PERSUASIVE SPEECH 1. This presentation should persuade the audience toward the speaker s way of thinking on a particular subject. 2. Always use a brief introduction to get the audience s attention and interest. 3. The speech is to be well organized so that the speaker can present it from memory. Two 3x5 cards may be used, if necessary, for reference. 4. It is important for the speaker to let his/her Christian attitude be known in his/her speech. 5. The time allowed is 3½ to 6 minutes. Four minutes is a perfect time. 6. The choices for this speech should be contemporary topics, ideas, or events. 7. Some gestures may be used but care must be used in not overdoing them. 8. No visual materials are to be used. We should not be slaves to fashion. Every state should / should not have capital punishment. All bicycle / motorcycle riders should wear helmets. All Americans should learn to recycle. A FEW SUGGESTED TOPICS 16
PERSUASIVE SPEECH CRITIQUE SHEET Name of Contestant Name of Selection OBSERVATIONS INTRODUCTION and TRANSITIONS Attention getting 2 (low) (high) Opinion clearly stated 3 Comments: VOCAL INTERPRETAION Flexibility 3 Projection 2 Comments: PHYSICAL PRESENCE Eye Contact 2 Gestures 2 Facial expression 1 Comments: UNDERSTANDING MATERIAL & CATEGORY Supportive information 1 Strength of argument 3 Christian viewpoint 1 Comments: TIME: Perfect timing 5 (3:30-6:00) 3:15-3:29 or 6:01-6:15 4 3:00-3:14 or 6:16-6:30 3 2:45-2:59 or 6:31-6:45 2 under 2:45 or over 6:45 1 Judge TOTAL POINTS 17
WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL FORENSIC ASSOCIATION RULES FOR FOUR MINUTE SPEAKING Purpose of the Category: To develop skill of speaking informatively on any significant issue without using auxiliary visual materials. Definition of the Category: The challenge to the speaker is to present well-developed material which has the primary intent of informing, although persuasive elements may be present. The speech is to be coherent, unified, and clear. A range of support materials and devices are to be used which can include quotations, statistics, examples, comparisons, and analogies. Rules: The speech must be original with the participant. Auxiliary visual materials are not permitted. Maximum time limit: 4 minutes. A 30 second grace period is allowed, after which one point will be deducted from that evaluation item dealing with rate. The use of both sides of one 4x6 notecard is optional. Criteria for Evaluation: The extent to which the topic and ideas of the speech were worthy of being heard. The extent to which the organization of the speech was characterized by an objective presentation of accurate, well-developed and unified information. The extent to which the presentation reflected effective language skills, including such items as use of transitions and clear, vivid and appropriate word choices. The extent to which the vocal interpretation was clear and appropriate to the subject, including such items as articulation, pronunciation, volume, rate, pitch and voice quality. The extent to which the physical presence contributed to the clarity and effectiveness of the presentation, including such items as facial expression, eye contact, gestures and bodily movement. 18
FOUR MINUTE SPEAKING EVALUATION SHEET Maximum Time: 6 minutes Time: Name Title Circle the number representing your response to the question 1. WEAK 2. FAIR 3. GOOD 4. VERY GOOD 5. EXCELLENT Use the spaces below to explain your rating and to provide suggestions for improvement. To what extent was the topic and ideas of the speech worthy of being heard? To what extent was the organization of the speech characterized by an objective presentation of accurate, well-developed and unified information? To what extent did the presentation reflect effective language skills, including such items as use of transitions and clear, vivid and appropriate word choices? To what extent was the vocal interpretation clear and appropriate to the subject, including such items as articulation, pronunciation, volume, rate, pitch and voice quality? To what extent did the physical presence contribute to the clarity and effectiveness of the presentation, including such items as facial expression, eye contact, gestures and bodily movement? Signature of Judge Total Points 19
