Speech & Debate

1. Speech & Debate Mid-term Exam Review

2. Types of Speeches Informative and Persuasive (argumentative)

3. Informative Speaking • The purpose is to convey knowledge and understanding, not to advocate a cause or persuade • Informative speeches are non-controversial

4. Persuasive Speaking • The purpose is to gain fair and favorable consideration for your point of view. • Persuasive speeches are usually done on controversial topics • Without disagreement, there would be no need for persuasion

5. Informative Speaking • The four types of informative speeches are: • Speeches about objects • Speeches about processes • Speeches about events • Speeches about concepts

6. Persuasive Speech A successful persuasive speech should: • open with a clear statement of the issue and your opinion • be geared to the audience you’re trying to persuade • provide facts, examples, statistics, and reasons to support your opinion • answer opposing views • show clear reasoning • include strategies such as frequent summaries to help listeners remember your message • end with a strong restatement of your opinion or a call to action

7. Parts of an Introduction Attention-getter (Hook) Thesis statement Preview of the major areas that will be discussed

8. Types ofAttention-Getters

9. Attention-Getter #1 Asking Questions • Fires up the audience’s curiosity about your topic • Makes the audience active participants in your speech

10. Attention-Getter #1 Examples: For a speech on the power of vocabulary: “How many of you know the meaning of the word verisimilitude? How about veracity? What about the word verity? ….. For a speech on shifting blame: Have you ever heard someone say, “The devil made me do it”? Have you heard the expression, “Don’t blame me; it’s not my fault”? ….

11. Attention-Getter #2 Making References • Allows you to work well with your audience • You might refer to people in the audience, your physical surroundings, other speakers the group has heard, or the significance of the occasion. • Allows you to be comfortable, congenial, and conversational with the audience

12. Attention-Getter #2 Examples: “I see that Bob and Ina are in the audience. When we first started this class project over two months ago, they were the ones who provided the leadership and enthusiasm that the rest of us needed at that time. The word leadership is exactly what I wish to talk about tonight…. “for some reason, every time that we are in this classroom, the air-conditioning is out. Maybe we should all bring our own fans next time.. However, the temperature might not be the only thing that is ‘sticky’ today. My topic, “Why AIDS Needs to Be Talked about in Schools” could also make people warm and uncomfortable….

13. Attention-Getter #3 Making a Startling Statement • Jolts the audience into paying attention • Research your topic looking for data or studies that might surprise listeners and make them even more interested in the topic.

14. Attention-Getter #3 Example: A student spoke to a high school about the problems associated with violence in society. While she spoke, she comfortably moved her right hand as if she were “keeping the beat” to a song only she heard… I love music. I love dancing. I love how men and women, young and old, rich or poor, can move and smile and laugh and keep rhythm to their favorite songs. However, I’m not here to talk about music—because, ironically, every time that my hand comes down to “keep the beat,” a young child is physically or sexually abused in this country.

15. Attention-Getter #4 Giving a Quotation • Delivering the exact words that someone else has said can add a degree of style and sophistication to your speech. • Quotes are abundant and fairly easy to find. • Select quotes that are clear and appropriate for your speech topic and select authors who are reliable and trusted. • Be sure to give your audience some idea of who the author is and what he or she has done that his noteworthy. • Keep in mind that your quote does not have to be serious or from an author who lived centuries ago; quotes that are light and written by people living can be effective too.

16. Attention-Getter #4 Examples: For a speech on “What Has Happened to Friendship?” “First in war—first in peace—and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” These are the words that began the Revolutionary War General Henry Lee’s famous funeral oration for George Washington. The quotation shows us a man of conscience and a man who cared for his fellow man. However, do we care for our fellow man the same as Washington did in his day?.... For a speech on why people are gullible: “You can fool all of the people some of the time and you can fool some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln, the author of this quotation, might have added the words “except in America,” because Americans are often easy prey for those wishing to make a fast buck….

17. Attention-Getter #5 Telling a Story • Everyone loves a well told story. • Illustrations and personal accounts quickly give you an “in” with your audience because it allows you to show your personality. • Your story should be short and to the point; it should hold the interest of the audience yet lead clearly into your speech topic. • Personal experiences that were special or a heart-stopping ordeal can be effective, but your story does not have to be personal. Interesting accounts about other people, places, events, etc. can be effective too.

18. Attention-Getter #5 Example: For a speech that will talk about what fear means… A few weeks ago, my mom and dad had gone out for the evening and I was alone at home. At about 2 A.M. I heard a noise by the downstairs window. Even though I hoped that the sounds would go away, they didn’t. As a matter of fact, they got louder. It sounded as if someone was struggling to reach the latch of the window. I was petrified, but somehow I managed to go downstairs. Slowly, I moved the curtain to see what was outside. You can imagine my fear when I saw two eyes looking right back at me. It was a raccoon! …

19. Delivery • Have good posture • Use hand gestures • Use facial expressions to emphasize what you are saying • Make eye contact with the audience • Pronounce the words correctly • Speak loud enough to be clearly heard in the room • Don’t speak too fast • Personal appearance should not have distracting clothes or jewelry etc.

