Assignment:

Speech 2

Narrative Speech One good way to begin speaking before others is to tell a story. We all enjoy hearing an interesting, entertaining, or inspirational story. Former President Ronald Reagan was famous for his stories of heroic individuals. Your assignment is to tell the class a story. This may be about an event that has shaped your life, or something you have heard or read about, or it may be designed to illustrate a moral. In telling a story, here are some important things to remember: 1. Open with an attention-getter. Grab your audiences attention from the outset. Suspense is one very good way of doing this. 2. Develop a clear plot line. Tell us what happened in a coherent time sequence. 3. Build to a climax, or punch line. There should be a turning point, or highlight to the action. 4. Make the characters seem real. Use names and descriptive terms. Joe, a muscular, twenty-year-old, is more meaningful that a man. Dialogue also makes your story come alive. 5. When you are finished the story, give your audience a wrap-up. Perhaps there is a moral to the story or something you have learned. Do not leave the audience wondering whether you have finished. Time Limit: 4 5 minutes Note Cards: 2 3 cards Outline: required Visual Aid: required Dress: casual Topic due: June 12th by 5p.m. Outline due: June 14th by 5p.m. Signup for speaking order: June 12th Presentations: June 19th

Your Story Speech

Essentials to Consider
1. Finding a topic

a. Use your personal inventory. b. Use suggestions of friends and family. a. Run through story orally or write it down. b. Chop out unnecessary details. a. Is the story clear from beginning to end? b. Will your audience become lost? a. Try suspense. b. Try tying end of story to beginning. a. Write down key words and phrases. b. Try colored pens to indicate different parts. a. Make it big. b. Keep it simple. a. Practice at least twice with real people. b. Ask audience for feedback, suggestions. c. Make sure your speech fits in the time limit. d. Tailor your speech to the time limit.

2. Clarifying your story

3. Arranging story events in a logical order

4. Using effective opening and closing

5. Preparing your note card

6. Using visual aids (not required)

7. Practicing and timing your speech

* Used by permission of Cynthia Duquette.