Chapter 5: Selecting Topic, Purpose, and Central Idea – Flashcards

They often become enthusiastic because enthusiasm is contagious

You write down words as they flow in your mind, without making any effort to censor, edit, or evaluate them. Then you go back and analyze the list for possible topics.

Possible answers: They cover material the audience already knows; they belabor the obvious; they promote beliefs that listeners already possess; they offer nothing new and worthwhile.

Answers might include any of the following: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to inspire, to stimulate, to introduce, to create goodwill

No. An entertaining speech can amuse or divert listeners with anecdotes, quotations, examples, and descriptions

(1) Begin the statement with an infinitive, (2) Include a reference to your audience, (3) Limit the statement to one major idea, (4) Make your statement as precise as possible, (5) Make sure you can achieve your objective in the time allotted, and (6) Don't be too technical.

The central idea is the basic message of a speech expressed in one sentence.

The specific purpose is written from the speaker's point of view—it's what he or she sets out to accomplish. The central idea is written from the listeners' point of view—it's the message they should go away with.

(Answers will vary.) Examples: To hope, to jump, to sympathize

Hidden purposes are unstated objectives that a speaker must be aware of so that he or she does not let them undermine the stated purpose of a speech.