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7 Chapter 7: Supporting Your Speech Ideas

The materials below are attributed fully to the free online Open Education Resource,  Exploring Public Speaking: The Free Dalton State College Public Speaking Textbook, 4th Edition . 

Chapter 7 Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, the student will be able to:

• Explain why supporting materials are necessary
• List the various types of verbal supporting materials
• Discuss supporting material strengths in explaining and proving ideas and arguments
• Incorporate supporting materials seamlessly into the speech
• Use supporting materials ethically through correct citation
• Explain how perception and attention affect the speech-giving process

Chapter Preview

.1 – Why Supporting Materials are Needed

7.2 – Types of Supporting Materials

7.3 – Attention Factors and Supporting Materials

7.1 –  Why Supporting Materials are Needed

As mentioned in previous chapters,  preparing to give a presentation is not a totally linear process.  It would be nice if the process was like following a recipe, but it loops back and forth as you move toward crafting something that will present your ideas and research effectively. Even as you practice, you will make small changes to your basic outline, since the way something looks on paper and the way it sounds are sometimes different. For example,  l ong sentences may look intelligent on paper, but they are hard to say in one breath and hard for the audience to understand. You will also find it  necessary to use more repetition or restatement in oral delivery.

Therefore, although this is the seventh chapter in the book, it deals with some concepts that we have already been thinking about in Chapters 2-6. Specifically,  this chapter is about supporting materials: what they are, what they do, and how to use them effectively.  But you have already been thinking about how to support your ideas when you were researching and crafting a central idea and main points. Supporting material also relates directly to Chapter 9, presentation aids.  Whereas  presentation aids are  visual  or  auditory  supporting materials,   this chapter will deal with  verbal  supporting materials.

Using your supporting materials effectively is essential because we crave detail and specifics. Let’s say you are discussing going out to eat with a friend. You suggest a certain restaurant, and your friend makes a comment about the restaurant you have not heard before or don’t accept at face value, so you ask in some way for explanation, clarification, or  proof.  If she says, “Their servers are really rude,” you might ask, “What did they do?” If she says, “Their food is delicious,” you might ask what dish is good. Likewise, if she says, “The place is nasty,” you will want to know what their health rating is or why she makes this statement. We want to know specifics and are not satisfied with vagueness and generalities.

Supporting material can be thought of as the specifics that make your ideas, arguments, assertions, points, or concepts real and concrete.   Sometimes supporting materials are referred to as the  “meat” on the bones of the outline,  but we also like to think of them as  pegs you create in the audience’s mind to hang the ideas on.   Another even more useful idea is to  think of them as pillars or supports for a bridge (Figure 7.1). Without these supports, the bridge would just be a piece of concrete that would not hold up once cars start to cross it.  Similarly, the points and  arguments you are making in your speech may not hold up without the material  to “support”  what you are saying.

Of course, as we will see in this chapter,  all supporting materials are not considered equal. Some are better at some functions or for some speeches than others. In general, there are   t w o basic ways to think about the  role of  supporting materials. Either they

• clarify, explain, or provide specifics (and therefore understanding)  for the audience,  or
• prove and back up  arguments   and therefore persuade the audience. Of course, some can do both.

You might ask,  how much supporting material is enough?  The time you are allowed or required to speak will largely determine that. Since the supporting materials are found in the subpoints of your outline (A, B) and sub-subpoints (1, 2, etc.), you can see clearly on the outline how much you have and can omit one if time constraints demand that. However, in our experience as public speaking instructors, we find that students often struggle with having enough supporting materials.  We often comment on a student’s speech that we wanted the student to  answer more of the “what, where, who, how, why, when,” questions and add more description, proof, or evidence because their ideas were vague.

Students often struggle with  the difference between “main idea” and “supporting idea.” For example, in this list, you will quickly recognize a commonality.

Butter Pecan

Of course, they are popular flavors of ice cream.  The main idea is “Popular Flavors of Ice Cream” and the individual flavors are supporting materials to clarify the main idea; they “hold” it up for understanding and clarification. If the list were:

Honey Jalapeno Pickle

Banana Split

Wildberry Lavender

you would recognize two or three as ice cream flavors (not as popular) but #2 and #5 do not seem to fit the list (Covington, 2013). But you still recognize them as types of something and infer from the list that they have to do with ice cream flavors.  “Ice cream flavors” is the general subject and the flavors are the particulars.

Those examples were easy. Let’s look at this one. One of the words in this list is the general, and the rest are the particulars.

Emotion is general category, and the list here shows specific emotions.  Here is another:

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer.
• Pets who live in states with high rates of spaying/neutering live longer.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for its health.
• Spaying lessens the increased urge to roam.
• Male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

Which one is the main point (the general idea), and which are the supporting points that include evidence to prove the main point?  You should see that the third bullet point (“Your pet’s health is positively affected . . .”) would be a main point or argument in a persuasive speech on spaying or neutering your pet. The basic outline for the speech might look something like this:

• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for public health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your pet’s health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your family’s life and budget.

Of course,  each of the four  supporting points  in this example (“helps uterine cancer in female pets, “etc.)  cannot just be made up . The speaker would need to  refer to or cite  reliable statistics or testimony from veterinarians, researchers, public health organizations, and humane societies.  For that reason, here is the more specific support, which you would use in a speech to be ethical and credible. Notice that the italicized sections in this example  Main Point use statistics and specific details to support the claims being made and provides sources that are clearly given.

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer,  which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats,  as found in the online article “Top Ten Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet,” written in 2015 and posted on the website for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• According to Natalie DiBlasio, writing for  USA Today  on May 7 of 2013, in Mississippi, the lowest-ranking state  for pet longevity,  only 56% of the dogs are neutered or spayed.
• She goes on to say that other issues  affecting pet longevity have to do with climate, heartworm, and income of owners.
• The Human Society of America’s website features the August 2014 article, “Why You Should Spay/Neuter Your Pet,” which states that spaying  lessens their urge to roam, exposure to fights with other animals, getting struck by cars, and other mishaps.
• Also according to the same article,  male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

With all the sources available to you through reliable Internet and published sources,  finding information is not difficult.  Recognizing the difference between supporting information and the general idea you are trying to support or prove is more difficult, as is providing adequate citation.

Along with clarifying and proving, supporting materials, especially narrative ones, also make your speech much more interesting and attention-getting.  Later in the chapter we will look at the various “factors of attention” that are related to supporting material. Ultimately,  you will be  perceived as a more credible speaker if you provide clarifying,  probative  (proof-giving and logical), and interesting supporting material.

having the quality or function of proving or demonstrating something; affording proof or evidence

7.2 –  Types of Supporting Materials

Essentially, there are  seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific fact, statistics, and testimony.  Each provides a different type of support, and you will want to choose the supporting materials that best help you make the point you want to get across to your audience.

This type of supporting material is the first and  easiest to use but also easy to forget .  Examples are almost always  short but concrete specific instances to illuminate a concept.  They are designed to give audiences a  reference point.   If you were describing a type of architecture, you would obviously show visual aids of it and give verbal descriptions of it, but you could say, “You pass an example of this type of architecture every time you go downtown—City Hall.”  An example must be  quickly understandable , something the audience can pull out of their memory or experience quickly.

The key to effectively using examples in your speeches is this:  what is  an example to you may not be an example to your audience,  if they have a different experience .  One of the authors has been teaching four decades and cannot use the same pop culture examples she used to use in class. Television shows from twenty years ago are pretty meaningless to audiences today.  Time and age are not the only reasons an example may not work with the audience.  If you are a huge soccer fan speaking to a group who barely knows soccer, using a well-known soccer player as an example of perseverance or overcoming discrimination in the sports world may not communicate. It may only leave the audience members scratching their heads.

Additionally, one good, appropriate example is worth several less apt ones. Keep in mind that in the distinction between supporting materials that prove, those that clarify, and those that do both,  examples are used to clarify .

Earlier in this textbook the  “power of story ”  was mentioned.  Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in speeches to interest the audience and clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas.  They have, if done well,  strong emotional power.  They can be used in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the speech.   They can be short, as anecdotes usually are.  Think of the stories you often see in  Readers’ Digest , human interest stories on the local news, or what you might post on Facebook about a bad experience you had at the DMV.  They could be longer, although they should not comprise large portions of the speech.

Narratives can be personal, literary, historical, or hypothetical.  Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where you desire to:

• Relate to the audience  on a human level, especially if they may see you as competent but not really similar or connected to them.
• Build your credibility by mentioning your experience with a topic.

Of course,  personal narratives must be true. They must also not portray you as more competent, experienced, brave, intelligent, etc., than you are; in other words,  along with being truthful in using personal narratives,  you should be reasonably humble.

An example of a   literary narrative might be one of Aesop’s fables , a short story by O’Henry, or an appropriate tale from another culture.   Keep in mind that because of their power, stories tend to be remembered more than other parts of the speech.   Do you want the story to overshadow your content?  Scenes from films would be another example of a literary narrative, but as with examples, you must consider the audience’s frame of reference and if they will have seen the film.

Historical narrative s  (sometimes called documented narratives)  have power because they can also prove an idea as well as clarify one .  In using these, you should  treat them as fact and therefore give a citation as to where you found the historical narrative.  By “historical” we do  not mean the story refers to something that happened many years ago,  only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening.

If you were trying to argue for the  end to the death penalty because it leads to unjust executions, one good example of a person who was executed and then found innocent afterward would be both emotional and probative . Here,  be careful of using theatrical movies as your source of historical narrative .  Hollywood likes to change history to make the story they want. For example, many people think  Braveheart  is historically accurate, but it is off on many key points—even the kilts, which were not worn by the Scots until the 1600s.

Hypothetical narratives  are  ones that could happen but have not yet.  To be effective, they should be based on reality.  Here are two examples:

Hypothetical narratives

a story of something that could happen but has not happened yet

Picture this incident: You are standing in line at the grocery checkout, reading the headlines on the Star and National Enquirer for a laugh, checking your phone. Then, the middle-aged man in front of you grabs his shoulder and falls to the ground, unconscious. What would you do in a situation like this? While it has probably never happened to you, people have medical emergencies in public many times a day. Would you know how to respond?

Imagine yourself in this situation. It is 3:00 in the morning. You are awakened from a pretty good sleep by a dog barking loudly in the neighborhood. You get up and see green lights coming into your house from the back yard. You go in the direction of the lights and unlock your back door and there, right beside your deck, is an alien spaceship. The door opens and visitors from another planet come out and invite you in, and for the next hour you tour their ship. You can somehow understand them because their communication abilities are far advanced. Now, back to reality. If you were in a foreign country, you would not be able to understand a foreign language unless you had studied it. That is why you should learn a foreign language in college.

Obviously, the second is so “off-the-wall” that the audience would be wondering about the connection, although it definitely does attract attention.  If using a hypothetical narrative, be sure that it is clear that the narrative is hypothetical, not factual. Because of their attention-getting nature, hypothetical narratives are often used in introductions.

Definitions

When we use the term “definition” here as a supporting material,  we are not talking about something you can easily find from the dictionary  or from the first thing that comes up on Google, such as shown in Figure 7.2.

First, using a dictionary definition does not really show your audience that you have researched a topic  (anyone can look up a definition in a few seconds). Secondly, does the audience need a definition of a word like “love,” “bravery,” or “commitment?” They may consider it insulting for you to provide them definition of those words.

To  defin e  means to set limits on something ; defining a word is setting limits on what it means, how the audience should think about the word, and/or how you will use it.   We know there are denotative and connotative definitions or meanings for words, which we usually think of as objective and subjective responses to words.   You only need to  define words that would be unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to use in a specialized way.

to set limits on what a word or term means, how the audience should think about it, and/or how you will use it

For example,  terms used in specialized fields, often called “ jargon,”  (see Chapter 10) need to be defined and explained.  These words may be in medicine, law, the military, technology, or the arts.  Some of these words may be in foreign languages , such as Latin ( habeas corpus, quid pro quo ).  Some of them may be acronyms ; CBE is a term in higher education that means “Competency Based Education.” That is part of a definition, but not a full one—what is competency based education? To answer that question, you would do best to find an officially accepted definition and cite it.

You may want to use  a  stipulated definition  early in your speech.  In this case, you  clearly tell the audience how you are going to use a word or phrase in your speech.   “When I use the phrase ‘liberal democracy’ in this speech, I am using it in the historical sense of a constitution, representative government, and elected officials, not in the sense of any particular issues that are being debated today between progressives and conservatives.”  This is a helpful technique and makes sure your audience understands you, but you would only want to do this for terms that have confusing or controversial meanings for some.

Stipulated definition

a definition with clearly defined parameters for how the word or term is being used in the context of a speech

Although we tend to think of the dictionary definition as the standard, that is only one way of defining something. The dictionary tends to define with synonyms, or other words that are close in meaning.  All of us have had the experience of looking up a word and finding a definition that uses another word we do not know!  Synonyms are one  way to define , but there are some others.

Classification and differentiation

This is a fancy way of saying “ X is a type of Y, but it is different from the other Ys in that . . .”  “A bicycle is type of vehicle that has two wheels, handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and is powered by the feet of the driver.” Obviously you know what a bicycle is and it does not need defining, so here are some better examples:

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a  (type of)  surgical procedure that  (how different)  involves the placement of an adjustable silicone belt around the upper portion of the stomach using a laparoscope. The band can be tightened by adding saline to fill the band like blowing air into a doughnut-shaped balloon. The band is connected to a port that is placed under the skin of the abdomen. This port is used to introduce or remove saline into the band.

Gestational diabetes is a  (type of)  diabetic condition  (how different)  that appears during pregnancy and usually goes away after the birth of the baby.

Social publishing platforms are a  (type of)  social medium where  (how different)  long and short-form written content can be shared with other users.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions   give examples of an action or idea to define it.   If we  were to define “ quid pro quo sexual harassment” operationally, we might use a hypothetical narrative of an employee who is pressured by their supervisor to go on a date. Imagine, too, that the employee is told they must go out with the supervisor socially to get a promotion. Operational definitions help draw a picture and answer the question, “What does this look like in real life?”  rather than using synonyms to define.

Definition by Contrast or Comparison

You can define a term or concept by telling  what it is similar to or different from .  This method requires the audience to have an understanding of whatever you are using as the point of contrast or comparison.  When alcoholism or drug addiction is defined as a disease, that is a comparison. Although not caused by a virus or bacteria, addiction disorder has other qualities that are disease-like.

When defining by contrast, you are  pointing how a concept or term is distinct from another more familiar one .  For example,  “pop culture” is defined as different from “high culture” in that, traditionally, popular culture has been associated with people of lower socioeconomic status (i.e. less wealth or education).  High culture , on the other hand, is associated with as the “official” culture of the more highly educated within the upper classes.  Here, the definition of popular culture is clarified by highlighting the differences between it and high culture .

A similar form of definition by contrast is  defining by   negation, which is stipulating what something  is not .  This famous quotation from Nelson Mandela is an example: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Here, Mandela is helping us draw limits around a concept by saying what it is  not .

Descriptions

The key to  description is to  think in terms of the five senses:  sight (visual; how does the thing look in terms of color, size, shape) , hearing (auditory; volume, musical qualities), taste (gustatory; sweet, bitter, salty, sour, gritty, smooth, chewy), smell (olfactory; sweet, rancid, fragrant, aromatic, musky), and feel (tactile; rough, silky, nubby, scratchy).  The words  kinesthetic  (movement of the body)  and  organic  (feelings related to the inner workings of the body)  can be added to those senses to describe internal physical feeling, such as straining muscles or pain ( kinesthetic ) and nausea or the feelings of heightened emotions ( organic ).

Kinesthetic

issues related to the movement of the body or physical activity

feelings or issues related to the inner workings of the body

Description as a method of support also depends on details, or answering the five questions of what, where, how, who, when. To use description, you must dig deeper into your vocabulary and think concretely.  This example shows that progression.

A La-Z-Boy® rocker-recliner

An old green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner

An old lime green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner with a cigarette burn on the left arm

As  you add more description, two things happen. The “camera focus” becomes clearer, but you also add tone, or attitude.  A recliner is one thing, but who buys a lime green velvet recliner? And someone sat in it smoked and was sloppy about it.  In this case, the last line is probably too much description unless you want to paint a picture of a careless person with odd taste in furniture.

Description is useful as supporting material in terms of describing processes.  This topic was discussed in Chapter 6 in chronological patterns of organization.  Describing processes requires detail and not taking for granted what the audience already knows.  Some instructors use the  “peanut butter sandwich” example to make this point: How would you describe making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who had never seen a sandwich, peanut butter, or jelly?  You would need to put yourself in their shoes to describe the process and  not assume they know  that the peanut butter and jelly go on the inside, facing surfaces of the bread, and that two pieces of bread are involved.

Historic and Scientific Fact

This type of supporting material is  useful for clarification but is especially useful for proving a point.   President John Adams  is quoted as saying,  “Facts are stubborn things,” but that does not mean everyone accepts every fact as a fact, or that everyone is capable of distinguishing a fact from an opinion . A fact is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “The place most people in the world tend to think their opinions reside.” This is a humorous definition, but often true about how we approach facts. The meaning of “fact” is complicated by the context in which it is being used. The  National Center for Science Education (2008) defines fact this way:

In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as ‘true.’ Truth in science, however, is never final and  what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow.

Another source explains fact this way:

[ Fact is] a truth known by actual experience or observation.  The hardness of iron, the number of ribs in a squirrel’s body, the existence of fossil trilobites, and the like are all facts. Is it a fact that electrons orbit around atomic nuclei? Is it a fact that Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar? Is it a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow? None of us has observed any of these things – the first is an inference from a variety of different observations, the second is reported by Plutarch and other historians who lived close enough in time and space to the event that we trust their report, and the third is an inductive inference after repeated observations. (“Scientific Thought,” n.d.)

Without getting into a philosophical dissertation on the meaning of truth, for our purposes  facts are pieces of information with established “backup.”  You can cite who discovered the fact and how other authorities have supported it .  Some facts are so common that most people don’t know where they started—who actually discovered that the water molecule is two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen (H2O)?  But we could find out if we wanted to (it was, by the way, the 18th century chemist Henry Cavendish).  In using scientific and historical fact in your speech, do not take citation for granted.  If it is a fact worth saying and a fact new to the audience, assume you should cite the source of the fact.

Also,  the  difference between historical narrative (mentioned above) and historical fact has to do with length .   An  historical fact might just be a date, place, or action , such as “President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, in front of Washington, D.C. Hilton Hotel.”   An  historical narratives would go into much more detail and add dramatic elements , such as this assassination attempt from the point of view of Secret Service agents.

Statistics are widely used in public speaking, but they are often misunderstood by the speaker and the audience.   Statistics  include numerical facts ,  descriptive statistics  (such as ratios and percentages), and the more i n-depth process of analyzing, comparing, and interpreting numerical data to understand its relationship to other numerical data .  It is a numerical fact that the population of the U.S., according to the 2010 census, was 308,700,000. This is a 9.7% increase from the 2000 census (a comparison).  Another category of  statistics is  inferential statistics, which are analyses that are used to generalize sample results to populations.   So, for example, political polling results reporting margins of error that give us an idea of voters’ preferences as a whole are based on inferential statistical analysis.

include numerical facts, descriptive statistics (such as ratios and percentages), and the more in-depth process of analyzing, comparing, and interpreting numerical data to understand its relationship to other numerical data

Statistics are also  misunderstood  because the science of statistics is difficult. Even terms like mean, median, and mode often confuse people,  much less regression analysis, two-tailed T-tests, and margin of error.  Before you can use  statistics in a speech, you should have a basic understanding of them.

Mean  is the same as mathematical average , something you learned to do early in math classes.  Add up the figures and divide by the number of figures. Related to mean is the concept of standard deviation, which is the average amount each figure is different from (higher or lower) than the average or mean.  Standard deviation is harder to figure (and usually done by computer!) but it does let you know if a group is more similar than alike. If the average on a test in a class is 76, but the standard deviation is 20, that tells you students tended to do really well (96) or really poorly (56) on it (we’re simplifying here, but you see the point).

the mathematical average for a given set of numbers

The   median , however, is the middle number in a distribution .  If all salaries of players in Major League Baseball were listed from highest to lowest, the one in the exact middle of the list would be the median. You can tell from this that it probably will not be the same as the average, and it rarely is; however, the terms “median” and “mean” are often interchanged carelessly.   Mode  is the name for the most frequently occurring number in the list.   As an example, Figure 7.3 is a list of grades from highest to lowest that students might make on a midterm in a class. The placement of mean, median, and mode are noted.

the middle number in a given set of numbers

the number that is the most frequently occurring within a given set of numbers

Percentages have to do with ratios.  There are many other terms you would be introduced to in a statistics class, but the point remains:  be careful of using a statistic that sounds impressive unless you know what it represents.  There is an old saying about  “figures don’t lie but liars figure” and another, “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.” These sayings are exaggerations but they point out that we are inundated with statistical information and often do not know how to process it.  Another thing to watch when using numerical facts is  not to confuse your billions and your millions. There is a big difference. If you say that 43 billion people in the US are without adequate health care, you will probably confuse your audience, since the population of the planet is around 7 billion!

