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.

A recent study sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews demonstrated that stereotypes and prejudice are present in all groups in our culture. The survey revealed that people of color see whites as “bigoted, bossy, and unwilling to share power.” Although each of the minority groups surveyed also demonstrated negative stereotypes of and feelings toward other people of color, they were united by a sense of being victims of discrimination.
Some 80 percent of African Americans, 60 percent of Latino Americans, and 57 percent of Asian Americans are convinced that their opportunities in work, housing, and education are not equal to those enjoyed by whites. On the other hand, over 50 percent of all whites believe that people of color enjoy equal opportunities. The survey concluded that “most whites simply do not acknowledge the tangible effects that discrimination has on the daily lives of minorities.”
Lest you think the situation is hopeless, we should also point out that
there were some positive results in this research. More than 80 percent of all groups polled expressed admiration of Asian Americans for the value they presumably place on intellectual and professional achievement and for having strong family ties and respecting their elders.
Similarly large majorities felt that Latino Americans take pride in their culture, work hard to attain a better life, and have deep religious and family ties. Equally sizable majorities agreed that African Americans work hard when given a chance, believe strongly in American ideals and the American Dream, are deeply religious, and have made valuable contributions to American society. Over 90 percent of all groups surveyed also agreed that learning to understand and appreciate the lifestyles, tastes, and contributions of other groups was either “very important” or “important.” The most heartening finding of the study was the indication that nine out of ten Americans from all groups would be willing to work with one another to try to solve the most pressing problems in their neighborhoods and communities. They expressed a willingness to work together to help protect their children from gangs and violence, to help improve schools, including teaching understanding and respect for the cultural heritage of all groups, and to look for ways to ease racial, religious, and ethnic tensions.
Institute for Global Ethics identified eight universal human values that transcend cultural differences: love, truthfulness, fairness, freedom, unity, tolerance, responsibility, and respect for life. Contemporary social scientific research has also demonstrated the existence of transcendent social values. Shalom Schwartz and his associates at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted a study of values in twenty different countries.
They identified ten universal values: achievement, tradition, power, enjoyment, self-direction, security, universalism, benevolence, conformity, and stimulation.These universal values and shows how they appear to come together.
If you can appeal to these common values in your speeches to a diverse
audience, you can often unite your listeners behind your ideas or suggestions.