COMM 120 - CH.5 LEC Notes PDF

Preview

Summary

- Chapter 5: "Selecting a Topic & a Purpose"
- Notes on lecture video & from textbook...

Description

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

COMM 120 - CH.5: Selecting a Topic & a Purpose General Purpose: Assignment Prompt ➡ Am I informing or persuading?! • In our upcoming speech, “Personal Narrative”, we’re informing.! • Informing about a value that you hold dearly.! • When we do our 3rd Speech, “Informative Speech”, it’ll be about demonstrating how to do something then you’re informing as well.!

• When we do our 4th Speech (last speech), “Persuasive Speech”, you’re persuading !

➡ General Purpose: To inform or To persuade! • Once you know your general purpose, the next step is to create your specific purpose statement.!

Specific Purpose ➡ Single infinitive phrase beginning w/: • To inform my audience about: _____________. • OR • To persuade my audience about: ___________. - Limit to one distinct idea! ‣ CAN’T be for EX: To inform my audience about my value for honesty & generosity!

‣ You have to pick 1 or the other! ‣ MAKE SURE you DON’T have the word AND in your specific purpose statement!

1

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

- Avoid vague or figurative language! ‣ You MUST BE very specific regarding your topic you’re discussing! ‣ Figurative: You HAVE TO AVOID figurative language! ‣ You CAN’T have similes or metaphors in your specific purpose!

Ineffective: Specific Purpose ➡ Dia de los Muertos! • Does NOT qualify for an effective specific purpose statement! • Has to be one sentence statement! • Has to begin w/ the “magical wording” from the general purpose!

Effective: Specific Purpose ➡ To inform my audience about Dia de los Muertos.! • Need to have To inform!

Ineffective: Limit to one distinct idea ➡ To inform my audience about Dia de los Muertos AND Thanksgiving traditions. (WRONG ⇪)!

• To inform my audience about the history of Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos. - OR • To inform my audience about the history of Thanksgiving traditions.

Ineffective: Be specific ➡ To inform my audience about what an awesome place the Paris is to visit. • This is ineffective because “awesome” is vague & subjective & can mean different things to people!

2

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

• Specify instead of just saying “awesome”!

Effective: Be specific ➡ To inform my audience about the three reasons why tourists love to visit Paris. • These 3 reasons are the reasons why it’s an “awesome” place to visit! • MUST be very specific in our specific purpose statement !

Central Idea ➡ Be specific ➡ DON’T be vague or figurative ➡ One sentence statement encapsulating the 3 main points of the speech. • Similar to a thesis statement in a research paper! • EX: In discussing ________, I’ll be discussing the following (listing the 3 main points)…

Ineffective: Central Idea ➡ 3D technology

Effective: Central Idea ➡ Three areas where current 3D technology can be used includes: education, entertainment, and career training.

• Includes 3 main points w/ the topic!

Specific Purpose & Central Idea ➡ Does it meet the assignment? • Talking about a value that you hold dearly! • For narrative you doing “To inform my audience”

3

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

➡ Is it relevant? • EX: NOT how to try a shoe! • Topic has to go w/ your group audience! • Be careful NOT to stereotype ➡ Is it too trivial? ➡ Is it too vague? • Sentences for specific purpose & central idea are specific ➡ Do you have enough time to cover the main points equally? • EX: 5-7 mins requirement! • Make sure your main points can be discussed between the time ranged & fully discussed!

Preparation Outline ➡ Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about my value for honesty.! • Narrative speech! - 4-6 mins! - A value you hold dearly! ‣ EX: Determination, or honesty, or helping others, or generosity ! - Tell your audience 3 main points that should be personal to you! ‣ EX: NOT the history of honesty; instead what does honesty mean to you

➡ Central Idea: In discussing honesty, I’ll discuss what it means to me, how I use it, and a time where someone wasn’t honest with me.

• Make sure the variation of the 3 points are personal to you! • EX: your value is “determination”, then make 3 points that are personal to you! - 1) Determination in academics! - 2) Determination of my personal life! - 3) Determination in my interpersonal relationships! ➡ BOTH REQUIRED AT THE TOP OF YOUR PREPARATION OUTLINE!

4

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

• Found under additional resources ! • Template in MS word! • Go in & type in the information! • Monday - Wednesday choose topic & post to discussion board + specific purpose + central idea !

Outline: Body ➡ 1) First, honesty means the world to me. ➡ 2) Second, honesty is a very important aspect in my life. ➡ 3) Third, the lack of honesty can be very frustrating. ➡ You then ELABORATE on EACH one

Outline Overview ➡ Transition • Is the most basic type of connective ! • Fulfills the requirements of having a connective! • IF you use internal preview between main point 1 & main point 2, which is a sophisticated type of connective

- You’ll receive +2 points extra credit! • When navigating between main point 2 & 3, & IF you use an internal summary

- +2 more points extra credit! ➡ Main point • It’s important to begin each main point w/ parallel wording! • Parallel wording is beginning each main point in a similar fashion using similar wording.

• EX: we began main point #1 w/ the word “the”, THEN main point #2 & #3 need to begin the word “the”!

• To mitigate that issue of parallel wording is that you begin each main point w/ “First” 5

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

- Main point #2 begins w/ Second - Main point #3 begins w/ Third, Lastly, or Finally ‣ Will qualify for parallel wording!

Textbook: CH.5 Selecting a Topic & a Purpose ➡ Choosing a Topic! • First step in speechmaking is choosing a topic.! • Usually the speech topic is determined by the:! - Occasion, ! - Audience, ! - & the Speaker’s Qualifications.! • In a public speaking class, ! - Students have great freedom in selecting topics.! - Have an advantage, since it allows you to talk about matters of personal interest.!

