Suggested Activities

1. You are considering that your strategy for a persuasive speech would be to use Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. What story would you use in the Attention step, illustration in the Need step, and Visualization step? How could you separate the narrative across these three sections of the speech? Would you use the positive, negative, or combination method in the Visualization step? Why?

2. Take a topic and develop three different introductions. Now read each one. Which one comes across best when delivering it? Is there a difference between how the introduction reads on paper and how it is spoken?

3. Take a topic and develop three different conclusions. Now read each one. Which one comes across best when speaking it? Is there a difference between how the conclusion reads on paper and how it is spoken?

4. Develop a list of transitions that you might use for speeches for this class and after you have completed this course. For example, “Now that we have covered _____, let us move to the following point.” Alternatively, “Now that we have discussed _____, let us examine _____.”