Instructions
Students will: (1) video record themselves on camera (students must be both seen and heard) delivering a persuasive speech of 3-5 minutes focused on advocating for a specific action, policy, or procedure; (2) submit to Dropbox a document that presents their recorded speech as a URL along with their APA formatted references.
Students should ensure that they:
· Design a well-organized and supported speech on a topic that is appropriate for a time limit of 3-5 minutes.
· Present a persuasive claim that is framed by a clear organizational framework that includes an introduction, supporting points, and a closing.
· Use at least 3 reputable sources as evidence in the speech; these sources must be presented both orally, using attributive tags (such as “According to a report published by the CDC in 2023” or “As stated by Professor X, a researcher at X school, in 2022”), and in writing, using APA reference formatting.
· Use a suitable visual during the speech, such as a prop or brochure/infographic.
· Video record themselves on camera presenting to the camera as their audience, ensuring that they can be both seen and heard.
· Upload a document to the Dropbox that presents their Speech URL at the top of the page as well as their APA formatted references.
Recording Directions
To record and submit the speech assignments, students should follow these steps about technology:
The following video provides visual directions for this process:
(USLO 10.4)
Guidelines for Choosing a Topic
When choosing a topic:
· Ensure the topic is persuasive by using a
should statement to frame your argument rather than a
how statement, which leans toward an informative speech. For example, note how “plastic grocery bags should be banned” is persuasive, while “how to recycle” is informative.
· Ensure the topic is appropriate for a 3–5-minute speech. This means that highly controversial topics should be avoided, as it takes more than 3-5 minutes to persuade someone to consider changing their core values. This also means that the scope of the argument should be narrow: focus on an aspect of an issue rather than the whole. For instance, in 3-5 minutes, you could focus on what might be done with a specific aspect of pollution, such as eliminating disposable straws about water pollution or cutting back on fast fashion to help impact landfill pollution.
Topic Suggestions
To help you select a topic, here are some examples of focused and persuasive claims appropriate to the context of a persuasive speech of 3-5 minutes in length:
· People should take a First Aid course.
· People should donate blood.
· Students should take a self-defense class.
· Nurses should not work twelve-hour shifts.
· People over 40 should take a multivitamin to help protect against dementia.
· People should adopt a pet from a shelter instead of a breeder.
· People should reduce caffeine
· People should omit sugar in their diet.
· People should exercise daily.
