AND ANALYSIS

Speech
The famous rndian peace activist and spirituar reader Mahatma Gandhi is known for saying ..We must become the change we seek in the world.,,That sounds at first like an awfully tall order, but today l,d like to show you how each of us can do just that and make a difference r.igi,t L"r. in Lexington, Kentucky. Think for;

Analysis
Notice how Alysso uses a famous quotation to get the oXention of her oudience in a woy thot olso piques interest about the topic.

did something do homework, or a neighbor rake get groceries from tl

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pointing out thot helping others makes
g.ood and volunteering con be easy.

that made

your week when you choose to be a volunteer. And for college students rike us, it's easy to get invorved as vorunteers in our local community. personally, I volunteer at the Lexington Rescue Mission and have reaped many benefits by doing so. (Show slide 1: pict.ure of me volunte"rirg ot the Mission.) l've also done extensive research on uof rniulring and civic engagement. So, let,s spend the next few minutes discussing the benefits volunteering can have for us as college students by focusing on how volunteering i,"f p, ,, geiacquainteO witl^, the Iocar community, why civic ..*.r"rn"., L the responsibirity of every citizen, and what voluntelri"ng .." J" a" teach us new skills and build our res

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Here, Alysso estoblishes listener relevance by

us

feet

Alyssa mentions thot she volunteers, which

bolsters ethos qnd establishes ner creaititirty to speak on the topic.

Notice how Alyssa's thesis with moin point preview gives us o sense of the organizational fromework for her ideas.

: [: Volunteering is"a"; great way to become acquainted with a community beyond the university campus. Most college students move away from the comforts of nor" to a new and unfamiliar city. Not knowing what there is to do or even how to get around can be overwhelming and isolating. Volunteering is an easy way to quickly become familiar with anO begin to feel a part of this new city in addition to the campus community. Volunteering allows you to learn your wayaround town. ln an interview I had with Natalie Cr"ni"gf,.r, the volunteer coordinator of the Lexington Rescue vlisJion, she said, ,,wy first group of students needed rides to all the various volunteer sites because they had no idea wneru tt,ing, w"re in the city. lt was reary easy for the students who rived"on ..rnom to remain ignorant of their city, but while volunteu.i,U tf.r.V become acqua.inted with Lexington and the importait issues going on here." tt seems tike a siily thing, brt k;o;;g;o"rr. *ru around town starts to make any city feer rike nor"."jotrntu.ring gets you out into the local area and helps you Ougin to get acquainted with new people and places. Volunteering can arso open your eyes to rocar sociar issues and conditions. According to Cohen, fVo*Orry, Lif lefte, and Thompson, many nonprofit organization, ,iriu.io ,.riru awareness of important social issues, things like hunger and homelessness. The second timu r ,rrow"J ip io"uorun,u.r. ., the Lexington Rescue Mission, I served fooi to tn. homeless. (show stide 2: sroup of votunteers i, tilriitini"rj t ,.ru.o soup and hung out with other volunteers and local homeless people. One of the .,veteran,,volunteers
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Agoin, os Alyssa introduces the first main point, she gets us to tune in because we all
con

know how overwhelming ond isoloting we feel when we move ta a new ploce.

in the text of the outtine.)

messoge is trustworthy. (Note thot interviews or, ,J, included in the reference section but are cited

Quoting the volunteer coordinator is a great piece of developmentql moterial thot encouroges us to trust thot Alyssa,s

Alysso intersperses octuol photos

o_thers

to me that

of her and volunteering throughout thi speech. Doing so enhances her verbol messoge but

Chapter

11

practicing

Delivery Zg3

has approximately 3,000 homeless people. /Show slide 3: homelessness stotistics in Lexington.) I was shocked to learn that we had such a large number of men, women, and children without a regular place to sleep. I wouldn,t have

Lexington

doesn't reploce it. The photos olso provide pothos, moking her ideas more emotionally compelling.

known about this problem or the organizations working to end homelessness if I hadn't been a volunteer. Not only is

volunteering important because it helps us become familiar with a town and its social issues; frankly, as members of a democratic society, volunteering is our civic responsibility. Giving back to the community through volunteer work is our civic responsibility and a privilege. Each of us in this room_ whether as U.S. citizens or international students-are reaping the benefits of earning college degrees in this democratic society. With that benefit comes the responsibility and
privilege of giving back. Volunteering is our civic responsibility. Wilson and Musick explain that, without active participation in the local community, civil society becomes deprived. I agree. Giving back by volunteering helps the community in so many ways. /Show s lides 4 and 5: volunteers sorting clothes ot the mission ond then volunteers playing cards with people served ot
the shelter.)

