ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the canon of invention, which is the method by which we discover specific things to say within our speech that defends our claim, elaborates our beliefs, and narrates our values. Although all of us possess an innate sense of invention every time we try to find something interesting to talk about, we often pursue this aim intuitively rather than methodologically. This chapter seeks to establish the specific paths and processes a speaker can use to find original and creative content. First, it explores what resources are readily available in the public memory of one’s culture, including such resources as maxims, myths, and social knowledge. Second, it provides guidance on how to find reliable sources and to cite them effectively in one speech. Third, it outlines specific resources for invention in terms of specific content, including facts, statistics, testimony, examples, and narratives. Fourth, it defines four different perspectives, called topics, that one can use to find a new approach to a subject matter. Last, this chapter discusses how to outline a speech in a way that both serves a creative and a documentary function.
