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INFORMATIVE SPEECH ASSIGNMENT

Student Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate competence in ethical speech preparation and presentation.

• Effectively integrate credible evidence and sound reasoning in speech preparation and presentation.

• Demonstrate effective management of anxiety during preparation and presentation of speeches.

• Implement ethical standards expected of an audience member by employing effective listening skills and cultural sensitivity.

• Critically evaluate their own and others speeches based on content, composition/organization, delivery and implementation of ethical standards.

• Demonstrate the ability to perform audience analysis and adaptation while speaking extemporaneously.

DESCRIPTION

For this speech, you will be providing a 5-7 minute speech/presentation on a topic that provides relatively NEW information to your audience. Informative speeches should be interesting, fun and factual. You should discuss the who, what, where, when, and how. It is important to note that you should NOT in any way shape or form provide your opinion on the subject matter. You should NOT persuade the audience to feel good or bad about the topic.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Time: 5-7 minutes in length. Speech is to NOT exceed 7 minutes.

2. Dress: Business Attire (I expect you to present your speech in attire fit for a professional experience; something you would go to a job interview in).

3. 3 X 5 Cards: You may use WHITE 3 X 5 cards with a brief keyword outline.

4. Sources: Minimum of 6 (six) different scholarly sources required (heard within speech and in body of the outline and works cited). Scholarly sources are considered “experts” regarding the information.

• You must use APA format for citing

• For the outline, you may use a citation machine (ex. ) to help with proper citation. You are responsible for what you turn in so be sure to check any work that a citation machine produces.

• Include ALL pertinent and available information (author, title, date, journal/newspaper etc.)

• You are NOT allowed to use/cite any websites.

5. Rough Draft Outline: You will be required to turn in a full-sentence rough draft outline complete with works cited page.

6. Final Draft Outline: You will be required to turn in a full-sentence final draft outline complete with works cited page.

7. Visual Aid: Not Required.

8. Delivery Order: We will sign up in class. If you miss class on the day presentations are assigned, you are responsible for contacting me to learn of your presentation date. Be sure to contact me at least one week prior to the speeches are scheduled to begin to make sure you get a response in plenty of time to give your speech.

9. Delivery: I expect each student to practice their speech several times, to several people to ensure an enthusiastic, polished delivery. I expect you to memorize (and know) at least 90% of your speech. Use your note cards only if you have an “Oh crap!” moment.

10. Critique: As an audience member, you will also be required to critique a fellow classmate’s speech.

INFORMATIVE SPEECH WORKSHEET

This worksheet is meant to be a simple guide to helping you prepare your presentation (written) outline for your speech. Keep in mind, the contents will differ from student to student, depending on your topic/organizational pattern but the “parts” or the sections should be very similar. I expect ALL parts to be included in your final outline, typed out and checked for grammar/spelling/punctuation.

Informative speeches are meant to present NEW information to your audience. So, you may think of yourself as “teacher for a day.” Different types of categories may include, but are not limited to:

• Persons/Groups (Famous/Important People i.e. Dolores Huerta, Villains)

• Places (Places of historical, economical or political interest i.e. National Parks)

• Objects (Monuments i.e. Pyramids)

• Events (Cultural, Community, Natural i.e. Quincenera)

• Concepts (Explanation of theories, natural or social reality i.e. Human DNA)

• Issues (Topics of the day i.e. Immigration) *NOTE: Cannot persuade audience about an issue.

Organizational Patterns: You may choose one of these different types of organizational patterns to present your information. Please use the one that will allow your information to “flow” best.

1. Chronological (also called temporal): Follows the natural sequential order. In other words, you follow something according to “time/time-order/sequence.”

The life of Elvis Presley from birth, teen/adult to death.

2. Spatial: Follows the physical arrangement of a place, scene, object in which main points can be arranged in physical proximity/space.

National Parks of the United States

3. Topical (also called categorical): Follows a topic based speech, in which each of the main points acts as its own “mini-topic/subtopic.”

Types of Common Cancers: Breast, Lung, Bone.

4. Circular: Follows a circle of events, so you develop one idea, which leads to another, which leads to another until you arrive back at your thesis.

The Role Friendship Plays on Mental Health: Acts of Kindness lead to

more friendship, which lead to more social support, which results in

better mental/physical health.

SAMPLE TOPICS

• Any Country

• Astronomical Signs

• Baldness

• Sleep Disorders

• Weird Record Holders

• Serial Killers

• Ancient Civilizations

• Fingerprints

• Animals

• Wedding Traditions

• Guide Dogs

• Dyslexia

• Epilepsy

• Comics

• Albert Einstein

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Winter Depression

• Food Poisoning

• Haley’s Comet

• Hypnosis

• Vitamins

• Animal Communication

• Nuclear Power

• Acupuncture

• Cancer

• Pyramids

• Vegans

• Dreams

• Autism

• Witchcraft

• Chinese Characters

• Coincidences

• World Records

• Greek Theatre/Mythology

CITING YOUR SOURCES

We all know plagiarism is wrong, but according to problem4.html, 36% of college students “cut and paste” from the internet without even citing where it came from! Another 41% copy from printed books, journals and other articles without giving proper credit.

WHAT/WHEN do I Cite?

You MUST cite in the following scenarios:

1. When you use a direct quote (word-for-word)

2. When you paraphrase (summarize in your own words/ideas)

3. When you use statistics, illustrations, diagrams, graphs etc.

You DO NOT need to cite when information is common knowledge

(Sacramento is the capitol of the state of California). However, when in doubt, CITE!!!

Paraphrasing Techniques: Change the sentence to include words that reflect your own voice. Often times, we hear very technical quotes which sound “different” from the overall tone and vocabulary of the speech. Paraphrasing is helpful to synthesize your information and make sure it sounds like one big body of work rather than sounding “choppy.”

1. “In Smith’s words…”

2. “Chopra expressed…”

3. “Johnson stated…”

Quote: “It is my opinion that Communication Studies is the best major a college can offer! It is useful toward any career whether it be health care to business. I think that all students should consider either majoring or even minoring in Communication Studies!”

Paraphrase: “In Romero’s words, having a degree in Communication Studies may help in any career field you choose to enter. She believes that students should look into possibly majoring or minoring in Communication Studies.”

WHY do I need to Cite?

1. It looks good! It shows you did your “research.”

2. It shows courtesy and respect to the authors who worked hard to publish their work!

3. It is ethical!

HOW do I Cite?

Simple citing involves a three step process:

1. Preview the information (Begin with a opening statement)

2. Cite the information (Plug in the “According to…” followed by the information).

3. Explain the information (If the information is unclear, provide a brief explanation)

General Citations

• You do NOT need to include the words “quote” “unquote” when citing evidence in your speech.

• Make sure to include citations in all Power Point and/or Visual Aids. (This includes illustrations, diagrams, graphs, etc.)

• Remember, you must include enough information about the source so that your audience member can easily find that same information, if he/she would like to research more of your topic on their own.

• Try to avoid the same phrase, “According to…” Rather, play with the verbiage. Some other examples you can use are:

o Kottler stated…

o Read asserted…

o Lee suggested…

o As stated in…

o As found in…

o As reported in…

o Evidence in_____ points out that…

Facts/Statistics

Facts and Statistics can be very powerful and useful evidence. However, keep in mind that they can quickly become confusing. Some tips for using facts/statistics:

1. Make sure they are both accurate and current!

2. Be mindful of using too many, an audience does not like to hear too many numbers.

3. Be sure to round off numbers if you can (while maintaining the integrity of the information) to help audience comprehend.

