Lesson 3: Developing Supporting Materials for make abstract concepts relatable, while interactive

Presentation elements, like Q&A or demonstrations, help the

audience engage and apply what they’re learning.
Supporting Materials
Summarizing key points throughout reinforces the
As you begin to develop your informative speech message, making it memorable and easy to grasp.
outline, you will want to gather supporting material.

• Supporting Materials are the different types of

The image illustrates a presentation on the
information you use to develop and support
mechanics of light bulbs, showing a speaker
your main points.
explaining why light bulbs don’t explode when turned
You discover these materials as you research your on. The visual aids include diagrams of Edison’s first
speech; they then become the building blocks you bulb, details on the bulb’s components like the
use to construct a successful presentation. filament and inert gases, and a formula (Ohm’s law)
that relates resistance, voltage, and current. The
• supporting materials are an essential part of a audience is engaged, which emphasizes how clear
well-developed speech. visual aids and explanations can effectively enhance
Using your supporting materials effectively is understanding.
essential because audiences crave detail and
specifics. Supporting material make your ideas,
arguments, assertions, points, or concepts real and 3.It Strengthens audience memory
concrete.
• Supporting materials such as props, pictures,
• Supporting material also relates directly to and demonstrations can help create hooks.
presentation aids. To strengthen audience memory, use supporting
Whereas presentation aids are visual or auditory materials like props, pictures, and demonstrations to
supporting materials, this chapter will deal with create memorable “hooks” that make information
verbal supporting materials. stick. Visual and tangible aids give the audience
something concrete to associate with your message,
making it easier to recall later. These materials can
Why Use Supporting Materials? turn abstract ideas into vivid, lasting memories,
helping the audience retain information long after the
1. It builds audience interest presentation.
- Select materials that will:

•Surprise them 4.It helps Win audience agreement

•Make them laugh - Provide supporting data that offers a good reason
for accepting your claims.
•Touch their emotions
•Quote an expert.
To build audience interest, choose materials that
engage them in multiple ways: •Present a demonstration.
Surprise, Include unexpected facts, stories, or twists. •Provide examples.
These could be little-known details, innovative ideas,
or plot twists that catch the audience off guard, To win audience agreement, provide supporting data
keeping them curious. Humor, use relatable humor, that gives strong reasons to accept your claims.
anecdotes, or lighthearted visuals that make the Quoting an expert can add credibility, showing that
audience laugh. Laughter not only breaks the ice but knowledgeable voices back your points. A
also makes your message more memorable. demonstration allows the audience to see the
Emotional Connection, share personal stories, evidence firsthand, making your argument more
images, or messages that resonate emotionally. convincing. Additionally, relevant examples can make
Tapping into emotions like nostalgia, joy, empathy, or abstract ideas concrete, helping the audience see
even a sense of purpose can create a lasting impact the practical value of your message. These
and deepen engagement. techniques build trust and make your claims more
compelling.
Using a mix of these elements makes your
presentation dynamic and memorable, holding the
audience's attention. 5.Evoking audience emotion

- It’s easier to keep interest during the speech if you

2. It enhances audience understanding get the audience to feel something.

To enhance audience understanding, use clear, Consider using:

simple language and visual aids like charts or images •Humor
to clarify complex ideas. Analogies and examples can
•Empathy Brief Examples

•Anger - Set of short instances used to support or

illustrate your claim
Evoking audience emotion helps keep their interest
- Concisely clarifies the point that you are
throughout your speech by making the experience
making
more engaging. Using humor can lighten the mood
- Usually a single sentence
and make your message more relatable, while
empathy allows you to connect on a personal level, Brief examples are short and use a single illustration
making the audience feel understood. Introducing of an idea. They quickly reinforce one's point/idea.
elements that evoke anger (when appropriate) can
- Brief examples can be used by the presenter
motivate the audience toward action by highlighting
as an aside or on its own.
issues that need addressing. By appealing to these
emotions, you create a more impactful and Brief examples are used to further illustrate a point
memorable presentation. that may not be immediately obvious to all audience
members but is not so complex that is requires a
more lengthy example.
five types of supporting materials.

