Supporting Material:

It is not enough to simply state something; you have to support what you say. While the audience wants to believe you, you need to constantly bring credibility (ethos) to your speech. Supporting your statements creates this credibility.

You can use statistics. Americans like numbers. We believe empirical data. The problem with using statistics alone is that we do not trust them completely - while we like them, we also know numbers can be manipulated.

You can use personal examples. Personal examples can accomplish two things: support your point and give you a connection with the audience. The problem with using only personal examples is that we wonder if this is only you or if it is an example which can explain a general phenomena.

You can use hypothetical examples. This tool is useful in drawing your audience into your speech (pathos) by having them imagine the example. The problem with using only hypothetical examples is the audience wants hard evidence - something solid.

You can use quotations from people who are experts. This strongly supports your point and gives you secondary credibility. The problem with using only quotations is the audience begins to feel removed from the speech and needs something with which to connect them to your points and ideas.

You can cite research. This helps prove your point and also gives you secondary credibility, but research alone will cause the audience to feel disconnected to the speech.

Visual aids can support your speech. They help clarify points and create an understanding of what you are trying to say. Using only visual aids does not give you the credibility you need for the whole speech.

You can use narratives, explanations, facts and descriptions to support your points and ideas. All of these strategies are useful tools, but using only one throughout the speech is not strong enough.

Combining supporting materials is the best way to accomplish a strongly supported, credible speech. Combining statistics and personal examples, for example, will connect the audience to you and allow them to see your experience is wide-spread. Combining narratives and quotations will provide the needed connection, have the audience use their imagination, and hear what the experts say. Stating facts and using descriptions, as well as using hypothetical examples will bring it all together for the audience.

Remember, your job is not to show off the information you know, but to allow the audience to listen and understand your ideas. Supporting your points and ideas will accomplish this.

Supporting Material | Thesis Statement | Visual Aids

Specific Purpose Statement:

The specific purpose statement is a definitive sentence that states the focus of your speech. I think the main purpose of a SPS is to narrow down the topic and help you remain in focus. It is part of the creation process of the speech, not part of the delivery.

The purpose states the general function of the speech: To inform

The statement narrows down the topic: To inform my audience of three major warning signs of clinical depression.

One of the problems beginning speech writers have is making the focus of the speech too broad. They try to pull everything they know and have researched into the speech - usually either speaking too fast to fit it into the allotted time or speaking longer than their time slot. A specific purpose statement which says simply: "To inform my audience about depression" will create this problem. The statement is much too broad; the speaker will not know when to quit. The speech could include all warning signs of all types of depression, what people do to help depression, why depression happens, and so on. An appropriately stated specific purpose statement will not allow you to go too broad.

Note the statement above: 1) the focus is on clinical depression onlyand 2) just three major warning signs will be discussed. There will not be any information about situational depression or what to do for depression. It will not try to convince the audience that drug therapy is an appropriate cure or which activities are best to help the person with depression.

As you write your speech, continually refer back to the specific purpose statement. If you find yourself trying to convince your audience of something - and it is an informative speech - the specific purpose statement will guide you away from persuasion. (note: the purpose of an informative speech is not to persuade or convince the audience, therefore a specific purpose statement which says "to inform my audience of the importance of..." is actually a persuasion speech focus)

If you find yourself with too much information, revise the specific purpose statement so the focus is even more narrow. Remember it is much easier to add information than to delete it because once you have included it, it seems like an old friend - and we hate to dump our friends.

Supporting Material | Specific Purpose Statement | Visual Aids

Thesis Statement:

While the specific purpose statement is a speech writing tool, the thesis is a speaking tool. It is a definitive statement within the speech which helps the audience see the focus of the speech. Speakers do not state the specific purpose statement; they do state the thesis.

The thesis is always in the introduction and it is usually the transition into the body of the speech. Remember the purpose of an introduction is to gain the audience's attention and get them interested in the topic, then narrowing down to the specific focus of the speech (like a funnel). The thesis is the focus.

A thesis which comes too soon in the introduction doesn't give the audience enough time to gain interest in the topic; a thesis which comes too late in the speech causes the audience to think, "So what's the point here?" The only thing which can possibly follow the thesis in the introduction is a preview of the speech.

The thesis needs to be a definitive statement - don't make us guess at the focus. For example, after gaining the attention and interest of the audience in the speech about clinical depression, the speaker would say something like, "There are many warning signs of clinical depression; Today I will discuss three of the major ones."The speaker would then move into the body of the speech, starting with the first warning sign

Supporting Material | Specific Purpose Statement | Thesis Statement

Visual Aids:

Some speeches do not need visual aids. The language used is vivid enough to allow the audience to see and understand what the speaker is trying to convey or there is no appropriate aid for the focus of the speech. But some speeches scream for a visual aid. I have had students demonstrate how to play the drums - with no drum nor drumsticks, discuss vocal jazz with no audio aid, show how to tune a guitar - with no guitar or even a drawing of the strings, discuss their homeland with no map or drawing of the countries which surround it so we can get an image of the location (this happened often following the breakup of the U.S.S.R. and the "new" country names were unfamiliar to the American audience).

So, visual aids can be important and are a useful tool to help the audience understand what the speaker is saying, but there are rules for everything--using visual aids is no different.

Rules for using visual aids:

1. Keep it simple
Visual aids are used to help clarify the points of the speech; they are not the speech themselves. If explaining the visual aid is the bulk of the speech, then it is too complicated a visual aid. It should simplify and clarify the process, not complicate it.

