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Public Speaking: Developing a Thesis Statement In a Speech

Understanding the purpose of a thesis statement in a speech

Diving headfirst into the world of public speaking, it’s essential to grasp the  role of a thesis statement  in your speech. Think of it as encapsulating the soul of your speech within one or two sentences.

It’s the declarative sentence that broadcasts your intent and main idea to captivate audiences from start to finish. More than just a preview, an effective thesis statement acts as a roadmap guiding listeners through your thought process.

Giving them that quick glimpse into what they can anticipate helps keep their attention locked in.

As you craft this central hub of information, understand that its purpose is not limited to informing alone—it could be meant also to persuade or entertain based on what you aim for with your general purpose statement.

This clear focus is pivotal—it shapes each aspect of your talk, easing understanding for the audience while setting basic goals for yourself throughout the speech-making journey. So whether you are rallying rapturous applause or instigating intellectual insight, remember—your thesis statement holds power like none other! Its clarity and strength can transition between being valuable sidekicks in introductions towards becoming triumphant heroes by concluding lines.

Identifying the main idea to develop a thesis statement

In crafting a compelling speech, identifying the main idea to develop a thesis statement acts as your compass. This process is a crucial step in speech preparation that steers you towards specific purpose.

Think of your central idea as the seed from which all other elements in your speech will grow.

To pinpoint it, start by brainstorming broad topics that interest or inspire you. From this list, choose one concept that stands out and begin to narrow it down into more specific points. It’s these refined ideas that form the heart of your thesis statement — essentially acting as signposts leading the audience through your narrative journey.

Crafting an effective thesis statement requires clarity and precision. This means keeping it concise without sacrificing substance—a tricky balancing act even for public speaking veterans! The payoff though? A well-developed thesis statement provides structure to amplifying your central idea and guiding listeners smoothly from point A to B.

It’s worth noting here: just like every speaker has their own unique style, there are multiple ways of structuring a thesis statement too. But no matter how you shape yours, ensuring it resonates with both your overarching message and audience tastes will help cement its effectiveness within your broader presentation context.

Analyzing the audience to tailor the thesis statement

Audience analysis is a crucial first step for every public speaker. This process involves adapting the message to meet the audience’s needs, a thoughtful approach that considers cultural diversity and ensures clear communication.

Adapting your speech to resonate with your target audience’s interests, level of understanding, attitudes and beliefs can significantly affect its impact.

Crafting an appealing thesis statement hinges on this initial stage of audience analysis. As you analyze your crowd, focus on shaping a specific purpose statement that reflects their preferences yet stays true to the objective of your speech—capturing your main idea in one or two impactful sentences.

This balancing act demands strategy; however, it isn’t impossible. Taking into account varying aspects such as culture and perceptions can help you tailor a well-received thesis statement. A strong handle on these elements allows you to select language and tones best suited for them while also reflecting the subject at hand.

Ultimately, putting yourself in their shoes helps increase message clarity which crucially leads to acceptance of both you as the speaker and your key points – all embodied within the concise presentation of your tailor-made thesis statement.

Brainstorming techniques to generate thesis statement ideas

Leveraging brainstorming techniques to generate robust thesis statement ideas is a power move in public speaking. This process taps into the GAP model, focusing on your speech’s Goals, Audience, and Parameters for seamless target alignment.

Dive into fertile fields of thought and let your creativity flow unhindered like expert David Zarefsky proposes.

Start by zeroing in on potential speech topics then nurture them with details till they blossom into fully-fledged arguments. It’s akin to turning stones into gems for the eye of your specific purpose statement.

Don’t shy away from pushing the envelope – sometimes out-of-the-box suggestions give birth to riveting speeches! Broaden your options if parameters are flexible but remember focus is key when aiming at narrow targets.

The beauty lies not just within topic generation but also formulation of captivating informative or persuasive speech thesis statements; both fruits harvested from a successful brainstorming session.

So flex those idea muscles, encourage intellectual growth and watch as vibrant themes spring forth; you’re one step closer to commanding attention!

Remember: Your thesis statement is the heartbeat of your speech – make it strong using brainstorming techniques and fuel its pulse with evidence-backed substance throughout your presentation.

Narrowing down the thesis statement to a specific topic

Crafting a compelling thesis statement for your speech requires narrowing down a broad topic to a specific focus that can be effectively covered within the given time frame. This step is crucial as it helps you maintain clarity and coherence throughout your presentation.

Start by brainstorming various ideas related to your speech topic and then analyze them critically to identify the most relevant and interesting points to discuss. Consider the specific purpose of your speech and ask yourself what key message you want to convey to your audience.

By narrowing down your thesis statement, you can ensure that you address the most important aspects of your chosen topic, while keeping it manageable and engaging for both you as the speaker and your audience.

Choosing the appropriate language and tone for the thesis statement

Crafting the appropriate language and tone for your thesis statement is a crucial step in developing a compelling speech. Your choice of language and tone can greatly impact how your audience perceives your message and whether they are engaged or not.

When choosing the language for your thesis statement, it’s important to consider the level of formality required for your speech. Are you speaking in a professional setting or a casual gathering? Adjusting your language accordingly will help you connect with your audience on their level and make them feel comfortable.

Additionally, selecting the right tone is essential to convey the purpose of your speech effectively. Are you aiming to inform, persuade, or entertain? Each objective requires a different tone: informative speeches may call for an objective and neutral tone, persuasive speeches might benefit from more assertive language, while entertaining speeches can be lighthearted and humorous.

Remember that clarity is key when crafting your thesis statement’s language. Using concise and straightforward wording will ensure that your main idea is easily understood by everyone in the audience.

By taking these factors into account – considering formality, adapting to objectives, maintaining clarity – you can create a compelling thesis statement that grabs attention from the start and sets the stage for an impactful speech.

Incorporating evidence to support the thesis statement

Incorporating evidence to support the thesis statement is a critical aspect of delivering an effective speech. As public speakers, we understand the importance of backing up our claims with relevant and credible information.

When it comes to incorporating evidence, it’s essential to select facts, examples, and opinions that directly support your thesis statement.

To ensure your evidence is relevant and reliable, consider conducting thorough research on the topic at hand. Look for trustworthy sources such as academic journals, respected publications, or experts in the field.

By choosing solid evidence that aligns with your message, you can enhance your credibility as a speaker.

When presenting your evidence in the speech itself, be sure to keep it concise and clear. Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive details or data. Instead, focus on selecting key points that strengthen your argument while keeping their attention engaged.

Remember that different types of evidence can be utilized depending on the nature of your speech. You may include statistical data for a persuasive presentation or personal anecdotes for an informative talk.

The choice should reflect what will resonate best with your audience and effectively support your thesis statement.

By incorporating strong evidence into our speeches, we not only bolster our arguments but also build trust with our listeners who recognize us as reliable sources of information. So remember to choose wisely when including supporting material – credibility always matters when making an impact through public speaking.

Avoiding  common mistakes when developing a thesis statement

Crafting an effective thesis statement is vital for public speakers to deliver a compelling and focused speech. To avoid  common mistakes when developing a thesis statement , it is essential to be aware of some pitfalls that can hinder the impact of your message.

One mistake to steer clear of is having an incomplete thesis statement. Ensure that your thesis statement includes all the necessary information without leaving any key elements out. Additionally, avoid wording your thesis statement as a question as this can dilute its potency.

Another mistake to watch out for is making statements of fact without providing evidence or support. While it may seem easy to write about factual information, it’s important to remember that statements need to be proven and backed up with credible sources or examples.

To create a more persuasive argument, avoid using phrases like “I believe” or “I feel.” Instead, take a strong stance in your thesis statement that encourages support from the audience. This will enhance your credibility and make your message more impactful.

By avoiding these common mistakes when crafting your thesis statement, you can develop a clear, engaging, and purposeful one that captivates your audience’s attention and guides the direction of your speech effectively.

Key words: Avoiding common mistakes when developing a thesis statement – Crafting a thesis statement – Effective thesis statements – Public speaking skills – Errors in the thesis statement – Enhancing credibility

Revising the thesis statement to enhance clarity and coherence

Revising the thesis statement is a crucial step in developing a clear and coherent speech. The thesis statement serves as the main idea or argument that guides your entire speech, so it’s important to make sure it effectively communicates your message to the audience.

To enhance clarity and coherence in your thesis statement, start by refining and strengthening it through revision . Take into account any feedback you may have received from others or any new information you’ve gathered since initially developing the statement.

Consider if there are any additional points or evidence that could further support your main idea.

As you revise, focus on clarifying the language and tone of your thesis statement. Choose words that resonate with your audience and clearly convey your point of view. Avoid using technical jargon or overly complicated language that might confuse or alienate listeners.

Another important aspect of revising is ensuring that your thesis statement remains focused on a specific topic. Narrow down broad ideas into more manageable topics that can be explored thoroughly within the scope of your speech.

Lastly, consider incorporating evidence to support your thesis statement. This could include statistics, examples, expert opinions, or personal anecdotes – whatever helps strengthen and validate your main argument.

By carefully revising your thesis statement for clarity and coherence, you’ll ensure that it effectively conveys your message while capturing the attention and understanding of your audience at large.

Testing the thesis statement to ensure it meets the speech’s objectives.

Testing the thesis statement is a crucial step to ensure that it effectively meets the objectives of your speech. By  testing the thesis statement , you can assess its clarity, relevance, and impact on your audience.

One way to test your thesis statement is to consider its purpose and intent. Does it clearly communicate what you want to achieve with your speech? Is it concise and specific enough to guide your content?.

Another important aspect of  testing the thesis statement  is analyzing whether it aligns with the needs and interests of your audience. Consider their background knowledge, values, and expectations.

Will they find the topic engaging? Does the thesis statement address their concerns or provide valuable insights?.

In addition to considering purpose and audience fit, incorporating supporting evidence into your speech is vital for testing the effectiveness of your thesis statement. Ensure that there is relevant material available that supports your claim.

To further enhance clarity and coherence in a tested thesis statement, revise it if necessary based on feedback from others or through self-reflection. This will help refine both language choices and overall effectiveness.

By thoroughly testing your thesis statement throughout these steps, you can confidently develop a clear message for an impactful speech that resonates with your audience’s needs while meeting all stated objectives.

1. What is a thesis statement in public speaking?

A thesis statement in public speaking is a concise and clear sentence that summarizes the main point or argument of a speech. It serves as a roadmap for the audience, guiding them through the speech and helping them understand its purpose.

2. How do I develop an effective thesis statement for a speech?

To develop an effective thesis statement for a speech, start by identifying your topic and determining what specific message you want to convey to your audience. Then, clearly state this message in one or two sentences that capture the main idea of your speech.

3. Why is it important to have a strong thesis statement in public speaking?

Having a strong thesis statement in public speaking helps you stay focused on your main argument throughout the speech and ensures that your audience understands what you are trying to communicate. It also helps establish credibility and authority as you present well-supported points related to your thesis.

4. Can my thesis statement change during my speech preparation?

Yes, it is possible for your thesis statement to evolve or change during the preparation process as you gather more information or refine your ideas. However, it’s important to ensure that any changes align with the overall purpose of your speech and still effectively guide the content and structure of your presentation.

14 Crafting a Thesis Statement

Learning Objectives

• Craft a thesis statement that is clear, concise, and declarative.
• Narrow your topic based on your thesis statement and consider the ways that your main points will support the thesis.

Crafting a Thesis Statement

A  thesis statement  is a short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. A strong, clear thesis statement is very valuable within an introduction because it lays out the basic goal of the entire speech. We strongly believe that it is worthwhile to invest some time in framing and writing a good thesis statement. You may even want to write your thesis statement before you even begin conducting research for your speech. While you may end up rewriting your thesis statement later, having a clear idea of your purpose, intent, or main idea before you start searching for research will help you focus on the most appropriate material. To help us understand thesis statements, we will first explore their basic functions and then discuss how to write a thesis statement.

Basic Functions of a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement helps your audience by letting them know, clearly and concisely, what you are going to talk about. A strong thesis statement will allow your reader to understand the central message of your speech. You will want to be as specific as possible. A thesis statement for informative speaking should be a declarative statement that is clear and concise; it will tell the audience what to expect in your speech. For persuasive speaking, a thesis statement should have a narrow focus and should be arguable, there must be an argument to explore within the speech. The exploration piece will come with research, but we will discuss that in the main points. For now, you will need to consider your specific purpose and how this relates directly to what you want to tell this audience. Remember, no matter if your general purpose is to inform or persuade, your thesis will be a declarative statement that reflects your purpose.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Now that we’ve looked at why a thesis statement is crucial in a speech, let’s switch gears and talk about how we go about writing a solid thesis statement. A thesis statement is related to the general and specific purposes of a speech.

Once you have chosen your topic and determined your purpose, you will need to make sure your topic is narrow. One of the hardest parts of writing a thesis statement is narrowing a speech from a broad topic to one that can be easily covered during a five- to seven-minute speech. While five to seven minutes may sound like a long time for new public speakers, the time flies by very quickly when you are speaking. You can easily run out of time if your topic is too broad. To ascertain if your topic is narrow enough for a specific time frame, ask yourself three questions.

Is your speech topic a broad overgeneralization of a topic?

Overgeneralization occurs when we classify everyone in a specific group as having a specific characteristic. For example, a speaker’s thesis statement that “all members of the National Council of La Raza are militant” is an overgeneralization of all members of the organization. Furthermore, a speaker would have to correctly demonstrate that all members of the organization are militant for the thesis statement to be proven, which is a very difficult task since the National Council of La Raza consists of millions of Hispanic Americans. A more appropriate thesis related to this topic could be, “Since the creation of the National Council of La Raza [NCLR] in 1968, the NCLR has become increasingly militant in addressing the causes of Hispanics in the United States.”

Is your speech’s topic one clear topic or multiple topics?

A strong thesis statement consists of only a single topic. The following is an example of a thesis statement that contains too many topics: “Medical marijuana, prostitution, and Women’s Equal Rights Amendment should all be legalized in the United States.” Not only are all three fairly broad, but you also have three completely unrelated topics thrown into a single thesis statement. Instead of a thesis statement that has multiple topics, limit yourself to only one topic. Here’s an example of a thesis statement examining only one topic: Ratifying the Women’s Equal Rights Amendment as equal citizens under the United States law would protect women by requiring state and federal law to engage in equitable freedoms among the sexes.

Does the topic have direction?

If your basic topic is too broad, you will never have a solid thesis statement or a coherent speech. For example, if you start off with the topic “Barack Obama is a role model for everyone,” what do you mean by this statement? Do you think President Obama is a role model because of his dedication to civic service? Do you think he’s a role model because he’s a good basketball player? Do you think he’s a good role model because he’s an excellent public speaker? When your topic is too broad, almost anything can become part of the topic. This ultimately leads to a lack of direction and coherence within the speech itself. To make a cleaner topic, a speaker needs to narrow her or his topic to one specific area. For example, you may want to examine why President Obama is a good public speaker.

Put Your Topic into a Declarative Sentence

You wrote your general and specific purpose. Use this information to guide your thesis statement. If you wrote a clear purpose, it will be easy to turn this into a declarative statement.

General purpose: To inform

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the lyricism of former President Barack Obama’s presentation skills.

Your thesis statement needs to be a declarative statement. This means it needs to actually state something. If a speaker says, “I am going to talk to you about the effects of social media,” this tells you nothing about the speech content. Are the effects positive? Are they negative? Are they both? We don’t know. This sentence is an announcement, not a thesis statement. A declarative statement clearly states the message of your speech.

For example, you could turn the topic of President Obama’s public speaking skills into the following sentence: “Because of his unique sense of lyricism and his well-developed presentational skills, President Barack Obama is a modern symbol of the power of public speaking.” Or you could state, “Socal media has both positive and negative effects on users.”

Adding your Argument, Viewpoint, or Opinion

If your topic is informative, your job is to make sure that the thesis statement is nonargumentative and focuses on facts. For example, in the preceding thesis statement, we have a couple of opinion-oriented terms that should be avoided for informative speeches: “unique sense,” “well-developed,” and “power.” All three of these terms are laced with an individual’s opinion, which is fine for a persuasive speech but not for an informative speech. For informative speeches, the goal of a thesis statement is to explain what the speech will be informing the audience about, not attempting to add the speaker’s opinion about the speech’s topic. For an informative speech, you could rewrite the thesis statement to read, “Barack Obama’s use of lyricism in his speech, ‘A World That Stands as One,’ delivered July 2008 in Berlin demonstrates exceptional use of rhetorical strategies. 

On the other hand, if your topic is persuasive, you want to make sure that your argument, viewpoint, or opinion is clearly indicated within the thesis statement. If you are going to argue that Barack Obama is a great speaker, then you should set up this argument within your thesis statement.

For example, you could turn the topic of President Obama’s public speaking skills into the following sentence: “Because of his unique sense of lyricism and his well-developed presentational skills, President Barack Obama is a modern symbol of the power of public speaking.” Once you have a clear topic sentence, you can start tweaking the thesis statement to help set up the purpose of your speech.

Thesis Checklist

Once you have written a first draft of your thesis statement, you’re probably going to end up revising your thesis statement a number of times prior to delivering your actual speech. A thesis statement is something that is constantly tweaked until the speech is given. As your speech develops, often your thesis will need to be rewritten to whatever direction the speech itself has taken. We often start with a speech going in one direction, and find out through our research that we should have gone in a different direction. When you think you finally have a thesis statement that is good to go for your speech, take a second and make sure it adheres to the criteria shown below.

Preview of Speech

The preview, as stated in the introduction portion of our readings, reminds us that we will need to let the audience know what the main points in our speech will be. You will want to follow the thesis with the preview of your speech. Your preview will allow the audience to follow your main points in a sequential manner. Spoiler alert: The preview when stated out loud will remind you of main point 1, main point 2, and main point 3 (etc. if you have more or less main points). It is a built in memory card!

For Future Reference | How to organize this in an outline |

Introduction

Attention Getter: Background information: Credibility: Thesis: Preview:

Key Takeaways

Introductions are foundational to an effective public speech.

• A thesis statement is instrumental to a speech that is well-developed and supported.
• Be sure that you are spending enough time brainstorming strong attention getters and considering your audience’s goal(s) for the introduction.
• A strong thesis will allow you to follow a roadmap throughout the rest of your speech: it is worth spending the extra time to ensure you have a strong thesis statement.

Stand up, Speak out  by University of Minnesota is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Module 4: Organizing and Outlining

The topic, purpose, and thesis.

Before any work can be done on crafting the body of your speech or presentation, you must first do some prep work—selecting a topic, formulating a purpose statement, and crafting a thesis statement. In doing so, you lay the foundation for your speech by making important decisions about what you will speak about and for what purpose you will speak. These decisions will influence and guide the entire speechwriting process, so it is wise to think carefully and critically during these beginning stages.

I think reading is important in any form. I think a person who’s trying to learn to like reading should start off reading about a topic they are interested in, or a person they are interested in. – Ice Cube

Questions for Selecting a Topic

• What important events are occurring locally, nationally and internationally?
• What do I care about most?
• Is there someone or something I can advocate for?
• What makes me angry/happy?
• What beliefs/attitudes do I want to share?
• Is there some information the audience needs to know?

Selecting a Topic

“The Reader” by Shakespearesmonkey. CC-BY-NC .

Generally, speakers focus on one or more interrelated topics—relatively broad concepts, ideas, or problems that are relevant for particular audiences. The most common way that speakers discover topics is by simply observing what is happening around them—at their school, in their local government, or around the world. This is because all speeches are brought into existence as a result of circumstances, the multiplicity of activities going on at any one given moment in a particular place. For instance, presidential candidates craft short policy speeches that can be employed during debates, interviews, or town hall meetings during campaign seasons. When one of the candidates realizes he or she will not be successful, the particular circumstances change and the person must craft different kinds of speeches—a concession speech, for example. In other words, their campaign for presidency, and its many related events, necessitates the creation of various speeches. Rhetorical theorist Lloyd Bitzer [1] describes this as the rhetorical situation. Put simply, the rhetorical situation is the combination of factors that make speeches and other discourse meaningful and a useful way to change the way something is. Student government leaders, for example, speak or write to other students when their campus is facing tuition or fee increases, or when students have achieved something spectacular, like lobbying campus administrators for lower student fees and succeeding. In either case, it is the situation that makes their speeches appropriate and useful for their audience of students and university employees. More importantly, they speak when there is an opportunity to change a university policy or to alter the way students think or behave in relation to a particular event on campus.

But you need not run for president or student government in order to give a meaningful speech. On the contrary, opportunities abound for those interested in engaging speech as a tool for change. Perhaps the simplest way to find a topic is to ask yourself a few questions. See the textbox entitled “Questions for Selecting a Topic” for a few questions that will help you choose a topic.

There are other questions you might ask yourself, too, but these should lead you to at least a few topical choices. The most important work that these questions do is to locate topics within your pre-existing sphere of knowledge and interest. David Zarefsky [2] also identifies brainstorming as a way to develop speech topics, a strategy that can be helpful if the questions listed in the textbox did not yield an appropriate or interesting topic.

Starting with a topic you are already interested in will likely make writing and presenting your speech a more enjoyable and meaningful experience. It means that your entire speechwriting process will focus on something you find important and that you can present this information to people who stand to benefit from your speech.

Once you have answered these questions and narrowed your responses, you are still not done selecting your topic. For instance, you might have decided that you really care about conserving habitat for bog turtles. This is a very broad topic and could easily lead to a dozen different speeches. To resolve this problem, speakers must also consider the audience to whom they will speak, the scope of their presentation, and the outcome they wish to achieve. If the bog turtle enthusiast knows that she will be talking to a local zoning board and that she hopes to stop them from allowing businesses to locate on important bog turtle habitat, her topic can easily morph into something more specific. Now, her speech topic is two-pronged: bog turtle habitat and zoning rules.

Formulating the Purpose Statements

“Bog turtle sunning” by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

By honing in on a very specific topic, you begin the work of formulating your purpose statement . In short, a purpose statement clearly states what it is you would like to achieve. Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to inspire, to celebrate, to mourn, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement “expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve.” [3] For instance, the bog turtle habitat activist might write the following specific purpose statement: At the end of my speech, the Clarke County Zoning Commission will understand that locating businesses in bog turtle habitat is a poor choice with a range of negative consequences. In short, the general purpose statement lays out the broader goal of the speech while the specific purpose statement describes precisely what the speech is intended to do.

Success demands singleness of purpose. – Vince Lombardi

Writing the Thesis Statement

The specific purpose statement is a tool that you will use as you write your talk, but it is unlikely that it will appear verbatim in your speech. Instead, you will want to convert the specific purpose statement into a thesis statement that you will share with your audience. A thesis statement encapsulates the main points of a speech in just a sentence or two, and it is designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement for a speech, like the thesis of a research- based essay, should be easily identifiable and ought to very succinctly sum up the main points you will present. Moreover, the thesis statement should reflect the general purpose of your speech; if your purpose is to persuade or educate, for instance, the thesis should alert audience members to this goal. The bog turtle enthusiast might prepare the following thesis statement based on her specific purpose statement: Bog turtle habitats are sensitive to a variety of activities, but land development is particularly harmful to unstable habitats. The Clarke County Zoning Commission should protect bog turtle habitats by choosing to prohibit business from locating in these habitats. In this example, the thesis statement outlines the main points and implies that the speaker will be arguing for certain zoning practices.

• Bitzer, L. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric , 1 (1), 1 – 14. ↵
• Zarefsky, D. (2010). Public speaking: Strategies for success (6th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ↵
• O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., Rubenstein, H. (2004). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (2nd edition). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. ↵
• Chapter 8 The Topic, Purpose, and Thesis. Authored by : Joshua Trey Barnett. Provided by : University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : The Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• The Reader. Authored by : Shakespearesmonkey. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/shakespearesmonkey/4939289974/ . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Image of a bog turtle . Authored by : R. G. Tucker, Jr.. Provided by : United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bog_turtle_sunning.jpg . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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4 Topic, Purpose, and Thesis

Learning objectives.

• Differentiate among the three types of general speech purposes.
• Understand the four primary constraints of topic selection.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how a topic is narrowed from a broad subject area to a manageable specific purpose.
• Integrate the seven tips for creating specific purposes.
• Understand how to develop a strong thesis and assess thesis statements.

In the 2004 Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q , the lead character sings a song about finding his purpose in life: “I don’t know how I know, but I’m gonna find my purpose. I don’t know where I’m gonna look, but I’m gonna find my purpose.” Although the song is about life in general, the lyrics are also appropriate when thinking about the purpose of your speech. You may know that you have been assigned to deliver a speech, but finding a purpose and topic seems like a formidable task. You may be asking yourself questions like, “What if the topic I pick is too common?”; “What if no one is interested in my topic?”; “What if my topic is too huge to cover in a three- to five-minute speech?”; or many others.

Finding a speech’s purpose and topic isn’t as complex or difficult as you might believe. This may be hard to accept right now but trust us. After you read this chapter, you’ll understand how to go about finding interesting topics for a variety of different types of speeches. In this chapter, we are going to explain how to identify the general purpose of a speech. We will also discuss how to select a topic, what to do if you’re just drawing a blank, and four basic questions you should ask yourself about the speech topic you ultimately select. Finally, we will explain how to use your general purpose and your chosen topic to develop the specific purpose and thesis of your speech.

General Purpose

What do you think of when you hear the word “purpose”? Technically speaking, a purpose is why something exists, how we use an object, or why we make something. For the purposes of public speaking, all three can be applied. For example, when we talk about a speech’s purpose, we can question why a specific speech was given, how we are supposed to use the information within a speech, and why we are personally creating a speech. For this specific chapter, we are more interested in that last aspect of the definition of the word “purpose”: why we give speeches.

Ever since scholars started writing about public speaking as a distinct phenomenon, there have been a range of different systems created to classify the types of speeches people may give. Aristotle talked about three speech purposes: deliberative (political speech), forensic (courtroom speech), and epideictic (speech of praise or blame). Cicero also talked about three purposes: judicial (courtroom speech), deliberative (political speech), and demonstrative (ceremonial speech—similar to Aristotle’s epideictic). A little more recently, St. Augustine of Hippo also wrote about three specific speech purposes: to teach (provide people with information), to delight (entertain people or show people false ideas), and to sway (persuade people to a religious ideology). All these systems of identifying public speeches have been attempts at helping people determine the general purpose of their speech. A general purpose refers to the broad goal of creating and delivering a speech.

These typologies or classification systems of public speeches serve to demonstrate that general speech purposes have remained pretty consistent throughout the history of public speaking. Modern public speaking scholars typically use a classification system for three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.

A general purpose refers to the broad goal of creating and delivering a speech.

The first general purpose that some people have for giving speeches is to inform. Simply put, informative speaking is about helping audience members acquire information that they do not already possess. Audience members can then use this information to understand something (e.g. a speech on a new technology or a speech on an issue of community concern) or to perform a new task or improve their skills (e.g. a speech on how to swing a golf club or a speech on how to assemble a layer cake). The most important characteristic of informative topics is that the goal is to gain knowledge. Notice that the goal is not to encourage people to use that knowledge in any specific way. When a speaker starts encouraging people to use knowledge in a specific way, they are no longer informing but instead persuading.

Informative speaking is about helping audience members acquire information that they do not already possess.

Let’s look at a real example of how an individual can accidentally go from informing to persuading. Let’s say you are assigned to inform an audience about a new vaccination program. In an informative speech, the purpose of the speech is to explain to your audience what the program is and how it works. If, however, you start encouraging your audience to participate in the vaccination program, you are no longer informing them about the program but instead persuading them to become involved in the program. One of the most common mistakes new public speaking students make is to blur the line between informing and persuading.

Why We Share Knowledge

Knowledge sharing is the process of delivering information, skills, or expertise in some form to people who could benefit from it. Every year, millions of people attend some kind of knowledge sharing conference or convention in hopes of learning new information or skills that will help them in their personal or professional lives (Atwood, 2009).

People are motivated to share their knowledge with other people for a variety of reasons (Hendriks, 1999). For some, the personal sense of achievement or responsibility drives them to share their knowledge (internal motivational factors). Others are compelled to share knowledge because of the desire for recognition or the possibility of job enhancement (external motivational factors). Knowledge sharing is an integral part of every society, so learning how to deliver informative speeches is a valuable skill.

Knowledge sharing is the process of delivering information, skills, or expertise in some form to people who could benefit from it.

Common Types of Informative Topics

O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein identified six general types of informative speech topics: objects, people, events, concepts, processes, and issues (O’Hair, et al., 2007). The first type of informative speech relates to objects, which can include how objects are designed, how they function, and what they mean. For example, a student of one of our coauthors gave a speech on the design of corsets, using a mannequin to demonstrate how corsets were placed on women and the amount of force necessary to lace one up.

The second type of informative speech focuses on people. People-based speeches tend to be biography-oriented. Such topics could include recounting an individual’s achievements and explaining why he or she is important in history. Some speakers, who are famous themselves, will focus on their own lives and how various events shaped who they ultimately became. Dottie Walters noted as being the first female in the United States to run an advertising agency. In addition to her work in advertising, Dottie also spent a great deal of time as a professional speaker. She often would tell the story about her early years in advertising when she would push around a stroller with her daughter inside as she went from business to business trying to generate interest in her copywriting abilities. You don’t have to be famous, however, to give a people-based speech. Instead, you could inform your audience about a historical or contemporary hero whose achievements are not widely known.

The third type of informative speech involves explaining the significance of specific events, either historical or contemporary. For example, you could deliver a speech on a particular battle of World War II or a specific presidential administration. If you’re a history buff, event-oriented speeches may be right up your alley. There are countless historical events that many people aren’t familiar with and would find interesting. You could also inform your audience about a more recent or contemporary event. Some examples include concerts, plays, and arts festivals; athletic competitions; and natural phenomena, such as storms, eclipses, and earthquakes. The point is to make sure that an informative speech is talking about the event (who, what, when, where, and why) and not attempting to persuade people to pass judgment upon the event or its effects.

The fourth type of informative speech involves concepts, or “abstract and difficult ideas or theories” (O’Hair, et al., 2007). For example, if you want to explain a specific communication theory, E. M. Griffin provides an excellent list of communication theories on his website , http://www.afirstlook.com/main.cfm/theory_list . Whether you want to discuss theories related to business, sociology, psychology, religion, politics, art, or any other major area of study, this type of speech can be very useful in helping people to understand complex ideas.

The fifth type of informative speech involves processes. The process speech can be divided into two unique types: how-it-functions and how-to-do. The first type of process speech helps audience members understand how a specific object or system works. For example, you could explain how a bill becomes a law in the United States. There is a very specific set of steps that a bill must go through before it becomes a law, so there is a very clear process that could be explained to an audience. The how-to-do speech, on the other hand, is designed to help people come to an end result of some kind. For example, you could give a speech on how to quilt, how to change a tire, how to write a résumé, and millions of other how-to oriented topics. In our experience, the how-to speech is probably the most commonly delivered informative speech in public speaking classes.

The final type of informative speech involves issues, or “problems or matters of dispute” (O’Hair, et al., 2007). This informative speech topic is probably the most difficult for novice public speakers because it requires walking a fine line between informing and persuading. If you attempt to deliver this type of speech, remember the goal is to be balanced when discussing both sides of the issue. To see an example of how you can take a very divisive topic and make it informative, check out the series Point/Counterpoint published by Chelsea House, http://chelseahouse.infobasepublishing.com . This series of books covers everything from the pros and cons of blogging to whether the United States should have mandatory military service.

Sample: Jessy Ohl’s Informative Speech

The following text represents an informative speech prepared and delivered by an undergraduate student named Jessy Ohl. While this speech is written out as a text for purposes of analysis, in your public speaking course, you will most likely be assigned to speak from an outline or notes, not a fully written script. As you read through this sample speech, notice how Ms. Ohl uses informative strategies to present the information without trying to persuade her audience.

