Instructions: 

Students must deliver a persuasive speech to convince their audience to consider their stance on a particular issue or argument. 

The speech must be 5-7 minutes in length. 

The students must also provide a written outline for their speech. 

Conduct research on your topic using the library databases to find evidence (i.e. explanations, examples, illustrations, statistics, analogies, quotations from relevant authorities) to support your position on the topic. Use the persuasive speech worksheet and the outline to develop your speech. Include at least 5 academic sources from the LIRN database to support your position. 

This is an in-person assignment. It represents 25% of your grade. Please make sure to submit all necessary documents:

1. Prep worksheet

2. Outline

3. Written Speech with at least 5 Library References

4. Visual Aids

Students will be evaluated on the following: 

• Central message: The main point/thesis/"bottom line"/"take-away" of a presentation. A clear central message is easy to identify; a compelling central message is also vivid and memorable. 

• Delivery techniques: Posture, gestures, eye contact, and use of the voice. Delivery techniques enhance the effectiveness of the presentation when the speaker stands and moves with authority, looks more often at the audience than at his/her speaking materials/notes, uses the voice expressively, and uses few vocal fillers ("um," "uh," "like," "you know," etc.). 

• Language: Vocabulary, terminology, and sentence structure. Language that supports the effectiveness of a presentation is appropriate to the topic and audience, grammatical, clear, and free from bias. Language that enhances the effectiveness of a presentation is also vivid, imaginative, and expressive. 

• Organization: The grouping and sequencing of ideas and supporting material in a presentation. An organizational pattern that supports the effectiveness of a presentation typically includes an introduction, one or more identifiable sections in the body of the speech, and a conclusion. An organizational pattern that enhances the effectiveness of the presentation reflects a purposeful choice among possible alternatives, such as a chronological pattern, a problem-solution pattern, an analysis-of-parts pattern, etc., that makes the content of the presentation easier to follow and more likely to accomplish its purpose. 

• Supporting material: Outlines, Explanations, examples, illustrations, statistics, analogies, quotations from relevant authorities, and other kinds of information or analysis that supports the principal ideas of the presentation. Supporting material is generally credible when it is relevant and derived from reliable and appropriate sources. Supporting material is highly credible when it is also vivid and varied across the types listed above (e.g., a mix of examples, statistics, and references to authorities). Supporting material may also serve the purpose of establishing the speaker’s credibility.