Image Map Select and Narrow a Topic Determine Purpose Develop Central Idea Generate Main Ideas Gather Supporting Material Organize Speech Rehearse Speech Deliver Speech Consider the Audience

The Speechmaking Wheel:
Select and Narrow Topic

Considering your audience helps you in selecting a topic for your speech, the next step of the Speechmaking Wheel. While sometimes your topic will be chosen for you or determined by the situation, in many cases you will have some freedom to choose your topic. As your book's authors contend, "the success of your speech may rest on this decision" (111). As you work through these interactive exercises, you will create a journal that will help you create an effective speech.

This activity will help you generate topics that will be of interest to your audience and set you on the path towards an effective speech. There are three stages:

1. Preliminary Considerations

2. Strategies for Selecting a Topic

3. Narrowing the Topic

Preliminary Considerations

First, review your notes from the unit on considering your audience. If you filled out the form on that page, you should be able to find these notes with your email software.

Then consider the occasion of the speech and consider your own interests and experiences by answering these questions and adding to your speechmaking notebook. By filling in your email address, these answers will be emailed to you. If your instructor wishes to see the answers, fill in his or her email address in the appropriate space.

Your Name:
Your Email:
Your Instructor's Name:
Your Instructor's Email:

Occasion

1. Briefly describe the occasion of the speech?

2. How long of a speech does the audience expect?

3. Will humor be appropriate for the occasion? If so, what kind of humor?

Speaker

4. List several of your hobbies.

5. Where you have traveled?

6. What social issues concern you?

Strategies for Selecting a Topic

First, visit the websites mentioned in the Speaker's Homepage unit for this chapter. Browse the web directories as described in your book on pages 115-117. Then, click on the link at the end of the unit to brainstorm ten topics for your upcoming speech based on what you see.

Having used the various strategies for selecting a topic, brainstorm ten possible topics in the spaces below. By filling in your email address, these topics will be emailed to you. If your instructor wishes to see the topics, fill in his or her email address in the appropriate space.

Topic Ideas

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10.

At a later time, review the list of ten topics and narrow it to three and finally to the one topic you wish to present. Then, follow the steps below to narrow the general topic you have chosen.

Narrowing the Topic

If your topic is too broad, you will have to narrow it to fit the time allowed. To do so, create smaller, more specific categories based on the general topic. Continue to divide the topic into more narrow categories until you find a topic that will be interesting to you and your audience and one that you can adequately discuss in the time allowed.

Go to the Next Step in the Speechmaking Process: Determine Purpose

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