In  using statistics, you are probably going to  use them as proof more than as explanation.  Statistics are considered a strong form of proof. Here are some guidelines for using them  effectively in a presentation.

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point .  The audience may cringe or tune you out for saying, “Now I’d like to give you some statistics about the problem of gangs in our part of the state.” That sounds as exciting as reading the telephone book!   Use the  statistics to support an argument.  “Gang activity is increasing in our region. For example, it is increasing in the three major cities. Mainsville had 450 arrests for gang activity this year alone, up 20% from all of last year.”  This example ties the numerical fact (450 arrests) and the statistical comparison (up 20%) to an argument.  The goal is to weave or blend the statistics seamlessly into the speech, not have them stand alone as a section of the speech.
• Always provide the source of the statistic.  In the previous example, it should read, “ According to a report published on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website, Mainsville had 450 arrests . . .”  There are a number of “urban myth” statistics floating around that probably have a basis in some research done at some point in time, but that research was outlived by the statistic.  An audience would have reason to be skeptical if you cannot provide the name of the researcher or organization that backs up the statistics and numerical data.  By the way, it is  common for speakers and writers to say “According to research” or “According to studies.” This tag is essentially meaningless and actually a logical fallacy.  Give a real source to support your argument.
• In regard to  sources,   depend on the reliable  ones .  Table 7.1, originally published in Wrench, Goding, Johnson, and Attias (2011), lists valid websites providing statistical information.
• Do not overuse  statistics .   While there is no hard and fast rule on how many to use, there are  other good supporting materials and you would not want to depend on statistics alone .  You want to  choose the statistics and numerical data that will strengthen your argument the most and drive your point home. Statistics can have emotional power as well as probative value if used sparingly.
• Use graphs  to display the most important statistics .   If you are using presentation software such as PowerPoint, you can create your own basic pie, line, or bar graphs, or you can borrow one and put a correct citation on the slide. However,   you do not need to make a graph for every single statistic .  More information on these types of visual aids and what type of information they convey best can be found in Chapter 9.
• Explain your statistics as needed,  but do not make your speech a statistics lesson.  Explain the context of the statistics .  If you say,  “My blog has 500 subscribers” to a group of people who know little about blogs, that might sound impressive, but is it? You can also provide a story of an individual, and then tie the individual into the statistic.  After telling a story of the daily  struggles of a young mother with multiple sclerosis, you could follow up with “This is just one story in the 400,000 people who suffer from MS in the United States today, according to National MS Society.”
• If you do your own survey or research and use numerical data from it, explain your methodology .  “In order to understand the attitudes of freshmen at our college about the subject of open source textbooks, I polled 150 first-year students, only three of whom were close friends, asking them this question: ‘Do you agree that our college should encourage the faculty to use open source textbooks?’ Seventy-five percent of them indicated that they agreed with the statement.”
• It  goes without saying that  you will  use the statistic ethically, that there will be no distortion of what the statistic means.  However, it is acceptable and a good idea to round up numerical data to avoid overwhelming the audience.  Earlier we used the example of the U.S. census, stating the population in 2010 was 308.7 million. That is a rounded figure. The actual number was 308,745,538, but saying “almost 309 million” or “308.7 million” will serve your purposes   and not be unethical.

• Additionally,  do not make statistics mean what they do not mean . Otherwise, you would be pushing the boundaries on ethics.  In the example about your survey of students, if you were to say, “75% of college freshmen support . . . .” That is not what the research said. Seventy-five percent of the students you surveyed indicated agreement, but since your study did not meet scientific standards regarding size of sample and how you found the sample, you can only use the information in relation to students in your college, not the whole country. One of the authors had a statistics professor who often liked to say,  “Numbers will tell you whatever you want if you torture them long enough,” meaning you can always twist or manipulate statistics to meet your goals.
• An effective technique with  numerical data is to  use physical comparisons.  “The National Debt is 17 trillion dollars. What does that mean? It means that every American citizen owes $55,100. ”  “It means that if the money were stacked as hundred dollar bills, it would go to . . .” Or another example, “There are 29 million Americans with diabetes. That is 9.3%. In terms closer to home, of the 32 people in this classroom, 3 of us would have diabetes.” Of course, in this last example, the class may not be made up of those in risk groups for diabetes, so you would not want to say, “Three of us have diabetes.” It is only a comparison for the audience to grasp the significance of the topic.
• Finally, because statistics can be confusing,  slow down when you say them , give more emphasis, gesture—small ways of helping the audience grasp them.

Testimony  is the words of others .  You might think of them as  quoted material . Obviously, all quoted material or testimony is not the same.  Some quotations you just use because they are funny, compelling, or attention-getting.  They  work well as openings to introductions .  Other types o f testimony are more useful for proving your arguments . Testimony  can also give an audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of others.  Testimony is basically divided into two categories: expert and peer.

the words of others used as proof or evidence

Expert Testimony

What is an expert? Here is a quotation of the humorous kind: An expert is “one who knows more and more about less and less” (Nicholas Butler). Actually,  an  expert  for our purposes is  someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject .   Experts spend time studying the facts and putting the facts together.  They may not be scholars who publish original research but they have in-depth knowledge. They may have certain levels of education, or they have real-world experience in the topic.

someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject

For example, one of the  authors is attending a quilt show this week to talk to experts in quilting. This expertise was gained through years of making, preserving, reading about, and showing quilts, even if they never took Quilting 101 in college. To quote an expert on expertise, “To be an expert, someone needs to have considerable knowledge on a topic or considerable skill in accomplishing something” (Weinstein, 1993).  In using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in his or her relevant field, not outside of it.   A person may have a Nobel Prize in economics, but that does not make them an expert in biology.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• Choose experts to quote whom your audience will respect and/or whose name or affiliations they will recognize as credible.
• Make it clear that you are quoting the expert testimony verbatim or paraphrasing it.  If verbatim, say “Quote . . . end of quote” (not unquote—you cannot unquote someone).
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech also.  “When I spoke with Dr. Mary Thompson, principal of Park Lake High School, on October 12, she informed me that . . .”

Expert testimony is one of your  strongest supporting materials to prove your arguments, but in a sense, by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are arguing that your source is truly an expert (if the audience is unfamiliar with them) in order to validate their information.

Peer Testimony

Any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic would be  peer testimony .  It is useful in  helping the audience understand a topic from a personal point of view.  For example, in the spring of 2011, a devastating tornado came through the town where one of the authors and many of their students live . One of those students gave a dramatic personal experience speech in class about surviving the tornado in a building that was destroyed and literally disappeared. They survived because she and her coworkers at their chain restaurant were able to get to safety in the freezer. While she may not have had an advanced degree in a field related to tornadoes or the destruction they can cause, this student certainly had a good deal of knowledge about surviving a tornado.  However, do not present just any testimony of a peer or friend as if it were expert or credentialed.

Peer testimony

any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic

7.3 –  Attention Factors and Supporting Material

In Chapter 2, we discussed how public speaking as an oral form of communication is different from written forms of communication.  Therefore, as a speaker, you must work to maintain the attention of your audience.  In this section, we will look more deeply at attention and how you can use supporting materials to keep the audience’s attention in addition to the important functions of clarifying and proving ideas.

What is Attention?

Attention and perception are closely tied  concepts, but they are not exactly the same.  If you have taken an introduction to psychology course, one of the earliest chapters in the textbook was probably about perception, since our perceptual processes are so foundational to how we think and process.   Perception  deals primarily with how we organize and interpret the patterns of stimuli around us.  The key words in this definition are patterns, organize, and interpret.  The brain does the work of taking thousands of stimuli around us and making sense of them. Sensation is taking in the stimuli in the physical realm; perception is doing something with it psychologically.  Perception is obviously influenced by memory, experiences, past learning , etc .   If you taste a desert, the scent and taste are physically going to your brain, and thus you are sensing it. But if you say, “This tastes like my mother’s recipe for this desert,” then you are perceiving.

how people organize and interpret the patterns of stimuli around them

Attention, on the other hand, is focused perception.  Attention  i s defined as focus on one stimulus while ignoring or suppressing reactions to other stimuli.  It has been referred to as the “ allocation of limited processing resources”   (Anderson, 2005, p. 519).  Although  we think we can multitask and pay attention to three things at a time, we cannot.

focus on one stimulus while ignoring or suppressing reactions to other stimuli

The diagram in Figure 7.4  might help show why multitasking is a problem rather than a benefit. In the figure, two balls from the upper chutes (which represent the two sources of stimuli, such as two auditory messages) are trying to enter the central chute at the same time.  For a practical example that you can probably relate to, let’s say these balls represent watching TV and playing a game on your phone at the same time.  Only one ball can go through the single chute at a time, which is representative of your focus (the ideas or tasks you can actually think about at a given moment).  The “balls” or stimuli must take turns, therefore making your attention shift back and forth, affecting your ability to do one task versus the other.

When you try to pay attention to two things at once, you are going to let the information in but have to switch back and forth on the pathways, making your attention (listening, reading, processing) less efficient .  This means that in our example above, you’re either going to miss something that is being said on TV or you’re going to not play the game very well because you can’t divide your focus between the two activities.  Multitudes of studies have been done on how inefficient multitasking behavior is, especially for students  (Weimer, 2012).

When you pay attention, you focus and other stimuli become muted or nonexistent in your mind for that amount of time.  We have all had experiences when we so focused on a stimulus— it could be a concert, a movie, a roller coaster ride—that we almost “wake up” to the rest of the world when it is over.

Why Do We Pay Attention?

Perception is not something we have a good deal of control over, but we do have more say in attention.   There are basically  five reasons we pay attention to what we do when confronted with lots of competing stimuli.

• W e choose to focus on  one  thing over another .   Plain and simple, we grit our teeth and pay attention, such as when we are making ourselves study difficult material for a test.  While this is a behavior we accept as adults, as public speakers we should not expect the audience to do all the work of paying attention just because they feel a duty to do so; they probably will not.  We should attempt to meet the audience half way by using our understanding of attention. We should use various techniques in our speech to help the audience pay attention.
• Expectations.   If a speaker started a lecture with “In this presentation I am going to say the word ‘serendipity,’ and when I do, the first person who jumps up and says ‘gotcha’ will get this $100 bill.”  The audience is expecting to hear something and tuning in for it. Of course, this is an extreme example  (and we don’t recommend it!) but when a speaker gives an introduction that sets up for the audience what to expect, attention can be helped.
• Need states .  Have you ever noticed that the hamburgers on the fast food commercials look juicier and more delicious when you are hungry?  When we are in a need state, we will be focused on those items that meet the need.   When your instructor begins discussing in class what you can expect on the next exam, you probably perk up a bit, since this is information students generally need to know in order to do well in the class.  Because that information meets a personal need, they will be more receptive to and focused on it.
• Pa st training and experiences.   You will notice what you have been taught or trained, either directly or indirectly, to focus on.   Sometimes you will not even be aware that you are doing so.  For example, if you have a background in rodeo competition, you will see aspects and details in a rodeo scene in a movie that someone else would just take for granted.
• All of these reasons for paying attention are relevant to the public speaker, but the last one is most directly usable and related to supporting material.  There are certain qualities or characteristics of stimuli that naturally attract our attention.  These have been termed the  “factors of attention.”   If a public speaker puts these traits into the speech and presentation aids,  the audience’s ability to pay attention will be bolstered.   These characteristics, listed below, are generally  ways to “perk up”  you audience’s ears and gain their attention, at least temporarily.  Our attention can wane rather quickly and a speaker must work to keep the audience engaged.  Incorporating attention factors can help.

Attention Factors

The  list of factors that can help you get or maintain attention during your speech is rather long, and a speaker cannot, of course, use all of them in one speech, but they are useful tools in certain speech situations .  As you progress as a public speaker, you  can use them in an “impromptu” fashion if you think the audience needs an attention boost, or you can plan to use them in strategic places.

The  first factor  in getting or maintaining attention is   movement .  A moving object will gain more attention than a stationary one.  Movement is one of the factors of attention you can use in different ways. You can use stories that have movement in plot.  You can use physical movement in your delivery.   Transitions give a sense of movement  to a speech, as well as not dwelling on one idea too long.  The animation of words and graphics in PowerPoint or other slide presentation software is another use of animation.

At the same time,  because animation attracts attention and therefore distracts attention too , it  should be used strategically and intentionally  (for a good purpose).   For example, l ittle animated figures, pacing back and forth, and repetitive gestures are uses of movement that you would not want to use because they are annoying, they are not purposeful, and they draw the audience’s attention away from your message.

The second factor  of attention is   conflict .   Showing ideas, groups, teams, etc. that are in conflict draws attention. Stories can also utilize conflict.

The third factor  of attention is  novelty .  Your ideas and the way you approach them should be fresh and new to the audience.   When we get to persuasion in Chapter 13, we will also see that evidence used to persuade an audience should be new to them.

The fourth factor  of attention is   humor .   Humor is usually not the focus of your speech, especially in a class situation, but well-placed and intentional humor can be helpful to maintain attention of your audience.   It  should be appropriate to the topic and well-practiced.  It is probably a good idea to  “road test” your humor to be sure it is funny to other people.  We all have our own sense of what is funny and have experienced those times when friends or family don’t seem to “get” what we find funny.  If you want to tell a joke, be sure to tell it, not read it,  and practice the delivery well.  See Appendix D for more information on humor in public speaking.

The fifth factor  of attention is   familiarity .  As mentioned already, supporting materials should be immediately accessible and draw from your audience’s experience so they can understand quickly in an oral communication setting .  Familiarity is attractive because  it is  comfortable .  Familiarity may seem in conflict with novelty, and in a sense they show both sides of how our minds work.  We like new things (such as the most recent design of a sports car) but we also like comfortable, familiar things  (such as our favorite movie we have seen ten times already).  They function differently in a speech.  Familiarity works better to explain a new concept; novelty works better to pique an audience’s interest.

The sixth factor is  contrast .   This one is particularly useful to a speaker in  creating visual aids so that key words stand out,  for example, on presentation slides.   Contrast also applies to the  variety in your voice  ( avoiding what we would call monotone or monorate).

The seventh factor  of attention is  repetitio n .  We have already seen how  key repetitions at points in the speech can remind the audience of your structure and main ideas.

Suspense  is the eighth factor of attention .  Although not as useful in public speaking as some of the factors, suspense can be  useful in an introduction .  You can use a series of questions asking the audience to guess your topic; however, this is a risky approach if you disappoint your audience when the “real” topic is not what they are guessing.  You can also tell a story in the introduction and say you will give the outcome of the story at the end of the speech, or pose a question and promise that by the end of the speech they will know the answer. However, always be sure to deliver on the promise!

The ninth factor is  proximity ,  which refers to  physical closeness.  While not applicable to supporting materials, proximity does relate to public speaking delivery.   The more physical distance between the audience members and the speaker and the audience, the harder it will be for the audience to remain attentive .   If you know that only 20 people are going to attend a presentation, it is best to have it in a 20-seat room, not an auditorium that seats 100. The audience members will spread out and feel detached from each other, and it will be harder for you be or feel to close to them.

The tenth factor  of attention is  need-oriented  subjects .   We pay attention to what meets our needs.  For example, when you are hungry, you probably notice fast food advertisements more on television (which advertisers recognize and use against us).  If you are  shopping for a car,  you will be  more aware of car advertisements.

The eleventh factor is   intensity ,   which is also useful in the delivery aspect of public speaking.  Raising your voice at key times and slowing down are useful for attention.

The last attention factor is  concreteness ,  which in a sense describes all of them. All of the factors and types of supporting materials are tied to real or  concrete experience .  The more a speaker can  attach the speech to real experience, either her own or preferably the audience’s, the more effective she will be.

It is hard to imagine an effective speech without a variety of supporting materials. Think of it like cooking a flavorful cuisine—there will be a mixture of spices and tastes, not just one. Statistics, narratives and examples, testimony, definitions, descriptions, and facts all clarify your concepts for the audience, and statistics, testimony, facts, and historical examples also support logical arguments. In the process of composing your speech, be sure t o provide sources and use varied and interesting language to express the support your speech ideas require and deserve.

Something to Think About

One type of supporting material that is commonly used but was not fully discussed in this chapter is quotations such as “The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). You can go to websites to find quotable quotes on various topics. What category (testimony, narratives, statistics, examples) would quotations such as this fall into? Would they be for proof or explanation? When would they be useful? What could be some downsides to using them? (Some of these answers are discussed in Chapter 8.)

Watch a TV show and do not change the channel when the commercials come on.  What factors of attention do the advertisers use to get you to attend to the commercial?  Hint: Don’t say music–that’s not a factor of attention. What is it about the music that gets your attention, such as intensity or familiarity?

Chapter SeveN Attribution:

Manley, J. A., & Rhodes, K. (2020). Exploring Public Speaking: The Free Dalton State College Public Speaking Textbook, 4th Edition. Manifold. Retrieved from https://alg.manifoldapp.org/read/exploring-public-speaking-the-free-dalton-state-college-public-speaking-textbook-4th-edition/

Creative Commons License

Authors and Contributors

Barbara G. Tucker (Editor and Primary Author)

As chair of the Department of Communication at Dalton State College, Dr. Tucker oversees programs in communication, general studies, music, theatre, and interdisciplinary studies. She is Professor of Communication and has worked in higher education for over 40 years. She lives in Ringgold, Georgia, with her husband; they have one son. She is a novelist and playwright. Her research areas are the basic course, open educational resources, historical perspectives on rhetoric, and gratitude.

Matthew LeHew (Editor)

As Assistant Professor at Dalton State College, Matthew LeHew teaches courses in public relations, integrated marketing communication, film studies, and video production. His research interests include various areas of media studies, especially examination of virtual communities for online games. He is currently writing his dissertation for the Ph.D. in Communication (Media and Society track) at Georgia State University. He lives in Marietta, Georgia with his wife, son, and two dogs.

The Public Speaking Resource Project Copyright © 2018 by Lori Halverson-Wente and Mark Halverson-Wente is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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27 Types of Supporting Materials

Essentially, there are seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific fact, statistics, and testimony. Each provides a different type of support, and you will want to choose the supporting materials that best help you make the point you want to get across to your audience.

This type of supporting material is the first and easiest to use but also easy to forget. Examples are almost always short but concrete specific instances to illuminate a concept. They are designed to give audiences a reference point. If you were describing a type of architecture, you would obviously show visual aids of it and give verbal descriptions of it, but you could say, “You pass an example of this type of architecture every time you go down- town—City Hall.” An example must be quickly understandable, something the audience can pull out of their memory or experience quickly.

The key to effectively using examples in your speeches is this: what is an example to you may not be an example to your audience, if they have a dif ferent experience. One of the authors has been teaching four decades and cannot use the same pop culture examples she used to use in class. Television shows from twenty years ago are pretty meaningless to audiences today. Time and age are not the only reasons an example may not work with the audience. If you are a huge soccer fan speaking to a group who barely knows soccer, using a well-known soccer player as an example of perseverance or overcoming discrimination in the sports world may not communicate. It may only leave the audience members scratching their heads.

Additionally, one good, appropriate example is worth several less apt ones. Keep in mind that in the distinction between supporting materials that prove, those that clarify, and those that do both, examples are used to clarify.

Earlier in this textbook the “power of story” was mentioned. Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in speeches to interest the audience and clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas. They have, if done well, strong emotional power. They can be used in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the speech. They can be short, as anecdotes usually are. Think of the stories you often see in Readers’ Digest , human interest stories on the local news, or what you might post on Facebook about a bad experience you had at the DMV. They could be longer, although they should not comprise large portions of the speech.

Narratives can be personal, literary, historical, or hypothetical. Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where you desire to:

• Relate to the audience on a human level, especially if they may see you as competent but not really similar or connected to them.
• Build your credibility by mentioning your experience with a topic.

Of course, personal narratives must be true. They must also not portray you as more competent, experienced, brave, intelligent, etc., than you are; in other words, along with being truthful in using personal narratives, you should be reasonably humble.

An example of a literary narrative might be one of Aesop’s fables, a short story by O’Henry, or an appropriate tale from another culture. Keep in mind that because of their power, stories tend to be remembered more than other parts of the speech. Do you want the story to overshadow your content? Scenes from films would be another example of a literary narrative, but as with examples, you must consider the audience’s frame of reference and if they will have seen the film.

Historical narratives (sometimes called documented narratives) have power because they can also prove an idea as well as clarify one. In using these, you should treat them as fact and therefore give a citation as to where you found the historical narrative. By “historical” we do not mean the story refers to something that happened many years ago, only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening.

If you were trying to argue for the end to the death penalty because it leads to unjust executions, one good example of a person who was executed and then found innocent afterward would be both emotional and probative. Here, be careful of using theatrical movies as your source of historical narrative. Hollywood likes to change history to make the story they want. For example, many people think Braveheart is historically accurate, but it is off on many key points—even the kilts, which were not worn by the Scots until the 1600s.

Hypothetical narratives are ones that could happen but have not yet. To be effective, they should be based on reality. Here are two examples:

Picture this incident: You are standing in line at the grocery check- out, reading the headlines on the Star and National Enquirer for a laugh, checking your phone. Then, the middle-aged man in front of you grabs his shoulder and falls to the ground, unconscious. What would you do in a situation like this? While it has probably never happened to you, people have medical emergencies in public many times a day. Would you know how to respond?

