Contributor: Jennifer Blanchard. Lesson ID: 13918
Do you know what makes what you say, or what someone else says, more believable? Backing it up and supporting it! Dive into this lesson to discover how to spot -- and give -- proof when speaking.
Both of the above quotes are about how having proof of what you say gives your words power.
Without that proof, it is hard to believe what is being said.
Proof matters!
When people speak to share their ideas and thoughts, their goal is to make others believe them, understand them, or think the same we they do.
To do that, they must give reasons for why they think the way they do. The more reasons given, the more likely others are to agree.
Being able to listen closely to speakers and recognize their reasons is an important skill. It allows you to understand how they are supporting their point, and it will help you make believable points when you are speaking.
Reasons serve as proof and include:
Speakers can support what they are saying with:
Think about when you read something. For it to make sense, there needs to be main ideas and supporting details.
The same is true when speaking!
Just like the supporting details make you believe a writer's main ideas, the reasons make you believe a speaker's main ideas.
Let's look at another example.
While I am speaking to you, I say, "There is a lot of green in nature."
You might. However, if I listed examples of green in nature, like trees and grass, you would be more likely to believe me.
Those reasons would definitely support you believing me!
So, we know that speakers give us reasons to support and prove what they're saying, but the work isn't all on them.
As listeners, we need to listen with intention (or on purpose!) to figure out the points that the speaker is making. We also need to listen specifically for the reasons and evidence that back up those points.
Move on to the Got It? section to practice this topic together!
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