CHOOSING A TOPIC PERSUASIVE SPEECH HELPFUL HINTS 1. Choose something with which you are comfortable. 2. List several topics and issues of public interest. Think about your opinions on each topic. Choose the one that interests you the most and about which you have strong feelings. 3. Do not choose a broad topic. Try to choose something that is a contemporary problem. 4. Choose something that has plenty of information available to you. PRE-WRITE FIRST DRAFT RE-WRITE 1. Think about the audience to whom you are speaking. 2. Research the topic to find supporting facts. Take notes on data, quotes, stories, etc. that support your opinion. Remember to make note of your source. 3. Take note of opposing views and find data that will go against those views. 4. What does God s Word say about the subject? Are there specific passages that apply or is this an area in which the Lord gives us a choice? 5. Write a clear thesis statement (statement of your opinion). Be sure to include the words should or should not. 1. Write an attention-grabbing introduction. Start off with a startling fact/statistic or a heart-wrenching story. Make sure to end your introduction with your clear thesis statement (statement of opinion). 2. Carefully order your arguments with the strongest one first. 3. Use facts, quotes, statistics, analogies, stories, comparisons, etc. to support these arguments. Don t forget to give credit to the sources of your information. 4. Be sure your Christian values are evident. 5. Try to cover any arguments that your audience might have ( You may be thinking but OR Others may say but ). 6. Write a conclusion that briefly restates and summarizes your thesis (opinion) and your main arguments. You may choose to close by calling your audience to some kind of action. 1. Ask yourself: Do I have an introduction that grabs the audience s attention? Are my arguments stated clearly? Can I make my supporting information stronger? Is my Christian viewpoint clear? Did I review my thesis (opinion) and main arguments in my conclusion? 2. Show or read your speech to Mom, Dad, or a trusted friend. Did he/she find any parts that were unclear? 3. Re-write parts of your speech by making your unclear points more clear and by strengthening any arguments that needed additional support. Show or read your speech again to Mom, Dad, or a trusted friend. LEARN YOUR SPEECH 1. Give attention to speaking with a strong, convincing voice. Get involved. Let people hear the emotion in your voice. Pause after questions or important statements. Speak slowly and clearly. 2. Memorize your speech as much as possible. Use your note card for hard to remember facts/statistics. 20
SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR A PERSUASIVE SPEECH I. Introduction II. Body III. Conclusion A. Attention getter Grab the audience s attention with a question, a startling fact/statistic, or an emotional story to get the audience thinking about your topic. B. Thesis statement (State your opinion with a should or should not statement.) Football at the grade school and high school level should be eliminated. A. Football can be physically dangerous to the young, growing body. 1. Before bones are totally formed, they are more susceptible to serious injury. a) Facts, quotes, statistics etc. that support this point of view. 2. Compared to other sports, football has a far higher rate of injury. a) Facts, quotes, statistics, etc. that support this point of view. 3. 5 th Commandment states we should not hurt nor harm our body or our neighbor s body. a) Facts, quotes, statistics, etc. that support this point of view. B. Football is more expensive than other sports and should be eliminated as a cost-cutting step to show good stewardship of God s resources. 1. Facilities for games require larger expenditures. a) Facts, quotes, statistics etc. that support this point of view. 2. Uniforms are more costly. a) Facts, quotes, statistics etc. that support this point of view. 3. Insurance is more costly. a) Facts, quotes, statistics etc. that support this point of view. A. Football should be eliminated in grade school and high school because of its high cost in terms of physical injury and financial requirements. B. Actively campaign for the elimination of football in your school and save your sons and/or daughters health and large sums of money. 21
BASIC OUTLINE FOR PERSUASIVE SPEECH ON RECYCLING I. Introduction II. Body III. Conclusion A. Attention Getter - What would the world be like in 2065 without recycling? B. Thesis Statement: We must (should) recycle or reuse items. A. Recycling will save landfill space. B. Recycling will preserve our natural resources. 1. Trees 2. Soil C. Recycling is cost effective. D. Recycling helps preserve God s creation. PARAGRAPH 2 PARAGRAPH 4 PARAGRAPH 3 PARAGRAPH 5 PARAGRAPH 1 A. Things we can do to help out. B. Restate the main points C. BE SMART! DO YOUR PART! PARAGRAPH 6 22
Name Date DETAILED OUTLINE FOR PERSUASIVE SPEECH ON RECYCLING I. Introduction A. Attention Getter - What would the world be like in 2065 without recycling? 1. The Earth s atmosphere is full of dirty, smelly smog. 2. Landfill space has been used up. 3. Garbage has to be recycled. 4. Garbage has to be buried in your backyard. II. III. B. Thesis Statement: We must recycle or reuse items. Body A. Recycling will save landfill space. 1. Oct. 1990 Popular Science Magazine a) Each American throws away 4 lbs. of garbage daily. b) That would fill 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long. 2. We put 179.6 million tons of garbage in landfills each year. 3. We recycle or burn only about 14% of our garbage. 4. 80% of our landfill space will be used up in the next 20 years. 