• Examples (brief, extended, and hypothetical)

Extended Examples
• Statistics
• Testimony (expert or peer) - Provide details and give the audience a
• Narratives deeper and richer picture of your point
• Definition - Tell a story in your speech to reinforce or
simplify
In this unit, you will learn more about the different - Narrative or anecdote
types of supporting material and guidelines for using - a speaker may want to use a chart, graph, or
it during a speech presentation. other visual aid to help the audience
Each provides a different type of support, and you will understand the example
want to choose the supporting materials that best An instance in which an extended example could be
help you make the point you want to get across to used includes a presentation in which a speaker is
your audience. explaining how the “time value of money” principle
works in finance. Since this is a concept that people
unfamiliar with finance may not immediately
1. Examples understand, a speaker will want to use an equation
This type of supporting material is the first and and other visual aids to further help the audience
easiest to use but also easy to forget. understand this principle.

• Samples or instances that support or

illustrate a general claim Hypothetical Examples
• Simplify and reinforce ideas in your speech
A hypothetical example is a fictional example that
• Examples are almost always short but
can be used when a speaker is explaining a
concrete specific instances to illuminate a
complicated topic that makes the most sense when it
concept.
is put into more realistic or relatable terms.
• They are designed to give audiences a
reference point. - A fictional example
- are also a great way to relate to your audience
An example must be quickly understandable,
something the audience can pull out of their memory if a presenter is discussing statistical probability,
or experience quickly. instead of explaining probability in terms of
equations, it may make more sense for the presenter
• Brief, extended, and hypothetical examples
to make up a hypothetical example.
can be used to help an audience better
understand and relate to key points of a - Hypothetical examples can sometimes begin
presentation. with the term "imagine."
There are many types of examples that a presenter are used to describe events/ideas that are yet to
can use to help an audience better understand a happen, but might happen in the future.
topic and the key points of a presentation. These
include specific situations, problems, or stories
designed to help illustrate a principle, method, or Examples are essential to help an audience better
phenomenon. They are useful because they can understand a topic. However, a speaker should be
make an abstract concept more concrete for an careful to not overuse examples as too many
audience by providing a specific case. There are three examples may confuse the audience and distract
main types of examples: brief, extended, and them from focusing on the key points that the
hypothetical. speaker is making.
2. Statics 3.Testimony

- Statistics are misunderstood. - Information provided by others

because the science of statistics is difficult. Even Testimony is the words of others. You might think of
terms such as mean, median, and mode often them as quoted material. Obviously, all quoted
confuse people, much less regression analysis, two- material or testimony is not the same. Some
tailed T-tests, and margin of error. Before you can use quotations you just use because they are funny,
statistics in a speech, you should have a basic compelling, or attention-getting. They work well as
understanding of them. openings to introductions. Testimony can also give an
audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of
- Information presented in numerical form
others.
that can be used to compare, predict, quantify, or
- a statement or endorsement given by
summarize ideas, things, or concepts. Statistics
someone who has a logical connection to the
utilize the language of numbers to express a complex
topic and who is a credible source.
idea in a simple and clear way that is easily digestible
to the audience. Testimony can be used to either clarify or prove a
point and is often used by referring to the research of
- Provide your main points with valuable
experts. For example, you could quote a study
information and support
conducted by an independent auditing organization
- Statistics can be a powerful persuasive tool in
that endorses your organization’s ability to financially
public speaking if the speaker appropriately
support current workforce levels.
explains their use and significance.
Testimony is basically divided into two categories:
Using statistics in public speaking can be a powerful
expert and peer.
tool. It provides a quantitative, objective, and
persuasive platform on which to base an argument, - expert and peer are the types of testimonies
prove a claim, or support an idea. Before a set of
statistics can be used, however, it must be made
understandable by people who are not familiar with Expert testimony
statistics. The key to the persuasive use of statistics
is extracting meaning and patterns from raw data in a - Comes from professionals who have in-depth
way that is logical and demonstrable to an audience. knowledge of a topic
There are many ways to interpret statistics and data an expert for our purposes is someone with
sets, not all of them valid. recognized credentials, knowledge, education,
- Using Tables, Graphs and Maps to and/or experience in a subject. Experts spend time
Communicate Statistical Findings studying the facts and putting the facts together.

