Supporting Your Ideas

There are many types of supporting materials, some of which are better suited for logical appeals and some for emotional appeals.

Supporting materials bolster arguments and can make them more persuasive to audience members.

Supporting materials are effective only if they help persuade the audience.

Brief, extended, and hypothetical examples can be used to help an audience better understand and relate to key points of a presentation.

Examples help the audience understand the key points; they should be to the point and complement the topic.

Statistics can be a powerful tool in public speaking if the speaker appropriately explains their use and significance.

Visual tools can be an effective way of incorporating statistics in your persuasive speech.

There are two types of testimony: expert testimony and peer testimony.

Expert testimony can be incorporated after introducing a point of your argument.

Analogies draw comparisons between ideas or objects that share certain aspects or characteristics, but are dissimilar in other areas.

It is easier to support your ideas when you provide definitions ensuring that you and your audience are working with the same meaning.

Visual aids are often used to help audiences of informative and persuasive speeches understand the topic being presented.

Because human life is narratively rooted, incorporating story telling into public speaking can be a powerful way of reaching your audience. 

Presenters use narratives to support their points and make their speeches more compelling.