英语演讲选修课13informativespeech

Lesson 13 Informative speech

Teaching contents

I

．

Examples

*

Tips for using examples

II

．

Testimony

*

Tips for Using testimony

III

．

Statistics

Tips for using statistics

Iv.

#

Sample speech with commentary

Teaching goals

Get

students

to

know

how

to

use

examples,

testimony

and

statistics

effectively

to

back

up

the

speech.

Assignment

What are the four tips for using examples in your speech?

Explain the difference between expert testimony and peer testimony.

Supporting your ideas

Heather Kolpin decided to give her first classroom speech on the benefits of good nutrition. A

dedicated fitness enthusiast, she had recently switched to a high- protein diet. Part of her speech

ran like this:

“

For years we

?

ve been told that meat, eggs, and cheese are bad for us and that we should eat

more

carbohydrates

like

cereal,

grains,

pasta,

and

rice.

But

too

many

carbohydrates

can

unbalance the body and make you tired and overweight. Do you want more energy? Do you want

to concentrate better and get higher grades? Do you want to enjoy real meals and still lose those

unsightly

pounds?

If

so,

you

should

eat

more

protein.

I

?

ve

been

on

a

high-protein

diet

for

six

months, and I

?

ve never felt better or done better in my classes!

”

After the speech, Heather

’

s classmates were interested but skeptical. As one remarked

，

“

I

know high- protein diets are popular right now, but Heather is no expert on nutrition. Besides, there

are lots of diets around, and they all claim to work wonders. Personally, I

’

d be more convinced if

Heather gave some scientific evidence to back up her opinion.

”

Good

speeches

are

not

composed

of

hot

air

and

generalizations.

They

need

strong

supporting

materials

to

bolster

the

speaker

’

s

point

of

view.

In

Heather

’

s

case,

although

there

is

plenty

of

evidence on the need to balance protein and carbohydrate consumption, many nutritionists have

warned

about

the

dangers

of

overloading

on

protein.

So

Heather

’

s

listeners

were

right

to

be

skeptical. Heather made a mistake of generalizing from her own experience with nothing concrete

to support her ideas.

The problem with generalizations is that they do not answer the three questions listeners always

mentally ask of a speaker:

“

What do you mean?

”

,

“

Why should I believe you?

”

“

So what?

”

The skillful use of supporting materials often makes the difference between a poor speech and a

good one. Using supporting materials is not a matter of tossing facts and figures into your speech.

You

must

decide

which

ideas

need

to

be

supported

given

your

audience,

topic,

and

specific

purposes.

You

must

do

research

to

find

materials

that

will

bring

your

ideas

across

clearly

and

creatively. And you must evaluate your supporting materials to make sure they really do back up

your ideas.

As

you

put

your

speeches

together,

you

will

need

to

make

sure

your

supporting

materials

are

accurate,

relevant,

and

reliable.

You

will

find

yourself

asking

such

questions

as,

“

Are

my

examples representative?

”

，

“

Am I quoting reputable, qualified sources?

”

There are three kinds of supporting materials we use most often, they are: examples , testimony

and statistics

I

．

Examples

Examples

：

a specific case used to illustrate or to represent a group of people, ideas, conditions,

experiences or the like.

In

the

course

of

a

speech

you

may

use

brief

examples

—

specific

instances

referred

to

in

passing

—

and sometimes you may want to give several brief examples in a row to create a stronger

impression.

Extended

examples

—

often

called

illustrations,

narratives,

or

anecdotes

—

are

longer

and more detailed.

Examples

are

useful

when

you

wish

to

make

an

abstract

concept

or

idea

concrete.

For

example, it is difficult for the audience to see exactly what you mean by such abstract concepts as

persecution, denial of freedom, friendship, and love unless you provide specific examples of what

you mean.

Here is one example a student used in a speech about lead poison.

