“Shrine20221211 10023 1fe6fu2” in “Preserving the “Ceremony” of Ceremonial Speaking”

Preserving the “Ceremony” of Ceremonial Speaking

Prepared by: Kate Swartz

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with the variety of ceremonial speech topics as well as practice incorporating audience analysis and aesthetic analysis into your speech design. This assignment also enables your instructor to identify gaps in student knowledge regarding audience and aesthetic analysis as they relate to ceremonial speaking, enabling further learning in-class should gaps become evident.

Applicable Chapters/Concepts

Mapes (2019) Chapter 15: Ceremonial Speaking

Chapter 2: Centering Audiences

Chapter 7: Public Speaking as Aesthetics

Learning Goals

Familiarize yourself with different types of ceremonial speeches
Critically evaluate how different audiences might interpret different speech types
Consider how you might want to approach different ceremonial speech types by evaluating tone, language, and information needs

From course objectives: 1) Analyze rhetorical situations accurately and insightfully in order to craft effective and appropriate audience-centered speeches

Materials

Answer sheet (attached to these instructions)
Internet connection
Word processor

Process

For this assignment, you will be randomly assigned a ceremonial speech type by using an online picker wheel (https://pickerwheel.com/pw?id=AfP6j).

Click on the center of the wheel to spin it, then let the wheel tell you what type of speech you’ve been assigned.
Research this type of speech – your textbook will help you understand its component parts!

Once assigned a speech type, consider how the audience you would theoretically speak to feels about it.

Answer the questions (attached) based on your beliefs about who your audience might be.
Justify your rating, incorporating your knowledge about audience analysis, addressing why you chose the rating you did and why other ratings would be inappropriate

Now consider how you might approach your ceremonial speech’s aesthetics.

Answer the questions (attached) based on your beliefs about aesthetics with respect to your assigned speech type.
Justify your rating, incorporating your knowledge about speech aesthetics, addressing why you chose the rating you did and why other ratings would be inappropriate

Deliverables

Your assignment should result in a filled-out sheet (attached) that answers each question provided and demonstrates your critical application of topics. Your answers should be typed into the document. Upload your completed document to Canvas by the due date.

Assessment

You will be assessed as following:

“Preserving the ‘Ceremony’”

	Excellent	Good	Poor	Missing
Identification of speech type	Identified the speech type chosen by the picker wheel	N/A	N/A	Did not identify speech type
Analysis of audience	Evaluates and justifies the audience’s expected level of knowledge about the speech setting and their emotional state entering the speech event	Evaluates the audience’s expected level of knowledge about the speech setting and their emotional state entering the speech event, but does not justify answers	Evaluates and/or justifies either the audience’s expected level of knowledge about the speech setting and their emotional state entering the speech event, but not both	Does not evaluate the audience’s expected level of knowledge about the speech setting and their emotional state entering the speech event, but not both
Analysis of speech aesthetics	Evaluates and justifies the speech aesthetics with respect to speech type, specifically the appropriateness of different stylistic and tonal choices	Evaluates the speech aesthetics with respect to speech type, specifically the appropriateness of different stylistic and tonal choices, but does not justify	Evaluates the speech aesthetics, but does not address them in terms of appropriateness, and does not justify	Does not evaluate the speech aesthetics and does not address them in terms of appropriateness
Thoroughness	Form is fully completed, and reference materials are cited	Form is either fully completed but not cited or partially completed with citations	Form is partially complete with (in)complete citations	Form is not completed and/or citations are missing

References

Mapes, M. (2019). Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy. KU Libraries.

For instructors:

Limitations

Designed with the use of the Internet in mind; can be adapted, but this places the onus of adaptation on the instructor
Focuses on depth of understanding for a single speech type, not breadth of understanding
Relies on student understanding of audience analysis and aesthetic delivery
Relies on written answers

Variations

The picker-wheel can be recreated to reflect a different number of speech types or renaming of speech types per specific course language
The process of audience and aesthetic identification could be repeated for multiple “picks,” exposing students to a greater variety of ceremonial speech types
The amount/type of analysis questions in the assignment sheet could be modified to reflect instructor preferences
The rubric for evaluation could be adjusted to reflect different categories, different expectations, and/or points-values for each area
This assignment could be adjusted to an in-class activity
Instead of using a picker-wheel, speech types could be assigned or student-chosen (helpful if students have limited Internet access)

References

Mapes, M. (2019). Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy. KU Libraries.

Preserving the “Ceremony” of Ceremonial Speaking

Assignment Sheet

Speech Type Assigned:

(https://pickerwheel.com/pw?id=AfP6j)

Audience Analysis:

How familiar do you expect your audience to be with this type of speech?

_____ Unfamiliar; never heard or given this type of speech before

_____ Somewhat Familiar; may have heard this speech type before

_____ Familiar; heard and/or given this speech type before

_____ Very Familiar; heard and given this speech type many times

Why? Explain your answer with respect to your theoretical audience – be creative if you don’t have a specific audience make-up with respect to your speech type.

Do you anticipate your audience knowing some of the content you’re going to present?

_____ Not at all; they don’t know who I am or why they’re gathered

_____ Somewhat; they may know who I am or why they’re gathered

_____ Probably; they likely know why I am going to speak

_____ Definitely; myself and the topic are well-known

Why? Does your speech type bring together people of a common background/experience, or are you connecting with strangers?

How do you believe your audience might be feeling ahead of your speech?

_____ Sad and/or upset

_____ Angry and/or irritated

_____ Bored and/or disinterested

_____ Happy and/or cheerful

_____ Interested and/or curious

Why? What might have happened before your speech that has resulted in this emotional state?

How do you plan to connect to your audience during your ceremonial speech? Will you attempt to play into their knowledge and emotional state, or will you try to change these aspects?

Aesthetic Analysis:

What tone do you believe would be appropriate for your speech?

_____ Very Informal; uses lots of slang lacks formal structure

_____ Informal; some slang and loose structure

_____ Formal; lack of slang with a formal structure

_____ Very Formal; professional language and rigid structure

Why? How does the tone of your speech relate to the type you were assigned?

How much of your body do you expect to incorporate?

_____ Very Little; I expect to stand still with few gestures

_____ Some; I expect to incorporate gestures

_____ A Lot; I plan on moving around the space and using many gestures

Why? What does the presence of your body do (or not do) to the aesthetic of your speech? The appropriateness of it?

Do you anticipate incorporating visual aids?

_____ No; my speech would not benefit from visual aids

_____ Possibly; I may use aids, but I don’t believe I need them

_____ Definitely; I will rely on aids to help my speech’s clarity and efficacy

Why? How would using an aid help or hinder the goals of your speech?

How would you evaluate humor’s purpose in your speech?

_____ Inappropriate; my speech should not be “funny”

_____ Unnecessary; I can complete the goals of my speech without humor

_____ Helpful; my speech would benefit from humor

_____ Necessary; if my speech isn’t funny, it won’t work

Why? How would incorporating humor, or not incorporating it, change the tone of your speech? (Consider with respect to your audience’s emotional state)

How do the aesthetics you envision for your speech help you connect with your audience? Can you image a situation in which the same type of speech would need very different aesthetic approaches, given a different audience?

Ceremonial Speaking Activities