Use the information on this page to help you find background in reference sources like subject encyclopedia articles and overview reports. You can also use topic mapping to identify keywords and useful synonyms that can help you find relevant information quickly.
Want to learn more?
From topic to search results in two minutes
Worksheets to help you keep track of your speech sources / topic ideas:
Below is an example of narrowing a speech topic and brainstorming some keywords, beginning with the general topic of "Technology."
Keywords are single words / short phrases / proper nouns that connect to your overall topic idea, but can help you find more focused sources.
Topic |
Technology (Notice this is TOO BROAD.) |
Narrower Topic |
"Internet of Things" - household items that connect to the Internet |
Purpose of Speech |
To Inform: What types of items in the home are becoming "smart" devices |
Related Keywords |
automation smoke detectors smart speakers (Amazon Alexa) refrigerators thermostats self-driving cars smart TVs artificial intelligence |
Keywords are any important words or phrases that you might use to search for more information on your topic.
Keywords can be single words, proper nouns, or short phrases ("time management"), but they should not be sentences or sentence fragments.
Notice how the keywords below are individual words or short phrases (names of people, things, or events are OK!) We'll use these keywords to build our searches for more information on our "avoiding distractions" sample topic: