Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Facts and Statistics Effectiveness
Facts and statistics can be very beneficial in a speech because it allows the audience to think the speaker is knowledgeable about his or her topic. It shows that a speaker has done his or her research thoroughly if the facts or statistics are from a credible source. However, facts and statistics are usually beneficial for certain types of speeches. For example, facts and statistics come in handy when planning for a persuasive speech. Persuasive speeches call for the audience’s trust and reliability in a speaker. By providing facts and statistics from a reliable source, the audience finds the speaker more believable. In some cases, using facts and statistics in an informative speech can be beneficial. However, the point of an informative speech is, of course, to inform. By providing statistics, the audience may think that the speaker is biased. For example, when conducting a speech about cars, a speaker would not want to provide a dramatic air pollution statistic because it goes off topic and hints that the speaker is trying to persuade the audience to stop air pollution. Thus, facts and statistics should be carefully considered when incorporated in a speech.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Piper,
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think about how facts and stats would actually create a bias in an informative speech. I always thought that they would prove to be an incredibly effective part of any speech, but never thought about how it could potentially ruin the speech as well. "a speaker would not want to provide a dramatic air pollution statistic... audience to stop air pollution." That's a very good point.. if I were to take my next topic which is graffiti, and continuously talk about the statistics about how it is turning into a globally and socially acceptable form of art, it is simply being suggestive and implying that even though it was considered a crime, it isn't.
I agree that statistics are what develop a speech with hard evidence and facts and that it should at least be stated through a credible source. I'm sure you can take this idea and insert it into your next speech. :)
I always though that facts and statistics were just used to make the speech longer,obviously I was wrong. A person really does make their point when doing a persuasive speech when it comes to adding facts and statistics. Credibility is extremely important when making a speech, especially when it comes to a persuasive speech, you don't want to make the audience think that you don't know about your topic;hence, you give them pivotal facts and statistics. And you are totally right about how you wouldn't be giving statistics on air pollution when they are speaking about cars because one would not go about getting off topic. We should really use these two things that support our speeches because then we’d be that much better off. :)
ReplyDelete