Public Speaking

Classroom Discussions and Experiences:

Public Speaking is about Delivering a Message while Controlling Attention:

    • Picture Challenge - Follow Instructions - We interpret body language and symbols faster than words.

    • Test Your Awareness - dothetest - March 10, 2008 - Audiences can focus fully on only one thing at a time and a good presenter will keep that one focus point under their control.

Speech Assignment #0 - Stand Up and Say Something

    • All students will be invited to come to the front of the room and demonstrate eye contact to all corners of the room.

    • After a 15 second timer the presenter will say "Public Speaking is easy."

    • The presenter will project their voice to all corners of the room using an effective volume.

    • The presenter will remain at the front of the room to receive feedback.

    • The audience will then constructively identify the presenter's unconscious body language alternatively called nervous habits.

    • Hamish Blake, Unlikely Bodybuilding Champion - Hamish & Andy - 2011 New York State Bodybuilding Championships - You can't win unless you compete. Get up there.

    • Steven Bradbury - An Incredible Gold Medal Victory - Olympic Channel - 2002 Salt Lake Olympics - Even if you're not the best, you should always try your best because you never know.

Speech Assignment #1 - Two Clean Jokes

    • All students will be invited to come to the front of the room and tell two clean jokes.

    • The presenter will be judged on their ability to control the timing of their punch lines.

    • The presenter will have their jokes written out and fully prepared for the day.

    • The presenter will have to memorize their jokes and will not be allowed to take up their preparation sheet.

    • The presenter will remain at the front of the room to receive a full round of applause.

    • The audience will react appropriately to the jokes, laughing, groaning, and applauding when prompted.

    • The audience will applaud as the presenter takes the stage, and again after the jokes are complete.

    • The audience at all times will allow the presenter to have full control of the room.

    • 5 Ways To Listen Better - Julian Treasure - TED - July 2011 - We need to become better listeners and better audiences. This is the first speech with an audience actively listening and interacting with a speaker.

Speech Assignment #2 - Gravitas

    • All students will be invited to come to the front of the room and read a monologue seriously and with gravitas.

    • The presenter will perform clean song lyrics of their choice performed out of song's original context.

    • The presenter will have their lyrics written out and fully prepared for the day.

    • The presenter will be able to take up their preparation sheet, but is encouraged not to need it.

    • The presenter will make conscious choices about their tone, pace, timing, and volume to maximize the seriousness and gravitas of the words.

The audience will respect the seriousness of the presenter and will applaud at the conclusion.

Speech Assignment #3 - Class President

    • All students will be invited to come to the front of the room and speak persuasively with the intent of being more convincing than another.

    • The presenter will speak for one minute with all parts of that minute used effectively explaining why the presenter would be an excellent class president.

    • The presenter's opponent will then be given one minute to explain why they would be an excellent class president.

    • After both presentations the audience will select a winner by voting.

    • The presenter and opponent will have their speech written out and fully prepared for the day.

    • The presenter and opponent will not be able to take up their preparation sheet, but may have several note cards with them as backup.

    • The presenter and opponent will make use of effective body language and will consciously use their gesture zone to their advantage.

    • The presenter and opponent will make use of a repetition strategy several times in their presentation.

    • This will be in the form of repeated words, repeated phrases, assonance, consonance, and rhyming.

    • The presenter and opponent will make use of emphasis to highlight their key points.

    • This will be in the form of facial expressions, volume changes, pace changes, tone changes, gestures, sound effects, visual aids, pauses, and omissions.

If the presenter and opponent meet all expectations, the audience-selected winner will receive a 10% extra credit bonus.

    • A Musical Journey Through the High School Experience - Lance Jabr and Jeffrey Herman - Jun 7, 2008 - This video is used in class to demonstrate how sound effects, gestures, and omission can enhance a presentation.

    • Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale - Bobby McFerrin - World Science Festival - June 12, 2009 - This video is used in class to demonstrate that body language without words is enough to communicate to an audience.

    • Graduation Speech - Henry Tappen - August 24, 2007 - This video is used in class to demonstrate how repetition, rhyming, assonance and consonance enhance a speech.

    • I'll Fight You For The Library - Taylor Mali - April 2009 - This video is used in class to demonstrate how changes in tone and volume can create emphasis.

    • Kitchen Diaries - Darren "Beardyman" Foreman - Jan 12, 2007 - This video is used in class to demonstrate how a sound effect, props, and gestures can be used as an emphatic and an attention grabber.

    • Knight Rider Theme - Nathan "Flutebox" Lee and WanDan - January 26, 2008 - This video is thrown in here for fun to demonstrate that if you show an audience something they have never seen before, you will have their attention out of novelty. Flute + Beatboxing = Fluteboxing. The power of novelty.

    • Knock Knock - Daniel Beaty - Def Jam Poetry - Jan 24, 2010 - This video is used to demonstrate how a single repeated phrase creates a heartbeat and a memorable standout item from a speech. Repetition is one of the most basic rhetorical strategies.

    • South Carolina Answers A Question - Miss Teen USA 2007 - Aug 24, 2007 - This video demonstrates what a presentation can feel like when you are not prepared.

Videos for Students to Evaluate now that we have some skill in Public Speaking:

    • Just Do It - Shia LaBeouf - From #Introductions by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner - April 15, 2015 - This video is full of examples that a class can analyze for effectiveness.

    • Rubik's Cube - Benjamin Barker - 2013 National Poetry Slam - August 22, 2013 - This video is full of examples that a class can analyze for effectiveness.

    • To The Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter - Jesse Parent - Apr 5, 2014 - This video is full of examples that a class can analyze for effectiveness.

    • You Are Not Special - David McCullough - June 7, 2012 - This video is shown in class to test students on how many strategies are being used in this speech.

Speech Assignment #4 - Job Interview

    • All students will be invited to participate in a simulated job interview for a generic office job.

    • The interviewee will be asked to elevate their level of dress for the day.

    • The interviewee will be required to have two pages full of potential questions fully prepared for the day.

    • The interviewee will be expected to judge the questions they are being asked in order to give an answer with appropriate length and content.

    • The interviewee should dodge all trap questions designed to seek information that would lower credibility.

    • The interviewee should use their presence and identity to create the best first impression possible.

    • The interviewee will be expected to execute high-quality handshakes appropriate for business.

    • The interviewee that earns a top spot judged by an interviewing team will be given a 10% extra credit bonus.

Interview Preparation

Resources

Articles