type of speech round

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Your English: Word grammar: round

By Tim Bowen

• No comments

Tim Bowen rounds off  with another informative word grammar article.

Round functions most commonly as an adjective, an adverb or a preposition but it can also be used as a noun and a verb.

As a noun, round has a number of meanings, including a series of visits to different people or places made as part of someone’s job, as in ‘Both doctors were out on their rounds ’ and ‘The bag was found by a postman out on his morning round’.   Apart from its use to mean one of a series of meetings or games in a competition (e.g. the next round of peace talks ; the second round of the cup competition), round is used specifically for a complete game of golf (e.g. They play a round of golf every Sunday). It is also used to mean a drink for each of the people in a group, as in ‘Tom went to the bar to order another round of drinks’ and for a bullet or shot fired from a weapon, as in ‘This gun is capable of firing over 1,000 rounds per minute’.

As a verb, round means to go round something , as in ‘We had just rounded the corner when we noticed our house was on fire’. It can also mean to make something round or curved, as in ‘You have to round your lips to produce this vowel sound correctly’. Round is also used in a number of phrasal verbs, notably round up and round down , meaning to increase or decrease to the nearest whole number or number ending in zero, as in ‘The total came to £10.04 but she rounded it down to £10’. If you round on someone, you react angrily towards them, as in ‘He rounded on the critics who had been calling for his resignation’. If you round something off , you end it in a satisfactory way, as in ‘They rounded off their tour with a magnificent final concert’.

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Around or round ?

Around and round are prepositions or adverbs. We use around and round when we refer to movements in circles or from one place to another. Around and round can both be used. Around is more common in American English. Round is a little more common in speaking:

The earth goes round the sun. (movement in circles)

We spent a very pleasant day walking round the town. (movement from one place to another)

Now they are retired, they are planning a trip around the world.

We also commonly use around and round in phrasal verbs:

Can you pass these application forms around to all the people present?

We spent the whole day moving round some furniture in the bedroom.

Around and round also mean ‘in different places’ and ‘here and there’:

People were panicking and running round and shouting.

A: Where’s Jill? B: I know she’s around somewhere in the office .

Around can also mean ‘approximately’:

A: How old do you think the castle is? B: I’d say around 500 years .

Approximations ( around four o’clock )

Word of the Day

If you are on hold when using the phone, you are waiting to speak to someone.

Searching out and tracking down: talking about finding or discovering things

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• Apr 28, 2020

What are the different types of speech sounds?

Updated: Mar 24, 2023

Did you know there are different types of speech sounds? Have you worked with a child in the past who has focused on back sounds, or flow sounds, and wondered what does that mean?

Well, us humans are clever things and utilise different parts of our mouth and throat, controlling airflow in particular ways to produce a range of sounds. As a native English speaker, I’ll focus on English sounds but there may be some theory you can put towards sounds in any other language you are using with your child.

Voice, Place, Manner

This is the foundation phrase Speech and Language Therapists use when referring to speech sounds. Some sounds can be loud, like a D or V sound and others can be quiet or whispered like a T or H. This refers to the use of voice , utilising the voice box for the louder sounds and switching it off (or not vibrating the vocal folds) for quieter sounds.

When looking at place , this refers to where in the mouth the sound is made i.e. at the front or the back, with the tongue, teeth or lips.

The Manner of articulation indicates air flow and whether a speech sound is made when the air flow is stopped, allowed to flow a little or whether it is a sound made when the air flows out of the nose (like when producing a M sound).

Different places of Articulation

We make speech sounds in a few different places in our mouth and throat.

Lip sounds - these sounds are made by using the lips in some sort of way. P, B and M are made with both lips pressed together, W is made with lips rounded and F and V are made with the bottom lip tucked under the top front teeth.

Alveolar sounds- this refers to the hard palatal ridge just behind your top teeth. Here we make the T, D, N, S, Z, L, SH, CH, J. These are also referred to as front sounds .

Back sounds - sounds made towards the back of the mouth include K, G, NG. There are some other sounds made here in other languages, for example the Spanish ‘j’, Greek Ɣ and German ‘ch’.

Glide sounds - these are made when articulators move, R, L, W, Y.

Stop and flow sounds

Some of the sounds that we produce are made when the airflow is stopped and then released. Think of the ‘p’ sound. We produce this sound by pressing our lips together and letting air come out of our lungs but stopping it with our closed lips. Then we release the lips and the ‘puh’ sound is made.

The same thing happens for the ‘t’ sound, except this time we use the tongue tip on the ridge behind the teeth (the alveolar ridge) to stop the air flow and then release to make the ‘tuh’ sound. Try it.

The technical term for these ‘stoppy sounds’ is plosive . Stop sounds used in English are P, B, T, D, K, G.

Other speech sounds are made by letting the air flow through our articulators. Like the ‘s’ sound. For this sound we hover the tongue tip on the ridge behind the top teeth and let the air flow through to make the ‘sss’ sound.

Now try with the ‘f’ sound. For this we need to trap the bottom lip under the top teeth gently so that we can let the air flow to make this sound. This is one of my favourite sounds to help children with because we can make a rabbit face.

The technical term for ‘flowy sounds’ is fricative. Flow sounds in English are F, V, TH, S, Z, SH, H.

How can we tell there is a problem?

When speech sound difficulties occur, it is usually because a child is replacing one type of speech sounds with another. For example, they may be replacing a front sound T with a back sound K/C (saying key instead of tea ). OR they may replace a flow sound F with a stop sound D (saying dock for sock ).

A Speech and Language Therapist will be able to use samples of a child’s speech, usually with a picture naming assessment, to figure out what sounds a child can say, what sounds are missing or replaced, if the child has any particular difficulty with saying a type of sound and then decide on the best way to help make these difficulties better.

If this all sounds interesting to you, I go into much more depth and theory in my online course Speech Sounds: Steps to Success . We look at types of speech sound difficulties and common replacement patterns, as well as the development of speech sounds and the age children are expected to be able to produce certain types of sounds. Then we go on to look at fun ways to remedy speech sounds at different stages of their journey, from producing single sounds to being able to use their target sounds in sentences.

There's also my Speech Sounds Games & Activities eBook (available as an instant download) which contains my favourite games to play when working on speech sound difficulties, using target sound picture and games where you don’t need pictures.

I have also created a FREE information sheet of the ages and stages of speech sound development, perfect to help you work out what sounds your child should be making at which age. Click here to get the FREEBIE!

If you’d like more advice, tips and freebies relating to working with children who have speech and language difficulties, make sure you’re signed up to receive my regular newsletters. Click here to join.

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Definition of 'round'

Round phrase.

round noun use

Round adjective uses, round verb uses.

round in American English 1

Round in american english 2, round in british english, examples of 'round' in a sentence round, more idioms containing round, related word partners round, trends of round.

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• round a curve
• round about
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Antonyms: angular

• ring-shaped, as a hoop.
• curved like part of a circle, as an outline.
• having a circular cross section, as a cylinder; cylindrical.
• spherical or globular, as a ball.
• shaped more or less like a part of a sphere; hemispherical.
• free from angularity; consisting of full, curved lines or shapes, as handwriting or parts of the body.
• executed with or involving circular motion.

a round dozen.

Synonyms: unbroken , whole

• noting, formed, or expressed by an integer or whole number with no fraction.

in round numbers.

a round guess.

a round sum of money.

• brought to completeness or perfection.
• full and sonorous, as sound.

a round trot.

a round scolding.

a round assertion.

• any round shape, as a circle, ring or sphere.

Synonyms: cylinder

• something circular in cross section, as a rung of a ladder or chair.

We waited through the round of many years.

Synonyms: period , revolution , cycle

The strike was settled after a long round of talks; a round of parties.

a doctor's rounds.

the second round of a tournament.

the daily round.

the round of human capabilities.

• a single outburst, as of applause or cheers.
• a single discharge of shot by each of a number of guns, rifles, etc.
• a single discharge by one firearm.
• a charge of ammunition for a single shot.

The next round is on me.

• round dance .
• movement in a circle or around an axis.
• Also round of beef . the portion of the thigh of beef below the rump and above the leg.
• Informal. round steak .
• a slice, as of bread.
• Archery. a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance from the target in accordance with the rules.

a 15-round bout.

• a short, rhythmical canon at the unison, in which the several voices enter at equally spaced intervals of time.
• rounds, the order followed in ringing a peal of bells in diatonic sequence from the highest to the lowest.
• Golf. a playing of the complete course.
• Cards. a division of play in a game, consisting of a turn each for every player to bid, bet, play a card, deal the cards, or be dealt cards.

all year round.

The music goes round and round.

preposition

a resort visited all round the year.

It happened round noon.

verb (used with object)

• to make round.
• to free from angularity; fill out symmetrically; make plump.
• to bring to completeness or perfection; finish.
• Jewelry. to form (a gem) roughly (sometimes followed by up ); girdle.

He rounded his speech with a particularly apt quotation.

• to encircle or surround.
• to make a complete circuit of; pass completely around.

to round a corner.

• to cause to move in a circle; turn around.
• to make the opening at (the lips) relatively round or pursed during an utterance.
• to pronounce (a speech sound, especially a vowel) with rounded lips; labialize.
• to contract (the lips) laterally. Compare spread ( def 14b ) , unround .
• Mathematics. to replace by the nearest multiple of 10, with 5 being increased to the next highest multiple: 15,837 can be rounded to 15,840; then to 15,800; then to 16,000.

verb (used without object)

• to become round.
• to become free from angularity; become plump.
• to develop to completeness or perfection.
• to take a circular course; make a circuit, as a guard.
• to make a turn or partial circuit around something.

to round on one's heels.

• to reduce successively the number of digits to the right of the decimal point of a mixed number by dropping the final digit and adding 1 to the next preceding digit if the dropped digit was 5 or greater, or leaving the preceding digit unchanged if the dropped digit was 4 or less.

verb phrase

• to complete or perfect; finish.
• to express as a round number, usually to the nearest multiple of 10.
• to drive or bring (cattle, sheep, etc.) together.

to round up all the suspects in an investigation.

The new coin rounded out his collection.

She rounded out so nicely that everyone soon forgot she had been so ill.

• Nautical. to turn a sailing vessel in the direction from which the wind is blowing.

verb (used with or without object)

• to whisper.
• having a flat circular shape, as a disc or hoop
• having the shape of a sphere or ball
• curved; not angular
• involving or using circular motion

a round dozen

• forming or expressed by an integer or whole number, with no fraction

in round figures

• (of a sum of money) considerable; ample
• fully depicted or developed, as a character in a book

round cheeks

• (of sound) full and sonorous
• (of pace) brisk; lively

a round assertion

• (of a vowel) pronounced with rounded lips
• a round shape or object
• in full detail
• theatre with the audience all round the stage

a round of talks

a giddy round of parties

• the daily round the usual activities of one's day

he was eliminated in the first round

a doctor's rounds

a milkman's round

• a playing of all the holes on a golf course
• a single turn of play by each player, as in a card game
• one of a number of periods constituting a boxing, wrestling, or other match, each usually lasting three minutes
• archery a specified number of arrows shot from a specified distance
• a single discharge by a number of guns or a single gun
• a bullet, blank cartridge, or other charge of ammunition
• a number of drinks bought at one time for a group of people
• a single slice of bread or toast or two slices making a single serving of sandwiches
• a general outburst of applause, cheering, etc
• movement in a circle or around an axis
• music a part song in which the voices follow each other at equal intervals at the same pitch
• a sequence of bells rung in order of treble to tenor Compare change
• a dance in which the dancers move in a circle
• a cut of beef from the thigh between the rump and the shank
• to go from place to place, as in making deliveries or social calls
• (of information, rumour, etc) to be passed around, so as to be generally known

a band round her head

to look round one

the stands round the racecourse

a lot of shelves round the house

driving round Ireland

to stay round the house

the ring road round the town

the shop round the corner

the earth's motion round its axis

the story is built round a good plot

the garden is fenced all round

the crowd gathered round

the racing track is two miles round

he owns the land for ten miles round

pass the food round

the wheels turn round

the road to the farm goes round by the pond

she came round to see me

• all year round throughout the year; in every month
• to make or become round
• tr to encircle; surround

to round a bend

• to pronounce (a speech sound) with rounded lips
• to purse (the lips)
• A song that can be begun at different times by different singers, but with harmonious singing ( see harmony ) as the result. “ Row, Row, Row Your Boat ” is a round.

Discover More

Derived forms.

• ˈroundness , noun

Other Words From

• roundness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of round 1

Origin of round 2

Idioms and Phrases

• (of a theater) having a stage completely surrounded by seats for the audience.

The play should be done in the round.

a character as seen in the round.

• (of sculpture) not attached to a supporting background; freestanding.
• to go from one place to another, as in making deliveries, paying social visits, or seeking employment.

another rumor making the rounds.

More idioms and phrases containing round

• all year round
• bring around (round)
• come around (round)
• get around (round)
• in round numbers
• in the round
• make the rounds
• other way round
• rally around

Example Sentences

In his November post announcing the Earth Fund’s first round of donations, Bezos mentioned a “group of incredibly smart people” who were guiding his decisions.

He led all Eastern Conference guards by a wide margin Thursday when the league released the second round of NBA all-star voting.

For non-climbers, the four-mile round-trip hike to Chimney Rock promises panoramic views.

Money makes the world go ’round, and as such, it’s a perfect tool for surveillance and control.

Memphis Meats had a record-breaking $186 million second round of funding, followed by Mosa Meat’s $75 million round later in the year.

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.

Wrapees was the term marines used for the Japanese because they had wrapping round their legs.

After a bunch of tough talk, this round of the hacker-on-hacker fight nevered materialized.

Divide the dough in half and very gently pat each half into a round 1-inch-thick disk.

But others say a still-unidentified man likely fired the round that caused a lethal head wound.

Of course, considerations of weight have to be taken into account, but the more mould round the roots the better.

In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).

There were at least a dozen ladies seated round the big table at the Parsonage.

Mr. Jones swung round a large iron key he held in his hand, and light dawned upon him.

Sol got up, slowly; took a backward step into the yard; filled his lungs, opened his mouth, made his eyes round.

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Choose the right debate program & format

What is the difference between Speech and Debate?   Speech is primarily a persuasive activity.  Students give prepared or extemporanoeus speeches (depending on the speech event) and their speeches are judged against the speeches of other competitors on their merits and persuasiveness.  Debate is an adversarial activity, meaning that students speak in response to the points made by their opponents (this means that debaters respond directly to what their opponents say, and the winner is determined based on who "won" the arguments).  In a nutshell, speech is adjudicated in a comparative manner (was my speech better than my opponent's?) whereas debate is more directly adversarial (did my arguments defeat the arguments of my opponent?).

What do you want to achieve?   Forensics (speech & debate) offers a unique and rewarding mix of academic and extracurricular opportunities that provide a wide range of benefits to students, whether they learn the basics and are occasional competitors or become experts in an event and compete every weekend.  No matter their level of involvement and commitment, there is a format of debate beneficial for every student.

Students who participate in speech & debate learn a variety of skills which are directly transferable to a wide range of academic and real-world situations.  For starters, all formats of speech & debate teach the vital skill of public speaking, useful to a student nowfor the confidence to speak up to answer a question or in making a presentation in front of a class, or later in life as a professional who has a busy slate of meetings, press releases and pitches.  Regardless of what area of study a student elects to follow, public speaking skills honed in competitive debate will be of immense assistance, from the foundational confidence to speak in front of others to developing logical framework for approaching new and unexpected challenges as they appear in an extemporaneous manner.  For more information, see our Why Debate? page.

The below is tailored to high school aged students (rising 9th-12th graders).  For more information on our Middle School sessions, see our Middle School Programs page!

If you aren't sure that competitive speech & debate is the right pick for you , we also offer Public Speaking Programs designed to teach the same basic foundational logic, rhetoric and argument skills without the focus on a specific competitive format.  If you want to learn more about the art of public speaking but aren't interested in joining a competitive speech & debate program in school, our  Public Speaking Programs  might be the right choice for you!

• 1-Week Public Speaking Introduction : designed for students with no prior experience and is more introductory than our  1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate  program 
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If you are not sure between competitive speech & debate, we offer a series of combined "forensics" programs :

Our Forensics (Speech & Debate) programs combine both competitive speech & debate into a single program to register for!

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If you are interested in competitive speech (see above for details; speech is fundamentally comparative) :

There are several program options in our competitive speech (Individual Events) division:

• 1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech  program: This program is an excellent start for a total beginner with no prior formal experience in competitive speech!  You'll learn the basics and become familiar with the different styles and formats available for competition, and you'll be ready to continue on into one of our more advanced competitive speech programs in subsequent weeks.
• 2-Week Core Individual Events Program : This session is the most common program selected by students in competitive speech.  You can expect to have enough time to find, cut, prepare and hone a piece so that it is competition ready!
• 3-Week Individual Events Experience : The 3-Week Experience allows attendees to work on a second event or piece in addition to the basic 2-Week curriculum of the 2-Week Core session.
• 1-Week Individual Events Workout : Only recommended for students with significant experience who are schedule constrained for the 2-Week and 3-Week sessions, as this is not designed as a stand-alone session and there is not sufficient time to complete an entire curriculum.

I'm still not sure which type of competitive speech is the best fit for my interests.  Help me start off on the right foot!   We offer a  Beginners' Introduction to Competitive Speech  series specifically for students just starting out in speech & debate because we know that it can be hard to make a choice about specific programs.

• The  1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech  program is designed to teach the basic skills that a student needs to succeed in competitive speech with the goal of allowing a student to continue into a subsequent program at a level beyond beginner/novice.  There is also a survey component which exposes students to the different events in competitive speech so that they can make an informed decision about which event to choose for their entry into competition.
• We also offer the  3-Week Beginners' Core Flex Package : this session combines the  1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech  program which combines the basic skills and tools a students needs with a survey of the different competitive debate formats plus two weeks of competitive speech camp form of the  2-Week Core Individual Events Program .
• We also offer the  4-Week Beginner's Experience Flex Package : this session combines the  1-Week Introduction to Competitive Speech  program which combines the basic skills and tools a students needs with a survey of the different competitive debate formats plus three weeks of competitive speech camp in the form of the  3-Week Individual Events Experience .
• If you're not sure that you're ready for or interested in competitive speech, we recommend our  Public Speaking Programs .

If you are interested in debate ( see above for details; debate is fundamentally adversarial ) :

How serious do you want to be about the activity?  All formats of debate involve some level of preparation.  However, the exact amount and type of preparation varies widely across formats. The main types of debate are ranked below in terms of their general research burden and in terms of the “upfront” level of commitment necessary in order to be a reasonably well prepared competitor in an event.  If you set your mind to it, any of the formats are options; however, much like you wouldn't set your sights on running a marathon without being prepared to devote substantial time for training, it might not make sense to select one of the more time-intensive types of debate if your goals are to simply explore what debate is and to gain some simple skills.  This is not to say that any of the debate formats are “easy” or that a serious student wouldn't be well suited to any of the formats; this is simply an attempt to provide some general comparisons and observations about each type of debate.  For someone who is knowledgeable about debate, the below summaries will be overly simplistic; this list is meant merely to provide some baseline guidance to anyone interested in getting into competitive debate.

