COMS 101 Chapter 8: Chapter 8
10 Jan 2017
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Supporting Your Ideas
● Supporting materials→ the materials used to support a speaker’s ideas. The three major
kinds are examples, statistics, and testimony.
● Examples→ a specific case used to illustrate or represent a group of people, ideas,
conditions, experiences, or the like.
○ Brief example→ a specific case referred to in passing to illustrate a point
○ Extended example→ a story, narrative, or anecdote developed at some length
to illustrate a point
○ Hypothetical example→ an example that describes an imaginary or fictitious
situation
● Tips for using examples
○ To clarify your ideas
○ To reinforce your ideas
○ To personalize your ideas
○ Make them vivid and richly textured
○ Practice delivery to enhance your extended examples
● Statistics→ numerical data
○ Used to show the magnitude or seriousness of an issue
● Understanding statistics
○ Are the statistics representative?: male to female, young to old, race to race (rati
of those being tested)
■ Mean→ the average of a group of numbers
■ Median→ the middle number in a group of numbers arranged from
highest to lowest
■ Mode→ the number that occurs most frequently in a group of numbers
○ Are the statistics from a reliable source?
■ Is there bias?
● Tips for using statistics
○ To quantify your ideas→ magnify idea, make it real
○ Use statistics sparingly→ don’t bore audience
○ Identify the source of your statistics→ reliable?
○ Explain your statistics→ interpret and relate them to your listeners
○ Round off complicated statistics
○ Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends→ graph, powerpoint
● Testimony→ quotations or paraphrases used to support a point
○ Expert testimony→ testimony from people who are recognized experts in their
fields; support from a reliable, knowledgeable source
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Supporting materials the materials used to support a speaker"s ideas. The three major kinds are examples, statistics, and testimony. Examples a specific case used to illustrate or represent a group of people, ideas, conditions, experiences, or the like. Brief example a specific case referred to in passing to illustrate a point. Extended example a story, narrative, or anecdote developed at some length to illustrate a point. Hypothetical example an example that describes an imaginary or fictitious situation. Practice delivery to enhance your extended examples. Used to show the magnitude or seriousness of an issue. : male to female, young to old, race to race (rati of those being tested) Mean the average of a group of numbers. Median the middle number in a group of numbers arranged from highest to lowest. Mode the number that occurs most frequently in a group of numbers. To quantify your ideas magnify idea, make it real.
