P.O.W.E.R. Learning - Robert S. Feldman

Try It! Interactive Exercise - I Know Who You Are

In this exercise, you will prepare to give a speech. Don't panic! You won't actually give it. Feel better now? Good. As with preparing to write, planning a speech involves similar organizational skills. While speechmaking involves the additional component of actually physically delivering the material, it is the content that will ultimately engage your audience. Do you know what you want to say? Do you know who your audience is? Have you stated your message clearly for that audience? Have you backed up your thesis with supporting evidence? Do you summarize your point of view at strategic points throughout the speech and particularly at the end?

As an additional component of a speech, you need to engage your audience immediately, to interest them in what you have to say. You can do that in several ways:

State your point of view or your thesis early in the introduction
Tell a story that is relevant to the topic
Start with a quotation
Ask a question
Tell a humorous story or joke- only if you are good at it

So now you will prepare to deliver your speech. The topic is:
We need to raise more money for more research to combat the worldwide threat of AIDS

I. You will prepare two different introductions:

1. One will address Congress

2. One will address theatergoers at the Academy Awards

Each person has a particular style or voice; pretending to be someone you aren't won't work in the real world. However, awareness of one's voice is not always obvious. In order to help you identify your own voice, first you will pretend that you are one of the following television or movie stars and write your introductions as if you were she or he. Then you will rewrite the introduction as if you were you--in your own voice.

Select one of the following actors whose voice you'd like to use in preparing this introduction:

Written in the voice of:

Speech to Congress:

Speech to theatergoers at the Academy Awards:

Written in your own voice:

Speech to Congress:

Speech to theatergoers at the Academy Awards:

II. Describe your own voice

Is it clearer to you now what your own voice is like? Do you tend to be formal in your delivery? Informal? Do you comfortably use academic language or do you prefer everyday speech? Can you tell a good story or do you prefer to stick to the facts? Do you pride yourself on your solid research and know how to integrate your findings into your delivery or do you focus on the emotional effects of the topic?
In the box below, briefly describe your own voice.

Your professor may want you to send him/her a copy of this. Just fill out the information below, press the "Submit" button and a copy will be sent to each e-mail address given. Or, you may prefer to print out this page to save a copy for your records.
Your name:
Your e-mail address:
Your instructor's e-mail address:

Previous Exercise

Chapter 8 Contents

Next Exercise