What community are you focusing on?
Remember, your speech should focus on solving a problem in a specific place, not nationwide or globally. Determine the community for your speech: (1) UNLV, (2) Las Vegas, or (3) your hometown.
What issue do you plan to address?
Your issue should be a problem that is negatively impacting members of your selected community. Because this is a problem/solution speech, make sure that you select an issue that can actually be solved. For Las Vegas or your hometown, you might focus on issues like homelessness, food insecurity, crime, or road conditions. For UNLV, you might address parking, tuition, diversity and inclusion, or graduation rates. Choose an issue and provide a 2 – 3 sentence explanation of why you believe this is a problem for your chosen community.
What solution are you proposing?
In your speech, you will propose a single solution — not multiple solutions — for solving the community issue you identified. Make sure your solution is feasible (i.e., something that is actually possible). You might propose building a new homeless shelter, changing at policy at UNLV, or creating a new after school program for disadvantaged youth. To brainstorm ideas, consider researching solutions other communities have used to solve similar problems. Select a solution and provide a 2 – 3 sentence summary of the details for your plan.
Who is the audience for your speech?
For this speech, your audience is the person or group of people who would be responsible for enacting your proposed solution. For example, if you are proposing a new scholarship program at UNLV, your audience could be the President and Provost for the university. Or, if you want to renovate a park from your hometown, your audience could be the city council. Identify your audience and provide a 2 – 3 sentence explanation of the role they would play in enacting your solution.