Differences amongst the programs and types of debate: Note that these events are ordered from most to least rigorous/difficult to master.  At the top end, policy debate has a large research burden and success generally requires students to be familiar with a large literature base.  At the other end of the spectrum, parliamentary debate rewards students for being broadly familiar with a range of material, and does not expect familiarity with a large literature base in order to succeed.

• At one end of the spectrum, policy debate is a very rigorous format which requires a great deal of research, leaving the student an expert on a specific area.  Students across the country will be preparing for and debating on a single, broad topic selected by the National Forensic League for the entire academic year.  Topics vary widely by year; however, all topics are about big picture issues that policy makers consider, such as how to protect the marine environment, US support of UN Peacekeeping Operations, deployment of US troops in bases abroad, mandated action to increase energey efficiency, etc.  The result of having a single year-long topic that is standardized across the country is that students become experts in the topic, and a well-prepared student will be familiar with many hundreds of pages of research material on the topic.
• Policy debate is a two on two format; a student and one partner compete against other teams of two students at tournaments (teams of two students competing against one another).
• In general, evidence (researched material) will always outweigh analytic arguments.  Debates about the credibility of sources are common, and teams build “cases” solely from the research that they have done (although many debate “squads” write cases as a group and multiple teams from the same school might argue essentially the same case).  Debate camps like SNFI also do substantial research and produce cases, files, and the other pieces of research that a student uses in policy debate.
• Suggested program pairing for beginners:  2-Week Core Beginners' Policy Program , or if time allows the  3-Week Beginners' Policy Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics.
• Lincoln Douglas (LD) debate is generally about questions that are of a deeper moral or philosophical nature.  Here, the debate will be about "big issue" or moral questions such as whether we should prioritize security or liberty, whether the US should intervene in foreign countries to protect human rights, etc.  The topic changes every two months, and is standardized across the country.  Whereas arguments of pragmatics often are effective in policy debate, LD is more often about the principles and philosophy, and an LD case is structured around a philosophical objective, with arguments supporting why that objective ought be valued over all else (for example, security is most important, and then principled arguments explaining why that is the case).  There is a lesser research burden for LD versus policy debate, and an LD case is often substantially written by a student, with pieces of quoted research brought in at strategic locations (as opposed to a policy case being all about the evidence).
• LD debate is the only format that is one-on-one.  Some students prefer this style for the ability to control your own destiny, as you win or lose based solely on your own arguments as opposed to also relying on a partner.
• Suggested program pairing for beginners:  2-Week Core LD Program  (there is a group for beginning/novice students), or if time allows the  3-Week LD Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics and prep on an additional topic area for the coming season.
• Public Forum debate has the most in common with policy debate structurally. The topic changes each month, and again is set nationally.  Although the topic areas in Public Forum are broadly similar to the topic areas in policy debate, the topics are somewhat narrower so that students can master them within a month (you couldn't be fully proficient at a broad policy debate topic in only a month).  The format is similar to policy in that cases are written and the topics have more of a practical, policymaking bent than the philosophical issues that tend to be discussed in LD.
• Public Forum debate is a two-on-two activity (teams of two students competing against one another).
• Suggested program pairing for beginners:  2-Week Core Public Forum Program  (there is a group for beginning/novice students) or if time allows the  3-Week Public Forum Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics and prep on an additional topic area.  For students with tight schedules we also offer an abbreviated week-long  Beginner's Public Forum Program .
• Parliamentary debate has less of a structured research burden that the other main types of debate due to the nature of its topics.  Parliamentary topics are different in every round of debate, so when you are at a tournament a topic is announced and you are given 15-20 minutes to prepare prior to starting the debate round.  You are allowed to bring materials with you into the prep room; however, you can only take what you've written down during the prep period into the debate round with you, and internet is not allowed during preparation.  Obviously the topic couldn't be of a particularly technical basis, or students wouldn't be knowledgeable enough to prepare a case in only 15-20 minutes.  As a result, the topics are broad and mainstream enough that a student can engage with the resolution (the specific topic for a round).  They generally broadly fall into categories such as philosophical issues, pragmatic/political topics (domestic and international) and “fun” topics that might relate to pop culture or other current happenings that aren't really political or policy based.  The Parliamentary format rewards students who are generally well-read and well-informed on a variety of issues, and one of the best ways to prepare is to be a regular follower of the news.  The format is highly extemporaneous, as the topic you will debate can only be prepared starting 15 minutes in advance.
• Parliamentary debate is a two-on-two activity (teams of two students competing against one another).
• Suggested program pairing for beginners:  1-Week Parliamentary Program  or  2-Week Parliamentary Program , both of which offer a group for beginning/novice students.

Similarities amongst the types/formats of debate:

• The first speeches are “constructive” speeches, during which you present and develop your case, respond to the arguments presented by your opponents, present evidence, etc.  Each person in the round will give a constructive speech (so there are 4 constructive speeches in policy, Public Forum and Parliamentary, and 2 constructive speeches in LD).
• After each constructive speech, there is a cross examination period during which the other team may ask the speaker questions.  In Parliamentary debate, cross-examination happens during speeches; the opponents may offer a “point of information” during a constructive speech, and it is customary for a speaker to accept one or two of these POI questions during their speech.
• Following the conclusion of the constructive phase of the round, there are a series of rebuttal speeches.  In a rebuttal speech, the goal is to tie up loose ends and show why and how your team has won the arguments necessary to won the round.  In general, new arguments are not allowed during the rebuttal speeches since there wouldn't be adequate opportunity for the opponents to answer or rebut your new argument.
• All of these debate events are adjudcated on a comparative basis.  This means that the judges are looking to see which team's arguments defeat the other team's arguments.

How do you pick the program and/or type of debate that's best for you?

• Consider your motivations for wanting to do debate and think about your goals: How serious is the student about competitive debate?  How much time do they plan to commit to the activity?  What type of skills do they hope to obtain?  Each of the events has its own strengths and characteristics, both in terms of skills gained and preparation for a career in competitive debate.
• Check in with the coach : One of the most important issues to consider when you are deciding on a type of debate is the level of support that a student will receive from their school's debate program.  Many schools tend to field competitors in a subset of the events, for a number of reasons including the skills of the coaching staff and the size of the school's squad of students.  Some coaches prefer that beginning (novice) students start out in a specific event in order to provide a more consistent experience for incoming debaters.  After a semester or a year of debate, many students elect to switch to a different debate event than the one which they started out in.  It is important to make sure that the event that a student begins competing in will be supported by their school's squad and also is generally available in their region.  We suggest that you reach out to your student's coach to get this information.  While there are many benefits and skills that are transferable across events, it's likely to be a better experience for a beginning student if they are able to begin their competitive career in school by competing in the same event that they work on during their time at camp.
• Competitive speech & debate seems like it is too much for your goals and interests?  Consider our  Public Speaking Programs , where you'll learn the same baseline skills without the substantial focus on adversarial competition that comes with a debate format.

Ok, I figured out which kind of debate... which program is right for me? : These suggestions are by no means your only choices, however generally we'd suggest the following program pairings as starting points for a beginner in each of the formats of debate (this doesn't mean that these programs are only for beginners):

• Policy Debate : 2-Week Core Beginners' Policy Program , or if time allows the  3-Week Beginners' Policy Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics.
• Lincoln Douglas :  2-Week Core LD Program (there is a group for beginning/novice students), or if time allows the 3-Week LD Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics and prep on an additional topic area for the coming season.
• Public Forum :  2-Week Core Public Forum Program  (there is a group for beginning/novice students) or if time allows the 3-Week Public Forum Experience  for further opportunity to reinforce the concepts learned in the program with additonal practice debates in front of experienced debate critics and prep on an additional topic area.  For students with tight schedules we also offer an abbreviated week-long  Beginner's Public Forum Program .
• Parliamentary : 1-Week Parliamentary Program or 2-Week Parliamentary Program , both of which offer a group for beginning/novice students.

I'm still not sure which type of debate is the best fit for my interests.  Help me start off on the right foot!  We offer a  Beginners' Introduction to Debate  series specifically for students just starting out in speech & debate because we know that it can be hard to make a choice about specific programs.

• The  1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate  program is designed to teach the basic skills that a student needs to succeed in competitive speech & debate with the goal of allowing a student to continue into a subsequent program at a level beyond beginner/novice.  There is also a survey component which exposes students to the different formats of debate so that they can make an informed decision about which event to choose for their entry into competitive speech & debate.
• We also offer the 3-Week Beginners' Core Flex Package : this session combines the  1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate  which combines the basic skills and tools a students needs with a survey of the different competitive debate formats plus two weeks of camp in the program of the student's choice after the first week (students can choose to continue on with the  2-Week Core LD Program , the  2-Week Core Public Forum Program  or the 2-Week Core Individual Events Program ).
• We also offer the 4-Week Beginner's Experience Flex Package : this session combines the  1-Week Introduction to Argumentation & Debate  which combines the basic skills and tools a students needs with a survey of the different competitive debate formats plus three weeks of camp in the program of the student's choice after the first week (students can choose to continue on with the  3-Week Public Forum Experience , the  3-Week Lincoln Douglas Experience  or the  3-Week Individual Events Experience ).
• If you're not sure that you're ready for or interested in competitive debate, we recommend our  Public Speaking Programs .
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7.2: Four Types of Speeches

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Speeches can be categorized into four broad areas depending on the amount of preparation that is undertaken and depending upon the nature of the occasion.  The four types of speeches are manuscript, memorized, extemporaneous, and impromptu.  Our aim is to acquaint you with these four different modes of delivery, to provide suggestions for when you are asked to make impromptu remarks, and then to focus most your time on the preparation, practice, and presentation of extemporaneous speeches.

Manuscript Speech

When you listen to the President deliver a State of the Union message, you listen to a well-crafted speech being read from a teleprompter. The speech has been polished by a staff of speechwriters and has been practiced many times. The President will know how to anticipate the reaction of the audience and will know when to pause for applause and when to expect laughter. This form of speaking is used when the exact words matter and when much time and energy is expended on getting everything just right. There are times when people who are not leaders of countries deliver manuscript speeches as well. They are used when people testify before Congress, when people read important statements in a public setting, or when people deliver reports at professional meetings. All call for exact words in the correct order.

While the President has access to a staff of speech writers and a teleprompter, most of us do not. If you were given this type of assignment, you would have to read your manuscript speech from printed notes. In that case, you would want to ensure that you had prepared your manuscript carefully, using large fonts so you could read it easily without burying your nose in the pages. Reading the speech does not allow you to skimp on the preparation. Practice the speech many times. This allows you to make changes, if needed, and to select the best words to communicate your exact meaning. Remember to speak clearly and naturally -strive for a conversational tone. It shouldn’t sound read -even if you are reading. Also, remember to speak slowly; there is a natural tendency to speed up when we speak in public. Delivering a speech is not a race; you do not receive bonus points for finishing early.

Unless you are specifically told by your instructor to prepare and deliver a manuscript speech, you should never write out the entire speech. Spend your time developing your outline, organizing your ideas, and determining where you can best insert your supports. Then practice using the outline while speaking.

Memorized Speech

When you were in elementary school, did you ever have to memorize a poem or a part of a speech? If you are like most students, the answer is “Yes. ” There is nothing wrong with memorization. But if you try to memorize a speech, you risk forgetting what you planned to say and coming across as completely unprepared. Memorizing your speech is even worse than reading it. All the objections that apply to the read speech also apply to the memorized speech. Spontaneity is gone. The speech can sound stilted. Often, delivery is too rapid. Concentration is on the words, not the ideas. Sometimes the speech sounds too formal, like a written essay. There is minimal feedback or other contact with the audience. And what happens if your mind goes completely blank or if an audience member interrupts? The entire presentation will likely fall apart. Memorizing a speech puts entirely too much pressure on the speaker.

That said, there are a couple of parts of the speech that you may want to have memorized -or practiced so well that you can deliver them almost as if memorized. These include:

Your introduction:  It sets the stage for the entire speech. The words should be well chosen and rehearsed. You may find that as you repeat this portion of the speech during your rehearsals you do come to memorize it word for word. If so, this is fine. After all, once you have determined the best way of saying something, why not use it? Just make sure the presentation does not sound memorized.

Your conclusion:  The summary and call to action are the final words that your audience will hear. As with the introduction, if you practice this repeatedly you will develop the best way to say what you want and you will probably have perfected this portion of the speech.

Impromptu Speech

There will come a time for all of us when we are asked to “say a few words ” without much preparation.  You haven’t prepared any notes, you haven’t practiced what you’ll say, and you’re being asked to “wing it. ” While this may seem incredibly scary, impromptu presentations are the most common type of public speaking. You’re in class and suddenly the professor wants to hear how group projects are going. You, as the leader of your group, are asked to stand and briefly discuss what the group is doing and how much you’ve completed so far. That’s an impromptu speech. You didn’t know when you headed to class that day that you’d be speaking in public, but you did it. No sweat! Or maybe you’re in a meeting at work and the boss announces that he wants you to brief everyone in the meeting on the new equipment being installed that afternoon. Again, no prior planning, no notes, you just do it. That’s impromptu speaking.

Extemporaneous Speech

The focus of most college courses in public speaking is the extemporaneous speech.  This is because this is the type of speech used most in business, education, preaching, and political affairs. Few of us will ever have a professional staff of speechwriters or ever deliver a speech with the aid of a teleprompter. But when you do have a speech or presentation to deliver, you’ll want to sound prepared, authoritative, and clear.

Simply stated, an extemporaneous speech is one where you will have time for preparation and practice but will not be expected to read from a manuscript or to have the speech memorized.  The question most students ask is, “How much time should be spent in preparation and practice? ” Perhaps Mark Twain said it best. When speaking about preparing for an impromptu speech, he noted, “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech ” (King). While celebrated as a humorist, there is much truth in his words. To appear to be speaking off the cuff, and to do it well, you must prepare thoroughly and practice to perfection. When you speak extemporaneously, it means you’ve had ample time to prepare and research and that you have rehearsed your speech (many times) using an outline or notes to remind you of the progression of ideas you wish to present. You will follow all the normal steps outlined in the earlier chapters. Choose a topic, narrow appropriately, analyze your audience, choose your supports, and create an outline. You will know your speech so well and will amaze your audience!

• Provided by : Florida State College at Jacksonville. License : CC BY: Attribution

Competition Events

Competition Events Guide

Speech  involves a presentation by one or two students that is judged against a similar type of presentation by others in a round of competition. There are two general categories of speech events, public address events and interpretive events.  Public address events  feature a speech written by the student, either in advance or with limited prep, that can answer a question, share a belief, persuade an audience, or educate the listener on a variety of topics.  Interpretation events center upon a student selecting and performing published material and appeal to many who enjoy acting and theatre. 

Debate involves an individual or a team of students working to effectively convince a judge that their side of a resolution or topic is, as a general principle, more valid. Students in debate come to thoroughly understand both sides of an issue, having researched each extensively, and learn to think critically about every argument that could be made on each side.

To learn more about each event, click on the event name.

Interp events.

• Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
• Duo Interpretation (DUO)
• Humorous Interpretation (HI)
• Poetry (POE)
• Program Oral Interpretation (POI)
• Prose (PRO)
• Storytelling (STO)

Public Address Events

• Commentary (EXC)
• Declamation (DEC)
• Expository (EXP)
• Impromptu (IMP)
• Informative Speaking (INF)
• International Extemporaneous Speaking (IX)
• Mixed Extemporaneous Speaking (MX)
• Original Oratory (OO)
• Original Spoken Word Poetry (SW)
• Pro Con Challenge (PCC)
• United States Extemporaneous Speaking (USX)

Debate Events

• Big Questions (BQ)
• Congressional Debate (House & Senate) (CON)
• Extemporaneous Debate (XDB)
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate (LD)
• Policy Debate (CX)
• Public Forum Debate (PF)
• World Schools Debate (WS)

Students are presented with prompts related to societal, political, historic or popular culture and, in 20 minutes, prepare a five-minute speech responding to the prompt. Students may consult articles and evidence they gather prior to the contest. At the National Tournament, students may use internet during preparation. Some other tournaments may not. The speech is delivered from memory and no notes are allowed.

About Declamation

About Dramatic Interpretation

About Duo Interpretation

About Expository

About Humorous Interpretation

About Impromptu

Impromptu is a public speaking event where students have seven minutes to select a topic, brainstorm their ideas, outline and deliver a speech. The speech is given without notes and uses an introduction, body, and conclusion. The speech can be light-hearted or serious. It can be based upon prompts that range from nursery rhymes, current events, celebrities, organizations, and more.

An adapted version of Impromptu, Prepared Prompt Speaking, has been used at online tournaments. In Prepared Prompt, students will be given a list of topics prior to the tournament, select one prompt from the official list, prepare a speech, and submit it through the recording process.

Impromptu is a public speaking event that tests a student’s ability to analyze a prompt, process their thoughts, organize the points of the speech, and deliver them in a clear, coherent manner. Students’ logic is extremely important. They must be able to take an abstract idea, such as a fortune from a fortune cookie, and put together a speech that has a thesis and supporting information.

About Informative Speaking

Informative is a speech written by the student with the intent to inform the audience on a topic of significance. Students in informative may use a visual aid. Informative gives students the unique opportunity to showcase their personality while educating the audience. An Informative is not simply an essay about the topic—it is a well researched and organized presentation with evidence, logic, and sometimes humor to convey a message. Topics are varied and interesting. Whether it be a new technological advance the audience is unaware of or a new take on a concept that everyone is familiar with, Informative is the students opportunity to teach the audience. Types of topics and structure vary greatly.

About International Extemp

International Extemporaneous Speaking, typically called International Extemp, is a speech on current International events with limited preparation time. A student’s understanding of important political, economic, and cultural issues is assessed along with critical thinking and analytical skills. Students report to a draw room (often referred to as Extemp prep) where all of the Extempers gather at tables, set out their files, and await their turn to draw topics. Students may access research brought with them to the tournament during the 30-minute preparation period. Some tournaments, including the NSDA National Tournament, will permit students to use the internet to research during preparation time. When prep time is up, the student reports to the competition room to deliver a 7 minute speech. Students have a lot to do in 30 minutes—they must select a question, review research, outline arguments with supporting materials, and practice at least part of the speech before time expires. Many tournaments prohibit the consultation of notes during the speech in which case speech structure and evidence need to be memorized during prep time as well.

Mixed Extemp

Mixed Extemp combines international and domestic issues (as opposed to two separate events like high school). Mixed Extemp is an event at the NSDA Middle School National Tournament. Students are presented with a choice of three questions related to national and international current events. The student has 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. Students may consult articles and evidence to help with their preparation. The internet may be used during preparation time at the NSDA Middle School National Tournament, though local events may not allow use of internet.

About Original Oratory

About Original Spoken Word Poetry

The maximum time limit is 5 minutes with a 30-second grace period. The delivery must be memorized, and no book or script may be used. No more than 150 words of the original poetry may be direct quotation from any other speech or writing. A successful performer will craft a piece that elicits critical thought, reflection, or emotion. As opposed to traditional Poetry, Spoken Word Poetry is created to be performed aloud and may feature rhythmic flow, vivid imagery, word play, gestures, lyrical elements, and repetition. Use the Getting Started with Original Spoken Word Poetry guide as a helpful tool to explore ways to express thoughts and experiences through poetry.

About Poetry

Poetry is characterized by writing that conveys ideas, experiences, and emotions through language and expression. Often Poetry is very creative in terms of vocabulary and composition. While Poetry may tell a story or develop a character, more often Poetry’s focus on language and form are designed to elicit critical thought, reflection, or emotion. Students may choose what the National Speech & Debate Association refers to as traditional Poetry, which often has a formal meter or rhyme scheme, or nontraditional Poetry, which often has a rhythmic flow but lacks formal rhyme or meter. Poetry is different than Original Spoken Word Poetry in that students in Poetry will perform works written by others. In Poetry, students may chose to perform one long poem or create a program of poetry from one source or multiple sources.

Pro Con Challenge

Students select the National Tournament topic for CX, LD, or PF or a piece of legislation in the Congressional Debate Docket and write a 3-5 minute affirmative speech and a 3-5 minute negative speech on that topic. This event allows students to explore debate topics in a new and exciting way while showing off their writing, research, and delivery skills.

About Progam Oral Interpretation

About Prose

About Storytelling

Storytelling consists of sharing a story with an audience, performed as if the audience were a group of young children. Some tournaments have themes that the story selection must fit in; the National Tournament does not have a theme, and any story selection is acceptable. The story must not exceed five minutes. Students may use a full range of movement to express themselves and may incorporate a chair in a variety of different ways, though the chair may not be used as a prop during the performance. Students may be seated but most commonly performers use a full range of stage space available to them. As there are so many different types of stories that can be performed, it is important to observe rounds to see what other students and teams are using. The Association has final rounds of Storytelling from both the high school and middle school level to review. Local and regional tournaments may vary in the selection of stories performed.

About United States Extemp

About Big Questions Debate

Time limits.

*Each team is entitled to three minutes of prep time during the round.

About Congressional Debate

About Extemporaneous Debate

About Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Lincoln-Douglas Debate typically appeals to individuals who like to debate, but prefer a one-on-one format as opposed to a team or group setting. Additionally, individuals who enjoy LD like exploring questions of how society ought to be. Many people refer to LD Debate as a “values” debate, as questions of morality and justice are commonly examined. Students prepare cases and then engage in an exchange of cross-examinations and rebuttals in an attempt to convince a judge that they are the better debater in the round.

About Policy Debate

About Public Forum Debate

About World Schools Debate

Speech Structure: The Complete OBC Guide

What makes a great speech? The content, of course, but also the structure. All great speakers overlay their content on a well-known structure. 

Your speech structure is the glue that binds your points together. Without it, you cannot really have the impact you desire to have on the audience.

The beauty of this is that a good structure is so subtle it is almost invisible. Its effectiveness is only evident in its impact.

Speech writing can be intimidating for some, however, we have incorporated plenty of speech examples to get a complete understanding. We aim to explain a proper structure that can be applied to any of your speeches.

There are four things you need to keep in mind about this:

Table of Contents

What is the purpose of your speech?

Can too much content be harmful, who is the audience, informative speech, persuasive speech, argumentative speech, demonstration speech, humorous speech, strong statement, visual prop or demonstration, personal anecdote, problem or strong statement, summary on writing your introduction:, credibility, cause and effect:, problems and solutions:, lucky number three, summary on writing your body:, call to action, inspirational, key takeaway, summary of writing your conclusion:, meta description:, picking the right topic.

The content of a speech can largely determine how the audience receives it. For this, you will need to accurately assess who is going to be listening to your speech. There are some questions you need to ask before sitting down to write this speech.

Do you intend to introduce a concept or argue on a controversial topic? Is your purpose of imparting knowledge or guiding the audience through a demonstration? It is essential to have your intentions cleared; otherwise, you can risk creating a speech with no direction.

We understand that as daunting as speaking can be, it is, at the same time, fascinating. When you pick a topic that you are passionate about, it is easy to find yourself packing the speech with all kinds of information. However, in doing so, you can overwhelm your audience.

There is such a thing as too much information. You need to make sure that whatever information you do include is impactful and influential. Aim for something short but memorable. Pick one takeaway message and gear your speech towards that objective.

While it is vital to pick a topic that interests you, it is equally important to make sure that it can grab the audience’s attention. What is the target demographic for your speech? What is the setting for this speech? Is it a particularly controversial topic?

This is important because as humans, most people are likely to be more interested in your presentation if it benefits them somehow. At the same time, you have to consider the setting.

For instance: an office setting would not be the right setting for a controversial social speech. If your speech includes demonstration and requires volunteers, you need to ensure that this is an audience willing to participate.  

Do you understand the various types of speeches?

Before you pen down your presentation, stop to wonder whether you understand the different types of speeches. Understanding what kind of speech you are going for can help you better structure it for maximum efficiency:

An informative speech intends to explain complex topics to your audience by providing engaging information. This can include objects, events, procedures, and more. It is better if you pick a topic that you are interested in so that your enthusiasm shines through.

When you give an informative speech, you are merely trying to educate your audiences about a particular topic. You refrain from becoming too argumentative as it might come across too strong for your listeners. If this is the type of speech you intend to give, you can check out 100 Informative Speech Topics and Ideas to make your job easier. 

A persuasive speech intends to convince the audiences of your viewpoint. It uses compelling points to sway the listener’s opinions. The primary purpose of this type of speech is to affect the audiences’ thought process and persuade them to think about changing how they feel about a topic.

Some examples of a persuasive speech can be a politician’s speech, an animal activist’s speech, and so on. As you can see, the goal here is to persuade and obtain something ultimately. A politician might want to sway your vote in their favor, whereas ani activist has a cause that they’d like to advocate for.

If this is the type of speech you intend to give, you can check out 237 Easy Persuasive Speech Topics and Guide to better plan your speech.

An argumentative speech is more or less a persuasive speech. However, a persuasive speech does not always have to be argumentative. The purpose of an argumentative is to alter how the audience views a subject. 

Changing the audience’s opinion is not an easy job. This is why you need to not only pick a persuasive topic but also believe in it. You need a strong claim along with irrefutable points to support it. 

The best argumentative speeches utilize issues relating to current events. You can see this in the media in the form of mostly social, ethical, political, or religious arguments. Your arguments should make use of logic and realistic examples. Some examples of this type of speech can be: Dress codes shouldn’t be mandatory, Space exploration is a waste of money, etc.

If you’d like to see more topic ideas for an argumentative speech, you can browse the 200 Argumentative Speech Topics and ideas: A Complete Guide . 

A demonstration speech, true to its name, demonstrates to the audience how something works. This type of presentation is more common for high school or college students. It makes use of props and useful body language to properly guide the audience through an activity.

This type of speech can fall under informative speech as you are informing the listeners on a task. While this type of speech is considered a basic speech, it is an excellent way to practice your expository speaking.

If this is the type of speech you’d like to give, here’s a list of 279 Demonstration Speech Topics and Ideas: A Complete Guide , so that you can better perfect your speech.

A humorous speech is the perfect light-hearted solution for adding a fun twist to your speech. This type of presentation aims to entertain the audience. A humorous speech can incorporate any of the above examples. It is, thus, very versatile. And what’s more? You get to have just as much fun delivering it!  

The thing to keep in mind with this kind of speech is that you need to pick a proper topic. You intend to garner a joyful response to its best not to pick a sensitive topic. To help you out, you can browse the 300 Funny Speech Topics to Tickle Some Funny Bones! to structure your humorous speech.

Writing the Introduction (Opening)

The introduction of your speech is vital to the success of your speech. It is what sets the tone of your entire speech. It determines whether or not you grab the attention of the listeners. You will get only one chance to charm your audience and make sure they follow the rest of your speech.

So, how can you make this happen? There are a few different ways you can approach this:

Asking a question is an excellent way to grab your audience’s attention. It piques their curiosity and ensures that they will listen to get an answer to said question. The question can be either rhetorical or literal. For instance, “Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to live in a world without technology?” or “Have you ever felt broken-hearted?”.

Either the audience resonates with your question, or it generates curiosity. This is also a great way to get some audience participation. If you say, “With a show of hands, how many of us here have tried to change our habits and failed?” you can not only garner interest but also physically get the audience invested in your speech.

A question is a great way to get your listeners thinking about your topic while introducing your topic, all in a matter of seconds!

A strong statement is also an excellent way to create a compelling introduction. You must know Martin Luther King’s iconic, “I have a dream.” The intensity that radiates from that sentence immediately captures an audiences’ attention and creates a commanding presence.

Similarly, an excellent example of this type of opening is from Larry Smith’s speech. “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.” This immediately generates intrigue and curiosity. That’s what you’re going for.

This statement does not have to just be cold facts. It can be a part of a personal story as well. For instance, the statement “Last week, I found out that my childhood friend got in a car accident” is bound to create a powerful silence. If your speech has such a strong emotive statement, you can use it in your introduction to engage your audience better.

Another helpful tip that goes with a strong statement in silence. Give your listener’s a chance to absorb the statement that you have put in front of them with a couple of seconds of silence before diving in further.

A prop can be a fantastic addition to your speech. Not only does it help emphasize your point, but it also helps the audience stay focused on your speech. Props are especially good for a demonstrative speech. Or you can simply incorporate demonstrations as part of your speech.

Body language speaks much louder than words can for us humans. This is why using colorful bags, a deck of cards, colored papers, etc. can be so effective as an opener for your speech. Once, I attended a speech where the speaker brought a heavy bag and simply set it on the table, talking about the bag. The audience was hooked, waiting eagerly till the end to find out what was in the bag.

A quotation can be the perfect way to capture your audience’s attention. It also helps set a tone for the speech that is to come. The quote you pick can be a well-known saying such as “They say all that glitters is not gold, well I beg to differ.” Doing so, you can ignite curiosity.

Similarly, you can also quote a person or a publication and tie it to your speech. For instance, for a motivational speech, you can take the example of someone like Bill Gates- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” When you use a quote from a big name, you will definitely get people wanting to hear and learn more.

Humor is always a great tool to have in your arsenal. A good icebreaker can warm the listeners up to you and make them more receptive to the rest of your speech. Humor is a very endearing trait for a skilled speaker. Some ideas for your opening can be:

“It’s the funniest thing. As I was coming up to the stage, I began thinking we actually have quite a lot in common. None of us have a clue about what I’m going to say!”

“I know we are all busy, and I want to honor your time. So I will make sure to be accurate and brief, no matter long it takes me.”

The great thing about using humor is that it works on your audience subconsciously. You seem at ease with yourself and radiate confidence. You have to remember that for humor to be effective; it has to be effortless. If you seem unsure about your lines, the audience is sure to pick up on it.

A strong statistic will always add validity to your speeches. Presenting the audience with irrefutable facts backed up by a strong source is a surefire way to gain credibility. It can also add gravity to the scale of the issue that you want to draw attention to. 

However, it is easy to overdo things when it comes to numbers. It can be tempting to add strong statistics to the rest of your speech as well. But remember, the strongest points are ones that linger in an audience’s mind. If you give them too many numbers, none of them will stick out in their heads, and they are bound to feel lost.

Some examples can be: “Look to your right. Now, look to your left. One in three women and one in four women are known to have suffered physical violence. A statement like this not only ignites awareness but also physically makes your listener feel involved in your speech.

An anecdote is a short story taken from your life itself. The story usually adds to the theme of your story. Short and light-hearted anecdotes can add a lot of enthusiasm and charm to your speech. However, you don’t have to make them humorous. Even more, touching stories can be equally, if not more engaging.

When used correctly, a personal anecdote makes for the perfect introduction that draws your listeners towards your central message. Not only does it create empathy, but it also sparks interest. If you don’t have a personal anecdote itself, you can go for a third-person anecdote that speaks to you as well.

Opening with a problem can make for a strong opening. This method generates interest and keeps the audience listening with the promise of an upcoming solution. Try to aim for a problem that caters to a wider demographic for a higher relatability.

Problems that relate to current events can have a better draw. For instance: “Why should remote working be implemented even after quarantine?”

In a similar vein, a powerful statement can be an excellent way to capture your audience’s attention. A statement, when paired with silence, can make for an effective tool. Example: “The top 20% of our society makes 80% of all the money. Would you like to be part of this 20%? If so, I’m going to give you some pointers on how you can align yourself in that direction. Does that sound like something you might be interested in?”

• Your opening plays a big role in whether or not you can grab your listener’s attention straight off the bat.
• Give your audience a reason to pay attention by clearly stating the purpose of your speech.
• If you are giving a speech regarding a field you have some experience with, remember to establish credibility early on.
• Give a short highlight reel of your main points.
• Quotations or powerful statements are a great way to catch the audience’s attention.
• Including current events or statistics will make your speech seem more relevant to a wider range of listeners.
• Asking a question will get your audience more involved and add intrigue to the rest of your presentation.

Structuring your content (Body)

The body of your speech will hold all of your main points. Since this is the longest section of your speech, you need to ensure that it is interesting enough to keep everyone’s attention. Depending on the objective of your speech, you will need to add examples, opinions, and facts to back up your points. What helps during this time is proper organization.

Here are some things you want to keep in mind while drafting the body of your speech:

No matter how much you believe in your point, you still need to give your audience a credible reason to take your word for it. This can be done by adding examples, detailed descriptions, statistics, and so on. Always remember to credit the source when using a statistic. You can also add a strong testimonial to add a touch of personalized support if that applies to your objective.

Transitions

When you have a lot of content packed into your speech, transitions become vital to the effectiveness of your speech. You can consider these as points of a refresh in your speech. Here, the audience can reengage and follow along more attentively. 

The best transitions are always invisible. They can seamlessly add flow to your speech without giving any indication of such to your audience. There are many ways to incorporate this into your speech. 

Some examples can be:

A connective transition is where you reiterate a previous point and introduce a connecting point. The way this method works is that it rehashes an important aspect while relating it to what’s next.

The most effective way to use this is in a problem/solution module. This is where you begin by stating a problem and transition towards a solution.

Example: Now that we’ve understood the various negative effects of junk food, let me tell you how we can plan a better diet to combat obesity.

When you do this, you are providing a summary of the problem and swiftly leading them towards a solution. If you jump straight to the next section, it can feel rushed. Besides, pauses are another important element of speech delivery.

Keywords, as the name suggests, have a certain draw to them. These are words that are central to the theme of your speech. Repetition is a very effective tool in conveying your message. 

For instance: If your speech is about the scarcity of running water in rural communities, you can draw attention by repeating the factors that cause this issue. Doing so will also let you explain in better detail these factors while keeping your audience hooked to the main theme.

Content Approach

Depending on your speech, there are various ways to approach how you frame your content. We all know that content is king; however, without the right approach, it’s easy for your message to get lost along the way. This is why it’s so important to keep your subject matter relevant and interesting. Make sure the content is as compact and concise as you can make it. Some of the methods by which you can ensure this is as follows:

Cause and effect is a great way to present your ideas. This method works best for explaining events and consequences or results. Make sure to include all the appropriate details to add emphasis. The element of ‘what’s next’ is what keeps the audience hooked to your speech. As you unfold a cause and follow it with the effects, it will feel both interesting as well as rewarding to your audience.  

Problem and solution is a speech method as old as time. But it is so because of its reliability. This approach works best for a motivational speech. This type of speech intends to address a problem and offer a systematic solution that benefits the listeners. It is also a common approach for pushing an audience to buy into a service or product. You pose a problem and then offer a solution, including a whole package. Make sure the solution you offer is versatile so that it applies to a wider range of people, thereby increasing appeal.

A narrative approach is excellent for anybody who wants to sharpen their storytelling skills. The important ingredients for a narrative speech are chronology and a simple organization pattern. Typically, any story will have a beginning, middle, and end. Going in order, with smooth transitions will make your story easy to follow. 

This type of speech is most effective for presenting events, life lessons, experiences, rituals, and personal beliefs. Try to stick to the core of the story without too many unnecessary details. Just because a narrative includes storytelling does not mean it can’t have an end goal. For instance: a personal experience of failure might be a great story of caution for the listeners.

The most important thing for a successful narrative speech is build-up. You want your audience to be invested, to care about what comes next, to raise the stakes so that when you provide the conclusion, it is that much more effective. You must always ask yourself, “What do I want the audience to remember after this speech?”.

The best way to write this would be to outline a sketch of events that are relevant to your narrative. After that, you can think about the best way to escalate the stakes. Remember that eye contact is an important visual medium in a narrative speech. It will help your audience connect better to your story.

The number three is impactful. Even the general structure of a speech is divided into three parts: Opening, Body, and Conclusion. When you want to make a point that people remember, you should consider splitting it into three, where the first two act as a build-up while your final point brings the unexpected impact.

The best thing about this method is that you can apply it to just about any kind of speech. This, in fact, adds more structure to your speech and makes it more easily digestible. The key ingredient here becomes balance and transition. Make sure you focus on all three elements of your story equally, so it does not feel rushed. Add in a seamless transition to make your story structure seem effortless.  

• Make sure you have designed your content to suit your audience.
• Divide your body into easily digestible sections so that your main points come across clearly.
• Stress on keywords and clever repetitions to drive your point home.
• Work on your transitions to establish clear sections but a seamless switch to keep your listeners hooked.
• When using facts or statistics, always back it up with a credible source.

Closing your speech (Conclusion)

The conclusion is vital to the success of your speech. This is the parting thought that you will be leaving your audience with, so you have to make sure that it’s a good one. The conclusion is where you reiterate your key point. This is why there is so much importance put on a conclusion to be powerful enough to stay in your memory.

Here are some possible ways you can approach your conclusion:

A call-to-action refers to a statement or material that intends to encourage the listener or viewer to take the initiative. It can also be considered as instruction as it usually directs the audience towards something. 

The most effective way to approach this is to manage both your energy as well as your tempo. While it is essential to maintain a clear and well-enunciated speech throughout, when you reach a conclusion, you are going to want to speed up just a little bit. 

What this does is add a sense of urgency to the message that you are giving. Similarly, higher energy makes the audience resonate and respond equally. They will associate this high energy with your message and remember your speech for longer.

Some examples of this can be: “As we can see, the effects of depression can be life-threatening. So I encourage each and every one of you to go home today and reach out to your friends, talk to them and open up a platform where they know they can come to talk to you for anything. Because you’d rather hear their problems than hear about their death.”

For speeches that are over 5-6 minutes long, the audience can sometimes lose track of the earlier points. This is why it is necessary to summarize your main points before you leave the stage. You don’t have to take them through the entire story, but make sure you include the keywords that trigger in them the memory of that portion. 

You can do this by saying something along the lines of “Let me briefly run you through what we discussed” or “So, we talked about three main things today.” This not only does a great job of reiterating and reconfirming your main points but also signals to the audience that you are drawing towards the end of your presentation.

