Public Speaking Assignment Page

CMST100--Introduction to Public Speaking Assignment Page

Time--6-8 Minutes
Value: 10% of final grade
Required--Typed outline with bib page, mini-dvd r, feedback sheet.
Sources--Minimum of ten (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--For your first speech, I would like you to choose a topic (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 a tax to all home owners who produce more than two standard sized trash cans of garbage per week"), or military issues ("There should be a hard date by which all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq"). 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 Friday, July 13. Failure to do so will meet with a "0" for this assignment.

Because we will have only discussed disposition and invention by the time of your speech, this is primarily what you will be judged on (that, and the delivery, which we will take more seriously with each round of speeches).

Evaluation:

--did the speaker provide a clear and obvious thesis statement?
--did the speaker establish ethos, reveal the topic, gain the audience's attention and preview the route of the speech?
--were the forms of evidence and resources varied and plentiful?
--did the speaker cite sources in the spoken effort and the outline, and were these citations non-obtrusive?
--was need clearly understood by the audience?
--did the speaker adequately satisfy the problem presented?
--were transitions clear and abundant?
--did the speaker summarize the main points and come to a clear close?
--did the speaker "know" the audience to the degree that examples, wording, and arguments were "fitted" to this particular audience/occasion?
--did the speaker reasonably meet time limits?
--did the speaker sound like an "automaton" or did s/he appear to be in conversation with the audience?
--was the outline clear and adequate?

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

Return to CMST100 course page or my homepage.

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), mini-dvd r, 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 a tax to all home owners who produce more than two standard sized trash cans of garbage per week"), or military issues ("Gays should be allowed to serve in the US military"). 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 or my homepage.

Interactive Policy

Time--8 Minutes speaking time; 7 minutes of criticism.
Value: 20% of final gade
Required--Typed outline with bib page, mini dvd-r, feedback sheet.
Sources--Minimum of ten, four different forms (ask me about appropriate evidence).
Approval--by me, at least one week before the day you speak.
Note--if you use note cards, they can only contain key words or quotations.

Assignment--This effort will again center on your provision and support for a public policy, albeit one different from the last round of speeches. Each of you should have a better idea of what I mean when I am asking for a specific policy and should be prepared this time to present a speech that clearly identifies a problem and then satisfies it by showing how a specific policy, if implemented, could solve this problem. Your outline should clearly illustrate the harms, inherency, solvency, etc. even though you will probably not be able to deliver all of the material you prepare.

The difference in this speech and the last one lies in your interaction with the audience. After it is clear that you have presented your thesis (MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR), the audience is allowed to ask you questions about a claim you have made or offer counterarguments to one of your arguments. Your task as a speaker is to either answer each question at the time it is raised or to judiciously defer the response. At 7 minutes, 30 seconds, a timer will warn you that you have 30 seconds remaining. At this point, no one will be allowed to ask questions, and you must bring your speech to a smooth conclusion, no matter how far through the body of the "planned" speech you are at the time. Hence, the trick is to be able to stay on track, answer questions politely and still persuade the audience of the value of your policy within the allotted time.

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?
--YOU WILL JUDGED ON BOTH YOU PLAN IN THE OUTLINE AND WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO DELIVER IN THE TIME ALLOTTED.

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

Return to CMST100 course page or my homepage.

Contemporary Issue

Time--6-8 Minutes speaking time.
Value: 30% of final grade
Required--Typed outline with bib page, mini dvd-r, feedback sheet.
Sources--Minimum of ten, four different forms (ask me about appropriate evidence).
Approval--by me, by the Friday you speak.
Note--if you use note cards, they can only contain key words or quotations.

Assignment--This speech is meant to show your ability to construct a reasonable policy on an issue and represent the collective interests of a group (rather than an expression of your interests alone). In short, after our class chooses a topic, you will either choose a group or be assigned to one and will represent its interests throughout this round of speeches.

