Supporting Your Ideas

Supporting Your Ideas Chapter 8/The Art of Public Speaking by Lucas

Supporting Materials • Examples • Statistics • Testimony

Example A specific case used to illustrate or to represent a group of people, ideas, conditions, experiences, or the like.

Types of Examples • Brief examples • Extended examples • Hypothetical examples

Brief Example A specific case referred to in passing • Used to quickly illustrate a point. • Used when introducing a topic. • Effective when stacked up to reinforce a point.

Extended Example A story developed at some length to illustrate a point. • Often called illustrations, narratives, or anecdotes. • Because of the drama, are excellent way to pull listeners into a speech

Hypothetical Example An example that describes an imaginary or fictitious situation. • Effective in relating general principles directly to the audience. • Ex. “Imagine that you are on your way to class today, and as you walk up to the door. . . • Should be followed with statistics or testimony to show that the example could really occur. • Ex. “Even though the story I just told was imaginary, according to Dr. Jeff Green, at the Billings Clinic Emergency room. . .”

Tips for Using Examples • Use examples to clarify your ideas • Use examples to reinforce your ideas • Use examples to personalize your ideas

Tips for Using Examples • Make your examples vivid and richly textured • Practice delivery to enhance your extended examples

Statistical Support • Cited in passing to clarify or strengthen main points. • Combined to show magnitude or seriousness of an issue.

Statistical Measures • Mean • Median • Mode

Mean The averagevalue of a group of numbers.

Median The middle figure in a group once the figures are put in order from the highest to the lowest.

Mode The number that occurs most frequently in a group of numbers.

Mean/Median/Mode A 4 6 7 9 9 35 B 43 46 46 48 52 235 A 7 7 9 B 47 46 46 Mean = Median = Mode =

Tips for Using Statistics • Make sure the statistics are from a reliable source • Use statistics to quantify your ideas • Use statistics sparingly • Identify the sources of your statistics

Tips for Using Statistics • Explainyour statistics • Round off complicated statistics • 74.693% 75% • Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends

Sources for Statistics • Newspapers, magazines, & scholarly journals. • Statistical Abstract & Statistical Yearbook • World Wide Web • http://www.msubillings.edu/library/GoodFreeWebs.htm • Statistics: Montana, Statistics: U.S.

Testimony Quotations or paraphrases used to support a point.

Expert Testimony Testimony from people who are recognized experts in their fields. • Helps provide credibility when speaker is not an expert. • Especially important in controversial topics. • Important when the audience is skeptical about the speaker’s point of view.

Peer Testimony Testimony from ordinary people with firsthand experience or insight on a topic. • More personal viewpoint than expert testimony. • Greater authenticity and emotional impact.

Direct Quotation Testimony that is presented word for word. • Most effective when brief. • Most effective when eloquent, witty, or compelling. • Ex. “Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for you country.” • Most effective when conveys the speaker’s meaning better than the speaker’s own words.

Quoting Out of Context Distorting a statement’s meaning by removing the statement from the words and phrases surrounding it.

Paraphrase To restate or summarize a source’s ideas in one’s own words. • Preferable when wording is obscure or awkward. • Preferable when the quotation is longer than two or three sentences.

Tips for Using Testimony • Quote or paraphrase accurately • Use testimony from qualified sources • Use testimony from unbiased sources • Identify the people you quote or paraphrase

Practice Identifying Flaws • According to a poll conducted for Hardee’s restaurants, most people prefer the taste of Hardee’s fried chicken over the taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Practice Identifying Flaws • It’s just not true that violence on television has an influence on crimes by young people. All my friends watch television, and none of us has ever committed a violent crime.

Practice Identifying Flaws • According to statistics compiled by the Board of Regents, the median salary for professors at our state university is $44,850. This shows that professors average almost $45,000 a year in salary.

Practice Identifying Flaws • As Jon Stewart said in a recent interview, America must act now to protect its national parks. If we do not take action right away, Stewart said, the park system may be permanently damaged.

True-False Quiz • Although examples work very well to clarify ideas in an informative speech, they are less effective in a persuasive speech. • The main value of extended examples is the sense of reality they create. • Whenever you use a hypothetical example in a speech, it is usually a good idea to follow it with statistics or testimony to show that the example is not unrealistic. False True True

True-False Quiz • It is seldom necessary to cite the source of statistics in a speech. • Research has shown that the more statistics you use, the more effective your speech is likely to be. • Unlike testimony, which can easily be quoted out of context, statistics are difficult to manipulate for partisan purposes. False False False

True-False Quiz • Acceptable testimony can include either statements from recognized experts or from ordinary people with special expertise on the topic. • You should almost always round off statistics in a speech. • When you use testimony in a speech, it is acceptable either to paraphrase or use a direct quotation. True True True

True-False Quiz • Examples and testimony are most effective in persuasive speeches, while statistics work best in informative speeches. False

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Supporting Your Ideas