Speech Notes

WHAT

What you will do is deliver a speech of 2-3 minutes to your class. topic is “A New Zealander Worth Talking About”.

You will complete this activity in class and for homework. Your teacher will give you clear deadlines for completing the text of your speech and when you are to deliver it to the class.

You will be assessed on how well you speak in a formal situation to
• communicate ideas on the topic
• structure content and language appropriate to your audience and purpose
• speak clearly to your audience using appropriate eye contact, voice and body language techniques.

WHY:
You are to undertake this activity because, quite simply, it is important to be able to effectively communicate your ideas to people. You may not think so now but there will be many instances in your life when you have to stand up in front of people you may or may not know and speak your mind.

SUCCESS:
You will know that you have been successful when you can create and deliver a speech on a New Zealander worth talking about, utilising appropriate and effective techniques. Techniques refers to both the delivery techniques and the language techniques you use in the writing of your speech.

Step One

Watch this clip. Who sees speeches this way? By the end of this unit you will be comfortable speaking in front of your peers.

Choosing a subject. Who is worth talking about? Let’s brainstorm a few names now.

What makes them worth talking about?

Who are they?

What have they done that makes them worthy of our time?

Now we have a few people to talk about lets have a practice.

This exercise requires you to talk for at least a minute on a particular person.

The names on the board will be written on small individual pieces of paper and randomly distributed amongst you all.

You will then have two minutes to come up with 4 -5 points about that person.

Your next step is to place those points in order from most useful to least useful.

I will randomly select some of you to come up the front and deliver your impromptu speech.

NOTE: you may not use the words “well my speech is on…” or anything else equally mind numbingly boring to start your speech.

ANOTHER NOTE: we all know your name, don’t bother wasting time telling us it in your speech, this one or your real one.

NEXT STEP:

Now that you have selected a person to discuss we need to ask ourselves some questions about them.

What is their name?

Who are they?

What makes them worth talking about?

What have they done that makes them worthy of our time?

Basically we have just identified what we already know about our subject.

The next question is…

What else do we need to know in order to write a fantastic speech?

Lets discuss that now.

Having identified what we need to know we now need to work out where we might find this information.

Lets discuss that now.

Now we have identified where to go for information, watch this.

Research your topic in order to find information that you can use to convince your audience. This information could include:
·statistics
·quotations
·primary sources (your own research) eg. survey, interviews, personal experience
·secondary sources (research done by others) eg. reference books, internet, newspapers, magazines

Right, you have your information, now…

Decide how your ideas will be organised
·in order of importance
·chronologically
·logically (cause and effect)
·as a series of points related to a single theme

d) Plan your presentation, which will need
·an introduction – where you greet the audience and give an overview of your topic
·a body – where you state, support and explain your ideas
·a conclusion – where you summarise your ideas
Use words and phrases to link the ideas in your paragraphs.

e) While writing your presentation, use language features that are appropriate to your purpose and topic, such as
·rhetorical question
·direct address to audience
·use of personal pronouns
·choice of words
·sound devices, such as alliteration
·repetition
·figurative language, such as metaphor
·emotive language
·humour
·analogy
·anecdote

Here’s a really bad speech. A way not to deliver your speech.