5. Decomposition of garbage in landfills takes years. a) Newspaper from a landfill was pulled up in Arizona. b) Headline from Jan. 8, 1952 was about Truman running for president. B. Recycling will preserve our natural resources. 1. Trees a) It takes 550,000 trees to make the Sunday newspaper. b) Benefits of recycling (1) Saves the energy it takes to cut the trees (2) Reduces waste (3) Protects forests c) Paper is about 40% of our garbage and it can be recycled instead. 2. Soil a) 18% of our landfill space is leaves and yard waste. b) Composting this garbage would enrich our soil. C. Recycling is cost effective. 1. Massachusetts a) Berlin, Mass. recycles 58% of its garbage and saves $150,000 a year. b) The state has reduced its landfilling by 90% because of recycling. 2. Profitable examples a) Recyclers received $93 million from Reynold s Metals for recycled aluminum. b) Sam Highly collected 944,000 cans and received $10,000. c) Europe (1) U.S. sells garbage to Europe for $5 a pound. (2) Europe recycles it and sells it back to us for $500 a pound. D. Recycling helps preserve God s creation. 1. Genesis 1:31 God s creation was very good. a) Sin has ruined God s perfect creation. b) Christians will want to preserve God s creation. 2. John 6 a) Jesus feeds more than 5,000 people. b) He asked His disciples to pick up the leftovers. Conclusion A. Things we can do to help out. 1. Use cloth shopping bags that can be reused over and over. 2. Paper a) Use recycled paper b) Recycle paper when we use it c) Reuse paper as scrap paper instead of throwing it away. B. Restate the main points 1. Save landfill space 2. Preserve natural resources 3. Save money 4. Preserve God s creation C. BE SMART! DO YOUR PART! 23
WRITTEN PERSUASIVE SPEECH ON RECYCLING The year is 2065. The Earth is a smog-filled mess. There are no longer landfills because there is no room. All of the garbage has to be recycled or buried in the back yard. The air is dirty. The smell is horrible. Is this what you want the Earth to be like? There is one thing we can do and that is to recycle or reuse items. An article in the October 1990, edition of Popular Science magazine gives us these statistics. Each American throws away about four pounds of garbage daily. That is enough garbage to fill a convoy of ten-ten garbage trucks more that 145,000 miles long. Most of the 179.6 million tons of garbage that United States throws away annually is put into a landfill, with only 14% of it recycled or burned. Somehow we have to cut down on our garbage because 80% of our landfills will close in the next twenty years. That is where recycling comes in. It is an easy way to save landfill space. One member of the University of Arizona s garbage project pulled up a newspaper from a landfill. It was yellow, but it was as legible as the day it was printed, January 8, 1952. The headline asked whether Truman would run for president again. Decomposition takes years and years. We must recycle and stop using landfill space. Recycling will also help preserve our natural resources. Did you know that we cut down 550,000 trees just to make the Sunday paper? Recycling saves energy to cut trees, reduces waste, and protects one of our most precious assets, our forests. Nearly all paper can be recycled. This is important because over 40% of all our garbage is paper and paper products. Leaves and yard waste take up about 18 % of landfill space. Composting yard waste enriches our soil, another valuable resource. Some towns are finding that recycling is very cost effective. The town of Berlin, Massachusetts recycles 58% of their garbage and saves $150,000 a year. The whole state reduced their landfilling 90% by recycling. Here are just a few more examples of recycling being a profitable success. Recyclers received $93 million from Reynold s Metals for the 305 million tons of aluminum they picked up. Sam Highly collected 944,000 cans and made $10,000. Can you believe this? We sell garbage to Europe for $5 a pound, and they recycle it and sell it back to us for an astonishing $500 a pound. Imagine how much money we could save by recycling. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1, verse 31, that God s creation was very good. We know that sin has ruined this perfect creation, yet as Christians we will want to do our best to preserve its beauty. We can also learn from Jesus example in John chapter 6, when He fed the 5,000 and then asked His disciples to pick up the remaining food rather than waste it. So let s get started! Use cloth shopping bags instead of paper or plastic because they re reusable. At the office or at school use recycled paper. And instead of throwing used paper away, recycle it or use it as scrap paper. Recycling is worth all the extra effort it takes. Our landfill space will be saved. Our natural resources will be preserved. We will find that recycling is very profitable. And we will help to preserve the beauty of God s creation. Be smart! Do YOUR part! 24