In 1977, a young missionary named Daniel Everett traveled deep into the jungles of Brazil to spread the word of God. However, he soon found himself working to translate the language of a remote tribe that would ultimately change his faith, lead to a new profession, and pit him in an intellectual fistfight with the world-famous linguist Noam Chomsky. As New Scientist Magazine of January 2008 explains, Everett’s research on a small group of 350 people called the Pirahã tribe has revealed a language that has experts and intellectuals deeply disturbed. While all languages are unique, experts like Noam Chomsky have argued that they all have universal similarities, such as counting, that are hard-wired into the human brain. So as National Public Radio reported on April 8, 2007, without the ability to count, conceptualize time or abstraction, or create syntax, the Pirahã have a language that by all accounts shouldn’t exist. Daniel Everett is now a professor of linguistics at Illinois State University, and he has created controversy by calling for a complete reevaluation of all linguistic theory in light of the Pirahã. Exploration of the Pirahã could bring further insight into the understanding of how people communicate and even, perhaps, what it means to be human. Which is why we must: first, examine the unique culture of the Pirahã; second, explore what makes their language so surprising; and finally, discover the implications the Pirahã have for the way we look at language and humanity. Taking a closer look at the tribe’s culture, we can identify two key components of Pirahã culture that help mold language: first, isolation; and second, emphasis on reality. First, while globalization has reached nearly every corner of the earth, it has not been able to penetrate the Pirahã natives in the slightest. As Dr. Everett told the New Yorker of April 16, 2007, no group in history has resisted change like the Pirahã. “They reject everything from outside their world” as unnecessary and silly. Distaste for all things foreign is the reason why the people have rejected technology, farming, religion, and even artwork. The lack of artwork illustrates the second vital part of Pirahã culture: an emphasis on reality. According to the India Statesman of May 22, 2006, all Pirahã understanding is based around the concept of personal experience. If something cannot be felt, touched, or experienced directly then to them, it doesn’t exist, essentially eliminating the existence of abstract thought. Since art is often a representation of reality, it has no value among the people. During his work as a missionary, Everett was amazed to find that the natives had no interest in the story of Jesus once they found out that he was dead. The Pirahã psyche is so focused on the present that the people have no collective memory, history, written documents, or creation myths. They are unable to even remember the names of dead grandparents because once something or someone cannot be experienced, they are no longer important. Since his days as a missionary, Everett remains the only Western professor able to translate Pirahã. His research has discovered many things missing with the language: words for time, direction, and color. But more importantly, Pirahã also lacks three characteristics previously thought to be essential to all languages: complexity, counting, and recursion. First, the Pirahã language seems incredibly simple. Now, this isn’t meant to imply that the people are uncivilized or stupid, but instead, they are minimalist. As I mentioned earlier, they only talk in terms of direct experience. The London Times of January 13, 2007, notes that with only eight consonants and three vowels, speakers rely on the use of tone, pitch, and humming to communicate. In fact, Pirahã almost sounds more like song than speech.

Second, Noam Chomsky’s famous universal grammar theory includes the observation that every language has a means of counting. However, as reported in the June 2007 issue of Prospect Magazine , the Pirahã only have words for “one, two, and MANY.” This demonstrates the Pirahã’s inability to conceptualize a difference between three and five or three and a thousand. Dr. Everett spent six months attempting to teach even a single Pirahã person to count to ten, but his efforts were in vain, as tribal members considered the new numbers and attempts at math “childish.” Third, and the biggest surprise for researchers, is the Pirahã’s apparent lack of recursion. Recursion is the ability to link several thoughts together. It is characterized in Christine Kenneally’s 2007 book, The Search for the Origins of Language , as the fundamental principle of all language and the source of limitless expression. Pirahã is unique since the language does not have any conjunctions or linking words. Recursion is so vital for expression that the Chicago Tribune of June 11, 2007, reports that a language without recursion is like disproving gravity. Although the Pirahã don’t care what the outside world thinks of them, their language and world view has certainly ruffled feathers. And while civilization hasn’t been able to infiltrate the Pirahã, it may ultimately be the Pirahã that teaches civilization a thing or two, which brings us to implications on the communicative, philosophical, and cultural levels. By examining the culture, language, and implications of the Pirahã tribe we are able to see how this small Brazilian village could shift the way that we think and talk about the world. Daniel Everett’s research hasn’t made him more popular with his colleagues. But his findings do show that more critical research is needed to make sure that our understanding of language is not lost in translation.

To Persuade

The second general purpose people can have for speaking is to persuade. In persuasive speaking , we attempt to get listeners to embrace a point of view or to adopt a behavior that they would not have done otherwise. A persuasive speech is distinguished from an informative speech by the fact that it includes a call for action for the audience to make some change in their behavior or thinking.

Why We Persuade

The reasons behind persuasive speaking fall into two main categories, which we will call “pure persuasion” and “manipulative persuasion.” Pure persuasion occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view because the speaker truly believes that the change is in the best interest of the audience members. For example, you may decide to give a speech on the importance of practicing good oral hygiene because you genuinely believe that oral hygiene is essential and that bad oral hygiene can lead to a range of physical, social, and psychological problems. In this case, the speaker has no ulterior or hidden motive (e.g. you are not a toothpaste salesperson).

Manipulative persuasion occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view by misleading them, often to fulfill an ulterior motive beyond the face value of the persuasive attempt. We call this form of persuasion manipulative because the speaker is not being honest about the real purpose of attempting to persuade the audience. Ultimately, this form of persuasion is perceived as profoundly dishonest when audience members discover the ulterior motive. For example, suppose a physician who also owns a large amount of stock in a pharmaceutical company is asked to speak before a group of other physicians about a specific disease. Instead of informing the group about the illness, the doctor spends the bulk of his time attempting to persuade the audience that the drug his company manufactures is the best treatment for that specific disease.

Obviously, the critical question for persuasion is the speaker’s intent. Is the speaker attempting to persuade the audience because of a sincere belief in the benefits of a certain behavior or point of view? Or is the speaker using all possible means—including distorting the truth—to persuade the audience because they will derive personal benefits from their adopting a specific behavior or point of view? Unless your speech assignment calls explicitly for a speech of manipulative persuasion, the usual (and ethical) understanding of a “persuasive speech” assignment is that you should use the pure form of persuasion.

Persuasive speaking attempts to get listeners to embrace a point of view or to adopt a behavior that they would not have done otherwise.

Pure persuasion occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view because the speaker truly believes that the change is in the best interest of the audience members.

Manipulative persuasion occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view by misleading them, often to fulfill an ulterior motive beyond the face value of the persuasive attempt.

Persuasion: Behavior versus Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs

Persuasion can address behaviors, observable actions on the part of listeners, and it can also address intangible thought processes in the form of attitudes, values, and beliefs.

When the speaker attempts to persuade an audience to change their behavior , or observable actions on the part of listeners. We can often observe and even measure how successful the persuasion was. For example, after a speech attempting to persuade the audience to donate money to a charity, the charity can measure how many donations were received. The following is a short list of various behavior-oriented persuasive speeches we’ve seen in our own classes: washing one’s hands frequently and using hand sanitizer, adapting one’s driving habits to improve gas mileage, using open-source software, or drinking one soft drink or soda over another. In all these cases, the goal is to make a change in the basic behavior of audience members.

The second type of persuasive topic involves a change in attitudes, values, or beliefs. An attitude is defined as an individual’s general predisposition toward something as being good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive. If you believe that dress codes on college campuses are a good idea, you want to give a speech persuading others to adopt a positive attitude toward campus dress codes.

A speaker can also attempt to persuade listeners to change some value they hold. Value refers to an individual’s perception of the usefulness, importance, or worth of something. We can value a college education, we can value technology, and we can value freedom. Values, as a general concept, are relatively ambiguous and tend to be very lofty ideas. Ultimately, what we value in life motivates us to engage in a range of behaviors. For example, if you value protecting the environment, you may recycle more of your trash than someone who does not hold this value. If you value family history and heritage, you may be more motivated to spend time with your older relatives and ask them about their early lives than someone who does not hold this value.

Lastly, a speaker can attempt to persuade people to change their personal beliefs. Personal b eliefs are propositions or positions that an individual holds as true or false without positive knowledge or proof. Typically, beliefs are divided into two basic categories: core and dispositional. Core beliefs are beliefs that people have actively engaged in and created over the course of their lives (e.g. belief in a higher power, belief in extraterrestrial life forms). Dispositional beliefs , on the other hand, are beliefs that people have not actively engaged in; they are judgments based on related subjects, which people make when they encounter a proposition. Imagine, for example, that you were asked the question, “Can gorillas speak English?” While you may never have met a gorilla or even seen one in person, you can make instant judgments about your understanding of gorillas and fairly certainly say whether you believe that gorillas can speak English.

When it comes to persuading people to alter beliefs, persuading audiences to change core beliefs is more difficult than persuading audiences to alter dispositional beliefs. If you find a topic related to dispositional beliefs, using your speech to help listeners alter their processing of the belief is a realistic possibility. But as a novice public speaker, you are probably best advised to avoid core beliefs. Although core beliefs often appear to be more exciting and interesting than dispositional ones, you are very unlikely to alter anyone’s core beliefs in a five- to ten-minute classroom speech.

Attitude is defined as an individual’s general predisposition toward something as being good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive.

Value refers to an individual’s perception of the usefulness, importance, or worth of something.

Core beliefs are beliefs that people have actively engaged in and created over the course of their lives (e.g. belief in a higher power, belief in extraterrestrial life forms).

Dispositional beliefs are beliefs that people have not actively engaged in; they are judgments based on related subjects, which people make when they encounter a proposition.

Sample: Jessy Ohl’s Persuasive Speech

The following speech was written and delivered by an undergraduate student named Jessy Ohl. As with our earlier example, while this speech is written out as a text for purposes of analysis, in your public speaking course, you will most likely be assigned to speak from an outline or notes, not a fully written script.

Take a few minutes and compare this persuasive speech to the informative speech Ms. Ohl presented earlier in this chapter. What similarities do you see? What differences do you see? Does this speech seek to change the audience’s behavior? Attitudes? Values? Dispositional or core beliefs? Where in the speech do you see one or more calls for action?

With a declining population of around 6,000, my home town of Denison, Iowa, was on the brink of extinction when a new industry rolled in bringing jobs and revenue. However, as the Canadian Globe and Mail of July 23, 2007, reports, the industry that saved Denison may ultimately lead to its demise. Denison is one of 110 communities across the country to be revolutionized by the production of corn ethanol. Ethanol is a high-powered alcohol, derived from plant matter, that can be used like gasoline. According to the Omaha World Herald of January 8, 2008, our reliance on foreign oil combined with global warming concerns have many holding corn ethanol as our best energy solution. But despite the good intentions of helping farmers and lowering oil consumption, corn ethanol is filled with empty promises. In fact, The Des Moines Register of March 1, 2008, concludes that when ethanol is made from corn, all of its environmental and economic benefits disappear. With oil prices at 100 dollars per barrel, our nation is in an energy crisis, and luckily, the production of ethanol can be a major help for both farmers and consumers, if done correctly. Unfortunately, the way we make ethanol—over 95% from corn—is anything but correct. Although hailed as a magic bullet, corn ethanol could be the worst agricultural catastrophe since the Dust Bowl. The serious political, environmental, and even moral implications demand that we critically rethink this so-called yellow miracle by: first, examining the problems created by corn ethanol; second, exploring why corn ethanol has gained such power; and finally, discovering solutions to prevent a corn ethanol disaster. Now, if you have heard anything about the problems of corn ethanol, it probably dealt with efficiency. As the Christian Science Monitor of November 15, 2007, notes, it takes a gallon of gasoline or more to make a gallon of ethanol. And while this is an important concern, efficiency is the least of our worries. Turning this crop into fuel creates two major problems for our society: first, environmental degradation; and second, acceleration of global famine. First, corn ethanol damages the environment as much as, if not more than, fossil fuels. The journal Ethanol and Bio-diesel News of September 2007 asserts that the production of corn ethanol is pushing natural resources to the breaking point. Since the Dust Bowl, traditional farming practices have required farmers to “rotate” crops. But with corn ethanol being so profitable, understandably, farmers have stopped rotating crops, leading to soil erosion, deforestation, and fertilizer runoff—making our soil less fertile and more toxic. And the story only gets worse once the ethanol is manufactured. According to National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation of February 10, 2008, corn ethanol emits more carbon monoxide and twice the amount of carcinogens into the air as traditional gasoline. The second problem created from corn ethanol is the acceleration of global famine. According to the US Grains Council, last year, 27 million tons of corn, traditionally used as food, was turned into ethanol, drastically increasing food prices. The March 7, 2007, issue of The Wall Street Journal explains that lower supplies of corn needed for necessities such as farm feed, corn oil, and corn syrup have increased our food costs in everything from milk to bread, eggs, and even beer as much as 25 percent. The St. Louis Post Dispatch of April 12, 2007, reports that the amount of corn used to fill one tank of gas could feed one person for an entire year. In October, Global protests over corn ethanol lead the United Nations to call its production “a crime against humanity.” If you weren’t aware of the environmental or moral impacts of corn ethanol, you’re not alone. The Financial Times of May 27, 2007, reports that the narrative surrounding corn ethanol as a homegrown fuel is so desirable that critical thinking is understandably almost nonexistent. To start thinking critically about corn ethanol, we need to examine solutions on both the federal and personal levels. First, at the federal level, our government must end the ridiculously high subsidies surrounding corn ethanol. On June 24, 2007, The Washington Post predicted that subsidies on corn ethanol would cost the federal government an extra 131 billion dollars by 2010. This isn’t to say that the federal government should abandon small farmers. Instead, let’s take the excitement around alternative fuels and direct it toward the right kinds of ethanol. The Economist of June 2, 2007, reports that other materials such as switch grass and wood chips can be used instead of corn. And on July 6, 2011, The New York Times reported on ethanol made from corn cobs, leaves, and husks, which leaves the corn kernels to be used as food. The government could use the money paid in subsidies to support this kind of responsible production of ethanol. The point is that ethanol done right can honestly help with energy independence. On the personal level, we have all participated in the most important step, which is being knowledgeable about the true face of corn ethanol. However, with big business and Washington proclaiming corn ethanol’s greatness, we need to spread the word. So please, talk to friends and family about corn ethanol while there is still time. To make this easier, visit my website, at http://www.responsibleethanol.com . Here you will find informational materials, links to your congressional representatives, and ways to invest in switch grass and wood ethanol. Today, we examined the problems of corn ethanol in America and discovered solutions to make sure that our need for energy reform doesn’t sacrifice our morality. Iowa is turning so much corn into ethanol that soon the state will have to import corn to eat. And while my hometown of Denison has gained much from corn ethanol, we all have much more to lose from it.

To Entertain

The final general purpose people can have for public speaking is to entertain. Whereas informative and persuasive speech making is focused on the end result of the speech process, entertainment speaking focuses on the theme and occasion of the speech. An entertaining speech can be either informative or persuasive at its root, but the context or theme of the speech requires speakers to think about the speech primarily in terms of audience enjoyment.

Why We Entertain

Entertaining speeches are very common in everyday life. The fundamental goal of an entertaining speech is audience enjoyment, which can come in a variety of forms. Entertaining speeches can be funny or serious. Overall, entertaining speeches are not designed to give an audience a deep understanding of life but instead to function as a way to divert an audience from their day-to-day lives for a short period of time. This is not to say that an entertaining speech cannot have real content that is highly informative or persuasive, but its goal is primarily about the entertaining aspects of the speech and not focused on the informative or persuasive quality of the speech.

Common Forms of Entertainment Topics

There are three basic types of entertaining speeches: the after-dinner speech, the ceremonial speech, and the inspirational speech. The after-dinner speaking is a form of speaking where a speaker takes a serious speech topic (either informative or persuasive) and injects a level of humor into the speech to make it entertaining. Some novice speakers will attempt to turn an after-dinner speech into a stand-up comedy routine, which doesn’t have the same focus (Roye, 2010). After-dinner speeches are first and foremost speeches.

A ceremonial speech is a type of entertaining speech where the specific context of the speech is the driving force of the speech. Common types of ceremonial speeches include introductions, toasts, and eulogies. In each of these cases, there are specific events that drive the speech. Maybe you’re introducing an individual who is about to receive an award, giving a toast at your best friend’s wedding, or delivering the eulogy at a relative’s funeral. In each of these cases, the speech and the purpose of the speech is determined by the context of the event and not by the desire to inform or persuade.

The final type of entertaining speech, an inspirational speech , is one where the speaker’s primary goal is to inspire her or his audience. Inspirational speeches are based on emotions with the goal to motivate listeners to alter their lives in some significant way. Florence Littauer, a famous professional speaker, delivers an emotionally charged speech titled “ Silver Boxes .” In the speech, Mrs. Littauer demonstrates how people can use positive comments to encourage others in their daily lives. The title comes from a story she tells at the beginning of the speech where she was teaching a group of children about using positive speech, and one of the children defined positive speech as giving people little silver boxes with bows on top ( http://server.firefighters.org/catalog/2009/45699.mp3 ).

Entertainment speaking is a speech for audience enjoyment.

After-dinner speaking is a form of speaking where a speaker takes a serious speech topic (either informative or persuasive) and injects a level of humor into the speech to make it entertaining.

A ceremonial speech is a type of entertaining speech where the specific context of the speech is the driving force of the speech.

An inspirational speech is one where the speaker’s primary goal is to inspire her or his audience.

Sample: Adam Fink’s Entertainment Speech

The following speech, by an undergraduate student named Adam Fink, is an entertainment speech. Specifically, this speech is a ceremonial speech given at Mr. Fink’s graduation. As with our earlier examples, while this speech is written out as a text for purposes of analysis, in your public speaking course you will most likely be assigned to speak from an outline or notes, not a fully written script. Notice that the tenor of this speech is persuasive, but it persuades in a more inspiring way than just building and proving an argument.

Good evening! I’ve spent the last few months looking over commencement speeches on YouTube. The most notable ones had eight things in common. They reflected on the past, pondered about the future. They encouraged the honorees. They all included some sort of personal story and application. They made people laugh at least fifteen times. They referred to the university as the finest university in the nation or world, and last but not least they all greeted the people in attendance. I’ll begin by doing so now. President Holst, thank you for coming. Faculty members and staff, salutations to you all. Distinguished guests, we are happy to have you. Family members and friends, we could not be here without you. Finally, ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2009, welcome to your commencement day here at Concordia University, Saint Paul, this, the finest university in the galaxy, nay, universe. Really, it’s right up there with South Harlem Institute of Technology, the School of Hard Knocks, and Harvard. Check and check! Graduates, we are not here to watch as our siblings, our parents, friends, or other family walk across this stage. We are here because today is our graduation day. I am going to go off on a tangent for a little bit. Over the past umpteen years, I have seen my fair share of graduations and ceremonies. In fact, I remember getting dragged along to my older brothers’ and sisters’ graduations, all 8,000 of them—at least it seems like there were that many now. Seriously, I have more family members than friends. I remember sitting here in these very seats, intently listening to the president and other distinguished guests speak, again saying welcome and thank you for coming. Each year, I got a little bit better at staying awake throughout the entire ceremony. Every time I would come up with something new to keep myself awake, daydreams, pinching my arms, or pulling leg hair; I was a very creative individual. I am proud to say that I have been awake for the entirety of this ceremony. I would like to personally thank my classmates and colleagues sitting around me for slapping me every time I even thought about dozing off. Personal story, check—and now, application! Graduates, don’t sleep through life. If you need a close friend or colleague to keep you awake, ask. Don’t get bored with life. In the words of one of my mentors, the Australian film director, screen writer, and producer Baz Luhrman, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Keep yourself on your toes. Stay occupied but leave room for relaxation; embrace your hobbies. Don’t get stuck in a job you hate. I am sure many of you have seen the “Did You Know?” film on YouTube. The film montages hundreds of statistics together, laying down the ground work to tell viewers that we are approaching a crossroad. The way we live is about to change dramatically. We are living in exponential times. It’s a good thing that we are exponential people.

We are at a crossing point here, now. Each of us is graduating; we are preparing to leave this place we have called home for the past few years. It’s time to move on and flourish. But let’s not leave this place for good. Let us walk away with happy memories. We have been fortunate enough to see more change in our time here than most alumni see at their alma mater in a lifetime. We have seen the destruction of Centennial, Minnesota, and Walther. Ladies, it might not mean a lot to you, but gentlemen, we had some good times there. We have seen the building and completion of the new Residence Life Center. We now see the beginnings of our very own stadium. We have seen enough offices and departments move to last any business a lifetime. Let us remember these things, the flooding of the knoll, Ultimate Frisbee beginning at ten o’clock at night, and two back-to-back Volleyball National Championship teams, with one of those championship games held where you are sitting now. I encourage all of you to walk out of this place with flashes of the old times flickering through your brains. Reflection, check! Honorees, in the words of Michael Scott, only slightly altered, “They have no idea how high [we] can fly.” Right now you are surrounded by future politicians, film critics, producers, directors, actors, actresses, church workers, artists, the teachers of tomorrow, musicians, people who will change the world. We are all held together right here and now, by a common bond of unity. We are one graduating class. In one of his speeches this year, President Barack Obama said, “Generations of Americans have connected their stories to the larger American story through service and helped move our country forward. We need that service now.” He is right. America needs selfless acts of service. Hebrews 10:23–25 reads, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Let us not leave this place as enemies but rather as friends and companions. Let us come back next fall for our first reunion, the Zero Class Reunion hosted by the wonderful and amazing workers in the alumni department. Let us go and make disciples of all nations, guided by His Word. Let us spread God’s peace, joy, and love through service to others. Congratulations, graduates! I hope to see you next homecoming. Encouragement, check!

Selecting a Topic

Wonderlane – Fork in the road, decision tree – CC BY 2.0.

One of the most common stumbling blocks for novice public speakers is selecting their first speech topic. Generally, your public speaking instructor will provide you with some fairly specific parameters to make this a little easier. You may be assigned to tell about an event that has shaped your life or to demonstrate how to do something. Whatever your parameters, at some point you as the speaker will need to settle on a specific topic. In this section, we’re going to look at some common constraints of public speaking, picking a broad topic area, and narrowing your topic.

Common Constraints of Public Speaking

When we use the word “constraint” with regard to public speaking, we are referring to any limitation or restriction you may have as a speaker. Whether in a classroom situation or the boardroom, speakers are typically given specific instructions that they must follow. These instructions constrain the speaker and limit what the speaker can say. For example, in the professional world of public speaking, speakers are often hired to speak about a specific topic (e.g. time management, customer satisfaction, or entrepreneurship). In the workplace, a supervisor may assign a subordinate to present certain information in a meeting. In these kinds of situations, when a speaker is hired or assigned to talk about a specific topic, they cannot decide to talk about something else.

Furthermore, the speaker may have been asked to speak for an hour, only to show up and find out that the event is running behind schedule, so the speech must now be made in only thirty minutes. Having prepared sixty minutes of material, the speaker now has to determine what stays in the speech and what must go. In both of these instances, the speaker is constrained as to what they can say during a speech. Typically, we refer to four primary constraints: purpose, audience, context, and time frame.

The first major constraint someone can have involves the general purpose of the speech. As mentioned earlier, there are three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. If you’ve been told that you will be delivering an informative speech, you are automatically constrained from delivering a speech with the purpose of persuading or entertaining. In most public speaking classes, this is the first constraint students will come in contact with because generally, teachers will tell you the exact purpose of each speech in the class.

The second major constraint that you need to consider as a speaker is the type of audience you will have. As discussed in the chapter on audience analysis, different audiences have different political, religious, and ideological leanings. As such, choosing a speech topic for an audience that has a specific mindset can be very tricky. Unfortunately, determining what topics may or may not be appropriate for a given audience is based on generalizations about specific audiences. For example, maybe you’re going to give a speech at a local meeting of Democratic leaders. You may think that all Democrats are liberal or progressive, but there are many conservative Democrats as well. If you assume that all Democrats are liberal or progressive, you may end up offending your audience by making such a generalization without knowing better. The best way to prevent yourself from picking a topic that is inappropriate for a specific audience is to know your audience, which is why we recommend conducting an audience analysis.

The third major constraint relates to the context. For speaking purposes, the context of a speech is the set of circumstances surrounding a particular speech. There are countless different contexts in which we can find ourselves speaking: a classroom in college, a religious congregation, a corporate boardroom, a retirement village, or a political convention. In each of these different contexts, the expectations for a speaker are going to be unique and different. The topics that may be appropriate in front of a religious group may not be appropriate in the corporate boardroom. Topics appropriate for the corporate boardroom may not be appropriate at a political convention.

The last, but by no means least important, major constraint that you will face is the time frame of your speech. In speeches that are under ten minutes in length, you must narrowly focus a topic on one major idea. For example, in a ten-minute speech, you could not realistically hope to discuss the entire topic of the US Social Security program. There are countless books, research articles, websites, and other forms of media on the topic of Social Security, so trying to crystallize all that information into ten minutes is just not realistic.

Instead, narrow your topic to something that is more realistically manageable within your allotted time. You might choose to inform your audience about Social Security disability benefits, using one individual disabled person as an example. Or perhaps you could speak about the career of Robert J. Myers, one of the original architects of Social Security 1 . By focusing on information that can be covered within your time frame, you are more likely to accomplish your goal at the end of the speech.

Selecting a Broad Subject Area

Once you know what the basic constraints are for your speech, you can then start thinking about picking a topic. The first aspect to consider is what subject area you are interested in examining. A subject area is a broad area of knowledge. Art, business, history, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and education are all examples of subject areas. When selecting a topic, start by casting a broad net because it will help you limit and weed out topics quickly.

Furthermore, each of these broad subject areas has a range of subject areas beneath it. For example, if we take the subject area “art,” we can break it down further into broad categories like art history, art galleries, and how to create art. We can further break down these broad areas into even narrower subject areas (e.g., art history includes prehistoric art, Egyptian art, Grecian art, Roman art, Middle Eastern art, medieval art, Asian art, Renaissance art, modern art). As you can see, topic selection is a narrowing process.

Narrowing Your Topic

Narrowing your topic to something manageable for the constraints of your speech is something that takes time, patience, and experience. One of the biggest mistakes that new public speakers make is not narrowing their topics sufficiently given the constraints. In the previous section, we started demonstrating how the narrowing process works, but even in those examples, we narrowed subject areas down to fairly broad areas of knowledge.

Think of narrowing as a funnel. At the top of the funnel are the broad subject areas, and your goal is to narrow your topic further and further down until just one topic can come out the other end of the funnel. The more focused your topic is, the easier your speech is to research, write, and deliver. So let’s take one of the broad areas from the art subject area and keep narrowing it down to a manageable speech topic. For this example, let’s say that your general purpose is to inform, you are delivering the speech in class to your peers, and you have five to seven minutes. Now that we have the basic constraints, let’s start narrowing our topic. The broad area we are going to narrow in this example is Middle Eastern art. When examining the category of Middle Eastern art, the first thing you’ll find is that Middle Eastern art is generally grouped into four distinct categories: Anatolian, Arabian, Mesopotamian, and Syro-Palestinian. Again, if you’re like us, until we started doing some research on the topic, we had no idea that the historic art of the Middle East was grouped into these specific categories. We’ll select Anatolian art or the art of what is now modern Turkey.

You may think that your topic is now sufficiently narrow, but even within the topic of Anatolian art, there are smaller categories: pre-Hittite, Hittite, Urartu, and Phrygian periods of art. So let’s narrow our topic again to the Phrygian period of art (1200–700 BCE). Although we have now selected a specific period of art history in Anatolia, we are still looking at a five-hundred-year period in which a great deal of art was created. One famous Phrygian king was King Midas, who according to myth was given the ears of a donkey and the power of a golden touch by the Greek gods. As such, there is an interesting array of art from the period of Midas and its Greek counterparts representing Midas. At this point, we could create a topic about how Phrygian and Grecian art differed in their portrayals of King Midas. We now have a topic that is unique, interesting, and definitely manageable in five to seven minutes. You may be wondering how we narrowed the topic down; we just started doing a little research using the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website ( http://www.metmuseum.org ).

Overall, when narrowing down your topic, you should start by asking yourself four basic questions based on the constraints discussed earlier in this section:

• Does the topic match my intended general purpose?
• Is the topic appropriate for my audience?
• Is the topic appropriate for the given speaking context?
• Can I reasonably hope to inform or persuade my audience in the time frame I have for the speech?

Specific Purposes

Andrew Sutherland – Roma Street Steps – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Once you have chosen your general purpose and your topic, it’s time to take your speech to the next phase and develop your specific purpose. A specific purpose starts with one of the three general purposes and then specifies the actual topic you have chosen and the basic objective you hope to accomplish with your speech. The specific purpose answers the who , what , when , where , and why questions for your speech.

Getting Specific

When attempting to get at the core of your speech (the specific purpose), you need to know a few basic things about your speech. First, you need to have a general purpose. Once you know whether your goal is to inform, persuade, or entertain, picking an appropriate topic is easier. Obviously, depending on the general purpose, you will have a range of different types of topics. For example, let’s say you want to give a speech about hygiene. You could still write a speech about hygiene no matter what your general purpose is, but the specific purpose would vary depending on whether the general purpose is to inform (discussing hygiene practices around the globe), to persuade (telling people why they need to adopt a specific hygiene practice), or to entertain (explaining some of the strange and unique hygiene practices that people have used historically). Notice that in each of these cases, the general purpose alters the topic, but all three are still fundamentally about hygiene.

Now, when discussing specific purposes, we are concerned with who, what, when, where, why, and how questions for your speech. Let’s examine each of these separately. First, you want to know who is going to be in your audience. Different audiences, as discussed in the chapter on audience analysis, have differing desires, backgrounds, and needs. Keeping your audience first and foremost in your thoughts when choosing a specific purpose will increase the likelihood that your audience will find your speech meaningful.

Second is the “what” question or the basic description of your topic. When picking an effective topic, you need to make sure that the topic is appropriate for a variety of constraints or limitations within a speaking context.

Third, you need to consider when your speech will be given. Different speeches may be better at different times of the day. For example, explaining the importance of eating breakfast and providing people with cereal bars may be a great topic at 9:00 a.m. but may not have the same impact if you’re giving it at 4:00 p.m.

Fourth, you need to consider where your speech will be delivered. Are you giving a speech in front of a classroom? A church? An executive meeting? Depending on the location of your speech, different topics may or may not be appropriate.

The last question you need to answer within your speech is why. Why does your audience need to hear your speech? If your audience doesn’t care about your specific purpose, they are less likely to pay attention to your speech. If it’s a topic that’s a little more off-the-wall, you’ll really need to think about why they should care.

Once you’ve determined the who , what , when , where , and why aspects of your topic, it’s time to start creating your actual specific purpose. First, a specific purpose, in its written form, should be a short, declarative sentence that emphasizes the main topic of your speech. Let’s look at an example:

In this example, we’ve quickly narrowed a topic from a more general topic to a more specific topic. Let’s now look at that topic in terms of a general purpose and specific purpose:

For the purpose of this example, we used the same general topic area and demonstrated how you could easily turn the topic into either an informative speech or a persuasive speech. In the first example, the speaker is going to talk about the danger embedded journalists face. In this case, the speaker isn’t attempting to alter people’s ideas about embedded journalists, just make them more aware of the dangers. In the second case, the specific purpose is to persuade a group of journalism students (the audience) to avoid jobs as embedded journalists.

Your Specific Statement of Purpose

To form a clear and succinct statement of the specific purpose of your speech, start by naming your general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain). Follow this with a capsule description of your audience (my peers in class, a group of kindergarten teachers, etc.). Then complete your statement of purpose with a prepositional phrase (a phrase using “to,” “about,” “by,” or another preposition) that summarizes your topic. As an example, “My specific purpose is to persuade the students in my residence hall to protest the proposed housing cost increase” is a specific statement of purpose, while “My speech will be about why we should protest the proposed housing cost increase” is not.

Specific purposes should be statements, not questions. If you find yourself starting to phrase your specific purpose as a question, ask yourself how you can reword it as a statement. Table 6 “My Specific Purpose Is…” provides several more examples of good specific purpose statements.

Table 6  My Specific Purpose Is…

Basic Tips for Creating Specific Purposes

Now that we’ve examined what specific purposes are, we are going to focus on a series of tips to help you write specific purposes that are appropriate for a range of speeches.

Audience, Audience, Audience

First and foremost, you always need to think about your intended audience when choosing your specific purpose. In the previous section, we talked about a speech where a speaker is attempting to persuade a group of journalism students to not take jobs as embedded journalists. Would the same speech be successful, or even appropriate, if given in your public speaking class? Probably not. As a speaker, you may think your topic is great, but you always need to make sure you think about your audience when selecting your specific purpose. For this reason, when writing your specific purpose, start off your sentence by actually listing the name of your audience: a group of journalism students, the people in my congregation, my peers in class, and so on. When you place your audience first, you’re a lot more likely to have a successful speech.

