Assignment 4 - A Persuasive Speech

CN-253 Presentation Skills
Instructor Paul Koidis
Contact: pkoidis@centennialcollege.ca



Graded Assignment # 4 (20 %)

A 3-minute speech to Persuade




Individual Assignment

Prepare a 3-minute written speech to be submitted (and NOT presented) based on a topic of YOUR CHOICE.

Deliverables:

• Written Speech (to be handed in) DOUBLE SPACED
• Apply the motivated sequence structure
• Apply all other speech writing techniques learned so far
• One page attachment companion document describing the various persuasive techniques used and explain why.

Things to keep in Mind:
PERSUASIVE SPEECH goal is to change our beliefs or actions.
It shows us YOUR opinion on a subject: Is it good/bad, right/wrong, moral/immoral, justified/unjustified, and why we should/should not do something.
• Expresses a point of view, and works to prove it
• The viewpoint should be stated directly at some point
• The audience now believes something that they did not before
• Overcoming the resistance of other ideas or previously held belief systems
• Use of logical arguments
• Use of persuasive speech structure, problem and solution
You will also be evaluated on overall effectiveness of:

• Writing for the EAR techniques
• PCI techniques
• Motivated sequence structure
• Specific Persuasion Techniques as discussed in class
• Broadening of the topic CONTEXT
• Opening
• Ending

Assignment # 3

CN-253 Presentation Skills
Instructor Paul Koidis
Contact: pkoidis@centennialcollege.ca


Graded Assignment # 3 (20 %)

A 3-minute Speech to Inform

Topic: My Greatest Achievement


Individual Assignment

Prepare a 3-minute speech to inform to be presented in class. You will be speaking about YOUR life and times and YOUR greatest achievement to date.

You will be given formal in-class workshop time to develop your speech.

Speeches will be delivered next week.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Structure
2. Organizing information / Speech Structure
3. Opening and Closing Techniques
4. Writing for the Ear Techniques
5. Speaking styles and speech writing techniques
6. Confidence, Content and Connection

You will be presenting this speech, not handing it in. You are required to submit a one-page companion document (DOUBLE SPACED) which outlines:

• The Speech Topic and an explanation of why you chose this topic
• Your objective and key messages
• Your structural approach: metaphor, logical order, brain’s filing system
• Writing for the Ear techniques and why you used them where you did 0 what’s the strategy?
* You are being evaluated on the presentation and will not be evaluated on this companion document.

writing for the ear

Speech Writing Techniques

STYLE: Writing for the EAR

Preamble:

So far…

• We’ve tasted what is like to give a speech:

• We’ve re-written someone else’s speech of introduction

• We’ve written an introduction speech form scratch

• We’ve looked at the general structure of speeches, techniques for opening, and closing, for organizing information etc.

Now, let’s take a closer look at various techniques for speech writing itself, STYLE


1. Alliteration

A Poetic device used to ease the injection of notions not now in their noggin.

It is the repetition of sounds at the start of two or more words to create melody, which makes the content sometimes more memorable.

An example:

Big Boys of Boston
High Hills of Hamilton
The Dead Dogs of Denver


2. Tri-Colon: The rule of THREE

Descriptive phrases, lists and adjectives are more memorable when they travel in threes.

The first two set the pace, the last one hammers the thought home.

So great is the ears retention for threes, that it alters the memory of Winston’s Churchill’s famous line

“all we have to offer is blood, sweat and tears.”

When he really said:

Blood, toil, sweat and tears





3. Imagery

Be specific, colorful and vivid…this will add memo ability to your speech. Pant a picture.




4. Anaphora

Successive sentences are begun with the same word or the same group of words.

I had a dream…


5. Balanced Phrase / Inversion of elements

A balances phrase opposes two elements (the first spoken with the pitch going up, and the second with the pitch going down.

Ask not what your country and do for you, but what you can do for your country.

We did not land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us.



6. The Rhetorical Question

A question that you are not meant to answer directly…

Used to:

• Issue a challenge
• Issue a debate
• To indicate misunderstanding
• Make an accusation

7. Hyperbole

An exaggeration used to emphasize a point – whether to weaken it or strengthen it.

If I’ve told you a thousand times, don’t exaggerate.

8. Repetition

A thematic word or phrase is repeated through a speech. Repetition is the oldest technique known for getting something into memory.

It can unify long blocks of spoken words.