SPEECH 3:  Special Occasion—What You Mean to Me:

The goal of this speech is to explain why someone is important to you.  What are their strengths and what have you learned from them?  What should others know about this person?  This person could be a mentor, a friend, guardian, teacher, an expert in the field you are interested in studying, or a role model.  The speech may be given in the style of an introduction, a toast, a commemorative, or a eulogy.  (Think: how would the tone and approach differ?)

Your speech should have a clear introduction, clear thesis or point, and at least three main points you want to cover, as well as a conclusion.  Use thoughtful language and specific examples to help convey the importance of this person.  The speech should be between 3-5 minutes.  If you would feel more comfortable with a prop—a glass, for example (if you’re doing a toast)—feel free to use one.  

TO BEGIN: Create a Speech Three page and copy and paste the questions/sections below in the page and answer these questions in detail.

FIRST, THINK: Who is this person and why are they significant?   Make a list of people you might like to talk about and list some adjectives to describe them.  Consider how comfortable and capable you are discussing someone if they are no longer alive.

NEXT: BRAINSTORM:  What other stories or anecdotes can you think of? Continue to add depth to your outline and speech.  (Writing a draft of a toast for your “person,” even if you are not composing a toast, might help shape your speech.) 

NEXT: NARROW:  Pick one person and focus on what you think your audience should know about this person.

NEXT: STRUCTURE:  Lay out 3 clear parts on paper: Intro, Body, Conclusion and start to budget the time your will spend delivering each part.

NEXT:  IN MOTION: Draft, add, subtract, practice, revise, repeat.  This speech, like all the others, is meant to evolve as you keep working with it throughout the week.

 Questions? Please email me.

We’ll treat next class as a planning day and the following as the first of two rehearsals.