2. Make it large enough for the audience to see clearly
A visual aid which is too small is as useful as no visual aid at all. If you are using photographs, take them to a copy center such as Kinko's and have them enlarged (the only things copy centers can not reproduce for you are images which have a copyright). There is equipment (see rule 4) which can help you enlarge your images: overhead projectors (which use a transparent image), opaque projectors (which project solid images) and slide projectors.

This brings us to the idea of passing items (pictures or specific artifacts) around the audience. This idea needs to be discussed:

passing items around before your speech begins: the greatest problem with passing items through your audience before your speech is that they have no idea what they are examining nor why they are examining it. By the time you reach a place in your speech where the visual aid is useful, most will have forgotten what they saw. Avoid.

passing items around while you are speaking: this also creates problems. It distracts from what you are saying. There will be at least five audience members who are not paying attention to you as the item circulates through the audience: the person who is examining the item, the two people beside that audience member, the person who just finished examining the item, and that last distanced member who is wondering if they will ever get to see the item. It also creates a constant shuffle, movement and disruption during the speech. Avoid.

passing items after the speech: this can create problems as well. By the time the audience sees the item, they may have forgotten why they are looking at it. But! if something must be passed through the audience, following the speech is the only time it may be appropriate. You can set this up fairly easily by stating in your speech you will have the item available for viewing (or the pamphlets available, or the food available to taste) after the speech (or after the meeting, the class or session), and the audience will relax and move on with you. When the time comes (after the conclusion of the speech or meeting, etc), the audience may have forgotten about the item, but seeing it will remind them, "Oh yeah...." and it will return to them why they are looking (tasting, feeling) this item. Try to avoid.

3. Do not create your visual aid on the chalkboard or marking board
First this takes precious time away from your speaking time (remember the #1 sin...). Second, it is impossible to write clearly, precisely and professionally while you rapidly write what you need. And third, you are not able to practice with your visual aid (see rule 4) if it is not prepared beforehand.

Create the chart, graph, outline beforehand so that it looks and feels like you want it to look and feel. Poster board is inexpensive (about 11 pop cans) and is available at any store which carries art supplies (Office Max, Walmart, PCC Bookstore, Newberry's).

Your visual aid should appear clean, clear and professional. Do not create this chart on the way to school in your car as you drive. Do not toss something together at the spur of the moment. Take time to create something for which you can be proud and the audience can easily read. Use - for the most part - white poster board and black or dark blue marker pens. Creativity is fun, but red, green and yellow lettering is difficult to see, especially at a distance.

Write the words clearly and large enough for the whole audience to view. Do not put too much on each visual aid - one idea or point is best (in other words - do not try to put all the information on one board, but use as many boards as necessary). Avoid clutter (see rule 1).

4. Know your visual aid.
If you are using special equipment, know how that specific technology works. For example, an opaque projector is a great idea, but realize it is noisy and complicated. Go to the Learning Center and practice with the equipment you will be using when you give your speech. There is nothing more frustrating for the speaker AND the audience than a speaker who is fiddling around with equipment.

Know what your visual aid will do. Will the poster board curl and fall? Will you need to bring tape to put it on the wall or chalkboard? Is there a visual aid stand in the room? Will the chart fit on the stand? How will you move around the visual aid? Will the lights have to be lowered for viewing the transparency on the overhead projector? How will you use the placement of the equipment?

The only way to know the answers to these questions is to practice with your visual aid. Period. And be prepared.

5. Talk to the audience, not your visual aid.
The visual aid has heard this speech many times......the audience has not. Talk to them. They will give you better feedback. Because you have practiced with your visual aid, you will be able to glance at it to find the appropriate place to point and then turn back to your audience as you speak.

6. Do not stand between your audience and the visual aid.
The whole purpose of a visual aid is to help the audience understand what you are saying.....let them see it. As you practice, move around the visual aid so that all parts of the audience can view it without your body in the way (but do not frantically move around......talk, point, talk, move, point, etc).

I once listened to a student discuss knot tying. The student turned around, drew a knot on the board (see rule 3), turned back, spoke about the knot, turned around, erased the drawing, and continued to speak. No one saw the drawing. What a waste of everyone's time.

7. Put the visual aid up when needed and take down when finished.
A visual aid which is not needed until the middle of a speech does not have to be up for view for the entire speech. The audience will be distracted. They will be trying to figure what it is, how it fits into what you are saying, and wondering when you will be discussing it.

There are ways to avoid this distraction. You can cover the poster board with a plain board or with a clean piece of paper. You can keep the overhead projector's light off and cover the parts not yet needed with a solid sheet of paper. You can keep the visual aid upside down (note: only use one side of the poster board) until ready to use. Then, tape it on the chalkboard (have tape already on the back) when you need it (or place on the visual aid stand). And when you are finished with the visual aid, cover (or remove) it. (note: allow enough time for the audience to digest the information before you remove from sight)

8. If you have a visual aid, discuss it.
A visual aid is not a "prop;" it is a visual aid. A prop is something used in theatre to help set the stage and create an ambiance. A visual aid is a tool used to help the audience understand the speaker's points. Do not "set a stage" by placing items around you as you speak. If you have charts, posters or items around you, use them in your speech.

There are times when a speaker has too many visual aids - more often from lack of planning or practice - and can not discuss them all within the allotted time. Practicing with your visual aids will help prevent this. But if you find it is happening while you are speaking, it is not a disaster. Simply state you have more materials for later viewing if anyone is interested.