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Identify the General Purpose of Your Speech

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Once you have an idea for a topic, you’ll need to refine and adapt it to your general speech purpose. The general speech purpose for any speech answers the question, “What is my objective in speaking on this topic to this audience on this occasion?” Public speakers typically seek to accomplish one of three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to mark a special occasion.

— Do you aim primarily to educate or inform listeners about your topic? The general purpose of an informative speech is to increase the audience’s awareness by imparting knowledge.
— Is your goal to persuade listeners to accept your position on a topic and perhaps to take action? The general purpose of the persuasive speech is to influence the attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors of audience members.
— Are you there to mark a special occasion, such as an awards ceremony? The general purpose of the special occasion speech will be variously to entertain, celebrate, commemorate, inspire, or set a social agenda.

The speech occasion itself often suggests an appropriate general speech purpose. For example, a town activist, invited to address a civic group about installing solar panels in town buildings, may choose a persuasive purpose to encourage the group to get behind the effort. If invited to describe the initiative to the town finance committee, the activist may choose an informative purpose, in which the main goal is to help the committee understand project costs. If asked to speak at an event celebrating the project’s completion, the speaker will choose a special occasion purpose. Addressing the same topic, the speaker selects a different general speech purpose to suit the audience and occasion.