points:
1. Find the logical divisions in your central idea.
2. Establish reasons as to why your central idea is true.
3. Identify a series of steps within your topic.
You will not have time in classroom presentations to develop more than four or five main
points and most speeches presented in class will contain three main points.
Organizational Patterns:
Once you establish your main points, you need to decide what organizing pattern
would be most effective based on your general and specific purposes. Basic patterns
from which to choose include:
Chronological: uses steps in a process or a time order to direct the flow of the
presentation (the instructions. for baking a cake or running a software program on a
specific type of computer).
Spatial: main ideas are arranged according to some direction or existence in space; they
construct a mental map of how things fit together as a whole (how car parts work
together, the weather patterns in the different regions of the U.S.)
Topical: main ideas are grouped into specific components or categories which can
generally be presented in any order (reasons why exercise is important, types of animals
that make good pets)
Problem/Solution: shows a need and how that need can be satisfied (our landfills are
saturated with waste, therefore, we need a mandatory recycling program)
Cause and Effect: the organizational pattern that alleges that one thing brought about or
logically emanated from another (the consumption of pornography leads to sexual
deviance, stress causes suicide, television violence causes actual violence in children)
Comparison: used when two or more ideas, people, objects or events are compared and
found a like (the similarities between studying and partying).
Contrast: used when two or more ideas, people, objects or events are compared and
found to be different (the differences between public and private schools)
When writing main points, remember that each main point should be clearly independent
of the other main points. For example:
INEFFECTIVE
MORE EFFECTIVE
I. The first step is choosing the play.
I. The first step is choosing the play.
II. The second step is selecting
II. The second step is selecting
the cast.
the cast.
III. The third step is conducting rehearsals III. The third step is conducting the
and then performing the play.
rehearsals.
IV. The fourth step is performing the play.
Be sure to balance the amount of time devoted to main points. Allow sufficient time to
explain each main point clearly. In addition, try to use the same pattern of wording for
each main point. For example:
INEFFECTIVE
I. Regular exercise increases your
endurance.
II. Your sleeping pattern is improved
by regular exercise.
III. It is possible to help control your
weight by regular exercise.
MORE EFFECTIVE
I. Regular exercise increases your
endurance.
II. Regular exercise improves your
sleeping pattern.
III. Regular exercise helps control
your weight.
Supporting material: Main points by themselves are only assertions. You must back
them up with supporting material. Supporting your main points make them more
"reasonable" in your listeners' view. The various forms of support include:
Definition - states the meaning a speaker is using for a symbol
Example - gives a real or hypothetical case to illustrate
Narration - describes a scene or event
Exposition - gives the steps in a process
Citation - states directly or indirectly someone else's ideas (be sure to cite
your source!)
Statistic - states facts dealing with quantities