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

Even though you might be well familiarized with your speech, it is safe to assume that most of the audience is hearing it for the first time. For this reason, you need to drive your point home by essentially drilling it into their minds. Now, you can’t simply repeat the central theme over and over as that isn’t an effective strategy. But there can be an art to repetition as well.

You should aim to rephrase and reinforce your central idea as you conclude your speech. Don’t go for a word-for-word repetition, but aim to reframe your key themes and arguments. Paraphrasing, in this way, makes sure that you capture the essence of your speech without running the risk of boring your listeners with identical sentences.

We don’t even need to look too far for examples of this method. In Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, he used this method of repetition paired with a rising momentum to create impact. Repetition works best when it is subtle and works on the listeners subconsciously.

Ending your speech on a light note is a great way to brighten moods and make sure the audience remembers your message. Your joke can also be a good way to repeat your central message. If you do decide to end with a humorous story, remember to carve out more time for it. Make sure your conclusion doesn’t distract from your main message.

Some people tend to get too excited and give away the upcoming punchline. Remember that the most effective humor approach is one you don’t see coming. How you can add the subtlety to your conclusion is by following this formula:

Set up – pause – Build up – pause – Punchline

Motivational conclusions are always an upbeat way to close your speech. You will be leaving the stage on high energy that is sure to be contagious. This also ensures that your audience will be taking a piece of your conclusion with them, making sure that it is not only memorable but also useful.

There are many ways to approach an inspirational closing. You can go with an anecdote, a quote, a poem, and so on. The purpose is to give a push, to add strength, to ignite a can-do attitude. 

The trick to a powerful inspirational speech is emotion. Humans are excellent at empathizing. If you can adequately emote throughout your story, adding drama into your storytelling, then it is bound to have a more substantial effect. Vocal variety can also be an excellent element for this. Alter your tempo to weave excitement into your story. You can also use smart pauses to add more intrigue. 

Your facial expressions play a significant role in how the audience receives your speech. Whether it is a sad or happy story, make sure that your face conveys it. It can be addictive to have the audience’s attention like this, but don’t get too greedy. Remember to end on your highest note, leaving a lasting impression. 

There are many types of speeches out there. For instance: you might think that a humorous speech is just that: humorous. But think again. All the best speeches have at least one key takeaway.

A takeaway message is quite similar to an inspirational conclusion. The question you have to ask yourself is this: What is the purpose of my speech? Even if you’ve got a fantastic anecdotal story to share, you have to remember that the audience will always wonder what they are getting from the speech. That will be your takeaway.

For an effective conclusion, you have to step back and overview your speech. From your introduction to the body, what is the message you are trying to convey? Make sure your conclusion reflects it. For example: if your speech is about a drowning story, you can probably try to include what you could’ve done and how the audience can avoid being in a similar situation.

A call-back is a fun twist to add to your conclusion. There is a reason why a circle is one of the most pleasing shapes; it gives you a sense of completion. Even if you aren’t aware of it, it works on your mind subliminally. An effective way to conduct this method is to find a way to tie your ending to your introduction.

You can understand a call-back as a reference. It doesn’t have to be limited to just the introduction; you can reference the body of your speech as well. This not only makes for a great repetition tool but also adds a feeling of completion into your presentation.

However, you should pick something that the audience can connect to. This helps create a special and unique bond as if it were an inside joke just between you two. 

• Signal your audience when you’re drawing to your conclusion.
• Add trigger transitions like “In conclusion,” “In summary,” “That brings us towards the end,” and so on.
• Try to end on a high note with something memorable.
• Write your conclusion last so that it complements your introduction.
• Try to paraphrase your words without repeating the same words over and over.
• Your audience is more likely to remember your speech if you end with something useful to them or with a call to action.
• Leave on an attention-grabbing note. 

Wrapping Up:

A speech typically has one of four purposes: to inform, to entertain, to instruct, or to persuade. To deliver an effective speech, you need to first make sure you understand what your objective is. Then, you can follow our guidelines to construct a solid structure and deliver a well-rounded and impactful presentation. Now that you know how to create an effective speech structure, you are ready to dominate the stage!  

The best speech structures are invisible and effective. Learn the tips and tricks to deliver the perfect opening, body, and conclusion and wow the stage.

The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A part of speech is a term used in traditional grammar for one of the nine main categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences, such as nouns or verbs. Also known as word classes, these are the building blocks of grammar.

Every sentence you write or speak in English includes words that fall into some of the nine parts of speech. These include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections. (Some sources include only eight parts of speech and leave interjections in their own category.)

Parts of Speech

• Word types can be divided into nine parts of speech:
• prepositions
• conjunctions
• articles/determiners
• interjections
• Some words can be considered more than one part of speech, depending on context and usage.
• Interjections can form complete sentences on their own.

Learning the names of the parts of speech probably won't make you witty, healthy, wealthy, or wise. In fact, learning just the names of the parts of speech won't even make you a better writer. However, you will gain a basic understanding of sentence structure  and the  English language by familiarizing yourself with these labels.

Open and Closed Word Classes

The parts of speech are commonly divided into  open classes  (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and  closed classes  (pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections). Open classes can be altered and added to as language develops, and closed classes are pretty much set in stone. For example, new nouns are created every day, but conjunctions never change.

In contemporary linguistics , parts of speech are generally referred to as word classes or syntactic categories. The main difference is that word classes are classified according to more strict linguistic criteria. Within word classes, there is the lexical, or open class, and the function, or closed class.

The 9 Parts of Speech

Read about each part of speech below, and practice identifying each.

Nouns are a person, place, thing, or idea. They can take on a myriad of roles in a sentence, from the subject of it all to the object of an action. They are capitalized when they're the official name of something or someone, and they're called proper nouns in these cases. Examples: pirate, Caribbean, ship, freedom, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Pronouns stand in for nouns in a sentence . They are more generic versions of nouns that refer only to people. Examples:​  I, you, he, she, it, ours, them, who, which, anybody, ourselves.

Verbs are action words that tell what happens in a sentence. They can also show a sentence subject's state of being ( is , was ). Verbs change form based on tense (present, past) and count distinction (singular or plural). Examples:  sing, dance, believes, seemed, finish, eat, drink, be, became.

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They specify which one, how much, what kind, and more. Adjectives allow readers and listeners to use their senses to imagine something more clearly. Examples:  hot, lazy, funny, unique, bright, beautiful, poor, smooth.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They specify when, where, how, and why something happened and to what extent or how often. Many adjectives can be turned into adjectives by adding the suffix - ly . Examples:  softly, quickly, lazily, often, only, hopefully, sometimes.

Preposition

Prepositions  show spatial, temporal, and role relations between a noun or pronoun and the other words in a sentence. They come at the start of a prepositional phrase , which contains a preposition and its object. Examples:  up, over, against, by, for, into, close to, out of, apart from.

Conjunction

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. There are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions. Examples:  and, but, or, so, yet.

Articles and Determiners

Articles and determiners function like adjectives by modifying nouns, but they are different than adjectives in that they are necessary for a sentence to have proper syntax. Articles and determiners specify and identify nouns, and there are indefinite and definite articles. Examples of articles:  a, an, the ; examples of determiners:  these, that, those, enough, much, few, which, what.

Some traditional grammars have treated articles  as a distinct part of speech. Modern grammars, however, more often include articles in the category of determiners , which identify or quantify a noun. Even though they modify nouns like adjectives, articles are different in that they are essential to the proper syntax of a sentence, just as determiners are necessary to convey the meaning of a sentence, while adjectives are optional.

Interjection

Interjections are expressions that can stand on their own or be contained within sentences. These words and phrases often carry strong emotions and convey reactions. Examples:  ah, whoops, ouch, yabba dabba do!

How to Determine the Part of Speech

Only interjections ( Hooray! ) have a habit of standing alone; every other part of speech must be contained within a sentence and some are even required in sentences (nouns and verbs). Other parts of speech come in many varieties and may appear just about anywhere in a sentence.

To know for sure what part of speech a word falls into, look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position, and use in a sentence.

For example, in the first sentence below,  work  functions as a noun; in the second sentence, a verb; and in the third sentence, an adjective:

• Bosco showed up for  work  two hours late.
• The noun  work  is the thing Bosco shows up for.
• He will have to  work  until midnight.
• The verb  work  is the action he must perform.
• His  work  permit expires next month.
• The  attributive noun  (or converted adjective) work  modifies the noun  permit .

Learning the names and uses of the basic parts of speech is just one way to understand how sentences are constructed.

Dissecting Basic Sentences

To form a basic complete sentence, you only need two elements: a noun (or pronoun standing in for a noun) and a verb. The noun acts as a subject, and the verb, by telling what action the subject is taking, acts as the predicate. 

In the short sentence above,  birds  is the noun and  fly  is the verb. The sentence makes sense and gets the point across.

You can have a sentence with just one word without breaking any sentence formation rules. The short sentence below is complete because it's a verb command with an understood "you" noun.

Here, the pronoun, standing in for a noun, is implied and acts as the subject. The sentence is really saying, "(You) go!"

Constructing More Complex Sentences

Use more parts of speech to add additional information about what's happening in a sentence to make it more complex. Take the first sentence from above, for example, and incorporate more information about how and why birds fly.

• Birds fly when migrating before winter.

Birds and fly remain the noun and the verb, but now there is more description. 

When  is an adverb that modifies the verb fly.  The word before  is a little tricky because it can be either a conjunction, preposition, or adverb depending on the context. In this case, it's a preposition because it's followed by a noun. This preposition begins an adverbial phrase of time ( before winter ) that answers the question of when the birds migrate . Before is not a conjunction because it does not connect two clauses.

• Sentence Parts and Sentence Structures
• 100 Key Terms Used in the Study of Grammar
• Closed Class Words
• Prepositional Phrases in English Grammar
• Word Class in English Grammar
• The Top 25 Grammatical Terms
• Foundations of Grammar in Italian
• Open Class Words in English Grammar
• Pronoun Definition and Examples
• What Is an Adverb in English Grammar?
• Telegraphic Speech
• Definition and Examples of Adjectives
• What Are the Parts of a Prepositional Phrase?
• Definition and Examples of Function Words in English
• Sentence Patterns
• Lesson Plan: Label Sentences with Parts of Speech

Debate Writing

Types Of Debate

Types of Debate - A Complete Overview & Examples

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Debates provide various positive benefits for the students. It increases the opportunity for listening and speaking in the classroom.

Formal debates can be conducted in various different formats. Knowing the format of your debate is essential for structuring and presenting your arguments effectively. 

So what are these different types of debate formats?

Read this detailed guide to get an idea about the forms of debating with examples.

• 1. Brief Overview of Debate Writing
• 2. Types of Debate
• 3. Types of Debates Examples

Brief Overview of Debate Writing

A debate is a formal and organized argument where the participants discuss a subject from two opposing sides. Those who agree with the idea are on the "Pro" side. On the other hand, those who disagree are on the "Con" side.

Each side presents the argument to persuade the audience of their point of view. They achieve this by presenting relevant examples and evidence to support the claim.

The primary purpose of a debate is to convince the audience that your viewpoint is right. Moreover, a mediator decides the winner during formal debate tournaments. Nevertheless, the informal debate continues until the time when any one of the debate team gives up.

On the other hand, a writer needs to follow the proper format and structure for writing a debate. Remember, a well-written debate will leave a long-lasting impression on the audience.

Types of Debate

Below are the popular types of debate writing that will help you get started.

Team Policy Debate

Team policy debates involve two teams, each with two debaters. These are the most commonly used types of debates in high school and middle school. Here, the structure includes the following elements.

• Eight speeches
• Four constructive speeches
• Four rebuttals
• Four periods of cross-examination

This debate consists of an affirmative team that supports a proposition, and a negative team that argues against it. The primary objective of team policy debate is to present a huge amount of evidence quickly and coherently.

Below given is the basic format of a team policy debate.

Check out the example for a better understanding.

Example of Team Policy Debate

Cross-Examination Debate

Cross-examination is another type of two-on-two debate. It is mainly defined as a period between speeches. Here, the opponent debaters ask questions to clarify and understand each other’s points of information.

A cross-examination debate provides you with an opportunity to engage with your opponent.

Here is a detailed format structure of the cross-examination debate.

Refer to the below example of the cross-examination debate.

Example of Cross-Examination Debate

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Lincoln-Douglas is an open style of debate. It is mainly inspired by the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the 1850s.

Moreover, this is a one-on-one debate that focuses on arguing for or against a topic. Here, the participants agree on the time limits and topics beforehand.

For example, in the United States presidential debates, one debate is entirely focused on domestic policy. At the same time, the other one is devoted to foreign policy.

The main purpose of the Lincoln-Douglas debates is to speak persuasively, clearly, and logically. Similarly, it is very structured in nature and allows people to express their viewpoints openly.

A typical format of the Lincoln-Douglas debate is as follows.

Have a look at the below example to get a better idea.

Example of Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Spontaneous Argumentation

Spontaneous argumentation includes two debaters that argue on a particular topic. Firstly, they get a short prep time for a debate topic and then present the argument.

These types of debate speeches are often used in college and university classrooms. Moreover, it also helps in decreasing the anxiety of a speaker by building confidence.

However, it does not require detailed research work. So the speaker focuses more on presentation and style rather than the content. Moreover, it also helps in decreasing the anxiety of a speaker by building confidence.

The spontaneous argumentation debate format is given below.

Refer to the document for a detailed example.

Example of Spontaneous Argumentation

Public Forum Debate

Public forum debate is considered as audience friendly and a current events debate. It includes two teams of debaters that argue on ongoing controversial topics.

The round begins with a coin toss between the competing debate teams. It is required to determine which side, either Pro or Con, will present their argument first. Each debate team will be given 3 minutes to prepare the topic.

Furthermore, it consists of eight speeches and three crossfires but each with a time limit. The winner is further decided by a judge who serves as a referee.

Lastly, this type of debate is used to test the students’ argumentation, cross-examination, and refutation skills.

The following is a format structure of public forum debate.

Check out the below example of a public forum debate.

Example of Public Forum Debate

Parliamentary Debate

Similar to the spontaneous types of debate arguments, parliamentary debates do not require thorough research. The resolutions are decided only 10 minutes before a round of debate starts. 

They are referred to as “parliamentary” because they are similar to the debates that occur in the British parliament. Such types of debates are mainly used by decision-making bodies.

Moreover, it consists of the following elements.

Two teams, each with two debaters Six speeches Four constructive speeches Two rebuttal speeches The format structure of the parliamentary debate is as follows.

Here is a detailed example to get a better understanding.

Example of Parliamentary Debate

Want to win your next debate? Check out our blog about different types of debate techniques to improve your debating skills.

Types of Debates Examples

Check out the document for some more types of  debate examples .

Sample for Types of Debate

To reiterate, it is essential to know the format and type of the debate you’re participating in. With the help of the above guide, you now understand the various types and prepare your debate accordingly. 

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7 Chapter 7: Supporting Your Speech Ideas

The materials below are attributed fully to the free online Open Education Resource,  Exploring Public Speaking: The Free Dalton State College Public Speaking Textbook, 4th Edition . 

Chapter 7 Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, the student will be able to:

• Explain why supporting materials are necessary
• List the various types of verbal supporting materials
• Discuss supporting material strengths in explaining and proving ideas and arguments
• Incorporate supporting materials seamlessly into the speech
• Use supporting materials ethically through correct citation
• Explain how perception and attention affect the speech-giving process

Chapter Preview

.1 – Why Supporting Materials are Needed

7.2 – Types of Supporting Materials

7.3 – Attention Factors and Supporting Materials

7.1 –  Why Supporting Materials are Needed

As mentioned in previous chapters,  preparing to give a presentation is not a totally linear process.  It would be nice if the process was like following a recipe, but it loops back and forth as you move toward crafting something that will present your ideas and research effectively. Even as you practice, you will make small changes to your basic outline, since the way something looks on paper and the way it sounds are sometimes different. For example,  l ong sentences may look intelligent on paper, but they are hard to say in one breath and hard for the audience to understand. You will also find it  necessary to use more repetition or restatement in oral delivery.

Therefore, although this is the seventh chapter in the book, it deals with some concepts that we have already been thinking about in Chapters 2-6. Specifically,  this chapter is about supporting materials: what they are, what they do, and how to use them effectively.  But you have already been thinking about how to support your ideas when you were researching and crafting a central idea and main points. Supporting material also relates directly to Chapter 9, presentation aids.  Whereas  presentation aids are  visual  or  auditory  supporting materials,   this chapter will deal with  verbal  supporting materials.

Using your supporting materials effectively is essential because we crave detail and specifics. Let’s say you are discussing going out to eat with a friend. You suggest a certain restaurant, and your friend makes a comment about the restaurant you have not heard before or don’t accept at face value, so you ask in some way for explanation, clarification, or  proof.  If she says, “Their servers are really rude,” you might ask, “What did they do?” If she says, “Their food is delicious,” you might ask what dish is good. Likewise, if she says, “The place is nasty,” you will want to know what their health rating is or why she makes this statement. We want to know specifics and are not satisfied with vagueness and generalities.

Supporting material can be thought of as the specifics that make your ideas, arguments, assertions, points, or concepts real and concrete.   Sometimes supporting materials are referred to as the  “meat” on the bones of the outline,  but we also like to think of them as  pegs you create in the audience’s mind to hang the ideas on.   Another even more useful idea is to  think of them as pillars or supports for a bridge (Figure 7.1). Without these supports, the bridge would just be a piece of concrete that would not hold up once cars start to cross it.  Similarly, the points and  arguments you are making in your speech may not hold up without the material  to “support”  what you are saying.

Of course, as we will see in this chapter,  all supporting materials are not considered equal. Some are better at some functions or for some speeches than others. In general, there are   t w o basic ways to think about the  role of  supporting materials. Either they

• clarify, explain, or provide specifics (and therefore understanding)  for the audience,  or
• prove and back up  arguments   and therefore persuade the audience. Of course, some can do both.

You might ask,  how much supporting material is enough?  The time you are allowed or required to speak will largely determine that. Since the supporting materials are found in the subpoints of your outline (A, B) and sub-subpoints (1, 2, etc.), you can see clearly on the outline how much you have and can omit one if time constraints demand that. However, in our experience as public speaking instructors, we find that students often struggle with having enough supporting materials.  We often comment on a student’s speech that we wanted the student to  answer more of the “what, where, who, how, why, when,” questions and add more description, proof, or evidence because their ideas were vague.

Students often struggle with  the difference between “main idea” and “supporting idea.” For example, in this list, you will quickly recognize a commonality.

Butter Pecan

Of course, they are popular flavors of ice cream.  The main idea is “Popular Flavors of Ice Cream” and the individual flavors are supporting materials to clarify the main idea; they “hold” it up for understanding and clarification. If the list were:

Honey Jalapeno Pickle

Banana Split

Wildberry Lavender

you would recognize two or three as ice cream flavors (not as popular) but #2 and #5 do not seem to fit the list (Covington, 2013). But you still recognize them as types of something and infer from the list that they have to do with ice cream flavors.  “Ice cream flavors” is the general subject and the flavors are the particulars.

