Conduct preliminary research on the Internet or use the ECPI Library to find sources about your topic to make sure you won’t have any issues with finding credible sources or enough information.

Public speaking is a great skill to add to your set of professional competencies. Employers value employees who can research issues and topics, evaluate sources, and develop a final product that represents the company well. You may be asked to speak to a civic group in the community like the Kiwanis Club or Rotary Club. You may be asked to train a group of new employees on the significance of your department or unit. You may be asked to present at an industry conference. The possibilities of where your public speaking skills may be used in your career are vast. In any case, the first rule is knowing what you should talk about. Luckily, for this assignment, the choice is yours. Remember, pick a topic that means something to you AND your audience will benefit from hearing.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Brainstorm possible ideas for your speech topic. Choose one that you like.

Conduct preliminary research on the Internet or use the ECPI Library to find sources about your topic to make sure you won’t have any issues with finding credible sources or enough information.

Review your findings and notice any similarities and differences in the information you are seeing.

Now, you should have an idea of how to narrow your topic down to a few main points that can be accomplished in a 4–7-minute speech.

Submit your proposed topic idea and main points in the text box below. In your response, include the following:

What is your speech topic?

What are the main points you will make in the body of your speech?

Provide at least one of the two required references you are using to write your speech. Make sure your reference entry is APA formatted. (Hint: APA Style Guide – 7th edition: Reference Page

Links to an external site.

)

For example, your topic might be chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). You decide after your preliminary research to focus on its signs and symptoms, its complications, and the treatment options as your main points.

Or your topic may be how to improve your resume, so you decide your main points will be: how to write a great summary of qualifications, how to organize your resume, and how to use keywords to make sure the application tracking system selects your resume.

Requirements: questions just needs to be answered 4-7 min speech