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Speech and Communications: Getting Started

About this Guide

This subject guide was created to assist students with Speech and Communication courses. It is organized to help you with your research for your papers and presentations.

  1. Select your topic for your speech or assignment.
  2. Start your research by finding the right keywords for your search.
  3. Use the Library's databases to find the articles and books that you need.
  4. Evaluate sources that you find for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose.
  5. Cite your sources by using the correct citation format.

microphone

Image by Maike und Björn Bröskamp from Pixabay

Selecting a Topic

Selecting a topic for your speech or paper is probably one of the most challenging and most crucial for your assignment. First of all, you need to choose a subject that is interesting to you. If you are not interested, your audience will not be either. The Library's databases can provide information on current events and hot topics.

It would help if you thought about what information you can provide to your audience that is new or different. For example, a student wanted to do an informative speech on how to make brownies. Usually, I would not recommend that as a good topic. However, by adding information about how to make healthy brownies, that might be interesting. Another student wanted to make Spam musubi. He added a section on how Spam became an essential staple in many people's diets. You need to add something different to your topic that will hook your audience.

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Random Topics

The University of Hawaii Maui College Topic List includes general subject, popular themes, topics based on your life, and topics for how-to speeches.

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