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BUILDING YOUR SPEECH       Gathering Information Thesis/Central Idea Sample Informative Organizational Patterns Sample Persuasive Organizational Patterns Filling in the Gaps   GATHERING INFORMATION: Once you’ve gathered appropriate sources, it is time to get out the highlighter and start reading. If you prefer to read on-line, you can also cut and paste appropriate “bits” of information into a blank document and drag-and-drop them into outline form. If you use this method, be sure to note the sources of your information so that you can cite them later.  You also need to keep track of when you’re directly quoting a source so that you don’t plagiarize.   Relevant Facts The “Who, What, Where, When and Why” information that is directly related to your purpose.   v      Think about what background we need to know in order to understand your message. Be choosy--do we need to know how many brothers and sisters Diane Sawyer had if you’re focusing on her pioneering work in journalism?   Expert Testimony Look for credentials here. For example, to beef up your evidence that the PG-13 rating system is faulty, you could use the following:   v      “My concern is that we don’t have a system that protects and notifies parents about the effect to their children’s mental health” (Michael Rich, pediatrician and director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Harvard University).   Quotations Clever phrases, analogies, and metaphors your source uses to bring your subject matter to life.  For example, to show that learning should not be teacher-centered, you might say:   v      “As educational philosopher Maria Montessori put it, `A teacher is truly successful when students work as if she didn’t exist’” v      Ernest Boyer called the higher education the “business of credentializing”   Statistics Be sure to round your statistics and choose the ones that will make the biggest impact. Phrase them in a way that your audience can absorb and remember.   v      For example, to show that bedbugs are a growing concern: o        The number of “bed bugs” cases reported to local councils in Great Britain has more than quadrupled each year for the past five years, according to a 2003 Knight Ridder Tribune article   v      Or to show changes in voting habits: o        According to the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, thirty years ago, about half of 19-29 year olds voted in presidential elections. Today, less than 1/3 do   Stories & Examples You can often find stories in feature articles or on messages boards and blogs. For example, you might use a story you saw in Newsweek to open up your speech on bed bugs:   “Donna and Michael Smith took their family on a summer vacation to the Grand Canyon. Along the way they stayed in several moderately priced hotels—the Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, Travelodge, Drury Inn. What the Smiths didn’t know, however, was that they brought home unwanted stowaways from their trip. After several nights back in the comfort of their own home, Donna noticed red spots on the sheets. Mike had welts on his arms, legs, and stomach. The Smiths had brought home Cimex Lectularius—more commonly known as bed bugs.”   Or you might use the following examples to illustrate Belmont’s efforts at integrating community service into courses:   “Nursing students are working first hand with Sudanese families in Nashville. Spanish students are learning Spanish not just by memorizing vocabulary in a textbook, but by traveling to Spain and mentoring Hispanic youth in the community. Accounting students are helping the parents of those Hispanic youth with their taxes. These are just a few of the ways in which…”   Images Be sure to save appropriate graphs, clips, charts, and images for later use (and don’t forget to note their source so you can give credit where it is due).     ORGANIZING YOUR INFORMATION:   Thesis/Central Purpose   As you read about your topic, you need to look for a central purpose and thesis to emerge. Your purpose is what you want your audience to get out of your message, and your thesis is the guiding idea of your message. Finding a thesis that is of an appropriate scope and relevant to your audience is an important first step. Instead of doing a broad “overview” speech, think about an interesting angle for your message.   Examples:   Generic Overview: Anna Kournikova More Specific Thesis: Has Anna Kournikova sold out by exploiting her body rather than exploiting her athletic prowess?   Generic Overview: General George Patton            More Specific Thesis: How General George Patton’s biggest failure allowed him to help the Allied war effort in WWII.   Generic Overview: Tim McGraw More Specific Thesis: How Tim McGraw’s relationship with his father influenced his own parenting behavior.   Generic Overview: Schizophrenia More Specific Thesis: What does the testimony of more articulate schizophrenics tell us about what it is like to be afflicted?   Generic Overview: Building & maintaining an aquarium More Specific Thesis: The unique maintenance and problems of huge public aquariums.   Generic Overview: Get out and vote!         More Specific Thesis: Is it time to switch to online voting?   Generic Overview: Eating disorders are serious     More Specific Thesis: Websites that encourage and enable eating disorders should be stopped.   Generic Overview: Global Warming is harming the environment More Specific Thesis: Unnecessary CO2 emissions are doing irreparable damage to our rainforests.   Top 5 Most Common Thesis Mistakes: Thesis is way too broad for the scope of the assignment Thesis isn’t original—audience won’t be challenged to think much beyond what they’ve heard in the common domain Thesis is persuasive when it should be informative Thesis is informative when it should be persuasive Thesis doesn’t reflect the actual content of the speech   From the thesis, you should begin to see a 2-4 main points emerge. These main points should break down your thesis—you should be able to see how each main point elaborates on some part of your thesis. Your instructor went over many appropriate organizational patterns in class, but in case you missed that day, here are a couple of typical patterns for informative and persuasive speeches:   Sample Informative Organizational Patterns   Topical – subtopics break down larger purpose   Purpose: To inform my audience about the forces that shaped Hitler’s life ü       Main Point 1: Mental illness ü       Main Point 2: Philosophical influences ü       Main Point 3: Family life   Chronological – 2-4 main points reflect a chronological order   Purpose: To inform my audience about the evolution of Montessori education in the US ü       Main Point 1: Early 20th century popularity ü       Main Point 2: Influences on its rejection (Dewey; WWII) ü       Main Point 3: Resurgence in local communities.   Sample Persuasive Organizational Patterns   Monroe’s Motivated Sequence   Purpose: To persuade my audience to bring wet/dry recycling to Nashville ü       Intro: Gain Attention – clever attention-gaining device ü       Main Point 1: Need – prove the inefficiency of current recycling efforts and the sorry state of the environment ü       Main Point 2: Satisfaction – explain what wet/dry recycling is and how it works better than current efforts ü       Main Point 3: Visualization – show them how easily it can be done by explaining how comparable Canadian communities do it ü       Closing: Action – tell them about legislation they can support; local groups they can join   Problem/Cause/Solution   Purpose: To persuade my audience that the PG-13 ratings system should be reformed ü       Main Point 1: Problem: show problems with “tweeners” seeing bad stuff (i.e., that they are exposed, and that exposure is a problem) ü       Main Point 2: Cause: explain how lucrative the PG-13 is, and the corruption of ratings board and producers to get it ü       Main Point 3: Solution: tell your audience how they can participate in reform by emailing the CARA board and studios and better monitoring what their younger siblings, cousins, children see.   Filling in the Gaps   Once you’ve gone through this process of supporting your main points with your “bits” of information, you’ll likely have gaps that you’ll still need to research and fill. Try to have at least 2 pieces of supporting material for each main point and couple “meat” (more factual information) with “seasonings” (stories, phrases, examples, testimony that will bring the more factual information to life for your audience).   For example, to show that Duchene Muscular Dystrophy is a serious problem:   A. (MEAT) - 95 of every million people have Duchene Muscular Dystrophy (MDA’s website)   B. (SEASONING) – Eight-year-old Eddie wakes up every day fully aware that he will grow weaker, that he won’t watch his parents become grandparents, and that there are more hours in the day than years he is expected to live….etc.  (October 2003 Parent Project MD)   Once you have your information, thesis, and a general sense of your structure, it is time to outline. Check out the Outlining tutorial! If you are struggling with your thesis and structure, go see your professor or visit the Speech Lab.