CMST100  Fundamentals of Public Speaking

July 23.24.25

Second Policy Speech

• Time--6-8 Minutes
• Value: 15% of final grade
• Required--Typed outline with bib page (if you had problems with your first outline, see me), video cassette, feedback sheet.
• Sources--Minimum of ten, four different forms (ask me about appropriate evidence).
• Approval--by me, the Friday before the speech.
• Note--if you use note cards, they can only contain key words or quotations.

Assignment--Again, I would like you to choose a topic (again, one that you care about) and persuade this audience to support a public policy--a policy you will delineate in detail showing how, and that, it will work. Topics can vary widely, but the thesis must be a policy statement. Topics can include, but should not be limited to, politics ("We should support a particular national health care program,"), environmental issues ("We should charge an extra tax for all those using petroleum products"), or military issues ("There should be a draft"). My only requirements are that the topics must be ones that both the speaker and the audience care about and ones that the audience needs to be persuaded on (i.e., do not attempt to get your audience to support a policy they already support). Because I have a good deal of experience from past classes knowing what topics work and what topics do not, and because I want to be sure that you are speaking on a policy, you are required to approve your topic with me by July 20. Failure to do so will meet with a "0" for this assignment.

Evaluation:

• --organization: is the speech organized well in the outline? Does the speech appear organized as delivered? Was the audience confused or did they understand the effort?
• --outline: does it fit the requirements? Does it show evidence of a well thought out plan of action?
• --delivery: Simply put, does the delivery detract from the message or add to it? (Did you create a climate in which conversation with the audience would be possible?)
• --style: Were relevant words chosen? Did the speaker utilize discourse that detracted from, or added to, the message?
• --policy: Did the speaker clearly point out the problems (need), note the way in which the policy satisfies the need (and refute opposition to it), show that it will indeed work, and clearly explain the policy?

Hints:

• --Be sure to choose a topic you feel some degree of passion about.
• --Spend time researching, researching, researching.
• --Try different approaches out on friends, getting honest and descriptive feedback.
• --Make sure you are not "reading" the effort by utilizing only key word outlines. Remember, the same speech should never be given twice.
• --Be willing to pay attention to your audience, to emphasize points that need extra emphasis, to slow down when the audience is confused. Let the audience dictate how the speech works "in practice."
• --Reflect on the audience's reactions to your last speech and work those into this one.
• --Talk to me about this one as often as necessary.

If you need help, please either come by my office, call me (322-2988) or email me.

Return to CMST100 course page.