Activities

1. To enrich your understanding of the chapter, check out:

   LearningCurve for adaptive quizzing for the chapter.

   The “Browse Resources for this Unit” tab to view videos illustrating key concepts.

2. Question

   The King’s Speech centers on Albert’s address to the British people on September 3, 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, audio recordings of which are available online. Listen to them, and consider how you would have received the king’s message if you were a British citizen at that time. What do you think of his delivery? Do you think your knowledge of his struggles with stammering affect the way you rate his delivery?

   The King’s Speech centers on Albert’s address to the British people on September 3, 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, audio recordings of which are available online. Listen to them, and consider how you would have received the king’s message if you were a British citizen at that time. What do you think of his delivery? Do you think your knowledge of his struggles with stammering affect the way you rate his delivery?
3. While in class, select a partner and give a one-to two-minute impromptu speech on a topic of your choice. Your partner will write down both negative and positive feedback to share with you, and you will do the same in return. Then team up with another pair of partners. You and your original partner will take turns giving the same speeches again, incorporating improvements suggested by your partner the first time around. The new partners in your group will likely give both negative and positive feedback. Listen carefully and apply their advice. Now add another pair of partners to your group, for a total of six people, and give your speech one last time. Think of the feedback from all three sessions. If you received the same negative feedback more than once, you know where further improvement is needed. Did you feel more confident giving your speech the third time than you did the first time?
4. Pay attention to how you meet people and the general first impression you receive from them. Ask yourself what makes you feel the way you do about the person. Does the person make you feel comfortable by smiling at you, looking you in the eye, or coming across as sincere? If you can pinpoint the reasons for your own first impressions, you can better understand what an audience expects from a speaker and adjust your own behaviors in order to make a good impression.
5. When practicing a speech, pay attention to your gestures and body movements. Practice once using movements that you feel are appropriate and comfortable; then practice in front of a friend, and ask how appropriate your movements actually look. Are you using too many gestures? Too few?

6. Question

   Search YouTube for a segment with a speaker giving a speech or visit TED talks (the topic does not matter). Turn off the volume so you can only see (not hear) the speech. Analyze the physical speech delivery of the speaker. Make lists of the problems with his or her speech delivery and of things the speaker does well (for example, maintains eye contact). Then watch the speech again, this time with the volume on. Listen carefully to the speaker’s vocal delivery (such as pitch, rate, and volume). What do you notice about the speaker’s voice? Compare your lists and note all of your observations as you prepare for your own speech.