Lesson 4: Selecting, Researching, And Organizing Your SpeechAcquire Responsible KnowledgeWhere should you go to get materials for your speech? There are many, many answers to this question. Good speech writers never limit themselves to just one source or type of source when they are thinking about their next speech. Everywhere they go and everyone they encounter provides them with possibilities. The following are several good sources you could start with for the kinds of support materials that make a great speech. Personal ExperienceThis is really where we all start once we choose a topic. Think about past experiences or even something you are going through right now. Recall events that serve as good examples for the points you are making in your speech. Sometimes you can compare or contrast two experiences or create an extended metaphor (as in the “Golf and College” speech you read in lesson 1). Personal Acquaintances, Family Members, Associates, etc.Conduct interviews with anyone who could provide you with good material. Talk to people you know to “pick their brains” for ideas. Set up appointments with people who are working in your field of interest or who can contribute to your knowledge on the subject. Interviews will provide you with the kind of supporting material—testimonials, anecdotes, true stories—that can really add that human dimension to your speech. You might even see things from a different perspective, enabling you to show more than one side of the issue to your audience. LibrariesGet to know your library. If you don’t already know how to hunt for articles and books in the catalog or computer database, ask for a tour or tutorial. Don’t just wander the stacks; ask for help. Librarians (and the various people who work in libraries) aren’t there because they get paid millions; they are there because they love books and love to help people find answers to questions. I promise that no question is ever a dumb question. Just ask it. Sometimes students go into the library, look up their topic on the computer, and leave with an armful of books. The problem is that for a ten-minute speech, they now have six or seven books to plow through. Even though it takes an extra step or two to find them initially, journal articles or magazine articles are much more appropriate source materials for short speeches. They are easier (shorter) to read, and they usually encapsulate one idea instead of a hundred ideas like a book does. Once again, if you don’t know how to find articles on your topic, ask for assistance. The kind of materials you might look for in the library include statistics, real examples or hypothetical examples, case histories, documents to back up your arguments, historical or biographical information, etc. Be careful not to overuse details like statistics. They can be very convincing in an argument, but if you do nothing but spout survey results, numbers, and percentages, you run the risk of losing your audience. News MediaWe are constantly exposed to different types of news media. From television to radio to printed materials like newspapers and magazines, these sources can provide you with abundant ideas for your speeches. Of course, there are the obvious places to start, like watching your evening news or reading headlines. But don’t underestimate the potential of more obscure sources. Read the opinion pages of the paper, where you will find letters to the editor, editorial opinions, and those unusual “news of the weird” columns. You may even find intriguing ideas in the sports section, the classified ads, or comics. Radio talk shows are a good source for “persuasion” type formats, and radio news programs often dedicate a good deal of air time to non-headline stories. (Plus you can listen to them while you are washing the dishes, driving to work, or eating dinner.) In short, there’s no limit to the variety of ideas presented in the various news media. |