Speeches

Speeches! One of those things that brings up a lot of fear in people. The fear is normally greatest in the lead up and, for most people, they are surprisingly relaxed during the speech and often say afterwards that they almost enjoyed it. Developing self confidence in speaking in public (even in group or class situation) is really important. The more you do it the easier it is.

We have watched and read some really inspiring speeches and have discussed what goes into a great speech. Our focus is persuasion so we have looked at what persuasion is, techniques used in TV adverts to convince viewers, and the strategies speakers use to convince their listeners.

We have discussed 3 main techniques:

• Include emotion – make it personal, include stories, use emotive language, use lots of personal pronouns.
• Include rational arguments – make the listener think your argument makes sense and is backed up by evidence, research, and science.
• Include moral arguments – Make your listener think that it is not just a good idea but the right thing to do.

We also discussed the importance of humour, a good hook, and not telling the listener what they already know.