Imagine yourself in this situation. It is 3:00 in the morning. You are awakened from a pretty good sleep by a dog barking loudly in the neighborhood. You get up and see green lights coming into  your house from the back yard. You go in the direction of the lights and unlock your back door and there, right beside your deck, is an alien spaceship. The door opens and visitors from another planet come out and invite you in, and for the next hour you tour their ship. You can somehow understand them because their communication abilities are far advanced from ours. Now, back to reality. If you were in a foreign country, you would not be able to under stand a foreign language unless you had studied it. That is why you should learn a foreign language in college.

Obviously, the second is so “off-the-wall” that the audience would be wondering about the connection, although it definitely does attract attention. If using a hypothetical narrative, be sure that it is clear that the narrative is hypothetical, not factual. Because of their attention-getting nature, hypothetical narratives are often used in introductions.

Definitions

When we use the term “definition” here as a supporting material, we are not talking about something you can easily find from the dictionary or from the first thing that comes up on Google, such as shown in Figure 7.2.

First, using a dictionary definition does not really show your audience that you have researched a topic (anyone can look up a definition in a few seconds). Secondly, does the audience need a definition of a word like “love,” “bravery,” or “commitment?” They may consider it insulting for you to provide them definition of those words.

To define means to set limits on something; defining a word is setting limits on what it means, how the audience should think about the word, and/or how you will use it. We know there are denotative and connotative definitions or meanings for words, which we usually think of as objective and subjective responses to words. You only need to define words that would be unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to use in a specialized way.

For example, terms used in specialized fields, often called “jargon,” (see Chapter 10) need to be defined and explained. These words may be in medicine, law, the military, technology, or the arts. Some of these words may be in foreign languages, such as Latin ( habeas corpus, quid pro quo ). Some of them may be acronyms; CBE is a term being used currently higher education that means “Competency Based Education.” That is part of a definition, but not a full one—what is competency based education? To answer that question, you would do best to find an officially accepted definition and cite it.

You may want to use a stipulated definition early in your speech. In this case, you clearly tell the audience how you are going to use a word or phrase in your speech. “When I use the phrase ‘liberal democracy’ in this speech, I am using it in the historical sense of a constitution, representative government, and elected officials, not in the sense of any particular issues that are being debated today between progressives and conservatives.” This is a helpful technique and makes sure your audience understands you, but you would only want to do this for terms that have confusing or controversial meanings for some.

Although we tend to think of the dictionary definition as the standard, that is only one way of defining something. The dictionary tends to define with synonyms, or other words that are close in meaning. All of us have had the experience of looking up a word and finding a definition that uses another word we do not know! Synonyms are one way to define, but there are some others.

Classification and differentiation

This is a fancy way of saying “X is a type of Y, but it is different from the other Ys in that . . .” “A bicycle is type of vehicle that has two wheels, handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and is powered by the feet of the driver.” Obviously you know what a bicycle is and it does not need defining, so here are some better examples:

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a (type of) surgical procedure that (how different) involves the placement of an adjustable silicone belt around the upper portion of the stomach using a laparoscope. The band can be tightened by adding saline to fill the band like blowing air into a doughnut-shaped balloon. The band is connected to a port that is placed under the skin of the abdomen. This port is used to introduce or remove saline into the band.

Gestational diabetes is a (type of) diabetic condition (how different) that appears during pregnancy and usually goes away after the birth of the baby.  

Social publishing platforms are a (type of) social medium where (how different) long and short-form written content can be shared with other users.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions give examples of an action or idea to define it. If we were to define “ quid pro quo sexual harassment” operationally, we might use a hypothetical narrative of a female employee who is pressured by her supervisor to date him and told she must go out with him socially to get a promotion. Operational definitions do not have to be this dramatic, but they do draw a picture and answer the question, “What does this look like in real life?” rather than using synonyms to define.

Definition by Contrast or Comparison

You can define a term or concept by telling what it is similar to or different from. This method requires the audience to have an understanding of whatever you are using as the point of contrast or comparison. When alcoholism or drug addiction is defined as a disease, that is a comparison. Although not caused by a virus or bacteria, addiction disorder has other qualities that are disease-like.

When defining by contrast, you are pointing how a concept or term is distinct from another more familiar one. For example, “pop culture” is defined as different from “high culture” in that, traditionally, popular culture has been associated with people of lower socioeconomic status (i.e. less wealth or education). High culture , on the other hand, is associated with as the “official” culture of the more highly educated within the upper classes. Here, the definition of popular culture is clarified by highlighting the differences between it and high culture.

A similar form of definition by contrast is defining by negation, which is stipulating what something is not . This famous quotation from Nelson Mandela is an example: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Here, Mandela is helping us draw limits around a concept by saying what it is not.

Descriptions

The key to description is to think in terms of the five senses: sight (visual; how does the thing look in terms of color, size, shape), hearing (audito- ry; volume, musical qualities), taste (gustatory; sweet, bitter, salty, sour, gritty, smooth, chewy), smell (olfactory; sweet, rancid, fragrant, aromatic, musky), and feel (tactile; rough, silky, nubby, scratchy). The words kinesthetic (movement of the body) and organic (feelings related to the inner workings of the body) can be added to those senses to describe internal physical feeling, such as straining muscles or pain ( kinesthetic ) and nausea or the feelings of heightened emotions ( organic ).

Description as a method of support also depends on details, or answering the five questions of what, where, how, who, when. To use description, you must dig deeper into your vocabulary and think concretely. This example shows that progression.

A La-Z-Boy® rocker-recliner

An old green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner

An old lime green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner with a cigarette burn on the left arm

As you add more description, two things happen. The “camera focus” becomes clearer, but you also add tone, or attitude. A recliner is one thing, but who buys a lime green velvet recliner? And someone sat in it smoked and was sloppy about it. In this case, the last line is probably too much description unless you want to paint a picture of a careless person with odd taste in furniture.

Description is useful as supporting material in terms of describing processes. This topic was discussed in Chapter 6 in chronological patterns of organization. Describing processes requires detail and not taking for granted what the audience already knows. Some instructors use the “peanut butter sandwich” example to make this point: How would you describe making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who had never seen  a sandwich, peanut butter, or jelly? You would need to put yourself in their shoes to describe the process and not assume they know that the peanut butter and jelly go on the inside, facing surfaces of the bread, and that two pieces of bread are involved.

Historic and Scientific Fact

This type of supporting material is useful for clarification but is especially useful for proving a point. President John Adams is quoted as saying, “Facts are stubborn things,” but that does not mean everyone accepts every fact as a fact, or that everyone is capable of distinguishing a fact from an opinion. A fact is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “The place most people in the world tend to think their opinions reside.” This is a humorous definition, but often true about how we approach facts. The meaning of “fact” is complicated by the context in which it is being used. The National Center for Science Education (2008) defines fact this way:

In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as ‘true.’ Truth in science, however, is never final and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow.

Another source explains fact this way:

[Fact is] a truth known by actual experience or observation. The hardness of iron, the number of ribs in a squirrel’s body, the existence of fossil trilobites, and the like are all facts. Is it a fact that electrons orbit around atomic nuclei? Is it a fact that Brutus  stabbed Julius Caesar? Is it a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow? None of us has observed any of these things – the first is an inference from a variety of different observations, the second is report- ed by Plutarch and other historians who lived close enough in time and space to the event that we trust their report, and the third is an inductive inference after repeated observations. (“Scientific Thought: Facts, Hypotheses, Theories, and all that stuff”)

Without getting into a philosophical dissertation on the meaning of truth, for our purposes facts are pieces of information with established “backup.” You can cite who discovered the fact and how other authorities have sup- ported it. Some facts are so common that most people don’t know where they started—who actually discovered that the water molecule is two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen (H2O)? But we could find out if we wanted to (it was, by the way, the 18th century chemist Henry Cavendish). In using scientific and historical fact in your speech, do not take citation for granted. If it is a fact worth saying and a fact new to the audience, assume you should cite the source of the fact, getting as close to the original as possible.

Also, the difference between historical narrative (mentioned above) and historical fact has to do with length. An historical fact might just be a date, place, or action, such as “President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, in front of Washington, D.C. Hilton Hotel.” An historical narratives would go into much more detail and add dramatic elements, such as this assassination attempt from the point of view of Secret Service agents.

Statistics are misunderstood. First, the meaning of the term is misunderstood. Statistics are not just numbers or numerical facts. The essence of statistics is the collection, analysis, comparison, and interpretation of numerical data, understanding its comparison with other numerical data. For example, it is a numerical fact that the population of the U.S., according to the 2010 census, was 308,700,000. This is a 9.7% increase from the 2000 census; this comparison is a statistic. However, for the purpose of simplicity, we will deal with both numerical facts and real statistics in this section.

Statistics are also misunderstood because the science of statistics is difficult. Even terms like mean, median, and mode often confuse people, much less regression analysis, two-tailed T-tests, and margin of error. Before you can use statistics in a speech, you should have a basic understanding of them.

Mean is the same as mathematical average, something you learned to do early in math classes. Add up the figures and divide by the number of figures. Related to mean is the concept of standard deviation, which is the average amount each figure is different from (higher or lower) than the average or mean. Standard deviation is harder to figure (and usually done by computer!) but it does let you know if a group is more similar than alike. If the average on a test in a class is 76, but the standard deviation is 20, that tells you students tended to do really well (96) or really poorly (56) on it (we’re simplifying here, but you see the point).

The median , however, is the middle number in a distribution. If all salaries of ballplayers in MLB were listed from highest to lowest, the one in the exact middle of the list would be the median. You can tell from this that it probably will not be the same as the average, and it rarely is; however, the terms “median” and “mean” are often interchanged carelessly. Mode is the name for the most frequently occurring number in the list. As an example, Figure 7.3 is a list of grades from highest to lowest that students might make on a midterm in a class. The placement of mean, median, and mode are noted.

Percentages have to do with ratios. There are many other terms you would be introduced to in a statistics class, but the point remains: be careful of using a statistic that sounds impressive unless you know what it rep resents. There is an old saying about “figures don’t lie but liars figure” and another, “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.” These sayings are exaggerations but they point out that we are inundated with statistical information and often do not know how to process it. Another thing to watch when using numerical facts is not to confuse your billions and your mil- lions. There is a big difference. If you say that 43 billion people in the US are without adequate health care, you will probably confuse your audience, since the population of the planet is around 7 billion!

In using statistics, you are probably going to use them as proof more than as explanation. Statistics are considered a strong form of proof. Here are some guidelines for using them effectively in a presentation.

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point. The audience may cringe or tune you out for saying, “Now I’d like to give you some statistics about the problem of gangs in our part of the state.” That sounds as exciting as reading the telephone book! Use the statistics to support an argument. “Gang activity is increasing in our region. For example, it is increasing in the three major cities. Mainsville had 450 arrests for gang activity this year alone, up 20% from all of last year.” This example ties the numerical fact (450 arrests) and the statistical comparison (up 20%) to an argument. The goal is to weave or blend the statistics seamlessly into the speech, not have them stand alone as a section of the speech.
• Always provide the source of the statistic. In the previous example, it should read, “According to a report published on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website, Mainsville had 450 arrests . . .” There are a number of “urban myth” statistics floating around that probably have a basis in some research done at some point in time, but that research was outlived by the statistic. An audience would have reason to be skeptical if you cannot provide the name of the researcher or organization that backs up the statistics and numerical data. By the way, it is common for speakers and writers to say “According to research” or “According to studies.” This tag is essentially meaning- less and actually a logical fallacy. Give a real source to support your argument.
• In regard to sources, depend on the reliable ones. Table 7.1, originally published in Wrench, Goding, Johnson, and Attias (2011), lists valid websites providing statistical information.
• Do not overuse statistics. While there is no hard and fast rule on how many to use, there are other good supporting materials and you would not want to depend on statistics alone. You want to choose the statistics and numerical data that will strengthen your argument the most and drive your point home. Statistics can have emotional power as well as probative value if used sparingly.
• Use graphs to display the most important statistics. If you are using presentation software such as PowerPoint, you can create your own basic pie, line, or bar graphs, or you can borrow one and put a correct citation on the slide. However, you do not need to make a graph for every single statistic. More information on these types of visual aids and what type of information they convey best can be found in Chapter 9.
• Explain your statistics as needed, but do not make your speech a statistics lesson. Explain the context of the statistics. If you say, “My blog has 500 subscribers” to a group of people who know little about blogs, that might sound impressive, but is it? You can also provide a story of an individual, and then tie the individual into the statistic. After telling a story of the daily struggles of a young mother with multiple sclerosis, you could follow up with “This is just one story in the 400,000 people who suffer from MS in the United States today, according to National MS Society.”
• If you do your own survey or research and use numerical data from it, explain your methodology. “In order to understand the attitudes of freshmen at our college about the subject of open source textbooks, I polled 150 first-year students, only three of whom were close friends, asking them this question: ‘Do you agree that our college should encourage the faculty to use open source textbooks?’ Seventy-five percent of them indicated that they agreed with the statement.”
• It goes without saying that you will use the statistic ethically, that there will be no distortion of what the statistic means. However, it is acceptable and a good idea to round up numerical data to avoid overwhelming the audience. Earlier we used the example of the U.S. census, stating the population in 2010 was 308.7 million. That is a rounded figure. The actual number was 308,745,538, but saying “almost 309 million” or “308.7 million” will serve your purposes and not be unethical.
• Additionally, do not make statistics mean what they do not mean. Otherwise, you would be pushing the boundaries on ethics. In the example about your survey of students, if you were to say, “75% of college freshmen support ” That is not what the research said.
• An effective technique with numerical data is to use physical comparisons. “The National Debt is 17 trillion dollars. What does that mean? It means that every American citizen owes $55,100.” “It means that if the money were stacked as hundred dollar bills, it would go to……………… ” Or another example, “There are 29 million Americans with diabetes. That is 9.3%. In terms closer to home, of the 32 people in this classroom, 3 of us would have diabetes.” Of course, in this last example, the class may not be made up of those in risk groups for diabetes, so you would not want to say, “Three of us have diabetes.” It is only a comparison for the audience to grasp the significance of the topic.
• Finally, because statistics can be confusing, slow down when you say them, give more emphasis, gesture—small ways of helping the audience grasp them.

Testimony is the words of others. You might think of them as quoted material. Obviously, all quoted material or testimony is not the same. Some quotations you just use because they are funny, compelling, or attention-getting. They work well as openings to introductions. Other types of testimony are more useful for proving your arguments. Testimony can also give an audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of others. Testimony is basically divided into two categories: expert and peer.

Expert Testimony

What is an expert? Here is a quotation of the humorous kind: An expert is “one who knows more and more about less and less” (Nicholas Butler). Actually, an expert for our purposes is someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject. Experts spend time studying the facts and putting the facts together. They may not be scholars who publish original research but they have in-depth knowledge. They may have certain levels of education, or they have real-world experience in the topic.

For example, one of the authors is attending a quilt show this week to talk to experts in quilting. This expertise was gained through years of making, preserving, reading about, and showing quilts, even if they never took Quilting 101 in college. To quote an expert on expertise, “To be an expert, someone needs to have considerable knowledge on a topic or considerable skill in accomplishing something” (Weinstein, 1993). In using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in his or her relevant field, not outside of it. A person may have a Nobel Prize in economics, but that does not make him or her an expert in biology.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• Choose experts to quote whom your audience will respect and/or whose name or affiliations they will recognize as credible.
• Make it clear that you are quoting the expert testimony verbatim or paraphrasing it. If verbatim, say “Quote . . . end of quote” (not unquote—you cannot unquote someone).
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech also. “When I spoke with Dr. Mary Thompson, principal of Park Lake High School, on October 12, she informed me that . . .”

Expert testimony is one of your strongest supporting materials to prove your arguments, but in a sense, by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are arguing that your source is truly an expert (if the audience is unfamiliar with him or her) in order to validate his or her information.

Peer Testimony

Any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic would be peer testimony . It is useful in helping the audience understand a topic from a personal point of view. For example, in the spring of 2011, a devastating tornado came through the town where one of the authors and many of their students live. One of those students gave a dramatic personal experience speech in class about surviving the tornado in a building that was destroyed and literally disappeared. They survived because she and her coworkers at their chain restaurant were able to get to safety in the freezer. While she may not have had an advanced degree in a field related to tornadoes or the destruction they can cause, this student certainly had a good deal of knowledge on the subject based on her experience of surviving a tornado. However, do not present any old testimony of a peer or friend as if it were expert or credentialed.

a story of something that could happen but has not happened yet

to set limits on what a word or term means, how the audience should think about it, and/or how you will use it

a definition with clearly defined parameters for how the word or term is being used in the context of a speech

issues related to the movement of the body or physical activity

feelings or issues related to the inner workings of the body

the collection, analysis, comparison, and interpretation of numerical data, understanding its comparison with other numerical data

the mathematical average for a given set of numbers

the middle number in a given set of numbers

the number that is the most frequently occurring within a given set of numbers

the words of others used as proof or evidence

someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject

any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic

Exploring Public Speaking Copyright © by Edited by Nicolet College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Chapter 8: Supporting Your Speech Ideas

8.1 – why supporting materials are needed.

Preparing to give a presentation is not a totally linear process. Even as you practice, you will make small changes to your basic outline, since the way something looks on paper and the way it sounds are usually different. For example, long sentences may look intelligent on paper, but they are hard to say in one breath and hard for the audience to understand.

Using your supporting materials effectively is essential because audiences crave detail and specifics. Supporting material make your ideas, arguments, assertions, points, or concepts real and concrete. Sometimes supporting materials are thought of as supports for a bridge. Without these supports, while you might be able to see the beginning and the end, the whole structure would quickly collapse.

Of course, as we will see in this chapter, all supporting materials are not considered equal. In general, there are two basic ways to think about the role of supporting materials:

• they clarify, explain, or provide specifics (and, therefore, understanding) for the audience, or
• they provide evidence and, therefore, persuade the audience.

Of course, some can do both.

You might ask, how much supporting material is enough? The time you are allowed or required to speak will largely determine that, but students often struggle with having enough supporting materials. Make sure your supporting materials answer the “who, what, when, where, why, and how,” questions and add more description and evidence.

With all the sources available to you through reliable Internet and published sources, finding information is not difficult. Recognizing the difference between supporting information and the general idea you are trying to support or argue is more difficult, as is providing adequate citation.

Along with clarifying and arguing, supporting materials, especially narrative ones, also make your speech much more interesting and attention-getting. Ultimately, you will be perceived as a more credible speaker if you provide clarifying, logical, evidence-based, and interesting supporting material.

8.2 – Types of Supporting Materials

Essentially, there are seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific facts, statistics, and testimony. Each provides a different type of support and you will want to choose the supporting materials that best help you make the point you want to get across to your audience.

This type of supporting material is the first and easiest to use but also easy to forget. Examples are almost always short but concrete specific instances to illuminate a concept. They are designed to give audiences a reference point.

The key to effectively using examples in your speeches is this: what is an example to you may not be an example to your audience, if they have a different experience. Television shows from 30 years ago are pretty meaningless to young audiences today. Time and age are not the only reasons an example may not work with the audience. If you are a huge soccer fan speaking to a group who barely knows soccer, using a well-known soccer player as an example of perseverance or overcoming discrimination in the sports world may not communicate. It may only leave the audience members scratching their heads.

Additionally, one good, appropriate example is worth several less apt ones.

Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in speeches to interest the audience and clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas. They have, if done well, strong emotional power. They can be used in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the speech. They can be short, as anecdotes usually are. They could be longer, although they should not comprise large portions of the speech.

Narratives can be personal, literary, historical, or hypothetical. Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where you want to achieve these outcomes:

• Relate to the audience on a human level, especially if they may see you as competent, but not really similar or connected to them.
• Build your credibility by mentioning your experience with a topic.

Of course, personal narratives must be true. They must also not portray you as more competent, experienced, brave, or intelligent than you are; in other words, along with being truthful in using personal narratives, you should be reasonably humble.

Historical narratives (sometimes called documented narratives) have power. In using these, you should treat them as fact and, therefore, give a citation as to where you found the historical narrative. By “historical,” we do not mean the story refers to something that happened many years ago, only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening.

Hypothetical narratives are ones that could happen but have not yet. To be effective, they should be connected to reality so that audiences can connect to the narrative.

Definitions

When we use the term “definition” here as a supporting material, we are not talking about something you can easily find from the dictionary or from the first result that comes up on Google.

First, using a dictionary definition does not really show your audience that you have researched a topic (anyone can look up a definition in a few seconds). Secondly, does the audience need a definition of a word like “love,” “bravery,” or “commitment?”

To define means to set limits on something; defining a word is setting limits on what it means, how the audience should think about the word, and/or how you will use it. We know there are denotative and connotative definitions or meanings for words, which we usually think of as objective and subjective responses to words. You only need to define words that would be unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to use in a specialized way.

You may want to use a stipulated definition early in your speech. In this case, you clearly tell the audience how you are going to use a word or phrase in your speech.

“When I use the phrase ‘liberal democracy’ in this speech, I am using it in the historical sense of a constitution, representative government, and elected officials, not in the sense of any particular issues that are being debated today between progressives and conservatives or in reference to a particular political party.”

