Why should you learn how to research well and then use those skills to prepare your speech? The advantages are many. Research skills help you develop a quality speech, convince your audience, impress your instructor, and be effective in the workplace after you graduate.

One main benefit is that you gain a broader understanding of your topic. This knowledge will give you more choices when you decide which main ideas to include in your speech and how you can best develop them. Not only will you gain deeper knowledge, but you also may discover new insights or determine that some of your existing beliefs on the topic are incorrect.

A second benefit is gaining audience agreement. Research enables you to gather evidence—information from credible sources that you can use to support your claims. If audience members are uncertain about a point you are making (or if they outright disagree with you), evidence may convince them to accept that point.1 If they accept that the source of your evidence is trustworthy and better informed than they are, they will be more likely to agree with your claim, even if they would not accept your opinion alone.

Evidence also strengthens your own credibility with the audience. When you present evidence in your speech, it shows that you have prepared and learned about the topic. This makes audience members more likely to believe what you say.2

A third benefit is demonstrating college-level skills to your instructor. He or she will appreciate a speech that is backed by academic research. This means that the claims you make in your presentation are supported by experts who have education and experience in your topic area and whose work has been reviewed by other authorities in the field. Finding such sources requires more advanced research skills than might have been required earlier in your educational career. It will not suffice to go with the first three or four sources that you happen to come across. In academic speaking and writing, you are sharing knowledge with your audience. This means that you must research enough credible sources to be confident that the facts you present are accurate.

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A fourth benefit is that research skills are increasingly important in the workplace. In business, more and more decisions are made based on “data-based analytics” rather than on “gut instinct.”3 Research shows that data-driven decisions improve productivity.4 Thus, they are increasingly being used to resolve questions in such diverse fields as education, medicine, agriculture, and the military. In your career, if you are able to support the claims you make with evidence, you will be more convincing and contribute to your organization’s success.