Speech Analysis Suitable for use during: Part 2 (possibly part 1, and there are opportunities for a link

to parts 3 or 4)! Focus material: On The Mindless Menace of Violence! Skills developed: Reading and analysis of speeches; writing and delivering speeches! Assessment focus: All assessment tasks may be developed through this activity, depending on the material chosen for the focus! Activities: Individual and group reading and analysis; discussion; speech writing and delivery! Teacher instructions Exercise 1 Photocopy Basic types of speeches as a handout.! The speech can be a way to present particular information, or a way to inuence and motivate groups to action. Or the purpose could be to unify and consolidate smaller groups or individuals to a common cause. No matter what the purpose of the speech, the particular way in which a speech is received and interpreted by the audience is inuenced by the type of speech and the language used. The audience also determines how the speech is received due to their own individual and group characteristics such as social class, culture, religion and racial ties. Discussion of various speeches, and the context in which they were delivered and received, forms a rich area for study.! When exploring and analysing the following and other speeches or extracts, you can refer to the handout, which gives a table of basic types of speeches. Try to identify the pattern and structure of the speech, bearing in mind that, at times, speeches combine patterns from more than one basic type in order to achieve their desired outcomes.! Basic types of speeches! Topicalthis speech splits the main topic into sub-topics. For example, a speech about changing catering providers may involve discussion about different types of food and drink choices and their benets.! Spatialthis type of speech follows a direction. For example, in a speech about planning a special event such as a wedding, you could rst discuss placement of the tables and chairs (including appropriate seating for special guests at the front and less important guests at the rear) followed by discussion about the entertainment and catering options.! Chronologicalthe topic is arranged by time. For example, in a speech about your rise to an important position, you would begin with details about your humble roots and beginnings, followed by information about your own personal growth over the years, then your current status. This could be followed by your future aspirations.! Problem/solutionyou present a problem that needs to be solved and then a solution to that problem. This type of organization is effective if you are trying to motivate your audience to take some kind of action. For example, a speech describing the effect of global climate change and pollution on people and the environment ts this organizational pattern, provided it lists the sources of the problem and describes what can be done to stop it.! Comparativeyou compare and contrast different proposals or plans, usually to persuade the audience that one plan or proposal is better. For example, in a presentation to a companys executives, you could

compare and contrast two different advertising proposals concerning a new product to convince the executives that one proposal is better than the other.! Causal (both informative and persuasive)this type of speech shows cause/effect relationships. Often the effect is discussed rst, then the cause. A speech about natural disasters that describes how they occur and their destructiveness ts this organizational pattern.! One focus of persuasion is the question of fact. This refers to something that we can know to be either true or false, but right now we can argue about it: To persuade my audience that media violence causes real-life violence.! Another focus of persuasion is the question of value. Here we argue something is right or wrong, moral or immoral, or better or worse than another thing:"To persuade my audience that one product is better than another."! Another focus of persuasion can be questions of policy:To persuade my audience that the ban on women in combat should be lifted.! Prepare students to explore speeches more thoroughly by delivering the following information in preparation for the rst exercise.! Focus on how the language used in speeches is meant to inuence and persuade the audience. Consider how the specic language used was meant to create an emotional response in the audience and through this response a desired effect. Students need to be analysing various structures and types of speeches as well as identifying literary and stylistic devices in order to determine their functions within the speeches.! Though delivered in different times and in other circumstances, the future readers of speeches may sometimes feel the same emotional connections and it may be possible that the speeches may still have the same effects as originally intended.! Consider how context has an inuence on how a speech is received by a reader and how that may or may not changethat the speech being delivered in a particular place at a specic time could have more impact on an audience.! Also examine the various roles of theme/content, tone/mood, images, stylistic devices and structure in analysing and comparing speeches.! Ensure the students have a good understanding of the key terms and the contextual background to the exercise, then read the speech together.! Contextual background:! Source A: Robert Kennedy On the Mindless Menace of Violence - On April 5, 1968, two months before his own death, Robert F. Kennedy gave a speech at the City Club of Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio titled the "The Mindless Menace of Violence." For a nation trying to come to grips with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the day before, Kennedy tried to frame the issues associated with violence.! Key questions! For what audience was the speech intended? How does the writer involve the audience?! For what purpose was the speech intended? How does the writer inform the audience?! What are the variations in the tone of the speech? What examples can you identify?! What mood has been created in the speech? What examples can you give to support your answer?! What was the purpose of the speech and how do you know?! Are there particular lines of the speech you do not understand? Why not?!

Are there particular lines of the speech that you had a strong reaction to? Why?! Extension!

1. Have you determined the purpose of the speech? How do you know?! 2. Note elements that aid in that purpose.! Note elements that hinder that purpose.!

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3. Have you considered the audience and historical context?! 4. What is the historical context that motivated the speakers purpose?! What does the audience think the purpose is?! How do you interpret the speech now?! 5. Now consider how to explain these elements and ideas.! 6. What is your understanding of the speech?! Note specic examples from the text.! Note the use of language in context.! Place the speech in its historical and cultural context.! Following this activity, a second speechsource Bshould be chosen for analysis.! The choice is really up to the teacher. Speeches by literary characters can also be used here, providing a good link to the literary options, if desired. ! Use for comparison to the speech provided. Analyse and compare the speeches in terms of:! audience! purpose! theme! content! tone! mood! images! stylistic devices! structure.! The same process of identifying key elements and providing explanations will be used in exercise 2.! Exercise 2 Students select a speech or speech extract of their own choice to work with.! Students annotate or underline all of the literary terms and stylistic devices they are able to identify.! Students try to explain why they were used in the speech and what they are trying to achieve.! Exercise 3 Ask students to attempt the following exercise.!

Fact, value or policy?! Write a speech with a focused objective:! Your speech should take account of the following theories.! Logical reasons: To be convincing, an argument must be based on solid evidence and sound reasoning. For example: Did you know that blood donated to the American Red Cross saves 4.5 million lives per year?! Problem/solution: State the problem, or that some conditions are not quite optimal, and why its important. Let the audience realize the scope and effects. Appeal to reason and to the needs and emotions of the audience to persuade them. Advocate a solution for the problem and its causes, or a plan to satisfy the audiences needs.! Comparative advantages: Show your listeners which one is the best. For example, this comparative speech topic: Compare and contrast two laptops and tell which one is the best one for your job or personal life, and why.! Dont forget: Monroes Motivated Sequence.! Step 1: Attention! Get the attention of your public. State the importance of your specic angle of approach. List the main benets to arouse interest.! Step 2: Need! State the need for change. Show why it should concern them. Relate the issue or problem to the values, attitudes, interests and needs of the listeners.! Step 3: Satisfaction! Satisfy their needs. Provide the details and interesting facts of your plan. Show how your solution works.! Step 4: Visualization! Visualize the benets. That is the heart of your motivational speech topic. Illustrate them with examples, anecdotes, comparisons, statistics, denitions and visual aids. Show successful implementation in other organizations. Tell your public whats in it for them.! Step 5: Call to action! Show them, or explain to them, what to do to implement your plan. For example: Protest against nuclear testing!! Speeches can be delivered to the class.!