Graphs, tables, and maps can be used to - commonly introduced after a claim is made.
communicate the numbers, but then the numbers Expert testimony is one of your strongest supporting
need to be put into context to make the message materials to advance your arguments, but in a sense,
stick. by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are
While representing statistical information in tables, arguing that your source is truly an expert to validate
graphs, or maps can be highly effective, it is their information.
important to ensure that the information is not - Expert testimony comes from a person that is
presented in a manner that can mislead the reader. a respected expert in the field of your topic,
The key to presenting effective tables, graphs, or
maps is to ensure they are easy to understand and such as a doctor or someone that has conducted a
clearly linked to the message. Ensure that you great deal of research in that particular field.
provide all the necessary information required to
understand what the data is showing. The table,
graph, or map should be able to stand alone. Peer/Lay Testimony

Statistics are rarely meaningful in and of themselves. - comes from a source that is neither expert
Statistics will, and should, almost always be used to nor celebrity, but similar status to the
illustrate a relationship. It’s more important for audience.
people to remember the relationship than the
Any quotation from a friend, family member, or
number.
classmate about an incident or topic would be peer
We need to put statistics into context for our testimony. It is useful in helping the audience
audiences. understand a topic from a personal point of view.
So Peer testimony is a statement that comes from An example of a literary narrative might be one of
someone who has experienced an event or situation. Aesop’s fables, a short story by O’Henry, or an
It could be someone who has been directly affected appropriate tale from another culture.
by the topic of your speech or someone that has an
Historical narratives (sometimes called documented
opinion on the topic.
narratives) have power because they can also prove
- Used to show how a typical person has been an idea as well as clarify one. In using these, you
affected by your topic should treat them as fact and therefore give a citation
as to where you found the historical narrative. By
IMAGE
“historical” we do not mean the story refers to
This cartoon illustrates the difference between expert something that happened many years ago, only that it
testimony and lay testimony in the context of a has happened in the past and there were witnesses
tornado shelter. to validate the happening.

On the left, the expert, dressed in professional attire, Hypothetical narratives are ones that could happen
confidently asserts that the shelter has a "98% but have not yet. To be effective, they should be
chance of surviving a tornado," emphasizing the based on reality.
credibility that comes from his professional
IMAGE
knowledge and experience. This kind of testimony is
often used to lend authority to a claim based on data This comic starts with a narrative explaining how in
or expertise. earlier times, drawings of people having ideas in
comic strips were ambiguous. A historical figure in
On the right, a peer/layperson shares their personal
old attire is shown pondering whether they are
experience, stating, "Here's how we survived the
dancing or thinking. Then, Thomas Edison is
tornado in this shelter." This highlights how lay
introduced with the invention of the lightbulb in 1879,
testimony is based on personal accounts and
which becomes an iconic symbol for ideas in comic
relatable experiences, which can resonate with an
strips. Artists embrace it as a clearer way to depict
audience on an emotional level.
thoughts, but the comic hints that in the modern era,
Together, these contrasting forms of testimony new representations of ideas may emerge as
demonstrate how both expert insights and personal people’s thinking evolves.
experiences can be powerful in supporting
arguments and making points in a presentation.
Using a combination of both types can enhance the 5.Definition
credibility of a speaker and engage the audience
- To define means to set limits on something;
effectively.
defining a word is setting limits on what it means,
how the audience should think about the word,
and/or how you will use it.
4.Narratives
We know there are denotative and connotative
- Brief (real or imaginary) stories that support
definitions or meanings for words, which we usually
your main point
think of as objective and subjective responses to
- an be used as attention-getters or to words. You only need to define words that would be
illustrate a point unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to
use in a specialized way. So, there are different types
- Use short narratives to recapture the of definitions.
audience’s attention.
- Dictionary definitions provide the meaning of
Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in a term as it appears in a dictionary.
speeches to interest the audience and clarify,
dramatize, and emphasize ideas. They have, if done They are concise and aim to capture the essence of a
well, strong emotional power. They can be used in the word's meaning in a straightforward manner. For
introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the example, a dictionary might define "democracy" as "a
speech. They can be short, as anecdotes usually are. system of government in which the people elect
representatives."
- can be personal, literary, historical, or
hypothetical. - Expert definitions come from a person who is
a credible source of information.
Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where
you desire to: Relate to the audience on a human These come from credible sources who have
level, especially if they may see you as competent specialized knowledge or authority on a subject. An
but not really similar or connected to them. And Build expert definition often carries more weight because it
your credibility by mentioning your experience with a is based on informed opinion or research. For
topic. instance, a psychologist might define "stress" based
on clinical findings and extensive experience in the
field, providing a more nuanced understanding than a
standard dictionary entry.
 - Etymological definitions explain the linguistic a seven-course meal,” indicating redundancy in
origin of terms. arguments. The bottom row illustrates more diverse
support, using different formats or angles, such as a
This type of definition traces the linguistic origin of a
computer screen or a food tray, representing varied
term, exploring how its meaning and form have
ways to strengthen a claim through more engaging or
evolved over time. For example, the word
diverse types of evidence.
"democracy" comes from the Greek roots "demos"
(people) and "kratos" (power or rule), indicating its 3. Appeal to different learning styles.
foundational concept of people ruling themselves. - Active learners
Etymological definitions can enrich understanding by
Need to “do something active” with the material
providing historical context.
- Reflective learners
- Functional definitions explain how something
is used or what it does. “Prefer to think about it”
These definitions describe how something is used or - Visual learners
what it does, focusing on the practical application of
a term. For instance, instead of just stating what a Tend to “remember best what they see”
"knife" is, a functional definition might explain that it - Verbal learners
is an instrument used for cutting, slicing, or dicing
food. This approach emphasizes the utility of the Tend to “get more out of words—written and spoken
term in real-life situations, making it easier for explanations”
audiences to grasp its relevance. IMAGE
these definitions offer a comprehensive framework This image illustrates different learning styles through
for understanding terms by addressing their a comic format. The four types depicted are:
meanings, origins, expert interpretations, and
practical applications. Each type contributes to a Reflective Learning: The comic shows a person
fuller understanding of language and concepts in imagining a world without written words,
different contexts. emphasizing internal thought and introspection as
key to learning.
IMAGE
Verbal Learning: A quote by Jim Fiebig is presented:
Dictionary Definitions "There is a wonder in reading Braille that the sighted
will never know: to touch words and have them touch
you back." This emphasizes verbal comprehension
Guidelines for Using Supporting Materials and communication.
1. Choose the most credible proof. Visual Learning: A person points to a Braille alphabet,
Give priority to supporting materials that are backed highlighting the use of visual aids and seeing patterns
by credible evidence. for understanding.