Here and throughout the speech, notice how Alyssa uses effective section tronsitions to

verbolly tie the point she is wrapping up with an introduction of the point to come. This makes her speech flow smoothly so listeners
con follow her troin of thought ond bolsters her ethos because she sounds prepored. Alyssa's careful oudience anolysis reveols itself here as she reminds her audience thot even those who are not Americon citizens ore benefiting os students in our educotionol system and, thus, have o responsibility to give bock in some woy.

Volunteering is also a privilege. Making a difference by volunteering ends up making us feel better about ourselves and our role in the world around us. ln fact, research conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service from 2O02 to 2005 shows that college students age sixteen to twenty-four represent the fastest growing demographic of volunteers in this country. (Show slide G: bar groph showing growth.) Not only that, a study done by the Higher Education Research lnstitute published in.lanuary of 2009 shows that a whopping 69.7 percent of first_year college students believe it is essential or very important to volunteer to help people in need. Certainly, the privilege of giving back as volunteers is our civic responsibility and helps our local community, but we can also reap valuable resum6_building life skills by volunteering. Volunteering helps teach us new skills. These new skills and talents can actually make us more marketable for better jobs once we graduate. Being a consistent volunteer at a nonprofit organization while attending college can strengthen your resum6. According to Charmer, in the Journal of Career Development, "Employers rely on credentials to certify that a young person will become a valuable employee. Credentials that document the experiences and employability skills, knowledge, and atitude.,, Laura Hatfield, director of the Center for Community Outreach at the University of Kentucky, points out that volunteers can include leadership, teamwork, and listening skills on their resum6s because they can document the experiences where they had to use them effectively in the real world. Andrea Stockelman, another volunteer at the Lexington Rescue Mission, explained some of the new skills she picked up with volunteering. She said, ,,1 learned that there was a lot more that went into preparing food for the homeless than I ever thought possible. lt was neat to be a part of that process." (Show slide 7: photo of Andreo preporing food.)

Alyssa's choice to include nationol stotistics of college student volunteers bolsters her credibility and provides listener relevance by reinforcing that college students ore doing

this, want to do this, and feel good about doing this kind of work. Students wont to know how to morket themselves to get good jobs. So this moin point will help mointoin listener interest at o point when minds might tend to wonder.

By including a quotation

from another volunteer, we don't have to toke Alyssa,s word olone.

recall a time you really enjoyed making a difference by helping someone, that memory won,t come from the distant past. lnstead, I hope you,ll be thinking.Oout ho* yJu'are being the change you seek in the world Oy uotunteeri., l.Un, here in Lexington right now.

Today we've discussed why voluntiering is beneficial to college students by focusing on how votuntlering can connect us quickly and easily to our local community, why it,s both our a privilege to do so, and how volunteering lespo_nsibility will benefit us after we graduate. So, l,m hoping the next time you

fsno* ,iJ" B: resumd with skills highliqhted.) I learned to .oorOin.i.-the sctreOules of other volunteers. I also practiced important peopte skills such as teamwork, empathy, conflict ,.n.g"rn"n,,
and listening.
This very cleor thesis restotement with main point summory signals a sense of closure.

Volunteering at the Lexington Rescue Mission taught me new skills that bolstered my resum6.

thank you th.at helps listeners feel like the speech is complete in a memoroble woy.

quototion in her clincher. This provides a sense of wrapping up without soying

Notice how Alysso ties back to her opening

Summary

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Delivery refers to the use of voice and body to communicate the message of.the audience ,.., u,.Jh.ars. Effectiv.

;.1*.y

is conversa-

ligible to your audienceand is vocalry J*f."rriu". During your body (eye contact, facial ."p..rriorri,
gestures,

The physicar erements of delivery include the use of voice and use of bocry. By varying the four characteristi.r '.r,.1." (pitch, volume, .ut., ur.a quarity) and using strategica,y plu...9 pu.rr...yo., can ensure that your speech is

inter_

115

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ethos,

reinfo.." tt'.

posture, poise, "-otro'ui^io,r. or your ideas,

*ou.-.rrt,

a speech, you can use

style. "."i When you are finaily ready to gi;.;;;, speech, remember that your goal is to have your audience understani yoi . -.rsage, so be prepared to adapt to your audience during your speech.

in the amount of content preparation and practice done ahead of time' speeches may be a.r-.r"a impromptu (with little advanced preparation)' scripted (memorizecl or clelivered aom u *ri,,.,',,'urruscript teleprompter), or extemporaneousry-researched or a and pranned ahead of time brrr wirh the exact word.ing varying i.o* pi.r.,rrarion ro presenrarion. Between the time the*outrine"i, cffieted and the speech is given, it is important to engage in rehearsal ,"rriorrr'.orrsisting .f p.;.;;., an analysis, and another practice. During " ,ir... ..rr.u.r^l ,..rioi., y..r'*iii *.rk on using a key-word outline of your speaking notes, using your presentationai aids effec_ tively, and
Speeches vary

using an effective

i";;;;;e

and detivery

Chapter

11

practicing

Delivery 235