For example, let's say the class chose to discuss the current military situation in Iraq from a global perspective. Each person in the class would then be "hired" to speak in the interests of one of a variety of groups or individuals. The class would have spokespersons for President Bush, the Democratic Party, the current Iraqi government, the U.N. chief, heads of other nation-states. Your job is to create a policy that represents the interests of the group you are "hired" to represent and to speak in their interests throughout the round of speeches. Topics and the past have varied from international issues (e.g., global policies toward terrorism, the Israel-Palestine question), national political issues (e.g., legalization of drugs), ethical questions (e.g., genetic engineering), and questions of sports (e.g., how to carry out Title IX). The topic choice should reflect this class' interests. The group you choose to represent should be a group that you would choose to work for "in real life."

In this round of speeches, the feedback session will be waived in favor of a question-answer period. That is, each speaker will be given 15 minutes to speak and respond to questions posed by the audience. The speech should not go longer than 8 minutes with the time remaining spent answering questions from the audience. While you may speak as long as you want up to 15 minutes, I suggest you leave at least 7 minutes for questions as one portion of your grade will come from your ability to respond to questions. Each of you will maintain your representative role throughout the round and hence will both ask and answer questions from the perspective of the group you represent. Remember, no one would hire you to sit quietly and not represent their interests, so speak up whenever your group would have something to say on an issue.

Evaluation:

Your evaluation this time will be derived from three areas:

the speech itself.
your ability to answer questions from the perspective of the group you represent.
your ability and willingness to ask questions in an attempt to protect the interests of your perspective (the evaluation of your speech and ability to answer questions can be raised or lowered up to a full letter grade contingent upon this third category).

--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

Research your group (its history, interests, positions on other policies, etc.) thoroughly before you begin researching the policy itself. Remember, you are to represent this group's interests and have been hired to speak for them in a public forum. Hence, you must know what they would say.
Speak firmly on your position as if it were your own (e.g., don't say, "Well, I don't really believe this but Clinton would say . . . "
Rehearse the speech well enough to leave time for questions. You do not want to lose points on your evaluation simply because you were not ale to respond to questions. You may want to set up hand signals with one of your classmates to make sure you do not speak over an allotted amount of time.
Have questions prepared for other speakers as this is part of your evaluation. The class should NEVER want for discussion during this round.
Prepare the speech just often enough that you can deliver it with a sense of freshness and spontaneity. Be willing to clarify, to leave your plan, if the situation calls for it.
While each of us will always speak for a "foreign" interest (be it Iraq or Wyoming), let's not take our arguments personally. Put descriptive feedback into action as an "idea" even while we discuss policy. Remember, we speak to the policy, not the person.

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

Return to CMST100 course page or my homepage.

Critiques/Attendance/Discussion Grade

As you can see, 25% of your final evaluation derives from a number of sources: your self evaluations (must be turned in at the class following your speech), your attendance and your ability to help your classmates through discussion of their efforts. I take this portion of your evaluation very seriously. What I expect in order for you to receive the full 25% will be perfect attendance when others are speaking (or, if you must miss class on a day when your classmates speak, you can attend another section of public speaking when the students in that class are speaking), a perfect record of turning in assignments, and a healthy attempt to add your voice to discussions. IF YOU MISS EVEN ONE CLASS WHEN OTHERS ARE SPEAKING AND DO NOT MAKE IT UP, YOU WILL LOSE THE ENTIRE 25% (with every absence thereafter resulting in the loss of an additional 10% of your final grade). There are no "excused absences" when others are speaking; you must make up such missed classes regardless of the reason (e.g., going on a University sponsored trip does not excuse you from making up that class meeting).

We will try to cultivate an environment in which everyone feels comfortable speaking. However, it is up to you to manifest the tendency to speak up in class. I do not want you to speak for the sake of speaking but instead want you to speak with thought and allow space for those who generally do not talk to feel comfortable speaking up. If you have any question about this portion of your evaluation at any point in the semester, you may ask for an evaluation from me in person.

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

Return to CMST100 course page or my homepage.