Those examples were easy. Let’s look at this one. One of the words in this list is the general, and the rest are the particulars.

Emotion is general category, and the list here shows specific emotions.  Here is another:

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer.
• Pets who live in states with high rates of spaying/neutering live longer.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for its health.
• Spaying lessens the increased urge to roam.
• Male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

Which one is the main point (the general idea), and which are the supporting points that include evidence to prove the main point?  You should see that the third bullet point (“Your pet’s health is positively affected . . .”) would be a main point or argument in a persuasive speech on spaying or neutering your pet. The basic outline for the speech might look something like this:

• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for public health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your pet’s health.
• Spaying or neutering your pet is good for your family’s life and budget.

Of course,  each of the four  supporting points  in this example (“helps uterine cancer in female pets, “etc.)  cannot just be made up . The speaker would need to  refer to or cite  reliable statistics or testimony from veterinarians, researchers, public health organizations, and humane societies.  For that reason, here is the more specific support, which you would use in a speech to be ethical and credible. Notice that the italicized sections in this example  Main Point use statistics and specific details to support the claims being made and provides sources that are clearly given.

• Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer,  which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats,  as found in the online article “Top Ten Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet,” written in 2015 and posted on the website for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• According to Natalie DiBlasio, writing for  USA Today  on May 7 of 2013, in Mississippi, the lowest-ranking state  for pet longevity,  only 56% of the dogs are neutered or spayed.
• She goes on to say that other issues  affecting pet longevity have to do with climate, heartworm, and income of owners.
• The Human Society of America’s website features the August 2014 article, “Why You Should Spay/Neuter Your Pet,” which states that spaying  lessens their urge to roam, exposure to fights with other animals, getting struck by cars, and other mishaps.
• Also according to the same article,  male pets who are neutered eliminate their chances of getting testicular and prostate cancer.

With all the sources available to you through reliable Internet and published sources,  finding information is not difficult.  Recognizing the difference between supporting information and the general idea you are trying to support or prove is more difficult, as is providing adequate citation.

Along with clarifying and proving, supporting materials, especially narrative ones, also make your speech much more interesting and attention-getting.  Later in the chapter we will look at the various “factors of attention” that are related to supporting material. Ultimately,  you will be  perceived as a more credible speaker if you provide clarifying,  probative  (proof-giving and logical), and interesting supporting material.

having the quality or function of proving or demonstrating something; affording proof or evidence

7.2 –  Types of Supporting Materials

Essentially, there are  seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific fact, statistics, and testimony.  Each provides a different type of support, and you will want to choose the supporting materials that best help you make the point you want to get across to your audience.

This type of supporting material is the first and  easiest to use but also easy to forget .  Examples are almost always  short but concrete specific instances to illuminate a concept.  They are designed to give audiences a  reference point.   If you were describing a type of architecture, you would obviously show visual aids of it and give verbal descriptions of it, but you could say, “You pass an example of this type of architecture every time you go downtown—City Hall.”  An example must be  quickly understandable , something the audience can pull out of their memory or experience quickly.

The key to effectively using examples in your speeches is this:  what is  an example to you may not be an example to your audience,  if they have a different experience .  One of the authors has been teaching four decades and cannot use the same pop culture examples she used to use in class. Television shows from twenty years ago are pretty meaningless to audiences today.  Time and age are not the only reasons an example may not work with the audience.  If you are a huge soccer fan speaking to a group who barely knows soccer, using a well-known soccer player as an example of perseverance or overcoming discrimination in the sports world may not communicate. It may only leave the audience members scratching their heads.

Additionally, one good, appropriate example is worth several less apt ones. Keep in mind that in the distinction between supporting materials that prove, those that clarify, and those that do both,  examples are used to clarify .

Earlier in this textbook the  “power of story ”  was mentioned.  Narratives, stories, and anecdotes are useful in speeches to interest the audience and clarify, dramatize, and emphasize ideas.  They have, if done well,  strong emotional power.  They can be used in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion of the speech.   They can be short, as anecdotes usually are.  Think of the stories you often see in  Readers’ Digest , human interest stories on the local news, or what you might post on Facebook about a bad experience you had at the DMV.  They could be longer, although they should not comprise large portions of the speech.

Narratives can be personal, literary, historical, or hypothetical.  Personal narratives can be helpful in situations where you desire to:

• Relate to the audience  on a human level, especially if they may see you as competent but not really similar or connected to them.
• Build your credibility by mentioning your experience with a topic.

Of course,  personal narratives must be true. They must also not portray you as more competent, experienced, brave, intelligent, etc., than you are; in other words,  along with being truthful in using personal narratives,  you should be reasonably humble.

An example of a   literary narrative might be one of Aesop’s fables , a short story by O’Henry, or an appropriate tale from another culture.   Keep in mind that because of their power, stories tend to be remembered more than other parts of the speech.   Do you want the story to overshadow your content?  Scenes from films would be another example of a literary narrative, but as with examples, you must consider the audience’s frame of reference and if they will have seen the film.

Historical narrative s  (sometimes called documented narratives)  have power because they can also prove an idea as well as clarify one .  In using these, you should  treat them as fact and therefore give a citation as to where you found the historical narrative.  By “historical” we do  not mean the story refers to something that happened many years ago,  only that it has happened in the past and there were witnesses to validate the happening.

If you were trying to argue for the  end to the death penalty because it leads to unjust executions, one good example of a person who was executed and then found innocent afterward would be both emotional and probative . Here,  be careful of using theatrical movies as your source of historical narrative .  Hollywood likes to change history to make the story they want. For example, many people think  Braveheart  is historically accurate, but it is off on many key points—even the kilts, which were not worn by the Scots until the 1600s.

Hypothetical narratives  are  ones that could happen but have not yet.  To be effective, they should be based on reality.  Here are two examples:

Hypothetical narratives

a story of something that could happen but has not happened yet

Picture this incident: You are standing in line at the grocery checkout, reading the headlines on the Star and National Enquirer for a laugh, checking your phone. Then, the middle-aged man in front of you grabs his shoulder and falls to the ground, unconscious. What would you do in a situation like this? While it has probably never happened to you, people have medical emergencies in public many times a day. Would you know how to respond?

Imagine yourself in this situation. It is 3:00 in the morning. You are awakened from a pretty good sleep by a dog barking loudly in the neighborhood. You get up and see green lights coming into your house from the back yard. You go in the direction of the lights and unlock your back door and there, right beside your deck, is an alien spaceship. The door opens and visitors from another planet come out and invite you in, and for the next hour you tour their ship. You can somehow understand them because their communication abilities are far advanced. Now, back to reality. If you were in a foreign country, you would not be able to understand a foreign language unless you had studied it. That is why you should learn a foreign language in college.

Obviously, the second is so “off-the-wall” that the audience would be wondering about the connection, although it definitely does attract attention.  If using a hypothetical narrative, be sure that it is clear that the narrative is hypothetical, not factual. Because of their attention-getting nature, hypothetical narratives are often used in introductions.

Definitions

When we use the term “definition” here as a supporting material,  we are not talking about something you can easily find from the dictionary  or from the first thing that comes up on Google, such as shown in Figure 7.2.

First, using a dictionary definition does not really show your audience that you have researched a topic  (anyone can look up a definition in a few seconds). Secondly, does the audience need a definition of a word like “love,” “bravery,” or “commitment?” They may consider it insulting for you to provide them definition of those words.

To  defin e  means to set limits on something ; 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.   We know there are denotative and connotative definitions or meanings for words, which we usually think of as objective and subjective responses to words.   You only need to  define words that would be unfamiliar to the audience or words that you want to use in a specialized way.

to set limits on what a word or term means, how the audience should think about it, and/or how you will use it

For example,  terms used in specialized fields, often called “ jargon,”  (see Chapter 10) need to be defined and explained.  These words may be in medicine, law, the military, technology, or the arts.  Some of these words may be in foreign languages , such as Latin ( habeas corpus, quid pro quo ).  Some of them may be acronyms ; CBE is a term in higher education that means “Competency Based Education.” That is part of a definition, but not a full one—what is competency based education? To answer that question, you would do best to find an officially accepted definition and cite it.

You may want to use  a  stipulated definition  early in your speech.  In this case, you  clearly tell the audience how you are going to use a word or phrase in your speech.   “When I use the phrase ‘liberal democracy’ in this speech, I am using it in the historical sense of a constitution, representative government, and elected officials, not in the sense of any particular issues that are being debated today between progressives and conservatives.”  This is a helpful technique and makes sure your audience understands you, but you would only want to do this for terms that have confusing or controversial meanings for some.

Stipulated definition

a definition with clearly defined parameters for how the word or term is being used in the context of a speech

Although we tend to think of the dictionary definition as the standard, that is only one way of defining something. The dictionary tends to define with synonyms, or other words that are close in meaning.  All of us have had the experience of looking up a word and finding a definition that uses another word we do not know!  Synonyms are one  way to define , but there are some others.

Classification and differentiation

This is a fancy way of saying “ X is a type of Y, but it is different from the other Ys in that . . .”  “A bicycle is type of vehicle that has two wheels, handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and is powered by the feet of the driver.” Obviously you know what a bicycle is and it does not need defining, so here are some better examples:

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a  (type of)  surgical procedure that  (how different)  involves the placement of an adjustable silicone belt around the upper portion of the stomach using a laparoscope. The band can be tightened by adding saline to fill the band like blowing air into a doughnut-shaped balloon. The band is connected to a port that is placed under the skin of the abdomen. This port is used to introduce or remove saline into the band.

Gestational diabetes is a  (type of)  diabetic condition  (how different)  that appears during pregnancy and usually goes away after the birth of the baby.

Social publishing platforms are a  (type of)  social medium where  (how different)  long and short-form written content can be shared with other users.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions   give examples of an action or idea to define it.   If we  were to define “ quid pro quo sexual harassment” operationally, we might use a hypothetical narrative of an employee who is pressured by their supervisor to go on a date. Imagine, too, that the employee is told they must go out with the supervisor socially to get a promotion. Operational definitions help draw a picture and answer the question, “What does this look like in real life?”  rather than using synonyms to define.

Definition by Contrast or Comparison

You can define a term or concept by telling  what it is similar to or different from .  This method requires the audience to have an understanding of whatever you are using as the point of contrast or comparison.  When alcoholism or drug addiction is defined as a disease, that is a comparison. Although not caused by a virus or bacteria, addiction disorder has other qualities that are disease-like.

When defining by contrast, you are  pointing how a concept or term is distinct from another more familiar one .  For example,  “pop culture” is defined as different from “high culture” in that, traditionally, popular culture has been associated with people of lower socioeconomic status (i.e. less wealth or education).  High culture , on the other hand, is associated with as the “official” culture of the more highly educated within the upper classes.  Here, the definition of popular culture is clarified by highlighting the differences between it and high culture .

A similar form of definition by contrast is  defining by   negation, which is stipulating what something  is not .  This famous quotation from Nelson Mandela is an example: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Here, Mandela is helping us draw limits around a concept by saying what it is  not .

Descriptions

The key to  description is to  think in terms of the five senses:  sight (visual; how does the thing look in terms of color, size, shape) , hearing (auditory; volume, musical qualities), taste (gustatory; sweet, bitter, salty, sour, gritty, smooth, chewy), smell (olfactory; sweet, rancid, fragrant, aromatic, musky), and feel (tactile; rough, silky, nubby, scratchy).  The words  kinesthetic  (movement of the body)  and  organic  (feelings related to the inner workings of the body)  can be added to those senses to describe internal physical feeling, such as straining muscles or pain ( kinesthetic ) and nausea or the feelings of heightened emotions ( organic ).

Kinesthetic

issues related to the movement of the body or physical activity

feelings or issues related to the inner workings of the body

Description as a method of support also depends on details, or answering the five questions of what, where, how, who, when. To use description, you must dig deeper into your vocabulary and think concretely.  This example shows that progression.

A La-Z-Boy® rocker-recliner

An old green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner

An old lime green velvet La-Z-Boy® rocker recliner with a cigarette burn on the left arm

As  you add more description, two things happen. The “camera focus” becomes clearer, but you also add tone, or attitude.  A recliner is one thing, but who buys a lime green velvet recliner? And someone sat in it smoked and was sloppy about it.  In this case, the last line is probably too much description unless you want to paint a picture of a careless person with odd taste in furniture.

Description is useful as supporting material in terms of describing processes.  This topic was discussed in Chapter 6 in chronological patterns of organization.  Describing processes requires detail and not taking for granted what the audience already knows.  Some instructors use the  “peanut butter sandwich” example to make this point: How would you describe making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who had never seen a sandwich, peanut butter, or jelly?  You would need to put yourself in their shoes to describe the process and  not assume they know  that the peanut butter and jelly go on the inside, facing surfaces of the bread, and that two pieces of bread are involved.

Historic and Scientific Fact

This type of supporting material is  useful for clarification but is especially useful for proving a point.   President John Adams  is quoted as saying,  “Facts are stubborn things,” but that does not mean everyone accepts every fact as a fact, or that everyone is capable of distinguishing a fact from an opinion . A fact is defined by the Urban Dictionary as “The place most people in the world tend to think their opinions reside.” This is a humorous definition, but often true about how we approach facts. The meaning of “fact” is complicated by the context in which it is being used. The  National Center for Science Education (2008) defines fact this way:

In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as ‘true.’ Truth in science, however, is never final and  what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow.

Another source explains fact this way:

[ Fact is] a truth known by actual experience or observation.  The hardness of iron, the number of ribs in a squirrel’s body, the existence of fossil trilobites, and the like are all facts. Is it a fact that electrons orbit around atomic nuclei? Is it a fact that Brutus stabbed Julius Caesar? Is it a fact that the sun will rise tomorrow? None of us has observed any of these things – the first is an inference from a variety of different observations, the second is reported by Plutarch and other historians who lived close enough in time and space to the event that we trust their report, and the third is an inductive inference after repeated observations. (“Scientific Thought,” n.d.)

Without getting into a philosophical dissertation on the meaning of truth, for our purposes  facts are pieces of information with established “backup.”  You can cite who discovered the fact and how other authorities have supported it .  Some facts are so common that most people don’t know where they started—who actually discovered that the water molecule is two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen (H2O)?  But we could find out if we wanted to (it was, by the way, the 18th century chemist Henry Cavendish).  In using scientific and historical fact in your speech, do not take citation for granted.  If it is a fact worth saying and a fact new to the audience, assume you should cite the source of the fact.

Also,  the  difference between historical narrative (mentioned above) and historical fact has to do with length .   An  historical fact might just be a date, place, or action , such as “President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, in front of Washington, D.C. Hilton Hotel.”   An  historical narratives would go into much more detail and add dramatic elements , such as this assassination attempt from the point of view of Secret Service agents.

Statistics are widely used in public speaking, but they are often misunderstood by the speaker and the audience.   Statistics  include numerical facts ,  descriptive statistics  (such as ratios and percentages), and the more i n-depth process of analyzing, comparing, and interpreting numerical data to understand its relationship to other numerical data .  It is a numerical fact that the population of the U.S., according to the 2010 census, was 308,700,000. This is a 9.7% increase from the 2000 census (a comparison).  Another category of  statistics is  inferential statistics, which are analyses that are used to generalize sample results to populations.   So, for example, political polling results reporting margins of error that give us an idea of voters’ preferences as a whole are based on inferential statistical analysis.

include numerical facts, descriptive statistics (such as ratios and percentages), and the more in-depth process of analyzing, comparing, and interpreting numerical data to understand its relationship to other numerical data

Statistics are also  misunderstood  because the science of statistics is difficult. Even terms like mean, median, and mode often confuse people,  much less regression analysis, two-tailed T-tests, and margin of error.  Before you can use  statistics in a speech, you should have a basic understanding of them.

Mean  is the same as mathematical average , something you learned to do early in math classes.  Add up the figures and divide by the number of figures. Related to mean is the concept of standard deviation, which is the average amount each figure is different from (higher or lower) than the average or mean.  Standard deviation is harder to figure (and usually done by computer!) but it does let you know if a group is more similar than alike. If the average on a test in a class is 76, but the standard deviation is 20, that tells you students tended to do really well (96) or really poorly (56) on it (we’re simplifying here, but you see the point).

the mathematical average for a given set of numbers

The   median , however, is the middle number in a distribution .  If all salaries of players in Major League Baseball were listed from highest to lowest, the one in the exact middle of the list would be the median. You can tell from this that it probably will not be the same as the average, and it rarely is; however, the terms “median” and “mean” are often interchanged carelessly.   Mode  is the name for the most frequently occurring number in the list.   As an example, Figure 7.3 is a list of grades from highest to lowest that students might make on a midterm in a class. The placement of mean, median, and mode are noted.

the middle number in a given set of numbers

the number that is the most frequently occurring within a given set of numbers

Percentages have to do with ratios.  There are many other terms you would be introduced to in a statistics class, but the point remains:  be careful of using a statistic that sounds impressive unless you know what it represents.  There is an old saying about  “figures don’t lie but liars figure” and another, “There are liars, damn liars, and statisticians.” These sayings are exaggerations but they point out that we are inundated with statistical information and often do not know how to process it.  Another thing to watch when using numerical facts is  not to confuse your billions and your millions. There is a big difference. If you say that 43 billion people in the US are without adequate health care, you will probably confuse your audience, since the population of the planet is around 7 billion!

In  using statistics, you are probably going to  use them as proof more than as explanation.  Statistics are considered a strong form of proof. Here are some guidelines for using them  effectively in a presentation.

