Finding the Purpose and Central Idea of Your Speech
The general purpose of most speeches will fall into one of four categories:
- to inform
- to persuade
- to entertain
- to commemorate or celebrate
Step 1: Decide on your General Purpose
The first step is to consider and then focus on which general purpose category best describes your overall goal with the speech. What do you want your audience to think, feel, or do as a consequence of hearing you speak? Often, the general purpose of your speech will be defined by the speaking situation. If you’re asked to run a training session at work, your purpose isn’t to entertain but rather to inform. Likewise, if you are invited to introduce the winner of an award, you’re not trying to change the audience’s mind about something; you’re honoring the recipient of the award. In a public speaking class, your general purpose may be included in the assignment, for instance, “Give a persuasive speech about . . . .” When you’re assigned a speech project, you should always make sure you know whether the general purpose is included in the assignment or whether you need to decide on the general purpose yourself.
Step 2: Determine your Specific Purpose
Now that you know your general purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain, commemorate), you can start to move in the direction of a specific purpose.
A specific purpose statement builds on your general purpose and makes it more specific, as the name suggests. So if your first speech is an informative speech, your general purpose will be to inform your audience about a very specific realm of knowledge.
In writing your specific purpose statement, bring three contributing elements together to help you determine your specific purpose:
- You (your interests, your background, experience, education, etc.)
- Your audience
- The context or setting
Keeping these three elements in mind, you can begin to write a specific purpose statement, which will be the foundation for everything you say – and do not say – in the speech. The following formula will help you put together your specific purpose statement:
- The purpose of my speech is [insert specific communication word: to inform, explain, demonstrate, describe, define, persuade, convince, prove, argue, etc. ]
- to my [AUDIENCE] [insert audience: coworkers, community group, etc.]
- about [TOPIC] [insert topic: how to bake brownies, that Macs are better than PCs, etc.]
For example: The purpose of my presentation is to inform my coworkers of the value of informed intercultural communication.
Step 3: Formulate a Central Idea Statement
While you will not actually say your specific purpose statement during your speech, you will need to clearly state what your focus and main points are going to be. The statement that reveals your main points is commonly known as the central idea statement. Just as you would create a thesis statement for an essay or research paper, the central idea statement helps focus your presentation by defining your topic, purpose, direction, angle, and/or point of view. Here are two examples:
Specific Purpose: To explain to my classmates the effects of losing a pet on the elderly.
- Central Idea: When elderly persons lose their animal companions, they can experience serious psychological, emotional, and physical effects.
Specific Purpose: To demonstrate to my audience the correct method for cleaning a computer keyboard.
- Central Idea: Your computer keyboard needs regular cleaning to function well, and you can achieve that in four easy steps.
Please note that your central idea will emerge and evolve as you research and write your speech, so be open to where your research takes you and anticipate that formulating your central idea will be an ongoing process.
Below are four guidelines for writing a strong central idea.
- Your central idea should be one, full sentence.
- Your central idea should be a statement, not a question.
- Your central idea should be specific and use concrete language.
- Each element of your central idea should be related to the others.
Using the topic “Benefits of Yoga for College Students’ Stress,” here are some correct and incorrect ways to write a central idea.
| Strong formulation of the central idea | Weak formulation of the central idea |
|---|---|
| Yoga practice can help college students improve the quality of their sleep, improve posture, and manage anxiety. | Yoga is great for many things. It can help you sleep better and not be so stiff. Yoga also helps you feel better. (This central idea is not one sentence and uses vague words.) |
| Yoga practice can help college students focus while studying, manage stress, and increase mindfulness. | What are the benefits of yoga for college students? (This central idea should be a statement, not a question.) |
| Yoga is an inclusive, low-impact practice that offers mental and physical benefits for a beginning athlete, a highly competitive athlete, and everyone in between. | Yoga is great and everyone should try it! (This central idea uses vague language.) |
| Yoga practice can help college students develop mindfulness so they can manage anxiety, increase their sense of self-worth, and improve decision-making. | Yoga practice increases mindfulness, but can lead to some injuries and it takes at least 200 hours of training to become an instructor. (The elements of this central idea are not related to one another.) |
A strong central idea shows that your speech is focused around a clear and concise topic and that you have a strong sense of what you want your audience to know and understand as a result of your speech. Again, it is unlikely that you will have a final central idea before you begin your research. Instead, it will come together as you research your topic and develop your main points.
