What are the examples of supporting materials?

Support Materialillustrates your assertions so the audience will understand the concepts and conclusions you are presenting.  Support material provides clarity, vividness (for interest and memory), and credibility.  See notes about "oral citation."

Examples:Concrete instances. Visual is better.Make sure the audience understands what the example is illustrating (3rd step)

Testimony (authority):direct quotations or paraphrases � using someone else�s knowledge/information and, thus, their credibility. Requires acknowledgement (oral citation).

Surveys:compilations of many people�s views, public opinion, quantitative.Be sure we understand what group the survey represents and who is the source of the survey

Definition:clarification of unfamiliar terms and concepts[ by example, by synonym, by classification ].

Comparision/Contrast (analogy):illustrating a concept by relating the unfamiliar to the familiar.Be sure the audience understands the points of similarity or difference.

Statistics:� Quantitative information.Good for establishing significance.Use round numbers if possible.�Humanize� large abstract numbers by linking them to something familiar.

Narration:� Stories!� They are visual, personal and chronological.Highly concrete and memorable.Good for illustration; weak for proof.

Explanation (description/detail):describing an idea or concept in your own words.Most effective when highly visual (use lots of adjectives).Often overused.

Proofgetting the audience to accept your ideas, believe you, be persuaded.There are three traditional types of proof originally identified by Aristotle 2500 years ago:

  1. Pathos � using emotions to get support
  1. Ethos --using credibility to get support (either your own credibility or that of your sources)
  1. Logos � using logic and evidence (support material) to prove you are correct and gain support.

Tips on Using Audio/Visual Aids

    1. Rehearse with your visual aid if at all possible to avoid surprise malfunctions.
    2. Set up the aid in advance if possible to avoid distracting set up activity at the start of your speech.
    3. Talk to the audience, not to the visual aid.
    4. Don�t reveal the visual aid until the time you intend to discuss it.Don�t use a visual aid if you don�t intend to discuss it.
    5. Consider visibility for your audience.Is the V.A. large enough to be seen at the back of the room? Have you used low contrast colors that can�t be easily seen? Have you place the V.A. in a location where the view is not blocked (by you, the podium, etc.)?
    6. Keep the visual aid simple (complex charts and graphs distract usually) and relevant to the point you are making.

A Definition:
The term supporting materials refers to the information a person provides to develop and/or justify an idea that is offered for a listener's consideration. Supporting materials serve a variety of functions in oral presentations: to clarify the speaker's point, to emphasize the point, to make the point more interesting , and to furnish a basis that enables others to believe the speaker's point. Without supporting materials, an oral presentation is little more than a string of assertions (claims without backing).

General Guidelines for Supporting Materials

1. Pertinence -- Each piece of support should be clearly relevant to the point it is used to support.

2. Variety -- The presentation should not rely excessively on one type of support (such as examples) but should instead use a number of different forms of support.

3. Amount-- The presentation should include a sufficient amount of support (enough to make the ideas presented both clear and compelling to the audience).

4. Detail -- Each piece of support needs to be developed to the point that audience members can both understand the item of support AND can see how the item backs up the point it is used to support.

5. Appropriateness -- Each piece of supporting material should meet the demands that the audience and the occasion place on the kind of material that is likely to be received favorably. A "scholarly" audience, for example, will probably place higher demands on the speaker's sources of information than a "general" audience would. A "graphic" description of a particular topic, while entirely fitting in some occasions, might be out of place in another.

Specific Guidelines for Supporting Materials

Supporting materials are usually offered in recurring forms. Depending upon the form of support provided, you should ask yourself some questions to determine if you are making the best possible use of that kind of material:

For Examples/Narratives:

* Is the example/narrative representative?
* Is the example/narrative sufficiently detailed and vivid?
* Is the example/narrative personalized?
* If necessary, was the source cited in the speech?

For Statistics:

* Is the source of the statistic reliable?
* Has the source of the statistics been cited in the speech?
* Has the statistic been used correctly?
* Have you rounded-off complicated statistics?
* Have you interpreted the statistic (explained it in another way)?
* Have you done something to emphasize the statistic?
* Have you used statistics sparingly?

For testimony

* Is the source qualified to make the statement you're quoting?
* Is the quotation accurate?
* Have you attributed the testimony prior to the quote?
* Have you made it clear whether you are paraphrasing or quoting directly?
* If you are quoting, is the quotation brief?
* Have you clearly signaled where the testimony begins and ends?
* Are the source's conclusions reasonably free from bias?

For comparison/contrast

* Is comparison appropriate and justified?
* Is the comparison meaningful -- does it tell your audience something valuable?
* Have you avoided overdoing the comparison?
What do you think?
Do you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or supporting ideas of your own that you would like to share? If so, contact me, Ron St. John, with your feedback. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Be sure to state the title or subject matter, so I know to what material you are referring. Thank you for visiting the Public Speakers' Sites!


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What are the examples of supporting materials?
Page Designer: Ron St. John
Copyright � 2002 - Ka Leo Kumu
Last Revised: January 16, 2002

What are six types of supporting material?

Essentially, there are seven types of supporting materials: examples, narratives, definitions, descriptions, historical and scientific fact, statistics, and testimony.

What are supportive materials?

Definition: The term supporting materials refers to the information a person provides to develop and/or justify a idea that is offered for a listener's consideration.

What are three types of supporting materials?

A good rule of thumb is that each main point in your speech should include at least three types of supporting material: examples, data, and testimony.

What are the five types of supporting material for a speech?

There are several types of supporting material that you can pull from the sources you find during the research process to add to your speech. They include examples, explanations, statistics, analogies, testimony, and visual aids.