Examples are more credible when they can be Active Learning: The final panel shows two people
proven. interacting with Braille, suggesting hands-on
experience and physical engagement in learning.
IMAGE
These types represent different approaches that
The comic depicts a woman trying to operate a claw cater to individual learning preferences.
machine that offers different types of "proof" or
evidence. The prizes include various forms of 4. Avoid long lists.
reasoning such as "sort-of fact," "compelling & Strings of facts, examples, or statistics with no
credible statistic," "statement," and "unattributed elaboration are difficult for listeners.
quote." This example humorously critiques how
individuals try to grasp at the best form of evidence to Select a smaller number of supporting materials,
make an argument or statement credible in today’s each taking about 15‒30 seconds.
information age. IMAGE
2. Use a variety of supporting materials. The image shows a person overwhelmed by a long list
Using the same type of supporting material or document labeled "NO" on one side and then
repetitively can cause audience fatigue and reduce holding a short, manageable stack labeled "YES" on
effectiveness. the other. This comparison symbolizes the
importance of concise, clear information. The
IMAGE shorter, more straightforward "YES" pile represents
In this comic, signs with different versions of the clarity and directness, while the overwhelming "NO"
phrase "Variety is the spice of life" are shown. The top pile shows how too much information can be
row illustrates repetitive types of support for the counterproductive.
statement, with slightly altered comparisons like
“Variety is like a box of chocolates” or “Variety is like
 5. Relate to your audience.

When using supporting materials, it's important to

relate to your audience to maintain their interest and
make your message more effective. Engaging your
audience begins with understanding their
background, interests, and level of knowledge. By
tailoring your examples and references to their
experiences, you help them better understand and
connect with your content. Using familiar examples
and analogies that reflect their world allows for
deeper engagement, while addressing shared
experiences fosters a sense of commonality.

IMAGE

In this scene, a speaker at a podium is talking about

summer squash, encouraging the audience to eat
locally. The audience is mentally engaged, with
thought bubbles showing reactions like "I see those
all the time," "I can afford those," and "I always
wondered what they were." This comic emphasizes
the importance of selecting materials that relate to
the audience's experiences or knowledge, making it
easier for them to connect to the subject matter.

6. Respect the available time.

Choose supporting materials that fit into your

speech’s time frame.

Short speeches should have supporting materials

that require little time to present.

IMAGE

A person at a podium is instructing a group to sing

along to a song. The song chosen is the lengthy "Bye-
bye, Miss American Pie," and the duration of the song
(8 minutes and 28 seconds) is shown on a laptop.
This image illustrates the potential challenge of
keeping an audience's attention with long or overly
involved material, using the length of the song as a
humorous example of excessive content.