Chapter 2

Developing Your
First Speech
 Developing Your First Speech: An
Introduction
In 1963, 250,000 people witnessed Martin
Luther King Jr.s powerful I Have a Dream
speech at the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
Powerful speeches require diligent
preparation.
King wrote multiple drafts of his Nobel Prize
acceptance speech.
King spent as many as fifteen hours preparing
a typical sermon.
 Why Prepare?

Preparation helps speakers avoid three

common problems:
Leaving too little time for planning and
practicing
Focusing on length rather than quality
Failing to follow the assignment
 Why Prepare? (cont.)

Leaving too little

time for planning
and practicing
Procrastination
leaves you without a
plan and adequate
practice.
Unprepared, you risk
losing track of your
thoughts while
speaking.
 Why Prepare? (cont.)

Focusing on length rather than quality

Beginning speakers often spend too much
time trying to fit the time limit.
This leads to a disjointed, lackluster
presentation.
Failing to follow the assignment
Your class may love your speech, but if it
doesnt follow the assignment, you will not
earn a good grade.
The Classical Approach to Speech
Preparation
Cicero (10643 B.C.E.), a Roman lawyer
and politician, wrote the treatise De
inventione.
Included the classical canons of rhetoric
Invention
Arrangement
Style
Memory
Delivery
The Classical Approach to Speech
Preparation (cont.)
The Classical Approach to Speech
Preparation (cont.)
Invention: The generation of ideas for use
in a speech
Speakers generate many ideas and choose
those that best serve their purpose ethically.
Effective speakers choose ideas that are
adapted to their audience.
Speakers select ideas based on their topic,
purpose, and supporting evidence.
The Classical Approach to Speech
Preparation (cont.)
Arrangement: The structuring of ideas to
effectively convey them to an audience
(organization)
Most speeches have three parts:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Effective speakers arrange ideas to be clear and
memorable.
The Classical Approach to Speech
Preparation (cont.)
Style: The choice of language to express
ideas
Effective language can make a speech clear,
memorable, and free of bias.
Memory: Preparation, or the work
speakers do to remain in command of
their material
We now rely on extemporaneous notes rather
than memorization.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech
Analyze your audience.
Audience analysis
Process of learning about an audiences interests
and backgrounds to create a speech that meets
their needs.
Use knowledge
of the audience
to anticipate
members
attitudes.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Select your topic.
Your topic is the subject you will address in
your speech.
Choose a topic
that interests you.
Avoid overused
topics.
Narrow the topic to
fit the time limit of
your presentation.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Determine your speechs rhetorical
purpose.
The rhetorical purpose is the speechs main
goal.
Speeches typically have one of three
common objectives:
Informing
Persuading
Marking a special occasion
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Create a thesis statement.
The thesis statement is a single sentence
that sums up your main message and reflects
your narrowed topic and rhetorical purpose.
Determine your main points.
Main points are the major ideas you will
emphasize in your presentation.
Each point must support the thesis.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Develop supporting materials.
Supporting materials bolster and flesh out
the claims made in your main points.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Brainstorming: Process of quickly listing
every idea that comes to mind, without
evaluating its merits
The purpose is to develop a substantial list of
ideas.
Ask yourself questions about potential topics to
help create a diverse list of many possible ideas.
You will make a final topic decision later.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Research: Process of gathering information
from sources that are knowledgeable about
your topic
Focus on credible sources from the library, the
Internet, or interviews.
Take accurate notes.
Note bibliographic information for each source
(author, authors credentials, name of the source,
publication date, and page numbers or URL).
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Organize and outline the body of your
speech.
An outline contains the text of your speech in
complete sentences or briefer phrases.
Three major parts of an outline:
Introduction
Body (core of your speech)
Conclusion
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Create two to five main points in the body and
number them with a roman numeral.
Develop subpoints for each main point.
Subpoints explain, prove, or expand on your main
points.
Indicate each with a capital letter and indent under
the corresponding main point.
Follow the rules of subordination.
Each main point must relate to your specific
purpose, and each subpoint must relate to the main
point it supports.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
A generic sample of subordination:

I. Main Point 1
A. Subpoint
B. Subpoint
1. Sub-subpoint
2. Sub-subpoint
II. Main Point 2
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Outline your introduction and conclusion.
Your introduction has five parts:
The attention-getter is a brief story, quote, or fact
that grabs listeners attention.
Your thesis statement conveys the main message.
Show an audience what's in it for them.
Establish credibility by outlining relevant expertise
you have.
Preview your main points.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Your conclusion summarizes what you have
said and leaves the audience with a
memorable impression of your presentation.
Two main parts:
Summary of your main points
Clincher (a vivid closing sentence or paragraph)
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Incorporate transitions.
Transitions are sentences that tell the
audience that you are moving from one point
to another.
Use them in the following places:
Between the introduction and first main point
Between main points
Between the final main point and the conclusion
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Consider your word choice.
Effective word choice (diction) helps make
your speech more memorable and engaging.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
When preparing your speech:
Select words your audience will understand.
Use precise terms to express your ideas.
Choose language that makes your speech come
alive.
Focus on simplifying your sentences.
Avoid biased language.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Consider presentation
aids.
A presentation aid is
anything that your
audience members can
see or hear that helps
them understand and
remember your
message.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Traditional presentation aids:
Actual objects
Video and audio recordings
Drawings and photographs
Charts, maps, and graphs
PowerPoint presentations or other electronic slide
shows
Presentation aids must support the point you
are developing.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Practice your speech.
Will help you feel more
confident and
comfortable
Will enable you to use
extemporaneous
delivery
Using only notes, rather
than reading your
speech word-for-word
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Deliver your speech from your full outline
several times.
As content feels more familiar, condense
your outline into a set of briefer notes.
Place your speaking outline on index cards
or a sheet of paper, using large type.
Refer to your notes briefly to refresh your
memory as you speak.
Preparing and Delivering Your First
Speech (cont.)
Deliver your speech.
Project your voice.
Maintain an even rate of speaking.
Convey interest in your topic.
Maintain eye contact.
 Overcoming Speech Anxiety
Speech anxiety (stage fright)
Worry or fear some people experience before
giving a speech
Common symptoms:
Butterflies in the stomach
Sweaty palms
Dry mouth
Nausea
Hyperventilation
Downright panic
A little nervousness can help you focus your
attention.
Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

You can learn to manage speech anxiety.

Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

Prepare early and follow a plan.

Resist the urge to procrastinate.
Being prepared helps reduce anxiety.
Practice your speech.
Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

Take care of yourself.

Get enough sleep.
Avoid too much sugar and caffeine.
Manage your other commitments before a
speech.
Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

Visualize success.
With visualization, you imagine yourself a
resounding success.
Make your visualization as specific as
possible.
When you visualize success, you can ease
your anxiety, if not eradicate it entirely.
Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

Use relaxation techniques.

Basic muscle and breathing exercises can
help reduce anxiety.
Plan time for an enjoyable activity.
Overcoming Speech Anxiety (cont.)

Volunteer to speak first.

Going first or early in the lineup gives you
less time to work up a debilitating level of
worry.
Never defeat yourself.
Do not fall into the trap of making negative
judgments about yourself while speaking.
Even if you make a mistake, do not give up.