Speech - ALearning Target Goals
Students will understand the fundamentals of Speech. Students will understand how to present informative speeches, persuasive speeches, extemporaneous speeches, and impromptu speeches. Students will also understand how to incorporate facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, tone, and body language when presenting. 1st Hour Homework Day: Monday 2nd Hour Homework Day: Tuesday 6th Hour Homework Day: Wednesday
Late Work Information
1 Day Late: 10% Deduction 2 Days Late: 20% Deduction 3 Days or More: 30% Deduction Chapter Information
Chapter 1: Building Responsibility Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages. Writing and speaking are two forms of communicating with words. Messages may also be delivered through nonverbal communication (such as body language) and symbols (such as the "peace" sign). Interpersonal communication takes place any time messages are transmitted between two or more people. Command of language, posture, eye contact, gestures, and other speech basics are certainly important to oral communication. However, effective and responsible speech must be built on a solid foundation of values, or ethics. This ethical foundation consists of three essential elements: striving to be a good person; communicating constructively; and caring about the audience. A good speaker must have proper motivation—the driving force behind the words. Two internal forces should motivate speech: (1) the desire to treat both people and situations with fairness and respect and to avoid stereotyping; (2) the desire to set a good example for others. Chapter 2: Building Confidence Confidence is the feeling that one is capable of handling a situation successfully. In oral communication, confidence built on a foundation of solid values lends a sense of stability, which helps make the speaker’s message seem believable. No one is born with confidence. Confidence must be nurtured through ongoing practice and preparation, including learning from failures. Confidence can be undermined by stage fright, the fear of speaking in public. Surveys show that up to 90 percent of Americans feel very uncomfortable about any form of public speaking. How can you overcome stage fright? The first step is to have an accurate perception of your audience, of your speech, and of yourself. Remember that your audience does not see everything you do wrong, that your speech is a worthwhile sharing of ideas and information, and that you have a great deal to offer. This chapter also discusses ten components that can help build self-confidence: content, organization, notes, friendliness, impression, dedication, empathy, newness, conviction, and enthusiasm. (The initial letters of the ten words together spell confidence.) Chapter 4: Nonverbal Communication Effective communication happens as a result of people listening carefully to what others have to say and observing their nonverbal communication to see what messages it conveys. Because people generally remember more of what they see than of what they hear, nonverbal communication often overpowers verbal messages. A person can use positive or negative nonverbal communication to convey agreement, openness, interest, boredom, or nervousness. Generally, facial expressions are the most difficult kinds of nonverbal communication to accurately interpret, whereas tones of voice and body postures are more telling. For example, people who are lying tend to touch their faces often and fidget more than usual. Nonverbal communication is not a universal language, and different gestures can have very different meanings in different cultures. "Personal space," or the distance between people while speaking, also varies by culture and circumstance. The amount of space between people should depend upon whether their communication is intimate, personal, social, or public. Chapter 7: Group Discussion Group discussion is the cooperative exchange of information, opinions, and ideas. The ability to participate positively in group discussions is invaluable in a society that is increasingly interdependent. There are various discussion formats, including panels, symposiums, and town hall meetings. Regardless of the format, certain factors improve the chances that a discussion will be successful. These include group size, seating arrangements, and cohesion. When the purpose of a group discussion is to solve a problem, it is best to follow a logical sequence, thereby completing the problem-solving process efficiently. The philosopher and educator John Dewey suggested six steps for effective problem solving, known as the Dewey system. While disagreements are inevitable, they can enhance the problem-solving process if they are handled sensitively. This happens when group members use their differences to discover the best ideas, not to defeat one another. Positive contributions occur when members listen attentively and speak at the appropriate times. It is often helpful to have a leader to begin the discussion, keep the discussion going, and close the discussion. While the goal is for the group to reach consensus, it is important to avoid groupthink, thereby defeating the purpose of group discussion. Chapter 8: Researching Presentations In order to be a credible speaker, you must first accumulate all the information you need to present your speech. You need to evaluate sources carefully to make sure they are reliable and relevant to your topic. A reference librarian can answer your questions and guide you in your research efforts. The Internet can also be useful, provided you find reputable sites with trustworthy information. Books, periodicals, almanacs, atlases, biographies, and encyclopedias are also excellent sources of information. Whenever you find a book that is applicable to your subject, you should look through the table of contents, which outlines the general plan of the book, and the index, which tells the exact page(s) on which you can find particular information. You should take notes in an organized way so that you can easily incorporate your notes into your speech. Regardless of your note-taking method, it is critical to avoid plagiarism, which is copying or imitating another person’s language or ideas and presenting them as your own original work. Chapter 9: Organizing Your Speech Organization is the logical grouping and ordering of "like" parts. Before giving a speech, you should be sure it is organized into three distinct parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction is the beginning of the speech and should contain an attention-getter, a link, a thesis statement, and a preview statement. The thesis statement is the most critical part because everything else in the speech revolves around