Outside Speaker Critique

Your goal is to observe a live speaker. That is the preference. However, some in the past didn’t encounter any live presentations due to certain deployments or TDYs, so here are some online speeches you might consider for your critique:

• MSG Roy Benavidez — Vietnam Medal of Honor
• Admiral William McRaven, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command
• LTC Randolph C. White Jr. Delivers Infantry Graduation Speech Ft. Benning, Georgia
• Jimmy Valvano’s 1993 ESPYS Speech
• Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005
• Nancy Duarte: The Secret Structure of Great Talks
• Viktor Frankl: Why to Believe in Others
• Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
• Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling
• Bill Gates: Mosquitos, Malaria and Education
• Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability
• Karima Bennoune: The side of terrorism that doesn’t make headlines
• Simon Anholt: Which country does the most good for the world?
• Chris Anderson: How web video powers global innovation
• JK Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech
• Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness
• Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes
• Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter. . .
• Sherry Turkle: Connected, but alone?
• Juan Enriquez: Your online life, permanent as a tattoo
• Megan Washington: Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking
• Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
• Jamie Oliver: Teach every child about food
• Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar: What happens in your brain when you pay attention

Outside Speaker Critique Assignment
Write your response as a paper that is typed and double-spaced. Suggested length: 1 ½ – 3 pages, being certain to address all details listed below:
Introduction
Describe what you observed when you arrived, and before the speech began, considering what will contribute to a successful communication outcome and what will hinder, about:
 The setting
 The audience
 The speaker
The Introduction should be written in full sentences in paragraph format.
Body – bullet point the answers to the following questions:

 Who is the speaker?  What do you already know about her or him prior to the speech?  What is the topic?  What is the speaking occasion?  What drew you to this specific speaker?  Who is the speaker’s audience?  What do you see as the speaker’s basic purpose?  What are the main points of the speech?  How easily could you follow the speaker?  What helped or hindered?  What strengths and weaknesses in the speaker’s use of evidence and reasoning did you detect?  How did the speaker’s delivery aid or hinder the effective communication of the message?  How responsive to the audience did the speaker appear to be, both during and after the speech?

Conclusion – Write your conclusion in full sentences in paragraph format.

Say what you learned from this experience that you can apply to your own public speaking