Matching the Rhetorical Situation

After your audience, the second most important consideration about your specific purpose pertains to the rhetorical situation of your speech. The rhetorical situation is the set of circumstances surrounding your speech (e.g., speaker, audience, text, and context). When thinking about your specific purpose, you want to ensure that all these components go together. You want to make sure that you are the appropriate speaker for a topic, the topic is appropriate for your audience, the text of your speech is appropriate, and the speech is appropriate for the context. For example, speeches that you give in a classroom may not be appropriate in a religious context and vice versa.

Make It Clear

The specific purpose statement for any speech should be direct and not too broad, general, or vague. Consider the lack of clarity in the following specific purpose: “To persuade the students in my class to drink more.” Obviously, we have no idea what the speaker wants the audience to drink: water, milk, orange juice? Alcoholic beverages? Furthermore, we have no way to quantify or make sense of the word “more.” “More” assumes that the students are already drinking a certain amount, and the speaker wants them to increase their intake. If you want to persuade your listeners to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, you need to say so clearly in your specific purpose.

Another way in which purpose statements are sometimes unclear comes from the use of colloquial language. While we often use colloquialisms in everyday life, they are often understood only by a limited number of people. It may sound like fun to have a specific purpose like, “To persuade my audience to get jiggy,” but if you state this as your purpose, many people probably won’t know what you’re talking about at all.

Don’t Double Up

You cannot hope to solve the entire world’s problems in one speech, so don’t even try. At the same time, you also want to make sure that you stick to one specific purpose. Chances are it will be challenging enough to inform your audience about one topic or persuade them to change one behavior or opinion. Don’t put extra stress on yourself by adding topics. If you find yourself using the word “and” in your specific topic statement, you’re probably doubling up on topics.

Can I Really Do This Speech in Five to Seven Minutes?

When choosing your specific purpose, it’s important to determine whether it can be realistically covered in the amount of time you have. Time limits are among the most common constraints for students in a public speaking course.  Speeches early in the term have shorter time limits, and speeches later in the term have longer time limits. To determine whether you think you can accomplish your speech’s purpose in the time slot, ask yourself how long it would take to make you an informed person on your chosen topic or to persuade you to change your behavior or attitudes.

If you cannot reasonably see yourself becoming informed or persuaded during the allotted amount of time, chances are you aren’t going to inform or persuade your audience either. The solution, of course, is to make your topic narrower so that you can fully cover a limited aspect of it.

A specific purpose starts with one of the three general purposes and then specifies the actual topic you have chosen and the basic objective you hope to accomplish with your speech.

The rhetorical situation is the set of circumstances surrounding your speech (e.g., speaker, audience, text, and context). When thinking about your specific purpose, you want to ensure that all these components go together.

Crafting and Understanding Thesis Statements for Speeches

You might be familiar with a thesis statement in writing an essay.  Thesis statements are similar in speeches, but slightly different because they are only heard and not read. To help us understand thesis statements, we will first explore their basic functions and then discuss how to write a thesis statement.

Basic Functions of a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement helps your audience by letting them know what you are going to talk about “in a nutshell.” With a good thesis statement, you will fulfill four basic functions: you express your specific purpose, provide a way to organize your main points, make your research more effective, and enhance your delivery.

Express Your Specific Purpose

To orient your audience, you need to be as clear as possible about your meaning. A strong thesis will prepare your audience effectively for the points that will follow. Here are two examples:

• “Today, I want to discuss academic cheating.” (weak example)
• “Today, I will clarify what plagiarism is and give examples of its different types so that you can see how it leads to a loss of creative learning interaction.” (strong example)

The weak statement will probably give the impression that you have no clear position on your topic because you haven’t said what that position is. Additionally, the term “academic cheating” can refer to many behaviors: acquiring test questions ahead of time, copying answers, changing grades, or allowing others to do your coursework. Therefore, the specific topic of the speech is still not clear to the audience. The strong statement not only specifies plagiarism but also states your specific concern (loss of creative learning interaction).

Provide a Way to Organize Your Main Points

A thesis statement should appear, almost verbatim, toward the end of the introduction to a speech. A thesis statement helps the audience get ready to listen to the arrangement of points that follow. Many speakers say that if they can create a strong thesis sentence, the rest of the speech tends to develop with relative ease. On the other hand, when the thesis statement is not very clear, creating a speech is an uphill battle. When your thesis statement is sufficiently clear and decisive, you will know where you stand on your topic and where you intend to go with your speech. Having a clear thesis statement is especially important if you know a great deal about your topic or you have strong feelings about it. If this is the case for you, you need to know exactly what you are planning on talking about in order to fit within specified time limitations. Knowing where you are and where you are going is the entire point in establishing a thesis statement; it makes your speech much easier to prepare and to present.

Let’s say you have a reasonably strong thesis statement, and that you’ve already brainstormed a list of information that you know about the topic. Chances are your list is too long and has no focus. Using your thesis statement, you can select only the information that (1) is directly related to the thesis and (2) can be arranged in a sequence that will make sense to the audience and will support the thesis. In essence, a strong thesis statement helps you keep useful information and weed out less helpful information.

Make Your Research More Effective

If you begin your research with only a general topic in mind, you run the risk of spending hours reading mountains of excellent literature about your topic. However, mountains of research does not always make coherent speeches.

You may have little or no idea of how to tie your research together, or even whether you should tie it together. If, on the other hand, you conduct your research with a clear thesis statement in mind, you will be better able to zero in only on material that directly relates to your chosen thesis statement. Let’s look at an example that illustrates this point:

Many traffic accidents involve drivers older than fifty-five. While this statement may be true, you could find industrial, medical, insurance literature that can drone on ad infinitum about the details of all such accidents in just one year. Instead, focusing your thesis statement will help you narrow the scope of information you will be searching for while gathering information.

Here’s an example of a more focused thesis statement:

Three factors contribute to most accidents involving drivers over fifty-five years of age: failing eyesight, slower reflexes, and rapidly changing traffic conditions.

This framing is somewhat better. This thesis statement at least provides three possible main points and some keywords for your electronic catalog search. However, if you want your audience to understand the context of older people at the wheel, consider something like:

Mature drivers over fifty-five years of age must cope with more challenging driving conditions than existed only one generation ago: more traffic moving at higher speeds, the increased imperative for quick driving decisions, and rapidly changing ramp and cloverleaf systems. Because of these challenges, I want my audience to believe that drivers over the age of sixty-five should be required to pass a driving test every five years.

This framing of the thesis provides some interesting choices. First, several terms need to be defined, and these definitions might function surprisingly well in setting the tone of the speech. Your definitions of words like “generation,” “quick driving decisions,” and “cloverleaf systems” could jolt your audience out of assumptions they have taken for granted as truth.

Second, the framing of the thesis provides you with a way to describe the specific changes as they have occurred between, say, 1970 and 2010. How much, and in what ways, have the volume and speed of traffic changed? Why are quick decisions more critical now? What is a “cloverleaf,” and how does any driver deal cognitively with exiting in the direction seemingly opposite to the desired one? Questions like this, suggested by your own thesis statement, can lead to a robust and memorable speech.

Enhance Your Delivery

When your thesis is not clear to you, your listeners will be even more clueless than you are. However, if you have a good clear thesis statement, your speech becomes clear to your listeners. When you stand in front of your audience presenting your introduction, you can vocally emphasize the essence of your speech, expressed as your thesis statement.

Many speakers pause for a half second, lower their vocal pitch slightly, slow down a little, and deliberately present the thesis statement, the one sentence that encapsulates its purpose. When this is done effectively, the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech is driven home for an audience.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Now that we’ve looked at why a thesis statement is crucial in a speech, let’s switch gears and talk about how we go about writing a solid thesis statement.

Choose Your Topic

The first step in writing a good thesis statement is finding your topic. Once you have a general topic, you are ready to go to the second step of creating a thesis statement.

Narrow Your Topic

One of the hardest parts of writing a thesis statement is narrowing a speech from a broad topic to one that can be easily covered during a five- to ten-minute speech. While five to ten minutes may sound like a long time to new public speakers, the time flies by very quickly when you are speaking. You can run out of time if your topic is too broad. To decide if your topic is narrow enough for a specific time frame, ask yourself three questions:

First, is your thesis statement narrow or is it a broad overgeneralization of a topic? Overgeneralization occurs when we classify everyone in a specific group as having a specific characteristic. For example, a speaker’s thesis statement that “the elderly are bad drivers” is an overgeneralization of all elderly drivers. Make sure that your thesis statement is nuanced enough to accurately represent what you can support in your speech.

The second question to ask yourself when narrowing a topic is whether your speech’s topic is one clear topic or multiple topics. A strong thesis statement consists of only a single topic. The following is an example of a thesis statement that contains too many topics: “Medical marijuana and prostitution should be legalized in the United States.” Not only are both broad, but you also have two completely unrelated topics thrown into a single thesis statement. Instead of a thesis statement that has multiple topics, limit yourself to only one topic. Here’s an example of a thesis statement examining only one topic: “Today we’re going to examine the legalization and regulation of prostitution in the state of Nevada.” In this case, we’re focusing our topic on how one state has handled the legalization and regulation of prostitution.

The last question a speaker should ask when making sure a topic is sufficiently narrow is whether the topic has direction. If your basic topic is too broad, you will never have a solid thesis statement or a coherent speech. For example, if you start off with the topic “Barack Obama is a role model for everyone,” what do you mean by this statement? Do you think President Obama is a role model because of his dedication to civic service? Do you think he’s a role model because he’s a good basketball player? Do you think he’s a good role model because he’s an excellent public speaker? When your topic is too broad, almost anything can become part of the topic. This broadness ultimately leads to a lack of direction and coherence within the speech itself. To make a cleaner topic, a speaker needs to narrow their topic to one specific area. For example, you may want to examine why President Obama is a good speaker.

Put Your Topic into a Sentence

Once you’ve narrowed your topic to something that is reasonably manageable given the constraints placed on your speech, you can then formalize that topic as a complete sentence. For example, you could turn the topic of President Obama’s public speaking skills into the following sentence: “Because of his unique sense of lyricism and his well-developed presentational skills, President Barack Obama is a modern symbol of the power of public speaking.” Once you have a clear topic sentence, you can start tweaking the thesis statement to help set up the purpose of your speech. Your thesis statement should be a clear, declarative statement that sets up your speech. 

Use the Thesis Checklist

Once you have written the first draft of your thesis statement, you’re probably going to end up revising your thesis statement a number of times before delivering your actual speech. A thesis statement is something that is constantly tweaked until the speech is given. As your speech develops, often your thesis will need to be rewritten to whatever direction the speech itself has taken. We often start with a speech going in one direction and find out through our research that we should have gone in a different direction. When you think you finally have a thesis statement that is good to go for your speech, take a second and make sure it adheres to the criteria shown below.

Thesis Checklist

Instructions: For each of the following questions, check either “yes” or “no.” Yes No

• Does your thesis clearly reflect the topic of your speech?
• Can you adequately cover the topic indicated in your thesis within the time you have for your speech?
• Is your thesis statement simple?
• Is your thesis statement direct?
• Does your thesis statement gain an audience’s interest?
• Is your thesis statement easy to understand?
• Does your thesis statement introduce a clear argument?
• Does your thesis statement clearly indicate what your audience should know, do, think, or feel?

Scoring: For a strong thesis statement, all your answers should have been “yes.”

After reading this chapter, we hope that you now have a better understanding not only of the purpose of your speech but also of how to find a fascinating topic for yourself and your audience. We started this chapter citing lyrics from the Avenue Q song “Purpose.” While the character is trying to find his purpose in life, we hope this chapter has helped you identify your general purpose, choose a topic that will interest you and your audience, and use these to develop a specific purpose statement for your speech.

Atwood, C. G. (2009). Knowledge management basics . Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

Hendriks, P. (1999). Why share knowledge? The influence of ICT on the motivation for knowledge sharing. Knowledge and Process Management, 6 , 91–100.

O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., & Rubenstein, H. (2007). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins.

Roye, S. (2010). Austan Goolsbee a funny stand-up comedian? Not even close… [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.realfirststeps.com/1184/austan-goolsbee-funny-standup-comedian-close

See, for example, Social Security Administration (1996). Robert J. Myers oral history interview. Retrieved from http://www.ssa.gov/history/myersorl.html

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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8.2  The Topic, General Purpose, Specific Purpose, and Thesis

Before any work can be done on crafting the body of your speech or presentation, you must first do some prep work—selecting a topic, formulating a general purpose, a specific purpose statement, and crafting a central idea, or thesis statement. In doing so, you lay the foundation for your speech by making important decisions about what you will speak about and for what purpose you will speak. These decisions will influence and guide the entire speechwriting process, so it is wise to think carefully and critically during these beginning stages.

Understanding the General Purpose

Before any work on a speech can be done, the speaker needs to understand the general purpose of the speech.  The general purpose is what the speaker hopes to accomplish and will help guide in the selection of a topic. The instructor generally provides the general purpose for a speech, which falls into one of three categories. A general purpose to inform would mean that the speaker is teaching the audience about a topic, increasing their understanding and awareness, or providing new information about a topic the audience might already know.  Informative speeches are designed to present the facts, but not give the speaker’s opinion or any call to action. A general purpose to persuade would mean that the speaker is choosing the side of a topic and advocating for their side or belief.  The speaker is asking the audience to believe in their stance, or to take an action in support of their topic. A general purpose to entertain often entails short speeches of ceremony, where the speaker is connecting the audience to the celebration. You can see how these general purposes are very different.  An informative speech is just facts, the speaker would not be able to provide an opinion or direction on what to do with the information, whereas a persuasive speech includes the speaker’s opinions and direction on what to do with the information. Before a speaker chooses a topic, they must first understand the general purpose.

Selecting a Topic

Generally, speakers focus on one or more interrelated topics—relatively broad concepts, ideas, or problems that are relevant for particular audiences. The most common way that speakers discover topics is by simply observing what is happening around them—at their school, in their local government, or around the world. Opportunities abound for those interested in engaging speech as a tool for change. Perhaps the simplest way to find a topic is to ask yourself a few questions, including:

• What important events are occurring locally, nationally, and internationally?
• What do I care about most?
• Is there someone or something I can advocate for?
• What makes me angry/happy?
• What beliefs/attitudes do I want to share?
• Is there some information the audience needs to know?

Students speak about what is interesting to them and their audiences. What topics do you think are relevant today? There are other questions you might ask yourself, too, but these should lead you to at least a few topical choices. The most important work that these questions do is to locate topics within your pre-existing sphere of knowledge and interest. Topics should be ideas that interest the speaker or are part of their daily lives.  In order for a topic to be effective, the speaker needs to have some credibility or connection to the topic; it would be unfair to ask the audience to donate to a cause that the speaker has never donated to.  There must be a connection to the topic for the speaker to be seen as credible. David Zarefsky (2010) also identifies brainstorming as a way to develop speech topics, a strategy that can be helpful if the questions listed above did not yield an appropriate or interesting topic. Brainstorming involves looking at your daily activities to determine what you could share with an audience.  Perhaps if you work out regularly or eat healthy, you could explain that to an audience, or demonstrate how to dribble a basketball.  If you regularly play video games, you may advocate for us to take up video games or explain the history of video games.  Anything that you find interesting or important might turn into a topic. Starting with a topic you are already interested in will make writing and presenting your speech a more enjoyable and meaningful experience. It means that your entire speechwriting process will focus on something you find important and that you can present this information to people who stand to benefit from your speech. At this point, it is also important to consider the audience before choosing a topic.  While we might really enjoy a lot of different things that could be topics, if the audience has no connection to that topic, then it wouldn’t be meaningful for the speaker or audience.  Since we always have a diverse audience, we want to make sure that everyone in the audience can gain some new information from the speech.  Sometimes, a topic might be too complicated to cover in the amount of time we have to present, or involve too much information then that topic might not work for the assignment, and finally if the audience can not gain anything from a topic then it won’t work.  Ultimately, when we choose a topic we want to pick something that we are familiar with and enjoy, we have credibility and that the audience could gain something from. Once you have answered these questions and narrowed your responses, you are still not done selecting your topic. For instance, you might have decided that you really care about breeds of dogs. This is a very broad topic and could easily lead to a dozen different speeches. To resolve this problem, speakers must also consider the audience to whom they will speak, the scope of their presentation, and the outcome they wish to achieve.

Formulating the Purpose Statements

By honing in on a very specific topic, you begin the work of formulating your purpose statement. In short, a purpose statement clearly states what it is you would like to achieve. Purpose statements are especially helpful for guiding you as you prepare your speech. When deciding which main points, facts, and examples to include, you should simply ask yourself whether they are relevant not only to the topic you have selected, but also whether they support the goal you outlined in your purpose statement. The general purpose statement of a speech may be to inform, to persuade, to celebrate, or to entertain. Thus, it is common to frame a specific purpose statement around one of these goals. According to O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein, a specific purpose statement “expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve” (2004). The specific purpose is a single sentence that states what the audience will gain from this speech, or what will happen at the end of the speech. The specific purpose is a combination of the general purpose and the topic and helps the speaker to focus in on what can be achieved in a short speech.

To go back to the topic of a dog breed, the general purpose might be to inform, a specific purpose might be: To inform the audience about how corgis became household pets. If the general purpose is to persuade the specific purpose might be: to persuade the audience that dog breeds deemed “dangerous” should not be excluded from living in the cities. In short, the general purpose statement lays out the broader goal of the speech while the specific purpose statement describes precisely what the speech is intended to do.  The specific purpose should focus on the audience and be measurable, if I were to ask the audience before I began the speech how many people know how corgis became household pets, they could raise their hand, and if I ask at the end of my speech how many people know how corgis became household pets, I should see a lot more hands.  The specific purpose is the “so what” of the speech, it helps the speaker focus on the audience and take a bigger idea of a topic and narrow it down to what can be accomplished in a short amount of time.

Writing the Thesis Statement

The specific purpose statement is a tool that you will use as you write your speech, but it is unlikely that it will appear verbatim in your speech. Instead, you will want to convert the specific purpose statement into a central idea, or thesis statement that you will share with your audience.  Just like in a written paper, where the thesis comes in the first part of the paper, in a speech, the thesis comes within the first few sentences of the speech.  The thesis must be stated and tells the audience what to expect in this speech. A thesis statement may encapsulate the main idea of a speech in just a sentence or two and be designed to give audiences a quick preview of what the entire speech will be about. The thesis statement should be a single, declarative statement followed by a separate preview statement. If you are a Harry Potter enthusiast, you may write a thesis statement (central idea) the following way using the above approach: J.K. Rowling is a renowned author of the Harry Potter series with a Cinderella-like story of a rise to fame.

Writing the Preview Statement

A preview statement (or series of statements) is a guide to your speech. This is the part of the speech that literally tells the audience exactly what main points you will cover. If you were to get on any freeway, there would be a green sign on the side of the road that tells you what cities are coming up—this is what your preview statement does; it tells the audience what points will be covered in the speech. Best of all, you would know what to look for! So, if we take our J.K Rowling example, the thesis and preview would look like this: J.K. Rowling is a renowned author of the Harry Potter series with a Cinderella-like rags-to-riches story. First, I will tell you about J.K. Rowling’s humble beginnings. Then, I will describe her personal struggles as a single mom. Finally, I will explain how she overcame adversity and became one of the richest women in the United Kingdom.

Writing the Body of Your Speech

Once you have finished the important work of deciding what your speech will be about, as well as formulating the purpose statement and crafting the thesis, you should turn your attention to writing the body of your speech. The body of your speech consists of 3–4 main points that support your thesis and help the audience to achieve the specific purpose.  Creating main points helps to chunk the information you are sharing with your audience into an easy-to-understand organization. Choosing your main points will help you focus in on what information you want to share with the audience in order to prove your thesis. Since we can’t tell the audience everything about our topic, we need to choose our main points to make sure we can share the most important information with our audience. All of your main points are contained in the body, and normally this section is prepared well before you ever write the introduction or conclusion. The body of your speech will consume the largest amount of time to present, and it is the opportunity for you to elaborate on your supporting evidence, such as facts, statistics, examples, and opinions that support your thesis statement and do the work you have outlined in the specific purpose statement. Combining these various elements into a cohesive and compelling speech, however, is not without its difficulties, the first of which is deciding which elements to include and how they ought to be organized to best suit your purpose.

clearly states what it is you would like to achieve

“expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives you hope to achieve” (O'Hair, Stewart, & Rubenstein, 2004)

single, declarative sentence that captures the essence or main point of your entire presentation

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Chapter 3: Preparing for Your First Speech

Determining Your Thesis

Once you have determined your specific purpose (to convince your audience that smoking is harmful), you probably feel that you have narrowed your topic sufficiently to begin gathering information. You begin an online search using some of the key words from your specific purpose (for instance, the harmful effects of smoking) and you are amazed to find that those few key words yield hundreds of possible results -lung cancer, throat and tongue cancer, emphysema, hardening of the arteries, accelerated aging, pulmonary disease, and the list goes on and on. You know you can’t possibly discuss all of these effects in a four- to five-minute speech,  so what now? Now you need to become selective. Which of those results most interests you? Which might best persuade your audience to quit smoking?  You narrow your topic further and decide to concentrate solely on the research involving lung cancer. But which points about lung cancer do you want to share in your presentation?  You need a thesis statement -one sentence that pulls all of your information together and informs your audience of the major points that you intend to cover during your speech.  A thesis statement for a speech on lung cancer might choose to examine the link between lung cancer and smoking, the treatment options for lung cancer patients, and the mortality rate for this type of cancer.

A thesis statement provides your audience with a “preview ” of your speech  in much the same way that a movie trailer previews an upcoming new movie. Movie trailers reveal enough about the movie to capture the audience’s attention and to gain their interest; an effective movie trailer shows us just enough to make us want to see the movie. You want your thesis to do the same.  An effective thesis lets your audience know what ideas you’ll cover, what you consider most important, and how many details you’ll include.  The movie trailer certainly doesn’t reveal the ending or show you the entire movie. Your thesis, likewise, doesn’t go into great detail. You don’t give all your facts, tell all your stories, or share all of your examples in your introduction; you share that information gradually as you work your way through the speech. Your thesis, then, is simply an overview -or a preview -of what your audience will hear if they continue to pay attention and listen to all of your presentation.

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1.2 The Process of Public Speaking

Learning objectives.

• Identify the three components of getting your message across to others.
• Distinguish between the interactional models of communication and the transactional model of communication.
• Explain the three principles discussed in the dialogical theory of public speaking.

Looking4poetry – megaphone head man – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As noted earlier, all of us encounter thousands of messages in our everyday environments, so getting your idea heard above all the other ones is a constant battle. Some speakers will try gimmicks, but we strongly believe that getting your message heard depends on three fundamental components: message, skill, and passion. The first part of getting your message across is the message itself. When what you are saying is clear and coherent, people are more likely to pay attention to it. On the other hand, when a message is ambiguous, people will often stop paying attention. Our discussions in the first part of this book involve how to have clear and coherent content.

The second part of getting your message heard is having effective communication skills. You may have the best ideas in the world, but if you do not possess basic public speaking skills, you’re going to have a problem getting anyone to listen. In this book, we will address the skills you must possess to effectively communicate your ideas to others.

Lastly, if you want your message to be heard, you must communicate passion for your message. One mistake that novice public speakers make is picking topics in which they have no emotional investment. If an audience can tell that you don’t really care about your topic, they will just tune you out. Passion is the extra spark that draws people’s attention and makes them want to listen to your message.

In this section, we’re going to examine the process of public speaking by first introducing you to a basic model of public speaking and then discussing how public speaking functions as dialogue. These models will give you a basic understanding of the communication process and some challenges that you may face as a speaker.

Models of Public Speaking

A basic model of human communication is one of the first topics that most communication teachers start with in any class. For our focus on public speaking, we will introduce two widely discussed models in communication: interactional and transactional.

Interactional Model of Public Speaking

Linear model.

The interactional model of public speaking comes from the work of Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver (Shannon & Weaver, 1949). The original model mirrored how radio and telephone technologies functioned and consisted of three primary parts: source, channel, and receiver. The source was the part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes with listening to a telephone conversation, which they called noise.

Although there are a number of problems with applying this model to human communication, it does have some useful parallels to public speaking. In public speaking, the source is the person who is giving the speech, the channel is the speaker’s use of verbal and nonverbal communication , and the receivers are the audience members listening to the speech. As with a telephone call, a wide range of distractions ( noise ) can inhibit an audience member from accurately attending to a speaker’s speech. Avoiding or adapting to these types of noise is an important challenge for public speakers.

Interactional Model

The interactional model of communication developed by Wilbur Schramm builds upon the linear model (Schramm, 1954). Schramm added three major components to the Shannon and Weaver model. First, Schramm identified two basic processes of communication: encoding and decoding. Encoding is what a source does when “creating a message, adapting it to the receiver, and transmitting it across some source-selected channel” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). When you are at home preparing your speech or standing in front of your classroom talking to your peers, you are participating in the encoding process.

The second major process is the decoding process, or “sensing (for example, hearing or seeing) a source’s message, interpreting the source’s message, evaluating the source’s message, and responding to the source’s message” (Wrench, McCroskey & Richmond, 2008). Decoding is relevant in the public speaking context when, as an audience member, you listen to the words of the speech, pay attention to nonverbal behaviors of the speaker, and attend to any presentation aids that the speaker uses. You must then interpret what the speaker is saying.

Although interpreting a speaker’s message may sound easy in theory, in practice many problems can arise. A speaker’s verbal message, nonverbal communication, and mediated presentation aids can all make a message either clearer or harder to understand. For example, unfamiliar vocabulary, speaking too fast or too softly, or small print on presentation aids may make it difficult for you to figure out what the speaker means. Conversely, by providing definitions of complex terms, using well-timed gestures, or displaying graphs of quantitative information, the speaker can help you interpret his or her meaning.

Once you have interpreted what the speaker is communicating, you then evaluate the message. Was it good? Do you agree or disagree with the speaker? Is a speaker’s argument logical? These are all questions that you may ask yourself when evaluating a speech.

The last part of decoding is “responding to a source’s message,” when the receiver encodes a message to send to the source. When a receiver sends a message back to a source, we call this process feedback . Schramm talks about three types of feedback: direct, moderately direct, and indirect (Schramm, 1954). The first type, direct feedback, occurs when the receiver directly talks to the source. For example, if a speech ends with a question-and-answer period, listeners will openly agree or disagree with the speaker. The second type of feedback, moderately direct, focuses on nonverbal messages sent while a source is speaking, such as audience members smiling and nodding their heads in agreement or looking at their watches or surreptitiously sending text messages during the speech. The final type of feedback, indirect, often involves a greater time gap between the actual message and the receiver’s feedback. For example, suppose you run for student body president and give speeches to a variety of groups all over campus, only to lose on student election day. Your audiences (the different groups you spoke to) have offered you indirect feedback on your message through their votes. One of the challenges you’ll face as a public speaker is how to respond effectively to audience feedback, particularly the direct and moderately direct forms of feedback you receive during your presentation.

Transactional Model of Public Speaking

One of the biggest concerns that some people have with the interactional model of communication is that it tends to place people into the category of either source or receiver with no overlap. Even with Schramm’s model, encoding and decoding are perceived as distinct for sources and receivers. Furthermore, the interactional model cannot handle situations where multiple sources are interacting at the same time (Mortenson, 1972). To address these weaknesses, Dean Barnlund proposed a transactional model of communication (Barnlund, 2008). The basic premise of the transactional model is that individuals are sending and receiving messages at the same time. Whereas the interactional model has individuals engaging in the role of either source or receiver and the meaning of a message is sent from the source to the receiver, the transactional model assumes that meaning is cocreated by both people interacting together.

The idea that meanings are cocreated between people is based on a concept called the “field of experience.” According to West and Turner, a field of experience involves “how a person’s culture, experiences, and heredity influence his or her ability to communicate with another” (West & Turner, 2010). Our education, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, personality, beliefs, actions, attitudes, languages, social status, past experiences, and customs are all aspects of our field of experience, which we bring to every interaction. For meaning to occur, we must have some shared experiences with our audience; this makes it challenging to speak effectively to audiences with very different experiences from our own. Our goal as public speakers is to build upon shared fields of experience so that we can help audience members interpret our message.

Dialogic Theory of Public Speaking

Most people think of public speaking as engaging in a monologue where the speaker stands and delivers information and the audience passively listens. Based on the work of numerous philosophers, however, Ronald Arnett and Pat Arneson proposed that all communication, even public speaking, could be viewed as a dialogue (Arnett & Arneson, 1999). The dialogic theory is based on three overarching principles:

• Dialogue is more natural than monologue.
• Meanings are in people not words.
• Contexts and social situations impact perceived meanings (Bakhtin, 2001a; Bakhtin, 2001b).

Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Dialogue vs. Monologue

The first tenet of the dialogic perspective is that communication should be a dialogue and not a monologue. Lev Yakubinsky argued that even public speaking situations often turn into dialogues when audience members actively engage speakers by asking questions. He even claimed that nonverbal behavior (e.g., nodding one’s head in agreement or scowling) functions as feedback for speakers and contributes to a dialogue (Yakubinsky, 1997). Overall, if you approach your public speaking experience as a dialogue, you’ll be more actively engaged as a speaker and more attentive to how your audience is responding, which will, in turn, lead to more actively engaged audience members.

Meanings Are in People, Not Words

Part of the dialogic process in public speaking is realizing that you and your audience may differ in how you see your speech. Hellmut Geissner and Edith Slembeck (1986) discussed Geissner’s idea of responsibility, or the notion that the meanings of words must be mutually agreed upon by people interacting with each other (Geissner & Slembek, 1986). If you say the word “dog” and think of a soft, furry pet and your audience member thinks of the animal that attacked him as a child, the two of you perceive the word from very different vantage points. As speakers, we must do our best to craft messages that take our audience into account and use audience feedback to determine whether the meaning we intend is the one that is received. To be successful at conveying our desired meaning, we must know quite a bit about our audience so we can make language choices that will be the most appropriate for the context. Although we cannot predict how all our audience members will interpret specific words, we do know that—for example—using teenage slang when speaking to the audience at a senior center would most likely hurt our ability to convey our meaning clearly.

Contexts and Social Situations

Russian scholar Mikhail Bahktin notes that human interactions take place according to cultural norms and rules (Bakhtin, 2001a; Bakhtin, 2001b). How we approach people, the words we choose, and how we deliver speeches are all dependent on different speaking contexts and social situations. On September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama addressed school children with a televised speech ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/PreparedSchoolRemarks ). If you look at the speech he delivered to kids around the country and then at his speeches targeted toward adults, you’ll see lots of differences. These dissimilar speeches are necessary because the audiences (speaking to kids vs. speaking to adults) have different experiences and levels of knowledge. Ultimately, good public speaking is a matter of taking into account the cultural background of your audience and attempting to engage your audience in a dialogue from their own vantage point.

Considering the context of a public speech involves thinking about four dimensions: physical, temporal, social-psychological, and cultural (DeVito, 2009).

Physical Dimension

The physical dimension of communication involves the real or touchable environment where communication occurs. For example, you may find yourself speaking in a classroom, a corporate board room, or a large amphitheater. Each of these real environments will influence your ability to interact with your audience. Larger physical spaces may require you to use a microphone and speaker system to make yourself heard or to use projected presentation aids to convey visual material.

How the room is physically decorated or designed can also impact your interaction with your audience. If the room is dimly lit or is decorated with interesting posters, audience members’ minds may start wandering. If the room is too hot, you’ll find people becoming sleepy. As speakers, we often have little or no control over our physical environment, but we always need to take it into account when planning and delivering our messages.

Temporal Dimension

According to Joseph DeVito, the temporal dimension “has to do not only with the time of day and moment in history but also with where a particular message fits into the sequence of communication events” (DeVito, 2009). The time of day can have a dramatic effect on how alert one’s audience is. Don’t believe us? Try giving a speech in front of a class around 12:30 p.m. when no one’s had lunch. It’s amazing how impatient audience members get once hunger sets in.

In addition to the time of day, we often face temporal dimensions related to how our speech will be viewed in light of societal events. Imagine how a speech on the importance of campus security would be interpreted on the day after a shooting occurred. Compare this with the interpretation of the same speech given at a time when the campus had not had any shootings for years, if ever.

