Public Speaking DetailsAssignment 8.2: Career Fair Charisma
This assignment supports the following lesson objective:
- 1.5 Use effective speaking style and language when delivering a speech
- 1.6 Interpret both audience-related and environmental variables that influence speech delivery
Assignment Overview
This case study explores the process of interpreting audience-related and environmental factors and adjusting speech content and delivery to adapt to the situation. Completing this exercise will help you interpret these types of variables and adjust the delivery of your speeches to increase the likelihood of successfully achieving the goals of your speeches.
Deliverables
- A one- to two-page document (12-point font) written in a word processor, such as MS Word
Assignment Details
In this activity, you will read a description of a speaking situation, make decisions about how to adjust the speech delivery based on the situation, and answer questions about your decisions.
Perform the following tasks:
Step 1: Review the information presented in the lesson.
Study the information that explores speech delivery and how it should be modified based on the characteristics of the audience and other factors.Step 2: Read the following description of a speaking situation.
You work as a technical support manager for a satellite television company. As part of a company-sponsored tuition reimbursement program, you are also attending college courses part time and pursuing a degree in communications. Your Human Resources representative asks you to give a presentation to a group of people at an upcoming career fair. The HR manager wants you to motivate potential applicants to apply for part-time positions that pay a relatively low hourly wage and include only limited benefits. This is exactly the type of position you accepted when you first started with the company. The job fair will be held in a part of the city with a relatively low unemployment rate. The people attending are likely to come from middle- to upper middle-class families. The people who attend the career fair from upper middle-class families are used to getting what they want without too much effort; therefore, they may not be able to relate directly to the persistence you showed to work your way from a part-time, low-paying position into a higher-paying one that includes benefits. The ones from middle-class families may relate more to your personal story. You can’t gather all the characteristics of all the career fair attendees in advance, but you do know that the way in which you explain the advantages of working for the satellite television company and the type of language you use will affect the attendees’ decision on whether or not to apply for a position with the company.Step 3: Copy and paste the following questions into a word processing document:When you state your thesis, how will you phrase it to avoid negative reactions from potential applicants who are expecting more pay and better benefits when they first start with the company?
What language strategies would you use in your speech to make it sound more appealing to the entire group?
What techniques could you use to establish common ground with everyone in the audience?
How would you change your speech delivery if the audience consisted mostly of low-income mothers trying to enter or re-enter the workforce?Step 4: Write a paragraph or more to answer each question related to this speaking situation.Step 5: Save and submit your document.
When you have completed the assignment, save a copy for yourself in an easily accessible place and submit a copy to your instructor using the drop box
