Welcome to Speech and Rhetoric! I'll be posting class notes, homework reminders, and a summary of the lesson on this website. I'll do my best to make sure it's udpated within a day or two after class. If you don't see what you're looking for send me an email and I'll help you.

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The Art of Public Speaking: The Original Tool for Improving Public Oration
Dale Carnegie, 1915

"After the inward fires of oratory are fanned into flame the eyes of the audience lose all terror." - William Pittenger, Extempora Speech

Week 1 we discussed the breakdown for your grade:
60% - Speeches
25% - Homework
10% - In-class Participation
5% - Peer Evaluations
Notice that 75% of your total grade requires you to be in class. Participation is the key to growth.

Homework
Your homework for week 1 is to read and annotate Chapter 1 - Acquiring Confidence Before an Audience and answer questions 1-7, and to read and annotate Chapter 11 - Fluency Through Preparation. Be prepared to discuss in class.

In omnibus negotils prius quam aggrediare, adhibenda est praeparatio diligens - In all matters before beginning a diligent preparation should be made. - Cicero, De Officiis

Congratulations on your first speech. We briefly reviewed the reading from the previous week and talked about understanding audience and how to outline a speech.

Homework
Read and annotate Chapter 31 - Making Conversation Effective. Be prepared to discuss in class. Additionally, turn in a copy of the outline for the speech which you will be giving in two weeks.

In conversation avoid the extremes of forwardness and reserve. - Cato

In class we talked about introductions at length, including five general purposes of a good introduction, which we defined as

1. Getting the audience's attention
2. Establishing rapport
3. Establishing your credibility as a speaker
4. Defining the purpose of your speech
5. Previewing your main points

We also discussed five different examples of how to grab your audience's attention. These are

1. A story
2. A quote
3. A startling statistic
4. A historical reference
5. A rhetorical question

Homework

1. Read and annotate Chapter XVI - Methods of Delivery
2. Practice with intention being a good conversationalist over the next two weeks. Note the results. Be prepared to discuss specific examples in two weeks.
3. Listen carefully to any speeches you hear over the next two weeks. Document how the speaker opens the introduction. This could be a pastor, sunday school teacher, regular teacher, youth group leader, or other. Be prepared to discuss specific examples in two weeks.

Everyone, when they are young, has a little bit of genius; that is they really do listen. They can listen and talk at the same time. Then they get a little bit olderand many of them get tired and listen less and less. But some, a very few, continue to listen. And finally they get very old and they do not listen anymore. That is very sad; let us not talk about it. - Gertrude Stein

Congratulations on your second speech. No lecture notes this week, but there is a homework assignment. Read the chapter linked below and annotate it. Make sure you understand it well. We'll discuss it in class on Friday. I've given you a few questions and a list of vocabulary words to help direct you study. Additionally, I gave you two tasks last week (see Week 3 if you forgot). Be prepared to discuss your observations with the class.

Questions to answer while annotating

1. What is the most prevalent mistake generally made while reading or listening?
2. What bad habits detract a person from listening well?
3. In what order, in terms of practice, does the author rank reading, writing, speaking, and listening?
4. What are the general maxims the author gives which govern criticism?
5. What are the four questions that need to be answered when listening to a speech?

Define the following vocabulary words

1. somnolence
2. discourse
3. impediment
4. perspicuous
5. coherent
6. elucidation
7. adjunct

Homework

1. Read and annotate With the Mind's Ear by Mortimer Adler

Happy Lords Day my friends. I had an epiphany while I was running Saturday morning. Here it is. All good teaching follows this pattern -

1. I teach you a new concept
2. We work through the new concept together
3. You do the new concept on your own

In our speech class we spent an hour on week 3 talking about the five components of an introduction and on week 4 you gave you second speech. However, as you can see, we skipped the second step of the teaching pattern completely.

During our last class time together practicing introductions wasn't part of my lesson plan at all, it just sort of fell into place, but it was very important because it made me realize that the guided part of the learning process was exactly what we were missing.

Why is this important? Because I'd rather spend 20 weeks (that's hyperbole) helping you become masters of introductions and conclusions than have you grind through eight speeches and still feel lost.

Okay, first of all I know you'll be disappointed but we're pushing the informative speech due date back. What we're going to do instead is break it up into pieces. We'll work through the introduction, conclusion, and body separately, practicing them as we go. This may take two weeks, it may take three, but by the time you stand up in front of the class to deliver your speech in its entirety you should feel confident that everything you're going to say has been refined by fire, so to speak.

Will you hear your peers' introductions and conclusions multiple times? Yes. Will you spend more time in front of the class this way? Yes. Will it spread out your work load into more manageable pieces? Yes. (you're welcome) Will you learn more? That part is up to you, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the answer is yes.

1. Reread Mortimer Adler's chapter on active listening. Annotate it if you haven't already.
2. Read and annotate The Sin of Monotony. Identify and look up any vocabulary words you're not familiar with.
3. Come to class with a topic idea for your informative speech.
4. Think about what type of hook you'd use as an attention getter.
5. Think about how you'd convince us that we should care about what you're going to say.
6. Think about how you'd establish yourself as a credible source of information.
7. Think about your thesis. What is it you're going to teach us?
8. Think about how you'd structure the body of your speech. This will help you to decide if your topic is too broad or too narrow.

You don't need an outline completed for Friday. I just want you to think through the questions and have ideas in your mind so we can discuss and practice.

Good progress on the informative speeches. Next week you'll present the body of your speech. Remember to include at least two authorative (e.g. published) sources in your speech. They can be internet sources as long as they're credible, but no AI and no Wikipedia. The format should follow the pattern of a typical essay, namely

Introduction

1. Attention Getter
2. What's in it for me? (Rapport)
3. Credibility
4. Thesis or Promise Statement
5. Roadmap

Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence

1. Supporting sentences

Paragraph 2 Topic Sentence

1. Supporting sentences

Paragraph 3 Topic Sentence

1. Supporting sentences

Conclusion

Remember, your topic sentences should mirror the topics you state in your roadmap.

1. Practice, Practice, Practice!
2. Write the body of your speech (don't for get transitions).
3. Practice!

If you have any questions about your speech, how to write body paragraphs, or if you want me to preview your work before next Friday and provide comment, send me an email.