Speeches

Yes, its that time of year again. The dreaded speeches!

Each year students from year 4 to year 8 are expected to write and present a 3 minute speech to their class. If they are successful are they may be chosen to compete in the school speech finals and possibly go on to compete at the Franklin schools competition.

While most of us don't enjoy public speaking and speech writing is an arduous task, it is important that we all are able to express our ideas clearly and with practice we gain confidence at communicating effectively to an audience.

The speech may be on any topic but preferably one where the student has an interest, knowledge or some experience. Ideally it should be topical and original as topics such as Why homework should be banned or that Sports are good for you have been done to death.

The speech is not just a talk but must be **persuasive**. This means that the speaker presents a convincing argument relating to a statement. eg Pukekohe should have cherry trees in the main street. it should include researched information as well as personal experience The speech should begin with an attention-getting introduction which makes the audience sit up and listen. This can be achieved by using humour, startling statisitics, a rhetorical question or an anecdote. Never begin ' My speech is about..'......Boring! The introduction also makes it clear what point of view the speaker is taking. B**ody** The middle of the speech includes at least three reasons to support their view point. Each should be explained in detail with statistics and facts to back up their reasoning. The speaker may draw on their own ecperiences but also include information gained through research. The conclusion reiterates the speaker's view point and summarises his reasons. it needs to end with a flourish- somehting funny, witty or leaving the audience with somehting to think about. The speech needs to be rehearsed and learnt then key words should be written on to cue cards to act as memory joggers. the speech is to be spoken not read so the cards should not be relied upon but used in case a little reminder is needed about the next point. Practice ensures that the speech is delivered with a flow,clarity and a natural voice. Presention is judged on expression,looking at the audience, volume, pace and 'saying it as if you mean it '
 * Intro **
 * Conclusion **
 * Cue cards **
 * Presentation **

Speeches will be expected to be ready for presentation in week 4 I know this is a big ask of the students and a trying time for parents but please bear with it, offer guidance and advice but please don't write it for your child or copy directly from the internet.