5.1: Purpose in a Speech

Purpose in a Speech

In relation to public speaking, purpose refers to the reason a speech is being delivered. It answers the question, “Why am I giving this speech?” and serves as the guiding focus for both the speaker and the audience. A clear purpose keeps the speech organized and ensures that the content supports the speaker’s goals.

General Purpose

The general purpose is the broad, overall goal of a speech.

Specific Purpose

The specific purpose narrows the general purpose into a precise statement of what the speaker intends to achieve with this particular audience, in this particular speech. It combines the general purpose with the exact topic and audience outcome.

Examples:

1. Beginning Financial Planning

• General Purpose: To inform my audience about the importance of financial planning.
• Specific Purpose: To inform my classmates about three basic financial planning strategies, budgeting, saving, and managing credit that can help college students avoid debt.

2. Study Habits

• General Purpose: To inform my audience about effective study strategies.
• Specific Purpose: To inform my classmates about three proven study habits, creating a schedule, using active recall, and minimizing distractions that lead to better test performance.

3. Communication Helps

• General Purpose: To persuade my audience that good communication skills are essential in life.
•  Specific Purpose: To persuade my classmates that improving communication skills through active listening, clear expression, and nonverbal awareness can strengthen relationships and increase success in college and future careers.

The Purpose is Directed by the Type of Speech

Aristotle, Cicero, and St. Augustine each described “types” of speeches that help speakers clarify their purpose. Aristotle identified three classical types: deliberative (to argue about future action and persuade toward a decision), forensic (to address past actions, often defending or accusing), and epideictic (to praise, blame, or inspire in the present). Cicero focused on the goals of the speaker with his three purposes: to inform (docere), to delight (delectare), and to persuade or move to action (movere). St. Augustine of Hippo, adapting rhetoric to religious teaching, offered three related purposes: to teach (instruct the audience in truth), to delight (engage and hold attention), and to move (inspire moral or spiritual action). Together, these frameworks highlight that a speech can aim to inform, inspire, or persuade and that identifying the type helps a speaker sharpen their purpose by deciding not just what to say, but why they are saying it.

Drawing from Aristotle, Cicero, and St. Augustine, we can coalesce their ideas into four modern categories of speech that align with today’s classroom purposes. A speech to demonstrate grows from the classical idea of teaching or instructing (Augustine’s to teach and Cicero’s to inform), where the goal is to show the audience how to do something step by step. A speech to inform reflects Aristotle’s deliberative and Cicero’s to inform, focusing on sharing knowledge, explaining concepts, or increasing understanding. A speech to persuade comes directly from Aristotle’s deliberative and forensic types, Cicero’s to move, and Augustine’s to move, aiming to influence attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Finally, a speech to entertain connects with Aristotle’s epideictic and Cicero’s to delight, using humor, stories, or creative expression to engage and captivate an audience. Together, these four categories give speakers practical ways to define their purpose while echoing the foundations of classical rhetoric.

Demonstration Speech

A speech to demonstrate is a type of informative speech where the speaker shows the audience how to do something step by step, often including visual aids or examples so the audience can follow along and apply the process themselves. The purpose is not just to explain but to show and guide.

Examples of Demonstration Speech Topics:

• College Finance: How to create a simple monthly budget using a free budgeting app.
• Health: How to do a 10-minute stretching routine to reduce stress between classes.
• Study Habits: How to use flashcards and active recall to prepare effectively for exams.

Informative Speech

A speech to inform is a type of speech designed to increase the audience’s understanding by explaining, describing, or defining a subject. Unlike a demonstration speech, it focuses on providing knowledge and clarity rather than showing step-by-step actions. The purpose is to make the audience more aware or knowledgeable about a specific topic.

Examples of Informative Speech Topics:

• College Finance: Explaining the differences between student loans, grants, and scholarships.
• Health: Informing classmates about the mental health benefits of regular exercise.
• Study Habits: Describing the science behind why studying in shorter, spaced sessions improves memory retention.

Persuasive Speech

A speech to persuade is a type of speech intended to influence the audience’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions. The speaker uses reasoning, evidence, and emotional appeals to convince listeners to agree with a viewpoint or take a specific step. The purpose goes beyond informing—it seeks to create change in thinking or behavior.

Examples of Persuasive Speech Topics:

• College Finance: Convincing students to start saving a small portion of their income each month to build long-term financial stability.
• Health: Persuading classmates to limit energy drink consumption because of its negative effects on sleep and concentration.
• Study Habits: Arguing that students should avoid last-minute cramming and instead adopt consistent study routines for better academic performance.

Speech to Entertain

A speech to entertain is a type of speech designed primarily to engage, amuse, or inspire the audience through stories, humor, or creative expression. While it may also inform or persuade in subtle ways, the main purpose is to capture attention and provide enjoyment, often leaving the audience with a memorable experience or insight.

Examples of Entertaining Speech Topics:

• College Finance: Sharing funny and relatable stories about the struggles of living on a tight student budget.
• Health: Telling humorous anecdotes about trying—and failing—different fitness trends before finding one that works.
• Study Habits: Creating a lighthearted narrative about the “adventures” of pulling an all-nighter versus preparing ahead of time.

Once you determine the type of speech, to demonstrate, to inform, to persuade, or to entertain, it becomes much easier to craft your specific purpose because the category gives you a clear direction for your goal. If it’s a demonstration, your purpose will focus on teaching the audience how to do something step by step. If it’s informative, your purpose will be to increase understanding or share knowledge. If it’s persuasive, your purpose will aim to influence what the audience thinks, believes, or does. If it’s entertaining, your purpose will be to capture attention and provide enjoyment through stories or humor. In short, identifying the type of speech acts as a framework that guides you in narrowing your broad intention into a precise, audience-focused statement of what you want to accomplish.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

• Workplace Training: A manager gives a demonstration speech showing new employees how to use time-tracking software (general purpose: to demonstrate; specific purpose: to show step-by-step how to log hours).
• Community Event: A volunteer delivers a persuasive speech urging neighbors to support a local recycling program (general purpose: to persuade; specific purpose: to convince the audience to sign up for weekly recycling pickup).

Key Takeaways 

• Every speech has a general purpose (broad goal) and a specific purpose (precise audience outcome).
• The type of speech—to demonstrate, inform, persuade, or entertain—guides the focus of your specific purpose.
• Clear purpose statements make speeches more effective because they give both the speaker and the audience direction.

Exercises

• Write a general purpose and specific purpose for a speech about managing stress as a student.
• Identify which type of speech (demonstrate, inform, persuade, entertain) best fits a talk on healthy eating.
• Convert the broad topic “technology in college” into a specific purpose for an informative speech.
• Brainstorm one entertaining speech idea from your own life and state its general purpose.
• Match four given topics (budgeting, climate change, exercise routines, funny roommate stories) to the correct type of speech.