Back to topics

What do captions lose when they include only dialogue?

A knock off screen or a change of speaker can alter a scene without adding any spoken words. Captions can carry that relevant audio information alongside dialogue, helping the viewer follow what is happening.

3–5 min

Questions you could explore

  • Which non-speech sounds are essential to understanding a scene?
  • How do speaker labels and timing affect meaning?

Start reading

Ready to try your ideas aloud?

Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.

Media and information

What makes a historical source primary?

A diary and a history book stand in different relationships to the past, but neither is automatically beyond question. What counts as a primary source also depends on what you are trying to find out.

3–5 min
Media and information

Following a web claim back to its source

Five webpages repeating the same claim may lead back to one original report. Lateral reading looks beyond an unfamiliar page to investigate its publisher; following links upstream helps reveal where the evidence began.

8–10 min
Media and information

What can a photo’s metadata actually prove?

An image file may carry a date, camera information, or a caption alongside its pixels. Those details can be useful clues, but some can be changed or removed as a file is edited and shared.

4–5 min
What do captions lose when they include only dialogue? | Speech Topic | speaking.app