Chapter Seven
Selecting a Topic
and Purpose
Chapter Seven
Table of Contents
Assigned Versus Self-Selected Topics
Identifying the General Speech Purpose
Choosing a Topic
Using Brainstorming to Generate Ideas
Refining the Topic and Purpose
From Topic and Purpose to Thesis*
Selecting a Topic and Purpose
The first task in preparing a speech is to
select a topic and purpose that are
appropriate for the audience and the
occasion.*
Assigned Versus Self-Selected
Topics
Public speakers are
either given a topic, or
asked to choose one of
their own.
You may be given a:
purpose
time constraint
challenge*
Identifying the General Speech
Purpose
The general speech purpose for any
speech addresses the question of why
you are speaking on your topic for your
particular audience and occasion.*
Identifying the General Speech
Purpose
When the General Speech Purpose is to
Inform
When the General Speech Purpose is to
Persuade
The Special Occasion Speech*
Identifying the General Speech Purpose:
When the General Speech Purpose Is to
Inform
The general purpose of an informative
speech is to increase the audience’s
understanding or awareness of a topic.
Try to gauge the audience’s knowledge of
the subject to avoid going over—or
under—their heads.*
Identifying the General Speech Purpose:
When the General Speech Purpose Is to
Persuade
The general purpose
of a persuasive
speech is to effect
some degree of
change in the
audience.
Controversial issues
are natural persuasive
speech topics because
people hold strongly
contrasting opinions.*
Identifying the General Speech Purpose:
The Special Occasion Speech
Special occasion speeches
are prepared for a special
occasion and for a purpose
dictated by that occasion.
They include: acceptance
speeches, toasts, afterdinner speeches, and
eulogies.*
Choosing a Topic
You can begin by
focusing on broad
social issues of
national or global
consequence, or by
considering your own
interests and
experiences.*
Choosing a Topic
Personal Interest: Looking Within
Current Events and Controversial Issues
Grassroots Issues*
Choosing a Topic:
Personal Interests: Looking Within
Select a topic with which you are familiar
and enthusiastic.
This can help the audience to perceive you
as a knowledgeable and competent speaker.
Personal interests run the gamut from
from favorite activities to deeply held
values.*
Choosing a Topic:
Current And Controversial Events
Current events
Society is constantly barraged with
newsworthy topics, but few people have time
to research all the facts.
Controversial issues
Issues such as abortion, gun control, and
drug abuse profoundly affect us as a society,
thus many people hunger for more
information on these topics.*
Choosing a Topic:
Grassroots Issues
The majority of
people react with
interest to issues
that affect them
directly.*
Using Brainstorming to
Generate Ideas
Brainstorming
A problem-solving
technique that
involves the
spontaneous
generation of ideas*
Using Brainstorming to
Generate Ideas
Lists
Word Associations
Topic Mapping*
Using Brainstorming to Generate Ideas:
Lists
Lists:
Create a list of interesting topics that
you could comfortably prepare to speak
about.
Narrow the list to two or three topics.
Choose one of the remaining topics
based on your audience’s interests and
demographics.*
Using Brainstorming to Generate Ideas:
Word Association
Word Association
Begin by writing down one topic which would
be of interest to you and your audience.
Write down the first thing that comes to mind
when you read what you have just written.
As soon as your words remind you of
something, write it down.
Once you have generated a list, review it and
pick two or three topics as possible final
choices.*
Using Brainstorming to Generate Ideas:
Topic Mapping
Topic Mapping:
If you find it more helpful to visualize
ideas, draw a topic map. Put your initial
topic in the middle of the paper, and as
new ideas come to you cluster them
together to form groups demonstrating
how closely they relate both to one
another and to your original topic.*
Refining the Topic and Purpose
Once you have selected a topic and
general speech purpose, these must be
refined or narrowed with regards to time
constraints, audience expectations, and
the nature of the occasion.*
Refining the Topic and Purpose
Narrowing the Topic
Forming a Specific Speech Purpose*
Refining the Topic and Purpose:
Narrowing the Topic
Narrowing the topic involves focusing on
specific aspects of it and excluding others.
Consider time and research constraints
when focusing on a specific topic.
Brainstorming can also be used to narrow
your focus by categorizing different
aspects of your topic.*
Refining the Topic and Purpose:
Forming a Specific Speech Purpose
The specific speech purpose expresses
both topic and general purpose in action
form and in terms of the speaker’s specific
objectives.
It answers the question, “What is it about
my topic that I want to affect the audience
with?”*
From Topic and Purpose to
Thesis
After you have a topic and general and
specific purposes, you need to formulate a
thesis statement (the theme or central
idea of the speech).
The specific purpose describes what you
want to achieve with the speech; the
thesis statement concisely identifies, in a
single idea, what the speech is about.*
From Topic and Purpose to
Thesis
Making a Claim
Making the Thesis Statement Relevant
and Motivating*
From Topic and Purpose to Thesis:
Making a Claim
The thesis statement proposes that the
statement being made is true or is
believed.
Without the claim, or thesis, the audience
cannot easily follow the ideas that make
up the speech body.*
From Topic and Purpose to Thesis:
Making the Thesis Statement Relevant
and Motivating
Creating relevant statements can be
accomplished by adding a few key words
or phrases to the claim.
The exact phrasing of your thesis depends
on the type of audience you’re speaking
to.*