TALK WORD

Examples bring a speech to life. Just as pictures serve as graphic illustrations for a printed text, examples serve as verbal illustrations for an oral message. In fact, some scholars prefer the term illustration to example. This term derives from the Latin illustrare, which means “to shed light” or “to make bright. Good examples illuminate the message of your speech, making it clearer and more vivid for your audience.
In addition to clarifying ideas, examples can also arouse attention and sus- I tam interest. A speech without examples is usually boring. Examples make ideas seem real by providing concrete applications. They demonstrate that] what you have said either has happened or could happen. Speakers acknowledge these functions when they say, “Let me give you an example.” Similarly,. examples may be used to personalize your topic and to humanize both you and your message. Sue Suter, speaking before the Dallas conference of the National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, used a series of brief examples to point up the challenges she had had to overcome as a disabled person.
Examples about people give the audience someone with whom they can identify, thus involving them in the speech. Personalized examples help the audience to experience the meaning of your ideas, not simply to understand them. Examples that point out common experiences, beliefs, or values also help to bridge gaps in cultural understanding. When Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, she used many brief examples to demonstrate that all women share common problems and face a common destiny.