• Use statistics as support, not as a main point .  The audience may cringe or tune you out for saying, “Now I’d like to give you some statistics about the problem of gangs in our part of the state.” That sounds as exciting as reading the telephone book!   Use the  statistics to support an argument.  “Gang activity is increasing in our region. For example, it is increasing in the three major cities. Mainsville had 450 arrests for gang activity this year alone, up 20% from all of last year.”  This example ties the numerical fact (450 arrests) and the statistical comparison (up 20%) to an argument.  The goal is to weave or blend the statistics seamlessly into the speech, not have them stand alone as a section of the speech.
• Always provide the source of the statistic.  In the previous example, it should read, “ According to a report published on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s website, Mainsville had 450 arrests . . .”  There are a number of “urban myth” statistics floating around that probably have a basis in some research done at some point in time, but that research was outlived by the statistic.  An audience would have reason to be skeptical if you cannot provide the name of the researcher or organization that backs up the statistics and numerical data.  By the way, it is  common for speakers and writers to say “According to research” or “According to studies.” This tag is essentially meaningless and actually a logical fallacy.  Give a real source to support your argument.
• In regard to  sources,   depend on the reliable  ones .  Table 7.1, originally published in Wrench, Goding, Johnson, and Attias (2011), lists valid websites providing statistical information.
• Do not overuse  statistics .   While there is no hard and fast rule on how many to use, there are  other good supporting materials and you would not want to depend on statistics alone .  You want to  choose the statistics and numerical data that will strengthen your argument the most and drive your point home. Statistics can have emotional power as well as probative value if used sparingly.
• Use graphs  to display the most important statistics .   If you are using presentation software such as PowerPoint, you can create your own basic pie, line, or bar graphs, or you can borrow one and put a correct citation on the slide. However,   you do not need to make a graph for every single statistic .  More information on these types of visual aids and what type of information they convey best can be found in Chapter 9.
• Explain your statistics as needed,  but do not make your speech a statistics lesson.  Explain the context of the statistics .  If you say,  “My blog has 500 subscribers” to a group of people who know little about blogs, that might sound impressive, but is it? You can also provide a story of an individual, and then tie the individual into the statistic.  After telling a story of the daily  struggles of a young mother with multiple sclerosis, you could follow up with “This is just one story in the 400,000 people who suffer from MS in the United States today, according to National MS Society.”
• If you do your own survey or research and use numerical data from it, explain your methodology .  “In order to understand the attitudes of freshmen at our college about the subject of open source textbooks, I polled 150 first-year students, only three of whom were close friends, asking them this question: ‘Do you agree that our college should encourage the faculty to use open source textbooks?’ Seventy-five percent of them indicated that they agreed with the statement.”
• It  goes without saying that  you will  use the statistic ethically, that there will be no distortion of what the statistic means.  However, it is acceptable and a good idea to round up numerical data to avoid overwhelming the audience.  Earlier we used the example of the U.S. census, stating the population in 2010 was 308.7 million. That is a rounded figure. The actual number was 308,745,538, but saying “almost 309 million” or “308.7 million” will serve your purposes   and not be unethical.

• Additionally,  do not make statistics mean what they do not mean . Otherwise, you would be pushing the boundaries on ethics.  In the example about your survey of students, if you were to say, “75% of college freshmen support . . . .” That is not what the research said. Seventy-five percent of the students you surveyed indicated agreement, but since your study did not meet scientific standards regarding size of sample and how you found the sample, you can only use the information in relation to students in your college, not the whole country. One of the authors had a statistics professor who often liked to say,  “Numbers will tell you whatever you want if you torture them long enough,” meaning you can always twist or manipulate statistics to meet your goals.
• An effective technique with  numerical data is to  use physical comparisons.  “The National Debt is 17 trillion dollars. What does that mean? It means that every American citizen owes $55,100. ”  “It means that if the money were stacked as hundred dollar bills, it would go to . . .” Or another example, “There are 29 million Americans with diabetes. That is 9.3%. In terms closer to home, of the 32 people in this classroom, 3 of us would have diabetes.” Of course, in this last example, the class may not be made up of those in risk groups for diabetes, so you would not want to say, “Three of us have diabetes.” It is only a comparison for the audience to grasp the significance of the topic.
• Finally, because statistics can be confusing,  slow down when you say them , give more emphasis, gesture—small ways of helping the audience grasp them.

Testimony  is the words of others .  You might think of them as  quoted material . Obviously, all quoted material or testimony is not the same.  Some quotations you just use because they are funny, compelling, or attention-getting.  They  work well as openings to introductions .  Other types o f testimony are more useful for proving your arguments . Testimony  can also give an audience insight into the feelings or perceptions of others.  Testimony is basically divided into two categories: expert and peer.

the words of others used as proof or evidence

Expert Testimony

What is an expert? Here is a quotation of the humorous kind: An expert is “one who knows more and more about less and less” (Nicholas Butler). Actually,  an  expert  for our purposes is  someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject .   Experts spend time studying the facts and putting the facts together.  They may not be scholars who publish original research but they have in-depth knowledge. They may have certain levels of education, or they have real-world experience in the topic.

someone with recognized credentials, knowledge, education, and/or experience in a subject

For example, one of the  authors is attending a quilt show this week to talk to experts in quilting. This expertise was gained through years of making, preserving, reading about, and showing quilts, even if they never took Quilting 101 in college. To quote an expert on expertise, “To be an expert, someone needs to have considerable knowledge on a topic or considerable skill in accomplishing something” (Weinstein, 1993).  In using expert testimony, you should follow these guidelines:

• Use the expert’s testimony in his or her relevant field, not outside of it.   A person may have a Nobel Prize in economics, but that does not make them an expert in biology.
• Provide at least some of the expert’s relevant credentials.
• Choose experts to quote whom your audience will respect and/or whose name or affiliations they will recognize as credible.
• Make it clear that you are quoting the expert testimony verbatim or paraphrasing it.  If verbatim, say “Quote . . . end of quote” (not unquote—you cannot unquote someone).
• If you interviewed the expert yourself, make that clear in the speech also.  “When I spoke with Dr. Mary Thompson, principal of Park Lake High School, on October 12, she informed me that . . .”

Expert testimony is one of your  strongest supporting materials to prove your arguments, but in a sense, by clearly citing the source’s credentials, you are arguing that your source is truly an expert (if the audience is unfamiliar with them) in order to validate their information.

Peer Testimony

Any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic would be  peer testimony .  It is useful in  helping the audience understand a topic from a personal point of view.  For example, in the spring of 2011, a devastating tornado came through the town where one of the authors and many of their students live . One of those students gave a dramatic personal experience speech in class about surviving the tornado in a building that was destroyed and literally disappeared. They survived because she and her coworkers at their chain restaurant were able to get to safety in the freezer. While she may not have had an advanced degree in a field related to tornadoes or the destruction they can cause, this student certainly had a good deal of knowledge about surviving a tornado.  However, do not present just any testimony of a peer or friend as if it were expert or credentialed.

Peer testimony

any quotation from a friend, family member, or classmate about an incident or topic

7.3 –  Attention Factors and Supporting Material

In Chapter 2, we discussed how public speaking as an oral form of communication is different from written forms of communication.  Therefore, as a speaker, you must work to maintain the attention of your audience.  In this section, we will look more deeply at attention and how you can use supporting materials to keep the audience’s attention in addition to the important functions of clarifying and proving ideas.

What is Attention?

Attention and perception are closely tied  concepts, but they are not exactly the same.  If you have taken an introduction to psychology course, one of the earliest chapters in the textbook was probably about perception, since our perceptual processes are so foundational to how we think and process.   Perception  deals primarily with how we organize and interpret the patterns of stimuli around us.  The key words in this definition are patterns, organize, and interpret.  The brain does the work of taking thousands of stimuli around us and making sense of them. Sensation is taking in the stimuli in the physical realm; perception is doing something with it psychologically.  Perception is obviously influenced by memory, experiences, past learning , etc .   If you taste a desert, the scent and taste are physically going to your brain, and thus you are sensing it. But if you say, “This tastes like my mother’s recipe for this desert,” then you are perceiving.

how people organize and interpret the patterns of stimuli around them

Attention, on the other hand, is focused perception.  Attention  i s defined as focus on one stimulus while ignoring or suppressing reactions to other stimuli.  It has been referred to as the “ allocation of limited processing resources”   (Anderson, 2005, p. 519).  Although  we think we can multitask and pay attention to three things at a time, we cannot.

focus on one stimulus while ignoring or suppressing reactions to other stimuli

The diagram in Figure 7.4  might help show why multitasking is a problem rather than a benefit. In the figure, two balls from the upper chutes (which represent the two sources of stimuli, such as two auditory messages) are trying to enter the central chute at the same time.  For a practical example that you can probably relate to, let’s say these balls represent watching TV and playing a game on your phone at the same time.  Only one ball can go through the single chute at a time, which is representative of your focus (the ideas or tasks you can actually think about at a given moment).  The “balls” or stimuli must take turns, therefore making your attention shift back and forth, affecting your ability to do one task versus the other.

When you try to pay attention to two things at once, you are going to let the information in but have to switch back and forth on the pathways, making your attention (listening, reading, processing) less efficient .  This means that in our example above, you’re either going to miss something that is being said on TV or you’re going to not play the game very well because you can’t divide your focus between the two activities.  Multitudes of studies have been done on how inefficient multitasking behavior is, especially for students  (Weimer, 2012).

When you pay attention, you focus and other stimuli become muted or nonexistent in your mind for that amount of time.  We have all had experiences when we so focused on a stimulus— it could be a concert, a movie, a roller coaster ride—that we almost “wake up” to the rest of the world when it is over.

Why Do We Pay Attention?

Perception is not something we have a good deal of control over, but we do have more say in attention.   There are basically  five reasons we pay attention to what we do when confronted with lots of competing stimuli.

• W e choose to focus on  one  thing over another .   Plain and simple, we grit our teeth and pay attention, such as when we are making ourselves study difficult material for a test.  While this is a behavior we accept as adults, as public speakers we should not expect the audience to do all the work of paying attention just because they feel a duty to do so; they probably will not.  We should attempt to meet the audience half way by using our understanding of attention. We should use various techniques in our speech to help the audience pay attention.
• Expectations.   If a speaker started a lecture with “In this presentation I am going to say the word ‘serendipity,’ and when I do, the first person who jumps up and says ‘gotcha’ will get this $100 bill.”  The audience is expecting to hear something and tuning in for it. Of course, this is an extreme example  (and we don’t recommend it!) but when a speaker gives an introduction that sets up for the audience what to expect, attention can be helped.
• Need states .  Have you ever noticed that the hamburgers on the fast food commercials look juicier and more delicious when you are hungry?  When we are in a need state, we will be focused on those items that meet the need.   When your instructor begins discussing in class what you can expect on the next exam, you probably perk up a bit, since this is information students generally need to know in order to do well in the class.  Because that information meets a personal need, they will be more receptive to and focused on it.
• Pa st training and experiences.   You will notice what you have been taught or trained, either directly or indirectly, to focus on.   Sometimes you will not even be aware that you are doing so.  For example, if you have a background in rodeo competition, you will see aspects and details in a rodeo scene in a movie that someone else would just take for granted.
• All of these reasons for paying attention are relevant to the public speaker, but the last one is most directly usable and related to supporting material.  There are certain qualities or characteristics of stimuli that naturally attract our attention.  These have been termed the  “factors of attention.”   If a public speaker puts these traits into the speech and presentation aids,  the audience’s ability to pay attention will be bolstered.   These characteristics, listed below, are generally  ways to “perk up”  you audience’s ears and gain their attention, at least temporarily.  Our attention can wane rather quickly and a speaker must work to keep the audience engaged.  Incorporating attention factors can help.

Attention Factors

The  list of factors that can help you get or maintain attention during your speech is rather long, and a speaker cannot, of course, use all of them in one speech, but they are useful tools in certain speech situations .  As you progress as a public speaker, you  can use them in an “impromptu” fashion if you think the audience needs an attention boost, or you can plan to use them in strategic places.

The  first factor  in getting or maintaining attention is   movement .  A moving object will gain more attention than a stationary one.  Movement is one of the factors of attention you can use in different ways. You can use stories that have movement in plot.  You can use physical movement in your delivery.   Transitions give a sense of movement  to a speech, as well as not dwelling on one idea too long.  The animation of words and graphics in PowerPoint or other slide presentation software is another use of animation.

At the same time,  because animation attracts attention and therefore distracts attention too , it  should be used strategically and intentionally  (for a good purpose).   For example, l ittle animated figures, pacing back and forth, and repetitive gestures are uses of movement that you would not want to use because they are annoying, they are not purposeful, and they draw the audience’s attention away from your message.

The second factor  of attention is   conflict .   Showing ideas, groups, teams, etc. that are in conflict draws attention. Stories can also utilize conflict.

The third factor  of attention is  novelty .  Your ideas and the way you approach them should be fresh and new to the audience.   When we get to persuasion in Chapter 13, we will also see that evidence used to persuade an audience should be new to them.

The fourth factor  of attention is   humor .   Humor is usually not the focus of your speech, especially in a class situation, but well-placed and intentional humor can be helpful to maintain attention of your audience.   It  should be appropriate to the topic and well-practiced.  It is probably a good idea to  “road test” your humor to be sure it is funny to other people.  We all have our own sense of what is funny and have experienced those times when friends or family don’t seem to “get” what we find funny.  If you want to tell a joke, be sure to tell it, not read it,  and practice the delivery well.  See Appendix D for more information on humor in public speaking.

The fifth factor  of attention is   familiarity .  As mentioned already, supporting materials should be immediately accessible and draw from your audience’s experience so they can understand quickly in an oral communication setting .  Familiarity is attractive because  it is  comfortable .  Familiarity may seem in conflict with novelty, and in a sense they show both sides of how our minds work.  We like new things (such as the most recent design of a sports car) but we also like comfortable, familiar things  (such as our favorite movie we have seen ten times already).  They function differently in a speech.  Familiarity works better to explain a new concept; novelty works better to pique an audience’s interest.

The sixth factor is  contrast .   This one is particularly useful to a speaker in  creating visual aids so that key words stand out,  for example, on presentation slides.   Contrast also applies to the  variety in your voice  ( avoiding what we would call monotone or monorate).

The seventh factor  of attention is  repetitio n .  We have already seen how  key repetitions at points in the speech can remind the audience of your structure and main ideas.

Suspense  is the eighth factor of attention .  Although not as useful in public speaking as some of the factors, suspense can be  useful in an introduction .  You can use a series of questions asking the audience to guess your topic; however, this is a risky approach if you disappoint your audience when the “real” topic is not what they are guessing.  You can also tell a story in the introduction and say you will give the outcome of the story at the end of the speech, or pose a question and promise that by the end of the speech they will know the answer. However, always be sure to deliver on the promise!

The ninth factor is  proximity ,  which refers to  physical closeness.  While not applicable to supporting materials, proximity does relate to public speaking delivery.   The more physical distance between the audience members and the speaker and the audience, the harder it will be for the audience to remain attentive .   If you know that only 20 people are going to attend a presentation, it is best to have it in a 20-seat room, not an auditorium that seats 100. The audience members will spread out and feel detached from each other, and it will be harder for you be or feel to close to them.

The tenth factor  of attention is  need-oriented  subjects .   We pay attention to what meets our needs.  For example, when you are hungry, you probably notice fast food advertisements more on television (which advertisers recognize and use against us).  If you are  shopping for a car,  you will be  more aware of car advertisements.

The eleventh factor is   intensity ,   which is also useful in the delivery aspect of public speaking.  Raising your voice at key times and slowing down are useful for attention.

The last attention factor is  concreteness ,  which in a sense describes all of them. All of the factors and types of supporting materials are tied to real or  concrete experience .  The more a speaker can  attach the speech to real experience, either her own or preferably the audience’s, the more effective she will be.

It is hard to imagine an effective speech without a variety of supporting materials. Think of it like cooking a flavorful cuisine—there will be a mixture of spices and tastes, not just one. Statistics, narratives and examples, testimony, definitions, descriptions, and facts all clarify your concepts for the audience, and statistics, testimony, facts, and historical examples also support logical arguments. In the process of composing your speech, be sure t o provide sources and use varied and interesting language to express the support your speech ideas require and deserve.

Something to Think About

One type of supporting material that is commonly used but was not fully discussed in this chapter is quotations such as “The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). You can go to websites to find quotable quotes on various topics. What category (testimony, narratives, statistics, examples) would quotations such as this fall into? Would they be for proof or explanation? When would they be useful? What could be some downsides to using them? (Some of these answers are discussed in Chapter 8.)

Watch a TV show and do not change the channel when the commercials come on.  What factors of attention do the advertisers use to get you to attend to the commercial?  Hint: Don’t say music–that’s not a factor of attention. What is it about the music that gets your attention, such as intensity or familiarity?

Chapter SeveN Attribution:

Manley, J. A., & Rhodes, K. (2020). Exploring Public Speaking: The Free Dalton State College Public Speaking Textbook, 4th Edition. Manifold. Retrieved from https://alg.manifoldapp.org/read/exploring-public-speaking-the-free-dalton-state-college-public-speaking-textbook-4th-edition/

Creative Commons License

Authors and Contributors

Barbara G. Tucker (Editor and Primary Author)

As chair of the Department of Communication at Dalton State College, Dr. Tucker oversees programs in communication, general studies, music, theatre, and interdisciplinary studies. She is Professor of Communication and has worked in higher education for over 40 years. She lives in Ringgold, Georgia, with her husband; they have one son. She is a novelist and playwright. Her research areas are the basic course, open educational resources, historical perspectives on rhetoric, and gratitude.

Matthew LeHew (Editor)

As Assistant Professor at Dalton State College, Matthew LeHew teaches courses in public relations, integrated marketing communication, film studies, and video production. His research interests include various areas of media studies, especially examination of virtual communities for online games. He is currently writing his dissertation for the Ph.D. in Communication (Media and Society track) at Georgia State University. He lives in Marietta, Georgia with his wife, son, and two dogs.

The Public Speaking Resource Project Copyright © 2018 by Lori Halverson-Wente and Mark Halverson-Wente is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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This tool allows you to find the grammatical word type of almost any word.

• round can be used as a adjective in the sense of "Circular or cylindrical; having a circular cross-section in one direction." or "Spherical; shaped like a ball; having a circular cross-section in more than one direction." or "Lacking sharp angles; having gentle curves." or "Plump" or "Complete, whole, not lacking." or "Of a number that has been rounded off or approximated." or "Pronounced with the mouth open in the shape of an "O"."
• round can be used as a preposition in the sense of "Alternative form of around."
• round can be used as a adverb in the sense of "Alternative form of around."
• round can be used as a noun in the sense of "A circular object." or "A circular or repetitious route; hospital rounds." or "An general outburst from a group of people at an event." or "A song that is sung by groups of people with each subset of people starting at a different time." or "A serving of something; a portion of something to each person in a group." or "A single individual portion or dose of medicine." or "A long-bristled, circular-headed paintbrush used in oil and acrylic painting." or "A bullet, or any individual ammunition projectile. Originally referring to the spherical projectile ball of a smoothbore firearm. Cf. round shot and solid shot." or "One of the specified pre-determined segments of the total time of a sport event, such as a boxing or wrestling match, during which contestants compete before being signaled to stop." or "A stage in a competition." or "In some sports', e.g. golf or showjumping: one complete way around the course." or "A rounded relief or cut at an edge, especially an outside edge, added for a finished appearance and to soften sharp edges." or "A strip of material with a circular face that covers an edge, gap, or crevice for decorative, sanitary, or security purposes."
• round can be used as a verb in the sense of "To shape something into a curve." or "To finish; to complete; to fill out." or "To approximate a number, especially a decimal number by the closest whole number." or "To turn past a boundary." or "To turn and attack someone or thing." or "To advance to home plate." or "To whisper."

Related Searches

What type of word is ~term~ .

Unfortunately, with the current database that runs this site, I don't have data about which senses of ~term~ are used most commonly. I've got ideas about how to fix this but will need to find a source of "sense" frequencies. Hopefully there's enough info above to help you understand the part of speech of ~term~ , and guess at its most common usage.

For those interested in a little info about this site: it's a side project that I developed while working on Describing Words and Related Words . Both of those projects are based around words, but have much grander goals. I had an idea for a website that simply explains the word types of the words that you search for - just like a dictionary, but focussed on the part of speech of the words. And since I already had a lot of the infrastructure in place from the other two sites, I figured it wouldn't be too much more work to get this up and running.