Another element of the temporal dimension is how a message fits with what happens immediately before it. For example, if another speaker has just given an intense speech on death and dying and you stand up to speak about something more trivial, people may downplay your message because it doesn’t fit with the serious tone established by the earlier speech. You never want to be the funny speaker who has to follow an emotional speech where people cried. Most of the time in a speech class, you will have no advance notice as to what the speaker before you will be talking about. Therefore, it is wise to plan on being sensitive to previous topics and be prepared to ease your way subtly into your message if the situation so dictates.

Social-Psychological Dimension

The social-psychological dimension of context refers to “status relationships among participants, roles and games that people play, norms of the society or group, and the friendliness, formality, or gravity of the situation” (DeVito, 2009). You have to know the types of people in your audience and how they react to a wide range of messages.

Cultural Dimension

The final context dimension Joseph DeVito mentions is the cultural dimension (DeVito, 2009). When we interact with others from different cultures, misunderstandings can result from differing cultural beliefs, norms, and practices. As public speakers engaging in a dialogue with our audience members, we must attempt to understand the cultural makeup of our audience so that we can avoid these misunderstandings as much as possible.

Each of these elements of context is a challenge for you as a speaker. Throughout the rest of the book, we’ll discuss how you can meet the challenges presented by the audience and context and become a more effective public speaker in the process.

Key Takeaways

• Getting your message across to others effectively requires attention to message content, skill in communicating content, and your passion for the information presented.
• The interactional models of communication provide a useful foundation for understanding communication and outline basic concepts such as sender, receiver, noise, message, channel, encoding, decoding, and feedback. The transactional model builds on the interactional models by recognizing that people can enact the roles of sender and receiver simultaneously and that interactants cocreate meaning through shared fields of experience.
• The dialogic theory of public speaking understands public speaking as a dialogue between speaker and audience. This dialogue requires the speaker to understand that meaning depends on the speaker’s and hearer’s vantage points and that context affects how we must design and deliver our messages.
• Draw the major models of communication on a piece of paper and then explain how each component is important to public speaking.
• When thinking about your first speech in class, explain the context of your speech using DeVito’s four dimensions: physical, temporal, social-psychological, and cultural. How might you address challenges posed by each of these four dimensions?

Arnett, R. C., & Arneson, P. (1999). Dialogic civility in a cynical age: Community, hope, and interpersonal relationships . Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Bakhtin, M. (2001a). The problem of speech genres. (V. W. McGee, Trans., 1986). In P. Bizzell & B. Herzberg (Eds.), The rhetorical tradition (pp. 1227–1245). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Original work published in 1953.).

Bakhtin, M. (2001b). Marxism and the philosophy of language. (L. Matejka & I. R. Titunik, Trans., 1973). In P. Bizzell & B. Herzberg (Eds.), The rhetorical tradition (pp. 1210–1226). Boston, MA: Medford/St. Martin’s. (Original work published in 1953).

Barnlund, D. C. (2008). A transactional model of communication. In C. D. Mortensen (Ed.), Communication theory (2nd ed., pp. 47–57). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

DeVito, J. A. (2009). The interpersonal communication book (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Geissner, H., & Slembek, E. (1986). Miteinander sprechen und handeln [Speak and act: Living and working together]. Frankfurt, Germany: Scriptor.

Mortenson, C. D. (1972). Communication: The study of human communication . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Schramm, W. (1954). How communication works. In W. Schramm (Ed.), The process and effects of communication (pp. 3–26). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication . Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2010). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, p. 13.

Wrench, J. S., McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (2008). Human communication in everyday life: Explanations and applications . Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 17.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Speechwriting

10 Introductions and Conclusions

Starting and Ending Your Speech

One of the most fundamental components of any public speech is having a strong introduction and conclusion. Your introduction gives the audience their first impression of you. This is your best chance to build credibility. You need to grab the audience’s attention, introduce your topic, and preview how the speech will unfold. The conclusion needs to reiterate your main points and help the audience see how all your main points work together. Additionally, even if the audience got a bit lost or disengaged in the middle, a strong conclusion will leave them with an overall positive reaction to your speech.

Can you imagine how strange a speech would sound without an introduction? Or how jarring it would be if, after making a point, a speaker just walked away from the lectern and sat down? You would be confused, and the takeaway from that speech—even if the content were good—would likely be, “I couldn’t follow” or “That was a weird speech.”

This is just one of the reasons all speeches need introductions and conclusions. Introductions and conclusions serve to frame the speech and give it a clearly defined beginning and end. They help the audience to see what is to come in the speech, and then let them mentally prepare for the end. In doing this, introductions and conclusions provide a “preview/review” of your speech as a means to reiterate or re-emphasize to your audience what you are talking about.

Since speeches are auditory and live, you need to make sure the audience remembers what you are saying. One of the primary functions of an introduction is to preview what you will be covering in your speech, and one of the main roles of the conclusion is to review what you have covered. It may seem like you are repeating yourself and saying the same things over and over, but that repetition ensures that your audience understands and retains what you are saying.

The roles that introductions and conclusions fulfill are numerous, and, when done correctly, can make your speech stronger. The general rule is that the introduction and conclusion should each be about 10-15% of your total speech, leaving 80% for the body section. Let’s say that your informative speech has a time limit of 5-7 minutes: if we average that out to 6 minutes that gives you 360 seconds. Ten to 15 percent means that the introduction and conclusion should each be no more than 1-1/2 minutes.

In the following sections, we will discuss specifically what should be included in the introduction and conclusion and offer several options for accomplishing each.

The Five Elements of an Introduction

Intro element 1: attention-getter.

The first major purpose of an introduction is to gain your audience’s attention and make them interested in what you have to say. First impressions matter. When we meet someone for the first time, it can be only a matter of seconds before we find ourselves interested or disinterested in the person. The equivalent in speechwriting of “first impression” is what is called an attention-getter. This is a statement or question that piques the audience’s interest in what you have to say. There are several strategies you can choose from—verbal and non-verbal—to get the audience’s attention. Below are described the most popular types of attention-getters: quotations, questions, stories, humor, surprise, stories, and references. As well as non-verbal attention-getters involving images, sounds, or objects.

Quotations are a great way to start a speech. That’s why they are used so often as a strategy. Here’s an example that might be used in the opening of a commencement address:

The late actor, fashion icon, and social activist Audrey Hepburn once noted that, “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”

If you use a quotation as your attention getter, be sure to give the source first (as in this example) so that it isn’t mistaken as your own wording.

We often hear speakers begin a speech with a question for the audience. As easy as it sounds, beginning with a question is somewhat tricky. You must decide if you are asking a question because you want a response from the audience, or, on the other hand, if you are asking a question that you will answer, or that will create a dramatic effect. We call these rhetorical questions .

The dangers with a direct question are many. There may be an awkward pause after your question because the audience doesn’t know if you actually want an answer. Or they don’t know how you want the response—a verbal response or a gesture such as a raised hand. Another reason direct questions are delicate is this obvious point: what you are going to do with the response. For example, imagine you have written a speech about the importance of forgiving student debt, and you begin your speech with this question for the audience: “How many of you have more than $10,000 in student loan debt?” You would be creating a problem for yourself if just a few people in the audience raised their hand. If you want to use a direct question, follow these rules:

• make it clear to the audience the means of response. “By a show of hands, how many of you have more than $10,000 in student loan debt?”
• prepare in advance how you will acknowledge different responses.

Contrary to a direct question, you could use a rhetorical question—a question to which no actual reply is expected. For example, a speaker talking about the history of Mother’s Day could start by asking the audience, “Do you remember the last time you told your mom you loved her?” In this case, the speaker does not expect the audience to shout out an answer, but rather to think about the question as the speech goes on.

Finally, when asking a rhetorical question, don’t pause after it, or the audience will get distracted wondering if you’re waiting for a response. Jump right into your speech:

“How many of you have more than $10,000 in student loan debt? If you’re like 78% of college seniors, your answer is probably a yes.”

Humor is an amazing tool when used properly but it’s a double-edged sword. If you don’t wield the sword carefully, you can turn your audience against you very quickly.

When using humor, you really need to know your audience and understand what they will find humorous. One of the biggest mistakes a speaker can make is to use some form of humor that the audience either doesn’t find funny or, worse, finds offensive. We always recommend that you test out humor of any kind on a sample of potential audience members prior to actually using it during a speech. If you do use a typical narrative “joke,” don’t say it happened to you. Anyone who heard the joke before will think you are less than truthful!

As with other attention-getting devices, you need to make sure your humor is relevant to your topic, as one of the biggest mistakes some novices make when using humor is to add humor that really doesn’t support the overall goal of the speech. Therefore, when looking for humorous attention getters, you want to make sure that the humor isn’t going to be offensive to your audience and relevant to your speech.

Another way to start your speech is to surprise your audience with information that will be surprising or startling to your audience. Often, startling statements come in the form of statistics and strange facts. For example, if you’re giving a speech about oil conservation, you could start by saying,

“A Boeing 747 airliner holds 57,285 gallons of fuel.”

That’s a surprising or startling fact. Another version of the surprise form of an attention-getter is to offer a strange fact. For example, you could start a speech on the gambling industry by saying, “There are no clocks in any casinos in Las Vegas.”  You could start a speech on the Harlem Globetrotters by saying, “In 2000, Pope John Paul II became the most famous honorary member of the Harlem Globetrotters.” (These examples come from a great website for strange facts ( http://www. strangefacts.com ).

Although such statements are fun, it’s important to use them ethically. First, make sure that your startling statement is factual. The Internet is full of startling statements and claims that are simply not factual, so when you find a statement that you’d like to use, you have an ethical duty to ascertain its truth before you use it and to provide a reliable citation. Second, make sure that your startling statement is relevant to your speech and not just thrown in for shock value. We’ve all heard startling claims made in the media that are clearly made for purposes of shock or fear mongering, such as “Do you know what common household appliance could kill you? Film at 11:00.” As speakers, we have an ethical obligation to avoid playing on people’s emotions in this way.

Another common type of attention-getter is an account or story of an interesting or humorous event. Notice the emphasis here is on the word “brief.” A common mistake speakers make when telling an anecdote is to make the anecdote too long. An example of an anecdote used in a speech about the pervasiveness of technology might look something like this:

“In July 2009, a high school student named Miranda Becker was walking along a main boulevard near her home on Staten Island, New York, typing in a message on her cell phone. Not paying attention to the world around her, she took a step and fell right into an open maintenance hole.”

Notice that the anecdote is short and has a clear point. From here the speaker can begin to make their point about how technology is controlling our lives.

A personal story is another option here. This is a story about yourself or someone you know that is relevant to your topic. For example, if you had a gastric bypass surgery and you wanted to give an informative speech about the procedure, you could introduce your speech in this way:

“In the fall of 2015, I decided that it was time that I took my life into my own hands. After suffering for years with the disease of obesity, I decided to take a leap of faith and get a gastric bypass in an attempt to finally beat the disease.”

Two primary issues that you should be aware of often arise with using stories as attention getters. First, you shouldn’t let your story go on for too long. If you are going to use a story to begin your speech, you need to think of it more in terms of summarizing the story rather than recounting it in its entirety. The second issue with using stories as attention getters is that the story must in some way relate to your speech. If you begin your speech by recounting the events in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” your speech will in some way need to address such topics as finding balance or coming to a compromise. If your story doesn’t relate to your topic, you will confuse your audience and they may spend the remainder of your speech trying to figure out the connection rather than listening to what you have to say.

You can catch the attention of the audience by referencing information of special interest. This includes references to the audience itself, and their interests. It can also mean references to current events or events in the past.

Your audience is a factor of utmost importance when crafting your speech, so it makes sense that one approach to opening your speech is to make a direct reference to the audience. In this case, the speaker has a clear understanding of the audience and points out that there is something unique about the audience that should make them interested in the speech’s content. Here’s an example:

“As students at State College, you and I know the importance of selecting a major that will benefit us in the future. In today’s competitive world, we need to study a topic that will help us be desirable to employers and provide us with lucrative and fulfilling careers. That’s why I want you all to consider majoring in communication.”

Referring to a current news event that relates to your topic is often an effective way to capture attention, as it immediately makes the audience aware of how relevant the topic is in today’s world. For example, consider this attention getter for a persuasive speech on frivolous lawsuits:

“On January 10 of this year, two prisoners escaped from a Pueblo, Colorado, jail. During their escape, the duo attempted to rappel from the roof of the jail using a makeshift ladder of bed sheets. During one prisoner’s attempt to scale the building, he slipped, fell forty feet, and injured his back. After being quickly apprehended, he filed a lawsuit against the jail for making it too easy for him to escape.”

In this case, the speaker is highlighting a news event that illustrates what a frivolous lawsuit is, setting up the speech topic of a need for change in how such lawsuits are handled.

A variation of this kind of reference is to open your speech with a reference about something that happened in the past. For example, if you are giving a speech on the perception of modern music as crass or having no redeeming values, you could refer to Elvis Presley and his musical breakout in the 1950s as a way of making a comparison:

“During the mid-1950s, Elvis Presley introduced the United States to a new genre of music: rock and roll. It was initially viewed as distasteful, and Presley was himself chastised for his gyrating dance moves and flashy style. Today he is revered as “The King of Rock ‘n Roll.” So, when we criticize modern artists for being flamboyant or over the top, we may be ridiculing some of the most important musical innovators we will know in our lifetimes.”

In this example, the speaker is evoking the audience’s knowledge of Elvis to raise awareness of similarities to current artists that may be viewed today as he was in the 1950s.

Non-Verbal Attention-Getters

The last variation of attention-getter discussed here is the non-verbal sort. You can get the audience interested in your speech by beginning with an image on a slide, music, sound, and even objects. As with all attention-getters, a non-verbal choice should be relevant to the topic of your speech and appropriate for your audience. The use of visual images and sounds shouldn’t be used if they require a trigger warning or content advisory.

This list of attention-getting devices represents a thorough, but not necessarily exhaustive, range of ways that you can begin your speech. Again, as mentioned earlier, your selection of attention getter isn’t only dependent on your audience, your topic, and the occasion, but also on your preferences and skills as a speaker. If you know that you are a bad storyteller, you might elect not to start your speech with a story. If you tend to tell jokes that no one laughs at, avoid starting your speech off with humor.

Intro Element 2: Establish Your Credibility

Whether you are informing, persuading, or entertaining an audience, one of the things they’ll be expecting is that you know what you’re talking about or that you have some special interest in the speech topic. To do this, you will need to convey to your audience, not only what you know, but how you know what you know about your topic.

Sometimes, this will be simple. If you’re informing your audience how a baseball is thrown and you have played baseball since you were eight years old, that makes you a very credible source. In your speech, you can say something like this:

“Having played baseball for over ten years, including two years as the starting pitcher on my high school’s varsity team, I can tell you about the ways that pitchers throw different kind of balls in a baseball game.”

In another example, if you were trying to convince your audience to join Big Brothers Big Sisters and you have been volunteering for years, you could say:

“I’ve been serving with Big Brothers Big Sisters for the last two years, and I can tell you that the experience is very rewarding.”

However, sometimes you will be speaking on a topic with which you have no experience. In these cases, use your interest in the subject as your credibility. For example, imagine you are planning a speech on the history of how red, yellow, and green traffic signals came to be used in the United States. You chose that topic because you plan to major in Urban Planning. In this case you might say something like:

“As someone who has always been interested in the history of transportation, and as a future Urban Studies major, I will share with you what I’ve been learning about the invention of traffic signals in America.”

It is around the credibility statement that you can usually find the moment to introduce yourself:

“Hi, I’m Josh Cohen, a sophomore studying Psychology here at North State University. I’ve been serving with Big Brothers Big Sisters for the last two years, and I can tell you that the experience is very rewarding.”

Establishing credibility as a speaker has a broader meaning, explained in depth in the chapter “ Ethics in Public Speaking. ”

Intro Element 3: Establish Rapport

Credibility is about establishing the basis of your knowledge, so that the audience can trust in the reliability of  what you say.  Rapport is about establishing a connection with the audience, so that the audience can trust who you are. 

Rapport means the relationship or connection you make with your audience. To make a good connection, you’ll need to convey to your audience that you understand their interests, share them, and have a speech that will benefit them. Here is an example from an informative speech on the poet Lord Byron:

“You may be asking yourselves why you need to know about Lord Byron. If you take Humanities 120 as I did last semester, you’ll be discussing his life and works. After listening to my speech today, you’ll have a good basis for better learning in that course.”

In this example, the speaker connects to the audience with a shared interest and conveyed in these sentences the idea that the speaker has the best interests of the audience in mind by giving them information that would benefit them in a future course they might take.

The way that a speaker establishes connection with the audience is often by leaning in on the demographic of group affiliation.

“As college students, we all know the challenge of finding time to get our homework done.”

Intro Element 4: Preview Purpose & Central Idea

The fourth essential element of an introduction is to reveal the purpose and thesis of your speech to your audience. Have you ever come away after a speech and had no idea what the speech was about (purpose)? Have you ever sat through a speech wondering what the point was (central idea)? An introduction should provide this information from the beginning, so that the audience doesn’t have to figure it out. (If you’re still not certain what purpose and thesis are, now is good time to review this chapter ).

Whether you’re writing a speech or drafting an essay, previewing is essential. Like a sign on a highway that tells. you what’s ahead, a preview is a succinct statement that reveals the content to come. The operative word here is “succinct.”  A preview statement for a short speech should be no more than two or three sentences. Consider the following example:

“In my speech today, I’m going to paint a profile of Abraham Lincoln, a man who overcame great adversity to become the President of the United States. During his time in office, he faced increasing opposition from conservative voices in government, as well as some dissension among his own party, all while being thrust into a war he didn’t want.”

Notice that this preview provides the purpose of this informative speech and its central idea of struggle. While it’s constructed from the specific purpose statement and central thesis, it presents them more smoothly, less awkwardly. Here is how purpose and thesis statements are smoothly combined in a preview:

Intro Element 5: Preview Your Main Points

Just like previewing your topic, previewing your main points helps your audience know what to expect throughout the course of your speech and prepares them to listen.

Your preview of the main points should be clear and easy to follow so that there is no question in your audience’s minds about what they are. Be succinct and simple: “Today, in my discussion of Abraham Lincoln’s life, I will look at his birth, his role a president, and his assassination.” If you want to be extra sure the audiences hears these, you can always enumerate your main points by using signposts (first, second, third, and so on): “In discussing how to make chocolate chip cookies, first we will cover what ingredients you need, second we will talk about how to mix them, and third we will look at baking them.”

Tips for Introductions

Together, these five elements of introduction prepare your audience by getting them interested in your speech (#1 attention-getter); conveying your knowledge (#2 credibility); conveying your good will (#3 rapport); letting them what you’ll be talking about and why (#4 preview topic and thesis); and finally, that to expect in the body of the speech (#5 preview of main points).  Including all five elements starts your speech off on solid ground. Here are some additional tips:

• Writers often find it best to write an introduction after the other parts of the speech are drafted.
• When selecting an attention-getting device, you want to make sure that the option you choose is appropriate to your audience and relevant to your topic.
• Avoid starting a speech by saying your name. Instead choose a good attention-getter and put your self-introduction after it.
• You cannot “wing it” on an introduction. It needs to be carefully planned. Even if you are speaking extemporaneously, consider writing out the entire introduction.
• Avoid saying the specific purpose statement, especially as first words. Instead, shape your specific purpose and thesis statement into a smooth whole.
• don’t begin to talk as you approach the platform or lectern; instead, it’s preferable to reach your destination, pause, smile, and then begin;
• don’t just read your introduction from your notes; instead, it’s vital to establish eye contact in the introduction, so knowing it very well is important;
• don’t talk too fast; instead, go a little slower at the beginning of your speech and speak clearly.  This will let your audience get used to your voice.

Here are two examples of a complete introduction, containing all five elements:

Example #1: “My parents knew that something was really wrong when my mom received a call from my home economics teacher saying that she needed to get to the school immediately and pick me up. This was all because of an allergy, something that everyone in this room is either vaguely or extremely familiar with. Hi, I’m Alison. I’m a physician assistant from our Student Health Center and an allergy sufferer. Allergies affect a large number of people, and three very common allergies include pet and animal allergies, seasonal allergies, and food allergies. All three of these allergies take control over certain areas of my life, as all three types affect me, starting when I was just a kid and continuing today. Because of this, I have done extensive research on the subject, and would like to share some of what I’ve learned with all of you today. Whether you just finished your first year of college, you are a new parent, or you have kids that are grown and out of the house, allergies will most likely affect everyone in this room at some point. So, it will benefit you all to know more about them, specifically the three most common sources of allergies and the most recent approaches to treating them.”

Example #2 “When winter is approaching and the days are getting darker and shorter, do you feel a dramatic reduction in energy, or do you sleep longer than usual during the fall or winter months? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you may be one of the millions of people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. For most people, these problems don’t cause great suffering in their life, but for an estimated six percent of the United States population these problems can result in major suffering. Hi, I’m Derrick and as a student in the registered nursing program here at State College, I became interested in SAD after learning more about it. I want to share this information with all of you in case you recognize some of these symptoms in yourself or someone you love. In order to fully understand SAD, it’s important to look at the medical definition of SAD, the symptoms of this disorder, and the measures that are commonly used to ease symptoms.”

The Three Elements of a Conclusion

Like an introduction, the conclusion has specific elements that you must incorporate in order to make it as strong as possible. Given the nature of these elements and what they do, these should be incorporated into your conclusion in the order they are presented below.

Conclusion Element 1: Signal the End

The first thing a good conclusion should do is to signal the end of a speech. You may be thinking that telling an audience that you’re about to stop speaking is a “no brainer,” but many speakers really don’t prepare their audience for the end. When a speaker just suddenly stops speaking, the audience is left confused and disappointed. Instead, you want to make sure that audiences are left knowledgeable and satisfied with your speech. In a way, it gives them time to begin mentally organizing and cataloging all the points you have made for further consideration later.

The easiest way to signal that it’s the end of your speech is to begin your conclusion with the words, “In conclusion.” Similarly, “In summary” or “To conclude” work just as well.

Conclusion Element 2: Restate Main Points

In the introduction of a speech, you delivered a preview of your main points; now in the conclusion you will deliver a review. One of the biggest differences between written and oral communication is the necessity of repetition in oral communication (the technique of “planned redundancy” again). When you preview your main points in the introduction, effectively make transitions to your main points during the body of the speech, and finally, review the main points in the conclusion, you increase the likelihood that the audience will understand and retain your main points after the speech is over.

Because you are trying to remind the audience of your main points, you want to be sure not to bring up any new material or ideas . For example, if you said, “There are several other issues related to this topic, such as…but I don’t have time for them,” that would just make the audience confused. Or, if you were giving a persuasive speech on wind energy, and you ended with “Wind energy is the energy of the future, but there are still a few problems with it, such as noise and killing lots of birds,” then you are bringing up an argument that should have been dealt with in the body of the speech.

As you progress as a public speaker, you will want to learn to rephrase your summary statement so that it doesn’t sound like an exact repeat of the preview. For example, if your preview was:

“The three arguments in favor of medical marijuana that I will present are that it would make necessary treatments available to all, it would cut down on the costs to law enforcement, and it would bring revenue to state budgets.”

Your summary might be:

“In the minutes we’ve had together, I have shown you that approving medical marijuana in our state will greatly help persons with a variety of chronic and severe conditions. Also, funds spent on law enforcement to find and convict legitimate marijuana users would go down as revenues from medical marijuana to the state budget would go up.”

Conclusion Element 3: Clinchers

The third element of your conclusion is the clincher. This is something memorable with which to conclude your speech. The clincher is sometimes referred to as a concluding device . These are the very last words you will say in your speech, so you need to make them count. It will make your speech more memorable.

In many ways the clincher is like the inverse of the attention getter. You want to start the speech off with something strong, and you want to end the speech with something strong.

To that end, like what we discussed above with attention getters, there are several common strategies you can use to make your clincher strong and memorable: quotation, question, call to action, visualizing the future, refer back to the introduction, or appeal to audience self-interest.

As in starting a speech with a quotation, ending the speech with one allows you to summarize your main point or provoke thought.

I’ll leave you with these inspirational words by Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Some quotations will inspire your audience to action:

I urge you to sponsor a child in a developing country. Remember the words by Forest Witcraft, who said, “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

In this case, the quotation leaves the audience with the message that monetary sacrifices are worth making.

Another way you can end a speech is to ask a rhetorical question that forces the audience to ponder an idea. Maybe you are giving a speech on the importance of the environment, so you end the speech by saying, “Think about your children’s future. What kind of world do you want them raised in? A world that is clean, vibrant, and beautiful—or one that is filled with smog, pollution, filth, and disease?” Notice that you aren’t asking the audience to answer the question verbally or nonverbally, so it’s a rhetorical question.

Call to Action

Calls to action are used specifically in persuasive speeches. It is something you want the audience to do, either immediately or in the future. If a speaker wants to see a new traffic light placed at a dangerous intersection, the clincher would be to ask all the audience members to sign a petition right then and there. For a speech about buying an electric vehicle, the clincher would ask the audience to keep in mind an electric vehicle the “next time they buy a car.”

Another kind of call to action takes the form of a challenge. In a speech on the necessity of fundraising, a speaker could conclude by challenging the audience to raise 10 percent more than their original projections. In a speech on eating more vegetables, you could challenge your audience to increase their current intake of vegetables by two portions daily. In both these challenges, audience members are being asked to go out of their way to do something different that involves effort on their part.

Visualizing the Future

The purpose of a conclusion that refers to the future is to help your audience imagine the future you believe can occur. If you are giving a speech on the development of video games for learning, you could conclude by depicting the classroom of the future where video games are perceived as true learning tools. More often, speakers use visualization of the future to depict how society or how individual listeners’ lives would be different if the audience accepts and acts on the speaker’s main idea. For example, if a speaker proposes that a solution to illiteracy is hiring more reading specialists in public schools, the speaker could ask their audience to imagine a world without illiteracy.

Refer Back to Introduction

This method provides a good sense of closure to the speech. If you started the speech with a startling statistic or fact, such as “Last year, according to the official website of the American Humane Society, four million pets were euthanized in shelters in the United States,” in the end you could say, “Remember that shocking number of four million euthanized pets? With your donation of time or money to the Northwest Georgia Rescue Shelter, you can help lower that number in our region.”

Appeal to Audience Self-Interest

The last concluding device involves a direct reference to your audience. This concluding device is used when a speaker attempts to answer the basic audience question, “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM). The goal of this concluding device is to spell out the direct benefits a behavior or thought change has for audience members. For example, a speaker talking about stress reduction techniques could have a clincher like this: “If you want to better a better immune system, better heart health, and more happiness, all it takes are following the techniques I talked about today.”

Tips for Conclusions

In terms of the conclusions, be careful NOT to:

• signal the end multiple times. In other words, no “multiple conclusions.”
• ramble: if you signal the end, then end your speech;
• talking as you leave the platform or lectern.
• indicating with facial expression or body language that you were not happy with the speech.

Some examples of conclusions:

Conclusion Example #1: “Anxiety is a complex emotion that afflicts people of all ages and social backgrounds and is experienced uniquely by each individual. We have seen that there are multiple symptoms, causes, and remedies, all of which can often be related either directly or indirectly to cognitive behaviors. While most people don’t enjoy anxiety, it seems to be part of the universal human experience, so realize that you are not alone, but also realize that you are not powerless against it. With that said, the following quote, attributed to an anonymous source, could not be truer, ‘Worry does not relieve tomorrow of its stress; it merely empties today of its strength.’ “

Conclusion Example #2: “I believe you should adopt a rescue animal because it helps stop forms of animal cruelty, you can add a healthy companion to your home, and it’s a relatively simple process that can save a life. Each and every one of you should go to your nearest animal shelter, which may include the Catoosa Citizens for Animal Care, the Humane Society of NWGA in Dalton, the Murray County Humane Society, or the multiple other shelters in the area to bring a new animal companion into your life. I’ll leave you with a paraphrased quote from Deborah Jacobs’s article “Westminster Dog Show Junkie” on Forbes.com: ‘You may start out thinking that you are rescuing the animal, and ultimately find that the animal rescues you right back.’ “

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Public Speaking as an Effective Skill Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Public speaking is a highly important and useful skill that carries multiple advantages for personal life and professional career. Public speaking skills are required for specialists of various kinds. In this regard, mastering public speaking is going to serve as great enforcement for anyone. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate different situations where public speaking skills play an important role to show the reasons why public speaking is considered an effective skill.

First of all, the knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking provides one with multiple benefits such as understanding the ways people think and process the information, communicating thoughtfully and with higher efficiency, using the critical thinking, knowing how to organise and prepare presentations, researching the unfamiliar audiences and using appropriate communication strategies (Coopman, Lull 2014, p. 12). It is a well-known fact that most people experience certain difficulties in adjusting to a new society. For example, in a situation when a person starts working at a new place, they would feel the need to fit into the group of new co-workers, find a common language and establish friendly atmosphere at the workplace.

Public speaking skills provide a person with an ability to evaluate the audience, analyse their needs, learn their potentials, and successfully build contact with them. Proper application of public speaking knowledge will allow the new member of a group to move through the stage of getting to know the colleagues and feel comfortable talking with new people in unfamiliar situations (Coopman & Lull 2014, p. 12). In this case, public speaking skills will allow avoiding the discomfort at the workplace, which may lead to disruption of the work process and create problems for the whole company.

The most obvious situation where public speaking skills are always very useful is an actual performance in front of a group of people such as a public address, presentation of a new project at work, or a motivational speech. In such situations, the speaker can represent a group of fellows or the ideas important for many people. Due to this, a successful performance and efficient delivery of information are highly valuable and important (Keith & Lundberg 2013, p. 4). When one person is chosen to speak on behalf of many, it creates a certain pressure and responsibility for the speaker. In the case of the successful performance of one, the whole group will benefit. The good public speaker has to be able to present the information, keep the audience interested in the delivered ideas, and defend the point of view in case of criticism or counter argumentation.

The skills of public speaking provide one with courage, confidence, and the ability to fluently express themselves. One more situation that demonstrates the importance of public speaking skills is a casual conversation with a stranger. People are social creatures, interpersonal relationships of different kinds are highly important for us. Starting and maintaining friendships, being close to family members, having romantic relationships makes our lives easier and fuller. A skillful speaker will be able to represent themselves in the best and most appropriate way. This can be quite a challenging occupation. Performing in front of just one person is another variation of public speaking (Goldwasser 2006, p. 42). Successful personal representation in any situation, will it be a first date or a job interview, is extremely meaningful for anyone. This is why the development of public speaking skills is considered highly beneficial.

To conclude, almost every day, people face situations where speaking in front of an audience is required. The size of the audience may vary from one to hundreds or thousands of people, but the importance of professional and efficient delivery of information is always high. Knowledge of theoretical and practical sides of public speaking will enable the speaker to feel confident and comfortable and to present themselves and the necessary information in the best ways.

Coopman, S. & Lull, J. 2014, Public Speaking: The Evolving Art. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.

Goldwasser, I. 2006, Interactive Communication: A Guide to Effective Communication. Pearson Education Australia, Sydney.

Keith, W. & Lundberg, C. 2013, Public Speaking: Choice and Responsibility. Cengage Learning United States, Boston.

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My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Writing a Thesis Statement – Template & Examples

Amanda Green was born in a small town in the west of Scotland, where everyone knows everyone. I joined the Toastmasters 15 years ago, and I served in nearly every office in the club since then. I love helping others gain confidence and skills they can apply in every day life.

The thesis statement aims to inform your readers what your essay or speech will cover. It provides contexts and limitations on your topic.

Your thesis statement can make or break your essay. Even though it’s only one to two sentences short, it’s still the most challenging part of your paper to write. Follow these templates and examples when writing your thesis statement.

What Is a Thesis Statement?

Whether in high school or college, you’ve probably heard of the term thesis statement when writing school essays. A thesis statement is a single idea found in the introductory paragraph of every piece.

As the secret to a strong essay outline, this statement sums up the central idea of your essay. It informs the reader how you will analyze, argue, or describe a subject matter. It also directly answers the question, “What is your paper all about?”

A weak thesis statement won’t be able to tell the reader what to expect from your paper. The thesis statement is also different from the topic sentence, which is a sentence summing up every body paragraph.

Why Your Essay Needs a Thesis Statement

It would help if you spent extra time writing an effective thesis statement in your essays so that the readers will know its scope. The thesis also informs the readers of your ideas on your paper, especially if you’re writing academic papers like analytical or argumentative essays.

