Presentations: Planning and Developing [LO-1], [LO-2]

Locate the transcript of a speech, either online or through your school library. Good sources include Yahoo’s directory of commencement speeches ( http://dir.yahoo.com/

Education/Graduation/Speeches ) and the publication Vital Speeches of the Day . (Recent years of Vital Speeches of the Day are available in the ProQuest database; ask at your library.) Many corporate websites also have archives of executives’

speeches; look in the “investor relations” section.

Examine both the introduction and the close of the speech you’ve chosen and then analyze how these two sections work together to emphasize the main idea. What action does the speaker want the audience to take? Next, identify the transitional sentences or phrases that clarify the speech’s structure for the listener, especially those that help the speaker shift between supporting points. Using these transitions as clues, list the main message and supporting points; then indicate how each transitional phrase links the current supporting point to the succeeding one. Prepare a two- to three-minute presentation summarizing your analysis for your class.