English Public Speaking Chapter 4

Selecting a Topic & Purpose

复旦大学《英语公众演说》教学团队

Overview

• Topic Selection

• General Purpose

• Specific Purpose

• Central Idea

• Title

• Choose topics you or your audience

are interested in

• Choose topics you or your audience

want to know more about

• Brainstorm for topics

Topic Selection

Brainstorming

• Inventory

• Clustering

• Internet Search

• Topic Map

Topic Map

Topic Map

Topic 1

Topic 2

Topic 3

Free Association

Topic Map

Free Association

People Places Things

Events Processes Concepts

Natural

Phenomena Problems

Plans and

Policies

General Purpose

- To inform

- To persuade

- To commemorate

Specific Purpose

• A single infinitive phrase

that states what speaker

hopes to accomplish

Specific Purpose Guidelines

• Use a full infinitive phrase

• Use a statement, not question

• Avoid figurative language

• Limit to one distinct idea

Specific Purpose Guidelines

• Avoid being vague

• Consider what is appropriate

for your audience

• Fit into your allotted time

Central Idea or Thesis Statement

• One-sentence statement that

encapsulates major ideas of

speech

Central Idea Guidelines

• Express as full sentence

• Don’t express as question

• Avoid figurative language

• Avoid being vague

Create an Effective Title

• Be accurate

• Be creative or attention-gathering

• Be thought-provoking

Exercise 1: Central Idea, Purpose and Main

Points

• Use the free-association method introduced

in this chapter to generate your topic ideas

related to each of the nine topic areas given

in the worksheet.

Title:

Specific Purpose:

Central Idea:

Main Points:

Reading Assignments

Chapter 03 Giving Your First Speech

Chapter 12 Using Visual Aids

Bibliography

1.Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking. Beijing: FLTRP. 2004, 2010. 2. http://fdjpkc.fudan.edu.cn/

3. O’Hair, Dan. A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking.

Bedford/St. Martins.