Student Choice
COMM 1020-Principles of Public Speaking
My signature assignment for COMM-1020 is an outlined speech to persuade.
Submitted to: Professor Stephanie Bor
COMM 1020-037
Speech 4: Persuasive Speech November 22, 2010
Explanatory Material:
Specific Goal: My audience will consider the opportunity of SkillsUSA.
Type of Claim: It is a fact that SkillsUSA was founded in 1965, (formally Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
Ethos: Primary Ethos: a) I have competed in SkillsUSA competition.
b) SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry
representatives, working together.
Secondary Ethos: I cite 3 references.
Audience Assessment: Highly favorable
Adaptation to Audience Attitude: My audience is students which can benefit from SkillsUSA threw out their careers.
Pattern of Organization: Motivational Sequence.
Baby Steps: My speech will only emphasize the most important information. There is a lot of information on SkillsUSA.
Motivational Appeal: cost-reward; If you put the time into the program and achieve success you will be rewarded for your efforts.
Evidence (warrant): Testimony, authoritative references, historical background.
I think that the SkillsUSA background history and facts are solid evidence.
SkillsUSA
Introduction:
Hook: How many people here would like to earn a $10,000 scholarship?
Proposition: You can expand your chances of finding employment in your field of education and I’ll tell you how.
Preview:
1. First recognize SkillsUSA as a blueprint for success.
2. Second, SkillsUSA is a national conference of champions at work.
Transition: Goal with a plan.
Body:
I. Blueprint for success.
A. Leadership
i. Learn skills [cite source: (ETA) Employment Training Administration]
ii. Team Performance
iii. Challenge Yourself
B. Power to succeed.
i. Have Confidence [cite source: Professional Development Program]
ii. Earn Pride
iii. Create Opportunities
Transition: SkillsUSA national conference.
II. Champions at work.
A. Compete in Competition.
i. Winners
ii. Success
iii. Awards (metals)
B. Professional development.
i. Certifications [cite source: Skill Connect Assessments]
ii. Scholarships
iii. Recognition
C. Success in careers.
Programs, (get involved) with student organization.
Conclusion: In conclusion SkillsUSA is the single greatest event of industry and education volunteerism.
Works Cited:
ETA, Department of Labor
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL3-04.pdf
Professional Development Program
http://www.skillsusa.org/educators/pdp.shtml
Skill Connect Assessments
http://www.workforcereadysystem.org/assessments.shtml
COMM 1020-037
Speech 4: Persuasive Speech November 22, 2010
Explanatory Material:
Specific Goal: My audience will consider the opportunity of SkillsUSA.
Type of Claim: It is a fact that SkillsUSA was founded in 1965, (formally Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
Ethos: Primary Ethos: a) I have competed in SkillsUSA competition.
b) SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry
representatives, working together.
Secondary Ethos: I cite 3 references.
Audience Assessment: Highly favorable
Adaptation to Audience Attitude: My audience is students which can benefit from SkillsUSA threw out their careers.
Pattern of Organization: Motivational Sequence.
Baby Steps: My speech will only emphasize the most important information. There is a lot of information on SkillsUSA.
Motivational Appeal: cost-reward; If you put the time into the program and achieve success you will be rewarded for your efforts.
Evidence (warrant): Testimony, authoritative references, historical background.
I think that the SkillsUSA background history and facts are solid evidence.
SkillsUSA
Introduction:
Hook: How many people here would like to earn a $10,000 scholarship?
Proposition: You can expand your chances of finding employment in your field of education and I’ll tell you how.
Preview:
1. First recognize SkillsUSA as a blueprint for success.
2. Second, SkillsUSA is a national conference of champions at work.
Transition: Goal with a plan.
Body:
I. Blueprint for success.
A. Leadership
i. Learn skills [cite source: (ETA) Employment Training Administration]
ii. Team Performance
iii. Challenge Yourself
B. Power to succeed.
i. Have Confidence [cite source: Professional Development Program]
ii. Earn Pride
iii. Create Opportunities
Transition: SkillsUSA national conference.
II. Champions at work.
A. Compete in Competition.
i. Winners
ii. Success
iii. Awards (metals)
B. Professional development.
i. Certifications [cite source: Skill Connect Assessments]
ii. Scholarships
iii. Recognition
C. Success in careers.
Programs, (get involved) with student organization.
Conclusion: In conclusion SkillsUSA is the single greatest event of industry and education volunteerism.
Works Cited:
ETA, Department of Labor
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL3-04.pdf
Professional Development Program
http://www.skillsusa.org/educators/pdp.shtml
Skill Connect Assessments
http://www.workforcereadysystem.org/assessments.shtml
Reflective Writing:
After reading my returned outlines and evaluations I thought about how differently I prepared my last outline compared to the first one. I will address the issues to explain how I have improved in public speech writing to performance and mechanics to audience adaptation. I will close with the skills and lessons I’ve learned.
Organization of Ideas:
When I wrote my first outline I thought the written speech came first. The narrative speech seemed ok but when it came time for the informative speech it was not easy to outline what was basically an essay, the applied speech was the same. There was so much information that I spent most of the time reading notes with very little eye contact. The visual aids helped to pull the speeches together.
My method of delivery was speaking from manuscript (O’Hair, 2010, p.141) because I thought that the audience would absorb more information that way. I was nervous and would neglect to cite all of the references also it should be noted that I failed to check for proper grammar and spelling in my outlines. I spent so much time writing the essay portion that I paid little attention to the outline.
