– Public Speaking and Rhetorical Persuasion
Portfolio Project Directions and Rubric
This Portfolio Project is worth 30% of your overall grade.
Completing this Assessment will help you to meet the following outcomes:
Course Outcomes
• Anticipate audience reactions to oral presentations and adjust presentation format when appropriate.
• Deliver oral presentations using visual support materials in a variety of situations.
Institutional Outcome
• Information Literacy and Communication – Utilize current technology and resources to locate and evaluate information needed to accomplish a goal and then communicate findings in visual, written and/or oral formats.
Scenario
Employers today seek out job candidates with strong communication skills. Developing your public speaking skills can provide you an opportunity to showcase your abilities in the workplace. This project will enable you to showcase your public speaking skills and your ability to persuade to an employer.
Strong communicators are leaders in the workplace, and when decisions or changes need to be made within an organization, a strong presentation is often the key to ensuring a positive change is made. Employers need to be persuaded to take big steps. As you choose a topic and begin to develop your approach, focus on a workplace audience. Your task is to convince that audience (your supervisor, the board of directors, the union—the change makers), that your position on the topic is logical and needs to be acted upon.
Directions
For this Portfolio Project, you will be delivering a persuasive presentation on a controversial topic within your major. This will require you to find sources (statistics, images, interviews, etc.) to support your persuasive point. As you begin to consider your topic, keep in mind that your audience will not be made up of people who already agree with your persuasive point. Keep the audience who disagrees with you in mind as you develop your presentation; this will help you adapt your presentation to best convince that audience to believe or act on your viewpoints or beliefs.
The first step in this presentation process is to choose a topic. Avoid topics that have already been legislated or discussed in depth (legalization of marijuana, death penalty, bullying, religion, abortion, same-sex marriage, death with dignity). The topic you choose will be your focus for the entire class, so choose a topic you are eager to explore.
As a persuasive speech, you will need to examine your topic critically, take a position, and develop a reasoned argument supporting your position. Be prepared to back up your position with evidence.
Requirements and Formatting
You will deliver a 5-6-minute persuasive speech. Speeches less than 5 minutes or more than 6 minutes will lose points. As you will need to provide evidence for your position, you will need to use outside sources and integrate their use into your presentation. A minimum of two reliable sources must be used within your presentation. Before using a source, carefully evaluate that source for reliability.
Use visuals to strengthen the delivery of your position. This may include diagrams, objects, or images. Remember, however, that the visual aid is meant to support your persuasive point, so carefully connect it to your argument and use it to emphasize your position.
Deadlines
Deliverable items for the Portfolio Project will be required at different points during the course. Details for each submission are included below in the Deliverable Descriptions.
Deliverable Descriptions
Week 3: Persuasive Preparation Worksheet DONE
• Due by the end of Week 3 at 11:59 pm, ET.
Before beginning the drafting process, establishing the purpose and audience for your topic will help you make decisions about the best way to reach your audience. This will also allow you to find the best evidence to support your persuasive point.
Use the Persuasive Preparation Worksheet provided to complete this step of the presentation preparation.
Once you have completed the Persuasive Prepation Worksheet, submit the worksheet to the course to receive instructor feedback. You can then begin the drafting process.
Week 4: Preparation Outline
• Due by the end of Week 4 at 11:59 pm, ET.
Before you begin practicing your presentation in preparation for the rough draft, there is one more important step to take. It is always a good idea to create a Preparation Outline to enusre you focus your speech on its main points.
Use the Preparation Outline Template provided to complete this step of the presentation process.
Once you have completed the Preparation Outline, submit the outline to the course to receive instructor feedback.
•
For specific grading information, please refer to the Portfolio Project Grading Rubric.
Part 2:
Introductions & Conclusions in Public Speaking
Directions
Watch the following 7 minute, 53-second video of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi during the 2014 World Championship of Public Speaking with Toastmasters International. As you watch the video, please consider the following:
What approach does he take to catching his audience’s attention? How does he carefully circle back to that introduction at the end?
Consider his approach to the organization of his speech. What clues does he give that he is moving on to the next topic? What organizational pattern does he use?
How do his movements throughout his speech reinforce what he is saying and support the connection to the audience?
In a multi-paragraph essay, a minimum of 750-words, consider the characteristics of Dananjaya Hettiarachchi’s winning presentation. In your essay, be sure to discuss the following:
Consider Dananjaya’s use of a prop to catch his reader’s attention in the introduction, and his careful return to the prop in his conclusion. Describe how he used this technique to win his audience over. Explain why this was such an appealing approach to his presentation.
Consider his organizational structure and the ways he signals his transitions. Give examples of the most important skills for you to develop during this course. Discuss how he uses verbal and visual cues to indicate that transition.
Consider his movements throughout the speech. Discuss how these movements reinforce what he is saying and support the connection to his audience.