A clear thesis statement will make the audience understand your stance if you’re writing about a debatable topic. It will ensure that your relevant evidence is related to the paper and that your ideas can be tested.

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Where to Put the Thesis Statement

Thesis statements usually appear at the end of the essay introduction and before the body paragraphs.

Thesis statements are usually generated once you’ve decided on the type of essay you’re making, whether it’s an informative or argumentative essay. It would help if you also decided on the topic of your entire paper before writing the direct statement.

Tips for Writing a Thesis Statement

Consider these tips and examples when writing a thesis statement for your essay.

Determine the Type of Paper You’re Writing

Different types of papers require different methods for writing a thesis statement. Once you understand the formula, you’ll develop a strong thesis that can be supported by substantial evidence.

An argumentative thesis statement should state the position you argue for or against with all the key points. Here are some argumentative thesis statement examples.

• The war on drugs has more disadvantages than advantages because it leads to the criminalization of drug users, mandatory sentencing, and excessive imprisonment levels that directly impact the poor.
• The federal government should regulate the size of chips and sodas because of the health effects of junk food.

Meanwhile, an expository paper aims to explain. That means there should be no opinion or persuasion in this sentence. Take a look at these expository thesis statement examples.

• The government allots most of its budget to the military rather than the education system or food security.
• The rate of suicide is higher among men than women.

An analytical essay focuses on exploring a concept in-depth. That means the thesis statement may serve as a summary of your analysis. Here are some analytical thesis statement examples.

• The implications of Olivia Wilde’s movie, Don’t Worry Darling, contributes to notions of liberal feminism.
• In modern times, Korean music is heavily influencing the consumption of Filipinos.

Ask a Question

Don’t forget to ask a question whenever you write a thesis statement for your paper. If the professor assigns a topic to you, the assignment question may serve as a guide to your thesis. But if they haven’t assigned a topic, you should think about what you want to discuss and turn it into an interrogative statement.

Here are a few quick sample questions based on the types of thesis statements you will produce.

• Argumentative thesis question: Should cigarettes and other tobacco products be outlawed?
• Expository thesis question: What are the health effects of a lack of sleep?
• Analytical thesis question: How are Virginia Woolf’s works relevant to modern times?

Below is a sample thesis statement for the analytical thesis question.

• Virginia Woolf’s novels and essays have shaped women’s writing, artistic theory, and the politics of power.

As you can see, a single sentence could answer the question and produce a thesis statement. However, this answer may still be tentative. It should only guide your research process first. Along the way, your analysis and writing structure may still change.

Decide on an Answer You Can Defend or Explain

After conducting enough research on your thesis statement, it’s time to finalize your answer. Will your strong thesis statement be supported by richer ideas and evidence throughout the paper?

Importantly, your statement should definitely be something that a reader could disagree with, even if it’s an expository essay.

For example, it’s not enough to say that “Access to foreign countries has a huge effect on our culture” since the statement is too obvious. Instead, ask yourself why or how it has a huge effect. Think of a position that your readers could rationally disagree with or dispute.

Here is an example to show you what I mean.

“Access to foreign countries has enabled cultural changes by bringing people of different backgrounds and traditions together.”

Here are other examples of argumentative and analytical thesis statements.

• Argumentative: COVID-19 vaccinations should be mandatory.
• Analytical: A Little Life by Hanya Yanaghihara is an unrealistic representation of mental health struggles.

Refine Your Thesis Statement

Thesis statements are clear and concise, at most two sentences. However, they should be specific enough to summarize the key arguments of your paper and answer the essay question.

From your initial answer, you need to make some expansions that will include every point in your body paragraphs. Below is an example of an incomplete argumentative thesis statement with main points.

• COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
• COVID-19 vaccines will reduce hospitalizations and deaths.

Once everything is set, it’s time to refine your thesis statement. Your goal is to write your main point and supporting details in one to two sentences. Below is an example.

• COVID-19 vaccinations should be mandatory because they are safe and effective and can help reduce hospitalizations and deaths caused by COVID-19.

Here’s another example of a complete thesis statement.

• The benefits of internet use among adolescents outweigh the downsides: It allows them to easily access information, develop their identities through self-expression, and hone critical thinking skills.

If you find this step challenging, you can hire professional essay writers to generate a thesis statement and outline for your essay needs.

Check if Your Thesis Statement Is Strong

Whether you’re writing an essay about politics or cinema, you need to maintain a solid thesis statement. Here are some questions to ask when checking your thesis.

Was I Able to Answer the Question?

As you already know, the question depends on the type of paper you’re writing. Your answer should be a clear and concise 1-2 sentence statement. Try changing the wording if the question prompt isn’t phrased as a question.

Have I Shared an Opinion That Others Might Oppose?

Your argumentative thesis statement should not merely state facts that people already know. Remember that you’re not writing a summary, so make your thesis as opinionated as possible.

Beyond being debatable, you should also have a convincing thesis statement. This is especially important if you’re writing persuasive essays.

Is It Specific Enough?

Being specific is critical to producing a solid statement. Make sure it does not contain general words like good or successful . Once your argument is strong, the process of writing essays will be much easier.

Does the Entire Essay Support the Thesis?

An ineffective thesis statement does not support the next couple of paragraphs of the entire essay. Therefore, if you say that low-income students and student-athletes should receive more assistance in terms of their crippling student debt, then your empirical evidence should support it in your argumentative paper.

The Backbone of Your Essay Is Your Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is a declarative statement that expresses your paper’s position or main topic. It fulfills the several roles of your paper, whether it’s a research paper, an essay for coursework, or a speech.

Make sure to place your thesis statement at the end of your introduction before your first body paragraph.

More Thesis Statement Examples

• Incorrect: People should eat healthily.
• Correct: Americans should start eating a balanced diet because it keeps their body healthy and prevents the risk of stroke.
• Incorrect: Everyone should stop smoking because it is bad for our health.
• Correct: Individuals must stop smoking because it causes cancer, lung disease, and diabetes.
• Incorrect: Listening to music can make people feel relaxed.
• Correct: Listening to music relieves stress as the brain synchronizes to the beat and causes alpha brainwaves.

Thesis Statement Template

Use these templates for your essays when writing a thesis statement.

Comparison/Contrast Thesis Statement Templates

• The similarities between ____________ and ____________ are [striking, pronounced], and they ____________ [deserve, merit] [thorough, rigorous, meticulous] [investigation, scrutiny, examination].
• [Despite, despite bearing, although they bear] some [superficial, minor] similarities, the differences between ____________ and ____________ are [clear, striking, remarkable, pronounced].
• While some differences between ____________ and ____________ are [evident, obvious, noticeable], the similarities are ____________.

Proposition Thesis Statement Templates

• The [belief, thought, notion, idea, proposition] that ____________ is ____________ is [an interesting, a fascinating, a thought-provoking, a provocative] one, and one that I believe in.
• ____________ is true because of ____________.

Informative Thesis Statement Template

• The ____________ is characterized by ____________, ____________, and ____________.
• An analysis of ____________ reveals that ____________.

How to Write the Best Commencement Speech – Tips & Examples

Persuasive Essay Outline – Examples, Templates & Structure

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© 2024 My Speech Class

Exploring Public Speaking - 4th Edition

(46 reviews)

Kris Barton, Florida State University

Barbara G. Tucker, University of Georgia

Copyright Year: 2016

Last Update: 2019

Publisher: University System of Georgia

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Amy Powell, Adjunct Professor, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College on 12/6/22

This text includes comprehensive content and theories for any public speaking class. The material includes all areas that are important to an intro public speaking class. The material is presented in a way to will benefit students in ‘real’ life... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text includes comprehensive content and theories for any public speaking class. The material includes all areas that are important to an intro public speaking class. The material is presented in a way to will benefit students in ‘real’ life situations; applicable to speaking well beyond undergrad classes.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and written in an easy to comprehend manner.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant and the text is written in an articulate way, that will not require major updates or revisions.

Clarity rating: 5

The material is presented in a manner that even non-communication students can grasp the material.

Consistency rating: 5

The organization is consistent across chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

I assign the chapters in a different order from the text, and it is organized such that it is easy for students to follow and take chapters out of order.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text is logical. I assign the chapters in a different way, to spread out the presentation of speeches.

Interface rating: 5

I see no issues with the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are minimal, if any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There are not any discrimination examples. Teaching at a tribal college, there are minimal examples or mentions of indigenous cultures.

I value this text and the fact that it is available at no cost to students. Public speaking is a skill that all people will eventually use, and my goal is that students will maintain the pdf text for years to come.

Reviewed by Sandra Bryant, Assistant Professor, Tidewater Community College on 12/2/22

The text covers all the aspects of traditional public speaking texts. They offer PowerPoint and teaching materials. What they do address that are not covered in other traditional public speaking texts are cultural diversity and art of funny or... read more

The text covers all the aspects of traditional public speaking texts. They offer PowerPoint and teaching materials. What they do address that are not covered in other traditional public speaking texts are cultural diversity and art of funny or funny talk. Those areas are necessary in the world in which we live and I applaud the authors for including them.

I found no problems within the text in terms of word choice, editorial confusion or lack of consistency. It was much clearer and more accurate than other texts.

Text is up to date but remains relevant. I believe next version planned will address social media. However, this text addresses 'public speaking online' most recent pandemic. Coverage of material was welcomed and helped students in virtual learning settings.

Clear, concise language is used throughout. Limited jargon except when addressing theories.

Very consistent and understandable in terminology and functional framework.

Text is grouped along chapters that can easily be translated into weekly reading and course modules.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Well organized and easy to follow and understand.

Multiple formats to secure the material that can be manipulated for all types of learners. For me, access to read online using cellular device works great. The student must have enough memory to perform this function.

I found no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found no cultural inconsistency within examples and photos in the book.

My students love this book. They download read and use it. I appreciate this alternative to the high end textbooks most students can't afford.

Reviewed by Ashley Page, Instructor of Communication, Fort Scott Community College on 9/28/22

I am currently using this textbook in my public speaking class. It covers everything needed! Gives terrific details and examples and students especially love the outline examples shared. read more

I am currently using this textbook in my public speaking class. It covers everything needed! Gives terrific details and examples and students especially love the outline examples shared.

This book is very accurate and shares details in a way students will understand and relate to. Error free and flows well.

Content is up to date and covers material well!

The book follows and order similar to what I cover in class and any jargon/terminology used is explained and given examples.

The terminology is very consistent with the world of public speaking and easy to understand.

Very easily divisible! Flows in a way that is perfect for a 16-week course.

Flows in an easy to follow way and helps students grow in skills as they get further in the book.

No distorted images or confusion to reader.

No grammatical errors

Great examples shared in this book!

Excellent textbook! It was easy to follow and gave great examples to students. Students especially loved the example outlines shared in the textbook and examples shared.

Reviewed by Deborah Charette, Adjunct Instructor, Bristol Community College on 6/30/21

Not having used OER materials yet and not knowing what to expect, I am impressed with the comprehensiveness of this text. Every important aspect of effective public speaking, including cultural diversity and audience awareness, is addressed. Also... read more

Not having used OER materials yet and not knowing what to expect, I am impressed with the comprehensiveness of this text. Every important aspect of effective public speaking, including cultural diversity and audience awareness, is addressed. Also included is a glossary and plentiful useful appendices such as Succeeding as a College Student, Public Speaking Online, and APA Citation.

This text appears to be accurate and spot-on with necessary information. Plagiarism, ethics in speaking and preparing one's information, and the use of presentation (visual) aids are a few examples of what is knowledgeably explained.

I think this text is reliably relevant and can readily be updated as well as customized as necessary. In particular, the chapters on special occasion speeches and persuasive speeches.

Exploring Public Speaking is, in my opinion, coherently written with well-organized content. Students won't find the information and explanations overwhelming. Chapters are presented in separate modules that all come together effectively.

This text is congruous with its terminology and overall framework of subject matter.

Chapters are presented in separate modules that all come together effectively. For example, Chapter 4: Developing Topics for Your Speech is categorized into four sections: Getting Started with Your Topic and Purpose; Formulating a Specific Purpose Statement; Formulating a Central Idea Statement; Problems to Avoid with Specific Purpose and Central Idea Statements.

The structural flow of this text is sensible.

I did not come across interface issues within this book.

I did not come across grammatical errors, misspellings, or poor editing.

Exploring Public Speaking addresses the importance of cultural awareness, sensitivity, and respect throughout the book. Also included is an appendix entitled Cultural Diversity in Public Speaking whose subsections are "Benefits and Challenges" and "Implications".

I have used Speaking With a Purpose (Koch and Schmitt) for several years because I feel it addresses the needs of the speaker and student well. In reviewing Exploring Public Speaking, I found a close kinship with my go-to text and will not hesitate to incorporate it into my course.

Reviewed by Joseph Nicola, Professor, Century College on 5/27/21

This text covers all key concepts and key terms associated with an undergrad Public Speaking Course. Examples of a Keyword Outline are lacking. Found on pages of 416-417 of 4th edition. read more

This text covers all key concepts and key terms associated with an undergrad Public Speaking Course. Examples of a Keyword Outline are lacking. Found on pages of 416-417 of 4th edition.

Content is accurate and error-free. Inconsistencies were not note found.

Covers all key concepts and key terms associated with an undergrad Public Speaking Course. A good text for a Public Speaking Course.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is lacking in graphics and color coated headings. This could be difficult for some reading on a screen. Otherwise, this text does adequately cover the subject matter content.

It appears consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 4

Some of the later chapters should be covered earlier in the text. For my students, I would assign readings out of there currently order.

Some of the later chapters should be covered earlier in the text. As an Instructor, I would assign readings out of there currently order.

Interface rating: 4

The text Index is hyperlinked to the page the information is on. * It should be noted the end of text glossary terms are not hyperlinked.

Interface is clearly laid out. However, it is mostly just plain text, more graphics and color layout choices may be helpful some students when studying the text on a screen.

No grammatical errors found.

Not culturally insensitive but the text is very lacking in representing real world student examples, backgrounds, and experiences. Different student demographics and culture awareness is lacking in this text.

Minimal graphics. Mostly just text, which may be troublesome for some learners reading on a screen. More graphics and color-coded text headings would be beneficial for screen reading for a future update.

More End-of-chapter quizzes, assessments, and worksheets would be helpful to add to a future edition.

Reviewed by Molly Cummins, Lecturer, University of Texas at Arlington on 11/3/20

This text is similar to other major textbooks (e.g., Lucas's _The Art of Public Speaking_) and covers similar material. read more

This text is similar to other major textbooks (e.g., Lucas's _The Art of Public Speaking_) and covers similar material.

There are few errors.

The text does not try to address immediate issues, but takes a more general approach to make it easier to do updates. It seems the authors review the text periodically to make small edits as necessary.

The text is written well, for the most part. There are a couple of places where I can tell a difference of author (the tone shifts slightly), but that may not matter to students reading the book. There are places where the text could be trimmed or a bit more thoroughly explained, but for the most part, the text adequately covers the material needed.

The text is easily broken down, as needed. I did not teach the chapters in numerical order and did not have many issues by rearranging the order of chapters. Students were still able to grasp what was necessary in each chapter.

Yes, the organization makes sense, even if I switched up how I taught it.

I worked with one of the authors this summer to make the text more accessible for all students. They worked diligently to create a text usable in a variety of formats (e.g., a screen reader). While it may not yet be perfect, the authors' willingness to work toward accessibility for all matters.

Again, there are few inaccuracies in the text.

The authors appear to have used photos from their local university. While there are a variety of bodies present, their pictures could push toward more diversity. My major concern with this text is a conflation of the difference between sex and gender. The book, inaccurately, uses them interchangeably. This is detrimental to students' understandings of the crucial differences. However, this is a topic than can be addressed by the instructor to clarify and correct.

If you're looking for a solid OER to test out in a Public Speaking course, the 4th edition of _Exploring Public Speaking_ is a good choice.

Reviewed by Terra Ryan, Adjunct Instructor, Community College of Aurora on 8/9/20

The book is comprehensive and offers definitions of key terms in blue boxes in the margins. This resource is excellent when a student needs key terms for initial evaluation or review. read more

The book is comprehensive and offers definitions of key terms in blue boxes in the margins. This resource is excellent when a student needs key terms for initial evaluation or review.

Terms and examples are accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The book does a good job offering a history of public speaking but could offer more contemporary examples earlier in the text.

Book is clear and offers clear definitions of public speaking terminology.

Terms and definitions are consistent.

Although terms in the book are clear, the modularity of the book is a little confusing in that it offers terms and then examples and then a bumpy switch back to terms.

The book uses a blend of chronological and topical organization. The text offers a clear history of public speaking and why these skill sets are needed in contemporary settings.

Interface was clear and easy to use, there were even links to other resources.

No errors found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Many pictures though out the text are of white instructors and students of color. While this may not be seen as cultural insensitive, these pictures do give a micro aggressive feel to the text.

The book stereotypes People With Disabilities (PWD’s). PWD’s are mentioned as an example of totalizing but not included in audience analysis group examples.

Reviewed by Christy Takamure, Professor, Leeward Community College on 7/27/20

This textbook is comprehensive and includes all of the concepts and elements introduced in an introductory public speaking course. Direct links to some of the sources were helpful if the reader was interested in learning more in-depth about the... read more

This textbook is comprehensive and includes all of the concepts and elements introduced in an introductory public speaking course. Direct links to some of the sources were helpful if the reader was interested in learning more in-depth about the topic or study. Although illustrations are interspersed throughout the textbook, there are some graphics or charts that could have been added to better illustrate concepts such as the process of public speaking.

The content was error-free and unbiased. However, in Chapter 3, I would prefer to use different terms to define the different types of plagiarism such as global, patchwork, and incremental plagiarism.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This textbook provides the reader with the principles of public speaking as does most other public speaking textbooks. An important aspect lacking is the integration and use of technology in public speaking since the advancements and progress in technology has changed the landscape of presentations including in online public speaking courses. There are innovative technological modalities and various channels utilized to enhance learning and making speeches.

The text is clear and easy to understand for an introductory speech course. Key terms were defined in helpful highlighted boxes to signify importance. There were some elements that could have used examples to help increase clarity. For example, in Chapter 4, "Context" was defined but not clearly explained.

Information is presented consistently from the beginning, each chapter begins with the learning objectives and chapter preview then ending with the conclusion and "Something to think about". However, in Chapter 5 “Something to think about” is missing.

Although the text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections, I would have preferred that every page is aligned to the left. I found it distracting that the odd-numbered pages were aligned to the left and the even-numbered pages were aligned to the right.

Topics were organized logically and clearly. Chapters are similar to most other introductory public speaking textbooks.

Interface rating: 3

There are many images in this textbook that are confusing to me. Why is there a picture of a tombstone on page 134 (title page of Chapter 8: Introductions and Conclusions)? On page 217, postures using lecterns are mentioned to refer to a number of figure illustrations however, the figures are displayed several pages later beginning on page 223. It should be placed immediately after it is mentioned. There are numerous illustrations that seem to be irrelevant to the text. For example, a picture of cookies on page 243 and a picture of President Lincoln on page 245.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

I would prefer to see more culturally diverse illustrations and photos depicting a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

This textbook comes closest in terms of terminology, concepts, principles, elements, and outlining to the textbook that I currently use. This textbook would be a great option for my students since it is cost-effective and easily accessible for my distance learning courses.

Reviewed by John Drischell, Adjunct Faculty, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/29/20

I found the book to be very comprehensive in the different perspectives considered for public speaking. The appendixes were useful and relevant. Both "Succeeding as a College Student" and "Cultural Diversity" were good considerations and additions... read more

I found the book to be very comprehensive in the different perspectives considered for public speaking. The appendixes were useful and relevant. Both "Succeeding as a College Student" and "Cultural Diversity" were good considerations and additions to this material. There were no subjects or areas overlooked that would necessitate amending the books content. However, I would change the organization of chapters. I think the delivery chapter should be moved early in the table of contents.

There were a large number of authors and consultants who collaborated on this book. I think this ensures that different perspectives were used to help create a well-rounded textbook for public speaking. I did not notice any errors or overtly biased viewpoints or rationales.

There is a section in the textbook that explains how to use the Dalton library, which should be removed as it is not relevant to all schools. I found many of the examples to be relevant and relatable to college students. In particular, the use of technology and its advancement in the field of public speaking was included. The references made in regards to recent presidential elections were engaging and timely.

The textbook was easy to read and understand, devoid of jargon that may alienate the reader. The book reads conversationally, which is user-friendly and inviting especially to college students. The overall level of relatability with good examples also makes material clear and easy to understand. Their use of pop. culture and history makes things feel familiar.

I thought the terminology was consistent throughout the textbook. Chapters felt balanced and well-formed. More pictures would help complement material to make things flow easier.

Transitions statements are something we teach in public speaking, so it's nice to see when textbooks of public speaking do the same. The book flows seamlessly chapter to chapter. Good signposts are given to break up material in a logical manner. As stated earlier, I think there are a few chapters that would need to be reordered, which can be circumvented on an individual-class basis with a designated reading schedule.

The chapters and topics presented are logical and easy to follow.

I think the picture choices could be better for this textbook. Powerful and vivid images are what drive the readers mind to make connections to what they are reading. Some pictures accomplish this, while others do not.

The textbook appears to be proofread without any apparent grammatical errors.

The appendix section on "Cultural Diversity in Public Speaking" was a great addition that provides cultural awareness and differences in public speaking. There is an overall feeling of inclusiveness with how material and images are presented in this textbook.

I think this a strong textbook for public speaking. Many professors and teachers alike could adopt this into their classes for what this book has to offer. There are considerations for how the textbook is organized, which may come down to personal preference. This can be remedied with a reading scheduled provided by the instructor, to dictate the proper read-order for their particular public speaking course. Overall, the book is comprehensive, diverse, and engaging in it's presentation and assertion of core principles in public speaking.

Reviewed by Julia Greene, Adjunct Faculty, North Shore Community College on 6/24/20

I like the book. It is very comprehensive and includes subjects that might be related to public speaking, but which are not usually included in an introductory public speaking textbook like a whole chapter on Logical Reasoning (Chapter 14) or in... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

I like the book. It is very comprehensive and includes subjects that might be related to public speaking, but which are not usually included in an introductory public speaking textbook like a whole chapter on Logical Reasoning (Chapter 14) or in the Appendices, Cultural Diversity (Appendix A) and How to Succeed as a Student (Appendix B). An important component completely missing from the textbook is the subject of narrative or storytelling. I believe that the best speakers develop personal narratives that they incorporate into their speeches, which gets the attention of the audience, and creates a relationship and gives context to the speech.

I thoroughly read the book and followed some links. I think it is accurate but using it will help me to assess it in more depth.

I think it is relevant. I was happy to see "Public Speaking Online" as one of the appendices. Hopefully it will make it to full chapter status in the future (I am writing this review recent post COVID-19 and everything is going online). I think the book is heavy on the writing of a speech, Chapters 4-8, and Chapter 12 all go into excruciating detail of writing more of a term paper for an informative speech, than an informative speech. Some professors may have this as their goal. I want my students to learn how to give interesting presentations that engage their audience.

The text is very well written.

Yes, the terminology and framework are consistent.

The book's modularity is the reason I am adopting this textbook. There are parts of the book I won't go into detail on, and I will change the order of how I use the chapters considerably. The great thing is I can. The book is set up for modules.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I think the first three chapters are in the correct order. I would flip Chapters 9 - 15 to come next, and save the writing of the speech Chapters 4-8 for later in the semester, to have students end with a final "big" informative speech for which they put in a lot of writing time.

I had no problems navigating the book.

I saw no grammatical errors.

I thought they could use more examples of pieces of speeches from other than white men. They should review their examples. In the language section they could have used Barbara Jordan's 1976 Democratic Convention Key Note Speech as an example of the use of anaphora, instead of JFK again. Here is an excerpt: "We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal". Appendix A is on Cultural Diversity and it's a start but to make the textbook culturally diverse, it needs to be baked right into the textbook with examples of great orators from different cultures, sexes, ethnicities, and time periods.

I haven't gone into "Ethics" too deeply with past classes. I like the chapter on Ethics and plan to couple it with the chapter on Logical Reasoning. In this day of fake news, it's important to teach students how to use credible sources and identify fallacies. I will also focus on Appendix C - Public Speaking Online as if it is a chapter. Both my courses will be online next semester.

Reviewed by Maurisa Charest, Adjunct, Northern Essex Community College on 6/23/20

The text covers all the basics of Public Speaking in a way that's easily understandable for first time speakers to absorb and digest. read more

The text covers all the basics of Public Speaking in a way that's easily understandable for first time speakers to absorb and digest.

The text uses straight forward language free of opinion and based purely on intellectual and diverse facts.

The text uses updated and not outdated examples, sources and examples. One example is the Seinfeld quote: According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy." This quote is a popular quote when you Google Public Speaking. I also appreciated the Garber 2018 clarification in the text.

The text is specific, clear and fluid. Any jargon that is used is clearly defined. I liked the blue text box that appears to the side of the text that gives the reader a quick view of a new vocabulary word.

The text is consistent and fair to both the craft and importance of Public Speaking.

The text makes it very easy for readers to absorb and comprehend the material without using overwhelming amounts of long winded paragraphs. Each new thought is broken up by a clear transitional headlines allowing readers to process the old and welcome the new.

I appreciate the order, however, I do wish explanations of the three types of speeches are approached first. When teaching I usually skip to that section at the start of a course in order for the rest of the material to attach itself more clearly to the core elements that make up the speeches.

Visuals are honest, relatable and credible for each section.

I did not encounter and grammatical errors as I read through the chapters. The text was very fluid and easy to comprehend.

I thought the chapter "Cultural Diversity in Public Speaking" was very important and expressed well. I usually have to incorporate that element in my courses when we talk about Ethics in Public Speaking. It gives the topic more credibility because this text tackles this important issue with clear insight and instruction.

I appreciated the Chapters on: Cultural Diversity, Public Speaking On Line, Succeeding as a College Student. I have yet to see topics incorporated in a Public Speaking text. Having examples for students is also very helpful. Everything a student would need to understand and value the tools needed for Public Speaking in one text. What I wish had been included: A brief section about the history of Public Speaking. We would not be where we are today in oration without the Ancient Greeks.

Reviewed by Bernardita M Yunis, Graduate Student, Teaching Assistant, University of Colorado Boulder on 6/11/20

This public speaking textbook covers the main areas needed for a public speaking course in a comprehensive manner. It both addresses the ethics and theory behind the practice as well as practical skill set for teaching and learning how to be an... read more

This public speaking textbook covers the main areas needed for a public speaking course in a comprehensive manner. It both addresses the ethics and theory behind the practice as well as practical skill set for teaching and learning how to be an effective public speaker. Not only does it cover the logistical aspects of public speaking (informative speech, persuasion, logical reasoning), but it adds practical skills for presentation aids, language choices, and a useful multi-section Appendix to aid any first year college student. The Appendix also includes more samples and a glossary of definitions.

The content in this textbook, including images, graphs, and supplementary appendices is mostly accurate and error-free. It also provides clear, updated information, relevant to modern technologies, and is unbiased. Typos: on page 200 where cliches are defined does include some information that seems contradictory. It says cliches are usually similes; however, none of the cliche examples actually include "like" or "as" as defined in similes. On page 306, in the second paragraph, "designed to" is repeated in the first sentence.

The content of this text is relevant and updated to demonstrate its relevance to current technologies and media. It includes important, relevant information on diversity concerns and how to address these in a public speaking course. It's timely and relevant and can be easily and quickly updated given its clear, straightforward organization.

This text is written in an extremely accessible, clear way. It is easy to understand and read through, not getting lost with jargon, but rather explaining clearly all the terminology. It is an good and accessible read, especially for what are potentially many first year students. Really great textbook!

The text is consistent in terminology, framework, organization, and methodology of each chapter. They refer back to other content previously mentioned or that they can expect in future chapters. It was easy to know what to expect in the various chapters given the section breaks and how it was organized.

In particular, this text is accessible for professors to be able to assign various chapters at different times and create teaching/learning modules with different chapters. While the organization of the text currently makes sense, it is easily rearranged as needed for teaching various versions of Public Speaking. Only in the Appendices are there some sections with a lot of writing and not many subheadings. Otherwise, the text is visually also accessible and easy to read through.

The chapters are organized logically and in a way that makes sense. The flow of this textbook is well planned and allows for growing of knowing as you move through it.

The text for the most part is without many interface issues. The blue definition boxes could be adjusted so that they are all Left Justified. Otherwise, it looks great, clean, clear, and well mapped out.

Besides the 2 notes of typos mentioned above (and again here), the text is without grammatical errors. Typos: on page 200 where cliches are defined does include some information that seems contradictory. It says cliches are usually similes; however, none of the cliche examples actually include "like" or "as" as defined in similes. On page 306, in the second paragraph, "designed to" is repeated in the first sentence.

This text takes seriously considering cultural differences and maintaining its relevance in a world that is constantly changing and spreading diversity. It considers these changes, includes conversations on personal pronouns, cultural differences, judgments, and more, that I found to be critical, relevant, and important to include, especially for a young first year audience. As I read it, I felt like a lot of the labor many of us of marginalized identities do on a regular basis were covered in the text already. It is really wonderfully addressed!

Reviewed by Edie Gaythwaite, Professor, Communication, Valencia College on 6/2/20

4th edition review. For a public speaking focused text, the chapters align with most other textbook subject matter. The addition of the case studies is a plus as this can help with teaching in a variety of modalities. read more

4th edition review. For a public speaking focused text, the chapters align with most other textbook subject matter. The addition of the case studies is a plus as this can help with teaching in a variety of modalities.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I didn't see any issues with accuracy as written. The text uses a common method of presenting introductions using a specific purpose and central idea that doesn't align with my philosophy of placement of a specific purpose statement or how a central idea for speech is constructed.

I reviewed the 4th edition which is relevant and up-to-date. It is obvious that the authors of the text consider the text as "a living document" with regular revisions which I think makes this text relevant.

he text is clearly written and learning outcomes and summary or conclusion. It has one voice.

The chapters are consistently presented. I like the "think about" section and as mentioned, the case studies.

Sections of the chapters can be easily assigned or combined with external materials.

I particularly enjoyed having audience analysis and listening together. Each chapter is presented with the same opening elements (learning outcomes, preview, numbering system, etc).

I did not encounter any issues with the document as a pdf.

No errors noticed.

I think the photographs presented in the text could be more representative of the world as additional examples be more equitable and inclusive.

Very quick response for the ancillary information. I like that the text is always under review and revision making it more powerful. I look forward to developing an online course using this text. Finally, I agree with others when they discussed the potential for expanding the online information. After this pandemic we will have more experience with this aspect. Thank you!

Reviewed by Suzette Ashton, Communication Professor, Valencia College on 6/1/20

The text lacks information on interpersonal communication, and culture . read more

The text lacks information on interpersonal communication, and culture .

No concerns with accuracy or biased information and or diverse images.

Needs to include that the central idea is also referred to as the preview statement. Speech topics could be more relevant for example , Lord Byron .

Clarity rating: 3

The text lacks clarity when defining the difference between the specific purpose and the central idea . Also, in chapter 8 it refers to the central idea as "preview your main points".

Consistency rating: 3

In the speech examples in chapter chapter 6 , the central idea is omitted.

No issues with modality

The heading and topics are organized well, but the content is difficult to follow . For example, moving from a specific purpose to a central idea.

No issues with interface

No grammatical issues

The fact that culture is an appendix could be perceived as insensitive and irrelevant.

Maybe add: Gibbs Supportive and Defensive behaviors in audience analysis chapter Add how to construct audience analysis using questionnaires Infuse culture throughout the book Introduce Monroe's Motivated Sequence in chapter 6

Reviewed by Jill Arabas, Lecturer, Middlesex Community College on 5/28/20

This text is wonderfully comprehensive for an introductory public speaking course. While converting to OER two years ago, I chose this text because it was so close in content to the physical text I had been using. The content in the chapters even... read more

This text is wonderfully comprehensive for an introductory public speaking course. While converting to OER two years ago, I chose this text because it was so close in content to the physical text I had been using. The content in the chapters even aligns, if not the chapters themselves! What I like best about this text is that it covers what a student needs to learn without the tome-like feel of some public speaking texts that are certainly more comprehensive but intimidating financially and psychologically. Suggest elevating Appendix C - public speaking online - to chapter status given the increase in Zoom and Hangout meetings that we are experiencing now and certainly expect post-pandemic.