The dictionary is based on the amazing Wiktionary project by wikimedia . I initially started with WordNet , but then realised that it was missing many types of words/lemma (determiners, pronouns, abbreviations, and many more). This caused me to investigate the 1913 edition of Websters Dictionary - which is now in the public domain. However, after a day's work wrangling it into a database I realised that there were far too many errors (especially with the part-of-speech tagging) for it to be viable for Word Type.

Finally, I went back to Wiktionary - which I already knew about, but had been avoiding because it's not properly structured for parsing. That's when I stumbled across the UBY project - an amazing project which needs more recognition. The researchers have parsed the whole of Wiktionary and other sources, and compiled everything into a single unified resource. I simply extracted the Wiktionary entries and threw them into this interface! So it took a little more work than expected, but I'm happy I kept at it after the first couple of blunders.

Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source code that was used in this project: the UBY project (mentioned above), @mongodb and express.js .

Currently, this is based on a version of wiktionary which is a few years old. I plan to update it to a newer version soon and that update should bring in a bunch of new word senses for many words (or more accurately, lemma).

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Rory McIlroy falters as Xander Schauffele leads by one at US PGA

Rory McIlroy requires a rousing Saturday here at the US PGA if he is to put himself in the mix for a first major title in 10 years. 

However, Tiger Woods’s challenge for a fifth Wanamaker Trophy ended prematurely after the 48-year-old suffered two triple-bogeys in three holes early in his second-round on his way to a 77 and a seven-over total to come nowhere near surviving the cut.

On a US PGA Friday which will forever be remembered for world No 1 Scottie Scheffler being arrested and charged for assaulting a police officer, before going out and firing a 66, the late struggles of McIlroy and Woods were a grim finale.

McIlroy, who despite filing divorce papers on Monday came into the season’s second major with such confidence after victory in his last two events, could only manage a hugely frustrating even-par 71, in which the lowlight was a double-bogey six on the 12th, and on four-under is outside the top 20 and a gaping seven shots off the lead. 

McIlroy began in great fashion with a long birdie putt on the first but only made two other birdies.

Xander Schauffele retained the advantage, following up his opening record-breaking 62 moving to 12-under with a 68, one clear of fellow US Ryder Cupper Collin Morikawa – the dual major-winner shooting a 65 – while Scheffler is only two back and despite all his troubles, is looking ominously poised to win back-to-back majors and make it five wins – and a runner-up – in six events.

That would be undeniably Tiger-esque, but on a course further softened by the persistent drizzle, the icon bore little resemblance to his former self. 

Woods was not the only legendary veteran missing the cut. His old rival Phil Mickelson, who made history by winning this major as a 50-year-old three years ago, crashed out on four-over after a 72.

Click here for full updated leaderboard from Valhalla

US PGA second round: As it happened

Live reporting, related stories, play suspended.

Play has officially been suspended due to darkness so the final stages of this second round will be completed tomorrow.

Bad finish for Bob

It is a frustrating end to the day for MacIntyre as he finishes with back-to-back bogeys to drop to seven-under-par at the end of his second round.

Theegala stays at 10-under, Finau birdies to go to -8

Theegala narrowly misses a birdie chance on the last so he remains at -10, two shots off the lead.

Finau was in a little bit of bother off the tee on the last but he has given himself a good shot at a birdie, which he takes to finish up on eight-under-par.

Hatton pars the last to end up on two-under.

Bogey for Bob

On his penultimate hole of the day, MacIntyre misses the green off the tee and he is punished with a bogey, so he drops back to -8.

Brooks ends with a birdie

Koepka lands a birdie putt on the final green to finish up on seven-under after a round of 68 today.

Spieth also secures a birdie on the last and he is four-under.

Homa finishes with a par on 18 to end on four-under for the tournament at the halfway mark.

Great par save from Bob

Bob MacIntyre ends up miles off course, in an empty hospitality area. It takes a long time for him to take the shot but eventually he has managed to save par on the par-five seventh.

Birdie for Bryson

A birdie on 16 puts DeChambeau up to -9, three shots off Schauffele.

Birdies on 18

Hovland and Matsuyama both birdie the last to finish on eight and seven-under respectively to put themselves in strong positions going into the weekend.

Another bogey for Koepka

Back-to-back bogeys for Brooks has dropped him back to -6 with one hole to play.

Missing the cut

There are some big names who are going to miss the cut. Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Wyndham Clark and Tiger Woods will all not make the weekend.

McIlroy finishes on -5

Rory comes so close to landing the very challenging eagle putt but it goes just past the right edge. He gets the birdie and it is an even-par round of 71 to reach the halfway stage on five-under-par.

A superb second shot from Justin Rose sets up an eagle chance, which he takes to secure a round of 67 today. He finishes up on five-under and he can be happy with his day.

Dustin Johnson birdies the last and he will make the weekend after a round of 68 today. He is one-under-par for the tournament.

McIlroy on the last

Rory is coming up the last. His drive is perfect in the middle of the fairway. His second finds the green but it will very much be an outside chance of an eagle.

Woods finishes up

He will not make the cut but Tiger finishes with a birdie on the last to give his fans something to cheer about. He finishes on seven-over-par.

Back on 16 Koepka has missed an important par putt to drop back to seven-under-par.

More frustration for Rory

Yet another chance for McIlroy to make up a shot passes him by as a birdie putt slides by. He is still at four-under-par. He is now heading to the 18th.

Schauffele finishes on -12

Schauffele has an opportunity for a birdie on the last but he misses to the left. He puts in the par putt and a second round 68 puts him one shot clear after his second round. He is on 12-under-par, one clear of Collin Morikawa

Thomas pars the last to finish on six-under-par. It is a second round of 67 for the boy from Kentucky.

Aberg has a chance of an eagle on the last to have a chance of making the cut but it narrowly misses to the right. He will make birdie but on his US PGA debut, he will not make the weekend. He will not have the chance to replicate his performance at The Masters last month.

Birdies for Brooks and Bryson

A terrific second shot from Brooks on the 15th sets up a great birdie chance and he takes it to move to eight-under.

DeChambeau bounces back from a bogey at 12 to birdie 13 to join Koepka on -8.

Missed chance for McIlroy

Does that sum up Rory’s day? He slides another birdie chance just past the hole and stays at -4, eight shots off leader Schauffele.

Top of the leaderboard

• Schauffele -12 (17)
• Morikawa -11 (F)
• Theegala -10 (13)
• Scheffler (F), MacIntyre (14*), Detry (F), Hubbard (F) -9

DeChambeau drops a shot

On the 12th Bryson’s putt to save par comes up short and his good run is halted with a bogey to drop down to seven-under.

Finau birdies 13

A hole after a double bogey on 12, Finau gets one of those shots back with a birdie to move to -8.

Not going McIlroy’s way

A chance for a birdie for Rory on 15 but it slides past the right edge. He remains at -4, eight shots off the lead. He has not been able to replicate the quality of his first round yesterday.

Theegala to -10

A birdie on 12 promotes Theegala to 10-under-par and holds third place outright now. He is just two shots off our leader Schauffele.

In the same group Finau double bogeys to drop to seven-under. I cannot quite believe what I just say. I had presumed it was bogey but, oh no, he missed a very short putt so it is a double bogey. So many club golfers will know what that feels like.

Will Aberg make the cut?

After a bogey on 16, Ludvig Aberg has got a job on his hands making the cut. He is now on one-over, which will likely see him miss the cut.

Finau into a tie for third

After a sublime tee shot on 11, Finau has a fairly simple birdie putt which he takes. He is now up to -9, three shots off the lead.

DeChambeau is on a flyer in his second round and he now moves to eight-under with a birdie.

Birdie for Bob

Bob MacIntyre is now up to nine-under and in a tie for third place. He still has five holes left in his second round so more chances to continue his impressive round.

Birdie for Thomas

Kentucky boy Justin Thomas has just made birdie on 15 to move up to six-under-par.

After a double bogey on 10, Brooks Koepka has responded with back-to-back birdie to get back to seven-under.

Woods update

Tiger just about rescues a par on the par-three 14th but he stays on eight-over-par and he will not be making the cut.

Hovland and Theegala drop shots

Just after McIlroy has troubles at 12, so too does his Ryder Cup teammate. Hovland bogeys to drop back to seven-under.

Back on 10 Theegala is most certainly punished for his mistake off the tee with a bogey to drop to nine-under.

Missed chance for Schauffele

The leader has an opportunity after a great tee shot on 14 to extend his lead to two shots but the birdie putt misses just to the left.

Aberg birdies after an even better tee shot than Schauffele to move to +1. The Swede will need more of that to make the cut.

Theegala miles off

I told you Theegela was in trouble on the 10th. Well, his hole has got worse as he seems to have hit his second shot into an hospitality area. Plenty of talking with officials is going to follow now.

McIlroy in strife

Oh no Rory! What are you doing? On the 12th hole he registers a double bogey to drop to four-under-par. He is now eight shots off the lead.

Hovland on the charge, Koepka drops shots

The Norwegian is flying with another birdie. He is now up to eight-under-par, five-under for his second round so far.

Meanwhile on ten Koepka has had a shocker, registering a double bogey.

Trouble for Theegala

Just as we were talking up Sahith, he plays a dreadful tee shot on ten going way left.

Theegala within two of the lead

Sahith Theegala is having a great time out there. A birdie to close out his front nine takes him to 10-under and just two shots off the lead.

Someone who is not having such a great time is Woods, whose back-to-back bogeys has dropped him to +8.

Koepka in trouble

Brooks has just played a horror second shot on the 10th. It has gone way left and may have gone out of bounds. Where did that shot come from? He is currently seven-under but maybe dropping a shot or two here.

Bob MacIntyre makes a great start to the second half of his round with a birdie on the first hole to move up to eight-under and a tie for seventh place. He is three-under for his second round so far.

Missed chances and putts galore

McIlroy has a decent shot at a birdie on ten but his putt slides by.

Up on 11 Woods bogeys to drop to seven-over and we will not be seeing him over the weekend.

Finau thinks he is about to birdie the eighth to move to -9 but his putt goes round the hole and not in.

Wallace on a roll

One man having a strong second round is Englishman Matt Wallace. A birdie on the fourth takes him to six-under-par and he is five-under for the day so far.

Theegela moves to -9

A birdie on the seventh has just taken Sahith Theegela into a tie for third on nine-under-par. After Schauffele’s bogey just a moment ago, Theegala is now just three shots off the lead.

Bogey for Schauffele

Just as he moved two shots clear, our leader has just dropped a shot on the 11th. That is his first bogey of the week and cuts his lead at the top of the leaderboard to just one shot.

More of that needed for Aberg

On the par-three 11th a superb tee shot from Ludvig Aberg sets up a good birdie chance, which he takes. That takes him to even-par and he will need more of that for the rest of his second round to make sure he is playing on the weekend.

Big save from McIlroy

Rory looks like he is at risk of dropping a shot on the ninth after poor second and third shots but he sinks a long par putt to remain at six-under.

Schauffele extends his lead

The current leader does take the birdie opportunity and move to 13-under-par to take a two-shot lead.

Good rescue from the leader

Schauffele finds himself in a little bit of trouble on the 10th as his second misses the green to the left but a superb rescue shot puts him in a great position for a birdie on the par-five to move two shots clear.

Birdie for Hovland

A birdie on the seventh takes Norwegian reigning FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland to six-under.

Solo leader

Xander Schauffele closes out his front nine with this third birdie to move to -12 and the outright lead. No bogeys on the front as he goes out in a three-under 32.

Birdie for Rory

McIlroy has not made the best of starts to his second round but a birdie on seven lifts him to six-under-par.

Birdie for MacIntyre

On 16 but his seventh hole of his second round, Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre has just landed a birdie putt to move to seven-under-par.

Something for Tiger to cheer about

It has been a miserable start to his second round for Woods but finally a bit of joy. A birdie at seven sees him at seven-over.

He follows that up with a sensational tee shot on the par-three seventh that lands within two feet of the pin. That will be a tap-in birdie to move to +6. He is still in all likelihood missing the cut but the crowds enjoyed those shots.

Birdie for Theegala

Sahith Theegala has just played a sensational iron shot from the rough to within seven feet and he sinks the birdie putt to move to -8. You will not see many better iron shots than that today.

Up on eight Schauffele has the chance to take the outright lead but his birdie effort comes up short so he remains on -111.

New joint leaders

Xander Schauffele has just joined Collin Morikawa at the top of the leaderboard on 11-under after a birdie on seven.

Dropped shot for Rory

McIlroy has made a bit of a mess of the sixth. His tee shot misses the fairway to the left and his second from the rough comes up just short of the green. His birdie putt comes up well short, leaving him a tricky par putt which he misses to the right. He drops back to five-under.

Up ahead on seven Kentucky lad Justin Thomas has made a birdie to move to -5.

Not making the weekend

We do not know for sure yet what the cut mark will be, but we do know some players who will certainly not be featuring at Valhalla over the weekend. They include Wyndham Clark, Phil Mickelson and Francesco Molinari.

Scheffler back out on the range

He said speaking to the media after his round of 66 that he would stick to his normal routine and Scottie Scheffler has stuck to his word as we have just seen him heading out onto the range.

Not Aberg’s week so far

It has been an incredible rise for Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg over the last 12 months, playing and winning on his Ryder Cup debut before playing in his first major. On his major debut, he finished second to Scottie Scheffler at The Masters last month. But his week so far is not quite going to plan. He is currently two-over and nearly found the water on the seventh.

Birdies and eagles everywhere

Tony Finau has made a superb start to his second round. After a birdie on the first, he rolls in a birdie putt on the second to move to eight-under-par, in a tie for fifth three shots off the lead.

Meanwhile on the third Brooks Koepka has made it back-to-back birdies after a bogey on the first to move to -5. It is all happening as on the fourth Viktor Hovland has made a superb eagle as he chips in to move to five-under alongside Koepka.

One hop and in. Absolutely beautiful from Viktor Hovland 🤌 pic.twitter.com/mJMFKHtoBh — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

Mark Hubbard has just made birdie on his final hole to finish on nine-under after a round of 68. 

Bad to worse

Tiger Woods is now eight over par. He’s dropped seven shots through his opening four holes and will not be in Kentucky this weekend.

McIlroy’s solid start continues as he leaves himself below the hole on the fourth. That’ll be a decent look at birdie....which just rolls past the left edge. He’s putting well thus far.

Scheffler latest

A slight pause in Sky’s coverage from Valhalla as they bring us Scottie Scheffler’s post-round press conference – you can get the latest on that here .

Koepka drops shot

Ugly start for Brooks Koepka, who pulls an easy par putt on the first and will have to settle for a bogey five. With the pace set by the likes of Morikawa and Scheffler earlier today, backward steps early in rounds cannot be afforded.

Near misses

Max Homa comes within inches of holing an outrageous pitch shot on the first before McIlroy comes within inches of holding another lengthy putt on the second. Great start from the latter – birdie, par.

Elsewhere on the course, Bob Macintyre taps in for a birdie on the tenth – his first hole of the second round. He shot an excellent 66 yesterday and could be a dark horse to watch throughout the rest of the day and into the weekend.

WATCH: Morikawa on sensational round

"It was nice to cruise." Collin Morikawa reacts to his second round of the PGA Championship 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/wjT9GyabdQ — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

Will Woods make weekend?

We said problems for Tiger...that might have been an understatement. He taps in for a thriple bogey seven on the second. He’s back to four over now and is in a proper battle now to make the cut.

Boom. After a couple of steady pars, Schauffele rolls in a 40 footer on the third. It looks as if he’s more than ready to pick up where he left off yesterday.

Issues for Tiger

Ugly for Woods on the second. He’s bounced from one bunker to another around the green. He needs to get up and down for a double bogey now.

Birdie for McIlroy

McIlroy with a conservative approach into the first but rolls in a monster putt to get to six under. The ideal start as he begins his chase of the leaders.

A MONSTER putt! What a way to start for Rory 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZjKp5YqGNB — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

Morikawa bogey

The American’s par put on the last slips past the left edge. That’ll be a dropped shot but he taps in for a superb round of 65 which featired five straight birdies on the the back nine.

FIVE BIRDIES IN A ROW! Collin Morikawa is on fire 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hh77jKGogh — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

McIlroy underway

Rory steps onto the first tee. How fun it would be to see him tear this course apart this afternoon and he hits a monster on the first, cutting the corner with consummate ease. That’ll set him up with a short iron into the first. He’s at least 40 yards beyond his playing partners Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose.

Rory McIlroy begins his second round of the PGA Championship ⛳ pic.twitter.com/afyC2GL440 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

Tricky tester to come

Hmmm..we said Morikawa was facing a tough up and down and so it’s proven. His pitch onto the green comes up 15 feet short. He’ll be doing very well to walk off 18 with his three-shot lead preserved.

On the money

What a shot from Woods on the first, going right at a pin that’s tucked behind a bunker on the right side of the green. Aggressive line, great shot – let’s hope we see some more of that throughout the afternoon.

Spot of bother

Thomas and Schauffele both walk off the first with pars. Solid enough starts. 

On 18, Morikawa comes up short with his approach into the last. He’s facing a tricky up and down to save his par on the last.

Here comes Tiger

Solid enough approach from Schauffele on the first, following Justin Thomas into the middle of the green. 

Back on the tee box...it’s Tiger time. He finds the fairway with a little baby fade.

Hitting it too well?

Bad luck for Tom Kim, who stiffs a wedge from the bunker on nine to about ten feet but his contact is too good. The ripping spin takes the ball all the way off the front of the green and down the small hill surrounding it. 

Kim is playing well though, currently on seven under.

Another Morikawa birdie

He knocks in a short putt on 17. He’s seven under par in this round alone. Stunning golf from the two-time major champion.

Here are some highlights of his quickfire run of birdies in the round that took him to the lead...

Colin Morikawa takes the lead at the PGA Championship after three straight birdies 🏌️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/7A14lKoQsJ — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 17, 2024

Overnight leader underway

We’re right into the action with the group of Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas and the overnight leader Xander Schauffele, who at 9 under now finds himself two shots off Collin Morikawa. All three find the short stuff on the first. 

What a night ahead

Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s continued coverage of the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla. 

The story today has, of course, been Scottie Scheffler’s rollercoaster day – from being in handcuffs early this morning to now competing for the lead in Kentucky. Quite remarkable really and if you want to follow the conclusion of the Texan’s round, click here for our dedicated coverage of the last few holes of his second round. 

Here, we will be focussing on the rest of the field, with Rory McIlory, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka all due off in the next hour or so. One thing to keep half an eye on this evening is the time, after the second round was delayed this morning after a fatal car accident near the course this morning. 

As such, there is a real chance that the second round will not be completed tonight. In any case, stay with us for full coverage of this evening’s action from the second major of the season.

Collin Morikawa is currently our leader on 11 under.

