Chapter 8 Summary

Chapter 8 discusses different types of information and how to use it, I will use chapter 8 to correctly include information into my speeches. When giving facts and statistics the book explains I have to be able to back up what I say. The context of interpretation “...shapes the meaning of a fact by offering a way of looking at it.”(Osborn 149) When I give facts or statistics, I will further explain them, give context to them, so the class will be able to understand why I mentioned those facts or statistics and why they are important to my topic. “The point is clear: you must explain to listeners how the facts are linked to your message, and what precisely it is that they demonstrate.” (Osborn 149) This information is helping remind me to keep
Narrative fidelity is the extent to which a story rings true for listeners, truth and authenticity. (Osborn 164) I will use this information to scope out and distinguish good narratives to use in my speeches. I better understand what narratives are, when to use them and what they are used for after reading the chapter. One other part of the book I think is important to remember is about testimony. Make sure you do not quote out of context, the quotation should reflect the overall meaning and intent of it’s author. The testimony should have something to do with your topic and it should be able to support and illustrate your ideas. (Osborn 156) When I read that I think to myself “Okay, that’s what testimony is.” I understand the use of testimony, how to pick out better pieces of testimony to use in my speeches and I will present the testimony properly. There is a lot of information out there on various topics, by knowing the different uses for different kinds of information as given in Chapter 8, I will be able to put together the right pieces for my