This is a helpful technique and makes sure your audience understands you, but you would only want to do this for terms that have confusing or controversial meanings for some.

You can also define terms in contrast to each other or in connection to each other. Terms can be defined operationally, that is, how they apply in the real world or what they look like when put to action.

Descriptions

The key to description is to think in terms of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and feel.

Description as a method of support also depends on details, or answering the five questions of what, where, how, who, when. To use description, you must dig deeper into your vocabulary and think concretely. This example shows that progression:

Furniture A chair A recliner A La-Z-Boy® rocker-recliner An old green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner An old lime green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner with a cigarette burn on the left arm

As you add more description, there are two benefits. The “camera focus” becomes clearer, but you also add tone, or attitude. A recliner is one generic, but who buys a lime green velvet recliner? And someone sat in it smoked and was sloppy about it. In this case, the last line is probably too much description unless you want to paint a picture of a careless person with odd taste in furniture.

Historic and Scientific Facts

This type of supporting material is useful for clarification, but is especially useful for arguing a point. American President John Adams is quoted as saying, “Facts are stubborn things,” but that does not mean everyone accepts every fact as a fact or that everyone is capable of distinguishing a fact from an opinion. A fact is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “The place most people in the world tend to think their opinions reside.” This is a humourous definition, but often true about how we approach facts. The meaning of “fact” is complicated by the context in which it is being used. The National Center for Science Education (2008) defines fact this way:

In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as “true.” Truth in science, however, is never final and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow.

Another source explains fact this way:

[Fact is] a truth known by actual experience or observation. The hardness of iron, the number of ribs in a squirrel’s body…and the like are all facts. Is it a fact that electrons orbit around atomic nuclei? Is it a fact that Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar? Is it a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow? None of us has observed any of these things—the first is an inference from a variety of different observations, the second is reported by Plutarch and other historians who lived close enough in time and space to the event that we trust their report, and the third is an inductive inference after repeated observations. (“Scientific Thought,” n.d.)

Without getting into a philosophical dissertation on the meaning of truth, for our purposes facts are pieces of information with established “backup.” You can cite who discovered the fact and how other authorities have supported it. In using scientific and historical fact in your speech, do not take citation for granted. If it is a fact worth saying and a fact new to the audience, assume you should cite the source of the fact.

Statistics are widely used in public speaking, but they are often misunderstood by the speaker and the audience. Statistics include numerical information, descriptive statistics (such as ratios and percentages), and the more in-depth process of analyzing, comparing, and interpreting numerical data. Another category of statistics is inferential statistics, which are analyses that are used to generalize sample results to populations. So, for example, political polling results reporting margins of error that give us an idea of voters’ preferences as a whole are based on inferential statistical analysis.

Statistics are also misunderstood because the science of statistics is difficult. Even terms such as mean , median , and mode often confuse people, much less regression analysis, two-tailed T-tests, and margin of error. Before you can use statistics in a speech, you should have a basic understanding of them.

Mean is the same as mathematical average, something you learned to do early in math classes.

The median , however, is the middle number in a distribution. If all salaries of players in Major League Baseball were listed from highest to lowest, the one in the exact middle of the list would be the median. You can tell from this that it probably will not be the same as the average, and it rarely is; however, the terms “median” and “mean” are often interchanged carelessly. Mode is the name for the most frequently occurring number in the list.

There are many other terms you would be introduced to in a statistics class, but the point remains: be careful of using a statistic that sounds impressive unless you know what it represents. There is an old saying about “figures don’t lie but liars figure” and another: “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.” These sayings are exaggerations, but they point out that we are inundated with statistical information and often do not know how to process it.

In using statistics, you are probably going to use them as evidence, more than as explanation. Here are some tips:

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point.
• Always provide the source of the statistic.
• Only depend on the reliable statistics.
• Do not overuse statistics.
• Use graphs/charts/tables to display the most important statistics.
• Explain your statistics as needed, but do not make your speech a statistics lesson.
• If you do your own survey or research and use numerical data from it, explain your method for producing the statistics.
• It goes without saying that you will use the statistic ethically, that there will be no distortion of what the statistic means. However, it is acceptable and a good idea to round numerical data to avoid overwhelming the audience (such as “over four million,” instead of “4,121, 098”).
• Additionally, do not make statistics mean what they do not mean. Otherwise, you would be pushing the boundaries on ethics.
• An effective technique with numerical data is to use physical comparisons. For example,  “The national debt is 1.6 trillion dollars. That means means that every Canadian owes over $40,000.”
• Finally, because statistics can be confusing, slow down when you say them, give more emphasis, and find small ways of helping the audience grasp them.

Testimony is the words of others. You might think of them as quoted material. Obviously, all quoted material or testimony is not the same. Some quotations you just use because they are funny, compelling, or attention-getting. They work well as openings to introductions. Other types of testimony are more useful for furthering your arguments. Testimony can also give an audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of others. Testimony is basically divided into two categories: expert and peer.

Expert Testimony

What is an expert? Here is a quotation of the humourous kind: an expert is “one who knows more and more about less and less” (Nicholas Butler). Actually, an expert for our purposes is someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject. When  using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in their relevant field, not outside of it.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• Choose experts to quote whom your audience will respect and/or whose name or affiliations they will recognize as credible.
• Make clear that you are quoting the expert testimony verbatim or paraphrasing it. If verbatim, add words such as, “…and I quote…” to make clear this is a direct quote.
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech.

Expert testimony is one of your strongest supporting materials to advance your arguments, but in a sense, by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are arguing that your source is truly an expert to validate their information.

Peer Testimony

Any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic would be peer testimony . It is useful in helping the audience understand a topic from a personal point of view. As evidence goes, however, this is among the weakest.

8.3 – Attention Factors and Supporting Material

Attention and perception are closely tied concepts, but they are not exactly the same. If you have taken an introduction to psychology course, one of the earliest chapters in the textbook was probably about perception, since our perceptual processes are so foundational to how we think and process.

Perception deals primarily with how we organize and interpret the patterns of stimuli around us. The key words in this definition are patterns, organize, and interpret. The brain does the work of taking thousands of stimuli around us and making sense of them. Sensation is taking in the stimuli in the physical realm; perception is doing something with it psychologically. Perception is obviously influenced by memory, experiences, past learning, and so on. If you taste a desert, the scent and taste are physically going to your brain and, thus, you are sensing it. But, if you say, “This tastes like my mother’s recipe for this desert,” then you are perceiving.

Attention, on the other hand, is focused perception. Attention is defined as focus on one stimulus while ignoring or suppressing reactions to other stimuli. It has been referred to as the “allocation of limited processing resources” (Anderson, 2005, p. 519). Although we think we can multitask and pay attention to three stimuli at a time, we cannot.

When you pay attention, you focus and other stimuli become muted or nonexistent in your mind for that amount of time. We have all had experiences when we so focused on a stimulus—it could be a concert, a movie, a roller coaster ride—that we almost “wake up” to the rest of the world when it is over.

Why Do We Pay Attention?

Perception is not something we have a good deal of control over, but we do have more say in attention. There are basically five reasons we pay attention to what we do when confronted with lots of competing stimuli.

• Choice: we choose to focus on one stimuli over another.
• Expectations: if you anticipate a particular stimulus, you will pay attention until you notice it.
• Need states: when we are in a need state, we will be focused on those items that meet the need. Information meets a personal need will draw more attention (such as an advertisement about food when you’re hungry).
• Past training and experiences: you will notice what you have been taught or trained, either directly or indirectly, to focus on. Sometimes you will not even be aware that you are doing so. For example, if you played a particular sport, you will notice if actors in a movie are realistically enacting the minutiae of playing that sport.
• Attention factors: there are certain qualities or characteristics of stimuli that naturally attract our attention. These have been termed the “factors of attention.” If a public speaker puts these traits into the speech and presentation aids, the audience’s ability to pay attention will be bolstered. These characteristics, listed below, are generally ways to “perk up” your audience’s ears and gain their attention, at least temporarily. Our attention can wane rather quickly and a speaker must work to keep the audience engaged. Incorporating attention factors can help.

Attention Factors

The list of factors that can help you get or maintain attention during your speech is rather long and a speaker cannot, of course, use all of them in one speech, but they are useful tools in certain speech situations.

The first factor in getting or maintaining attention is movement . A moving object will gain more attention than a stationary one. You can use stories that have movement in plot. You can use physical movement in your delivery. Transitions give a sense of movement to a speech, as well as not dwelling on one idea too long.

The second factor of attention is conflict . Showing ideas, groups, teams, and so on that are in conflict draws attention. Stories also utilize conflict.

The third factor of attention is novelty . Your ideas and the way you approach them should be fresh and new to the audience.

The fourth factor of attention is humour . Humour is usually not the focus of your speech, especially in a class situation, but well-placed and intentional humour can be helpful to maintain attention of your audience. It should be appropriate to the topic and well-practiced.

The fifth factor of attention is familiarity . As mentioned already, supporting materials should be immediately accessible and draw from your audience’s experience so they can understand quickly in an oral communication setting. Familiarity is attractive because it is comfortable. Familiarity may seem in conflict with novelty and, in a sense, they show both sides of how our minds work.

The sixth factor is contrast . This one is particularly useful to a speaker in creating visual aids so that key words stand out, for example, on presentation slides. Contrast also applies to the variety in your voice (avoiding what we would call monotone or monorate).

The seventh factor of attention is repetition . We have already seen how key repetitions at points in the speech can remind the audience of your structure and main ideas.

Suspense is the eighth factor of attention. Although not as useful in public speaking as some of the factors, suspense can be useful in an introduction. You can use a series of questions asking the audience to guess your topic; however, this is a risky approach if you disappoint your audience when the “real” topic is not what they are guessing. You can also tell a story in the introduction and say you will give the outcome of the story at the end of the speech or pose a question and promise that by the end of the speech they will know the answer. However, always be sure to deliver on the promise!

The ninth factor is proximity , which refers to physical closeness. While not applicable to supporting materials, proximity does relate to public speaking delivery. The more physical distance between the audience members and the speaker and the audience, the less the audience to remain attentive. If you know that only 20 people are going to attend a presentation, have it in a 20-seat room, not an auditorium that seats 100. The audience members will spread out and feel detached from each other, and you will not feel to close to them.

The tenth factor of attention is need-oriented subjects. We pay attention to what meets our needs. For example, when you are hungry, you probably notice fast food advertisements more on television.

The eleventh factor is intensity , which is also useful in the delivery aspect of public speaking. Raising your voice at key times and slowing down are useful for attention.

The last attention factor is concreteness , which in a sense describes all of them. All of the factors and types of supporting materials are tied to real or concrete experience. The more a speaker can attach the speech to real experience, either their own or, preferably, the audience’s, the more effective they will be.

A speech without supporting materials is unlikely to be effective. Think of it like cooking a flavourful cuisine; there will be a mixture of spices and tastes, not just one. Statistics, narratives and examples, testimony, definitions, descriptions, and facts all clarify your concepts for the audience. Statistics, testimony, facts, and historical examples also support logical arguments. In the process of composing your speech, be sure to provide sources and use varied and interesting language to express the support your speech ideas require and deserve.

Attributions

This chapter was adapted from Exploring Public Speaking , 4th Edition by Barbara Tucker and Matthew LeHew, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Public Speaking for Today's Audiences Copyright © 2023 by Sam Schechter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Chapter 4: Developing and Supporting Your Ideas

Types of Supporting Materials

The types of supporting materials that you will use for your presentation depend partly on the topic you’ve chosen and the audience that you will address. We have already discussed how important it is to try to reach as many listeners in your audience as you possibly can.  Choosing several types of supports is one way to ensure that your speech is well rounded and will appeal to many different listeners.  Let’s use the topic of buying a hybrid vehicle as an example. Some members of your audience will want to hear facts and statistics as they listen to your presentation. They may be mostly interested in hearing about rebates and gas mileage. Or perhaps they’ll want more information on how the vehicle actually functions or how the components within a hybrid, such as engine and motor, differ from a standard vehicle. But some audience members will also want to hear personal examples and anecdotes, as they find the human connection in the presentation more interesting and relatable. They want to know what personal reasons car buyers have for switching to hybrid vehicles. Do some individuals switch to hybrids due to environmental and ecological concerns? By providing both of these types of supporting material within one presentation, the speaker is able to reach more listeners within the group. Here are some of the basic types of supports that you may want to include in a speech.

An  example  is an item of information that is typical of a class or group and acts to represent the larger group. You use examples as a means to explain yourself every day. When you tell a friend that you are overwhelmed and then mention a particularly time-consuming assignment that must be completed in two days, you’ve given your friend an example -one specific item from a list of many items that are causing you stress at that moment. You will often find that providing an example is equally helpful in a presentation.

If you tell your audience that you researched and found thousands of individuals who reported near-death experiences, I can assure you that your audience has no desire to hear all of these reports. But if you choose one or two incidents from this research to use as examples, it will provide them with specifics that help them better understand the phenomenon from an individual point of view. Examples, then, are used by the speaker to clarify information and to provide a narrower focus from the research.

Hypothetical Examples

A speaker might also choose to use a hypothetical example during a presentation.  A  hypothetical example  allows the speaker to use an example that describes an imaginary item, event, or incident, rather than an actual one.  Hypothetical examples could be used to describe a situation in which most listeners would never find themselves. For example, if you asked your audience to imagine that they have survived a plane crash and find themselves the sole survivor on a deserted island, your audience can picture this situation even though they probably have never found themselves in this predicament. Hypothetical examples can also be used to expand your audience’s imagination. You could choose to open a presentation with a humorous example of the possible responses a human might have when first encountering a being from another planet. No one that I know of has actually found themselves in this particular situation; your example is simply a “what if ” scenario designed to make your point and to arouse interest. As you can see, examples, both actual and hypothetical, are effective in making your ideas and points clear to your audience. By giving your audience a detailed example, you help them to hone in on the smaller, more specific event or situation. This can be helpful in focusing your audience and keeping their interest.

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Chapter Eight – Supporting Materials

The body of your speech should help you elaborate on your main objective, by using main points, subpoints, and support for your sub points. There are three types of supporting material:  statistics, examples, and testimony. These are used to support the main points and subpoints of your speech.

Credibility makes our messages believable, and a believable message is more likely to be remembered than one that is not. But gaining  credibility  is not so easy. As Chip and Dan Heath note in  Made to Stick: If we’re trying to persuade a skeptical audience to believe a new message, the reality is that we’re fighting an uphill battle against a lifetime of personal learning and social relationships.

So how can we add credibility to our words? One way is to rely on statistics.

Using & Understanding Statistics

Statistics are a systematic collection, analysis, comparison, and interpretation of numerical data of data. As evidence, they are useful in summarizing complex information, quantifying, or making comparisons. Statistics are powerful pieces of evidence because numbers appear straightforward. Numbers provide evidence that quantifies, and statistics can be helpful to clarify a concept or highlighting the depth of a problem.

Statistics can be a powerful persuasive tool in public speaking if the speaker appropriately explains their use and significance. It provides a quantitative, objective, and persuasive platform on which to base an argument, prove a claim, or support an idea. Before a set of statistics can be used, however, it must be made understandable by people who are not familiar with statistics. The key to the persuasive use of statistics is extracting  meaning  and patterns from raw data in a way that is logical and demonstrable to an audience. There are many ways to interpret statistics and data sets, not all of them valid.

We often know a statistic when we find one, but it can be tricky to understand how a statistic was derived.

You may have heard the terms mean, median, and mode during math class. The mean  is the arithmetic average for a data set, which is equal to the sum of the numerical values divided by the number of values. You can determine the mean (or average) by adding up the figures and dividing by the number of figures present. If you’re giving a speech on climate change, you might note that, in 2015, the average summer temperature was 97 degrees while, in 1985, it was just 92 degrees. The mode is the value that appears the most often in a data set. The median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. For example, your professors may use these values when discussing exam results with the entire class, to determine how “well” the class performed overall.Averages and percentages are two common deployments of statistical evidence.

When using statistics, comparisons can help translate the statistic for an audience. In the example above, 97 degrees may seem hot, but the audience has nothing to compare that statistic to. The 30-year comparison assists in demonstrating a change in temperature.

A  percentage  expresses a proportion of out 100. For example, you might argue that “textbook costs have risen more than 1000% since 1977” (Popken, 2015). By using a statistical percentage, 1000% sounds pretty substantial. It may be important, however, to accompany your percentage with a comparison to assist the audience in understanding that “This is 3 times higher than the normal rate of inflation” (UTA Libraries). You might also clarify that “college textbooks have risen more than any other college-related cost” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016).

You are responsible for the statistical information that you deploy. It’s all too common for us as information consumers to grab a quick statistic that sounds appealing, but that information may not be reliable.

Guidelines for Helping Your Audience Understand Statistics

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point. The audience may cringe or tune you out for saying, “Now I’d like to give you some statistics about the problem of gangs in our part of the state.” That sounds as exciting as reading the telephone book! Use the statistics to support an argument.
• Do not overuse statistics. While there is no hard and fast rule on how many to use, there are other good supporting materials, and you would not want to depend on statistics alone. You want to choose the statistics and numerical data that will strengthen your argument the most and drive your point home. Statistics can have emotional power as well as probative value if used sparingly.
• Use reputable sources for the statistics you present in your speech such as government websites, academic institutions and reputable research organizations and policy/research think tanks.
• Beware of unrepresentative samples. In an unrepresentative sample, a conclusion is based on surveys of people who do not represent, or resemble, the ones to whom the conclusion is being applied.
• Use a large enough sample size in your statistics to make sure that the statistics you are using are accurate (for example, if a survey only asked four people, then it is likely not representative of the population’s viewpoint).
• Use statistics that are easily understood. Many people understand what an average is but not many people will know more complex ideas such as variation and standard deviation.
• When presenting graphs, make sure that the key points are highlighted, and the graphs are not misleading as far as the values presented.
• Explain your statistics as needed, but do not make your speech a statistics lesson. If you say, “My blog has 500 subscribers” to a group of people who know little about blogs, that might sound impressive, but is it? You can also provide a story of an individual, and then tie the individual into the statistic. After telling a story of the daily struggles of a young mother with multiple sclerosis, you could follow up with “This is just one story in the 400,000 people who suffer from MS in the United States today, according to National MS Society.”

Common Misunderstandings of Statistics

A common misunderstanding when using statistics is “correlation does not mean causation.” This means that just because two variables are related, they do not necessarily mean that one variable causes the other variable to occur. For example, consider a data set that indicates that there is a relationship between ice cream purchases over seasons versus drowning deaths over seasons. The incorrect  conclusion  would be to say that the increase in ice cream consumption leads to more drowning deaths, or vice versa. Therefore, when using statistics in public speaking, a speaker should always be sure that they are presenting accurate information when discussing two variables that may be related. Statistics can be used persuasively in all manners of arguments and public speaking scenarios—the key is  understanding  and interpreting the given data and molding that interpretation towards a convincing statement.

Putting Statistics into Context for Our Audiences

Graphs, tables, and maps can be used to communicate the numbers, but then the numbers need to be put into context to make the message stick. As the Heaths state:

Statistics are rarely meaningful in and of themselves. Statistics will, and should, almost always be used to illustrate a relationship. It’s more important for people to remember the relationship than the number.

In their book, the Heaths give several good examples of others who have done this. For example, they introduce us to Geoff Ainscow, one of the leaders of the Beyond War movement in the 1980s.

Ainscow gave talks trying to raise  awareness  of the dangers of nuclear weapons. He wanted to show that the US and the USSR possessed weapons capable of destroying the earth several times over. But simply quoting figures of nuclear weapons stockpiles was not a way to make the message stick. So, after setting the scene, Ainscow would take a BB pellet and drop it into a steel bucket where it would make a loud noise. The pellet represented the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Ainscow would then describe the devastation at Hiroshima. Next, he would take 10 pellets and drop them in the bucket where they made 10 times as much noise. They represented the nuclear firepower on a single nuclear submarine. Finally, he poured 5,000 pellets into the bucket, one for each nuclear warhead in the world. When the noise finally subsided, his audience sat in dead silence.

That is how you put statistics into context.

Using Tables, Graphs and Maps to Communicate Statistical Findings

The story of communicating your statistics does not end with putting them into context. Actually, it would be better to say that it does not begin with putting the numbers into context. In reality, the story you are telling through your  evidence  will probably start with the display of a table, graph, or map.

A simple table, graph, or map can explain a great deal, and so this type of direct evidence should be used where appropriate. However, if a particular part of your analysis represented by a table, graph, or map does not add to or support your argument, it should be left out.

While representing statistical information in tables, graphs, or maps can be highly effective, it is important to ensure that the information is not presented in a manner that can mislead the listener. The key to presenting effective tables, graphs, or maps is to ensure they are easy to understand and clearly linked to the message. Ensure that you provide all the necessary information required to understand what the data is showing. The table, graph, or map should be able to stand alone.

Tables, graphs, and maps should:

• relate directly to the argument;
• support statements made in the text;
• summarize  relevant  sections of the data analysis; and
• be clearly labelled.

