SPEECH PREPARATION
1. Instructor Responsibility: Clearly, the instructor defines the parameters within which the student must operate when selecting and developing a topic.  The recommendations provided below are principally for the professor/instructor who has little to no experience with student formal presentation assignments.

 

2. Briefing purpose: What do you want the briefing to accomplish?  Should it be informational?  Evaluative?  Persuasive?  Will the student defend a thesis or hypothesis?  Do you want a professional briefing (ie decision brief)? Answering these questions will help you determine the specific requirements needed to evaluate the student’s level of success.
 

3. Theme and Argument: All of the briefing purposes except for the informational briefing require the student to develop a theme/purpose/thesis/hypothesis/solution to a problem (slash whatever you name it). Since his or her ability to defend this theme with a clear and focused argument will determine the success or failure of the student’s briefing, assignment criteria should include detailed argument development.
 

    a. Developing a good theme requires a lot of thought and careful analysis on the part of the student. Forcing the student to

    narrow a topic and to explore it in detail is never easy, but is vital if you want the student to develop a meaningful argument
    rather than one that will bore the audience with the banality of meaningless superlatives and sweeping generalities.  Requiring
    students to receive approval on topics and to defend them before developing the briefs can make your job a little easier and
    make the briefings more interesting and useful.

 

    b. One excellent technique for trouble-shooting the student’s argument prior to his or her presentation is to require a speech

    outline before they finish writing the formal presentation. This outline should flow from theme/purpose to key points/defense.
    If the briefing assignment requires a recommendation it should be included in the outline as well.  For example -

 

(1) Develop interesting introduction with transition to subject.
 

(2) Develop coherent statement of theme/problem statement.
 

(3) Determine who the audience is and why they should listen to your argument.
 

(4) Determine what subordinate key points are needed to adequately defend the theme.
 

(5) Gather evidence and support for each key statement.
 

(6) Develop a clear and specific recommendation or recommendations if appropriate.
 

(7) Outline format –
 

____________________________________________________
 

1.  Introduction/transition to subject.
 

2.  Theme/problem statement
 

3.  Audience/exigency for argument (why they should listen to you)
 

4.  Key point
 

a.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point


 

b.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point
 

5.  Key point.
 

a.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point
 

b.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point
 

6.  Key point.
 

a.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point
 

b.  Specific piece of evidence/support of key point
 

7.  Summation of argument.
 

8.  Recommendation(s) (if appropriate).
 

_____________________________________________________
 

c.  Speaking versus writing considerations:
 

            (1) Writing for the ear: David Brinkley once said, “The ear is the least effective way to receive information.” Accepting that

            this is true, the student must give careful consideration when writing for the ear to ensure that he or she packages the speech
            in such a way that it is easy for the audience to retain it. This means that the student must clearly express his or her key points
            as well reasoning process. Additionally, the student should consider using some visual or symbolic way to communicate ideas
            that will consequently stick in the listeners’ minds long after he or she finishes speaking.
 

            (2) Keep sentences simple. Again, writing for listeners rather than readers should force the student to write in a more

            conversational and direct manner. The student should limit his or her use of phrases and clauses—especially in the beginning
            of a presentation.

 

4.   Tone and Persuation.  Tone is joined at the hip with accommodating your audience.  Any given idea can be presented in a positive or negative fashion.  Whether you are preaching to the proverbial choir or attempting to persuade an audience that is hostile toward your views should determine not only the strategy behind your argument, but your tone as well.  If you are trying to persuade the other side, positive is always preferable to negative.  Which of the following sounds better?1.  If family members in family housing do not stop wasting the base’s energy and water resource dollars the commander will be forced to cut funding to the Youth Activity Center and the Arts and Crafts Shop.2.  Please help us continue to fund the Youth Activity Center and the Arts and Crafts Shop by following a few simple steps to save energy and water resource dollars.  Obviously, the answer that focuses on the positive is more likely to encourage the audience to make a personal sacrifise to save resources.