Consider using hypothetical examples with technical information, complicated messages, policy statements, and points in a speech where you want to focus your audience’s attention. A hypothetical example is an imagined example or scenario you invite your listeners to consider to help them follow a complicated point presented immediately afterward.

For instance, a student named Blake wanted to inform his audience about the legal test for defamation of character. He introduced his presentation with the following hypothetical example:

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Suppose that a television news crew is shadowing a paramedic team to record its average day, and the paramedics are called out to a highway accident. Now suppose that the camera crew tapes the whole rescue, and the reporter talks to a badly injured victim who is sedated with painkillers. Under the influence of the painkillers, the victim says many foolish things, including some unkind words about her employer. Would the news station be justified in broadcasting the whole story—including everything the victim said to the reporter? What are the victim’s rights here, if any? This scenario suggests the difficulty of determining whether defamation of character has taken place.