• Topic - the subject of a speech ➡ TOPICS YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT! • Most people speak best about subjects w/ which they are most familiar.! • Draw on your own knowledge & experience! • Think for a moment about unusual experiences you may have had OR special expertise you may have acquired.!

• Speech topics based largely on the students’ personal knowledge & experience EXAMPLES:!

- Interning at The Daily Show - The Basics of Snowboarding! - Two Years in the Peace Corps! - How to Have a Successful Job Interview! ➡ TOPICS YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT • You may decide to make your speech a learning experience for yourself as well as for your audience.! 6

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

• You may choose a subject about which you already have some knowledge OR expertise BUT NOT enough to prepare a speech w/out doing additional research.!

• You may even select a topic that you want to explore for the first time.! • OR suppose you run across a subject in one of your other classes that catches your fancy.!

➡ BRAINSTORMING FOR TOPICS • Brainstorming - a method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words & ideas

• Personal Inventory - First, make a quick inventory of your:! ‣ Experiences, ! ‣ Interests, ! ‣ Hobbies, ! ‣ Skills, ! ‣ Beliefs, & etc.! - Jot down anything that come to mind! • Clustering - Take a sheet of paper & divide it into 9 columns as follows:! ‣ People, ! ‣ Places, ! ‣ Things, ! ‣ Events, ! ‣ Processes, ! ‣ Concepts, ! ‣ Natural Phenomena, ! ‣ Problems,! ‣ & Plans and Policies.! - EXAMPLE:! ‣ People! 7

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

- Mark Zuckerberg! - Sofía Vergara! - Barack Obama! ‣ Places! - Syria ! - Grand Canyon! - Mars! - My hometown! ‣ Things! - Drones! - Smart guns! - 4K TV! - Movies! ‣ Events! - Graduation! - Chinese New Year ! - Cinco de Mayo! ‣ Processes! - Cooking Indian food! - Creating an urban garden! - Writing a job resumé! ‣ Concepts! - Time travel! - Conservatism ! - Bioethics ! - Sustainability ! ‣ Natural Phenomena! - Sink holes! - Earthquakes! 8

Monday, April 20, 2020

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

- Tornadoes! - Lightning! ‣ Problems! - Campus crime! - Herioin ! - Cyberbullying! - Political gridlock! ‣ Plans & Policies ! - Education reform! - Living wage! - Legalizing marijuana! - Immigration policy! - You can sublist from the categories EXAMPLE:! ‣ Movies! - Academy awards! - Prizes ! - Lotteries! - Gambling ! ‣ Campus Crime! - Police ! - Fingerprints! - Hands! - Gloves! ‣ Lightning! - Thunder ! - Noise! - Traffic! ‣ Air pollution! • Internet Search 9

Monday, April 20, 2020

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

- Salaries! - Strip mining! - Sleepwalking ! - Sushi! - Submarines! - Surfing! - Scuba diving! - Spiders ! - States’ rights, etc.! ➡ Determining the General Purpose • Determine the general purpose of your speech! • General purpose - the broad goal of a speech. • When your general purpose is to inform, you act as a teacher OR lecturer.! - Your GOAL is to convey information clearly, accurately, & interestingly.! - Your AIM is to enhance the knowledge & understanding of your listeners - to give them information they DIDN’T have before.!

• When your general purpose is to persuade, you act as an advocate or a partisan.!

- You go beyond giving information to espousing a cause.! - You want to change OR structure the attitudes OR actions of your audience.! - You CAN’T help but give information, but your primary goal is to win over your listeners to your point of view - to get them to believe something OR do something as a result of your speech.!

➡ Determining the Specific Purpose • The specific purpose should focus on one aspect of a topic.! • State your specific purpose in a single infinitive phrase (to inform my audience about…; to persuade my audience to…) that indicates precisely what you hope to accomplish w/ your speech.!

• Specific purpose - a single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in his/her speech.

➡ Make Sure Your Specific Purpose Is Not Too Vague or General 10

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

• Ineffective: - To persuade my audience that something should be done about unsafe school buses.

• Effective:! - To persuade my audience that the federal government should impose stronger safety standards for school buses in the U.S.!

• Topic: - Hot-air balloons! • Specific purpose:! - To inform my audience about hot-air balloons.! • Topic: - Hot-air balloons! • Specific Purpose: - To inform my audience about the scientific uses of hot-air balloons.! ➡ Phrasing the Central Idea ➡WHAT IS THE CENTRAL IDEA? • Central idea is a concise statement of what you expect to say. - Sometimes called the thesis statement, the subject sentence, or the major thought.!

• Central idea is usually expressed as a simple, declarative sentence that refines & sharpens the specific purpose statement.!

• Another way to think of the central idea is as your residual message - what you want your audience to remember after they have forgotten everything else in the speech.!

• EXAMPLE:! - Topic: Music Therapy! - General Purpose: To inform.! - Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the benefits of music therapy for people w/ psychological or cognitive disabilities.!

- Central Idea: Music therapy developed as a formal mode of treatment during the 20th century, utilizes a number of methods, and is explained by several theories that account for its success.! 11

COMM 120

M,W,F 8am -9:10am

Monday, April 20, 2020

• EXAMPLE:! - Topic: Día de los Muertos.! - General Purpose: To inform.! - Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history of Mexico’s Día de los Muertos celebration.!

- Central Idea: Día de los Muertos can be traced to the Aztecs, was moved from summer to fall by Spanish priests, & today is celebrated in a number of ways in different regions of Mexico.!

➡ GUIDELINES FOR THE CENTRAL IDEA! • The central idea - (1) Should be expressed in a full sentence, - (2) Should NOT be in the form of a question, - (3) Should avoid figurative language, & - (4) Should NOT be vague OR overly general. •

12...