Purposes: to inform (how to), persuade and entertain



DEMONSTRATION SPEECH

Purposes: to inform (how to).

Length: four to five minutes.

This exercise points to the importance of keeping within the assigned time limits so that an economical use of the words and actions are chosen and arranged in a progressive order. This speech requires a high degree of creativity, so really take some chances and make it interesting.

Subject: With this presentation you are giving information to explain how to do something, how to make something or how something works. A demonstration involves going through the complete process that you are explaining. Showing the steps and defining the technical vocabulary of your topic in a structured way is important. When choosing your topic, consider your time frame, your personal skills and abilities, and your audience. You may decide to only demonstrate part of a process in order to adjust to the time limits (e.g., how to putt instead of how to golf, or how to shoot a free throw instead of how to play basketball). If showing only a portion of the process, it would be wise to bring in an example of the ‘finished product’ for your audience to see (e.g. a video showing a clip of a game and how defense fits in, or a finished example of a cake or other cooking dish).

Criteria for Evaluation: The assessment areas for this presentation will include; quality of topic, use of visual aids, length and skill in organization and presentation. Avoid presenting information that the audience knows. Before you start, analyze the audience. How much do they know? Are they already interested? This speech will start with an outline and end with Note cards. You will not have a speech that is written out word for word. Good speakers need to be connected to both the material and their audience.

THE BEGINNING SHOULD:

1. Capture the attention of the audience.

2. Introduce the topic.

3. Establish connectedness (common ground, reasons for listening) between you, your topic and your audience.

4. Set some expectations. (Mention things they will learn/cover.)

THE MIDDLE SHOULD:

1. Maintain our interest. During the speech read the audience feedback. Are they following your explanation?

2. Build credibility using verbal supports, factors of attention and your familiarity with the topic.

|Factors of Attention |Verbal Supports |

|Humor |Explanation |

|Movement |Definition |

|Reality |Comparison |

|Important / Crucial |Contrasts |

|Suspense |Real Illustrations |

|New/novelty |Hypothetical Illustrations |

|Familiarity |Specific Examples |

| |Statistics |

| |Testimony |

|THE CONCLUSION SHOULD: |

|1. Peak our interest |

|2. Satisfy our curiosity. (Review what you covered.) |

|3. Give a sense of finality. (Q&A is allowed but it does not count as speech time.) |

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|Creating a Great Conclusion: |

|What Not To Do: |

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|Make it sound like a conclusion; give the audience |

|a sense of completeness and finality. |

|Don't go overtime. |

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|Cue the audience in advance. |

|Signal the end w/ transition phrases…As I conclude this presentation, let me review… |

|Don't ramble. |

|Don’t add new points at the end. |

|Don’t say you forgot to mention something. |

|Don’t say, “That’s it.” Or “I’m done.” |

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|Refer back to the opening |

|Use a quotation |

|Ask a question |

|Tell a story |

|Match the conclusion to the mission Make it the right length. |

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|Make the last words memorable. (Go for an |

|emotional connection with audience.) |

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|(Q&A) |

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Visual Aids

This speech requires a visual aid. Remember all of the different types of visual aids so that you might use more creativity. You can show charts or graphs that show the popularity of your topic, images that show various ways to make it, videos or cartoons that show it in use, etc. In addition to your props, power point slides that show lists of ingredients, charts, and other images are helpful.

The trick to this speech is preparing “speaking time” during the spaces in your process that might be tedious. For instance, notice how cooking and sport shows offer interesting information related to the audience. You need to come up with something to say, for example, when you are stirring a mix. This is one reason you will need to practice with your visual aids: how will you know how much speaking time to prepare if you haven’t practiced with the visual aids? Practice will also ensure that you are comfortable using the visual aids and that you fall within the appropriate time limits.

Remember to make your visual aids visible, clear, and simple and display visual aids at the proper time.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

How can I get all of this done in only 5 minutes?

What elements of the process must I prepare in advance?

How can I complete the process without all of the equipment/materials?

What elements of the process must I discard, shorten, or ignore?

How can I talk and do something at the same time?!

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