Content in the book seems error-free and unbiased.

The text is fairly standard and therefore timeless in its content. Some texts in the Communications field become obsolete quickly because the the authors face the near-impossible task of addressing technology (i.e., Intro to Mass Media, Audio Production). This text smartly avoids detailed tech talk on presentation aids. Suggest the authors elevate and revise Appendix C (on online speaking) into a full-fledged chapter.

The language is easy to comprehend but sometimes rambles. Points could be made more succinctly without the loss of clarity or comprehension.

The text is consistent in its approach, language and intent.

Ideas appear to be grouped well generally. I have had to do some skipping around in assigning chapters: 3 before 2, 7 before 6.

The book is well organized, taking a student public speaker through the natural, chronological progression of steps in preparing to deliver a speech. Starting with "why public speaking" and anxiety, the text then moves to audience analysis, topic development, research, speech organization, supporting materials, introductions and conclusions, presentation aids, language, and delivery. I would flip Chapters 2 and 3. There are separate chapters for the mainstay informative, persuasive and special occasion speeches. Perhaps some of the material in the appendices could be woven better into the rest of the book(Appendices A and D). Appendix C - online speaking - needs its own chapter. An index at the end would have been helpful.

Interface rating: 2

The interface works as well as most OER texts. Unfortunately, the bar for that is very low; i.e., a click on the table of contents jumps to the chapter. There need to be more hyperlinks throughout, not just a "back to the TOC" and "next chapter" hyperlink on each page, but hyperlinks bringing students to more in-depth breakout material. Not everything needs to be on a main page. Students (and professors!) love to discover hidden content, games, puzzles and more in a text. We need to think more like video game creators - not to distraction, but to enhance the learning environment in a way that entertains, informs, educates and engages our students so they stick with us and - heaven help us - actually do the reading.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Misspelling on title of Appendix A at the top of each appendix page - Diversity not "Diveristy"

Appendix A is devoted to culture sensitivity; that is, the benefits and challenges of cultural diversity to public speakers. The text covers relational, verbal and nonverbal cultural differences that speakers should be aware of, and delivers advice and context intended to be helpful to students at community colleges with increasingly diverse backgrounds. This is somewhat woven into the main text (e.g. Audience Analysis). Unfortunately, the images in the text are mostly white, which is off-putting in a classroom such as mine where Caucasians are in the minority.

This book was an excellent replacement for the physical public speaking guide that had been costing my students money they could have been applying to tuition or food. As mentioned, the OER is very closely aligned to what I had been using. It is wordier and rambles in places but gets the job done nicely at a time when students would rather look something up online than spend their money on a book they often feel they will never use again. I applaud the authors for their hard work and hope they update with hyperlinks and a fully formed chapter on online speaking.

Reviewed by Maura Cherney, Assistant Professor, Northeastern Illinois University on 5/7/20

This open access text is a more comprehensive collection of information about public speaking than any other public speaking textbook I have reviewed or used in my own public speaking courses. The book covers all the topics I cover in my class... read more

This open access text is a more comprehensive collection of information about public speaking than any other public speaking textbook I have reviewed or used in my own public speaking courses. The book covers all the topics I cover in my class (plus some!), and other than a few details (explained below), this textbook should not require any supplementary readings to learn the skill of public speaking. The glossary is thorough, including important vocabulary from throughout the text. Interactive links to the appropriate page from which the vocabulary comes (or, at least, the page number) would help students navigate to find additional information.

The content within the book is accurate and error-free. I did not notice any inaccuracies in the information presented.

The content is, overall, thorough. Chapters include all expected basic, foundational information related to each topic. Each chapter provides enough content to create basic understanding in students. Some areas could benefit from more thorough and up-to-date content. For example, in the area of public speaking anxiety, there have been some more recent strides in effectively matching individual experience of communication apprehension with an appropriate intervention, which have been ignored by this and other public speaking texts. While the text discusses interventions broadly (mental preparation, physical preparation, etc.), the book could either be supplemented by or revised to include more targeted approaches to overcoming public speaking anxiety. See work by Karen Dwyer from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Other topics, however, were explained in much more depth than other public speaking textbooks, such as the types of sources of information.

The text is easy to read and provides clarification, definitions, and examples as necessary. Direct quotations from other sources are used sparingly, and when used, are often powerfully-worded, entertaining, or insightful. The text often goes beyond a “how to” to include a “why.” The APA section in the appendix is a great resource, especially for early undergraduate students. It not only provides samples for references page entries, but also answers some frequently asked questions students often have about how to appropriately cite sources.

Consistency rating: 4

I did not notice any inconsistencies in use of vocabulary throughout the text. Sometimes, photos are inconsistent with the surrounding text.

Chapters are divided in a way that is consistent with other public speaking texts, and sections within chapters allow for further division of content into smaller sections. For example, in the chapter about organizing speeches, it is possible to cover organizational patterns appropriate for informative speeches during one class period and cover organizational patterns appropriate for persuasive speeches during another class period because each organizational pattern is divided using its own header.

The organization of chapters is similar to other public speaking textbooks I have seen, but like other public speaking textbooks, individual instructions would likely have to assign chapters out of order to meet the needs of course assignments. For example, the informative speech chapter is placed toward the end of the book, but informative speeches are typically assigned earlier in the semester (at least in my public speaking classes). The inclusion of the topic of listening in the audience analysis chapter was something I haven’t seen on other public speaking texts, but worked really well! Chapters 5 and 7 seemed a little misplaced - it seems logical that students would benefit from content from Chapter 5 followed immediately by content from Chapter 7 (chapter 6 seems to interrupt the logical flow of research > incorporating evidence).

Some additional images might help in the explanation of some concepts. For example, when discussing the models of communication in Chapter 1, images of the models are linked, but might be helpful for students to see directly within the text. The text offers direct links to supplemental websites, which is definitely part of the appeal of e-texts. Navigating to the link an back to the text, however, is a little cumbersome because it brings the reader back to the beginning of the textbook, not to the page from which the reader navigated originally. Questions and case studies provided at the end of each chapter seem like they would be effective in getting students to work with and apply the course content. Explanations for case studies are provided in the appendix. Vocabulary words with definitions are called out using colored boxes in the margins, making them easy to find and reference. On page 248 a YouTube video is linked, but the link does not correspond to the video referenced in the text.

No major concerns about grammatical errors throughout. Check consistency of capitalization in references to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The textbook is inclusive of multiple perspectives. For example, when discussing gender as a demographic, the text includes many examples of communication tendencies of men and women, but then also includes the possibility of non-binary or gender non-conforming perspectives. Appendix A provides a thorough explanation of major cultural differences and how those differences play a role in public speaking. It addition of Appendix A is great content for the goal of creating a safe, inviting classroom environment for students of differing backgrounds.

Will definitely be using in my public speaking courses! What a great resource made so readily available to students!

Reviewed by Jeremy Babcock, Program Coordinator/Instructor, Northeastern Illinois University on 5/1/20

This is a very comprehensive text with many important elements into the exploration of public speaking. While I appreciate the broad range, there will need to be some reorganization of the chapters (for me) before utilizing this content for an... read more

This is a very comprehensive text with many important elements into the exploration of public speaking. While I appreciate the broad range, there will need to be some reorganization of the chapters (for me) before utilizing this content for an introductory class. I did notice that there is an omission of some graphics that I have found helpful included in other texts when covering source/message/receiver/channels, but not a huge deal. Additionally, I appreciate the themes in the appendixes, particularly the “Succeeding as a College Student.” I would cover this in courses with first-year students during the first week. Again, there is a lot of solid material and with some retooling and utilizing some supplemental articles, I definitely feel there is more than enough meaningful content to guide an introductory course in public speaking.

I take comfort in the large number of contributors and consultants who added to the latest edition. I find the areas covered in line with a text that I am currently using in my public speaking courses, and feel the information is accurate and covers the basics quite well. I did not see any noticeable inaccuracies upon review of this book.

The material covered here has a staying power that make it relevant to any student who will be working toward a degree and subsequent career that involves public speaking. With that said, it would be easy to incorporate relevant examples into the content that could be tailored for future teachers, business leaders, social workers, etc. The fact that this is an updated edition makes it clear that this is a living document that will continue to hold true to the tenants of public speaking, but also adapt to the changes in communication as they arise.

I really like how this book is organized. I would definitely feel comfortable using this in an introductory public speaking class. Important terminology is highlighted in colored boxes outside of the main text, a feature I feel my students will appreciate. Additionally, the “Something to Think About” questions at the end of each chapter are a great way to engage students and cultivate critical thinking.

As stated above, I feel this textbook is organized well and easy to follow. The photos leave a bit to be desired and, while they don’t distract, I’m not sure that some are adding much to the overall content and messaging. I also find the charts to not be as effective/visually appealing as the ones in a text I am currently using in my public speaking course. This is not a deal-breaker and I still feel that this would be a text I will lean towards using, but it’s worth noting that the charts and graphs could be more inspired.

I would definitely reorder the chapters when covering this material in my introduction to public speaking courses. With that said, each chapter is clearly set up, organized, and concluded in a way that would allow for some flexibility to do so. I currently have students give 3 presentations throughout the semester, so I would definitely move the units on informative and persuasive speeches up a bit, possibly move presentation aids back as an example.

I appreciate how much material is covered in this textbook. I would order it a bit differently, but feel that it is presented in a way that would make it easy for me to do so. I will say that I think more time and tangible solutions should be spent on public speaking anxiety. It is a subsection of chapter 1, but one of the greatest obstacles to student success in a public speaking class. Much more depth into relaxation techniques, meditation, warm-up exercises is necessary. Again, the organization is solid, but a deeper dive into certain areas will require supplemental materials/resources

Other than images that don’t seem to reinforce the content, I like how the chapters are set up and organized. In a way, it’s modeling the way to organize an effective speech. The learning objectives are set up at the beginning so that the audience knows what to expect, the main points are backed up and fully explained, and the conclusion of the chapter leaves you with questions to think about for future discussions. Perhaps a little more could be added by way of excitement with regards to attention getters and anecdotes, but the writing is definitely not dull.

Upon my review of this text, I did not recognize any glaring grammatical errors. It appears to be a well-edited, and written in a way that introductory public speaking students will comprehend.

As alluded to in an earlier comment, I think the photos and graphics in this text leave a bit to be desired. Caucasian students and professors are the most prevalent images. Teaching at a very diverse university in an urban-setting, I think this is something that my students will notice and possibly bring up in class discussions. There is an appendix that touches upon cultural diversity in public speaking, which is good, but feels a bit disparate and should be integrated throughout the text. Also, potentially addressing students with accessibility needs (hearing/visually impaired, etc.) could worth noting in an additional appendix.

Overall, I feel that this is a text that I would be comfortable using in my Introduction to Public Speaking class and very happy to have found it here! I think students will appreciate the content and the way it is organized, and with a few supplemental materials, I am confident that this would provide a satisfactory guide to introducing students to the basics of public speaking. I definitely plan on spending more time to read through the text and possibly use in an upcoming semester, very glad that students will have greater accessibility to a solid, free, textbook. Thank you!

Reviewed by Rich Kessel, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 4/29/20

This text does a commendable job covering a vast literature in a reasonable number of pages. We tend to forget that public speaking is a huge subject area and, therefore, comprehensive texts are going to be quite lengthy. Conversely, most public... read more

This text does a commendable job covering a vast literature in a reasonable number of pages. We tend to forget that public speaking is a huge subject area and, therefore, comprehensive texts are going to be quite lengthy. Conversely, most public speaking textbooks are geared towards introductory courses taken by students who grew up in a culture of TLDR (too long, didn’t read). Finding a balance that will satisfy every instructor at every institution is an impossible task. Thankfully, the authors created a text that easily allows for customization.

That said, I could not give it the highest rating because I feel leaving out a discussion of the primacy and recency effects when discussing topical organization patterns is a significant oversight. The fact that we tend to remember your first and final points more than those in the middle is an important point to consider when organizing a speech that does not follow a natural chronological or spatial pattern.

The text continues to perpetuate the myth that audiences can remember seven main points, plus or minus two. Like many other public speaking textbooks, they play off the title of George Miller’s seminal 1956 work, offering Miller and two additional sources to support this assertion. While they suggest erring on the safe side of “minus two,” thereby limiting presentations to no more than five main points, they fail to mention that the research cited concerns our ability to remember digits, not fully developed main points. None-the-less, more recent research by one of the authors cited (Nelson Cowan) suggests that our ability to retain information received aurally is far more limited than Miller estimated (i.e., 2-3, four if we are really paying attention). Continued teaching of the Magic Number Seven rule is further at odds with the research suggesting that presentations with fewer main points are more effective than those with more.

Well structured, without unnecessary time-stamped references that can quickly outdate the text.

Well written and easy to read.

I consider this a strength of this text. There are many ways to teach this subject matter, each requiring a slightly different scaffolding of information. Unlike some of the commercial texts available, the information in this text is presented in discrete packages, allowing faculty to either assign readings in the desired order or customize the text to fit their pedagogy.

As stated previously, no one organizational pattern will satisfy all instructors. This text makes modifying the organization simple.

Flows just like a printed textbook, but with active hyperlinks for easy navigation.

I saw just one error, and it was a copyediting mistake, not a grammatical error.

As a cisgendered, heteronormative, Caucasian male, I do not feel I am the best to speak to the cultural sensitivity of the text. However, nothing jumped off the page as being inappropriate.

I reviewed the fourth edition (Spring 2019) of this textbook. Given the challenges of writing a general studies textbook, it seems wrong to criticize a book as well put together as this one. However, for its intended purpose, this text would be hard to beat.

Reviewed by Diane Waryas Hughey, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/20/20

Overall, this textbook is very comprehensive and will be useful in an introductory study of public speaking. Key areas and ideas are included throughout, along with many good examples and ideas for students. The Glossary will be very useful to... read more

Overall, this textbook is very comprehensive and will be useful in an introductory study of public speaking. Key areas and ideas are included throughout, along with many good examples and ideas for students. The Glossary will be very useful to students and enables students to quickly learn or reinforce key concepts from class. The book is easy to navigate and is thorough but manageable when trying to find information. I especially appreciate the Logical Reasoning chapter and find that material to be very useful for students in developing Persuasive speeches, and engaging in critical thinking activities generally. There are also several well detailed Appendices. In particular "Appendix B: Succeeding as a College Student" will be helpful for many readers. At times discussions and sections of text can be very long and may be difficult for some readers to get through or to find information they need efficiently.

I find the content of the textbook to generally be accurate, error-free and unbiased. The authors provide great deal of content and examples help to extend the otherwise accurate ideas presented.

This book was most recently updated in 2019. The examples and other content including reference material included in example outlines are generally up to date and relevant. I think that the broader structure of chapters is manageable and necessary updates would be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. One concern I have is the sometimes very lengthy blocks of text which can be cumbersome to a reader and could also present challenges to updating the text since examples etc. are embedded throughout. There are also sometimes examples used (e.g. the number of internet users in 1980) that may not be highly relevant to today's users of OER materials. If more contemporary examples in these instances could be employed in a future update that may help readers.

Generally the text is written in a clear manner and offers a very detailed treatment of topics, plenty of examples and a Glossary to quickly access definitions of important terms. The variety of examples in the text and also in example speeches and outlines should help any reader find value in the text. The text is a bit too lengthy, is excessively wordy at times and could be streamlined which would help promote clarity of ideas for readers.

I find no inconsistencies in reading this text in terms of terminology and framework.

Overall it is easy to find material, quickly locate content and navigate through the text. The content is generally fairly modular and would be easy to reorder to suit needs of a particular course, or for the authors to reorder sections in future editions. Chapters are long with extended explanations followed by examples. I think for some readers the depth of content and explanations could seem cumbersome. The longer blocks of test limit modularity as well. While some readers may find the depth of explanation useful to help modularity and readers, reducing wordiness of text and increasing the modular structure would be beneficial.

Overall the ideas and content in the text are presented in a logical and clear fashion. I would have liked to see a detailed Index included at the end of the book as I often see students utilizing this feature of a book and it would be useful for instructors too.

Images can be highly valuable to readers when purposeful. Many images in this text don't seem to serve a real purpose to help promote reader comprehension of material and are generally not well reflective of the breadth and depth of diversity on today's campuses or are ill placed. Images also tend to be somewhat blurred and occasionally unclear as to the point of the image given placement relative to nearby text. Space on the page could be more effectively used. As previously mentioned the sometimes long blocks of text could be distracting/frustrating to readers who may not have a lot of time to read very extensive chapters or dig through many pages of content to find content specifically needed to complete course objectives.

I find the grammar in the text to be accurate and without error.

There are a variety of examples used which do reflect a variety of backgrounds. However, the images in this text tend to not reflect much diversity which could be off-putting to readers. Future editions of the text should pay special attention to improving cultural (and all other forms of) diversity throughout the text in prose and image, particularly since there is such a trend toward using OER.

This text provides a very detailed and thorough treatment of topics fundamental to an introductory study of public speaking.

Reviewed by Michael Boling, Assistant Professor, Oakland City University on 1/30/20

This work covers all of the major aspects needed in an introduction to public speaking. Significant explanations are given on topics ranging from dealing with speech anxiety to need for organization in speech. Further, the glossary at the back of... read more

This work covers all of the major aspects needed in an introduction to public speaking. Significant explanations are given on topics ranging from dealing with speech anxiety to need for organization in speech. Further, the glossary at the back of the work is exhaustive and is likely to provide students with a quick and easy reverence for any terms introduced. Related to that, the book does a good job of highlighting terms in the text itself that are directly tied to the glossary which would be very useful from the instructors perceptive when preparing for a quiz or exam.

The content lines up very well with my experiences teaching public speaking for the past several years as well as my career in communication studies. I did not note significant inaccuracies, and they appear to overall have an unbiased approach. For instance, at one point they discuss the perception of President Trump’s ethics by varying segments of American audiences (p. 50) in an unbiased and logical way that would make their point to a student on any side of the political spectrum. It is good writing that can discuss a divisive figure in a balanced way.

The information needed for a textbook on this topic is all present, and it is written in a clear way that is readily applicable. Indeed, their use of examples to make the information actionable is extremely well done. However, it could be argued that some topics might be less relevant to contemporary students. Particularly, I am not sure the final chapter on special occasion speeches is needed. I think that comprehensive coverage of other aspects of speaking would equip students with the needed skills without having a dedicated chapter to speaking at funerals and awards shows. Granted, there may well be individual students who need those skills, but I think that our culture is shifting in a direction away from that level of formality. That said, I also note that these topics have been pushed to the final chapter of the work and could thus be omitted by the instructor with ease.

In this respect, this work does an excellent job. The writer’s choice to speak in the 2nd person makes the text significantly easier to follow for a first- or second-year college student. It is also written in plain English, and when jargon is introduced, it is explained clearly.

Overall, the text does a good job of remaining consistent. Terms that are introduced in the text remain in bold text for the remainder of the work and even provide students with references to where that material is covered. For instance, on p. 195 they mention the terms denotative and connotative but then follow this with a parenthetical of where to find the definition of those terms back in chapter 1.

The work does a very good job of breaking down the content in the table of contents, with major chapter headings and subheadings. In the text itself, there are further subheadings that continue to break down the information. For example, 6.2 is on “Patterns of Organization” (one of the table of content’s subheadings), but then under that heading are the types of organization, such as chronological, spatial, and so on. This really helps students to be able to follow the material. My only slight critique on that point is that perhaps the further subheadings should be included in a longer version of the table of contents as well in case a student needs to know at a glance what categorizations fall under a particular heading. I will also mention that the text can be somewhat self-referential, but not to a detrimental degree.

Breaking this issue down into two aspects, in regards to clarity, this work does an excellent job. One topic leads to the next in a way that is easy to understand and follow. Where there are issues that could be problematic for some instructors are in the organization of the text. Notably, chapters on informational and persuasive speeches are near the end of the text rather than the beginning. The issue arises in that students need content (i.e. a speech goal) to work with first before they get into topics like supporting your work with research and how to create a compelling introduction or conclusion.

Generally speaking, no major problems with the PDF version. The links in the table of contents worked well, and it was easy to interact with. I also did not note any major issues with image distortion, though there are a few places where a higher resolution image may look a bit more professional. Page 117, for example, has a screenshot of a dictionary definition that has a fairly low pixel count. I will also mention, and not that it is a major issue, but most of the photos in the work appear to be students in classrooms. One or two of these are not an issue, but after a time it becomes clear that they don’t have any direct connection to the content being discussed and are there to break up the text. This, in turn, could be a distraction to some.

No significant issues noted in relation to grammatical correctness.

I think the text does a good job of this in taking a real-world and inclusive approach. In particular, chapter 10 addresses issues such as ethnic identity and appropriateness in the context of public speaking and giving presentations. Depending on the student's background, this is something that is certainly needed in some cases.

My final thoughts are that though there are a few very minor issues, this text seems as good as if not superior to the text I am using this semester. That being the case, I am planning on utilizing it next semester for my Fundamentals of Speech course.

Reviewed by Tim McKenna-Buchanan, Assistant Professor, Manchester University on 11/26/19

The book covers A LOT which is wonderful for someone picking and choosing the content they want to develop in their Public Speaking courses. My only critique would be that you have to get through a lot of content before you can start working on a... read more

The book covers A LOT which is wonderful for someone picking and choosing the content they want to develop in their Public Speaking courses. My only critique would be that you have to get through a lot of content before you can start working on a speech, so I would be interested on what chapters are covered before the informative and then the persuasive otherwise I would worry you wouldn't be able to get through enough content to get both presentations done in the semester. However, I do love the open access.

The textbook is very detailed and accurate and I appreciate all of the time that went into creating each of the chapters. They seemed to draw from others who were experts in their fields.

The book is straightforward and up-to-date, I appreciate that there has been a stead stream of updated editions. They are adding to content and clarifying aspects and although I hate that in the textbook world it makes it nice since it is open access and you can come and grab new examples making it really relevant for our students. It is a great place to go to find varying examples.

I find that the book is easy to read and that the students to not complain, too much. Sometimes they complain about the chapter length, but when talking about clarity it is accessible to instructors and students alike without the jargon that can sometimes cloud a chapter. The students draw on the examples to help their clarity and all around it is clear and concise.

What I appreciate most about the consistency of the textbook is the structure and look. Each chapter starts out with learning objectives, a chapter preview, and then jumps into the chapter. With bolded headings and sidebars with additional information and terms defined for students. I also love at the end of the chapter they have a section called "Something to Thin About" which gives you some talking points for class to get discussion going on the content you just covered. Those can be used for journal entries as well.

This may be a little harder if you are trying to divide up chapters. While the headings make it easy to differentiate sections they practically all work together to form the chapter. With that said, I do think the textbook could be reorganized and honestly should be reorganized so you could actually not have to jump around so much to get a couple presentations done in the semester. I mean Informative Speaking is Chapter 11, how are you supposed to get a speech done and not cover it until Chapter 11. You almost have to reorganize this textbook in order to be an effective college teacher.

This speaks to what I just said about modularity, but the topics are presented in a logical fashion related to skills, but not in a organizational fashion with the way a course could be taught. I understand that you will want to cover presentational aids and delivery before a presentation, but you also cannot just build for 2-3 presentations at the end of the semester. I wish they would adjust the textbook some so that it worked with a typical semester schedule. With this said, you can always pull out chapters and re-arrange them which is what I have been thinking about.

It is pretty easy to navigate they have many sections in which you can click and be directed to the resources you need else-where in the textbook. For example, in the table of contents they make it easy to access other areas. However, in the chapters you lose the hyperlinks. With this said you can easily search for key terms and the font is easy to read and navigate.

To my knowledge the text contains no grammatical errors and is easy to read for college students.

There is an appendix that covers cultural diversity in public speaking, I wish it was more integrated throughout the textbook however I do appreciate this addition. There are some other examples in the Ethics and Language chapters. The examples are inclusive.

Overall, I would recommend this textbook and would parse through it to pull out what was necessary for my Public Speaking course. It is a great resource and has some good information that could be supplemented to make it your own.

Reviewed by Kallie Gay, Adjunct Instructor, East Tennessee State University on 10/31/19

This book covers all areas typically addressed in our general education Public Speaking courses and other traditionally-published textbooks. In addition, the appendices offer insights into important and relevant topics that we often discuss in... read more

This book covers all areas typically addressed in our general education Public Speaking courses and other traditionally-published textbooks. In addition, the appendices offer insights into important and relevant topics that we often discuss in class but would have had to, in the past, compile resources from additional sources in order to share with our students.

Overall, the book is accurate and unbiased.

Content is current and maintains a modern awareness of social changes without being superficially trendy. It should be easy to update as needed.

The book's tone is clear and accessible, with explanations and examples to clarify terms which might be new or confusing to readers. Some sections would benefit from incorporating the formatting used in other parts of the book, which have key terms in bold for easier identification and serves to break up long passages of text.

The textbook maintains consistency throughout.

Sections of this book could be easily divided into smaller reading assignments for students. The headings are clearly marked and each section has visual signposts (pictures, charts, color blocks, etc.) to emphasize important concepts.

The book is clearly organized and follows a logical progression of topics for understanding, developing, and presenting public speeches.

All book elements display clearly in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

I did not note any grammatical errors in the book.

The book makes a good effort to include and/or acknowledge a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

This OER textbook is well organized, accessible, and comprehensive. I think it will be a valuable resource for students. Please note: while the review category says this is for the 3rd edition, when you click to download the book it leads to the updated and revised 4th edition from Summer 2019. This review is based on that 4th edition.

Reviewed by Douglas Marshall, Associate Professor , SUNO on 10/29/19

I believe that this public speaking text is very comprehensive and includes the major subject areas that one would assume to find in an introductory textbook. The glossary is clear and effective. read more

I believe that this public speaking text is very comprehensive and includes the major subject areas that one would assume to find in an introductory textbook. The glossary is clear and effective.

I see no inaccuracy in the writing of this textbook. The supporting materials are selected wisely. This textbook is a true representation of the discipline.

I find this textbook to be relevant. Many textbooks either ignore technology (which makes them immediately irrelevant) or they are very specific about technology (and thus make it look old very fast). I find the relevance in this textbook is that it discusses all major areas of public speaking but also focuses on technology in an appropriate manner.

The clarity of the text is impeccable. It is written in a manner that is presentable to many levels and styles of learners. Professional/technical language is delivered in a way that invites the reader into the conversation.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework and I see no issues with this.

This is truly one of the highlights of the text. The reading sections are broken down into easily digestible chunks that help the reader to organize and process the material.

This textbook follows the organization of most public speaking textbooks that I have read. It is presented in a logical, clear fashion that first teaches the students about the history and process of public speaking before looking into specific styles and occasions for public speaking.

I think that the interface of this text is a real challenge. There is a lot of open white space that looks like it was reserved for images that were never created. Charts and photos are often fuzzy or poor quality.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

This text is not offensive and has no issues. It is inclusive.

Overall, the content of this textbook was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and was inspired to consider how I could possibled utilize an OER like this in my classes. Visually, this text lacks.

Reviewed by James Jarc, Assistant Professor, Central Ohio Technical College on 8/16/19

This text is quite thorough and covers all of the most important aspects of the public speaking curriculum. Instructors should find this resource valuable for introductory course and as a supplement for more advanced courses as well. The text will... read more

This text is quite thorough and covers all of the most important aspects of the public speaking curriculum. Instructors should find this resource valuable for introductory course and as a supplement for more advanced courses as well. The text will appeal to a diverse array of students.

This book includes good support throughout. The material is clearly written and thorough; the terminology and concepts that are presented are generally accurately explained in sufficient depth. The text includes sidebar content that helps to clarify and further define the chapter content. Bias is generally limited, but as is the case with many materials in this discipline, is sometimes unavoidable.

Overall, this text includes content that’s relevant and supportive of the learning outcomes for an introductory public speaking class. There are some time- and context-specific examples, but they’re still fairly recognizable.

This book is written clearly for the most part. The material is very thorough, so in some instances language gets thick and heavy. For example, some passages dealing with theory and highly technical concepts may be more difficult to navigate than others. These instances are not critical to the course content, so instructors can use more advanced concepts to balance the fundamentals… or not!

This resource is definitely consistent in its writing, structure, layout, and depth. Certainly some sections lend themselves to different modes of presentation, and that is evident in this book. Such an adjustment doesn’t detract from the usability of the book, and as mentioned above, allows instructors to use the book in different ways, depending on course context, participants, and level.

The sections of this book could be easily utilized on their own if needed. The topics are well organized and content is divided into very manageable sections (that are clearly identified and linked from the table of contents).

The materials are well organized. The flow of the text is completely acceptable, and the sections are organized in a manner that would make sense for most public speaking instructors. Some instructors might disagree with the overall arrangement of the materials, but the book's strong modularity allows teachers to easily present content in the order they see fit.

My only critique of this book is the overall aesthetic of the content; the pages feel very busy, especially on pages with callouts, images, and multiple sections. That said, sections are clearly labeled, so navigation is easy. Table of contents is functional. Online, there seems to be only access to a very large PDF document, and no other options for accessing individual sections. That might be helpful.

There are no significant errors in this text. A few minor stylistic and formatting inconsistencies, but nothing that prevents adoption.

The book includes an appendix that discusses Cultural Diversity in Public speaking, which is nice. Throughout the book, however, there are few, if any, direct references to intercultural communication or diversity issues.

This is a strong, robust, and well-crafted textbook that should be a valuable resource for instructors.

Reviewed by Jessica Papajcik, Associate Professor, Stark State College on 8/7/19

Exploring Public Speaking is comprehensive text book. Its strength is in the broad categories that every useful speech textbook should have. With fifteen chapters, chapter objectives, appendices, and a useful table of contents, a glossary and... read more

Exploring Public Speaking is comprehensive text book. Its strength is in the broad categories that every useful speech textbook should have. With fifteen chapters, chapter objectives, appendices, and a useful table of contents, a glossary and full references, this text covers most subjects adequately. The persuasion section in particular needed to be ramped up, especially with constructing arguments and incorporating Toulmin, but that can easily be supplemented by the instructor.

The content in Exploring Public Speaking is accurate and for the most part, error free and unbiased.

Exploring Public Speaking does not rely heavily on pop culture examples. The text is formatted nicely and flows logically for the most part with easy to follow headings, subheadings, and sidebars. However, many of the images and artwork are generic and poor quality. Images should be selected with caution, balancing need with quality.

Exploring Public Speaking provides many definitions in bold throughout the text as well as in blue sidebars (and also in the glossary.) The language is engaging and written causally without sacrificing rigor. Numbering systems and bullet points are used throughout to summarize key terms and concepts concisely. Each chapter is broken down and "chunked" into smaller sections that are only a few paragraphs (sometimes more) which is a benefit for students who don't have long periods of time to read robust chapters.

Exploring Public Speaking is consistent in tense, terminology, and framework. It is simple to follow and uses consistent font, coloring, and labeling.

Modularity may be Exploring Public Speaking's strongest asset. It does an excellent job blocking or "chunking" the text and it well organized. Of course, each instructor has their own preference for order of topics, but that is easily remedied by individual instructors assigned chapters in different orders than presented.

Instructors often disagree on order of topics in the public speaking course and while I wouldn't have personally ordered the chapters as presented in this textbook, that is an easy fix by simply assigning and covering them in a different order. For example, Chapter 7 on Supporting Ideas should be included in the Research section of Chapter 5. The Appendix on citations should be added within the chapter on outlining and so on.

The interface of this text looks to be error free and navigates well.

I have yet to find grammatical errors, although there are some small inconsistencies in formatting and punctuation use.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

The weakest part of Exploring Public Speaking is its lack of inclusivity. It leaves the idea of "cultural diversity" to a 5 page appendix in the back of the text. This concept should be WOVEN throughout the text in every way imaginable

Overall, this is an adequate text for an Open Resource. What this text lacks can be supplemented by lecture and supplemental materials.

Reviewed by Ashley Marietta-Brown, Lecturer, The Ohio State University- Newark on 3/31/19

The book is comprehensive and is comparable to other textbooks I have used in the past. It covers all the topics you would expect an introductory public speaking textbook to cover although a complete discussion of preparation outlines is lacking.... read more

The book is comprehensive and is comparable to other textbooks I have used in the past. It covers all the topics you would expect an introductory public speaking textbook to cover although a complete discussion of preparation outlines is lacking. In addition, it is lacking an effective index and glossary.