COMM201 – Portfolio Project Grading Rubric
Criteria Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Needs Improvement Points
Introduction
20 points 18 – 20 points
The presentation is introduced in a creative manner that immediately grabs audience attention, emphasizes the topic and the thesis statement, and reviews the main points. 14 – 17 points
The presenter attempts to gain the audience’s attention and interest. The topic is clear, but the thesis statement or the main points are not clearly stated. 0 – 13 points
The presentation is lacking an introduction, or no attempt was made to draw the audience in and catch attention. The thesis and main points are not clearly stated.
Body
20 points 18 – 20 points
Main points are clearly indicated and support the persuasive point. Credible sources are used to support the main points and are introduced clearly. Transitions between points are smooth and help the audience make the transition. 14 – 17 points
The main points are given but some may be lacking in support or development. Sources are used but may lack smooth introductions and emphasis of credibility. Sources may not be the most appropriate. Transitions are used but they may not smoothly lead the audience to the next point. 0 – 13 points
Main points are disconnected from the persuasive points or lack effective support. Sources are not introduced or not used. Transitions are not used.
Conclusion
15 points 14 – 15 points
The conclusion is clearly indicated to the audience before delivery and emphasizes the main points of the speech clearly. 11 – 13 points
The conclusion closes out the speech but does not include the main points or connect to the speaker’s purpose. 0 – 10 points
The conclusion is missing or does not review the main points from the speech. New information may be introduced.
Delivery
30 points
27 – 30 points
The presentation was delivered in a professional and persuasive voice including effective appearance and body language. The delivery was carefully paced with pauses and emphasis to draw audience attention to the key ideas delivered. The speech is delivered without the need for notes allowing for strong eye contact and a connection with the audience. 21 – 26 points
The presentation was delivered in a professional and persuasive voice including effective appearance and body language. While articulation was clear, delivery may be slightly fast or have long pauses. The speaker relies on notes or the outline too heavily, drawing the focus away from the audience and appropriate eye contact. 0 – 20
The presentation delivery, including voice, body language and appearance, appear unprofessional or too casual. The speed of the presentation may be too fast or too slow, and the voice may falter consistently or be too quiet to hear clearly. Little or no eye contact or audience connection is made. The speaker relies too heavily on notes or reads the presentation rather than speaking.
Content and Visuals
15 points 14 – 15 points
The speech clearly takes into consideration the audience and purpose of the speech using appropriate tone and vocabulary to reach the given audience. Involved the audience in the presentation and held audience attention throughout. Adapted presentation to meet the anticipated audience where they are. Visuals were used within the presentation to enhance the persuasive point and strengthen the thesis statement. The speech is 5-6 minutes long. 11 – 13 points
The speech begins to take into consideration the audience and the purpose of the speech and uses tone and vocabulary to meet audience needs, but portions of the content move off topic or confused the audience. The visual aid provides support for the persuasive point, but the use within the body of the presentation tends to be confusion or incomplete. 0 – 10 points
The speech is disconnected from the purpose and audience as speaker defined. Audience need and expectations were not taken into consideration. Audience attention was lost or the audience was unable to determine the purpose of the presentation. No visual aid is used within the presentation or it is not used to support the thesis statement The speech is more than 6 minutes or less than 5 minutes long.
Instructor Comments: Total Points:
COMM201 – Portfolio Project Reflection Grading Rubric
Criteria Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Needs Improvement Points
PowerPoint
80 points 72 – 80 points
The student creates a Power Point that addresses the assigned Bryant & Stratton College Course and Institutional Outcomes in detail. Provides a deep, thoughtful reflection on how knowledge gained from the project will be relevant to their personal or professional life. The slides are easy to read. 56 – 71 points
The student creates a Power Point that briefly addresses the assigned Bryant & Stratton College Course and Institutional Outcomes. Provides a reflection on how knowledge gained from the project will be relevant to their personal or professional life. The slides may be difficult to read or may have an ineffective layout. 0 – 55 points
Reflection does not address all the required elements. The assigned Bryant & Stratton College Course and Institutional Outcomes may be missing or lacking significant detail. Does not make clear connections between the project and their personal or professional life.
Vocal Delivery
20 points 18 – 20 points
The student speaks clearly, with an effective pace and minimal filler words such as “um.” The recording is 2-3 minutes. 14 – 17 points
The student mostly speaks clearly, but the pace may be too fast or slow. There are several filler words that are distracting, or the recording is longer than 3 minutes or less than 2 minutes. 0 – 13 points
The student does not include a recording, or the student’s speech is difficult to understand due to pace. The amount of filler words is distracting to the audience. The recording may be significantly shorter than 2 minutes or significantly longer than 3 minutes.
Instructor Feedback Total Points:
The post Requirements and formatting appeared first on Skilled Papers.
