Demonstration Speech Assignment

Demonstration Speeches

The most practical of all informative speeches, a demonstration speech shows listeners how some process is accomplished or how to perform it themselves. The focus is on a chronological explanation of some process (how potato chips are made), procedure (how to fight fires on a submarine), application (how to use the calendar function in Outlook), or course of action (how court cases proceed to Supreme Court status). Speakers might focus on processes that have a series of steps with a specific beginning and end (how to sell a home by yourself) or the process may be continuous (how to maintain the hard drive on your computer to prevent crashes). Demonstration speeches can be challenging to write due to the fact that the process may involve several objects, a set of tools, materials, or a number of related relationships or events (Rinehart, 2002). Nevertheless, these types of speeches provide the greatest opportunity for audience members to get involved or apply the information later.

When preparing this speech, remember first to keep the safety of the audience in mind. One speaker severely burned his professor when he accidentally spilled hot oil from a wok on her. Another student nearly took the heads off listeners when he was demonstrating how to swing a baseball bat. Keep in mind also that you may need to bring in examples or pictures of completed steps in order to make efficient use of your time. Just think of the way that cooking demonstrations are done on TV—the ingredients are pre-measured, the food is premixed, and the mixture magically goes from uncooked to cooked in a matter of seconds. Finally, if you are having your audience participate during your presentation (making an origami sculpture), know what their knowledge level is so that you don’t make them feel unintelligent if they are not successful. Practice your speech with friends who know nothing about the topic to gauge if listeners can do what you are asking them to do in the time allotted.

SAMPLE DEMONSTRATION SPEECH OUTLINE

Title: How to Survive if You Get Stranded in the Wilderness (U.S. Department of Defense, 2006).

Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech my audience will understand what to do if they unexpectedly become stranded in the wilderness.

Central Idea: You can greatly improve your ability to stay alive and safe in the wilderness by learning a few simple survival techniques.

1. Size up the situation
   1. Size up the surroundings
   2. Size up your physical and mental states
   3. Size up your equipment (handout “What to Include in a Survival Kit”)
2. Survival Basics
   1. Obtaining water
   2. Acquiring food
   3. Building a fire
   4. Locating shelter
3. Finding help
   1. Call or signal rescue personnel
   2. Wilderness navigation
   3. Leaving “bread crumb” trail

Details:

• 5-7 minutes
• Check Blackboard on 3/30 for updated due dates

Ideas

Example

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

Listening to Opposing Views

https://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018679077

Free Speech and Protest

A few questions to consider, research, and answer:

1. What are our free speech and protest rights?
2. Are these rights different for students?
3. Can students be punished for engaging in political speech on public school campuses?
4. Are walkouts specifically considered so disruptive that they lose First Amendment protections?
5. Can teachers be disciplined for assisting students in a walkout?
6. Can teachers be disciplined for discussing the protests with students?
7. How might protesting be an effective form of speech?
8. What are some challenges when it comes to the effectiveness of protesting?

Listening

WHY LISTENING MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL TO HIRE FOR

Listening Pt. 2

Paralanguage and Body Language and Gender, Oh My!

Davidson is passionate about this speech. So, why is it so ineffective?


Speaking of the power of paralanguage, what is going on with "sexy baby voice"? 

• What are the ways we present gender with our voices? What about our culture would need to change so that women’s voices are seen as equally powerful and authoritative-sounding as men's voices?

Has someone asked you to smile?

"A new survey found that 98% of women reported being told to smile at work at some point in their lives, with 15% noting the occurrence happens weekly, if not more frequently. The study, conducted by direct-to-consumer dental alignment company Byte Me, polled over 500 women and discovered inequalities in how women are treated in the workplace, even by other women. 

Responses to being told to smile are a range of negative emotions, from anger to annoyance, but the most common occurrence was feeling demeaned and underappreciated. Feeling unwelcome in the workplace can bring about feelings of negativity, which could result in poor performance and even put someone's professional life in jeopardy."

Schwantes, Marcel. “Telling Women to Smile at Work Isn't Just Sexist - It's Bad for Business, a New Study Says.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 23 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/telling-women-smile-at-work-sexist-and-bad-for-business-2019-9#how-telling-a-woman-to-smile-can-affect-her-work-performance-1.

"The Insidious Sexism of 'Resting Bitch Face'"-

"Women are constantly critiqued for how we look and act and speak. Our skirts are too short. We say "sorry" too much. We have "vocal fry" (which, incidentally, is also why we're not getting jobs). And, of course, we're not smiling enough. There's always something to fix. There's always a way we could be prettier or more pleasant or less annoying or more available."

What is your experience? Have you been critiqued or critiqued someone else for not conforming to society's idea about gender roles in communication?

