Chapter 15 Informative Speaking 457range across the political and social spectrum.
Consider Occupy Wall Street and the Tea
Party. Both of these organizations communi-
cate their messages and build support through
social media sites. • For example, they use
Facebook to announce events and link to peti-
tions. In fact, a nonprofit organization called
Social Movement Technologies created a Face-
book page to help individual social movement organizations get out
their message.
But social media is not just being used as a platform for informing
the public of a group’s mission and activities or even merely to get peo-
ple to sign petitions. Increasingly, activists are deploying social media to
motivate like-minded people to get into the fight.
To get a sense of what this means, consider the recent efforts of a
seventeen-year-old skateboarder from St. Cloud, Minnesota. •
For three years, Austin Lee found himself
struggling to get support for a skate park in his
local community. But when he decided to use
Facebook for his cause, things changed nearly
overnight. Lee’s posting attracted 1,085 mem-
bers, and even drew a portion of those mem-
bers to city council meetings on behalf of his
cause. David Unze of USA Today reported that
Lee won the approval—and $500,000—for his
skate park (2010). And it all happened within one day of Lee’s original
posting on Facebook.
So as you can see, if you can use social media to convince people to
identify with what you want to accomplish, success is possible. Lee’s ac-
complishment shows us that we not only identify and affiliate ourselves
with groups but also are willing to actively work toward accomplishing
their goals.
Today I hope I’ve shown that the skyrocketing use of social media
sites over the past decade is no accident. The human desire to develop
a positive sense of social identity through group affiliation is one rea-
son for this phenomenon. Capitalizing on this universal psychological
drive, social movement organizations are harnessing these technologies
to accomplish their goals. Social media sites allow us to communicate,
express, and identify with one another in ways that encourage affiliation
as well as action. Whether it’s a major political
movement or a teenager’s desire for a local skate
park, social media technologies are powerful.
So as you tweet about new groups or see
the next “Facebook official” status update,
think about what groups you like, whom you
have friended, and what those affiliations may
be able to do for you. •- Anna uses examples that are
well balanced and that do not
express a bias. - Using real examples, such as
Austin’s, helps Anna’s audience
imagine and relate to her claims
more directly. - To make her final words
count, Anna’s concluding
statement is memorable and
succinct and summarizes her
thesis.
When stating facts, Anna
refers to her notecards.
Anna connects to the
audience with a real-life story.
Anna concludes her speech
on a warm, personal note.