Speech of Introduction

1. Speech of Introduction Speaking with notecards Crafting the thesis and intro

2. Speaking with Note cards • You are allowed to use note cards for every speech • You may only use small white note cards • No color cards. They are distracting. • No big note cards. They are cumbersome. • Note cards should be neat and in order when you get to the front of the room.

3. How to use notecards… • You do not have to memorize your speech, but you should be VERY familiar with it so that you can make appropriate eye contact. • You should not have the whole speech on the cards, but rather notes and key phrases that guide you. • They are NOTE cards.

4. How to hold the cards… • Hold the cards low, right about where your ribcage begins. • Do not hold them up by your face. This will block both your voice and your eyes. • Hold them with one hand and use the other hand to flip each finished card to the bottom of the pile.

5. For the first speech… • Since we are not using gestures, keep the hand that is not holding the cards gently resting on the cards. • When we begin using gestures, you will choreograph appropriate hand gestures for the other hand.

6. Let’s practice… • I am going to give you each three cards. • On Sharepoint I posted a document with three different texts in it. • Choose ONE of the texts to work with. • You should split the text you choose up evenly amongst your three cards. Then we will take turns reading from note cards.

7. Every speech should have a: • General purpose: to inform, to persuade, to demonstrate, to explain • Specific Purpose: a single phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish • Central Idea: (Thesis)concise statement that sums up what you expect to say during the course of the speech

8. For Homework… • Fill out the form I’m handing out so I can approve your topic and thesis for your Speech of Introduction.