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PART TWO
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Speaking
Assignments
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28 PART TWO—SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS
here are many kinds of speaking assignments that can be used in conjunction with The Art of
Public Speaking. Most of those described below are keyed to the course outlines presented
in Part One of this manual. When there are two or more options offered for a round of speeches
(Option A, Option B, etc.), you should select one option, so the entire class is performing the
same assignment during that round of speeches.
In addition to the formal speaking assignments presented here, the Exercises for Critical
Thinking in the book and the Additional Exercises and Activities in Part Four of this manual con-
tain a number of suggestions for speaking activities.
Introductory Speeches
Option A: A Two-Minute Speech Introducing a Classmate
The speech should be delivered extemporaneously from brief notes that occupy no more than one
side of a single 4 x 6 index card. Stress that students are not to read their speeches and should use
as much eye contact as possible.
In preparation for the speech, have students pair off and interview one another. The interview-
ing can be done in the last 15 to 20 minutes of the first class meeting. The assignment usually
Since the purpose of this speech is to give students a brief, initial exposure to speaking in
front of an audience in a low-risk situation, many instructors do not affix a grade to it. Others,
having found that students take the speech more seriously if they know they are being graded,
weight it very lightly—in some cases, the same as a graded homework assignment, and in no
circumstances more than 3 to 5 percent of the total grade for the class.
Option B: A Two-Minute Speech Introducing a Classmate
The speech should be delivered extemporaneously from brief notes that occupy no more than one
side of a single 4 x 6 index card. Stress that students are not to read their speeches and should use
as much eye contact as possible.
T
SPEECH OPTIONS 29
30 PART TWO—SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS
Option E: A Two-Minute Speech of Self-Introduction Based on
a Newspaper or Magazine Article
The speech should be delivered extemporaneously from brief notes that occupy no more than one
side of a single 4 x 6 index card. Stress that students are not to read their speeches and should use
as much eye contact as possible.
To prepare for the speech, each student should consult a newspaper from the day they were
born or a magazine such as Time or Newsweek from the week they were born. They should then
they are being graded, weight it very lightly—in some cases, the same as a graded homework
assignment, but not more than 3 to 5 percent of the total class grade.
Option F: A Two-Minute Speech of Self-Introduction Based on
a Personal Object
The speech should be delivered extemporaneously from brief notes that occupy no more than one
side of a single 4 x 6 index card. Stress that students are not to read their speeches and should use
as much eye contact as possible.
In preparation for this speech, have students select an object that represents a significant as-
SPEECH OPTIONS 31
32 PART TWO—SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS
Option D: A Speech of 5 to 6 Minutes in Which Students Explain a Significant Aspect of a
Culture Different From Their Own
Possible topics include social customs, family traditions, holidays, clothing, food, religious tradi-
tions, sporting activities, and the like. Students should turn in a preparation outline, but the speech
itself should be delivered extemporaneously from a brief speaking outline.
Research is required for this speech. If students have had direct contact with a different cul-
ture, they should be encouraged to supplement their library research with their personal experi-
ence, but the speech is not to be a travelogue or a presentation on “My Summer in Europe” or
“My Year as an Exchange Student in Brazil.” On the other hand, a speech on how Europeans
spend their summer vacations or on the educational system of Brazil would be fine.
Because students are sometimes resistant when they are required to speak about a different
to explain ideas clearly and to think about ways to relate the topic to the audience. Some instructors
require a visual aid for this speech. Others encourage the use of a visual aid but do not require it.
Persuasive Speeches
Option A: A Speech of 7 to 8 Minutes Designed to Persuade the Audience
For or Against a Question of Policy
Speakers may seek either passive agreement or immediate action from the audience, though they
should be encouraged to seek the latter if there is appropriate action for the audience to take. In
either case, students should be sure to deal with all three basic issues of policy speeches—need,
plan, and practicality. A complete preparation outline should be submitted. Delivery of the speech
is to be extemporaneous.
SPEECH OPTIONS 33
34 PART TWO—SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS
Option A: A Two-Minute Online Speech to a Hiring Committee
The speech should be delivered extemporaneously from a brief set of notes that occupy no more
than one side of a single 4 x 6 index card. Stress that students are not to read their speeches and
should use as much eye contact as possible.
