Assignment: Effective Speech
Instructions
1. Drawing on Chapter 1 of textbook, the Lloyd Bitzer reading, and other scholarly sources (not dictionaries or encyclopedia, newspaper articles, or websites, but scholarly journal articles or university press books) define the following terms and describe how they function when someone gives a speech (actual or hypothetical).
o Rhetorical Situation,
o Exigence (in terms of the Rhetorical Situation),
o Audience (in terms of the Rhetorical Situation),
o Constraints (and opportunities) (in terms of the Rhetorical Situation),
o Invention (in terms of the Canon),
o Arrangement (in terms of the Canon),
o Style (in terms of the Canon),
o Delivery (in terms of the Canon),
o Memory (in terms of the Canon).
If any of these concepts is unclear to you, ask your instructor for help.
2. Watch a Super Bowl commercial from an online source. In approximately 200 words, explain whether you judge it to be ethical or unethical and explain what would need to be changed in order to have you reverse your analytical judgment. Be as specific as possible in terms of respect for listeners and concern for consequences. Describe the ad sufficiently and summarize its contents fairly and carefully.
3. In Chapter 2, Dr. Zarefsky stresses the importance of establishing positive ethos. What is ethos? Describe a specific circumstance you recently observed in which a speaker did or did not establish positive ethos and how that affected a speech (for example, a speech you recently watched on television or at a civic event or public meeting) or a presentation given at your job or school.
4. Thinking about your Criticism of Criticism speech of introduction, how did you or will you establish your ethos with your viewers?
5. What experiences have you had with public speaking? You have already let your instructor know about any concerns you have about the course, and speech anxiety might have been one of them. If you have not felt much speech anxiety, what advice would you give to those who do? If you do feel speech anxiety, how do you think the speech anxiety strategies mentioned in Chapter 2 of the textbook will help you in this course and elsewhere in your life? If you have a speech coming up in your life before we finish with this course, please refer to Chapter
3 in the textbook for help in preparing that speech. Be sure to tell your instructor how it went!
Please save your responses in a single Word document, then upload it to complete the assignment.
Keep In Mind...
• If you really can't find an unethical text, find one that is okay, but explain what change to it would make it unethical. Be sure to refer to the 4 areas where any text should show high ethical standards.
• Remember that ethos is different from "reputation." Ethos is developed within the speech.
• Nervousness is a natural part of public speaking, even for successful and experienced speakers. Nervousness fuels our energy and inspires us to prepare ahead of time. Plan to use your nervous energy productively.