Adapted from the Art of Public Speaking by Stephen Lucas

1. Oral/Interpersonal Communication Online
Kelly Soczka Steidinger

2. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Is the broad goal of a
speech. Goals
include:
 To inform
 To inspire
 To entertain
 To persuade
© ersler/iStock/360/Getty Images RF
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.

3. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
 Single infinitive phrase
 States what speaker
hopes to accomplish

4. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Follow these rules to write an effective
SPS:
 Write full infinitive phrase/sentence
 Write a statement, not question
 Avoid figurative language
 Limit to one distinct idea
 Be specific, not vague

5. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
Avalanches
More effective:
To inform my audience about the
three major kinds of avalanches.

6. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
What is Día de los Muertos?
More effective:
To inform my audience about the
history of Mexico’s Día de los
Muertos celebration.

7. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
To persuade my audience that the campus
policy on student parking really stinks.
More effective:
To persuade my audience that the campus
policy on student parking should be revised
to provide more spaces for students before
5 p.m.

8. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
To persuade my audience to become literacy
tutors and to donate time to Meals on Wheels.
More effective:
To persuade my audience to become literacy
tutors.
More effective:
To persuade my audience to donate time to Meals
on Wheels.

9. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
To persuade my audience that something
should be done about unsafe school buses.
More effective:
To persuade my audience that the federal
government should impose stronger safety
standards for school buses in the United
States.

10. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
 One-sentence
statement
 Encapsulates
major idea of
speech,
without listing
them© Chris Jackson/Pool/Reuters/Corbis Images
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.

11. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Follow these rules to write an effective
thesis:
 Express as a full declarative sentence
 Don’t express as question (see previous
example)
 Avoid figurative language (see previous example)
 Don’t be vague
 Include the topic of your speech in

12. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
Problems of fad diets.
More effective:
Although fad diets produce quick weight
loss, they can lead to serious health
problems by creating deficiencies in
vitamins and minerals and by breaking
down muscle tissue as well as fat.

13. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
Paying college athletes a monthly salary is a
good idea.
More effective:
Because college athletes in revenue-producing
sports such as football and basketball generate
millions of dollars in revenue for their schools,
the NCAA should allow such athletes to receive a
$300 monthly salary as part of their speeches as
they move scholarships.

14. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
General
Purpose:
To inform
Specific
Purpose
Statement:
To inform my audience of
the three major races in
alpine skiing.
Thesis: The three major races in
alpine skiing are the
downhill, slalom, and giant
slalom.

15. McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Main Points: I. The first major race in
alpine skiing is the
downhill.
II. The second major race in
alpine skiing is the slalom.
III
.
The third major race in
alpine skiing is the giant
slalom.