Table Checklist

• Use a descriptive title for each table.
• Label every column.
• Provide a source if appropriate.
• Minimize memory load by removing unnecessary data and minimizing decimal places.
• Use clustering and patterns to highlight important relationships.
• Use white space to effect.
• Order data meaningfully (e.g., rank highest to lowest).
• Use a consistent  format  for each table.

Also, do not present too much data in tables. Large expanses of figures can be daunting for an audience, and can obscure your message.

Graph Checklist

• Title : Use a clear, descriptive title.
• Type of graph : Choose the appropriate graph for your message, avoid using 3D graphs as they can obscure information.
• Axes : Decide which variable goes on which axis, and what scale is most appropriate.
• Legend : If there is more than one data series displayed, always include a legend, preferably within the area of the graph.
• Labels : All relevant labels should be included.
• Color/shading : Colors can help differentiate; however, know what is appropriate for the medium you’re using.
• Data source : Provide the source of data you’ve used for the graph.
• Three-Quarters Rules : For readability, it’s considered best practice to make the y -axis three-quarters the size of the  x -axis

Examples help the audience understand the key points; they should be to the point and complement the topic. Examples are essential to a presentation that is backed up with evidence, and it helps the audience effectively understand the message being presented. An example is a specific situation, problem, or story designed to help illustrate a principle, method or phenomenon. Examples are useful because they can help make an abstract  idea more concrete for an audience by providing a specific case. Examples are most effective when they are used as a complement to a key point in the presentation and focus on the important topics of the presentation. An example must be quickly understandable—something the audience can pull out of their memory or experience quickly. There are three main types of examples: brief, extended, and hypothetical.

Brief Examples

Brief examples are used to further illustrate a point that may not be immediately obvious to all audience members but is not so complex that is requires a lengthier example. Brief examples can be used by the presenter as an aside or on its own. A presenter may use a brief example in a presentation on politics in explaining the Electoral College. Since many people are familiar with how the Electoral College works, the presenter may just mention that the Electoral College is based on population and a brief example of how it is used to determine an election. In this situation it would not be necessary for a presented to go into a lengthy explanation of the  process  of the Electoral College since many people are familiar with the process.

Extended Examples

Extended examples are used when a presenter is discussing a more complicated topic that they think their audience may be unfamiliar with. In an extended example a speaker may want to use a chart, graph, or other visual aid to help the audience understand the example. An instance in which an extended example could be used includes a presentation in which a speaker is explaining how the “time value of money” principle works in finance. Since this is a  concept  that people unfamiliar with finance may not immediately understand, a speaker will want to use an equation and other visual aids to further help the audience understand this principle. An extended example will likely take more time to explain than a brief example and will be about a more complex topic.

Hypothetical Examples

A hypothetical example is a fictional example that can be used when a speaker is explaining a complicated topic that makes the most sense when it is put into more realistic or relatable terms. For instance, if a presenter is discussing statistical probability, instead of explaining probability in terms of equations, it may make more sense for the presenter to make up a hypothetical example. This could be a story about a girl, Annie, picking 10 pieces of candy from a bag of 50 pieces of candy in which half are blue and half are red and then determining Annie’s probability of pulling out 10 total pieces of red candy. A hypothetical example helps the audience to better visualize a topic and relate to the point of the presentation more effectively.

Using Examples to Complement Key Points

One method of effectively communicating examples is by using an example to clarify and complement a main point of a presentation. If an orator is holding a seminar about how to encourage productivity in the workplace, an example may be used that focuses on how an employee received an incentive to work harder, such as a bonus, and this improved the employee’s productivity. An example like this would act as a complement and help the audience better understand how to use incentives to improve performance in the workplace.

Using Examples that are Concise and to the Point

Examples are essential to help an audience better understand a topic. However, a speaker should be careful to not overuse examples as too many examples may confuse the audience and distract them from focusing on the key points that the speaker is making.

Examples should also be concise and not drawn out, so the speaker does not lose the audience’s attention. Concise examples should have a big impact on audience engagement and  understanding  in a small amount of time.

Narratives  are stories that clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas. They have, if done well, strong emotional power (or pathos). While there is no universal type of narrative, a good story often draws the audience in by identifying characters and resolving a plot issue. Narratives can be personal or historical.

Person narratives are powerful tools to relate to your audience and embed a story about your experience with the topic. As evidence, they allow you to say, “I experienced or saw this thing firsthand.” As the speaker, using your own experience as evidence can draw the audience in and help them understand why you’re invested in the topic. Of course, personal narratives must be true. Telling an untrue personal narrative may negatively influence your ethos for an audience.

Historical narratives  (sometimes called documented narratives) are stories about a past person, place, or thing. They have power because they can prove and clarify an idea by using a common form— the story. By “historical” we do not mean that the story refers to something that happened many years ago, only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening. Historical narratives are common in informative speeches.

Using Testimony

A testimony is a statement or endorsement given by someone who has a logical  connection  to the topic and who is a credible source.

Testimony can be used to either clarify or prove a point and is often used by referring to the research of experts. For example, you could quote a study conducted by an independent auditing organization that endorses your organization’s ability to financially support current workforce levels.

There are three types of testimonials that fall into the range of testimony; knowing your audience leads to the best choice.

• Expert authorities
• Celebrities and other inspirational figures

Expert Authorities

First, we can cite expert authorities. According to Chip and Dan Heath in their book Made to Stick , an expert is “the kind of person whose wall is covered with framed credentials: Oliver Sacks for neuroscience, Alan Greenspan for economics [well, maybe not such a great example any longer], or Stephen Hawking for physics.”

If an expert supports our position, it usually adds credibility. If we are giving a presentation on a medical issue and can find support for our position in prestigious medical reviews such as  The New England Journal of Medicine  or  The Lancet , it would probably be a good idea to cite those authorities.

How to Incorporate Expert Testimony

When a claim or point is made during a speech, the audience initially may be reluctant to concede or agree to the validity of the point. Often this is because the audience does not initially accept the speaker as a trustworthy authority. By incorporating expert testimony, the speaker is able to bolster their own authority to speak on the topic.

Therefore, expert testimony is commonly introduced after a claim is made. For example, if a speech makes the claim, “Manufacturing jobs have been in decline since the 1970s,” it should be followed up with expert testimony to support that claim. This testimony could take a variety of forms, such as government employment  statistics  or a historian who has written on a particular sector of the manufacturing industry. No matter the particular form of expert testimony, it is incorporated following a claim to defend and support that claim, thus bolstering the authority of the speaker.

In using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in their relevant field. A person may have a Nobel Prize in economics, but that does not make them an expert in biology.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech also. “When I spoke with Dr. Mary Thompson, principal of Park Lake High School, on October 12, she informed me that . . .”

Celebrities and Other Inspirational Figures

We may also refer to the testimony of celebrities and other inspirational figures. Take the example of Oprah Winfrey recommending a book. Her recommendations influence the book-buying habits of thousands of people. Why? Because “if Oprah likes a book, it makes us more interested in that book. We trust the recommendations of people whom we want to be like,” note the Heaths.

But what if there are no “experts” or “celebrities” to be found? Well, hold on a minute. They might be closer than you think. Do you have positive feedback from satisfied customers? Is there someone on your team (including you) with certain educational background or work experience that is relevant? If so, they (or you) might be able to provide the expertise that you seek, even if they are not widely known.

Lastly, peer testimony comes from a source that is neither expert nor celebrity, but similar status to the audience.

One example is Pam Laffin, a mother of two who died at the age of 31 from emphysema-related lung failure caused by years of smoking. She appeared in several anti-tobacco commercials sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The commercials were difficult to watch but highly effective; Pam Laffin told a compelling story in a way that more famous people could not.

What to Consider Before Using Testimony

Before using testimony, ask:

• Is the material quoted accurately?
• Is the source biased, or perceived as biased?
• Is the source competent in the field being consulted?
• Is the  information  current?

In the end, your choice as to which type of testimony you use will depend on your audience.

Smokers, for example, know all of the hazards of smoking and still continue to smoke. Give them a presentation on the dangers of smoking using expert testimony and you’ll probably be met with a response like, “Yeah, but it won’t happen to me.” Use a peer like Pam Laffin, however, and the response will be totally different.

Here is a young woman who probably also thought that it wouldn’t happen to her, speaking “from her grave.” Smokers can relate to her. She isn’t just a numerical figure. This type of testimony is quite effective when you’re trying to tell people the dangers of doing something.

So, get to know your audience, put yourself in their place, and choose the type or combination of  evidence  that will make your  message  stick.

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7.2: Types of Supporting Materials

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• Kris Barton & Barbara G. Tucker
• Florida State University & University of Georgia via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

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Essentially, there are seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific fact, statistics, and testimony. Each provides a different type of support, and you will want to choose the supporting materials that best help you make the point you want to get across to your audience.

This type of supporting material is the first and easiest to use but also easy to forget. Examples are almost always short but concrete specific instances to illuminate a concept. They are designed to give audiences a reference point. If you were describing a type of architecture, you would obviously show visual aids of it and give verbal descriptions of it, but you could say, “You pass an example of this type of architecture every time you go downtown—City Hall.” An example must be quickly understandable, something the audience can pull out of their memory or experience quickly.

The key to effectively using examples in your speeches is this: what is an example to you may not be an example to your audience, if they have a different experience. One of the authors has been teaching four decades and cannot use the same pop culture examples she used to use in class. Television shows from twenty years ago are pretty meaningless to audiences today. Time and age are not the only reasons an example may not work with the audience. If you are a huge soccer fan speaking to a group who barely knows soccer, using a well-known soccer player as an example of perseverance or overcoming discrimination in the sports world may not communicate. It may only leave the audience members scratching their heads.

Additionally, one good, appropriate example is worth several less apt ones. Keep in mind that in the distinction between supporting materials that prove, those that clarify, and those that do both, examples are used to clarify.

Earlier in this textbook the “power of story” was mentioned. Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in speeches to interest the audience and clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas. They have, if done well, strong emotional power. They can be used in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the speech. They can be short, as anecdotes usually are. Think of the stories you often see in Readers’ Digest, human interest stories on the local news, or what you might post on Facebook about a bad experience you had at the DMV. They could be longer, although they should not comprise large portions of the speech.

Narratives can be personal, literary, historical, or hypothetical. Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where you desire to:

• Relate to the audience on a human level, especially if they may see you as competent but not really similar or connected to them.
• Build your credibility by mentioning your experience with a topic.

Of course, personal narratives must be true. They must also not portray you as more competent, experienced, brave, intelligent, etc., than you are; in other words, along with being truthful in using personal narratives, you should be reasonably humble.

An example of a literary narrative might be one of Aesop’s fables, a short story by O’Henry, or an appropriate tale from another culture. Keep in mind that because of their power, stories tend to be remembered more than other parts of the speech. Do you want the story to overshadow your content? Scenes from films would be another example of a literary narrative, but as with examples, you must consider the audience’s frame of reference and if they will have seen the film.

Historical narratives (sometimes called documented narratives) have power because they can also prove an idea as well as clarify one. In using these, you should treat them as fact and therefore give a citation as to where you found the historical narrative. By “historical” we do not mean the story refers to something that happened many years ago, only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening.

If you were trying to argue for the end to the death penalty because it leads to unjust executions, one good example of a person who was executed and then found innocent afterward would be both emotional and probative. Here, be careful of using theatrical movies as your source of historical narrative. Hollywood likes to change history to make the story they want. For example, many people think Braveheart is historically accurate, but it is off on many key points—even the kilts, which were not worn by the Scots until the 1600s.

Hypothetical narratives are ones that could happen but have not yet. To be effective, they should be based on reality. Here are two examples:

Picture this incident: You are standing in line at the grocery checkout, reading the headlines on the Star and National Enquirer for a laugh, checking your phone. Then, the middle-aged man in front of you grabs his shoulder and falls to the ground, unconscious. What would you do in a situation like this? While it has probably never happened to you, people have medical emergencies in public many times a day. Would you know how to respond?

Imagine yourself in this situation. It is 3:00 in the morning. You are awakened from a pretty good sleep by a dog barking loudly in the neighborhood. You get up and see green lights coming into your house from the back yard. You go in the direction of the lights and unlock your back door and there, right beside your deck, is an alien spaceship. The door opens and visitors from another planet come out and invite you in, and for the next hour you tour their ship. You can somehow understand them because their communication abilities are far advanced from ours. Now, back to reality. If you were in a foreign country, you would not be able to understand a foreign language unless you had studied it. That is why you should learn a foreign language in college.

Obviously, the second is so “off-the-wall” that the audience would be wondering about the connection, although it definitely does attract attention. If using a hypothetical narrative, be sure that it is clear that the narrative is hypothetical, not factual. Because of their attention-getting nature, hypothetical narratives are often used in introductions.

Definitions

When we use the term “definition” here as a supporting material, we are not talking about something you can easily find from the dictionary or from the first thing that comes up on Google, such as shown in Figure 7.2.

First, using a dictionary definition does not really show your audience that you have researched a topic (anyone can look up a definition in a few seconds). Secondly, does the audience need a definition of a word like “love,” “bravery,” or “commitment?” They may consider it insulting for you to provide them definition of those words.

To define means to set limits on something; defining a word is setting limits on what it means, how the audience should think about the word, and/or how you will use it. We know there are denotative and connotative definitions or meanings for words, which we usually think of as objective and subjective responses to words. You only need to define words that would be unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to use in a specialized way.

For example, terms used in specialized fields, often called “jargon,” (see Chapter 10) need to be defined and explained. These words may be in medicine, law, the military, technology, or the arts. Some of these words may be in foreign languages, such as Latin (habeas corpus, quid pro quo). Some of them may be acronyms; CBE is a term being used currently higher education that means “Competency Based Education.” That is part of a definition, but not a full one—what is competency based education? To answer that question, you would do best to find an officially accepted definition and cite it.

You may want to use a stipulated definition early in your speech. In this case, you clearly tell the audience how you are going to use a word or phrase in your speech. “When I use the phrase ‘liberal democracy’ in this speech, I am using it in the historical sense of a constitution, representative government, and elected officials, not in the sense of any particular issues that are being debated today between progressives and conservatives.” This is a helpful technique and makes sure your audience understands you, but you would only want to do this for terms that have confusing or controversial meanings for some.

Although we tend to think of the dictionary definition as the standard, that is only one way of defining something. The dictionary tends to define with synonyms, or other words that are close in meaning. All of us have had the experience of looking up a word and finding a definition that uses another word we do not know! Synonyms are one way to define, but there are some others.

Classification and differentiation

This is a fancy way of saying “X is a type of Y, but it is different from the other Ys in that . . .” “A bicycle is type of vehicle that has two wheels, handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and is powered by the feet of the driver.” Obviously you know what a bicycle is and it does not need defining, so here are some better examples:

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a (type of) surgical procedure that (how different) involves the placement of an adjustable silicone belt around the upper portion of the stomach using a laparoscope. The band can be tightened by adding saline to fill the band like blowing air into a doughnut-shaped balloon. The band is connected to a port that is placed under the skin of the abdomen. This port is used to introduce or remove saline into the band.

Gestational diabetes is a (type of) diabetic condition (how different) that appears during pregnancy and usually goes away after the birth of the baby.

Social publishing platforms are a (type of) social medium where (how different) long and short-form written content can be shared with other users.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions give examples of an action or idea to define it. If we were to define “quid pro quo sexual harassment” operationally, we might use a hypothetical narrative of a female employee who is pressured by her supervisor to date him and told she must go out with him socially to get a promotion. Operational definitions do not have to be this dramatic, but they do draw a picture and answer the question, “What does this look like in real life?” rather than using synonyms to define.

Definition by Contrast or Comparison

You can define a term or concept by telling what it is similar to or different from. This method requires the audience to have an understanding of whatever you are using as the point of contrast or comparison. When alcoholism or drug addiction is defined as a disease, that is a comparison. Although not caused by a virus or bacteria, addiction disorder has other qualities that are disease-like.

When defining by contrast, you are pointing how a concept or term is distinct from another more familiar one. For example, “pop culture” is defined as different from “high culture” in that, traditionally, popular culture has been associated with people of lower socioeconomic status (i.e. less wealth or education). High culture, on the other hand, is associated with as the “official” culture of the more highly educated within the upper classes. Here, the definition of popular culture is clarified by highlighting the differences between it and high culture.

A similar form of definition by contrast is defining by negation, which is stipulating what something is not. This famous quotation from Nelson Mandela is an example: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Here, Mandela is helping us draw limits around a concept by saying what it is not.

Descriptions

The key to description is to think in terms of the five senses: sight (visual; how does the thing look in terms of color, size, shape), hearing (auditory; volume, musical qualities), taste (gustatory; sweet, bitter, salty, sour, gritty, smooth, chewy), smell (olfactory; sweet, rancid, fragrant, aromatic, musky), and feel (tactile; rough, silky, nubby, scratchy). The words kinesthetic (movement of the body) and organic (feelings related to the inner workings of the body) can be added to those senses to describe internal physical feeling, such as straining muscles or pain (kinesthetic) and nausea or the feelings of heightened emotions (organic) .

Description as a method of support also depends on details, or answering the five questions of what, where, how, who, when. To use description, you must dig deeper into your vocabulary and think concretely. This example shows that progression.

A La-Z-Boy® rocker-recliner

An old green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner An old lime green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner with a cigarette burn on the left arm

As you add more description, two things happen. The “camera focus” becomes clearer, but you also add tone, or attitude. A recliner is one thing, but who buys a lime green velvet recliner? And someone sat in it smoked and was sloppy about it. In this case, the last line is probably too much description unless you want to paint a picture of a careless person with odd taste in furniture.

Description is useful as supporting material in terms of describing processes. This topic was discussed in Chapter 6 in chronological patterns of organization. Describing processes requires detail and not taking for granted what the audience already knows. Some instructors use the “peanut butter sandwich” example to make this point: How would you describe making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who had never seena sandwich, peanut butter, or jelly? You would need to put yourself in their shoes to describe the process and not assume they know that the peanut butter and jelly go on the inside, facing surfaces of the bread, and that two pieces of bread are involved.

Historic and Scientific Fact

This type of supporting material is useful for clarification but is especially useful for proving a point. President John Adams is quoted as saying, “Facts are stubborn things,” but that does not mean everyone accepts every fact as a fact, or that everyone is capable of distinguishing a fact from an opinion. A fact is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “The place most people in the world tend to think their opinions reside.” This is a humorous definition, but often true about how we approach facts. The meaning of “fact” is complicated by the context in which it is being used. The National Center for Science Education (2008) defines fact this way:

In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as ‘true.’ Truth in science, however, is never final and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow.

Another source explains fact this way:

[Fact is] a truth known by actual experience or observation. The hardness of iron, the number of ribs in a squirrel’s body, the existence of fossil trilobites, and the like are all facts. Is it a fact that electrons orbit around atomic nuclei? Is it a fact that Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar? Is it a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow? None of us has observed any of these things - the first is an inference from a variety of different observations, the second is reported by Plutarch and other historians who lived close enough in time and space to the event that we trust their report, and the third is an inductive inference after repeated observations. (“Scientific Thought: Facts, Hypotheses, Theories, and all that stuff”)

Without getting into a philosophical dissertation on the meaning of truth, for our purposes facts are pieces of information with established “backup.” You can cite who discovered the fact and how other authorities have supported it. Some facts are so common that most people don’t know where they started—who actually discovered that the water molecule is two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen (H2O)? But we could find out if we wanted to (it was, by the way, the 18th century chemist Henry Cavendish). In using scientific and historical fact in your speech, do not take citation for granted. If it is a fact worth saying and a fact new to the audience, assume you should cite the source of the fact, getting as close to the original as possible.

Also, the difference between historical narrative (mentioned above) and historical fact has to do with length. An historical fact might just be a date, place, or action, such as “President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, in front of Washington, D.C. Hilton Hotel.” An historical narratives would go into much more detail and add dramatic elements, such as this assassination attempt from the point of view of Secret Service agents.

Statistics are misunderstood. First, the meaning of the term is misunderstood. Statistics are not just numbers or numerical facts. The essence of statistics is the collection, analysis, comparison, and interpretation of numerical data, understanding its comparison with other numerical data. For example, it is a numerical fact that the population of the U.S., according to the 2010 census, was 308,700,000. This is a 9.7% increase from the 2000 census; this comparison is a statistic. However, for the purpose of simplicity, we will deal with both numerical facts and real statistics in this section.

Statistics are also misunderstood because the science of statistics is difficult. Even terms like mean, median, and mode often confuse people, much less regression analysis, two-tailed T-tests, and margin of error. Before you can use statistics in a speech, you should have a basic understanding of them.

Mean is the same as mathematical average, something you learned to do early in math classes. Add up the figures and divide by the number of figures. Related to mean is the concept of standard deviation, which is the average amount each figure is different from (higher or lower) than the average or mean. Standard deviation is harder to figure (and usually done by computer!) but it does let you know if a group is more similar than alike. If the average on a test in a class is 76, but the standard deviation is 20, that tells you students tended to do really well (96) or really poorly (56) on it (we’re simplifying here, but you see the point).

