This document discusses different types of supporting materials that can be used when presenting ideas, including examples, hypothetical examples, stories, comparisons, statistics, quotations, and visual aids. It provides sources for finding supporting materials, such as books, newspapers, scholarly journals, and government publications. It also offers tips for using supporting materials effectively, such as making them meaningful, only using what is necessary, establishing their credibility, and helping the audience remember them. Different ways of presenting statistics and using stories as supporting materials are also examined.

1. Supporting your Ideas
Types of Supporting Material

2. WHY?
• illustrate/elaborate on idea
• prove your statements
• arouse interest

3. Supporting Material
1. Examples
2. Hypothetical Examples
3. Stories
4. Comparisons
5. Statistics
6. Quotations
7. Visual Aids
1. Books
2. Newspapers & Magazines
3. Scholarly Journals
4. Government publications
5. Interviews
6. Survey Results
and where to find it:

4. • Make them meaningful
• Use only if necessary
• Establish their credibility
• Help audience remember them
• Present them in graphic form
Direct marketing
during holiday season:
21.5 pounds
The weight of three
newborn babies
Statistics

5. Make them meaningful
Use only if necessary

6. Using several statistics
No visuals

7. Statistics on Posterboard
How could you improve audience recall?

8. Statistics plotted on Graph

9. Statistics made Meaningful

10. Statistics made Meaningful
Displaying life expectancy across the world

11. Statistics made Meaningful
Displaying patterns in the data on distribution of income

12. • Stories allow us to imagine a scene and imagine
ourselves in it. They transport us into other
peoples’ worlds
• Real stories have the most impact
• The more plausible a hypothetical story, the
more likely it is to connect with
the audience
• Can stories exploit their subjects and
& their audiences?
Stories

13. The (brain chemistry altering)
power of stories

14. Story
Takes you to the scene of the battlefield

15. Comparisons/Analogies
• Analogies show similarities or differences
between things, processes, persons or events
• Compares an unfamiliar concept with a more
familiar one
• Links the unfamiliar with the familiar to
build on prior knowledge

16. Reagan’s Challenger Speech
Comparison of the space shuttle crew to the
early explorers

17. Literal Comparison
using visuals

18. You need 4 sources for
your informative speech
Cite your sources in
the speech

19. Citing your Evidence

20. Establishing the credibility
of your evidence

21. “Casual Research” vs. Academic Research
• Need a quick answer
• Need to identify
primary sources
• Shallow understanding
is enough
Good when: Good when:
• Need a thorough answer
• Locate primary sources
• Shallow understanding
is not enough

22. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Academic_use

23. Explanation: Defining Chi
Necessity of the overhead?

24. Hypothetical Example
Instance: Example or illustration used to clarify/add interest

25. Factual Example