Determine Purpose

Determine the General Purpose

First, review the three general purposes of speaking. Refer to your book on pages 125-126 for a more complete review.

• Informative speeches "define, describe, or explain a thing, person, place, concept, process, or function" (125). Speeches of this nature try to educate the audience and increase their knowledge about certain topics.
  
  
• Persuasive speeches "try to change or reinforce an audience's convictions and often to urge some sort of action" (126).
  
  
• Entertainment speeches "get the members of the audience to relax, smile, perhaps laugh, and generally enjoy themselves" (126).

After reviewing the three general purposes, select the one for your speech.

Considering your audience, topic, and occasion, which of the three general purposes will your speech achieve?

• Inform
• Persuade
• Entertain

Formulating the Specific Purpose

You're now ready to formulate the specific purpose for your speech. Review what your book says about the specific purpose on pages 127-129. Briefly, a specific purpose sets forth the behavioral objective for the speech. That is, you specify what behavior you seek from the audience (120).

Start your specific purpose with the words "At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to ..." Then, supply a verb such as "explain, describe, list, or write" that specifies what your audience will do. Other tips include:

• Use precise language;
• Limit the specific purpose to a single idea;
• Be sure that your specific purpose meets the interests, expectations, and levels of knowledge of your audience.

Now it's your turn. In the space below, write the specific purpose for your speech. Be sure that it starts with "At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to ..."