CHAPTER 1

SELECTING A TOPIC
AND A PURPOSE
CHOOSING A TOPIC

• Topic:
– The subject of a speech
– It is usually determined by the occasion, the audience
and the speaker’s qualifications

• Two broad categories of potential topics:

1. Topics you know a lot about
– E.g. The Basics of Backpacking, How to have a successful job
interview
2. Topics you want to know more about
• BRAINSTORMING FOR TOPICS
1. Personal inventory
2. Clustering
3. Reference search
4. Internet search
CONCEPTS PLACES THINGS

– Example of clustering: Business ethics Paris iPod

Conservatism My hometown Blackberry

Free-speech theories The moon Robots

TELEVISION CAMPUS CRIME EVENTS

Movies Police Graduation
Academy Awards Fingerprints World Cup
Gambling Gloves Chinese New Year
 TELEVISION PROGRAMS

COMEDY CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL NEWS MOVIES SPORTS

PROGRAM PROGRAMS

PRE 1960s 1961-1979 1980-2000 PRESENT TIME

WOMEN MEN RELATIONSHIP

TOPIC: WOMEN IN TELEVISION COMEDY / FAMILIES IN TELEVISION COMEDY

DETERMINING THE GENERAL PURPOSE

• The general purpose of your speech usually falls

into two categories:
1. To inform
– You act as a teacher or lecturer
– Your goal is to convey information clearly, accurately, and
interestingly
– Your aim is to enhance the knowledge and understanding of
your listeners
2. To persuade
– You act as advocate or a partisan
– You go beyond giving information
– Your primary goal is to win over your listeners to your point
of view
DETERMINING THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE

• Specific purpose should focus on one aspect of the

topic
• Should be able to state your specific purpose in one
single phrase e.g. “to inform my audience….”
• Example:
Topic: Music therapy
General purpose: To inform
Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the
benefits of music therapy for people with
psychological or cognitive disabilities
• TIPS FOR FORMULATING THE SPECIFIC
PURPOSE STATEMENT
1. Write the purpose statement as a full infinitive phrase,
not as a fragment
Ineffective : Calendars
More effective : To inform my audience about the four major
kinds of calendars used in the world today

2. Express your purpose as a statement, not as a question

Ineffective : What is Dia de los Muertos?
More effective : To inform my audience about the history of
Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos celebration
3. Avoid figurative language in your purpose statement
Ineffective : To persuade my audience that the campus policy
on student parking really stinks
More effective : To persuade my audience that the campus policy
on student parking should be revised to provide
more spaces for students before 5 p.m.

4. Limit your purpose statement to one distinct idea

Ineffective : To persuade my audience to become literacy
tutors and to donate time to the Special
Olympics
More effective : To persuade my audience to become literacy
tutors / To persuade my audience to donate
time to the Special Olympics
5. Make sure your specific purpose is not too vague or
general
Ineffective : To persuade my audience that something should
be done about medical care
More effective : To persuade my audience that the federal
government should adopt a system of national
health insurance for all people in the United
States
• QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC
PURPOSE
1. Does my purpose meet the assignment?
2. Can I accomplish my purpose in the time allotted?
3. Is the purpose relevant to my audience?
4. Is the purpose too trivial for my audience?
5. Is the purpose too technical for my audience?
PHRASING THE CENTRAL IDEA
• What is central idea?
– A concise statement of what you expect to say
– Sometimes it is called the thesis statement, the subject
sentence or the major thought
– Example:
Topic : Music therapy
General purpose : To inform
Specific purpose : To inform my audience about the benefits of
music therapy for people with psychological or
cognitive disabilities
Central idea : Music therapy developed as a formal mode of
treatment during the twentieth century, utilizes
a number of methods, and is explained by
several theories that account for its success
• GUIDELINES FOR THE CENTRAL IDEA
– Central idea:
1. Should be expressed in a full sentence
2. Should not be in the form of a question
3. Should avoid figurative language
4. Should not be vague or overly general
– Examples of poorly written central ideas:
• Paying college athletes a monthly salary is a good idea
• Problems of fad diets
• What are nanorobots?
– More effective:
• Because college athletes in revenue-producing sports such as
football and basketball generate millions of dollars in revenue
for their schools, the NCAA should allow such athletes to
receive a $300 monthly salary as part of their scholarships
• Although fad diets produce quick weight loss, they can lead to
serious health problems by creating deficiencies in vitamins and
minerals and by breaking down muscle tissue as well as fat
• Microscopic in size, nanorobots are being developed for use in
medicine, weaponry, and daily life