This speech is a persuasive speech
PDF File Speech 4: Persuasive Speech Purpose and Outcomes Persuasion is a standard form of academic argument, so it makes sense to introduce it in this course. Practically speaking, however, it is good to know when and how people are trying to persuade you. We are all better off when we can analyze audiences, analyze speakers’ credibility, and differentiate between good evidence and manipulative appeals. Of course, this speech also fulfills the General Education Outcomes for Oral Communications. Speech 4, that is, should help you learn how to 1) organize oral presentations appropriate to context and audience, 2) deliver compelling and clear oral communications, 3) demonstrate an understanding of interpersonal communications in a variety of contexts. Assignment For Speech 4 you will give a persuasive speech; it should be 8-10 minutes. In this speech you are trying to influence your audience; you want to change their beliefs, attitudes, and/or behavior. You need to use credible evidence and reasoning. You shouldn’t rely solely on emotional appeals. You should have at least four separate outside sources, and you must cite them orally in your speech. Note: I will be evaluating the quality of your sources and how well you use them as part of the grade. Please use MLA or APA style. When you film your speech, please explain your intended audience before beginning the speech. Also, please show the physical audience (at least three people) assembled to watch your speech. Note: These two audiences are not necessarily the same. The full value of Speech 4 is 25 points distributed over Proposal (5), Outline (3), Works Cited (2), Speech (10), Peer Review (5). Tips When selecting a topic, remember that the audience in a persuasive communication situation is probably composed of people who hold views different from you own. That said, I strongly urge you to stay away from politically divisive topics. Be more original and helpful than falling into the debates on our nightly news. I would urge you to choose a topic that genuinely interests you—and one that you want to know more about. Reusing old research material or using something you already know a lot about rarely turns out well. The same is true of politically divisive topics. I discourage these types of topics because they rarely go well. Recall a couple points from earlier in the semester: 1) we often know less than we think we do, and 2) one speech, no matter how powerful or credible, rarely convinces people to change their minds, beliefs, or behaviors. It is okay to choose a controversial topic, but you can do this without immediately gravitating towards the fairly obvious political powder kegs. That said, your topic should matter, right? You’re using persuasion, so you need to think of the things that people should do or should be discouraged from doing. Perhaps we should draw people’s attention to a significant social or global issue and encourage people to act. Perhaps we should drive less. Perhaps we should rethink the way we build structures or design cities. Perhaps we should change the way we eat. Perhaps we should fundamentally change the way we assess the performance of American grade-school and high-school students. Et cetera. Your thesis statement needs to be absolutely clear and focused. Your thesis needs to do three things: 1) establish your topic, 2) clearly demonstrate your point of view on that topic, and 3) limit the range of your topic. So, for example, you don’t want to say, “Today I will talk about GMO products in our stores.” Instead, you need to say something like “We need to end the practice of using genetically modified organisms in our food.” Obviously this isn’t great thesis statement, but it gives you an idea of how to narrow “the range of your topic.” Remember all the things we’ve talked about to this point in the semester. You need to have a pattern of organization that makes sense for your topic and purpose. You need to organize your speech logically. That is, you should have three to five main points that you support with credible evidence. You should present your strongest evidence sooner than later to make sure you don’t lose your audience. Your main points should be as free of personal bias as possible. You need to use ample support for each main point, including research, examples, anecdotes, graphs, charts, etc. And don’t forget to give a fair representation of the opposition’s point of view and either refute it or show why it does not provide sufficient reason to discard your own position. You can open with the opposing point of view or introduce it after presenting your main points. You can also use it with one or more main point and refute it at each step (the most difficult). Criteria for Evaluation +Your speech has all seven steps of basic speech organization, including open with impact, focus on thesis, connect with audience, preview main body, present main points, summary of main points, and close with impact +You orally cite sources in the speech, which often means concisely explaining the source’s purpose and authority +You use at least four credible outside sources. Non-surface-web sources from the GBC Library or its electronic databases are preferred, but some surface-web sources might be relevant and useful +You express each main point clearly with a topic sentence +You develop each main point logically and coherently +All supporting evidence supports the main point and/or the thesis +You transition clearly between sections of the speech, especially between main points +Your transitions are consistent with your organizational strategy/pattern +Your sources are used to develop a main point and are not there to add “flavor” +You have a balanced argument that takes other positions or points of view seriously +You have a useful, novel, or complicated topic +You explain your intended audience before beginning the speech +You have a physical audience of at least three people +You deliver a speech and don’t just upload a video of you speaking into a camera +You use an extemporaneous delivery