4. Try to summarize the statistical information if it is very complex.

Websites

Information on websites can be useful. However, there are several websites that are not scholarly, contain unverifiable information and do not even provide pertinent information such as the authors and updated information. Likewise, although the internet is often the first place students will go to for research, keep in mind that students presented well researched speeches long before the invention of the internet. So as you begin the research process, ask, “If the internet did not exist, where would I go for research??” For those sources you find on the internet, ask yourself, who created the site? Why did they create this site and what information is on it?

Include authors, organizations and dates. When citing in the actual speech, you do not need to site the entire complicated web URL. For example, instead of saying, centerfordiseasecontrol.1234/html. You can simply say, “The Center for Disease Control’s Website…”

Television Show/Films

Some students may choose to use television/films for their evidence. If you include this in your research make sure to site the name of the TV show/film, title, air date and/or year.

Personal Interviews

Personal Interviews represent a form of primary research in which you are the person conducting the research. If you include personal interviews as evidence, make sure to include the name of the interviewee, their title/position, and date of interview.

Magazine/Newspaper/Journal

These represent some of the most common forms of evidence. Be sure to include, the author(s), date of publication, title of article and name of magazine/newspaper/journal.

OUTLINE

Title of Your Speech

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: This statement should include what specifically you plan to inform audience about. For example: To inform my audience about (your precise topic).

INTRODUCTION (All capital letters)

I. Attention Getter: This represents the first words out of your mouth! So make sure it GRABS the

audience’s attention. Make sure it is relevant/appropriate to your topic. Some devices you can

use for the attention getter are:

• Joke/Humor (Make sure it is appropriate/in good taste!)

• Narrative/Story (Be brief)

• Shocking Statement

• Fact/Statistic

• Poem

• Quote

• Question

• Visual Aid/Activity

***Regardless of what you use as your attention getter make sure that it interesting. After hearing your attention getter your audience should find it so interesting that they want to hear more.

II. Topic Revelation Statement: This statement should clarify to the audience what you are going to inform them about and introduce your topic. Remember this includes: a time reference (today, this morning, etc.), a communication verb, a reference to the audience, and vibrant adjectives describing topic.

III. Significance: This statement should let the audience know why it is relevant and/or important to them.

IV. Credibility: (this will help create ethos with your audience) If you have a particular credibility with a topic (i.e. if you have diabetes and your speech is on diabetes) then reveal this in a credibility statement. This will help create trust between you and your audience and demonstrate that you know what you are discussing.

V. Preview Statement: This statement should reveal ALL of your main points in one simple sentence and give the audience a clear picture of what is to come in your speech. Be sure to use parallel words (i.e. first, second, third) to be simple and concise and allow the audience to hear how many points they will hear within your speech.

TRANSITION: This statement allows the audience to hear that you are moving from the introduction to the body and can be relatively brief. “Now that we know what we are going to discuss, let us first look at….”

BODY (All capital letters)

I. Main Point: Provide an opening sentence which is previewing information and evidence to come.

A. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the first sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

B. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

Transition: This sentence shows movement from point A to point B.

II. Main Point: Provide an opening sentence which is previewing information and evidence to come.

A. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the first sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

B. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

Transition: This sentence shows movement from point B to point C.

III. Main Point: Provide an opening sentence which is previewing information and evidence to come.

A. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the first sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

B. Sub-point: Related to the main point, but provides more specific information and may

include evidence to support.

1. Related to the sub-point, but again, provides even more detailed

information/evidence.

TRANSITION: This sentence should move the audience from your body into your conclusion.

CONCLUSION (All capital letters)

I. Summary Statement: This statement should reiterate your points again to summarize what your audience learned about in your speech. Make sure to include all points.

II. Final Thought: This sentence(s) leaves your audience with a great last impression of you and your speech/information. Like the attention getter, you can use devices such as a quote, question, story, joke, etc. to create a lasting memory.

WORKS CITED

Your works cited should represent ONLY the information/evidence you use within your speech as opposed to all of the information you researched. Make sure to put citations in APA format and list in alphabetical order according to last name of authors.

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