The median , however, is the middle number in a distribution. If all salaries of ballplayers in MLB were listed from highest to lowest, the one in the exact middle of the list would be the median. You can tell from this that it probably will not be the same as the average, and it rarely is; however, the terms “median” and “mean” are often interchanged carelessly. Mode is the name for the most frequently occurring number in the list. As an example, Figure 7.3 is a list of grades from highest to lowest that students might make on a midterm in a class. The placement of mean, median, and mode are noted.

Percentages have to do with ratios. There are many other terms you would be introduced to in a statistics class, but the point remains: be careful of using a statistic that sounds impressive unless you know what it rep

resents. There is an old saying about “figures don’t lie but liars figure” and another, “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.” These sayings are exaggerations but they point out that we are inundated with statistical information and often do not know how to process it. Another thing to watch when using numerical facts is not to confuse your billions and your millions. There is a big difference. If you say that 43 billion people in the US are without adequate health care, you will probably confuse your audience, since the population of the planet is around 7 billion!

In using statistics, you are probably going to use them as proof more than as explanation. Statistics are considered a strong form of proof. Here are some guidelines for using them effectively in a presentation.

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point. The audience may cringe or tune you out for saying, “Now I’d like to give you some statistics about the problem of gangs in our part of the state.” That sounds as exciting as reading the telephone book! Use the statistics to support an argument. “Gang activity is increasing in our region. For example, it is increasing in the three major cities. Mainsville had 450 arrests for gang activity this year alone, up 20% from all of last year.” This example ties the numerical fact (450 arrests) and the statistical comparison (up 20%) to an argument. The goal is to weave or blend the statistics seamlessly into the speech, not have them stand alone as a section of the speech.
• Always provide the source of the statistic. In the previous example, it should read, “According to a report published on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website, Mainsville had 450 arrests . . .” There are a number of “urban myth” statistics floating around that probably have a basis in some research done at some point in time, but that research was outlived by the statistic. An audience would have reason to be skeptical if you cannot provide the name of the researcher or organization that backs up the statistics and numerical data. By the way, it is common for speakers and writers to say “According to research” or “According to studies.” This tag is essentially meaningless and actually a logical fallacy. Give a real source to support your argument.
• In regard to sources, depend on the reliable ones. Table 7.1, originally published in Wrench, Goding, Johnson, and Attias (2011), lists valid websites providing statistical information.
• Do not overuse statistics. While there is no hard and fast rule on how many to use, there are other good supporting materials and you would not want to depend on statistics alone. You want to choose the statistics and numerical data that will strengthen your argument the most and drive your point home. Statistics can have emotional power as well as probative value if used sparingly.
• Use graphs to display the most important statistics. If you are using presentation software such as PowerPoint, you can create your own basic pie, line, or bar graphs, or you can borrow one and put a correct citation on the slide. However, you do not need to make a graph for every single statistic. More information on these types of visual aids and what type of information they convey best can be found in Chapter 9.
• Explain your statistics as needed, but do not make your speech a statistics lesson. Explain the context of the statistics. If you say, “My blog has 500 subscribers” to a group of people who know little about blogs, that might sound impressive, but is it? You can also provide a story of an individual, and then tie the individual into the statistic. After telling a story of the daily struggles of a young mother with multiple sclerosis, you could follow up with “This is just one story in the 400,000 people who suffer from MS in the United States today, according to National MS Society.”
• If you do your own survey or research and use numerical data from it, explain your methodology. “In order to understand the attitudes of freshmen at our college about the subject of open source textbooks, I polled 150 first-year students, only three of whom were close friends, asking them this question: ‘Do you agree that our college should encourage the faculty to use open source textbooks?’ Seventy-five percent of them indicated that they agreed with the statement.”

Table 7.1 - Statistics-Oriented Website

Testimony is the words of others. You might think of them as quoted material. Obviously, all quoted material or testimony is not the same. Some quotations you just use because they are funny, compelling, or attention-getting. They work well as openings to introductions. Other types of testimony are more useful for proving your arguments. Testimony can also give an audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of others. Testimony is basically divided into two categories: expert and peer.

Expert Testimony

What is an expert? Here is a quotation of the humorous kind: An expert is “one who knows more and more about less and less” (Nicholas Butler). Actually, an expert for our purposes is someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject. Experts spend time studying the facts and putting the facts together. They may not be scholars who publish original research but they have in-depth knowledge. They may have certain levels of education, or they have real-world experience in the topic.

For example, one of the authors is attending a quilt show this week to talk to experts in quilting. This expertise was gained through years of making, preserving, reading about, and showing quilts, even if they never took Quilting 101 in college. To quote an expert on expertise, “To be an expert, someone needs to have considerable knowledge on a topic or considerable skill in accomplishing something” (Weinstein, 1993). In using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in his or her relevant field, not outside of it. A person may have a Nobel Prize in economics, but that does not make him or her an expert in biology.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• Choose experts to quote whom your audience will respect and/or whose name or affiliations they will recognize as credible.
• Make it clear that you are quoting the expert testimony verbatim or paraphrasing it. If verbatim, say “Quote . . . end of quote” (not unquote—you cannot unquote someone).
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech also. “When I spoke with Dr. Mary Thompson, principal of Park Lake High School, on October 12, she informed me that . . .”

Expert testimony is one of your strongest supporting materials to prove your arguments, but in a sense, by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are arguing that your source is truly an expert (if the audience is unfamiliar with him or her) in order to validate his or her information.

Peer Testimony

Any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic would be peer testimony . It is useful in helping the audience understand a topic from a personal point of view. For example, in the spring of 2011, a devastating tornado came through the town where one of the authors and many of their students live. One of those students gave a dramatic personal experience speech in class about surviving the tornado in a building that was destroyed and literally disappeared. They survived because she and her coworkers at their chain restaurant were able to get to safety in the freezer. While she may not have had an advanced degree in a field related to tornadoes or the destruction they can cause, this student certainly had a good deal of knowledge on the subject based on her experience of surviving a tornado. However, do not present any old testimony of a peer or friend as if it were expert or credentialed.

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices 5 essential preparation steps for a successful presentation

by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

• If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
• Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
• Make sure images are clear
• Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
• If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

• Lamar University

LIT - SPCH 1315 - Public Speaking

• Using Supporting Material in Your Speech
• Selecting and Narrowing Your Topic
• Determine Your Purpose
• Develop Your Central Idea
• Generate Main Ideas
• Gather Supporting Material
• Citing Sources
• Evaluating Sources

Supporting Materials

SUPPORT MATERIAL   

by Lee McGaan . last updated 3/3/2000

Use a Variety of Support Material

There are a variety of types of support material which can be used to illustrate or prove points you make. The following kinds of materials are commonly used to support assertions in speeches:

• example --  a concrete instance of the point you are making
• testimony --  direct quotation or paraphrase of a credible source used to prove or illustrate a point
• statistics/surveys --  quantitative information which proves or illustrates a point.
• definition --  providing a dictionary or personal meaning for an unfamiliar or technical word.  e.g., "A tariff is a tax placed on imported goods."
• narration --  A narration is a small story used in a speech or essay (usually appealing to the "mind's eye," told in chronological order) .
• analogy -  a comparison of the unfamiliar to the familiar.  
• description/explanation --  describing why your point is valid in your own words, usually in vivid concrete language
• Audio/Visual aids --  anything the audience can see or hear (other than your words) which helps you make a point.  

Good micro-structure REQUIRES that you have support for every point (assertion) you make . However, it is also valuable to use as many different types of support material as you can. A speech that is mostly statistics or only explanation is almost certainly going to be less interesting to the audience than a speech which includes stories, quotations, analogies, and examples as well as statistics or explanation. In fact,  overuse of explanation  is a very common weakness in speeches.

A variety of support types not only helps  keep listener interest , it also  builds your credibility . Research shows that speakers who use many kinds of support are judged to be more knowledgeable than those who don't and are regarded as better speakers. Beginning with your second speech we ask you to label the type of each item of support you use in your outline as a way of encouraging you to avoid having only a limited variety of support in your speech. Your instructor will discuss ways you can increase the variety of support in your messages; however, the most important factor in getting a wide variety of support is obtaining several different kinds of information sources on your topic. By all means avoid speeches based solely on "personal knowledge."

Use Support Material Effectively

Merely having a variety of good support material doesn't guarantee that the audience will understand or be convinced of your point. You must use support well.

STEP 1 . State the point (assertion) you wish to make/prove/illustrate. While this seems obvious sometimes speakers state a statistic or begin a story without indicating what THEIR point is, assuming the audience will draw the right conclusion. The problem is your audience may not see the point you think is obvious. Be clear. Make your point stand out as you deliver it so the audience will recognize it as important.

STEP 2.  Present support material (one or more items) which clarifies, illustrates, or proves (convinces) your assertion. Use the support to develop your idea taking enough time to let the point "soak in."

STEP 3.  Show how the support material clarifies or proves your assertion by a) summarizing the point, or b) explaining the link between support and assertion. At the very least you should remind listeners of your point after you present the support material to reinforce what you want them to remember. This may seem repetitious to you but it won't to your audience. They may not have gotten the assertion in step 1 and need a summary. Sometimes you may need to do more than summarize. The audience may not be able to see how your support proves your point (This is especially true when the support is statistical.). When that is possible you should be sure to explain the link as well as summarize.

An Example from a Student Speech

Step 1. Cardiovascular disease, the nation's leading cause of death, is caused by inactivity.

Step 2. Clogged arteries and veins are a result of inactivity. (example) Excess fat also caused by inactivity leads to a higher incidence of heart disease. (explanation and example)

Step 3. Statistically, then, you will die at an earlier age if you do not exercise. (internal summary)

An example of using supporting material in your speech

Example of using supporting materials.

Imagine a person was giving a speech on corporal punishment and wanted to use this information:

Psychologist H. Stephen Glenn said " Corporal punishment is the least effective method [of discipline]. Punishment reinforces a failure identity. It reinforces rebellion, resistance, revenge and resentment. And, what people who spank children will learn is that it teaches more about you than it does about them that the whole goal is to crush the child. It's not dignified, and it's not respectful. " Source: Ni, J. K. "Spanking denounced as ineffective, harmful -- Expert at 'Families Alive' [conference] urges positive discipline , "  Deseret News . 9 May 1998. "The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly opposes striking a child. If the spanking is spontaneous, parents should later explain calmly why they did it, the specific behavior that provoked it, and how angry they felt. They might apologize to their child for their loss of control, because that usually helps the youngster understand and accept the spanking." Source: American Academy of Pediatrics. "Physical punishment." 6 October 2002. < http://www.aap.org/advocacy/childhealthmonth/spank.htm >

In the speech you might say this:

Experts and professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics tend to frown on corporal punishment. Psychologist H. Stephen Glenn, for example, believes that spanking can strengthen rather than reduce behavior problems. 1  Others contend that if a parent spontaneously strikes a child, mom or dad should later discuss their feelings of anger with the child. 2  

You should note the sources at the bottom of the page or at the end of the outline:

1 Ni, 1998 2 American Academy of Pediatrics, 2002

In the bibliography, you should list:

Ni, J. K. "Spanking denounced as ineffective, harmful -- Expert at 'Families Alive' [conference] urges positive discipline , "  Deseret News . 9 May 1998. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Physical punishment." 6 October 2002. < http://www.aap.org/advocacy/childhealthmonth/spank.htm >

Copyright © 1999-2002 Richard D. Rowley. All rights reserved. Revised: August 17, 2003 .

• << Previous: Gather Supporting Material
• Next: Citing Sources >>
• Last Updated: Jun 10, 2021 12:03 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lamar.edu/publicspeakingLIT

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Module 9: Informative Speaking

Supporting the informative speech, learning objectives.

Describe the importance of vetting facts and data in an informative speech.

We live in a world where we are bombarded by information every day. Some of the information is based upon careful research where facts and data are collected from reliable sources. Some of this information is all opinion based without credible sources to support the claims made. It is important to be able to distinguish between the two.

The speaker in this webinar is using an information slide to describe the work her organization is doing.

Facts and data are what is called supporting material. You  can obtain supporting materials by doing research. This research is essential for creating a credible, informative speech that your audience will want to give their attention to. Why provide supporting material in a speech?

• It helps clarify the ideas and content you are sharing.
• It  builds your credibility as a speaker.
• It helps you to emphasize key ideas and make your speech more impactful and memorable.
• It shows the audience that you are knowledgeable in the area researched.

The type of supporting material you use and how you present it will impact the effectiveness of your speech and it will reflect upon your credibility as a speaker (or your ethos) as stated in the list above. Credibility is very important to build. The audience will not want to listen to a speaker who uses either poor or no sources. They want to trust that the person speaking knows what they are talking about. How you show this trustworthiness is by using supporting materials. Therefore, your speech is going to be effective only if the audience trusts what you say.

When creating your speech, you should carefully vet—or examine—the facts and data in your supporting materials. The supporting material you cite should be:

• Accurate . The materials should be free from factual errors or inaccurate statements. Especially if the claims seem outside of the norm, too good to be true, or controversial in some way, it’s important to cross-check the data with other sources.
• Authoritative . The materials should come from sources that are reliable, knowledgeable, and credible about the subject.
• Current . In most cases, more recent research is better than older research. Exceptions exist for some types of historical research, but in general for most speech topics try to draw from current research.
• Unbiased . In most cases, you want to draw supporting materials from sources that don’t have a particular agenda or bias behind them. These types of sources can be okay to use for certain speech topics, but generally for informative speeches they should be avoided.

You will want to tell your audience the source of the research you are citing in your speech by verbally citing your sources. Verbal citations are similar to what you would do in writing a paper when you cite your source. It works a bit differently in a speech, however, because in speeches, unlike written source citations, don’t follow a standard pattern. How you cite the source will depend on your speaking style, your audience, the kind of information you are citing, and where in the speech you are placing the cited information.

For example

Here is a short video offering an example of a speaker verbally citing a source (and using an overhead projector [!]):

You can view the transcript for “Informative Speech–Using Citations and Examples” here (opens in new window) .

Tim needs to give citations for his speech on changing a tire. He decided to use information from the Bridgestone Tire website. When speaking, Tim will tell the audience what he learned from the Bridgestone Tire website. Here is what he might say: “I learned from the Bridgestone Tire website that the best tools to use when changing a tire are . . . . The first step in changing a tire is to pull over and make sure you are in a safe place. Safety should always be the first consideration according to AAA.” These citations will really bolster the trust the audience has in Tim’s information.

There are different ways to make citations. You can paraphrase what was said by the source or you can directly quote the source. Above, Tim paraphrased what he learned in his citation. To deliver a direction quotation in the speech, Tim might say this: “Bridgestone Tires agrees with AAA when they write the first step is ‘find a safe location’ on their updated 2020 website.”

Always keep in mind that, when citing supporting materials, it’s not enough just to provide the citation. You must also explain why the information you are citing is relevant to the topic of your speech. If connections are not made between your speech content and supporting materials, it only serves to make the audience confused and lose confidence in you as a speaker.

A deeper dive

This video offers suggestions on how to verbally cite a source in a speech.

You can view the transcript for “Orally Citing a Source in a Speech” here (opens in new window) .

• citation needed. Authored by : Max Braun. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/8PhT7i . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Webinar. Provided by : Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/2jgwf2C . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Informative Speech--Using Citations and Examples. Authored by : Alan Winson. Located at : https://youtu.be/JQeOOx22VQM . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Orally Citing a Source in a Speech. Authored by : Janene Davison. Located at : https://youtu.be/eP0bfnRlJVY . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Supporting the Informative Speech. Authored by : Mike Randolph with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Supporting the Informative Speech. Authored by : Sandra K. Winn with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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63 Why Supporting Materials are Needed

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student will be able to:

• Explain why supporting materials are necessary.
• List the various types of verbal supporting materials.
• Discuss supporting material strengths in explaining and proving ideas and arguments.
• Incorporate supporting materials seamlessly into the speech.
• Use supporting materials ethically through correct citation.
• Explain how perception and attention affect the speech-giving process.

Why Supporting Materials are Needed

As mentioned in previous chapters, preparing to give a presentation is not a totally linear process. It would be nice if the process was like following a recipe, but it loops back and forth as you move toward crafting something that will effectively present your ideas and research. Even as you practice, you will make small changes to your basic outline, since the way something looks on paper and the way it sounds are sometimes different. For example, long sentences may look intelligent on paper, but they are hard to say in one breath and hard for the audience to understand. You will also find it necessary to use more repetition or restatement in oral delivery.

Therefore, although this is the seventh chapter in the book, it deals with some concepts that we have already been thinking about in Chapters 2-6. Specifically, this chapter is about supporting materials: what they are, what they do, and how to use them effectively. But you have already been thinking about how to support your ideas when you were researching and crafting a central idea and main points. Supporting material also relates directly to Chapter 9, presentation aids. Whereas presentation aids are visual or auditory supporting materials, this chapter will deal with verbal supporting materials.

Using your supporting materials effectively is essential because we crave detail and specifics. Let’s say you are discussing going out to eat with a friend. You suggest a certain restaurant, and your friend makes a comment about the restaurant you have not heard before or don’t accept at face value, so you ask in some way for explanation, clarification, or proof. If she says, “Their servers are really rude,” you might ask, “What did they do?” If she says, “Their food is delicious,” you might ask what dish is good. Likewise, if she says, “The place is nasty,” you will want to know what their health rating is or why she makes this statement. We want to know specifics and are not satisfied with vagueness.

Supporting material can be thought of as the specifics that make your ideas, arguments, assertions, points, or concepts real and concrete. Sometimes supporting materials are referred to as the “meat” on the bones of the outline, but we also like to think of them as pegs you create in the audience’s mind to hang the ideas on. Another even more useful idea is to think of them as pillars or supports for a bridge (Figure 7.1). Without these supports, the bridge would just be a piece of concrete that would not hold up once cars start to cross it. Similarly, the points and arguments you are making in your speech may not hold up without the material to “support” what you are saying.

Of course, as we will see in this chapter, all supporting materials are not considered equal. Some are better at some functions or for some speeches than others. In general, there are two basic ways to think about the role of supporting materials. Either they

• clarify, explain, or provide specifics (and therefore understanding) for the audience, or
• prove and back up arguments and therefore persuade the audience. Of course, some can do both.

You might ask, how much supporting material is enough? The time you are allowed or required to speak will largely determine that. Since the supporting materials are found in the subpoints of your outline (A, B) and sub-subpoints (1, 2, etc.), you can see clearly on the outline how much you have and can omit one if time constraints demand that. However, in our experience as public speaking instructors, we find that students often struggle with having enough supporting materials. We often comment on a student’s speech that we wanted the student to answer more of the “what, where, who, how, why, when,” questions and add more description, proof, or evidence because their ideas were vague.

Students often struggle with the difference between “main idea” and “supporting idea.” For example, in this list, you will quickly recognize a commonality.

Butter Pecan

Of course, they are popular flavors of ice cream. The main idea is “Popular Flavors of Ice Cream” and the individual flavors are supporting materials to clarify the main idea; they “hold” it up for understanding and clarification. If the list were:

Honey Jalapeno Pickle

Banana Split

Wildberry Lavender

you would recognize two or three as ice cream flavors (not as popular) but #2 and #5 do not seem to fit the list (Covington, 2013). But you still recognize them as types of something and infer from the list that they have to do with ice cream flavors. “Ice cream flavors” is the general subject and the flavors are the particulars.

Those examples were easy. Let’s look at this one. One of the words in this list is the general, and the rest are the particulars.

Emotion is general category, and the list here shows specific emotions. Here is another:

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer.
• Pets who live in states with high rates of spaying/neutering live longer.
• Your pet’s health is positively affected by being spayed or neutered.
• Spaying lessens the increased urge to roam.
• Male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

Which one is the main point (the general idea), and which are the supporting points that include evidence to prove the main point? You should see that the third bullet point (“Your pet’s health is positively affected . . .”) would be a main point or argument in a persuasive speech on spaying or neutering your pet. The basic outline for the speech might look something like this:

• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for public health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your pet’s health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your family’s life and budget.

Of course, each of the four supporting points in this example (“helps uterine cancer in female pets, “etc.) cannot just be made up. The speaker would need to refer to or cite reliable statistics or testimony from veterinarians, researchers, public health organizations, and humane societies. For that reason, here is the more specific support, which you would use in a speech to be ethical and credible. Notice that the italicized sections in this example Main Point use statistics and specific details to support the claims being made and provides sources.

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats, as found in the online article “Top Ten Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet,” written in 2015 and posted on the website for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• According to Natalie DiBlasio, writing for USA Today on May 7 of 2013, in Mississippi, the lowest-ranking state for pet longevity, 44% of the dogs are not neutered or spayed.
• She goes on to say that other issues affecting pet longevity have to do with climate, heartworm, and income of owners.
• The Human Society of America’s website features the August 2014 article, “Why You Should Spay/Neuter Your Pet,” which states that spaying lessens their urge to roam, exposure to fights with other animals, getting struck by cars, and other mishaps.
• Also according to the same article, male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

With all the sources available to you through reliable Internet and published sources, finding information is not difficult. Recognizing supporting information from the general idea you are trying to support or prove is more difficult, as is providing adequate citation.

