Group/Individual Speech Observation/ Analysis Assignment (15% of your final grade)
Written report deadline: April 15, Sunday, 7 pm
*I will be very generous in evaluating this project if you follow the instructions well and meet the deadline.*
As we discussed in class on Monday, you can choose to work on this project either as an individual or as a group of any number.
Because of the snow day and peer observation schedule, we didn’t have a chance to fully develop a group project (as written in the syllabus). I think the revised version of the assignment will be doable within a week and will eventually help your persuasive and/or commemorative speech. I encourage you to work as a group, but I also understand that you are busy, so it is really up to your choice.
Either case, please follow the instructions below carefully and email me ([email protected]) if you have any further questions or if you need an extension for this assignment for some relevant reasons.
- Carefully select a speech of your interest: it should be either persuasive or commemorative speech & at least 3 minutes long.
- Watch the speech and analyze/evaluate the speech by following the guideline below.
- Write a speech analysis report (at least 5oo words; but do not exceed 1000 words) as a POST to CUNY Academic Commons by Sunday, April 15 7.pm. Insert the link to the speech in the post. You can use images, links, and any other sources. Think about it as less an academic writing but more a public-facing blog post. [USE THE “GROUP PROJECT” CATEGORY]
- Be prepared to deliver ONE MINUTE oral report introducing the speech of your choice in class on April 16 Monday.
*Your written and oral report should use the terms and concepts we have studied throughout this class. Since we do not take an in-class midterm exam, this assignment will provide you with an opportunity to apply the principles you have studied from the textbook to the established public speaker’s speech.
Written Report Guideline (Regard it just as a guideline– you don’t have to include all of the below)
1)Introduction (not more than 10%)
- Brief introduction of the speech occasion and bibliographical background of the speaker
- The reason you/ your group decided to choose the speech; relevance to the audience?
2)Structure/ Main argument (no more than 20%)
- Identify the speaker’s main argument briefly
- Analyze the structure of the presentation (e.g. Problem/Solution, chronological?)
3)Speech Evaluation (max. 60%) — for example, in case of persuasive speech
- Identify methods of persuasion (or giving information) and evaluate how they work
- Focus on: Credibility, Evidence, Emotion, Personal Connection
- Evaluate the speaker’s delivery (eye contact, non-verbal, vocal variety, etc.) and visual aids
4) Conclusion (max. 10%)
- Discuss one or two things the speaker could have done better
- Discuss any skills you learned from the speaker and things you’d like to apply to your persuasive speech
Provide further discussion questions if possible
Food for Thought: Speech examples and some topics
Monica Lewinsky, The Price of Shame (2015), TED Talk: “Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop,” says Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, she says, “I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.” Today, the kind of online public shaming she went through has become constant — and can turn deadly. In a brave talk, she takes a hard look at our online culture of humiliation and asks for a different way.
Sherry Turkle, Connected but Alone? (2012), TED Talk: As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other? Sherry Turkle studies how our devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication — and asks us to think deeply about the new kinds of connection we want to have.
Emma Watson HeForShe Speech at the United Nations (2014)
Michelle Obama at City College of New York 2016 Commencement Ceremony
Apple CEO Tim Cook Delivers The 2017 MIT Commencement Speech
Oprah Winfrey, Award Acceptance Speech, at the 2018 Golden Globes
Speeches by Emma Gonzalez
Alex Juhasz, Four Hard Truths About Fake News, JSTOR Daily, 2016.
Zeynep Tufekci, “YouTube, the Great Radicalizer” New York Times, March 2018
