Deliberative Speech

In this speech, you will need to develop an argument that advocates for some action. This speech should make a major claim, and this claim will end up being your thesis statement. This claim should be a claim of policy. Remember that you will need compelling evidence that is seen as credible by your audience. Sometimes, that means you will have to make the case for why the evidence you use to substantiate your claim should be accepted. Also, you will need to understand the warrant that connects your evidence with the claim in order to know whether your audience will accept your argument. As for your plan, which you should spend a fair amount of your speech detailing, it should be comprehensive enough that it addresses the problem with an innovative yet practical solution. I am not expecting that you completely conjure this plan by yourself; I encourage and expect that you will bring in policy suggestions found through research (make sure to cite the sources). Also, if there is not a comprehensive solution to your problem, you can either work within the parameters of what people already understand could solve the problem, or you may devise your own comprehensive solution to the problem. Remember that plans are practical by nature. While inventiveness is good, make sure solutions are grounded in reality. As always, this particular class is your audience, so plan your speech to appeal directly to them. This means that when you devise your plan, find ways specifically to draw in the class and find parts of the plan that the class could act on. For instance, if your plan is for the U.S. Congress to pass a bill reducing greenhouse emissions, you could ask the class to call or write their Congressman or Congresswoman. Find a way to make the action you ask for small enough to be practical, but meaningful enough to make the person want to act. Think about the typical argument to donate blood: it’s a fairly simple request that doesn’t take much time and has tremendous benefit for other people. Sure, many people don’t actually do it, but many who can be persuaded are due to the simplicity and ease of the request. Of course, the mobile blood clinics usually make this as easy as stepping inside the bus. This speech should be developed within the same format as the Forensic Speech, including all aspects of a formal speech and outline (intro with attention material, thesis and preview; body with well-developed main points and transitions; and a conclusion with a review of the speech and a residual message). Look at the chapters on organization and outlining in the book to guide you in the development of your speech. The work you put into your outline is not only a major factor in the grading of your speech but it also the work necessary in order to give a good presentation. Thus, this is time well spent. Finally, style of delivery should be extemporaneous, with as little reading directly from notes as possible. Make sure that you do not read (or recite) your speech. You are attempting to captivate and influence an audience, which is very hard to do. If you do not engage them through direct and sincere eye contact, through your vocal tone, through your body and gestures, etc., then it makes the task even harder. A very large part of your grade will depend on your use of an extemporaneous style of delivery. You may use notes, but the idea is that you will prepare and practice to the point of needing the notes as little as possible. This need not (and should not) be memorized, but should come off more like something you have explained a thousand times before (but should also seem fresh and new—not an easy task). In order to do this, make sure you design your presentation notes so that they guide you through the structure of the speech, provide details such as quotations and citations, and jog your memory. Do not just cut up your preparation outline and paste it into note cards. The speech should be between 8-10 minutes. The final draft of the outline should adhere to MLA guidelines and contain a minimum of six expert citations, which you should orally cite in your speech. https://www.procon.org/