Read better books
324
CI
1. If you donate money to charity, you
Fulfil your social obligation.
2. If you donate money to charity, you
may deduct it from your income
taxes.
3. Charitable organizations will help
your own community.
1. It is a privilege to vote.
2. It is a civic duty to vote.
3. Vote to have good government.
1. There are great love stories among
the classics.
2. Biographies can be instructive.
3. Historical novels can be enjoyable
reading.
Building Better Speech
These examples of central ideas may appear at first glance to be mere arguments in favor of taking the recommended action. In some cases, this may be true.
Let us distinguish between a central idea and an argument.
A central idea is that idea, which, if accepted, will bring about the IAR. In the examples above, if the audience is the congregation in a church, the first listed central idea for donating money to charity would be a wise selection.
If the audience were all business men, the deduction of charitable donations from income taxes would be a better choice.
If neither of these would seem appropriate, the appeal* to self-interest would be the best choice.
It is clear that one particular group would accept one idea more readily than another.
The selection of the central idea is simply a question of which idea (when fully developed) will influence the audience to take the action desired by the speaker.
When selecting the central idea, like choosing the IAR, the speaker must consider the nature of his audience. The CI he selects must be within the intellectual grasp of his audience.
The audience must have had the experience necessary to understand the idea. The CI should be a challenge to the audience. It must not be hackneyed.
3. Subdivisions of the Speech
When you have selected the CI, you should then divide it into several sub-ideas which will, in turn, become the main headings of the body of your speech. The selection of the headings of a speech is an important step in the planning.
First, the headings, when taken together, should completely cover the subject. For example, a speech with the central idea that "The United States Government is efficient," should have the following subordinate ideas:
A. The Legislative Branch is Efficient
B. The Executive Branch is Efficient
C. The Judicial Branch is Efficient
The government has three branches. There are no other parts.
The full development of these headings treats the central idea and shows that the entire government is efficient.
Having one central idea, broken up into sub-ideas properly selected and supported, is a means of insuring unity in a speech. As a result of this unity, the audience will believe that you have given it a complete picture.
Your own experience will show you that using only a few sub-divisions will help you understand and remember a complex idea, while too many will tend to confuse you.
Therefore, the sub-ideas should not exceed five.
Past experience indicates that five separate headings approach the maxim
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