9. Factors that Lead to Obesity
• Over eating
• Lack of exercise
• Genetics
• Too much sugar
• Office Job
• Blahh Blah
• More Blah
• Most of the Audience won’t remember half of
these!
SAFEST Approach – an acronym that can help you to remember all of the important areas to cover in your supporting materials. S tatistics – important to note where the stats came from, where did the source get the info. A nalogies – points out similarities between two items Ex: if we put humans on the moon, we will find the cure for the common cold. – False analogy F acts – facts accurate, current? E xamples – brief, extended, hypothetical – appropriate for the situation, use to clarity, reinforce, personalize, vivid, practice delivery S tories – personal stories, most under used data in student speeches T estimonials – expert or peer; use from qualified sources, unbiased sources, identify people you quote
Statistics are numerical data that show relationships or summarize or interpret many instances. Guidelines for Using Stats Sources must be reliable and neutral Explain statistics you are using Use statistics sparingly Round off large numbers when possible Use visual aids to present statistics if appropriate and possible
When using a visual aid, epsecially for a general audience. You want to keep your stats simple. A chart like this is completely useless. You only want to compare two line charts at a time, maybe three. But again, make it as simple as possible. If you have a lot of numbers, consider shaving them down, or developing a handout that they can refer to later. As a speaker, you want to get to the core of your stats. Nothing is more boring than hearing a list of stats! Instead, find the important stats, explain them, and refer them to the source of the stats for more numbers.
This chart is much easier to follow. It highlights the contrast between two ideas. Of course, the chart means nothing if you don’t explain why it is important. Stats are supporting materials. But should never be used as a point by itself.
In this example, I knew that just under 40% of all relationships will experience infidelity at some time.
This image helps visualize what that statistic means. You could also apply your stats to the people in the audience. For example, if 20% of college students have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. If you have 20 students in your class, you could say, “ According to (source), 20% of college students are likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2013. That means that in this classroom, four of us are likely to be diagnosed.”
One common thing I see in speeches is the list. Take this next slide for example:
This student probably found a list on a website and decided to use this in his speech. The problem is, these lists are not memorable. Remember back to our listening section? Our minds arer only capable of processing so much information. How about this solution, develop a handout, to pass out after the speech. Then, during the speech, pick out one or two of these factors and go in depth. Such as:
This image will more than likely be memorable. You can explain it in depth. And you don’t need to worry if the audience will remember the list.
Another element in speeches that needs work is how to incorporate the story. We become obsessed with the idea that we need lots of facts. Our speeches become monotonous lists of information. Even if the data is fascinating, it is difficult for us to remember all that information. In this speech, I am not interested in the amount of facts you can provide. I am more interested in how you can take a few facts, apply them to a story. Why?
When I grew up, once a year me and my cousin would watch the entire Star Wars trilogy. To this day, I could tell you the plot, the characters, and just about anything you would want to know about star wars.
I have taken Astronomy courses, I can’t remember anything about them. Now, why would I remember Star Wars, but not Astronomy?
Our brains, most likely through evolution, are uniquely designed to remember stories. Stories fire more brain cells in our minds than discreet facts. Stories also stir up emotions, which also correlates with memory. Thus, star wars works my brain more efficiently than my boring astronomy courses. So, if you can bring in more stories people are more likely to remember your speeches.
I have found that personal stories seem to work the best. If you tell the audience a story about yourself, they will see you as more credible and they will remember YOU. You can also look through newspapers and magazines, try to find a story out there that highlights a problem or issue in your speech.
The story should be about someone. Again, preferably you, otherwise a person we are familiar with. If the character is not someone we know, spend some time describing him or her (or it, if it is an animal)
Here, the plot should be unique, even odd. Spend time describing the plot. What happened? Where? (again, the closer in location to the audience the better)
Finally, you should provide us with some closure. Be sure that you don’t describe the plot without telling us how the character ends up. Did the story end happy, sad, tragic? Does the story teach us a lesson? Be sure you address this!
I have found that personal stories seem to work the best. If you tell the audience a story about yourself, they will see you as more credible and they will remember YOU. You can also look through newspapers and magazines, try to find a story out there that highlights a problem or issue in your speech.
