HOANG360

Most of the time your specific purpose will be reflected in the thesis statement for your speech. The thesis statement condenses your message into a single declarative sentence. It is usually offered as you introduce your speech so that your listeners will understand your intentions. Notice how the following speaker presents his thesis statement:
Today I want to discuss a moral blight on our campus.—the problem of date rape—and what e can do about it.
The thesis statement should be followed by a preview. The preview signals the main points that will be developed in the body of the speech. In effect, it presents an oral agenda for the speech:
I will define date rape, show its causes and consequences, and end with some advice on how to prevent it.

In this example, listeners have been alerted to three main points in the speech:

1. The nature of date rape
II. Its causes and effects
III. The prevention of date rape

Now the audience has a blueprint to help them follow the speech. In long 0,1 complicated speeches, the preview helps audience members listen effectively, thereby reducing misunderstandings.
In ethical speaking, the thesis statement will reveal the speaker’s sp purpose. But Jet the listener beware! Not all speakers will be totally candid.. While a speaker’s specific purpose may be to sell the listeners an encyclopedia, the thesis statement may suggest a different intention:
I want to help you improve the quality of your lives by offering you-free of charge—this wonderful encyclopedia set [thesis statement]. Your only obligation is to help us demonstrate this encyclopedia in your neighborhood. We only ask that you keep your set up to date by purchasing at a special discount rate the annual supplements for the next ten years.
Such disguises of a speaker’s intention may be fairly trivial (unless you buyl the set!), but if you substitute a political philosophy or a religious cause for an encyclopedia, you can see how serious the problem can be. The greater the distance between the hidden specific purpose and the thesis statement expressed in the speech, the larger the ethical problem.
At times ethical speakers may omit the thesis statement from their presentations, leaving it to be constructed by listeners from cues within the speech..
Note how Cecile Larson left the thesis statement implicit in her speech, “The ‘Monument’ at Wounded Knee,” . Speakers may leave the thesis statement unstated in order to create a dramatic effect as listeners discover it for themselves. While it has some artistic merit, this technique also entails considerable risk. Listeners may miss the point! In most cases speakers should integrate the thesis statement into the introduction of their speeches.
Within a speech, the thesis statement should sharpen the focus of your
specific purpose, and the preview should indicate the major points of your
message

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the less well-known attractions in Yellowstone Park

Thesis statement: Many visitors leave Yellowstone Park without seeing some of its most interesting attractions

Preview: Today I want to introduce you to three of the less well-known attractions in Yellowstone: the Fountain Paint Pots, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the Firehole River.
Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to accept the idea of responsible drinking and driving

Thesis statement: Responsible drinking and driving can solve a serious social problem and might even save your life.
Preview: You can practice responsible drinking and driving by knowing your tolerance for alcohol, having a designated driver, and not letting friends drive while intoxicated.