Chapter 15 Informative Speaking 455Sample Student Informative Speech 15.1
Social Media, Social Identity, and Social CausesBy Anna Davis
Just before my first year of college, I was excited
and nervous about meeting other new students
on campus. As soon as dorm assignments
were announced, we all began “friending” each
other on Facebook and following each other
on Twitter. • This is how I found out that my
roommate was an obsessive soccer fan and had
seen all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies. The
school also sponsored online forums, allow-
ing me to learn about different student groups and to find like-minded
people across campus. For example, I connected immediately with
students who share my interest in animal rescue and adoption. These
online connections and groups helped my college friendships develop
quickly and meaningfully, and gave me a sense of belonging on campus
before I even arrived. •
Today I’d like to share with you how social media is being used,
not only to help students connect but also as a powerful tool to advance
social causes and motivate us to act on their behalf. We’ll start by look-
ing at a compelling theory of why social media is so uniquely suited to
forging connections. Next, I’ll review some data on social media’s me-
teoric rise. Finally, we’ll see how today’s activists are harnessing social
media to support an array of social causes to make life better for us all. •
Let’s begin our conversation about these intriguing developments
in communication by considering the underlying reasons why we want
to use social media in the first place. What is it that drives us to connect
through social media with like-minded people and groups?
Social identity theory offers a compelling
answer to this question. First, let me define the
concept of social identity. Social identity refers
to how you understand yourself in relation to
your group memberships. • Michael Hogg, a
professor of social psychology at Claremont Uni-
versity, focuses on social identity research. In his
2006 book on contemporary social psychological
theories, Hogg explains that group affiliations
provide us with an important source of identity,
and we therefore want our groups to be valued positively in relation to
other groups. • By “affiliations” I simply mean the groups that we join and
perhaps link to online.
Social psychologist Henry Tajfel—one of the founders of social iden-
tity theory—spent years considering how we form our social identities.- Anna makes her attention
getter relevant to the audience
by referencing the social media
tools that nearly everyone in her
class will be familiar with. - Anna’s personal example helps
establish her ethos, or credibil-
ity. It also relates to her speech
thesis, which explains how social
media helps everyone answer
the question “Who am I?” - Anna’s preview statement or-
ganizes her speech. Each sec-
tion is previewed so listeners
can anticipate what is coming. - By defining technical terms
here, Anna can use them later in
the speech with the assurance
that the audience will under-
stand precisely what she means. - By paraphrasing an expert in
the field, Anna helps establish
credibility for her speech.
Anna starts her speech by
enthusiastically telling a
personal story.
Anna keeps the audience
engaged with animated facial
expressions.
Watch It Now
To see Anna Davis deliver her
speech, go to bedfordstmartins
.com/realcomm