Generation
(noun)
Cohorts of people who were born in the same date range and share similar cultural experience.
Examples of Generation in the following topics:
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Age
- Of which generation do you think they are a member?
- To which generation do you belong?
- Generation X is the generation defined as those born after the baby boom ended, from 1965 to 1981.Change is more the rule for the people of Generation X than the exception.
- Millennials, also known as Generation Y, describes the generation following Generation X, from 1981 to 1999.
- Generation Z is highly connected, as many members of this generation have had lifelong use of communications nd media technologies.
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Brainstorming
- Good storms have lots of rain, and a good brainstorming session should generate lots of ideas.
- Let yourself generate as many different answers to the question as come to mind.
- Brainstorming should feel less stressful than other methods of generating ideas.
- Lightning during a brainstorm is a good thing: it means ideas are being generated!
- Employ brainstorming as a method to help you generate topic ideas
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General Purpose
- Examine the general purpose of why you're speaking; every idea in your speech should connect to that purpose to reinforce your thesis.
- The pyramid's widest point represents the most general purpose for the speech.
- Many times, it is easy to focus on that narrowest point, but it is just as important to take a step back and consider the general purpose of the speech.
- If the general purpose is to instruct, the speaker may conduct a demonstration on how to set up privacy settings on Facebook.
- Explain what a general purpose of a speech is and why it is important
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Scoping Your Topic
- Once you have generated a variety of ideas, it is time to narrow the topic to ensure it fits the scope of your speech.
- Think of your preliminary work as establishing a general target.
- Even though it is not an easy decision to come to, deciding on the general topic has only set you out on the path toward developing a speech, not toward leading you to the end.
- As these questions make clear, picking a general topic is only a first step.
- An important consideration when you begin narrowing in on the specific area of your general topic is how much time you will have to deliver your speech.
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Different Lines of Reasoning
- If you accept or know the general principle as true, then you can apply it to the specific case to conclude that it is also true.
- Consider the general principle of the law a gravity: what goes up must come down.
- Now, when you throw the ball in the air, you conclude that it will fall down based on your knowledge of the general law of gravity.
- Deductive reasoning contrasts with inductive reasoning in that a specific conclusion is arrived at from the general principle when reasoning deductively.
- Notice that inductive reasoning moves from specific instances to a general conclusion, whereas deductive reasoning applies a general principle to specific instances.
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Specific Purpose of a Speech
- The specific purpose of a speech fuses the topic and general purpose.
- The widest part represents the topic, followed by the general purpose (instructing, informing, persuading, or entertaining).
- From there, the next most-refined level is the specific purpose, which fuses the topic and general purpose.
- Going from the general to the specific is all about refinement.
- As previously discussed, not all speeches conform strictly to the four general purposes for speaking.
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Tailor Abstraction to Your Audience
- Almost anything can be described either in relatively abstract, general words or in relatively concrete, specific ones.
- In general, as you move from one level to another while speaking, you will tailor the level of abstraction to the specific speech content and the audience level of understanding.
- You can increase the clarity, and therefore the usability, of your speaking by using concrete, specific words rather than abstract, general ones.
- Abstract and general terms do have important uses for different audiences and occasions.
- For example, in scientific, technical, and other specialized fields, speakers often need to make general points, describe the general features of a situation, or provide general guidance for action.
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Choosing Appropriate Words
- Generalizing: as a general rule, as a rule, in general, generally, normally, on the whole, usually
- Qualifying frequency: never, rarely, sometimes, usually, often, always, generally, on the whole, frequently, occasionally, hardly ever, seldom
- Qualifying results: under no circumstances, mainly, generally, predominantly, usually, the majority, most of, almost all, a number of, may be, some, a few, a little, fairly, very, quite, rather, almost
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The Role of Transitions
- Develop a general premise: constructing a presentation will require that you begin by developing your goal and translating it into a general premise you will state to your audience.
- Generate main points and organize them strategically: after you have established a premise, you will be able to generate main points to support this claim.
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Listening and Critical Thinking
- One definition for critical thinking is "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. "
- Expressed in most general terms, critical thinking is "a way of taking up the problems of life. " As such, reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically insofar as core critical thinking skills can be applied to all of those activities.