Brainstorming and Clustering
Brainstorming and Clustering
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Once you’ve determined a very general topic—from your interests or an instructor’s assignment—you’ll need to start amassing information, thinking creatively, and considering problems and solutions related to your topic. This is a process known as brainstorming.
In brainstorming, you might consider using Figure 11.1 for a sample of clustering for the nucleus phrase country music. As the process continues, you’ll be struck by some concepts that might be suitable topics for your speech. In a sense, it’s like googling your own brain, starting out with a word or concept and branching to form a web of links to related thoughts.
FIGURE 11.1 Example of a Web of Associations Produced by Clustering. Thinking about “country music” can lead to numerous possible speech topics.