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Speech Writing 101
Language and CompositionMrs. Hyatt
The rhetorical triangle
Speaker
Audience
Purpose/Occasion
Audience Considerations
For whom are you speaking? Do you want to be formal or informal? What connection can you make with
your audience? How big is your audience? Who’s in it? Males? Females?
Minorities? Young people or old crones? Rich? Poor?
Occasion
Why a speech is appropriate A commencement? A victory? A rally?
Speaker questions
Establish yourself as the speaker Are you friendly? Funny? Serious? Formal or informal? An authority or a novice? A peer or a superior or an inferior?
Key Ingredients
Opening and greeting Use storytelling – anecdotes and jokes can work Use a “hook” – just like a lead in an essay/news
story
Body of speech Your main points
Closing A call to action Words of wisdom
From Congressional Research: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/98-170.pdf
Strive to maintain a clear theme throughout the speech.
The accepted style of contemporary American public address is natural, direct, low key, casual, and conversational. This puts listeners at ease and promotes a sense of community between audience and speaker.
Punctuation should reflect the sound structure of the speech, reinforcing the rhythm and pace of actual speech.
Clarity of expression is as important a consideration in speech grammar as rigid adherence to rules for written language.
Effective delivery can greatly improve a speech.
Language
Don’t be wordy – you want to keep people ENGAGED
Consider your diction carefully in relation to your audience
Use rhetorical strategies!!! Rely on cadence and the aural
elements of speech
Composition and rhetoric for speeches Repetition –
Lincoln at Gettysburg emphasized the significance of the day's events by restating the solemnity of the occasion in not fewer than three variations:
“We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground, ...”
Cadence
Rhythmic Triads.
The grouping of words into patterns of three:
I came, I saw, I conquered
The kingdom, the power and the glory
One third of a nation ill-clad, ill-nourished, ill-housed....”
Alliteration
Repetition of beginning consonant sounds
high standards of strength and sacrifice
Anaphora
Repetition of beginning words or phrases
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds
Antithesis
Comparing and contrasting dissimilar elements
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country
Sentence Variety
Use dramatically short sentences
Incorporate fragments
Rhetorical questions
Asyndeton and Polysyndeton
Best speeches of 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/best-commencement-speeches-2013_n_3384081.html
Homework – audio annotation Watch one of these speeches Take notes on what you hear
Technique Purpose/message Delivery
Homework – audio annotation Type up a one page “review” of the
speech. Include an introduction that answers the
who, what, where, when, overview What made the speech effective and
powerful What you learned about speechwriting and
making based on the one you watched and listened to (something you may employ in your own speech)