?When

Denise Waddle and her family moved to a nice, middle-class section of Jersey City, New

Jersey, they had dreams of healthy living, block parties, even a big backyard so their kid could

make mud pies. In less than one year in their new home, their two-year-old son had been poisoned,

and their newborn showed high levels of poisoning in his bloodstream. Unknowingly, the Waddle

?

s

had been poisoned by their own backyard, for high levels of lead contaminated their water and

their lives.

”

Examples may be real and factual on one hand or hypothetical and

imagined on the other.

The hypothetical and imagined ones are called hypothetical examples.

Hypothetical example

: an example that describes an imagery or fictitious situation

Here is one student used a hypothetical example to

illustrate the need for college students to

protect themselves against crime:

Y

ou

’

re

tired;

you

’

re

hungry.

You

’

ve

just

spent

a

long

day

at

College

Library

and

you

cannot wait to get back to your room. Glancing outside, you remember how quickly it becomes

dark. You don

’

t think much of it, though, as you bundle up and head out into the gusty wind. Not

until you spy the shadows on the sidewalk or hear the leaves rustling beside you do you wish you

weren

’

t alone. You walk quickly, trying to stop your imagination from thinking of murderers and

rapists. Only when you are safely inside your room do you relax and try to stop your heart from

pounding out of your chest.

Can you remember a time when you felt this way? I would be surprised if you never have. The

FBI

reported

last

year

that

there

were

three

murders,

approximately

430

aggravated

assaults,

1400

burglaries,

and

80

rapes

here

in

Madison

alone.

And

while

these

statistics

are

quite

alarming, they don

’

t compare to the numbers of larger metropolitan areas.

This

hypothetical

example

is

particularly

effective.

The

speaker

creates

a

realistic

scenario,

relates

it

directly

to

her

listeners,

and

gets

them

involved

in

the

speech.

In

addition,

she

uses

figures

from

the

FBI

to

show

that

the

scenario

could

really

happen

to

any

of

her

classmates.

Whenever you use a hypothetical example, it is a good idea to follow it with statistics or testimony

to show that the example is not far- fetched.

Tips for using examples

1

.

Use examples to clarify your ideas

Examples

are

an

excellent

way

to

clarify

unfamiliar

or

complex

ideas.

This

is

why

so

many

teachers

use

examples

in

the

classroom.

Examples

put

abstract

ideas

into

concrete

terms

that

listeners can easily understand.

This principle works exceptionally well in speeches. Suppose you are talking about suspension

bridges, you could give a technical description

The suspension bridge has a roadway suspended by vertical cables attached to two or more

main cables. The main cables are hung on two towers and have their ends anchored in concrete or

bedrock.

If your listeners were made up of people familiar with structural systems, they might be able to

visualize what a suspension bridge looks like. But for listeners lacking this background, you might

want to add a simple example:

Two well-known suspension bridges are the Golden Bridge in San Francisco and the Brooklyn

Bridge in New York.

Because almost everyone has at least seen a picture of the Golden Bridge in San Francisco and the

Brooklyn

Bridge

in

New

York,

using

them

as

examples

clarifies

your

meaning

quickly

and

effectively.

2. Use examples to reinforce your ideas

In a speech entitled

“

Boxing: The most dangerous sport

”

, the speaker argued that professional

boxing should be banned. To reinforce his point, he cited the example of Muhammad Ali, who

suffers a severe case of Parkinson

’

s disease brought on by his years in the ring. The example is

very effective. It put the medical facts about boxing and brain damage in vivid, human terms that

everyone could understand.

When

you

use

examples,

make

sure

it

is

representative.

The

example

of

Muhammad

Ali

is

quite representative.

3. Use examples to personalize your ideas

People are interested in people. AS social psychologist Eliot Aronson said,

“

Most people are

more deeply influenced by one clear, vivid, personal example than by an abundance of statistical

data.

”

Whenever you talk, you can include examples that will add human interest to your speech.

SEE WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WOULD YOU BE MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND

TO

?

There are many hungry families in our community who could benefit from food donations

.

Or:

Let me tell you about Arturo. Arturo is four years old. He has big brown eyes and a mop of black