Public Speaking Unit 5: Make Your Speech Interesting (2024) PDF

English for Public Speaking Unit 5: Make your Speech Interesting (1) Some tips to bear in mind when writing a speech – KISS: Follow the golden rule of Keep It Short and Simple. Keep your sentences short, your grammar simple. Not only is this more powerful than long rambling prose, but you’re more l...

English for Public Speaking Unit 5: Make your Speech Interesting (1) Some tips to bear in mind when writing a speech – KISS: Follow the golden rule of Keep It Short and Simple. Keep your sentences short, your grammar simple. Not only is this more powerful than long rambling prose, but you’re more likely hold your audience’s attention – and be able to actually remember what you’re trying to say! – Rule of 3: another golden rule. The human brain responds magically to things that come in threes. Whether it’s a list of adjectives, a joke, or your main points, it’s most effective if you keep it to this structure. – Imagery: Metaphors, similes and description will help an audience to understand you, and keep them entertained. – Pronouns: Use “we” to create a sense of unity, “them” for a common enemy, “you” if you’re reaching out to your audience, and “I” / “me” if you want to take control. – Poetry: Repetition, rhyme and alliteration are sound effects, used by poets and orators alike. They make a speech much more memorable. Remember to also structure pauses and parentheses into a speech. This will vary the flow of sound, helping you to hold your audience’s attention. – Jokes: Humour is powerful. Use it to perk up a sleepy audience, as well as a rhetorical tool. Laughter is based on people having common, shared assumptions – and can therefore be used to persuade. – Key words: “Every”, “improved”, “natural”, “pure”, “tested’ and “recommended” will, according to some surveys, press the right buttons and get a positive response from your listeners. Rhetorical Devices Many speakers are good at telling information to their audiences. But how many of them are actually interesting? Rhetorical devices are a good way to make your speech more interesting, they can spice up your speeches, presentations, even your one-on-one conversations. 1. Alliteration: The repetition of a sound in the first syllable of each phrase. In the first example below, you will see one string of three words beginning with “f,” and another with three words beginning with “d.” In the second example, you will see Dr. King’s riff on the letter “t.” “They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places.” – President Barack Obama “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Try a sentence which has alliteration for your own topic: _____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Anadiplosis: The last word or phrase is repeated to begin the next. It is used to bring attention to a specific thing or concept. The repetition of the word calls attention to it as a main point of the text or speech. “Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith.” – Rev. Jesse Jackson “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda “They call for you: The general who became a slave; the slave who became a gladiator; the gladiator who defied an Emperor. Striking story.” —Commodus, Gladiator (2000 film) Normal easy examples When we win, we win big! Our university has a problem. The problem is that…. Write your own: ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Antithesis: A word, phrase, or sentence that opposes the original idea. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "Many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14. Write your own: ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Litotes: You’ve probably heard this if a friend ever told you her first date was “not bad.” Litotes is essentially a double negative, expressed by denying an opposite idea; often used ironically. “Her IQ is the highest in the class, she’s not exactly a dummy” (Saying she’s smart in a funny way) For anyone who has ever won 1st prize in the lottery, they would say it wasn’t the worst day of their lives. (Ironic. Of course it was a great day) Losing weight and getting healthy is not the easiest thing in the world, but… (using Litotes to sound softer. If you said, losing weight is difficult, listeners may feel discouraged) Why did I marry her? Well first, she’s not the worst looking woman in the world. (funny, ironic, different instead of saying beautiful like most people would say.) Write your own Litote(s): _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Simile: A simile is a rhetorical figure expressing comparison or likeness that directly compares two objects through a word such as like or as. A room without books is like a body without a soul. – Cicero Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. – Albert Einstein A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open. – Frank Zappa Write your own simile(s): _______________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Metaphor: A metaphor also compare things, but uses the verb ‘to be’ instead of ‘like or as’. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. – William Shakespeare Nationalism is both a vital medicine and a dangerous drug. – Geoffrey Blainey Her long hair was a flowing golden river. Write your own metaphor(s): _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Humour: When used properly, humour is a powerful tool for any speaker because it has tremendous benefits:  7.1 Humour creates a bond with the audience Speakers who use humour well come across as more sympathetic, more likeable. They put an audience at ease and make people more receptive to their ideas. As British comedian John Cleese has said, “If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas.”  7.2. Humour energizes people and keeps them engaged When we laugh, a lot of things happen inside our body. One of those things is that our heart rate increases and that keeps us stimulated and alert.  7.3. Humour can provide emotional relief for the audience Some talks are serious and emotionally challenging for an audience. Well-placed humour can give your audience some much-needed relief in these situations. It is important to balance the emotions appropriately.  7.4. Humour helps the audience remember your points Laughter has been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. This helps the audience remember your ideas. And after all, isn’t that the whole point of speaking in public?  7.5. Humour leaves the audience with a good impression of the speaker American poet, Maya Angelou, said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Example of using humour from Bill Gates’ talk about “Mosquitos, Malaria and Education” In his 2009 TED Talk, Bill Gates speaks passionately about solving humanity’s biggest challenges, including malaria. The first four minutes of the talk are serious, with lots of statistics about trends in child mortality. There is also some background information on malaria, especially how it has been eradicated in developed countries but not in poorer countries. It is as this point that Gates moves into discussing ways in which malaria can be stopped in those poorer countries. To make this transition, Gates uses humour. At 4:15 of the talk, he says, “Because the disease is only in the poorer countries, it doesn’t get much investment. For example, there’s more money put into baldness drugs than are put into malaria. Now, baldness, it’s a terrible thing. And rich men are afflicted. And so that’s why that priority has been set.” This is funny because it’s a bit silly. Baldness is not so terrible compared to diseases in the world, and everyone can be affected, not only rich men, but Bill Gates makes it sound very important because he himself is bald and rich. Gates’ humour about baldness elicits the first laugh, but he doesn’t stop there. He proceeds to talk about how 200 million people around the world are suffering from malaria at any one time and this can have devastating health and economic consequences. Gates then says that malaria is transmitted by mosquitos, a fact that this widely known. On a small table on the stage sits a jar containing dozens of mosquitoes. Gates walks over to the jar, opens it and says, “Now, malaria is of course transmitted by mosquitos. I brought some here, just so you could experience this. We’ll let those fly around the auditorium a little bit. There’s no reason only poor people should have the experience.” (He is jokingly telling the mostly “rich” audience that today they too can experience malaria, like people in poor countries.) In just a few sentences, Gates elicits attention, surprise, laughter and applause. The demonstration is not only humorous; it is concrete and makes the issue of malaria eradication tangible and memorable. For students using humour in English can be difficult. The easiest way is to use a funny personal experience related to your topic, or something funny you have heard about this topic. Write a humorous sentence or paragraph related to your topic: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Homework Assignment For homework students should look online for a joke or funny short story in English. It could also be a funny event from your own life. Remember the joke and tell it to the class next week. Important!! Of course it must be funny. Will other students understand the joke (easy language) and will they laugh? Try to use something that is more than just 1 or two lines. The Perfect Son. My friend once told me that her son smoked and played computer games too much. I told her that I have the perfect son. “Does he smoke?” She asked me. “No, he doesn't,” I replied. “Does he drink whiskey?” she continued. Again I said, “No, he doesn't.” “Does he ever come home late?” “No, he doesn't.” She was impressed. “I guess you really do have the perfect son. How old is he?” To which I answered, “He will be six months old next Wednesday.”