Delivery Inventory

For the last speech, the Sales Pitch, please write a few sentences rating your performance. Discuss what worked well and what needs work in the following areas:

1. Verbal (content and use of language)
2. Kinesics (body movements and gestures)
3. Paralanguage (vocal pitch, tone, volume, etc.)
4. Organization and time management

Speech for next week: "The Best Advice I Ever Got" 2 min: special attention to delivery and time management

Delivery

Improve Verbal Expression

Click here to view the directions.

Nonverbal Communication

Click here to watch the lesson.

Be able to define the following and give an example of its use in communication exchanges:

1. Semiotics
2. Kinesics
3. Microexpressions
4. Signing
5. Projecting
6. Paralanguage
7. Proxemics

Sales Pitch Speech Assignment

• Goal: Persuade a college audience to buy a product or service by appealing to their needs. Sales speeches incorporate the principles of persuasive speaking in a familiar format and can be fun as well.
• Requirements: Five-minute speech. Visual aids: one required (the product or image of the product). Sources: at least two, cited using MLA. Notecards: five permitted. 
• Recommendations: The challenge of this speech is to choose a product or service that would be useful or relevant for your particular audience. The theme of the speech should complete the sentence, “I want my audience to purchase…” The most compelling research sources are those that are unbiased, not product websites. Failure to cite sources or meet the time requirement will result in a maximum possible grade of “D”.
• Due: 2/24

Suggested outline

Something to inspire

Ch. 2 Review

1. What are the personal, professional and public benefits of enhancing your public speaking skills?
2. What is the difference between the linear and transactional model of communication?
3. Define and give an original example of each of the elements of the communication process.
4. Which of the elements of the communication process do you think has the greatest impact on the way a message is interpreted. Explain.
5. What are the three types of speeches? For each of the three types of speeches, give two examples of an occasion or situation in which that type of speech might be given.
6. List the eleven speaking competencies. For each competency listed, describe the differences between the advanced speaker and the inexperienced speaker.

Body Language

To better understand how your body can shape your mindset, take stock of your body language in this simple ten-minute exercise.

Step 1: Check-in with your body:

Without shifting or adjusting your posture, take note of how you are sitting. In the space below, describe the physical position of your body from head to toe. What are your head, neck, and shoulders doing? How is your torso positioned? Where are your legs, knees, ankles, and feet?

Next, check-in with how you feel in this posture. What thoughts pop up when you hold your body this way? How would you describe your presence within the class at this moment?

• What observations did you make about your body language during the audit? Were you expanding or contracting in space?
• How did your body language impact your physical presence within the class?
• What connection did you find between your body language and how you felt?
• Were you posed in the way you typically hold yourself? If not, what was different and why?
• What did you learn about your own body language that may come in handy in the future?

Proverb Speech Assignment

• Assignment: Tell a story from your life that relates to a proverb.  This is an opportunity to share either a serious or humorous story from your life which can serve to instruct others. 
• Details: Two minutes. One note card permitted, up to 25 words. 
• Due: 2/3
• Grade: based on this rubric. The speech must meet the assignment expectations and details, use creative, detailed and appropriate language, and display audience-aware delivery.

Proverb List: Brain Candy


Adapted from teachingpublicspeaking.wordpress.com

Study Notes

For our first test this week, please study the following:

• Rhetoric- definition and origin
• Dialectic- definition and origin
• Ethos, logos, pathos
• Cicero and Quintillian
• Rationalism and Humanism
• Campbell and Whatley

Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Classical Argument

Success!

Ch. 1 Review

1. What historical events gave rise to Athens establishing democracy for its citizens? 
2. Under whose reign did Athens enjoy its greatest glory, and why? 
3. Who was Plato, and what form of inquiry did he advocate? 
4. Who was Aristotle, and what is he most noted for? 
5. Why was Cicero considered to be the greatest Roman orator? 
6. What did Quintilian contribute to the art of persuasion? 
7. What role did rhetoric play in education in the Middle Ages?
8. The Renaissance gave birth to the Humanists and Rationalists. Can you describe the differences between the two and name two representatives from each and their contributions to persuasion?

Welcome!

Hi, folks. Please let me welcome you to ENG 132: Speech. I hope you'll learn a lot this semester and leave feeling prepared and confident in having your voice heard in a variety of settings and situations.

Let's start by having you pick a partner, interview them, and introduce them to the class. Here is the pertinent information you should gather, but feel free to add additional information which might inform:

• Name; title, if applicable
• Hometown
• Class level (freshman, etc.)
• What they are planning to study
• A hobby, sport or interest
• A surprise to delight the audience, something that is not commonly known, and something revealing the personality or humanity of the person.

Please click here for the course syllabus and make sure to read Chapter 1 in our text for next time.