The information provided in the textbook is accurate.

There are references to both past and present situations as examples. The current examples will remain relevant for an appropriate period of time and current event examples can easily be updated or supplemented with the instructor's own examples.

Although the text is quite comprehensive, it is also quite wordy. There are almost too many examples provided that could be cut down and concepts that are too drawn out. The wordiness does not hinder the understanding of the material, but it makes some chapters longer than necessary.

The book has internal consistency in terms of terminology that is used and the structure of the chapters.

The subheadings in the chapters make the book easy to navigate. Each section can easily be assigned to allow the instructor to cover material when they seem fit.

The overall organization of the textbook is consistent with other public speaking textbooks I have used. The chapters allow for freedom of movement to align with an individual instructor's course.

The quality of the images and charts is subpar. Higher resolution images should be used as the current ones are blurry.

I did not find any noticeable grammatical errors.

The book does provide diverse examples and draw on the experiences of multiple groups, but could include more cultural diversity.

Reviewed by Carrie Tomko, Senior Lecturer, OhioLink on 3/1/19

No worries about the completeness of the collection of information in Exploring Public Speaking (EPS). read more

No worries about the completeness of the collection of information in Exploring Public Speaking (EPS).

No issues with accuracy.

There is concern with pop culture references within the text. Ideas might become outdated.

Clarity rating: 2

Rambling text is evident throughout the collection of chapters. The verbiage should not be made to read like a novel. Content should be presented in a clear and concise manner, but unfortunately Exploring Public Speaking (EPS) often lacks in this category.

Consistency rating: 2

The terms and framework are consistently rambling.

It is possible to use the text in whole or in chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 1

This is the textbook's weakest point. Clearness lacks in the layout of chapters that drone on and on, off topic at times, suiting the author's needs of supporting outside interests.

No interface issues.

No grammatical issues found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

I was personally applauded by the tombstone image to begin a chapter on Introductions and Conclusions for speech construction. Without explanation, the chapter was introduced with a grave marker. It was not until the every end of the chapter that a side note is listed, sharing that one of the authors fancies a poet, and this is the poet's gravestone. Seemingly, this is very self-serving and confusing to a student learning about speech construction to show an image of a tombstone.

In my 13 years of teaching, I was disappointed by the lack of clarity in Exploring Public Speaking (EPS). The rambling of information was distracting and lacked conciseness, while the references to pop culture were outdated at times. While I did applaud the concepts covered, I would not choose this textbook for fear that students would have a distaste of communication based upon the inefficient manner that communication on public speaking was delivered in this textbook.

Reviewed by Bonnie Andrys, Instructor, Northland Community & Technical College -- East Grand Forks on 6/19/18

This text will serve my students and me well All appropriate concepts and principles are covered. The text also has a functional index and glossary. Linking the glossary to pages or text would be helpful for students. read more

This text will serve my students and me well All appropriate concepts and principles are covered. The text also has a functional index and glossary. Linking the glossary to pages or text would be helpful for students.

The content is accurate, error-free and inclusive.

Principles and concepts of public speaking typically do not change. At this time, the examples are relevant and timely. While there is a 2016 copyright, updated materials could be added or changed quite easily as necessary.

The conversational tone is the text's best feature. It makes it easy to read and may keep students' interest as a result.

This text is consistent with many public speaking texts. I would introduce the three major appeals earlier in the text, and I use a different outlining format.

What the text lacks in design and layout, it offers many great examples and good explanations of concepts. The use of headings is helpful, but they could be made more distinct (e.g., bolder, larger font). More graphics and images would helpful for readability purposes.

The topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion. Any changes would be due to teacher preferences.

The text is free from significant interfaces overall. Chapter 1 has some font and margin distortions but not enough to distract readers.

A few grammatical errors exist (typos?) but nothing major to its overall effectiveness.

The text is inclusive in its examples. Individual teachers could easily enhance or update examples easily.

I would like to thank the authors for sharing their hard work. I was also hoping for some supplementary teacher materials, because I am usually curious as to how other teachers present the concepts and principles of public speaking. I look forward to using it.

Reviewed by Beverly Knudsen, Instructor, MA MS, Ridgewater College, Wilmar, MN on 6/19/18

This text covers all public speaking topics in-depth and I was particularly pleased to see an emphasis on audience analysis so early in the book. My only complaint (and it’s a small one) is that it might be too comprehensive (and thus... read more

This text covers all public speaking topics in-depth and I was particularly pleased to see an emphasis on audience analysis so early in the book. My only complaint (and it’s a small one) is that it might be too comprehensive (and thus overwhelming for a student) and could be more concise in areas. That said, individual instructors could inform students to skip certain areas of the text in order to make it more manageable. While there is a table of contents and a glossary, an index would be helpful. In addition the table of contents hyperlinks only work for part one (chapters 1 -10). Part 2 and the appendices do not have hyperlinks from the table of contents.

Considering all instructors will have their own criteria for speech length, outlining and other assignments the content is appropriate and accurate. While all texts show some level of bias, the authors did an admirable job of remaining objective and impartial in their presentation of the material.

Based on the examples used in the text an update every year or so will keep the text fresh. Many examples given are classic and highly relatable whether the student is traditional age or non-traditional (which we get a lot of at the community college level). I am pleased the authors did not pander to traditional students by pointing toward flash-in-the-pan celebrities or fads. The example of Kyle Busch at Daytona illustrates how they successfully applied a concept to real-life; even if the reader is not a racing fan the authors provided enough clarity for any reader to understand the point they were making. Referring to the show The Office, on the other hand was distracting for me. While I am aware of the show I never watched it and felt a bit excluded when the example was used.

The text is written conversationally and would be very attractive to a student. Inclusive language like “we” is used throughout the text; the reader will most likely feel they are speaking “with” someone versus being spoken “to.” One thing I particularly liked is how the authors explained terms which students might not be familiar with during their everyday conversations. One example of this is from Chapter 1, page 13, with the word “malleable.” This gives a student an opportunity to improve their vocabulary without feeling less than intelligent.

The formatting and voice of the authors was consistent throughout the text.

I definitely like the smaller sections within each chapter. Some chapter sections are rather text-heavy though and would benefit from inserting photos in order to break up the large blocks of text.

The organization is fine. I tend to rearrange chapters anyway so the order within the text does not really matter much to me. For example, because my students do impromptu and narrative speeches early in the semester I would probably pull up chapters 10 and 11 (on language and delivery) within the first four weeks of class. I would also likely go over chapter 12 (informative speaking) early because students present informative speeches around mid-term. Overall the information I need can be found within the text so the sequence as presented in the text is of less importance.

As stated earlier the hyperlinks from the table of contents to part 2 and the appendices do not exist. In-text links from vocabulary words to the glossary would be nice. While the text is highly readable for vision-impaired students I did not find any alt-texts on the photos. Has the text been checked with a screen reader?

While the use of contractions is conversational, they should be removed. There is also an extensive use of hyphens throughout the text. An example of this is in chapter 2, page 29, in paragraph one: “… what they do -- for example…”

Cultural aspects related to public speaking should be incorporated throughout the whole text instead of being included as an appendix.

a. For the learning objectives it would be helpful to have them numbered or lettered instead of bulleted. I always discuss these with students prior to starting a chapter so it would be easier to refer to which objective we are on if they are not bulleted. Some chapters also have different styles of bullets for the objectives (like chapter 5). b. The terms in bold were great, as were the sidebars. I also loved the use of white space in the margins in case students want to print the text and take notes. c. While I am not a fan of an extra space between paragraphs in academic writing it really works in this text; it helps to provide more white space for readability. d. The walk-through of the research process was very good. I do wish it was more generic though (not just Dalton) because this could confuse my students. e. Would it be possible to eliminate all references to Dalton and the Georgia system within the text? Perhaps the information could be an appendix. The “becoming a college student” appendix would be very helpful for my students, but there are too many references to Dalton within in it for me to be able to use it as is.

Reviewed by Susan Millsap, Professor, Otterbein University on 5/21/18

This text is a true entry level standard for public speaking. The authors do an excellent job of covering the main concepts and illustrating how they work for anyone interested in becoming a better public speaker. The text includes sources and... read more

This text is a true entry level standard for public speaking. The authors do an excellent job of covering the main concepts and illustrating how they work for anyone interested in becoming a better public speaker. The text includes sources and some links to more in depth information if the reader wishes to pursue a more comprehensive study of any one topic.

Overall the information is very accurate with up to date examples that illustrate concepts well.

Page 47, (“Definition of neuroplasticity,” 2015) but never gives this definition.

The examples used in the fallacies of reasoning section of Chapter 14 are ok, certainly non-controversial, but I would use the syllogistic example of premises leading to faulty conclusions under non sequiter instead of hasty generalization. I also introduce the Toulmin model here, which is not included, to help students evaluate arguments.

This text follows the format of most basic public speaking classes that have existed for the last 40 or more years. There are very current examples and appropriate updates as far as technology and audience analysis which make it useful and should be appropriate for a long time.

Chapter Five's section on library research is very specific to Dalton State's library and their on-line search engine. We would need to supplement this with our own information on our library's website.

Appendix C on making the transition to college is very helpful especially for a freshmen level text. The parts that are specific to Dalton State would need to be supplemented but the overall information is very useful.

The writing style is very easy to read. Good use of examples and explanations that make concepts easy to understand. Good use of student specific situations.

Very good explanation and use of examples covering the different organizational patterns.

Terminology is used well throughout the text, reinforcing concepts that are introduced earlier in the text. The voice of the text remembers the student audience throughout.

While the order of the chapters makes sense and are connected well, the chapters can be easily rearranged if an instructor wishes to cover the material in a different order

The book is organized for a basic public speaking course where students have little to no experience in public speaking. This would be appropriate for freshmen level college students or others who lack experience. The challenge of public speaking is getting students started before they have read all they need to know. This book is no different. Chapter 11 discusses Informative Speaking which students will need to be delivering way before this. So, while I will cover this earlier it would be nice if the text directed them to a first presentation assignment before then.

I would have liked more detail on outlining since I find students do not know how to create an effective outline and many do not know the basics of outline structure.

Introducing Ethos, Pathos, Logos, in Chapter 13 is late. I introduce this in Chapter 1 with the history overview. Reinforcing these here when discussing persuasion is very important.

The provided links worked and were helpful in providing more detail about or illustrating a concept. I wish there had been more links to examples of different organizational patterns. The sidebar definitions are helpful for students.

While I did notice a couple typographical errors in the text, overall it was grammatically correct.

The authors do a good job of adapting to audience and being inclusive in their examples, as well as explaining how speakers need to make their own adaptations.

I enjoyed reviewing this text. The elements that are specific to Dalton State's campus can be easily adapted to any campus but you will need to clarify this with your students at the beginning and probably remind them of this throughout.

Reviewed by Thomas Wright, Assistant Professor of Instruction and Public Speaking Course Director, Temple University on 5/21/18

Yes. Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision meets or exceeds the subject matter covered in standard (print) and OER textbooks. I have reviewed numerous public speaking textbooks for publishers and Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision covers... read more

Yes. Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision meets or exceeds the subject matter covered in standard (print) and OER textbooks. I have reviewed numerous public speaking textbooks for publishers and Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision covers more subject areas and includes more material than some of the commonly used public speaking textbooks.

Yes, Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision is accurate, error-free and unbiased. Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision is a widely-used OER public speaking textbook in its second revision. In viewing the content, I did not find any inaccurate information or errors. Public speaking textbooks generally cover the same information in slightly different ways so there is little variety in the content (some textbooks have more visual aids, infographics or examples, and some textbooks have fewer). I did not find any of the information or examples to be biased.

Yes, the content is up to date. Public speaking textbooks are formulaic in their content and presentation. Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision was revised in 2016. There are some exceptions. First, Chapter 9 “Presentation Aids in Speaking” should focus more on the use of mediated presentation aids (e.g. PowerPoint. Prezi). Second, there should be a chapter on mediated presentations. For example, it is not unusual for professionals to use Skype, Facetime, or other software/apps for presentations. Third, while there is an appendix on cultural diversity the ideas/approaches this material could be used throughout the book rather than being treated as additional, none essential information. In addition, a broader focus on ESL, ELL, or non-native speakers would be helpful. Finally, since it is an OER, it lacks some of the additional materials often included with textbooks from the major textbook publishers (i.e. quizzes, summaries, etc.).

Yes, Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision is clearly written. Overall, it is lucid, accessible, and provides clear explanations of new concepts and/or “jargon.” Keywords are highlighted and defined in boxes offset from the main text. These are easy to read and understand. While keywords are not reviewed or listed at the end of each chapter, there is a glossary. In addition, all of the examples are well explained or reference common topics from American history or popular culture. Finally, the amount of jargon or technical language is the same as one will find in any public speaking textbook.

Yes, Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision is consistent in its use of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 3

Yes, Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision generally meets the criteria of modularity. The book is divided into two .pdf files: one for chapters 1-10 and another for chapters 11-Appendix. Within each file, the reader can click on the page numbers for any section and be taken to that section. In addition, each chapter is broken into subheadings. These are easy to identify and find in the table of contents. However, it is awkward and unwieldy to constantly return to the table of contents or scroll through endless pages to get from chapter to chapter.

Yes, Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision is well organized and easy to follow. It follows the same organizational pattern as many other standard/printed and OER public speaking textbooks.

In general, there are no issues with the interface used for Exploring Public Speaking: 2nd Revision. It is easy to read and generally easy to navigate (see Modularity above) with two exceptions. First, as noted above, the reader often has to return to the table of contents to easily access different sections of the book. In addition, like many OER textbooks, it is challenging (if not impossible) to read on a phone. It does work on a tablet but any .pdf file is best viewed on a laptop or desktop. Finally, since the book is broken into two files, it is awkward to navigate between two texts.

I did not find any cultural insensitive or offensive language or examples. In fact, the authors make a point of noting important changes in the way that language and/or examples can be used to exclude people. On the other hand, as noted above, the author’s should include some examples out of the mainstream or with a more conservative perspective to better reflect the diverse perspectives of the speaker’s audience.

Reviewed by Muhammad Khan, Communication Faculty, Linn-Benton Community College on 5/21/18

The book does a good job of covering all of the necessities and even goes beyond this. It's actually very likely a bit too comprehensive at-times. read more

The book does a good job of covering all of the necessities and even goes beyond this. It's actually very likely a bit too comprehensive at-times.

I think the textbook largely focuses on the white lens of communication and is heavily reliant upon research from solely white scholars. While content is accurate, I'm left questioning some of the inherent biases within the way the book is constructed.

The book is relevant but some of the core material is actually tucked towards the end of the book, when it should be leading the book. I actually think study skills and diversity are two of the most important skills to develop as part of public speaking. The authors should be leading with those subjects.

The book is quite clear. The authors did a good job on this level.

Consistency is existent with the book and the authors do a good job of using the same framework.

The text could be better in some places, especially the text boxes on the sides of page. It seems like they were added later as an afterthought rather than a consistent piece that flows within the textbook. Ch. 5 had a missing label.

The topics are constructed clearly.

The interface could be a lot better. The pages are not visually appealing.

Grammar is good.

This book was really lacking in this department. There are very few photos of students of color used, and the book could use a lot more examples of cultures outside of Americans. There was a serious deficiency in this area, that made not want to use the book. The books depiction of cultural diversity could use a lot more work.

I personally wouldn't use this book. The appendix chapters should be leading the book and could be better developed. The book is not reflective of the diversity that is beginning to take shape within the communication field. It's also written for a particular, when I actually think for it to be widely accepted it should be written more broadly for other audiences.

Reviewed by Nichelle McNabb, Professor, Otterbein University on 5/21/18

The textbook is comprehensive. It covers all of the major areas that I would like to see covered in a Public Speaking textbook.. There are, however, some specific subjects I would add or subtract if I decided to use the book. I would delete the... read more

The textbook is comprehensive. It covers all of the major areas that I would like to see covered in a Public Speaking textbook.. There are, however, some specific subjects I would add or subtract if I decided to use the book. I would delete the section that addresses how students specifically locate library resources at the Dalton library. I appreciate that it is specific to their school, not mine. I would also add: Topic selection criteria, tests of evidence, and a third type of outline (formal).

Content is accurate and examples are unbiased. I liked, for example, the discussion of how Donald Trump appealed to some audiences but not to others. That is basically all it said.

The content is both historical and it also includes up to date examples and citations.

The textbook is written in a manner that is accessible to beginning students.

Yes. I particularly like the section at the beginning of each chapter that tells students what they should know as a result of reading the chapters.

The book does not have long sections without subheadings.

I struggle with this, but I would likely arrange things a little differently. There are a few places where I find myself wondering, "Why is that there?" For example, we are quite a way into the book before we get to intros and conclusions. I would like for students to have that information pretty early so that they can be using it all semester.

Images are clear and readable.

The book appears to be free of grammatical errors.

I don't know what the rules are on sharing excerpts from speeches, etc. in open source documents might be, but I think it is really important to demonstrate to students that effective speakers come in all genders, ethnicities, and ages. I think this book could really do better here.

I think it is generally good. I think it is usable. But, I do not think it is my ideal example of a Public Speaking textbook.

Reviewed by Alane Presswood, VAP/Director of Oral Communication, Hollins University on 3/27/18

This text provides a solid introduction to all the fundamentals of oral communication, and actually does a better job than many similar text at balancing theoretical and practical information. For example, Chapter 9 (visual aids) goes beyond the... read more

This text provides a solid introduction to all the fundamentals of oral communication, and actually does a better job than many similar text at balancing theoretical and practical information. For example, Chapter 9 (visual aids) goes beyond the usual discussion of font choices, color theory, and digital versus analog presentation aids to discuss the effect that visual aids actually have on presenters and audiences – this kind of discussion pushes students to think about how the skills they are learning apply to a myriad of contexts, not just their graded classroom life. The authors also include an excellent (and rare) discussion of how to budget time inside a presentation and handle paraphrasing well. They use a wide variety of examples throughout the book to help students break down and explore the concepts.

If anything, I think the text becomes TOO comprehensive at times, considering the number of presentations and the amount of class time generally taken up by those presentations in a typical public speaking class. The discussion of statistics in Chapter 7, for example, feels out of place to me, but individual instructors can choose whether their class time is better devoted to a review of basic Algebra or rehearsing presentation skills based on the needs of their own students.

This text mirrors commonly accepted disciplinary standards for accuracy in an intro to public speaking text. The authors make a consistent effort to include names of theorists when introducing ideas and guide students toward recognizing the history and background of the concepts they are learning, which reinforces good studentcraft for those of us with general education requirements on the line.

The basic tenets of good oral presentations, sound arguments, and clearly structure presentations haven’t changed in two thousand years, and I doubt they’ll radically shift in the next 5 or 10; as such, this text is a safe bet for planning out the next few iterations of your public speaking course. What disappoints me, however, is a relative lack of attention to how communicators might need to address audiences in the digital realm. From establishing a personal brand on Instagram to conducting job interview on Skype, speaking publicly in a computer-mediated medium is becoming an increasingly integral part of graduates’ lives, and this text pays little-to-no-attention to such needs. In the next five years, I see this becoming an even more pressing exclusion.

The text overall is clearly written and pitched at an appropriate level for introductory college students; I have seen some public speaking texts that treat college freshmen like high school freshmen, and this text does not fall into that trap. A few minor exceptions: attempts in Chapter 1 to cover the entire communicative process and other content feels rushed. Ideally, I’d suggest one general introductory chapter and then a separate chapter on the communicative process of the theoretical backing of public speaking.

The layout of appendix D is odd; there’s some good information on plagiarisim in there, but no logical reason why it’s not folded into the chapter on ethical speaking.

Finally, a warning to potential adopters; as a text created specifically for Dalton State College, some of the information in the text is extremely specific to DSC students. The research chapter is the most obvious example, with an entire section devoted to using the Dalton library. I certainly don’t fault the authors for this, but other instructors should be prepared to use supplementary materials for these sections.

The authors maintain a consistent, helpful focus throughout the text on public speaking as more than just the skill of standing up in front of a crowd without feeling nervous (emphasizing also the values of being a good audience member, anticipating the needs of listeners, sourcing and citing your information appropriately, et cetera). Again, this focus pushes students to consider the validity of oral communication beyond the classroom; particularly with the inclusion in every chapter of a variety of examples, positive and negative, that students can delve into to help craft and hone their own thoughts.

Individual chapters occasionally drag on; some increased subdivision would definitely increase overall comprehension (again, see my earlier point about the introductory chapters feeling rushed). The chapters do refer to each other, but more as reinforcement of concepts than as a requirement for comprehension. Instructors should be able to assign chapters out-of-order without too much trouble (which is good, since I anticipate many instructors needing to cover Chapter 12 before Chapters 9-10, or Chapter 14 before 13, or move Chapter 15 up as an introductory activity…).

I agree with previous reviewers that the lack of an index in this text is a hindrance. The authors provide a glossary, but students have no ability to look up all the instances or references to a specific concept.

I don’t personally think that reserving all the organizational/genre chapters (informative speeches, persuasive speeches, epideictic speeches) for the end of the text is the strongest choice, but instructors should be able to shuffle chapters at their will without much trouble.

Occasionally subdivisions within chapters become too long-winded; I can see some students losing the overall thread of what and why they are reading.

I appreciate that the authors use embedded video links; this is a great way to take advantage of digital technology and make good use of ebook format, rather than simply shifting a paper text online.

Visually, I find this book awkward. Rather than wrapping the text around the blue boxes for concept definitions, there is just a permanent enlarged margin on the interior page gutters. So, when no concepts are pulled out to be highlighted, there is just an ocean of blank space on the page. It’s off-putting.

One note on the visuals in the text – I find the infographics generally helpful, but there is a preponderance on photographs f students or instructors in beige classrooms that do not add anything to the book. (Incidentally, blonde women are also disproportionately represented in these photographs). While I’m well aware of students’ preference for reading books “with pictures,” I’d rather see this space dedicated to content.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

The book has noticeable typos in every chapter – they’re not overwhelming, but they’re present. I have found this to negatively impact students’ level of faith in the text.

The book shows a great focus (particularly in early chapters but also throughout) on breaking down negative stereotypes in oral communication, one of the bigger hurdles for public speaking students. While generally inclusive and free from any overtly stereotypical assumptions about protected classes, the authors do demonstrate a bias throughout the book towards the traditional student. Students who are returning adults, working full-time, parents, veterans, or who otherwise do not fit the 18-year-old first year vibe won’t see themselves addressed in this text.

Overall,this is a solid text that stands up to the commonly used analog titans (with a few minor adjustments when adapted outside its originating context of Dalton State College).

Reviewed by Shay Jones, Lecturer, Penn State Harrisburg on 2/1/18

At first glance I was concerned that this textbook would not measure up to the one I so dearly love to use now, "Public Speaking Matters" by Kory Floyd. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the text is indeed comprehensive, addressing all... read more

At first glance I was concerned that this textbook would not measure up to the one I so dearly love to use now, "Public Speaking Matters" by Kory Floyd. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the text is indeed comprehensive, addressing all aspects of public speaking. Actually it has more to offer than the one I am currently using in the areas of diversity with the added benefit of introducing college life and learning in the Appendix sections. The more I read and consumed, the more excited I became!

I believe the authors did a good job on keeping the content free of writing and accuracy errors while also paying attention to any bias that is often encountered when exploring public speaking. I did happen upon a few typos and grammatical errors but they are minimal.

The authors included historical and current information that would continue to be useful to students in the future. Also, the textbook can be updated without too much difficulty and much of what is included is simply basic to all public speaking success.

The authors use a variety of formats for defining and explaining the content without "dumbing it down." They also provide many references that can be utilized for further clarification.

Overall, I find the book to be consistent, however, I would have switched some of the chapters from their original order. For example, I would place Chapters 5 and 7 together and Chapters 6 and 8 as well.

The modularity of this textbook is fine; I have a tendency to assign later chapters earlier in the semester or assign smaller reading portions at different points in the semester depending on how that book's information is organized.

The only comment I would have regarding organization/structure is that I incorporate delivery into my course much earlier than what the majority of textbooks seem to do.

I find there to be a good balance between text and graphics with especially a number of good examples in the Visual Aids chapter of how to avoid the pitfalls of including visual aids and how to develop them properly and effectively.

Generally, I did not come upon grievous grammatical errors and I am always checking grammar. What I did locate seem to be more akin of typos.

This textbook does more with cultural relevance than most of the ones I have used or considered using, thus bravo to the authors.

In closing, I would point out that I especially liked the key terms defined displayed in the margins; the Appendix variety and amount of good information that is helpful to the student; the inclusion of Speaking Spaces in Chapter 11; the sample speeches and outlines that were included; the relevant examples used in Chapter 4 like the use of the television series "The Walking Dead"; the use of information from Stephen Lucas whose textbooks and media I have used faithfully in the past; and last but not least the terminology as in Central Idea replacing Thesis Statement which I am a fan of!! Thank you for the opportunity to find a cost-effective yet engaging and comprehensive public speaking textbook for my students!

Reviewed by Amy Sauertieg, Lecturer, Penn State University Harrisburg on 2/1/18

The book discusses all the material I would want to cover in an introductory public speaking class. It follows the traditional topics of most speech textbooks. read more

The book discusses all the material I would want to cover in an introductory public speaking class. It follows the traditional topics of most speech textbooks.

I do not see any evidence of bias or inaccuracy in the book.

The content is very current in terms of the examples it uses, within the traditional material for a public speaking text. References to the most recent presidential election will age relatively quickly, but that seems easy to update.

I think the section on how to use the Dalton library should be removed, as it is not relevant to any other school.

The book explains topics in an easily understandable style and makes all technical terms clear. It is accessible in the sense that it is understandable and uses language that students will not find difficult to interpret. It is a little long-winded, however, and not particularly exciting (although that is hard to do with this kind of material).

The terminology used is consistent throughout the text and concepts covered. Equal and/or appropriate weight is given to each topic.

The arrangement of material using headers and subheads is appropriate. Breaking the text into discrete reading assignments would be easily accomplished.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

All the material covered is what I would expect to be covered, but I would not do it in this order. If I use this book, I would definitely reorganize the chapters.

I don't see any significant visual issues, although the photography quality and subject matter could be greatly improved. A few of the charts were a little blurry.

I did not see any grammatical errors in the book.

The text is not insensitive or offensive. I did note, however, that while there are many photos throughout the book, there were only 3 African American students shown, and no students with visible disabilities.

I think this book is adequate for an intro public speaking class, although I found the writing a little dull. However, given the price of many current popular texts, this seems like a reasonable choice. Considering that I don't think many of my students are buy the book at all anymore, perhaps this would be a way to get them to read. I will seriously consider using it.

Reviewed by Staci Kuntzman, Senior Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Charlotte on 2/1/18

The text does is very thorough and does an exemplary job of including many communication theories as they relate to public speaking. Chapter 10 on language offers perhaps the greatest coverage I’ve seen in a public speaking textbook. read more

The text does is very thorough and does an exemplary job of including many communication theories as they relate to public speaking. Chapter 10 on language offers perhaps the greatest coverage I’ve seen in a public speaking textbook.

Content for intended audience is accurate, error-free and unbiased.

Most content is up-to-date and includes relevant examples that are timely. However, Chapter 2 will need to be updated pretty quickly as Donald Trump is now president, which should also provide some good additional support and examples that can be included regarding ethics and communication. As mentioned by other reviewers, information about Galileo Scholar in Chapter 3 is specific to students at Dalton State College.

The textbook is written in professional yet easily understood language that includes common communication terminology.

The content has great consistency throughout.

As with most public speaking textbooks, this text could be easily rearranged.

Organization for this Public Speaking textbook is very easy to follow and all topics and chapters include appropriate headers, summaries, and so on. The chapters align pretty much with how I organize my syllabus, except for chapters 6 and 7 which are inverted since it works better for me when I discuss support before how to organize that support.

The hyperlinks do not open in a new window, so you lose your place in reading every time you use a hyperlink. Otherwise, the graphics and other visuals included are very good.

I did not see any grammatical errors.

Additional coverage of the LGBTQ community is needed for Chapter 2 and the discussion of the audience.

I have really enjoyed reviewing this open source public speaking textbook! I had no idea that such resources existed and really appreciate my university and the Open Textbook Network for making me aware of this valuable resource!

Reviewed by Sandy Hanson, Senior Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Charlotte on 2/1/18

1. This book does not have an index; this is problematic. 2. The glossary seems complete. 3. Chapter two spends way too much time explaining simplistic concepts like the eight demographic characteristics covered but then doesn't spend enough time... read more

1. This book does not have an index; this is problematic. 2. The glossary seems complete. 3. Chapter two spends way too much time explaining simplistic concepts like the eight demographic characteristics covered but then doesn't spend enough time explaining how to use the information. I do like the explanation of planned redundancy, however. 4. The chapters cover the topics a typical PS text would cover. 5. I like chapter 4 overall. 6. I like chapter 6 overall. 7. I like that chapter 7 includes the lengthy discussion of perception and attention. This is a good inclusion in the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

1. The section on plagiarism is disjointed. It describes research showing the lack of understanding about plagiarism but then doesn't define/describe/explain it for the reader. The way the information is offered could actually lead the less than careful reader to plagiarize. Finally, there are exercises for the reader but no examples or samples for the reader to follow. 2. Page 18 in chapter one discusses senders and receivers but doesn't capture the essence of transactional communication. Sounds very linear. 3. There are no page numbers associated with quotes or ideas from sources (example, Watzlawick, Beavin & Jackson are cited numerous times, but if the reader wanted to know more about the specific concept, he/she would be lost. 4. Chapter two says they will discuss ten demographic items when they only cover eight. 5. What the authors call "sneaking" is most commonly referred to as "patchwork plagiarism." I, personally, have never seen the "sneaking" term used this way. 6. The description of "fair use" is not reflective of Fair Use regulations and would misinform the reader. 7. Need to clarify the difference between the way a transition is defined and exemplified with what was written about internal previews and internal summaries. Not clear about the difference. 8. Most books include "direct questions" along with "rhetorical questions." Chapter 8 only offers rhetorical questions, but speakers often DO want an answer to the question they ask. 9. I don't like that they don't include "transition to the body" as part of the introduction but they do include "signal the end" as part of the conclusion. (chapter 8). 10. The review of attention-getting and concluding devices is thorough. 11. This sentence in chapter 9 needs to underlined or bold or in italics or something: The key is that each presentation aid must directly express an idea in your speech. 12. Chapter 9: “Sequence-of-Steps charts” are called “flow charts” by most people. But the authors then discuss "Decision Trees" which are also flow charts. Combine these two under a heading called "Flow Charts" and discuss the two types. 13. This sentence makes students think 43-seconds is short when, depending on the length of the speech, it could be extremely long. Chapter 9: “…so you could easily show a forty-three second video available on YouTube to demonstrate the part of the surgery.” 14. I like the example created by figures 9.24-9.28. 15. I like the discussion about language up to section 10.2. 16. Chapter 10: “…get off the high horse?” (which I admit, is a cliché!)” There are TWO textbook authors. 17. Overall, the Language chapter (10) is good. Topic selection is thorough and treatments are accurate. 18. Chapter 11 suggests speeches will be 5-8 minutes. It is also factually stated that the reader’s instructor will want extemporaneous delivery. Don’t make assumptions about other instructors. 19. Rather than saying to “film” yourself, why not use “record” or “video” or something more up-to-date. 20. Chapter 12 offers five categories of informative speeches. These are not commonly used and I think beginning speakers might have trouble differentiating between some of them (eg., history vs. biography is explained, but is the difference so large they demand their own categories (“Type 2,” etc.)? 21. The Learning Objective for chapter 12 doesn't reflect the amount of space dedicated to topic selection. 22. I like the sample outlines at the end of chapter 12. 23. “Two-tailed arguments” are more commonly referred to as “refutation.” 24. I like the inductive and deductive reasoning sections in chapter 14. Many intro texts don’t discuss enthymemes, etc. Actually, I really like the whole chapter 14. Material is offered that is not often covered in other texts (Argument from Silence, Post hoc ergo propter hoc, Ad Misericordium, etc.)

1. Chapter one references Pictionary and Google Images. Certainly students today know Google Images but most are probably not familiar with Pictionary. 2. Chapter two refers to Facebook. 3. Shows like "The Walking Dead" won't be popular forever. (chapter 4) 4. The "strange facts" website in chapter 8 may or may not be around long.

