Speech Structure: Building the Body and Polishing the Conclusion

Dear students,

Thank you for completing your weekly tasks. We enjoy reading your works and see your progress in speech writing. Keep up the good work.

Last week we were talking about the importance of an attention-grabbing introduction. This week we are going to continue working on speech structure and make a focus on the body and the conclusion of the speech. Go over chapter 4.1 and 4.2 in your course book, complete the following tasks, and email the .doc file to Yulia. Note: please, write your last name in the file name, i.e. "Week 4 Ivanova.doc".

As usual, please, email Yulia if you have any questions or concerns about the tasks (irychkov@go.olemiss.edu).

These tasks are due Sunday, November 11th.

Best of luck

THE BODY
No doubt, you have ever heard about the Rule of Three. This basic formula can be seen in novels, short stories, movies, plays, reports, business briefings, and many other forms of communication.
The same Rule of Three is recommended for the body. No matter what your speech is about, consider the following basic speech outline template:

   1) Introduction — Establish topic and core message; list supporting points.
   2) Body
   • Supporting Point One;
   • Supporting Point Two;
   • Supporting Point Three.
   3) Conclusion — Recap main points; summarize core message; call-to-action.

Surprisingly, this simple 3-part outline template works for a wide range of speech topics and it does not contradict the organization patters given in chapter 4.2. The Body of the Speech Is the Heart of the Entire Presentation in your course book. On the contrary, it supports each of them.

TASK 1. 
Let’s try and extract the outline from one of the following performance. Choose one speech and make its outline. Make sure you provide a detailed structure of the body of the speech. You can use the sample outline in paragraph 4.2 as an example. 

1. “Grit: The power of passion and perseverance” by Angela Lee Duckworth at TED Talks Education https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance 
2. “How to live passionately—no matter your age” by Isabel Allende at TED2014 https://www.ted.com/talks/isabel_allende_how_to_live_passionately_no_matter_your_age (Note: in this speech, Ms.Allende effectively uses a 4-part body. Keep it in mind if you choose to analyze this performance).  
3. “3 rules to spark learning” by Ramsey Musallam at TED Talks Education https://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning

THE CONCLUSION
The proven recipe of a neat conclusion requires only two ingredients:

1. Effective summary of the major points of the speech. 
2. Inspiring solution or action step.

• Decorate these two with your final appeal that challenges, inspires, or motivates your audience to consider the significance of your topic. 
• Make sure your tone corresponds with the entire speech. 
• It is also a good idea to get back to the introduction and make so called “full circle”. That always gives unity to the speech. 

TASK 2. 
Write a conclusion for the following speech. 

How to Communicate Effectively

     Establishing and developing effective communication is important in order to be heard and change your environment according to your own thoughts. No one will guess what you want or what you think if you don’t tell them, and nothing is going to change if you do not propose a change. The purpose of my speech is to discuss three important skills that will help you communicate effectively. Such skills are not to be afraid of speaking, express exactly what you mean to say, and listen while you are not speaking. 

    The first aspect to communicate effectively is not to be afraid of speaking. Anytime you need to say something, go ahead and do it. Most of the times people are afraid of speaking because they are not sure if it is the right thing to say or the right moment to say it. Be sure, say what you want to say, and do not regret it. If you speak you will be heard and taken into account. You are important so you need to be heard. There is one thing you should not do somehow: Do not say something that will hurt somebody’s feelings. Unless that something has to be said inevitably, say it, but as softly and gently as you can. Never hurt anyone intentionally. Always think twice before saying something. You choose what to say, just be sure to say the right thing at the right time. If you do that, you won’t regret a thing. 

    The second main aspect of effective communication is to express exactly what you mean to say. Pick up the words that will express exactly what you are thinking of. Do not forget that one half of a word belongs to the listener and the other to the speaker. The listener gets their own version of what is said. However your job is to express yourself clearly, so that you can avoid misunderstandings. Although, avoiding misunderstandings is a hard task (not impossible), when it is achieved you will be expressing yourself effectively. Everybody will be able to identify exactly what you say, what you think, and what you want. Words are double edged weapons which can be used either to defend or to attack. If you make a good use of them, you will be able to do almost everything.

    The third main point to effective communication, and probably the most important of all, is the listening part. Listen and do not interrupt when it is no longer your turn to speak. You will surely learn new things from listening to others. If a person is speaking, it’s because she or he wants to be heard. Effective communication is based on both listening and speaking. If communication were based only on speaking, it would be an absolute tyranny. Nevertheless, communication is the means through which you express yourself in order to be heard and change your environment according to your own version of reality. Thus, it would be impossible to change anything if there were no one to listen, learn, and accept new ideas. Listening is a gift, and good listeners are always appreciated because there are only a few. 

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