When I wrote the persuasive speech I started with the outline first and built around it. Organizing the speech was very different from the other speeches and I felt it was a little more audience friendly than the others had been. I used the speaking extemporaneously method (O’ Hair, 2010, p.143) and it allowed me a little more eye contact and expression.
Use of Supporting Material:
For the topics I chose I didn’t have a problem finding supporting material. What I didn’t realize was how important it is to incorporate it into the speech until I heard a speech with no supporting material. I did not forget to cite all the references in my last speech.
Ethos: I chose topics that I had some expertise in so I knew that my credibility was good. Secondary sources (O’Hair, 2010, p. 64) only ensured that what I was saying or claiming was true. I felt very confident about my character.
Logos: I can see why logic and reasoning is so important to a speech because the listener or audience does not always know the speakers level of expertise on a topic or subject. I think the large amount of material in my essays was blocking my focus on the speeches and in the last speech I corrected that problem.
Pathos: I thought it was obvious to the audience that I was nervous so I tried to laugh it off, but I think I could have not said anything and no one would have noticed. I didn’t practice enough but I think that I showed enthusiasm for my topics and therefore creating some pathos. All of my speeches were motivated by personal experience.
Delivery:
My deliveries were a bit stiff in body language. With more practice and the use of note cards (O’Hair, 2010, p. 118) I could have gained more eye contact and better body language (O’Hair, 2010, p.148) that probably would have eliminated some of the performance anxiety (O’Hair, 2010, p. 17) but instead I chose speaking extemporaneously in my last speech. It was the best speech; however I realize that with a little memorizing and some note cards there can be more freedom to personally address the audience.
Audience Assessment and Adaptation:
The first day of class I basically knew what my topics would be for each speech. The O’Hair text (2010, p. 175) says, use audience analysis to discover what listeners might want and need to know about topics. Since my audience is college classmates it seemed that educational topics were appropriate. My major is in electronics and I did compete in SkillsUSA so I feel my assessment and adaptation to my audience was fairly reasonable.
Lessons Learned:
I have gone over my speeches and thought about my deliveries and I think it comes down to just more practice. I would write my material and read it with a timer. When I had the right amount of time in a speech I would read it one more time and call it good. My mistake was not recording my speeches and listening to them so I could put the final touches or changes on them. I now have understanding, knowledge and structure when writing a speech so that when I need to say something important I can express it with the skills of public speech that I have learned in my COMM-1020 class.
After reading my returned outlines and evaluations I thought about how differently I prepared my last outline compared to the first one. I will address the issues to explain how I have improved in public speech writing to performance and mechanics to audience adaptation. I will close with the skills and lessons I’ve learned.
Organization of Ideas:
When I wrote my first outline I thought the written speech came first. The narrative speech seemed ok but when it came time for the informative speech it was not easy to outline what was basically an essay, the applied speech was the same. There was so much information that I spent most of the time reading notes with very little eye contact. The visual aids helped to pull the speeches together.
My method of delivery was speaking from manuscript (O’Hair, 2010, p.141) because I thought that the audience would absorb more information that way. I was nervous and would neglect to cite all of the references also it should be noted that I failed to check for proper grammar and spelling in my outlines. I spent so much time writing the essay portion that I paid little attention to the outline.
When I wrote the persuasive speech I started with the outline first and built around it. Organizing the speech was very different from the other speeches and I felt it was a little more audience friendly than the others had been. I used the speaking extemporaneously method (O’ Hair, 2010, p.143) and it allowed me a little more eye contact and expression.
Use of Supporting Material:
For the topics I chose I didn’t have a problem finding supporting material. What I didn’t realize was how important it is to incorporate it into the speech until I heard a speech with no supporting material. I did not forget to cite all the references in my last speech.
Ethos: I chose topics that I had some expertise in so I knew that my credibility was good. Secondary sources (O’Hair, 2010, p. 64) only ensured that what I was saying or claiming was true. I felt very confident about my character.
Logos: I can see why logic and reasoning is so important to a speech because the listener or audience does not always know the speakers level of expertise on a topic or subject. I think the large amount of material in my essays was blocking my focus on the speeches and in the last speech I corrected that problem.
Pathos: I thought it was obvious to the audience that I was nervous so I tried to laugh it off, but I think I could have not said anything and no one would have noticed. I didn’t practice enough but I think that I showed enthusiasm for my topics and therefore creating some pathos. All of my speeches were motivated by personal experience.
Delivery:
My deliveries were a bit stiff in body language. With more practice and the use of note cards (O’Hair, 2010, p. 118) I could have gained more eye contact and better body language (O’Hair, 2010, p.148) that probably would have eliminated some of the performance anxiety (O’Hair, 2010, p. 17) but instead I chose speaking extemporaneously in my last speech. It was the best speech; however I realize that with a little memorizing and some note cards there can be more freedom to personally address the audience.
Audience Assessment and Adaptation:
The first day of class I basically knew what my topics would be for each speech. The O’Hair text (2010, p. 175) says, use audience analysis to discover what listeners might want and need to know about topics. Since my audience is college classmates it seemed that educational topics were appropriate. My major is in electronics and I did compete in SkillsUSA so I feel my assessment and adaptation to my audience was fairly reasonable.
Lessons Learned:
I have gone over my speeches and thought about my deliveries and I think it comes down to just more practice. I would write my material and read it with a timer. When I had the right amount of time in a speech I would read it one more time and call it good. My mistake was not recording my speeches and listening to them so I could put the final touches or changes on them. I now have understanding, knowledge and structure when writing a speech so that when I need to say something important I can express it with the skills of public speech that I have learned in my COMM-1020 class.