1. I think early college students will find the writing style to be comfortable and easy to understand. 2. Section 1.5 ("Getting Started in Public Speaking") is a hodge-podge and includes topics I wouldn't consider the first things to think about when "getting started." In addition, it lacks clear direction: when "PS Requires Muscle Memory" is discussed, the authors never actually use the word "practice!" Students need to hear that word over and over. 3. Cicero's canons seem like an afterthought and will probably confuse rather than help the reader. 4. I like the way this section is done: Section 2.4 – Contextual Factors of Audience Analysis. 5. I like the section on judging internet resources in chapter 5. 6. The example about ice cream flavors in chapter 6 needs a better explanation. 7. I would never use an example of something the authors don't recommend, even if it's an easy way to explain something. There has to be a better way! Example: Chapter 7 - "2. Expectations. If a speaker started a lecture with “In this presentation I am going to say the word ‘serendipity,’ and when I do, the first person who jumps up and says ‘gotcha’ will get this $100 bill.” The audience is expecting to hear something and tuning in for it. Of course, this is an extreme example (and we don’t recommend it!) but when a speaker gives an introduction that sets up for the audience what to expect, attention can be helped." 8. The discussion on anecdotes in chapter 8 has a "second type of anecdote" but not a "first." 9. The heading "Quotation" on page 164 in chapter 8 should be in blue and bold italics like the other items. 10. Need to fix this: "Element 4: Preview Your Topic/Purpose/Central Idea The second major function of an introduction after getting the audience’s attention is to reveal the purpose of your speech to your audience. " (Element 4 but calls it the "second" in chapter 8.) 11. It would help if the authors labeled the different parts of their sample introductions in chapter 8. 12. I think "visual" and "auditory" are more common aids, but they aren't in bold, while "olfactory" and "gustatory" are in bold. (Chapter 9) 13. This the discussion following this heading in chapter 9 includes other things like timing, ease of use, etc.: “9.1 - What Are Presentation Aids?” 14. Good tips on impromptu speaking. 15. Chapter 11: explain that Steve Martin took audiences outside of the venue before you offer the p. 168 selection from his book. 16. Chapter 11 gives a good list of things NOT to do when trying to make eye contact, but doesn’t give the reader suggestions of what TO do. 17. Section 12.1 – Can’t have a “second” without a “first.” 18. Lucas’ definition has no blue box while Perloff’s does. Does this mean the authors are placing more significance on Perloff? The text seems to support their inclination toward Perloff, but they did spend a lot of time writing about Lucas. 19. Chapter 15 offers good, solid advice about special occasion speeches. 20. I love the appendix on “Becoming a College Student.” Many students don’t ever get this kind of information.

1. Some concepts have the definitions in blue boxes while others don't. Beginning students may think, because a concept doesn't have a blue box, it's not as important as those that do. A great example of this is in chapter one: "people," "context," "message," and "outcome" lack blue boxes while all the other concepts discussed at that point do. Confusing. 2. This section in chapter 4 uses the same terminology discussed under General Purpose but throws that language in with a lot of other terms. "To _______________ Specific Communication Word (inform , explain, demonstrate, describe, define, persuade, convince, prove, argue)" 3. Need to differentiate or combine the chapter 8 discussion of anecdotes versus stories. (Fables are used as examples in each!) 4. Chapter 8: Proof the part on “Conclusions.+ The opening sentence says there are 4 parts but they only discuss three. Also, "Element One" is not in blue and larger font like the other elements. 5. Chapter 10, Section 1 begins with the five canons of rhetoric, but only pulls one of them out (style), briefly discusses it, and then leaves the canons behind. The canons are too important to only be used as an introductory tool. 6. “Two-tailed arguments” are more commonly referred to as “refutation.” (chapter 13) 7. Chapter 13 treats the organizational patterns for persuasion differently from most books on the market (based on the type of proposition). It’s an interesting treatment but I would have to use the book in my class to determine if it works.

Modularity rating: 2

1. Plagiarism is covered as an appendix and in chapter three. Why not cover it all in one place. Students rarely look at appendices anyway. 2. On page 69, the reference is made to the audience in chapter 2, but on page 74 that section called "The Audience" is really where the reference to chapter two should be (for ease of reading). 3. The section in chapter 5 on "What To Do With All These Sources" is redundant to the earlier "fair use" discussion. This needs to be fixed. 4. Sentences like this one on page 120 are useless: "There are examples of the different versions of full sentence outlines provided at the ends of some chapters." Is the reader expected to stop the train of thought and search those examples out? 5. Need a transitional device on page 167 going into "Element 2." It's been too long since the reader was given the list the things the authors are covering. 6. Chapter 2 references logical fallacies (which are actually covered in chapter 14). Do this in parentheses in chapter 2, rather than main text. 7. Chapter 14 introduces reasoning fallacies for the second time in the book on page 324. However, the authors still haven’t covered them. Again, use parenthetical remarks for topics that are not directly concerning the current topic. Logical fallacies are finally defined in 14.4. If they need to be discussed in the previous sections of the book, then at least define them back there and then refresh the reader’s memory in 14.4

1. The fact that "delivery" isn't discussed until chapter 11 is concerning. Students will need information on this long before they get to chapter 11. 2. Need to fix this: Element 4 but calls it the "second" in chapter 8. 3. Try to place the figures with (same page) the discussions in chapter 9. 4. Chapter 9: from p. 195-199. These examples should be placed in the text along with (same page) as the discussion regarding each. This whole chapter is confusing due to the placement of the figures. The same thing happens in chapter 11 where the authors have to reference three figures (11.1-11.3) that are four pages away from the discussion. 5. What does the picture of the woman taking someone’s heart rate have to do with language? 6. Reverse order of extemporaneous speaking and memorized speaking, especially since the last portion of the extemp. discussion refers to the rest of the chapter. 7. Lecterns are discussed at three different locations in chapter 11! Consolidate. 8. There is an entire chapter on topic selection (chapter 4) but then chapter 12 spends a great deal of time on it.

1. Chapter one references "figure 9.2" and the reader has no way to locate that figure. I actually looked at the table of Contents (since there’s no index) to determine the topic of chapter 9. When I saw it was Presentation Aids, I immediately decided there was no way a communication model would be discussed under Presentation Aids. It wasn’t until I got to chapter 9 that I realized the authors relegated a communication model to an example of a presentation aid. 2. I don't know if this counts as interface, but chapter one assumes the instructor using this book will require "4-5" speeches. Every class is different. 3. There sure are a lot of photos of people speaking. Try getting pics that are relevant to the topic under discussion. For example, you have a photo of a bridge when the discussion is about bridges as transitional devices. That works. 4. I had no problem with any of the links.

1. Chapter two offers this mixture of grammatical and punctuation errors:

"Most audience will be heterogeneous, or a m ixture of different types of people and demographic characteristics, as opposed to homogeneous, very similar in many characteristics (a group of single, 20-yearold female nursing students at your college). Therefore, be sensitive to your audience members’ identification with a culture."

In addition, the content suggests most audiences will be a mixture of cultures but then asks the reader to be sensitive to the culture. The section doesn't suggest how a beginning speaker might do that. 2. This sentence uses the preposition "for" incorrectly: "Values are goals we strive for and what we consider important and desirable." 3. Is this the last sentence in chapter two: "Conclusion This chapter has looked at the psychological and physical processes going on inside the audience during a speech. Being audience-centered and adapting to your audience involves knowing as much as is reasonably possible about them. Addressing a diverse audience is a challenge, and audiences are, in general, becoming more diverse and more aware of their diversity"

There's no period at the end but it seems like they would write more of a conclusion. 4. This sentence in chapter 6 needs punctuation work: They can be short (as anecdotes usually are. Think of the stories you often see in Readers’ Digest, human interest stories on the local news, or what you might post on Facebook about a bad experience you had at the DMV).

1. "Cultural Diversity" is included as an appendix! This should be woven throughout the text and discussed explicitly early on in the semester. Unfortunately, many students don't even know what an appendix is, much less actually read one. 2. The chapter on introductions does discuss not offending the audience with inappropriate humor, but I really think cultural implications need to be included in every chapter. 3. The section on “clichés” and the language chapter reflect diversity of audiences.

1. Anti-PowerPoint argument is one-sided. 2. More dedicated space should be given to nervousness. 3. Outlines are shown, but Standard Outlining Format is not formally discussed. It should be. 4. The hostile, neutral, and friendly nature of audiences should be addressed.

Reviewed by Marina Whitchurch, Adjunct Instructor, Rogue Community College on 8/15/17

super detailed. I love the use of applicable research to describe such as the of Griffin’s communication process to three games. ethics...highly comprehensive section. I really enjoyed that read for my own! entire text is highly detailed...much... read more

super detailed. I love the use of applicable research to describe such as the of Griffin’s communication process to three games. ethics...highly comprehensive section. I really enjoyed that read for my own! entire text is highly detailed...much more so than any other public speaking text that I've read

the link on page 20 did not work for me - the online self inventory

a few of the cultural references are a bit dated “the simpsons” for instance is a show that I haven’t heard anyone watching recently

the use of GALILEO for research is great for students at Dalton State, but if I were to adopt this text for my classes, how would this fit for me? the information is still great...a and i can definitely use it much of it for my own classes, I would just have to transfer everything that is GALILEO related to RCC

i found this text to be very clear and easy to follow. the language used was explained, if necessary, and at a level that any first year college student should understand with comfortable challenge.

consistency was great

modularity was great

chapters 6 and 7 should be switched putting 5 and 7 next to each other and 6 and 8 next to each other

why, on page 18, is there a photo of two women one of which is holding a tool? that seems odd to me...lol i like the spaces for notes! what is page 130 about? I get the question and the photo but it comes out of nowhere...to me. photos do not add to the text

grammar rocked...and i can spot a typo from a mile away.....!

anxiety section should include meditation and mindfulness. students are not interested so much in discussions of fear as they are in calming and centering their already overwhelmed brains to focus on speech giving. under demographics....please don’t confine sexual orientation to one paragraph and move on. this group is becoming more vocal on campuses nationwide and deserve more than a paragraph. Discussion of ‘partner’ and ‘spouse’ is important, however movement toward understanding pronouns and inclusivity of all fluid genders and sexualities is important.

great text...should I have to opportunity to adopt open text books in my department, I will come back to this for sure. thank you!

Reviewed by Franklin Williams, Adjunct Instructor, Tidewater Community College on 6/20/17

This text does a great job breaking down each important component of public speaking. read more

This text does a great job breaking down each important component of public speaking.

The content is very accurate and straightforward with its content.

This text is one that will hold its relevance for many years to come. Great examples of real life speakers and speaking situations will go a long way in helping connect with the students.

This text is written in a way that almost anyone can comprehend and illustrate speaking practices from this text.

The text is very consistent with its body of work and how it's terms are shaped for maximum comprehension.

I'm pleased with the how the text is easily and clearly sectioned and not. Some texts are often clunky but this text avoids that which makes for an enjoyable book to read and study from.

The items in this text are well organized and outlined.

This text has no interface issues. It is pleasantly easy to navigate.

This text has no grammatical errors.

Culturally this text could use a little more diversity, but overall it should reach most audiences

Overall I felt that this text is one of the best I have read in regards to the art of speaking in public. Some textbooks tend to loose students with too many miscellaneous things rather than get to the true essence of being a public speaker. I will surely use some parts of it in my class in the future!

Reviewed by Janine Pate, Adjunct Professor, Portland Community College on 6/20/17

This text is very comprehensive, covering all of the topics I address in my Public Speaking classes, and in more or less the same order that I structure my curriculum. It is easy to follow along with, with a clear table of contents and index. I... read more

This text is very comprehensive, covering all of the topics I address in my Public Speaking classes, and in more or less the same order that I structure my curriculum. It is easy to follow along with, with a clear table of contents and index. I have have two small issues with the content: the research section is focused on a specific university and how to use their online database, so that information would have to be supplemented for each school, and the section on ethos/pathos/logos in persuasion could have been fleshed out a bit. I would have to supplement more information and examples.

From what I have read, the content is very accurate. The authors use personal experience as well as research and theory.

The content is very up-to-date, written in a conversational way that most students would respond to. I would like to see a bit more emphasis on technology use and/or influence of technology on students' presentations and perception of public speaking.

The writing of this text is very clear, as I mentioned previously. It is written in a good balance of conversational and informative tones. It does not read like a dry, boring textbook, but rather like a professor speaking during a lecture. Specific communication/public speaking terminology/vocabulary appear in bold with additional definitions within the margins.

The text appears very consistent throughout.

This book's modularity is very easily modified, and also readable. There are pictures and examples throughout, with easy to navigate chapter and section headings.

The topics in this text are presented in much the same way in which I present the topics to my classes. A specific example is the inclusion of Audience Analysis appearing prior to topic selection, which is something I emphasize in my classes. The current book I use does not address audience analysis until chapter 7, which never made much logical sense to me. All the other chapters flow and build on each other as students would logically build a speech.

A few charts or picture do appear out of proportion, but not enough to be very distracting. A few also appear blurry.

I did discover a few typos once I began to read the text carefully. They are not frequent, but do appear.

The only real cultural references I see are in the audience analysis section, which is important, but I would like to see some more diverse examples throughout the book in reference to race, age, gender, and ability.

I would definitely implement this text in my public speaking courses. It is not the MOST perfect book I have ever used, but it IS comparable to other texts. If it is comparable, then I do not see a reason not to implement it and pass those savings on to the students.

Reviewed by Matthew LoJacono, Public Speaking Instructor, North Carolina State University on 6/20/17

This book covers every aspect of public speaking, from the Ancient Greek origins of public speaking theory, to the modern day technologies often used to present in group environments. Additionally, the focus is not only on how to be an effective... read more

This book covers every aspect of public speaking, from the Ancient Greek origins of public speaking theory, to the modern day technologies often used to present in group environments. Additionally, the focus is not only on how to be an effective speaker, but the authors also explore the ethical aspects of public speaking. This work is combined to create a comprehensive look at the fundamentals of public speaking and serves as a great resource for instructors looking to create a deep curriculum.

I was particularly impressed by the sample outlines included in Appendix B. I often find that my students benefit the most from seeing examples of effective speeches, and the authors were wise to include them. I imagine these samples will be some of the most useful parts of the entire book for many students.

I did not find any errors or biases within the text. In fact, I appreciated the inclusion of ethical implications of effective public speaking. The authors are smart to emphasize the responsibility of public speaking, not just the methods of speaking well.

At first glance the book seems daunting for an undergrad at 300+ pages, but the authors do include illustrative examples as well as clear subheadings that organize the text well. With wide margins and short, digestible sections it is really an easy read and by no means too much for a college class. There is no particular topic that is over-explained or boring and the authors do a great job of keeping a brisk pace for a undergrad audience.

The authors use common language that is not full of confusing jargon. Any terms that might be new to the readers are clearly explained and referenced additionally in the glossary. Students should have no problem understanding the concepts of ethos, pathos and logos as well as reference to rhetorical concepts explained throughout. The tone is friendly and instructive, clearly written by authors who have an understanding of the audience.

The authors are consistent with their terms and perspective. They have common threads throughout that help bring the text together. For instance, the particular focus on audience analysis and understanding brings several of the aspects together. Additionally, the organization of speeches is consistent throughout with no instruction contradicting another. Finally, the examples used in Appendix B are consistent with everything that is taught within the book and crystallize well the concepts that are taught in the previous 300 pages.

There are tons of sub-headings and everything is broken up into easily readable (and teachable) sections. I did not find any particular section that was overly long or boring. This is particularly useful for a young college audience and it makes chapters much easier to read in smaller chunks. Students and instructors can easily reference anything within this book through the excellent table of contents and clearly marked subheadings throughout.

I have just one minor suggestion in organization of the text. In my experience the students need to learn how to organize a speech early on in the process so I would perhaps move Chapter 6 up just a bit in the order of things. The content of this chapter is excellent and I think would serve as a good foundation before exploring other aspects of the speech. Otherwise the structure and flow are wonderful and easy to follow from chapter to chapter.

The book read perfectly in .pdf form on both a laptop screen and iPad. I found no problems with the interface or any of the images and everything scaled well to the device I was using. I did not try reading this document on a phone, but I imagine the tablet interface and phone interface are similar and problem free.

I do suggest that the web links on page 123 be made active. I believe this is an included picture, but if it were somehow made into a table that had clickable links that would be useful. Each of the websites listed on this page are useful and I think making them easier to access would be ideal for students and instructors.

I did not find any particular grammar issues or errors within this text. The writing is very welcoming and easy to understand for a student audience.

The book contains references that are timely and cultural relevant for an American audience. I'm not sure that any of the pop culture, political or historical American references would be understood by an international audience, but they are well placed for a domestic audience of students. The authors also include the importance of understanding diverse perspectives in not only the readers, but also the audiences of speaking opportunities.

I am recommending to my department that we immediately switch to this text next semester! I think it is comprehensive, includes wonderful examples of effective speech outlines and tactics, and has a general tone that is friendly and helpful to a (possibly nervous) undergrad audience. Thank you for creating it and making it free for students!

Reviewed by Amy Rawson, Professor, Century College on 6/20/17

There are fifteen chapters in this open textbook covering most of the areas of a typical introductory public speaking text appropriately. There are sufficient pictures to go with the chapters and the overall length of the text is good. However, I... read more

There are fifteen chapters in this open textbook covering most of the areas of a typical introductory public speaking text appropriately. There are sufficient pictures to go with the chapters and the overall length of the text is good. However, I would have liked to see more information on persuasion and informative speaking (this chapter was only 7 pages long). It would be nice to have a chapter dedicated to group speeches. In addition, there could be more elaboration on listening and public speaking anxiety. The text did not include an index, but did provide an effective glossary.

The content was accurate, error-free and unbiased. However, I agree with another reviewer that Chapter 5: Researching Your Speeches is focused entirely on Dalton State College, so this chapter would need to be replaced and supplemented with other more relevant materials to instructors teaching the course who are not teaching at Dalton State.

The content of the text is up-to-date with the most recent references from 2015. The text is written in such a way that updates should not be needed too frequently, and if so would be relatively easy and straightforward to add to the text.

The textbook is written in an accessible and conversational tone throughout the entire text. There is a good flow to the text and it is easy to read and comprehend.

The textbook is consistent in framework and terminology. The glossary at the end of the textbook is comprehensive. There were not any errors and the text has a pleasant consistent conversational style.

The text is readily and easily divisible into smaller sections for reading that potentially could be assigned at various times within a course. The text could easily be reorganized if the instructor chooses to do so. Each chapter contains several subheadings. There are fifteen chapters that are reasonable in length. Chapters vary in length anywhere from 7-34 pages.

The text has good organization, overall structure and flow. All the topics in the text are presented in a clear, and logical manner.

The text is only presented/offered in a PDF so that could potentially cause some interface issues as other open textbooks in the Communication discipline have presented/offered text in multiple formats.

The text has sufficient cultural relevance but could offer even more diverse pictures and examples.

Thank you for this opportunity.

Reviewed by Taylor Simpson, Public Speaking Instructor, North Carolina State University on 6/20/17

The text covers all necessary areas on public speaking education appropriately, but I would have organized the material in a more logical way. The table of contents, index, and glossary are all adequate and up to standards. read more

The text covers all necessary areas on public speaking education appropriately, but I would have organized the material in a more logical way. The table of contents, index, and glossary are all adequate and up to standards.

The content of this book is accurate and error-free to the best of my knowledge. It is also bias-free for the most part, and offers differing view points on a number of subjects that are debated in public speaking education.

Everything in this text is up-to-date as far as I am aware! The layout of the book is organized well, so editing new information should not be an issue at all.

The text is written at a level that any college student should be able to read and comprehend. The text is the right amount of formal and conversational and explains any and all jargon used.

This text is internally consistent.

Some of the sections could be broken up a little more to increase modularity, but for the most part it is very easily managed. Most headings/subheadings make sense in-context and are easy to identify.

The organization is not terrible in this text, but I would have rearranged some to the chapters -- especially when concerning research and organization.

Interface issues are non-existent as far as I am aware.

There are no grammatical errors in this text.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing that could be considered in this text. Cultural references are relevant as both historical examples and current affairs, but some will need to be updated every few years to remain relevant.

Overall, this would be a fine book to use as the basis of an introductory public speaking course!

Reviewed by Amanda Grier, Public Speaking Instructor, North Carolina State University on 4/11/17

The text has a detailed index of book chapters and sub chapters. The book covers an extensive amount of information about public speaking. This book would be helpful for an introductory course in public speaking or as a second resource for students. read more

The text has a detailed index of book chapters and sub chapters. The book covers an extensive amount of information about public speaking. This book would be helpful for an introductory course in public speaking or as a second resource for students.

I believe this book gives accurate information about public speaking. It is also helpful that the book gives definitions of key terms on the margins.

While this book has relevance and longevity, some simple updates might be necessary after a few years. These updates should focus on examples of speeches that are relevant to current issues and popular topics.

The text explains necessary jargon.

The textbook is consistent and includes learning objectives and preview for each chapter.

The chapter headings and sub headings are helpful.

The text chapters are divided so it is easy to assign them in the order that is relevant for your course.

I think more examples and pictures to help break up heavy text would be helpful.

I did not find any grammar mistakes.

I think it is culturally relevant. Examples of purpose statements include relevant topics and includes a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

I think this book is a helpful tool for public speaking classes.

Reviewed by David Edwards, Instructor, South Central College, Faribault campus on 2/8/17

A very good textbook for an introduction to public speaking course. Contains fifteen chapters of reasonable length and has all of the topics one would expect for this course. Book has minimal pictures and graphics, so it is not "flashy" by any... read more

A very good textbook for an introduction to public speaking course. Contains fifteen chapters of reasonable length and has all of the topics one would expect for this course. Book has minimal pictures and graphics, so it is not "flashy" by any means. Has an excellent chapter on ethics. However, would like to see a bit more attention on speech anxiety and listening.

Overall, very good. However, Chapter 5 (Research) is customized for Dalton State College in Georgia. As a result, anyone using this book will need to supplement their course with additional material on research.

Most references are generic enough for this book to be used for several years without having to update editions.

Very "conversational" and clearly written. The book is obviously written for college students, using words, expressions, examples, and situations that are both real and relatable to a young college audience.

Only a few things are unclear. For example, General purposes needs a bit more explanation in Chapter 4 (perhaps with its own subheading); Appendix A could be moved into a chapter within the book; and Figure 4.1 is unclear.

Each chapter is laid out in a consistent manner with learning objectives and chapter preview coming first.

The length is good. Each of the fifteen chapters is approximately 20 pages long, which makes it quite manageable for most college students. The overall length (317 pages) is much better than another 622-page public speaking book which is also included in this open source library. One suggestion is to eliminate all of the "blank pages" found in the book. For example, the blank pages for "notes" found at the end of each chapter. It is very doubtful that students would actually print out the book and then use those pages for notes.

Overall, the organization/flow of book is good. It is good that audience analysis and listening comes before the construction of the speech and helps emphasize that public speaking is audience centered.

Two suggestions for improvement. First, speech anxiety is only discussed on five pages in Chapter 1. It should have its own chapter and include some tips for overcoming speech anxiety. Second, listening is only discussed on four pages in Chapter 2. It requires a more extensive discussion.

Very conversational. No issues with grammar.

Would rate this as "average" and suggest that the authors attempt to infuse the book with more cultural references, when possible. Book has limited pictures, but some do contain people from diverse backgrounds.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: The Basics of Public Speaking
• Chapter 2: Audience Analysis and Listening
• Chapter 3: Ethics in Public Speaking
• Chapter 4: Developing Topics for Your Speech
• Chapter 5: Researching Your Speeches
• Chapter 6: Organizing and Outlining Your Speech
• Chapter 7: Supporting Your Speech Ideas
• Chapter 8: Introductions and Conclusions 
• Chapter 9: Presentation Aids in Speaking
• Chapter 10: Language
• Chapter 11: Delivery
• Chapter 12: Informative Speaking
• Chapter 13: Persuasive Speaking
• Chapter 14: Logical Reasoning
• Chapter 15: Special Occasion Speaking
• Appendix A: Cultural Diversity and Public Speaking
• Appendix B: Succeeding as a College Student
• Appendix C: Public Speaking Online
• Appendix D: Funny Talk: The Art and Craft of Using Humor in Public Address
• Appendix E: APA Citation
• Appendix F: Research with Dalton State Library Resources
• Appendix G: Glossary
• Appendix H: References

Ancillary Material

• University System of Georgia

About the Book

In Exploring Public Speaking, especially in its second through fourth editions, we have attempted to create a usable, zero-cost textbook for basic public speaking courses or courses that include basic public speaking skills as one of their primary learning outcomes. The free, open nature of the text means that instructors are able to use all or part of it, and add their own materials.

We believe this text addresses all the subjects that traditional publishers’ books would address in an appropriate writing style and with appropriate college-level learning theory in mind. The appendices address some additional topics that might be excluded from most texts, but that we believe add to the experience: learning theory, plagiarism, speaking online, speaking to diverse audiences, and humor in public speaking. In the third and fourth editions we have added “case study” examples and some different outline samples.

We think this book is especially useful in coverage of PowerPoint, audience analysis and responsiveness, ethics in public speaking, persuasion, special occasion speeches, and structure of speeches. Because it was written by communication professors with decades of experience in the classroom, we are aware of the needs of basic public speaking students. Three ancillaries are currently available: electronic “flash cards” for study, PowerPoint slide decks on the 15 main chapters, and test banks for the 15 main chapters. As the website is developed, it will include videos of student speeches.

About the Contributors

Dr. Kris Barton (Ph.D., Mass Communication, Florida State University) was Chair of the Department of Communication and Associate Professor of Communication at Dalton State College from 2008 to his sudden passing in May 2016. He was a well published and respected scholar in pop culture and mass media as well as the author of trivia books. His legacy at Dalton State included the initiation of the Bachelor of Arts in Communication, the development of an undergraduate research program and introduction of many students to scholarly conferences, and making an indelible mark on the hundreds of students he taught.

Dr. Barbara G. Tucker (Ed.D., Organizational Leadership, University of Georgia) is current Chair of the Department of Communication and Professor of Communication at Dalton State College. She holds master’s degrees in public address and writing from Ohio University and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, respectively. Her 38-year teaching career, especially of the basic public speaking course, informs this textbook. She has served as president of the Georgia Communication Association and Interim Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs as DSC.

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1995 Articles

THE DANGERS OF WILLFUL IGNORANCE

Pollack, Robert

In the collection of essays titled Beyond the Academy: A Scholar's Obligations (ACLS Occasional Paper No. 31), the authors—George R. Garrison, Arnita A. Jones, Robert Pollack, and Edward W. Said—explore the roles and responsibilities of scholars toward society. Each essay contributes a distinct perspective, yet together they form a cohesive argument about the ethical and civic duties of intellectuals. In the article "The Dangers of Willful Ignorance," Robert Pollack addresses the significant ethical responsibilities of scholars, particularly those in the scientific community, towards the broader public. He emphasizes the importance of "speaking truth to power" and warns against the consequences of avoiding the political implications of scientific work. Pollack reflects on historical instances, such as the misuse of genetics during the Nazi regime, to illustrate the dangers of neglecting the ethical dimensions of scientific advancements. He argues that modern scientific discoveries, especially in genetics, present both opportunities and risks, highlighting the need for careful consideration of how these technologies impact privacy and individual rights. Pollack calls for a stronger integration of scientific understanding into broader societal discussions, urging scholars to engage with the public and ensure that scientific knowledge is used ethically and responsibly. He also stresses the importance of teaching science in a way that makes it accessible and relevant to all, not just those within the scientific community. Pollack's overarching message is that scientists must not only pursue knowledge but also consider the ethical implications of their work and strive to prevent its misuse in society. Edward Said, in "On Defiance and Taking Positions," echoes Pollack's concern about the dangers of disengagement, but he expands the argument to emphasize the importance of intellectuals resisting orthodoxy and maintaining a critical, independent stance. Said stresses that scholars must engage in public discourse, not just within their disciplines, but in broader societal debates, particularly when human suffering is at stake. George Garrison and Arnita Jones also contribute to this dialogue by framing the scholar's role within the context of historical and social responsibility. Garrison discusses the moral obligations of educators to foster social development and progress, while Jones reflects on the challenges historians face in making their work relevant and accessible to the public. Together, these authors interact by building on each other's arguments about the responsibilities of scholars. Pollack’s focus on the ethical use of science is complemented by Said’s broader call for intellectual engagement beyond the academy. Garrison and Jones provide the historical and social contexts that ground these responsibilities, highlighting the need for scholars to be active participants in addressing the moral and civic challenges of their time. This interplay of ideas reinforces the central theme of the collection: that scholars have a profound obligation to engage with and contribute to the well-being of society.

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How to get your first speaking engagement.

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A woman stands at podium while giving a speech.

Many professionals are afraid of speaking in front of an audience. According to the National Social Anxiety Center, Americans fear public speaking more than death. The American Psychiatric Association refers to the fear of speaking in front of an audience as public speaking anxiety (PSA), also known as glossophobia. Some experts have said that 75% of people in the United States have PSA. Although the majority of Americans fear public speaking, I’ve had a passion for it since a young age.

In kindergarten I was asked to present a surprise box and explain what was in it and why it was important to me. By middle school I was confidently giving presentations. In high school I participated in academic decathlon and received an award for the speech category. Fast forward to college and I was asked to perform spoken word for the board of trustees at my alma mater. I was selected out of 19,000 students and was extremely anxious about doing it.

After two months of preparing, I didn’t just have the words memorized. I practiced making eye contact with different members of the audience. I started to pause rather than panic when I stuttered or misspoke. I still use the tools I learned over a decade ago when I give presentations on neurodivergence in the workplace .

In the last two months I’ve been asked to speak about neurodivergence three times— and it isn’t solely because I write about it. It’s also because I am very active on LinkedIn and post up to three times a day. I know from experience that networking on LinkedIn is a great way to get public speaking opportunities. However, it’s not the only way. Here are some tips on how to get your first speaking engagement.

Find A Specific Niche

It’s crucial to identify a niche that will change your career path for the better. From writing articles about a topic frequently to being an expert in a certain field, there are several ways to find your niche. For me, finding my niche came from writing about neurodivergence in the workplace. What started as a few articles on ADHD turned into a meaningful and lucrative side hustle. Since July I’ve been asked to give three online presentations about how to be a better ally to neurodivergent employees.

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Ukrainian troops breached russian border defenses 20 miles west of the kursk salient—but didn’t get very far, ‘shock and awe’—china could be about to trigger a $1.4 trillion bitcoin and crypto price earthquake.

Yes, there are plenty of people who identify as DEI consultants , but there are very few people who refer to themselves as a neuroinclusion consultant. That’s what I call myself because I’ve found my niche—and you can, too. If you have a master’s degree, have written a well-received book, have conducted extensive research, or maintain a strong online presence, it may be easier for you to start doing public speaking.

Build An Online Presence

This is one of the best ways to acquire speaking opportunities. The more followers you have on social media the wider reach you have. Using popular hashtags can lead to more engagement. For example, I almost always use the hashtag #linkedin. I know my post will reach a much larger audience if I include that hashtag because it has nearly 1.5 million followers.

You are more likely to gain a following if you are strategic about building an online presence . Some professionals hire social media managers. Others figure out how to gain followers through trying out what does and doesn’t work. In my experience LinkedIn is the most effective way to build both a professional brand and client base.

Post About Your Services

Are you having trouble finding speaking opportunities? It may be time to change your approach. Don’t just let family, friends, and professional contacts know about your services. You want as many people as possible to see what you have to offer. The more hashtags you use the more views your posts will get. When you post make sure to include what makes you qualified to speak about a specific subject. I tend to list my qualifications in my LinkedIn posts about finding public speaking opportunities.

I also recommend including any links of videos with you speaking in front of an audience. Keep in mind that when you post on LinkedIn it only shows a preview of your entire post. The first three lines of your post are the most important because that is what will make someone decide if they want to keep reading or not. Get creative when describing your services. Post about them throughout the week based on timely topics or themed months. Always post first thing in the morning rather than waiting until after work when people are winding down.

Try not to post the same few paragraphs every time you share about wanting to become a public speaker. Switch things up by making your posts related to current events, including powerful quotes, etc. This may sound overwhelming, but if you follow these suggestions you’ll be a public speaking pro in no time.

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