Along with clarifying and proving, supporting materials, especially narrative ones, also make your speech much more interesting and attention-getting. Later in the chapter we will look at the various “factors of attention” that are related to supporting material. Ultimately, you will be perceived as a more credible speaker if you provide clarifying, probative (proof-giving and logical), and interesting supporting material.

having the quality or function of proving or demonstrating something; affording proof or evidence

Exploring Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2020 by Chris Miller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Presentation Aids To Enhance Your Presentation

Table of contents.

You’re putting together a presentation and you’ve considered using presentation aids but don’t know where to begin?

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran presenter or new to the industry and looking on how to become a better presenter , we’ve got you covered with tips and tricks and everything you need to know about presentation aids.

We’ve put together this comprehensive list of 10 presentation aids you should incorporate in your next presentation, seminar, public speaking event or any other audience engagement to ensure your key messages are retained and you remain at the forefront of people’s minds.

Whether it’s visual aids, creative design or new ideas you wouldn’t necessarily think of to use in your line of work, we’ve broken down the bias to help give you a fresh mind on some presentation aids you should use.

What Are Presentation Aids?

A presentation aid is a complementary tool you can and should use in order to have your presentation stand out and enhance it.

They are sensory aids to help elevate your speech, performance or powerpoint presentation.

Where words fail, presentation aids come in to support.

A presentation aid can be used alone or in combination with other presentation aids. More often than not, it is encouraged to combine a couple of presentation aids to target the different senses – hearing, vision, smell, & taste.

The more senses you target, the more likely your presentation will be remembered.

For example, audio and video clips might be sprinkled throughout your presentation slide deck. Although these are all different presentation aids, using them in a combined way will enhance the overall presentation and increase audience engagement.

Presentation aids work because they tap into the presentation psychology ; the underpinning of our minds and how we perceive and remember great presentations. Whether someone is an auditory or visual learner, using additional presentation aids that target these senses will help take your presentation from average to phenomenal.

Why Do Presenters Use Presentation Aids?

Every presenter has their reasoning for selecting the presentation aids they use.

With the advancement of technology, presenters have been using more and more visual aids in their presentations in order to enhance the overall audience experience and create a great visual presentation .

Whether your presentation is in-person or instead a virtual presentation , the objective is always the same. Get your key messaging across with minimal miscommunication. Getting your key message across to your audience members can be done with the help of effective presentation aids.

Both informal and formal presentations incorporate some degree of presentation aids.

Presentation aids provide many benefits to a presenter. A presenter may use a combination of both visual aids and auditory aids to increase audience engagement and to help deliver their message.

Let’s break it down as to why a presenter would use visual aids and why a presenter would use auditory aids.

At a high level, it first depends on the audience. You should always begin crafting your presentation by understanding who your audience is and what you want them to take away from your presentation. This will help define the aids you select.

If your audience has a shorter attention span such as young adults or children, consider using more visual aids like videos or imagery. You may do this by adding videos into your PowerPoint presentation or adding images.

Perhaps you want your audience to remember things or act on something after the presentation has already concluded. A brochure or presentation handout might be a great aid to use as it leaves a physical, tangible item with the audience.

Trying to get funding or convert audience members into sales? A demonstration or live performance of the product can help people envision themselves using the product.

Presentation aids are used to help deliver your message and influence people. Understand your audience and the message you want them to take away and you’re halfway done deciding which complementary presentation tool you should use.

10 Types Of Presentation Aids

Before we begin going through the list of presentation aids you should use, we want to first preface with a word of caution.

Don’t overdo it.

As tempting as it may be to incorporate all 10 presentation types of presentation aids into your allotted time, don’t. You may be doing yourself a disservice.

Too many presentation aids may begin to distract your audience rather than support your messaging.

If you give your audience a handout, have them glance at an image with some written text all on one slide all the while you’re speaking over everything, there is too much going on. Your audience won’t know where to place their attention.

Also, some presentation aids don’t work in the environment in which the presentation is being held.

For example, if your presentation is virtual with absolutely no in-person audience members, a demonstration or live performance might not make practical sense.

Use these tools sparingly.

With that being said, let’s dive into the top 10 types of presentation aids we believe you should incorporate into your next presentation based on presentation feedback we’ve received over the years as presentation designers.

1 – PowerPoint Slides, Google Slides & Prezi Slides

One of the very first presentation aids we’ve all been taught to use and have more than likely used at least once in a school or work environment is a presentation slide deck.

Almost all presentations nowadays have a slide deck accompanying the presentation since it has been engrained in our minds as an essential for every presentation.

Whether it’s a motivational speech, client pitch presentation , RFP presentation , virtual presentation or an investment pitch presentation , they typically always use a slide deck.

Slide decks are great because they’re often easily customizable and there are plenty of well designed templates you can find online.

Slide decks such as PowerPoint Slides, Google Slides and Prezi Slides also allow a presenter to incorporate additional presentation aids such as videos, images or graphs seamlessly. Rather than having to jump back and forth between tabs, monitors or computers, a presentation slide deck consolidates all the information into one place.

When presenting to a large audience, a slide deck also allows audience members who are seated at the back of the venue to still take away the key points you’re trying to highlight. When highlighting key points, they will often be mentioned in the slide deck which is often displayed using a large projector and screen or video monitor.

Lastly, a presentation slide deck is a great tool to use as a reference.

The key details should be illustrated in the slide deck. Once the presentation is over, the slide deck can be a stand alone takeaway the audience or client can reference at a later date once the presentation has long past.

2 – Visual Aids, Audio And Video Clips

At a minimum, you should have at least one of the following presentation aids – imagery, audio or video.

Imagery can be more than just a photo. Imagery encompasses your slide deck, the color theory you use such as brand colors, how you embellish quotes and more.

For example, rather than sticking a text block on your slide deck with a quote, try enhancing the quote with the some visual appeal. You may consider adding a photo of the person who said the quote, stylizing the font with script writing so it seems more humanized and lastly using colors to highlight key words you want to bring to the audience’s attention.

Audio is another great tool to use, especially if you plan on incorporating motion graphics in your presentation. It also adds a layer of depth.

Since the audience will likely be hearing you speak for a majority of the presentation, having a pre-recorded narration over motion graphics will help create a “unique moment” in your presentation – almost like a bookmark. This will help your audience segment your presentation and retain information better.

Finally, videos have continued to grow in popularity as it is a combination of both visual aids and auditory aids.

Your video can be a live action video with real actors or it can be a stop motion animation. Whatever video style you decide, a video clip will help get your message across and enhance audience memory.

By combining all three aids, you’re targeting a combination of both visual and auditory senses. This combination will help your presentation stick out as human learning occurs visually and through auditory.

3 – Sizzle Reels

Although similar to videos, sizzle reels add a bit of flair traditional videos often lack.

Sentiment wise, videos can be positive, neutral or even negative while a sizzle reel’s sentiment is usually always positive.

Sizzle reels are very promotional in the sense that they are created with an intended purpose to have the audience act or feel in a certain way.

Unlike a video which may be used to support an argument or provide raw, unfiltered visual dialogue, a sizzle reel is typically created with a specific purpose for persuasion or selling.

Oftentimes, a sizzle reel is used to demonstrate or highlight a specific idea, product or sample of work usually presented with positive connotation. The presenter is trying to get the audience to be on the same page as them.

Like a video, a sizzle reel can be live action or animated – it is the intention of the video which makes it a sizzle reel or not.

4 – Motion Graphics

Keep your audience’s eyes stimulated by incorporating motion graphics into your presentation.

Motion graphics use the illusion of motion or rotation to make something which is typically stationary to appear as though it’s moving.

Motion graphics are great when they are used effectively. Too much motion graphics or improperly used motion graphics takes away your presentation’s credibility as it may begin to appear too animated and comical.

Depending on your presentation niche, motion graphics can really help enhance your presentation.

If your presentation primarily deals with lots of text, consider using motion graphics to help liven things up.

PresGeek Portfolio - Flowmill Explainer Video from Presentation Geeks on Vimeo .

You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, why not just use video?”. To that we say video isn’t for every industry. Although video may seem like the best option, it can often hurt your presentation more than it benefits it.

Consider a historical speech, one with a powerful message. Would you rather just watch a video of the person speaking, or perhaps a carefully curated kinetic typography motion graphic?

In this instance, although a video is still acceptable, you would be better off with motion graphics.

Motion graphics aren’t to be confused with animation. The difference between motion graphics and animation is motion graphics convert a typically stationary object into a moving one. Motion graphics don’t follow a typical storytelling narrative.

Animation on the other hand takes the audience on an emotional journey through storytelling which is an additional presentation aid we will discuss.

5 – 3D Modeling & Animation

If motion graphics aren’t enough, try using 3D Modeling and animation to bring your ideas to life and help tell a story!

3D Modeling and animation help bring hard to conceptualize ideas into a more tangible reality.

For example, if you’re presenting a prototype of a car, home or the latest piece of tech, spending money into developing a fully functional or full-scale product may not be feasible – especially if you’re merely pitching the idea to get funding in the first place.

3D modeling allows your audience to see how the product will look and perform if it were real.

Animation helps connect your messaging to your audience through the art of storytelling. Animation allows you to tell stories far beyond the scope of what is in our reality and can really help emphasize your brand’s essence.

For example, Red Bull did a great job with their advertising using the art of animation. Red Bull’s slogan of “Red Bull gives you wings” is personified through animation as their animated characters are given wings after drinking their product. They’re also put in high-intensity situations. Although often comical, animation helped bring the brand essence to life.

This could still be done with live-action actors and CGI, but the cost is far more than animation.

Animation is a cost-effective storytelling tool to bring even the most extremes of situations into a digestible reality.

6 – Maps

Our world has shifted to become a global village.

It is almost impossible to go about your day without hearing a piece of international news.

Whether it’s news, politics, culture or business, we are connected to different nations around the world. As you progress in your life, you’ll soon encounter yourself presenting to people around the world whether virtually or in-person.

If you are presenting to people around the world whether it be for politics, culture or business, adding a map is another great presentation aid to help visualize the interconnectedness between each other.

A map can be used to highlight geographical hotspots, geographical trends and more.

Here are some examples we’ve put together of when you would use a map.

Planning to expand your business? Why not include a map pinpointing all your existing locations relative to your new expansion.

Planning to show how diseases spread throughout the world and relative hotspots of infections? Consider adding a map with varying degrees of color to highlight infection densities.

Maps don’t need to be international either depicting every country – they can be used for small businesses showcasing a localized region.

Lastly, maps help put things into perspective. Tying back to presentation psychology, people are more likely to express emotions or feel connected to something the closer they are to it, physically. By using a map, you can put your message into perspective for your audience.

7 – Infographic Charts & Graphs

Rather than simply putting a few numbers up on a slide deck and calling it a day, try inputting these numbers in a chart or graph.

You have to consider your audience and not everyone learns or absorbs information by simply reading. They need to visualize comparisons and differences. Charts and graphs are one great way to do this.

Let’s take a look at the example above. It could’ve been easy enough to show there was a 280% increase in energy saving, but we were missing a big chunk of the story which was expenses were declining. You also don’t see the scale of energy savings relative to expenses with just words.

Instead, opting to put numbers into a visual format, the audience members can easily understand the advantages and compare it to the change over time.

Remember – try and avoid very complex graphs. When you start to input complex graphs into a presentation, you’ll begin to lose the audience as they will be too busy focusing on understanding the graph.

If possible, leave the audience with resources they can look back to after the presentation such as a brochure or handout where they can take as much time as they need to digest more robust graphs.

8 – Infographic Diagrams

Unlike charts and graphs which primarily focus on data and numbers, a diagram focuses on the appearance, structure, flow or workings of something.

A diagram is a great presentation aid to use as it helps break complex ideas into step-by-step sections the audience can follow along with.

Not only does it provide clear steps, but it can help speak to key points of a product or timeline.

For example, this diagram goes over the structure of an EV charger.

Rather than just showing an image of the charger with bullet points off to the side, a diagram provides clear connection lines from the point being made and where it’s located on the final product.

Diagrams also help illustrate flow. Whether it be the customer journey, your product development or your company’s growth, diagrams are great ways to show consistent progression in a logical, step-by-step pattern.

9 – Brochures & Presentation Handouts

One way to really connect with your audience and almost guarantee they’ll leave the presentation remembering something is with a brochure or handout.

A brochure or handout is a physical printout which could be a combination of images, written text and diagrams.

Oftentimes, brochures and handouts are used to elaborate on information already being presented but in further detail. Depending on the scope of your presentation, you may want to opt to have a brochure or presentation handout.

If the nature of your presentation requires thorough research, data and insight such as business or healthcare, a handout can allow your audience to review the information at their own pace at a later time.

A brochure or handout also allows audience members to jot down information.

This is important if you’re trying to encourage audience participation.

By enabling the audience to jot down their own notes and have time near the end of your presentation for them to collaborate and speak to points throughout your presentation, you’ll be engaging in a discourse with your audience.

10 – Demonstration or Live Performance

The last presentation aid we recommend is also one of the hardest to pull off – a demonstration or live performance.

A demonstration or live performance is when you’re presenting the truth and validity of something. For example, you might do a demonstration of how your product performs. Or, instead of playing music, you could have a live performance.

One of the most well-known presenters to do demonstrations or live performances is Steve Jobs. At the unveiling of any new Apple product, Steve Jobs was there on stage with the product in-hand ready to demonstrate its state of the art capabilities.

Demonstration or live performances are one of the best presentation aids to use as they often go hand in hand with public relations. Whether the performance goes well or bad, you can almost be sure there will be press coverage of it afterwards.

A great example of a demonstration which went south was Tesla’s Cybertruck and their armored windows . What was supposed to be strong, armored glass came to a shattering end when a Tesla employee threw a steel ball at not just one window, but both the front and rear window leaving both of them shattered. The hope was for the steel ball to ricochet off the window to demonstrate their durability, but instead they failed.

Although this might seem like a failure, the coverage it got after the presentation was a complete publicity success.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Using Presentation Aids

As with everything in life, there are always two sides of the coin – positives and negatives.

The same goes for using presentation aids.

Rather than experimenting yourself and learning the hard way of advantages and disadvantages, we’ve put together this short yet informative section to help guide your decision making.

Presentation aids are great complementary tools you should use in every presentation. They allow you to connect with audience members in new and unique ways.

One of the advantages of using presentation aids is to appeal to different audiences.

Everyone has a different attention span. Everyone also learns and absorbs information differently. By disseminating your key message using new and unique methods, you’re able to appeal to a larger audience.

Secondly, presentation aids allow the lifespan of your presentation to be extended.

Imagine your presentation was only you speaking. The moment you’re done talking, the presentation is over and it begins to fade from people’s memory. With the help of presentation aids, you avoid this outcome and extend how long your presentation is remembered for.

For example, if you used a slide deck to accompany your presentation, the slide deck can be made available to audience members after the presentation to reference.

Lastly, presentation aids help reduce the attention that’s put on you and allow you to take breaks while presenting.

If you’re a beginner, it can be intimidating to be the center of attention. With the added use of presentation aids, you can break up your presentation to allow the aids to do the work. If you have a video, once you begin to play it, the audience’s attention will be redirected to the video. This will allow you time to pause, recollect your thoughts, take a drink of water if needed and continue on with the presentation afterwards.

Disadvantages

Presentation aids are not the miracle solution.

If you don’t have a solid foundation on which your presentation is built upon, it doesn’t matter how many or which presentation aids you decide to use. You need to ensure your presentation is properly structured from the beginning.

Presenters can also get carried away with using too many presentation aids.

When you don’t take the time to reflect on the presentation aids you are using and just begin spitballing every presentation aid into your presentation just because you know of these tools, doesn’t mean you should. They begin to become a distraction and takeaway from the messaging you’re trying to get across.

Conclusion – Should You Use Presentation Aids?

The short and sweet answer is yes. You should absolutely use presentation aids.

Unless your plan is to only be a storyteller letting the audience create an image in their mind, then you should consider using at least one of the presentation aid types mentioned above.

Not only will presentation aids help your audience learn and retain the information better, it may actually help you!

Presentation aids require you to contribute more work to the final product. It requires you to carefully think of the story you’re trying to convey to your audience and which best method to do so. By taking this extra bit of time to sit down and reflect on your presentation and actually produce well-crafted aids, you’ll be setting yourself up as a thought-leader on the topic.

If You’re looking for a Pitch Deck Design Agency , we can help. Just click the button below to start your journey!

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• Open access
• Published: 21 May 2024

A modern way to teach and practice manual therapy

• Roger Kerry 1 ,
• Kenneth J. Young   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8837-7977 2 ,
• David W. Evans 3 ,
• Edward Lee 1 , 4 ,
• Vasileios Georgopoulos 1 , 5 ,
• Adam Meakins 6 ,
• Chris McCarthy 7 ,
• Chad Cook 8 ,
• Colette Ridehalgh 9 , 10 ,
• Steven Vogel 11 ,
• Amanda Banton 11 ,
• Cecilia Bergström 12 ,
• Anna Maria Mazzieri 13 ,
• Firas Mourad 14 , 15 &
• Nathan Hutting 16  

Chiropractic & Manual Therapies volume  32 , Article number:  17 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Musculoskeletal conditions are the leading contributor to global disability and health burden. Manual therapy (MT) interventions are commonly recommended in clinical guidelines and used in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. Traditional systems of manual therapy (TMT), including physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, and soft tissue therapy have been built on principles such as clinician-centred assessment , patho-anatomical reasoning, and technique specificity. These historical principles are not supported by current evidence. However, data from clinical trials support the clinical and cost effectiveness of manual therapy as an intervention for musculoskeletal conditions, when used as part of a package of care.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a modern evidence-guided framework for the teaching and practice of MT which avoids reference to and reliance on the outdated principles of TMT. This framework is based on three fundamental humanistic dimensions common in all aspects of healthcare: safety , comfort , and efficiency . These practical elements are contextualised by positive communication , a collaborative context , and person-centred care . The framework facilitates best-practice, reasoning, and communication and is exemplified here with two case studies.

A literature review stimulated by a new method of teaching manual therapy, reflecting contemporary evidence, being trialled at a United Kingdom education institute. A group of experienced, internationally-based academics, clinicians, and researchers from across the spectrum of manual therapy was convened. Perspectives were elicited through reviews of contemporary literature and discussions in an iterative process. Public presentations were made to multidisciplinary groups and feedback was incorporated. Consensus was achieved through repeated discussion of relevant elements.

Conclusions

Manual therapy interventions should include both passive and active, person-empowering interventions such as exercise, education, and lifestyle adaptations. These should be delivered in a contextualised healing environment with a well-developed person-practitioner therapeutic alliance. Teaching manual therapy should follow this model.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are leading contributors to the burden of global disability and healthcare [ 1 ]. Amongst other interventions, manual therapy (MT) has been recommended for the management of people with MSK conditions in multiple clinical guidelines, for example [ 2 , 3 ].

MT has been described as the deliberate application of externally generated force upon body tissue, typically via the hands, with therapeutic intent [ 4 ]. It includes touch-based interventions such as thrust manipulation, joint mobilisation, soft-tissue mobilisation, and neurodynamic movements [ 5 ]. For people with MSK conditions, this therapeutic intent is usually to reduce pain and improve movement, thus facilitating a return to function and improved quality of life [ 6 ]. Patient perceptions of MT are, however, vague and sit among wider expectations of treatment including education, self-efficacy and the role of exercise, and prognosis [ 7 ].

Although the teaching and practice of MT has invariably changed over time, its foundations arguably remain unaltered and set in biomedical and outdated principles. This paper sets out to review contemporary literature and propose a revised model to inform the teaching and practice of MT.

The aim of this paper is to stimulate debate about the future teaching and practice of manual therapy through the proposal of an evidence-informed re-conceptualised model of manual therapy. The new model dismisses traditional elements of manual therapy which are not supported by research evidence. In place, the model offers a structure based on common humanistic principles of healthcare.

Consenus methodology

We present the literature synthesis and proposed framework as a consensus document to motivate further professional discussion developed through a simple three-stage iterative process over a 5-year period. The consensus methodology was classed as educational development which did not require ethical approval. Stage 1: a change of teaching practice was adopted by some co-authors (VG, RK, EL) on undergraduate and postgraduate Physiotherapy programmes at a UK University in 2018. This was a result of standard institutional teaching practice development which includes consideration of evidence-informed teaching. Stage 2: Input from a broader spectrum of stakeholders was sought, so a group of experienced, internationally-based educators, clinicians, and researchers from across the spectrum of manual therapy was convened. Perspectives were elicited through discussions in an iterative process. Stage 3: Presentations were made by some of the co-authors (VG, RK, SV, KY) to multidisciplinary groups (UK, Europe, North America) and feedback via questions and discussions was incorporated into further co-author discussions on the development of the framework. Consensus was achieved through repeated discussion of relevant elements. Figure  1 summarises the consensus methodology.

Summary and timeline of iterative consensus process for development of framework (MT: Manual Therapy; UG: Undergraduate; PG: Postgraduate)

Clinical & cost effectiveness of manual therapy

Manual therapy has been suggested to be a valuable part of a multimodal approach to managing MSK pain and disability, for example [ 8 ]. The majority of recent systematic reviews of clinical trials report a beneficial effect of MT for a range of MSK conditions, with at least similar effect sizes to other recommended approaches, for example [ 9 ]. Some systematic reviews report inconclusive findings, for example [ 10 ], and a minority report effects that were no better than comparison or sham treatments, for example [ 11 ].

