ABSTRACT

Supporting materials are necessary to make ideas clear or more persuasive to listener. Although there are different lists of supporting materials, most experts in the speech field agree on these six: examples, explanation, statistics, testimony, comparison and contrast, and visual aids. Explanation can involve a number of different forms. It can include exposition, analysis, definition, and description. Exposition may be defined as a communication that gives information to listeners in order to increase their knowledge or their understanding of a situation or process. A speech on how to use a fly rod, bake a cake, lower a ceiling, or make a fortune in the stock market will in each case employ exposition. Analysis is the process of explaining something by breaking it down into its parts and examining them. For the sake of imaginativeness and interest, avoid using dictionary or Wikipedia definitions. They are often overly formal and complex.