it. The body of the speech is the part in which you prove your thesis or make your point. Outlining will prepare you to present your thoughts in order of importance. You should use main headings to remember major points, supporting material to reinforce the main headings, and details to further narrow the supporting material. There are various types of organizational patterns you may use to organize the body of your speech. A chronological pattern puts things in a time sequence; a climactic pattern organizes information in ascending order of importance; a spatial pattern divides the topic on the basis of space relationships; a cause-effect pattern presents one area (the cause) that leads directly to another (the effect); and a problem-solution pattern presents a problem and then provides ideas about how the problem can be solved. Chapter 13: Speeches to Inform The purpose of an informative speech is usually to give instructions, provide facts, or clarify ideas. It is often challenging to give an informative speech in an interesting, engaging manner. Some types of informative speeches include the public lecture, the status report, the briefing, the fireside chat, and the chalk talk. There are six characteristics, or Cs, that will make any type of informative speech more effective. The speech must be clear, concise, complete, correct, and concrete, and it must connect with the audience’s background and attitudes. When deciding on a topic to present, you should review your personal experience, observe your surroundings, and survey your listeners' interests. Once you have decided on a topic, you should narrow it down in terms of time, space, and scope. A good way to start this narrowing process is to state your thesis and proceed to support it with facts, anecdotes, quotes, definitions, and descriptions. Another way to enhance your presentation is through the use of audio and visual aids such as photographs, graphic representations, videotapes, and sound recordings. You can also use special computer software to create a multimedia presentation. Always be prepared to deliver your speech without multimedia aids just in case there is a technical problem with the equipment. An informative speech provides an audience with information, new insights, or new ways of thinking about a topic. Informative speeches may be about people, events, processes, objects, concepts, or issues. Speeches that inform depend on one or more of the following approaches to presenting information: definition, description, explanation, and demonstration. Chapter 14: Speeches to Persuade The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince your listeners to believe as you do and to influence them to take some sort of action. In preparation, the first thing you must do is analyze your audience to determine how your listeners feel about you and your message. Most audiences can be classified into four categories: supportive (friendly), uncommitted (neutral), indifferent (apathetic), and opposed (hostile). Regardless of the type of audience you address, your main goal is to gain as many supporters as possible. According to Aristotle, the persuasive powers of a speaker depend on his or her logical, emotional, and personal appeal. This is a combination of appealing to an audience’s intellect, feelings, and ethics. If an audience regards you as a person of integrity, your audience will more likely trust you and believe what you say. Besides presenting yourself as honest, you also need to show your audience that you are a competent, or able, person who can get the job done. A persuasive speech is most effective when it appropriately combines the three types of appeals for its intended audience. A persuasive speech leads the audience to see things from the speaker's point of view. Success depends on emotion, logic, and human psychology. Persuasive speakers often start by engaging our emotions, then offer logical arguments to back up their ideas, and finish with another emotional appeal. If they are successful, we will be convinced, inspired, and ready to take action. Chapter 15: Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking An impromptu speech is generally presented with little or no preparation. Speaking with minimal preparation is sometimes referred to as "talking-off-the-cuff." An extemporaneous speech, on the other hand, is carefully prepared and practiced in advance and usually delivered with the aid of notes or an outline. When speaking extemporaneously, it is important to use a conversational tone so that you don't sound over rehearsed and unnatural. You can practice extemporaneous speaking by participating in competitions in which you research and prepare a speech that is to last for a set amount of time. Simplicity is the key to successful impromptu speeches. Although it can be difficult to "think on your feet" unexpectedly, if you select appropriate supporting materials from your memory and organize them in an easy-to-follow pattern, you will be able to speak confidently. You should state the main idea of your presentation, support your main idea with appropriate reasons, examples, etc., and conclude with a summary and a restatement of your main idea. The worst mistake you can make is to panic. Chapter 17: Speeches for Special Occasions Special occasion speeches are part of our everyday lives. They are special because they focus on particular situations, such as an address at a school assembly, a testimonial speech at an awards banquet, or a eulogy at a funeral. One type of special occasion speech is the courtesy speech. Typical courtesy speeches include introduction, presentation, acceptance, and after-dinner speeches. When introducing someone, it is important to refer to the occasion, name the speaker, build enthusiasm, share information, explain why the speaker is there, and welcome the speaker to the microphone or the podium. A second type of special occasion speech is the ceremonial speech. The most common types of ceremonial speeches are commencement addresses and commemorative speeches (testimonials and eulogies). A commencement address should acknowledge the importance of the ceremony and honor the graduates. Commemorative speeches recall heroic events and pay tribute to individuals. A third type of special occasion speech is the contest speech. Some of the popular contest events include original oratory, in which contestants choose their own persuasive speech topics; extemporaneous speaking, in which each speaker picks one of three current event topic choices and prepares a speech in 30 minutes; and dramatic and humorous interpretation, in which each speaker memorizes and performs a work of literature. Speech Chapters
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