Comm 100: Fundamentals of Speech Communication

Are you trying to educate (informative) or motivate (persuasive) your audience?

The answer to this question will change the kinds of keywords you will use to find articles and books in the library's databases.

1. Is your message personal to you?
   • You can share a personal experience
   • You have existing knowledge or research
2. Is your message of interest to you?
   • You are passionate about this
   • You are curious and want to take time to learn more
   • You want to challenge your own and someone else's ideas
3. Can your message be clear?
   • It's an appropriate choice for your course and assignment
   • There is enough information that could be found in time to complete the assignment
   • There are broad topics that can be broken down to deliver a specific message

Not sure about the message? Here are ideas for finding a topic that could meet the criteria above:

• Your instructor may have provided a list of possible topics to your class
• Your textbook or a class reading has potential topics noted
•  A noteworthy or controversial current event that caught your attention