• Scottie Scheffler closes in on US PGA lead despite earlier arrest and police assault charge
• Scottie Scheffler arrested: Everything we know so far
• Scottie Scheffler: Devout Christian and new father who was once allergic to controversy
• Xander Schauffele shoots superb 62 with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in mix
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Small but mighty Nimble becomes first mixed-breed dog to win Westminster agility title

Rebecca Rosman

Cynthia Hornor poses with Nimble, the first mixed-breed dog ever to win the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's agility competition, in New York on Monday. Jennifer Peltz/AP hide caption

Cynthia Hornor poses with Nimble, the first mixed-breed dog ever to win the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's agility competition, in New York on Monday.

She was nimble, she was oh-so-very quick – with the perfect moniker to match.

A 6-year-old canine from of Ellicott City, Md., named Nimble beat out 350 competitors to become the first mixed-breed dog to win the Westminster Kennel Club's Masters Agility Championship in New York.

"I was surprised," Nimble's handler Cynthia Hornor told NPR. "But she proved that she's the little engine that could."

Your dog is a good boy, but that's not necessarily because of its breed

Nimble, who finished the race in a blistering 28.76 seconds, is a first in more ways than one: She also became the first dog from the 12-inch height division to take home the top prize since the agility competition — itself the first WKC event to allow mixed breeds to compete — was introduced in 2014 .

Dogs compete in the 8-inch, 12-inch, 16-inch, and 20-inch categories. The top 10 dogs from each height category go on to compete in the championships.

SUB:30 FOR NIMBLE!🔥👏 A ROUND OF APP-PAWS FOR THOSE SPEEDY LITTLE LEGS! pic.twitter.com/b6rLlcMI3B — FOX Sports(@FOXSports) May 12,2024

While she made two firsts, Nimble also had at least two big aces in her paws.

Despite coming in an underdog — as part of the non-purebred category the WKC refers to as "All American Dogs" — Nimble is a combination of two pedigrees made up of winners: a border collie-papillon mix. Border collies have won eight of the last 11 agility titles, while the top three finishers in this year's competition were all papillons.

Nimble's second secret weapon: her owner and handler Hornor, who won the Masters Agility title in 2023 with her other dog Truant, a 20-inch border collie.

When disaster strikes, these good boys and girls are your rescue crew

"This is going to be a fun run," a Fox Sports announcer predicted on Saturday as Nimble eagerly waited for the clock to start her final run.

When it did, the pointy-eared black and white pup rocketed her way through a series of hoops, seesaws, ladders and more with hardly any cueing needed from Horner.

"I said it was going to be fun, but I didn't know it was going to be an e-ticket!" the announcer said halfway through Nimble's race, with eager crowds cheering in the background.

A dog named Buddy Holly wins best in show at Westminster, a first for his breed

Hornor says she hopes Nimble's big win will be enough to put to bed any false ideas that mixed breeds can't be as fast as purebred dogs.

"Agility is the equalizer," Hornor said. "Mixed-breed dogs can be just as fast as purebred dogs."

Nimble's reward for proving it?

"She got steak, and she got to play," said Hornor. "She just really loves playing, so her reward is being able to go run and play."

And if there's one lesson Hornor wants other dog owners to take away from Nimble's big win, it's that agility is a great way for owners to bond with their dogs.

"It's the thing I enjoy the most about this sport," said Hornor, who has been an agility trainer for more than 20 years. "When I see my students, I love seeing their bond grow with their dogs because of agility."

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Collin Morikawa had one of the low rounds of the day Friday — a 6-under-par 65 — to get to 11-under, one shot behind PGA Championship leader Xander Schauffele at Valhalla Golf Club.

Morikawa entered this week hoping to atone for what he felt was a poor finish at the Masters last month.

He finished in a tie for third behind Scheffler, but a 74 in the final round left a bad taste in his mouth.

“After Augusta, it sucked to finish like that, and it sucked to lose to Scottie, but at the end of the day, I knew I had three more majors coming up and to prep for that and get things as sharp as possible and just come out strong,’’ Morikawa said. “It’s obviously nice to get off to this start.’’

Morikawa said winning those two major championships gave him “belief’’ he can win more.

“I know I still have it in me, and that’s what’s exciting,’’ he said.

Morikawa seized control of his round with five consecutive birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Morikawa’s five-birdie streak was the longest such streak of his major championship career.

“The little five-run birdie was me just playing solid golf, and sometimes when the putts drop, that’s what happens,’’ Morikawa said. “That’s the kind of golf I’m going to ask for myself over the next two days and 36 holes.’’

Justin Thomas, the hometown hero, stayed in contention Friday with a 4-under-par 67 and is 6-under for the tournament, six shots off the lead.

“I feel great, my game feels good, I played really, really well today,’’ he said.

Thomas said the hometown experience has “been better than I thought somehow,’’ adding, “I’m going to enjoy it for all it’s worth because it’s been fun.’’

Braden Shattuck, one of 21 PGA of America club pros competing this week, made the cut. He had two holes to play on Friday and figured he needed to birdie one of them, if not both, to get into the weekend.

He holed a 35-footer for birdie at the par-3 eighth hole (his 17th of the round).

And, on his last hole, he recovered from a poor drive into a bunker, hit his second into a greenside bunker, and faced a 4-footer for par and made it. That got him to 1-under for the week.

“The cup looked like the size a thimble on that last 4-footer,” Shattuck said. “But, thankfully, it found its way to the middle.”

Shattuck, 29, played in last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill after capturing the PGA Professional Championship, but failed to make the cut.

Michael Block, the California club pro who captivated the golf world at last year’s PGA at Oak Hill with a tie for 15th place, missed the cut this week, shooting 7-over par. … Matt Dobyns, the club pro from Meadow Brook on Long Island, finished 14-over for two rounds and missed the cut in his fifth career PGA. … Among the big-name players to miss the cut were Jon Rahm, reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and Phil Mickelson. … Chris Gotterup, the Jersey Shore native and former Rutgers player, finished 3-over and missed the cut a week after winning his first PGA Tour event at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

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Trump Seemed To Have Had Some Sort of...Episode at a Rally In New Jersey

The way various outlets covered it ought to be taught in journalism schools as an example of what never to do.

“Al Capone was so mean that if you went to dinner with him and he didn’t like you, you’d be dead the next morning. And I got indicted more than him. On bullshit, too. Just bullshit.”

“The enemies from within are more dangerous to me than the enemies on the outside. Russia and China we can handle, but these lunatics within our government that are going to destroy our country, we have to get it stopped. They’re not on the right; they’re on the left.”

“Fat Alvin, corrupt guy.”

“You could take the ten worst presidents in the history of our country and add them up...and they haven’t done the damage to our country that this total moron has done. He’s a fool; he’s not a smart man. He never was. He was considered stupid. I talk about him differently now because now the gloves are off. He’s a bad guy…he’s the worst president ever, of any country. The whole world is laughing at him; he’s a fool.”

“They’re emptying out their mental institutions into the United States, our beautiful country. And now the prison populations all over the world are down. They don’t want to report that the mental-institution population is down because they’re taking people from insane asylums and from mental institutions.”

“Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs ? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walked by. ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that have been released into our country that we don’t want in our country, and they’re coming in totally unchecked, totally unvetted. And we can’t let this happen. They’re destroying our country, and we’re sitting back and we better damn well win this election, because if we don’t, our country is going to be doomed. It’s going to be doomed.”

(Not to be pedantic, but the fictional Mr. Lecter is still fictionally alive, and not fictionally dead. He has accomplished this despite, you know, not being a real person.)

The only story to be written about this event is that a huge crowd gathered to see and hear the presumptive presidential candidate have some sort of episode in public. That is a major news story. Half the electorate has turned into a banana farm. The following, from The New York Times, is not the way to do this.

But if Mr. Trump’s speech largely consisted of what has become his standard fare, the setting stood out. Though New Jersey has voted for Democratic presidential candidates in every election since 1992, and Mr. Trump lost the state by double-digit margins in both 2016 and 2020, he insisted that he could win there in November. “We’re expanding the electoral map, because we are going to officially play in the state of New Jersey,” Mr. Trump said to a packed crowd on the beach. “We’re going to win the state of New Jersey.”

Neither is this.

Mr. Trump, who once owned casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., and who often spends summers at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., has been publicly bullish on his chances in New Jersey for months. Political experts, and even some of his advisers, are skeptical. Still, parts of the state are deeply conservative, including the area around Wildwood, a boardwalk town on the southern end of the Jersey Shore and a beach destination popular with working-class families. Many visitors come from Pennsylvania, a battleground state that backed Mr. Trump in 2016 but swung to Mr. Biden in 2020.

And, finally, this isn’t, either.

Against the backdrop of classic Americana, Mr. Trump repeated his typical criticism that Mr. Biden’s economic policies were hurting the middle class. With an amusement park operating rides in the background, he insisted that only he could preserve the summer shore tradition. “The choice for New Jersey and Pennsylvania is simple,” Mr. Trump said, telling supporters to vote for him if they wanted “lower costs, higher income and more weekends down at the shore.” (The area’s locals usually say “down the shore,” but judging by the cheers of the crowd, the point was well received.) The rally was a stark contrast to the scene at the Manhattan courthouse, where proceedings are more sober and Mr. Trump’s comments are limited to remarks to reporters before he enters and leaves the courtroom.

This is normalization that ought to be taught in journalism schools as an example of what never to do. And the comparisons drawn between Trump in Court and Trump on the Stump are dangerously facile. His criminal trial isn’t just another bump on the campaign trail, like a freak snowstorm in Iowa or a washed-out bridge in New Hampshire. The odds are better than 50–50 that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate will be a convicted criminal going into his party’s convention. That’s a black-swan event in American history, and it ought to be covered like one every day.

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America , and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children. 

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Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker says Pride Month is example of ‘deadly sin’ during commencement speech

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker , speaking during a commencement speech at Benedictine College, referred to Pride Month, the events in June demonstrating inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community, as an example of the “deadly sins” as he advocated for a more conservative brand of Catholicism.

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“Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it,” Butker said, “but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the holy ghost to glorify him.”

Butker spoke for more than 20 minutes to students at the Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, saying he wanted the graduating class to prevent political leaders from interfering with social issues that impact their relationship with the church.

Butker, 28, criticized an Associated Press article on America’s Catholic Church, which detailed the institution’s shift “toward the old ways.” It highlighted Benedictine’s rules that “seem like precepts of a bygone age,” which include “volunteering for 3 a.m. prayers” and “pornography, premarital sex and sunbathing in swimsuits being forbidden.”

Butker said the story was an “attempt to rebuke and embarrass” places like Benedictine, and that it would be met with “pride” instead of “anger.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization, said in a Wednesday statement Butker’s speech was “inaccurate, ill-informed and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women.”

“Those with expansive platforms, especially athletes, should use their voices to uplift and expand understand and acceptance in the world,” she said. “Instead, Butker’s remarks undermine experiences not of his own and reveal him to be one who goes against his own team’s commitment to the Kansas City community, and the NFL ’s standards for respect, inclusion and diversity across the league.”

Benedictine, a college with more than 2,100 full-time undergraduates as of September 2022, describes itself as a liberal arts institution aimed at “the education of men and women within a community of faith and leadership.” Butker, who called on religious leaders “to stay in their lane and lead,” praised Benedictine for embracing what he called traditional Catholic values.

“When you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual, will follow,” Butker said.

In October 2014, the school ordered basketball player Jallen Messersmith to remove a Pride flag from his dorm room window.

Butker also used the speech to criticize President Joe Biden on several issues, including abortion and the coronavirus pandemic, and questioned Biden’s devotion to Catholicism. Butker also addressed gender ideologies and said a woman’s most important title is “homemaker.”

“It is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you. Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” Butker said.

The Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the NFL isn’t in season during Pride Month, the league participates in LGBTQ+ initiatives. On the Wednesday before Super Bowl LVIII, the NFL hosted a “Night of Pride” event in partnership with GLAAD, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. The Chiefs are among the NFL teams that have a Pride selection of apparel with rainbow colors.

Kansas City is among the many North American cities that host Pride events during June, led by the KC Pride Community Alliance.

Butker is a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs. He was a seventh-round draft pick in 2017 and made 33 of 35 field goals in the 2023 season.

(Photo: Chris Unger / Getty Images)

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Lukas Weese is a Staff Editor of News at The Athletic. Before The Athletic, Lukas was a freelance sports journalist, working as an associate editor at Sportsnet, an OHL reporter for the Toronto Star and had bylines in outlets such as ESPN's Andscape, USA Today, Complex, Yahoo Sports, GOLF Magazine, Just Women's Sports and Raptors Republic. Lukas also does freelance play-by-play broadcasting. Follow Lukas on Twitter @ Weesesports

• International

Slovakia's prime minister expected to survive after shooting

By Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury, Adrienne Vogt and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Slovakian deputy prime minister believes Fico will survive the assassination attempt

From CNN’s Zahid Mahmood

Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba said he believes Prime Minister Robert Fico will survive Wednesday's assassination attempt and is “not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”

“Fortunately, as far as I know, the operation went well and I guess in the end he will survive,” Taraba said in an interview with the BBC’s Newshour program.

Taraba said the prime minister “was heavily injured" with one bullet entering his stomach and another hitting the joints.

"Immediately he was transported to the hospital and then to the operation,” he said.

Video appears to show the moment Slovakia’s prime minister was shot

From CNN’s Eve Brennan

A video circulating on social media appears to show the moment Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in the town of Handlova on Wednesday.

The footage appears to show Fico, surrounded by a team of at least four security guards in dark suits, walking toward a crowd of people standing behind metal barriers. 

A man in the crowd behind the barriers is seen lunging toward Fico with what appears to be a gun, which he is pointing at the prime minister.

Five shots are heard in the video. People in the crowd don't appear to know what is happening.

Fico falls to the ground and the man with the weapon is apprehended and pushed to the ground by the men in dark suits. Other men are seen running in Fico's direction.

Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia's minister of defense, said that Fico "suffered multiple injuries," but did not provide any details when reporters asked if the prime minister was shot in the stomach.

Analysis: Prime Minister Robert Fico is a divisive politician in a divided country

From CNN's Ivana Kottasova

Slovaks have been deeply divided over the country's direction and position in the world since Prime Minister Robert Fico was reelected last year. Supporters see Fico as a caring leader who has their interests at heart while critics say he is a populist whose pro-Russian leanings pose major risks for the country.

Since taking the top job in October, Fico has brought about a major pivot in Slovakia's foreign policy and its previously staunch support for Ukraine. He pledged an immediate end to military support for Kyiv against the Russian invasion and promised to block Ukraine’s ambitions of joining NATO.

Domestically, his coalition government is also pushing controversial reforms that have led to weeks of large-scale peaceful protests. Attempts to overhaul the criminal justice system have been particularly controversial as the government seeks to reduce penalties for corruption. It has already abolished Slovakia's special prosecutor’s office, which was tasked with investigating serious and politically sensitive corruption cases, including some that involved people connected to Fico and his party SMER ("Direction – Social Democracy").

The Slovakian government is also trying to shut down public service broadcaster RTVS, planning to replace it with a new national broadcaster that would be under tighter government control.

Before his stunning political comeback last year, Fico had spent more than a decade as prime minister. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests sparked by the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak had reported on corruption among the country’s elite.

This year's tightly contested presidential election saw Fico cement his grip on power as his ally Peter Pellegrini was elected into the role.

What we know about the assassination attempt on Slovakia's prime minister

From CNN staff

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is undergoing surgery after being shot five times Wednesday in an assassination attempt, according to officials.

The gunman  is in custody  and no one else was injured in the attack, they said.

Fico  won a third term as Slovakian prime minister  last October after running a campaign that criticized Western support for Ukraine.

Here's what we know:

• What happened: The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The suspected gunman was among a small crowd of people waiting to greet the prime minister on the street outside the cultural center where the meeting took place, local media reported.
• His condition: Fico is “ still fighting for his life ,” according to Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia's minister of defense. Kaliňák said Fico "suffered multiple injuries," but did not provide any details when reporters asked if the prime minister was shot in the stomach.
• Politically motivated: Based on “initial interviews with the suspect,"  Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the assassination attempt was politically motivated . He said the suspect decided to carry out the attack after the presidential election. The ministers, Eštok and Kaliňák, blamed rising hate speech and division for the political atmosphere in the country.
• Reaction: Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova said the assassination attempt was “also an attack on democracy " and an opposition member of Slovakia’s parliament, Maria Kolikova, called it “an attack on the internal security ” of the country. US President Joe Biden expressed alarm at the attempted assassination, calling it a “ horrific act of violence .” Various other NATO and European Union leaders , as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also condemned the attack.
• Tie to Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attack a “monstrous crime.” Fico is known to be a Kremlin sympathizer. He had previously blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Putin into launching the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin calls Fico’s assassination attempt a "monstrous crime”

From CNN’s Mariya Knight

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico a “monstrous crime.”

“There can be no justification for this monstrous crime,” Putin said in a message sent to Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova.

The Russian leader also said he knows Fico as “a courageous and strong-willed man,” the qualities that Putin hopes will help Fico overcome “this difficult situation.”

Some context: Fico is known to be a Kremlin sympathizer. He had previously blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Putin into launching the invasion of Ukraine, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

Slovakian ministers blame rising hate speech and division for atmosphere that led to attack on prime minister

From CNN’s Ivana Kottasova

Slovakia’s defense and interior minister blamed rising hate speech and division for the political atmosphere in the country, which they said led to the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico. 

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where Fico is being treated, Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák said: “This needs to stop immediately. I beg you, please. Hate is not an answer to hate.”

Visibly shaken and struggling for words during the news conference, Kaliňák said it was “time for some people to have a hard look into the mirror.” 

“There is no question that this was politically motivated. The inability to accept the choice of people, which some may not like … it leads to this,” he said. 

Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said “everyone needs to calm down.” 

“Those who are endorsing this attack as well as those who are calling for some sort of a revenge. And I am asking you, the media too, please, use your power, your influence. Because until now, it was some of you who sow the hate,” he said.

Fico's assassination attempt was politically motivated, interior minister says

The assassination attempt of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was politically motivated, the country's interior minister said, adding the information is based on “initial interviews with the suspect.”

“This assassination attempt was politically motivated and the suspect made the decision to do it shortly after the presidential election,” Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok told a news conference outside the hospital in Banská Bystrica, where the prime minister is being treated.

“It is clear this was politically motivated,” Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák said, speaking alongside Eštok.

Kaliňák said Fico "suffered multiple injuries," but did not provide any details when reporters asked if the prime minister was shot in the stomach.

This post has been updated with additional comments from the defense minister.

Prime Minister Fico was shot five times, interior minister says

From CNN’s Ivana Kottasova in London

Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said.

“The perpetrator shot five times. The prime minister is in a critical condition, still on the operating table. We will do everything we can to investigate this,” Eštok said at a news conference.

The perpetrator has been arrested, he added.

Slovakia's prime minister "still fighting for his life," defense minister says

Prime Minister Robert Fico is “still fighting for his life,” Robert Kaliňák, Slovakia's minister of defense, said in a press conference in the hospital where Fico is being treated.

“We are singularly focused on the health of Robert Fico. And we are hoping he will be strong enough to pull through,” Kaliňák said.

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