This assignment asks students to present themselves via the Internet to a hypothetical hiring
committee that is assessing the student for a job after graduation. Students can select the company
and the position for which they are applying. Most will choose something that reflects their major
or potential major, but that is not a requirement. Because students don’t know how their lives will
play out in the time before they graduate, they should feel free to imagine what their experiences
might be by the time they graduate (for example, a degree in accounting or an internship with a
well-regarded company), but they should not be totally fanciful.
While this speech does not require the same amount of research as the informative or persua-
sive speech, students should learn enough about the company to which they are applying that they
can relate their qualifications to the company’s objectives and culture. The speech should be care-
fully prepared, extensively rehearsed, and effectively delivered—just as if students were address-
ing a real hiring committee with a job on the line.
Students should also follow the guidelines for online speeches discussed in Chapter 19 of the
textbook. When explaining the assignment to students, be sure to discuss the differences between
recorded and real-time online speeches, and make clear which of the two they will be delivering.
If you assign a recorded online speech, stress that students should talk directly into the cam-
era, as they would for a real hiring committee. Have them record the speech and upload it to a
course-management platform where it can be viewed by the rest of the class.
If you assign a real-time online speech, be sure to work out the logistical details well ahead of
Option B: A Four-Minute Online Speech Designed to Persuade the Audience
to Make a Charitable Donation
A complete preparation outline or manuscript should be submitted, but the speech should be de-
livered extemporaneously and adjusted to the online environment.
SPEECH OPTIONS 35
36 PART TWO—SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS
Option B: A Speech of 8 to 10 Minutes That Is to Be a Major Revision of an Informative
or Persuasive Speech Given Earlier in the Term
A complete preparation outline should be required. Delivery of the speech is to be extemporaneous.
Because time is often cramped at the end of the term, this assignment provides for a full-
length speech without requiring that students start from scratch in choosing and researching an
entirely new topic. It also gives students an opportunity to learn more about the revision process,
which is essential to speeches outside the classroom.
If this assignment is to succeed, you must tell each student which previous speech he or she is
to revise, must be quite specific in identifying for each student the kinds of revisions that are nec-
essary, and must make clear that major revisions—including additional research—are required if
the speech is to receive a grade of B or better. Otherwise, you are likely to get little more than
warmed-over rehashes of speeches you have already heard. Criteria for evaluation include all
major aspects of speech preparation and delivery covered since the first day of class.
Option C: A Speech of 8 to 10 Minutes Informing the Audience
About a Prominent Public Speaker
A complete preparation outline should be required. Delivery of the speech is to be extemporaneous.
Students can choose either a historical figure or a contemporary speaker for this assignment.
In either case, students should deal with the following points in their speeches, though not neces-
sarily in this order: (a) biographical background about the speaker; (b) the importance of public
speaking in her or his career; (c) major ideas of her or his speeches; (d) analysis of the speaker’s
techniques, including organization, language, and delivery.
Complex and challenging, this speech requires substantial research and allows students to ap-
ply the principles learned in class to established public speakers. Although it usually works best in
more advanced classes, it can succeed in the introductory course as well.
Make the assignment early in the course so students can work on it throughout the term. In
addition, give students a list of speakers from which they can choose. One approach is to have
them consult the Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th Century, which is available in Words of
a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900–1999, edited by Stephen E. Lucas and Martin
J. Medhurst. The list is also available through AmericanRhetoric.com. In addition, you can refer
students to such books as American Orators Before 1900 and American Orators of the Twentieth
Century, both edited by Bernard K. Duffy and Halford R. Ryan; Women’s Voices in Our Time,
edited by Victoria L. DeFrancisco and Marvin D. Jensen; We Shall Be Heard: Women Speakers
in America, edited by Patricia Scileppi Kennedy and Gloria Hartmann O’Shields; or Voices of
Multicultural America: Notable Speeches Delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native
Americans, 1790–1995, edited by Deborah Gillan Straub.
Encourage students to do all they can to make the speeches creative and interesting by follow-
ing the guidelines for informative speaking discussed in Chapter 15. Students who choose histori-
cal speakers may be able to use photographs or slides as visual aids; those who speak on current
figures might consider showing video clips of their subject in action. In either case, students
SPEECH OPTIONS 37
