358 Part 4 Public Speaking
Up-to-Date Sources
In most cases, you’ll want to use the most recent information available to keep
your speech timely and relevant. Isaiah, for example, is speaking to a group
of potential clients about his company’s graphic design services. If, during his
speech, he makes reference to testimonials from satisfied clients in 2012 and
earlier, the audience may wonder if the company has gone downhill since then.
For this reason, always determine when your source was written or last updated;
sources without dates may indicate that the information is not as timely or rel-
evant as it could be.
Naturally, one exception to this rule deals with historical or classic speech
or research topics. If you are researching a speech to inform your audience about
the achievements of early twentieth-century pilot Amelia Earhart, for example,
you should feel free to use quotations and statistics from her heyday.Accurate Sources
When compiling support for your speech, it is important to find accurate
sources—sources that are true, correct, and exact. A speaker who presents inac-
curate information may very well lose the respect and attention of the audience.
There are several ways to help ensure that you are studying accurate sources. In
addition to being credible and up-to-date, accurate sources are exact, meaning
that they offer detailed and precise information. A source that notes that 54 per-
cent of Americans over age sixty-five now have access to the Internet (Pew Inter-
net, 2013) is more accurate than a source that states that about half of senior
citizens have such access. The more precise your sources, the more credibility you
will gain with your audience.Compelling Sources
Support material that is strong, interesting, and believable is considered to be com-
pelling information. This kind of information helps your audience understand,
process, and retain your message. A speaker might note that 3,331 people were
killed and 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a dis-
tracted driver in 2011. Two of the most significant causes of distracted driving are
phone calls and text messaging, with 69 percent of U.S. drivers between the ages
of eighteen and sixty-four reporting that they talked on the phone while driving
in the month before the survey and another 31 percent of the same demographic
noting that they had read or sent messages (text or e-mail) while driving during
the same time period (CDC, 2013). Now those are some compelling statistics!
To be compelling, your supporting material should also be vivid. Vivid
material is clear and vibrant, never vague. For example, in a speech about cycli-
cal cicada invasions in the Washington, DC, area, Ana might reference a source
describing these bugs as large insects, about one and a half inches long, with red
eyes, black bodies, and fragile wings; she might also use a direct quotation from
a resident who notes that “there were so many cicadas that the ground, trees,
and streets looked like they were covered by an oil slick.” Such vivid (and gross)
descriptions of information interest listeners. Look for clear, concrete supporting
details that encourage the audience to form visual representations of the object
or event you are describing.