Potential benefits must always be weighed against potential harms, of course. Mild to moderate adverse events from MT (e.g. mild muscle soreness) are common and generally considered acceptable [ 12 ], whilst serious adverse events are very rare and their risk may be mitigated by good practice [ 13 ]. MT has been reported by people with MSK disorders as a preferential and effective treatment with accepted levels of post-treatment soreness [ 14 ].

MT is considered cost-effective [ 15 ] and the addition of MT to exercise packages has been shown to increase clinical and cost-effectiveness compared to exercise alone in several MSK conditions [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Further, manual therapy has been shown to be less costly and more beneficial than evidence-based advice to stay active [ 24 ].

In summary, MT is considered a useful evidence-based addition to care packages for people experiencing pain and disability associated with MSK conditions. As such, MT continues to be included in national and international clinical guidelines for a range of MSK conditions as part of multimodal care.

Principles of traditional manual therapy (TMT)

Manual therapy has been used within healthcare for centuries [ 4 ] with many branches of MT having appeared (and disappeared) over time [ 25 ]. In developed nations today, MT is most commonly utilised by the formalised professional groups of physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, as well as groups such as soft tissue therapists. All of these groups have a history that borrows heavily from traditional healers and bone-setters [ 26 ].

Although there are many elements of MT, three principles appear to have become ubiquitous within what we shall now refer to as ‘traditional manual therapy’ (TMT): clinician-centred assessment , patho-anatomical reasoning , and technique specificity [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. These principles continue to influence the teaching and practice of manual therapy over recent years, for example [ 31 ].

However, they have become increasingly difficult to defend given a growing volume of empirical evidence to the contrary.

Traditional manual therapy (TMT) principles: origins and problems

Clinician-centred assessment.

TMT has long had an emphasis on what we shall refer to as clinician-centred assessments . Within this, we claim, is an assumption that clinical information is both highly accurate and diagnostically important, for example [ 32 ]. Clinician-centred assessments include, for example, routine imaging, the search for patho-anatomical 'lesions’ and asymmetries, and specialised palpation. Although the focus of this paper is on the ‘hands-on’ examples of client-centred assessment, the notion of imaging is presented below to expose some of the flaws in the underlying belief system for TMT.

The emphasis on clinician-centred assessments has probably been driven, in part, by a desire for objective diagnostic tests which align well with gold-standard imaging. Indeed, since the discovery of x-rays, radiological imaging been used as an assessment for spinal pain – and a justification for using spinal manipulation – particularly in the chiropractic profession [ 33 ]. Contrary to many TMT claims, X-ray imaging is not without risk [ 34 ]. Additionally, until relatively recently (with the advent of magnetic resonance imaging) it was not widely appreciated that patho-anatomical ‘lesions’ believed to explain MSK pain conditions were nearly as common in pain-free individuals as those with pain [ 35 ]. Accordingly, the rates of unnecessary treatments, including surgery, are known to increase when imaging is used routinely [ 36 ]. For patients with non-specific low back pain, for example, imaging does not improve outcomes and risks overdiagnosis and overtreatment [ 37 ]. Hence, despite being objective in nature, the value of imaging for many MSK pain conditions (particularly spinal pain) has reduced drastically with clinical guidelines across the globe recommending against routine imaging for MSK pain of non-traumatic origin [ 38 ]. Even so, the practice of routine imaging continues [ 39 ].

Hands-on interventions are inextricably related to hands-on assessment [ 40 ], and often associated with claims of ‘specialisation’ [ 41 ]. By this we mean where a great level of training and precision are claimed to be necessary for influencing the interpretation of assessment findings, treatment decisions, and/or treatment outcomes. Implicit within this claim is that therapists who are unable to achieve such precision are not able to perform MT to an acceptable level (and thereby are not able to provide benefit to patients).

There are numerous studies that cast doubt over claims of highly specialised palpation skills. Palpation of anatomical landmarks does not reach a clinically acceptable level of validity [ 42 ]. Specialised motion palpation does not appear to be a good method for differentiating people with or without low back pain [ 43 ]. Poor content validity of specialised motion tests have been reported, in line with a lack of acceptable reference standards [ 44 ]. Palpable sensations reported by therapists are unlikely to be due to tissue deformation [ 45 ]. Furthermore, the delivery of interventions based on specialised palpatory findings is no better than non-specialised palpation [ 46 ]. Generally poor reliability of motion palpation skills has been reported, for example [ 47 ] and appear to be independent of clinician experience or training, for example [ 48 ]. Notably, person-centred palpation—for pain and tenderness for example—has slightly higher reliability, but is still fair at best [ 49 ].

This does not mean that palpation is of no use at all though; just that effective manual therapy does not depend upon it. For example, expert therapists can display high levels of interrater reliability during specialised motion palpation [ 50 ]. Focused training can improve the interrater reliability of specialised skills [ 51 ]. However, the validity of the phenomenon remains poor. Given the weight of the evidence and consistency of data over recent decades, we suggest that the role of clinician-centred hands-on assessment is no longer central to contemporary manual therapy.

Patho-anatomical reasoning

The justification for selecting particular MT interventions has historically been based upon the patho-anatomical status of local peripheral tissue [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. Patho-anatomical reasoning, we propose, is the framework that links clinician-centred assessments to the desire for highly specific delivery of MT interventionsKey to this is the relationship between a patho-anatomic diagnosis and the assumed mechanisms of action of the intervention employed.

Theories for the mechanisms of action of MT interventions are many. Some of the most prominent include reductions of disc herniations [ 56 ], re-positioning of a bone or joint [ 32 ], removal of intra-articular adhesions [ 57 ], changes in the biomechanical properties of soft tissues [ 58 ], central pain modulation [ 59 ], and biochemical changes [ 60 ]. These theories have been used to justify the choice of certain interventions: a matching of diagnosis (i.e., existence of a lesion) to the effect of treatment takes place. However, most of these mechanistic theories either lack evidence or have been directly contested [ 61 ].

The causal relationship between proposed tissue-based factors such as posture, ergonomic settings, etc. and painful experience has also been disputed [ 62 ]. Although local tissue stiffness has been observed in people with pain, this is typically associated with neuromuscular responses, rather than patho-anatomical changes at local tissue level [ 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 ]. Overall, although some local tissue adaptions have been identified in people with recurrent MSK pain, this is inconsistent and the evidence is currently of low quality [ 67 ] are generally limited to short-term follow-up measures [ 68 ].

Technique specificity

TMT techniques have been taught with an emphasis that a particular direction, ‘grade’ of joint movement, or deformation of tissue at a very specific location in a certain way, is required to achieve a successful treatment outcome.

One problem with a demand for technique specificity in manual therapy is that an intervention does not always result in the intended effect. For example, posteroanterior forces applied during spinal mobilization consistently induce sagittal rotation, as opposed to the assumed posteroanterior translation, for example [ 69 ]. Furthermore, irrespective of the MT intervention chosen, restricting movements to a particular spinal segment is difficult and a regional, non-specific motion is typically induced, for example [ 70 ].

To support technique specificity, comparative data must repeatedly and reproducibly show superiority of outcome from specific MT interventions over non-specific MT, which is consistently not observed [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. Some studies have demonstrated localised effects of targeted interventions [ 74 ] but there appears to be no difference in outcome related to: the way in which techniques are delivered [ 75 ]; whether technique selection is random or clinician-selected [ 41 ]; or variations in the direction of force or targeted spinal level [ 76 ]. Conversely, there is evidence that non-specific technique application may improve outcomes [ 77 , 78 , 79 ]. Further, sham techniques produce comparable results to specialised approaches [ 11 ].

Passive movement and localised touch have been associated with significant analgesic responses [ 80 ]. These data indicate the presence of an analgesic mechanism. Unfortunately, mechanistic explanation for the therapeutic effects of MT upon pain and disability still remain largely in a ‘black box’ state [ 81 ]. Nevertheless, there are several plausible mechanisms of action to explain the analgesic action of MT interventions, including the activation of modulatory spinal and supraspinal responses [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ]. In support of this, MT interventions have been associated with a variety of neurophysiological responses [ 61 ]. However, it must be acknowledged that these studies provide mechanistic evidence based on association, which is insufficient to make causal claims [ 86 ]. Importantly, none of these neurophysiological responses have been directly related to either the analgesic mechanisms or clinical outcome and may therefore be incidental.

There is evidence that MT does not provide analgesia in injured tissues [ 87 , 88 ]. Conversely, MT has been shown to decrease inflammatory biomarkers [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 ], although these changes have not been evaluated in the longer-term, nor associated with clinical outcomes.

A modern framework for manual therapy

We propose a new direction for the future of MT in which the teaching and practice of this core dimension of MSK care are no longer based on the traditional principles of clinician-centred assessment , patho-anatomical reasoning , and technique specificity .

In doing so, this framework places MT more explicitly as part of person-centred care and appeals to common principles of healthcare, best available evidence, and contemporary theory which avoids unnecessary and over-complicated explanations of observed effects. The framework is simple in terms of implementation and delivery and contextualised by common elements of best practice for healthcare, in line with regulated standard of practice, e.g., [ 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 ]. Our proposal simply illustrates the operationalisation of these common elements through manual therapy.

Too much emphasis has been given to clinician-centred assessments and this should be rebalanced with an increased use of patient-centred assessments, such as a thorough case history, the use of validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS), and real-time patient feedback during assessments.

The new framework considers fundamental and humanistic dimensions of touch-based therapies, such as non-specific neuromodulation, communication and sense-making, physical education, and contextual clinical effectiveness. This aligns to contemporary ideas regarding therapeutic alliance and a move towards genuinely holistic healthcare [ 98 , 99 ]. The framework needs to be “open” in order to represent and allow expression of the complexity of the therapeutic encounter. However, to prevent the exploitation of this openness the framework is underpinned by evidence, and any manual therapy approaches without plausible and measurable mechanisms are not supported.

To provide the best care, common healthcare elements such as the safety and comfort of the person seeking help and therapist must be considered, and care should be provided as efficiently as possible. Our framework embraces these dimensions and employs an integration of current evidence. It is transdisciplinary in nature and may be adopted by all MT professions. Figure  1 provides a graphical representation of the framework. It is acknowledged that all components overlap, relate, and influence each. There are two main components: the practical elements on the inside, comprised of safety, comfort, and efficiency, and the conceptual themes on the outer regions, consisting of communication, context, and person-centred care Fig. 2 .

Representation of a modern teaching and practice framework for manual therapy. The image is purposefully designed to be simple, and has been developed primarily to be used as a teaching aid. When displayed in a learning environment, learners and clinicians can quickly refer to the image to check their practice against each element. To keep the image clear, each element of the image is described in detail in the text below”

Practical elements

Safety for people seeking help is a primary concern for all healthcare providers, with the aims to “ prevent and reduce risks, errors and harm that occur to patients [sic] during provision of health care… and to deliver quality essential health services ” [ 100 ]. This, and the notion of safety more generally (including that of the therapist), should be central to way MT is taught and practised.

A fundamentally safe context should be created where there is an absence of any obvious danger or risk of harm to physical or mental health. Consideration should be given to ensuring that communication and consent processes are orientated towards the safety of both the person seeking help and the therapist. The therapist should pay attention to any sense of threat that could be present in the physical, emotional, cognitive and environmental domains of the clinical encounter, and use skilful communication to mitigate anxiety about the assessment or therapeutic process.

Safety should also be considered in the clinical context of the assessment and treatment approach, ensuring that relevant and meaningful safety screenings have been undertaken [ 67 , 101 ]. There remains a need for good, skilful practice and development of manually applied techniques, but this can be achieved without reference to the principles of TMT and without the dogma of a proprietary therapeutic approach.

Comfort suggests that both the person seeking help and the therapist are physically and emotionally content during the assessment and therapeutic process. For example, the person seeking help is agreeable with any necessary state of dress (sociocultural difference should be considered); the person is relaxed and untroubled in whatever position they are in, and is adequately supported whether sitting, standing or recumbent during assessment and treatment; the therapist is comfortable with their positioning and posture; any discomfort produced by the therapeutic process is negotiated and agreed. Any physical mobilisation or touch should be applied with respect to the feedback from the person in relation to their comfort, rather than a pre-determined force based on the notion of resistance. This process requires clinical phronesis, sensitivity, responsivity, dexterity, and embodied communication [ 102 ].

The therapeutic process should be undertaken in a well-organised, competent manner aiming to achieve maximum therapeutic benefit with minimum waste of effort, time, or expense. To enhance the efficiency dimension, the assessment and therapeutic process should be an integral part of a holistic educational and/or activity-based approach to the management of the people which might also address psychological, nutritional, or ergonomic aspects of care, while being aware of social determinants to health. Recommendations exist which serve as a useful guide for enhancing care and promoting self-management in an efficient way [ 103 ].

A principle of this new model of MT is that therapists should not lose sight of the goals they develop with the people they help and ensure that there is coherence between their management aims and their techniques. Therapists should aim to support a person’s self-efficacy and use active approaches to empower them in their recovery. The overall number of therapeutic applications should be made in the context of fostering therapeutic alliance and supporting people to make sense of their situation and symptoms. This should be informed by contemporary views of the effects of manual therapy, emphasising a “physical education process” to promote sense-making and self-efficacy in alliance with the people they aim to help.

Clinical interactions need to be reproducible under a person’s own volition, serving to enhance self-empowerment. For example, someone could be taught how to “self-mobilise” if a positive effect is found with a particular therapeutic application. This should be appropriately scaffolded with behavioural change principles and functional contextualism that promote autonomy and self-management, rather than inappropriate reliance on the therapist [ 103 , 104 ].

An important and emergent notion from the proposed model is to question what constitutes indications for MT given that the model excludes traditional factors which would have informed whether manual therapy is indicated or not for a particular person. The response to this sits within the efficiency and safety dimensions: MT can be beneficial as part of a multi-dimensional approach to management across a broad population of people with musculoskeletal dysfunction, with no evidence to suggest any clinician-centered or patho-anatomical finding influences outcomes. The choice of whether or not to include MT as part of a management strategy should therefore be a product of a lack of contraindications and shared-decision making.

This framework aligns with evidence-based propositions that effectiveness and efficiency in assessment, diagnosis, and outcomes are not reliant on the therapist’s skill set of specialised elements of TMT, but rather other factors—for example variations in pain phenotypes [ 5 ].

Conceptual themes

Communication.

Communication is the overriding critical dimension to the whole therapeutic process and should be aimed at addressing peoples’ fundamental needs to make sense of their symptoms and path to recovery. The delivery and uptake of the therapy should therefore be operationalised in a communication process that meaningfully represents shared-decision making and the best possible attempt to contextualise the therapy in positive and evidence-informed explanations of the process and desired effects [ 105 ].

Within a therapeutic encounter, practitioners must give the time to listen to peoples’ accounts and explanations of their symptoms, including their ideas about their cause [ 106 ]. The assessment and diagnostic process should be a shared endeavour, for example, the negotiation of symptom reproduction. This should be done in a manner that facilitates sense-making, and which simultaneously encourages people to move on from unhelpful beliefs about their symptoms [ 107 , 108 ], encouraging understanding of the uncertain nature of pain and injury. Person-centered communication requires attention to what we communicate and how we communicate across the entire clinical interaction including interview, examination, and management planning [ 109 ]. Therapists need to be open, reflective, aware and responsive to verbal and non-verbal cues, and demonstrate a balance between engaging with people (e.g. eye-gaze) and writing/typing notes during the interview [ 110 , 111 , 112 ].

People should be given the opportunity to discuss their understanding of the diagnosis and options for treatment and rehabilitation. The decision-making process is dialogical, in which alternative options to the offered therapy should also be discussed with the comparative risks and benefits of all available management options, including doing nothing [ 113 , 114 ].

The therapist must fully appreciate the potential consequences of touch without consent. Continual dialogue should ensure that all parties are moving towards mutually agreed goals. The context of the therapy should be explicitly communicated to give appropriate context for any particular intervention as part of a holistic, evidence-based approach [ 115 , 116 , 117 ]. Therapists should be aware that their own beliefs can affect the way they communicate with their people; in the same way, a person’s context affects how they communicate what they expect from their treatment [ 107 , 118 , 119 , 120 ]. The construction of contextual healing scenarios which support positive outcomes, whilst minimising nocebic effects, is critical to effective healthcare [ 121 , 122 , 123 ].

There is a growing academic interest in the nature, role, and purpose of social and affective touch, and any re-framing of MT should consider touch as a means of communication to develop and enhance cooperative communications and strengthen the therapeutic relationship [ 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 ]. It can be soothing for a person in pain to experience the caring touch of a professional therapist [ 130 ]; on the other hand, probing, diagnostic, and touch can be experienced as alienating [ 131 , 132 , 133 ]. Touch can alter a person’s sense of body ownership and their ability to recognise and process their emotions by modulating interoceptive precision [ 129 , 134 , 135 ], and intentional touch may be perceived differently from casual, unfocussed touch [ 136 , 137 ]. There is also a thesis that touch generates shared understanding and meaning [ 138 , 139 , 140 ]. This wider appreciation of touch should be embedded in modern MT communication.

The contextual quality of a person’s experience of the therapeutic encounter can affect satisfaction and clinical outcomes [ 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 ]. The context in which therapeutic care takes place should therefore be developed to enhance this experience. There could be very local, practical aspects of the context, such as the type of passive information available in the clinical space, e.g. replacing biomedical and pathological imagery and objects with positive, active artefacts; judicious and thoughtful organisation and use of treatment tables to discourage a sense of passivity and disempowerment; allocating a comfortable space where communication can take place; colour schemes and light sources which facilitate positivity; ensuring consistency through all clinical and administrative staff promoting encouraging and non-nocebic messages. Importantly, the way the therapist dresses influences peoples’ perception of their healthcare experience [ 146 , 147 ], and that in turn should be contextually and culturally sensitive [ 148 , 149 , 150 ].

Beyond the local clinical space is the broader social environment. The undertaking of MT should serve a role in a person’s engagement with their social environment. For example, someone returning home after engaging with their therapist and disseminating positive health messages within their home and social networks; people acting as advocates for self-empowered healthcare. Furthermore, early data have demonstrated that aligning treatment with the beliefs and values of culturally and linguistically diverse communities enhances peoples’ engagement with their healthcare [ 151 ].

Person-centred care

Here we borrow directly from one of the most established and clinically useful definitions of Person-Centered Medicine [ 152 ]:

“(Person-Centered Medicine is) an affordable biomedical and technological advance to be delivered to patients [sic] within a humanistic framework of care that recognises the importance of applying science in a manner that respects the patients [sic] as a whole person and takes full account of [their] values, preferences, aspirations, stories, cultural context, fears, worries and hopes and thus that recognises and responds to [their] emotional, social and spiritual necessities in addition to [their] physical needs” [ 152 ] , p219.

Person-centred care incorporates a person’s perspective as part of the therapeutic process. In practice, therapists need to communicate in a manner that creates adequate conversational space to elicit a person’s agenda (i.e. understanding, impact of pain, concerns, needs, and goals), which guides clinical interactions. This approach encourages greater partnership in management [ 109 , 153 , 154 ].

A roadmap outlining key actions to implement person-centeredness in clinical practice has been outlined in detail elsewhere [ 155 ]. This includes screening for serious pathology, health co-morbidities and psychosocial factors; adopting effective communication; providing positive health education; coaching and supporting people towards active self-management; and facilitating and managing co-care (when needed) [ 154 ].

It is critical and necessary now to make these features explicit and central to the revised model of MT proposed in this paper. We wish to identify common ground across all MT professions in order to achieve a trans-disciplinary understanding of the evidence supporting the use of MT.

We acknowledge that our arguments here are rooted in empiricism and deliberately based on available research data from within the health science disciplines. We also acknowledge that there is a wider debate about future directions in person-centred care arising from the current evolution of the evidence-based health care movement, which has pointed to the need to learn more about peoples’ lived experiences, to redefine the model of the therapeutic relationship. Although beyond the scope of this paper, a full exploration of modern health care provision involves reconsideration of the ethics and legal requirements of communication and shared decision-making [ 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 ]. The authors envision this paper as a stimulus for self-reflection, stakeholder discussions, and ultimately change that can positively impact outcomes for people who seek manual therapy interventions.

Manual therapy has long been part of MSK healthcare and, given that is likely to continue. Current evidence suggests that effectiveness does not rely on the traditional principles historically developed in any of the major manual therapies. Therefore, the continued teaching and practice based on the principles of clinician-centred palpation , patho-anatomical reasoning , and technique specificity are no longer justified and may well even limit the value of MT.

A revised and reconceptualised framework of MT, based on the humanistic domains of safety, comfort and efficiency and underpinned by the dimensions of communication, context and person-centred care will ensure an empowering, biopsychosocial, evidence-informed approach to MSK care. We propose that the future teaching and practice of MT in physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, and all associated hands-on professions working within the healthcare field should be based on this new framework.

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Kerry, R., Young, K.J., Evans, D.W. et al. A modern way to teach and practice manual therapy. Chiropr Man Therap 32 , 17 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-024-00537-0

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-024-00537-0

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