Eng 111 Topic Selection

Topic
Selection &
Development
Week 8, NACy
Learning Objectives
• How to select a speech topic
• Writing a general speech goal statement
• Writing a specific speech goal statement
Selecting a Speech
Topic
Good speech topics come from subject areas that
you have some knowledge about and interest in.
A subject is a broad area of knowledge. You don’t
need to be an expert, but what subjects do you have
experience or knowledge about? What matters to
you? What makes you excited? What are you
passionate about?
Subjects
You can identify subjects by listing those that
(1) you think are important
(2) You know something about
Subjects may be related to careers that interest you,
your major area of study, special skills or
competencies you have or admire, your hobbies, or
even your social, economic or political interests.
Subject Lists
Career Interests Hobbies Issues of Concern
• Teacher • Social • Global

• Website Networking Warming
Designer • Painting • Women
• Information • Photography Empowerment
System • Gaming • Social
Specialist • Reading Inequality
• Public • Poverty
Topics
A topic is a specific aspect of a subject and you

can identify many topics related to one subject.
Two methods for identifying topics are
brainstorming and concept mapping
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is an uncritical, nonevaluative
process of generating ideas. When you
brainstorm, you list as many ideas as you can
think of without evaluating them.
Social Networking
• The history of social networking
• Future trends in social
networking
• Comparisons of popular social
networking sites
• The downside of social
networking
• The social impacts of online
social networks
Concept Mapping
Concept mapping is a visual means of
exploring connections between a subject and
related ideas. To generate connections, you
might ask yourself questions about your subject,
focusing on questions related to who, what,
where, when and how.
Selecting The Topic
First, you should review your topic list and then ask
your self a few questions
• Are any topics too simple or too difficult for
this audience’s knowledge base?
• Are some topics likely to bore the audience and
you cant think of making it interesting?
• Are the topics appropriate for the intended
purpose?
• Are they too broad to be covered adequately in
the time?
Writing a
Speech Goal
Statement
Understanding General and
Specific Speech Goals
Once you have chosen your topic, you are ready
to identify the general goal of your speech and
then to write the specific goal statement
• The general goal is the overall intent of the
speech. The general purpose of most speeches
will fall into one of three categories: to inform,
to persuade, and to entertain.
• The first step of defining the purpose of your
speech is to think about which category best
describes your overall goal with the speech.
Often, the general goal of the speech is usually
directed by the ocassion.
• For example, presidential campaign speeches are
intended to persuade, even though they also
include informative material. Or If you’re asked
to run a training session at work, your purpose
isn’t to entertain but rather to inform.
Understanding Specific Speech Goals
• Whereas the general goal is typically determined by the
occasion, the specific goal is a single statement that
identifies the desired response a speaker wants from
the audience.
• A specific purpose statement builds on your general
purpose and makes it more specific (as the name
suggests). So if your first speech is an informative
speech, your general purpose will be to inform your
audience about a very specific realm of knowledge.
Understanding Specific Speech Goals
• Just as you would create a thesis statement for an
essay or research paper, the specific speech goals
helps focus your presentation by defining your
topic, purpose, direction, angle, and/or point of
view.
• For a speech, you might state as your specific goal, “I
want to explain to my classmates the effects of
losing a pet on the elderly.”
Phrasing a Specific Goal Statement
• A specific speech goal statement must be carefully
crafted because it lays the foundation for organizing
your speech. The following guidelines can help you
create a specific goal statement:
1. Write a first draft of your specific speech goal
statement- For example, Julia who has been concerned
with and is knowleadgable about the subject of illeteracy ,
drafts the following: “I want my audience to
understand the effects of illiteracy”
2. Make sure the goal statement contains only one
central idea – Suppose Julia had written “I want the
audience to understand the nature of illeteracy and
innumeracy”.
This would need ot be revised because it includes two
distinct ideas: illetaracy and innumeracy.
It would be difficult to address both within one speech. If
your goal statement includes the word and, you probably
have more than one idea and need to narrow your
focus.
3. Revise the statement until it is narrowed down – The
draft “I want my audience to understand illiteracy” is a
good start, but it is fairly broad. Julia narrows the
statement to: “I want my audience to understand three
effects of illiteracy”. This version is more specific but
still has scope to be more focused.
“I would like the audience to understand three effects
of illiteracy in the workplace”. Now the goal is limited
by Julia’s focus not only on the specific number of
effects but also on a specific situation.
• Please note that your specific goal statement will
emerge and evolve as you research and write
your speech, so be open to where your research
takes you and anticipate that formulating your
specific statement will be an ongoing process.
• A strong specific goal statement shows that your
speech is focused around a clear and concise
topic and that you have a strong sense of what you
want your audience to know and understand as a
result of your speech.
• Again, it is unlikely that you will have a final
statement before you begin your research.
Instead, it will come together as you research your
topic and develop your main points.

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• Teacher • Social • Global

A topic is a specific aspect of a subject and you

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