Support material that is strong, interesting, and believable is considered to be compelling information. This kind of information helps your audience understand, process, and retain your message. A speaker might note that 3,331 people were killed and 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011. Two of the most significant causes of distracted driving are phone calls and text messaging, with 69 percent of U.S. drivers between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four reporting that they talked on the phone while driving in the month before the survey and another 31 percent of the same demographic noting that they had read or sent messages (text or e-mail) while driving during the same time period (CDC, 2013). Now those are some compelling statistics!

To be compelling, your supporting material should also be vivid. Vivid material is clear and vibrant, never vague. For example, in a speech about cyclical cicada invasions in the Washington, DC, area, Ana might reference a source describing these bugs as large insects, about one and a half inches long, with red eyes, black bodies, and fragile wings; she might also use a direct quotation from a resident who notes that “there were so many cicadas that the ground, trees, and streets looked like they were covered by an oil slick.” Such vivid (and gross) descriptions of information interest listeners. Look for clear, concrete supporting details that encourage the audience to form visual representations of the object or event you are describing.