20. Introverted vs. Extroverted speakers • Introvert: a shy person; a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people • talk more softly and more slowly • Extrovert: a person who likes being with and talking to other people; an outgoing person • talk more loudly and more quickly

21. Website Reliability

22. Top Level Domains .com - commercial (most common) .org - non-profit .net - Net .edu - higher education .k-12 - elementary & secondary education .gov - Governement .mil - Military

23. WHICH IS MOST RELIABLE? • government Web sites have the most reliable info in the United States (All U.S. federal government Web domain names end in .gov, along with some state sites; all U.S. military sites end in .mil. • university studies—especially peer-reviewed ones--are the next most reliable. (University Web sites end in .edu. But be careful! Students post Web sites with .edu endings, too, because universities give them free server space.) • Special-interest groups, many which post pages ending in .org, often post good information. But remember: The groups are biased. They have an agenda. And remember that although .org URLs were intended for nonprofits, commercial companies or individuals can buy sites ending in .org, too. • Other types of pages should be eyed with a reporter's caution. This goes for commercial sites ending in .com, .net and .biz, and any personal home pages (such as those now ending in .name). However, most U.S. news sites end in .com, and their Web information is generally as reliable as that published in their more traditional print or broadcast sister publications.

24. What makes a Website reliable? • Article has credible author • Organization is unbiased (meaning fair, balanced) • Page modification date and is updated • No flashy ads or graphics • No grammatical errors • Has references and resources

25. When should you use Wikipedia? • Wikipedia is not considered to be a reliable source because it can be modified by anyone, at any time. • Use as a starting point to generate ideas.

26. Rhetoric: The art of speaking and writing effectively

27. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher who studied the art of persuasion. • He wrote a book entitled, “The Art of Rhetoric.” • In his book, Aristotle identified the three methods of persuasion. He called them ethos, pathos and logos.

28. Ethos-is appeal based on the character of the speaker. An ethos-driven document relies on the reputation of the author. Logos-is appeal based on logic or reason. Documents distributed by companies or corporations are logos-driven. Scholarly documents are also often logos-driven. Pathos-is appeal based on emotion. Advertisements tend to be pathos-driven.

29. Appeals: How to Persuade • Ethos: appeals to a sense of character, credibility, authority. • The speaker makes a good impression. • The audience believes that the speaker knows what he or she is talking about. • The speaker’s ethos is their expertise, knowledge, experience, training, sincerity, or a combination of all of those. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ULR68LTmbw

30. Appeals: How to Persuade • Logos: appeals to reason and sense of logic. • Solid facts • Surveys • Data • Examples • Statistics • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEsKYV4OwsI

31. Appeals: How to Persuade • Pathos: appeals to emotion • Figurative language • Personal anecdote • First person point of view • All about feelings or emotions: make you feel happy, sad, guilty, excited, etc. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baZsBxw3R7Y

32. Ethos, Logos,orPathos? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFUUybc_M40 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpOeHnotqDQ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB3obIiKPHk • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE1H31FmHV4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfAxUpeVhCg&list=PLF2472A2F283EC9E1 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kogKxTFDRyk • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gspElv1yvc • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL6acQ3NLUg • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsAt7tS0vc4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PplMjgh_QlM • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTIl3te91SI • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtk-xR0vwzg

33. Introduction toLogical Fallacies

34. Logical Fallacies • Slippery slope • Circular reasoning • False analogy • False cause • Hasty generalization • Either/Or • Non sequitur • Ad Hominem • Appeal to Ignorance • Red herring

35. Definition Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning that lead to faulty, illogical statements. They are unreasonable argumentative tactics named for what has gone wrong during the reasoning process.

36. Most logical fallacies masquerade as reasonable statements, but they are in fact attempts to manipulate readers by reaching their emotions instead of their intellects.

37. What is Fallacy? • Fallacies are defects that weaken arguments. • First, fallacious arguments are very, very common and can be quite persuasive, at least to the causal reader or listener. You can find dozens of examples of fallacious reasoning in newspapers, advertisements, and other sources. • Second, it is sometimes hard to evaluate whether an argument is fallacious. • An argument might be very weak, somewhat weak, somewhat strong, or very strong. An argument that has several stages or parts might have some strong sections and some weak ones.

38. Hasty Generalization • A generalization based on insufficient or unrepresented evidence • Deaths from drug overdoses in Metropolis have doubled over the last three years. Therefore, more Americans than ever are dying from drug abuse.

39. Hasty Generalization • Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small). • Stereotypes about people ("frat boys are drunkards," "grad students are nerdy," etc.) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization. • Example: "My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!" • Two people's experiences are, in this case, not enough on which to base a conclusion.

40. Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization is a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. Stereotyping and Sexism are forms of this fallacy. Take, for example common dumb blonde jokes: Q: What do you call a blonde skeleton in the closet? A: Last year's hide-and-go-seek winner.

41. Example of a Generalization The only redheads I know are rude. Therefore, all redheads must have bad manners. If the speaker only knows two redheads, then he has insufficient evidence to make the general claim about all people with that hair color.

42. Ad Hominem Latin for to the man Directly attacks someone’s appearance, personal habits, or character rather than focusing on the merit of the issue at hand. The implication is that if something is wrong with this person, whatever he/she says must be wrong. How can you say he’s a good musician when he’s been in and out of rehab for three years?

43. Argument to the Person (Ad Hominem) • An attack on the person proposing an argument rather than on the argument itself. • Senator Jones was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, so his proposal to limit military spending has no merit.

44. Circular Reasoning This is a kind of circular argument where the support only restates the claim. Wrestling is dangerous because it is unsafe. Jogging is fun because it is enjoyable. Unsafe means the same thing as dangerous and fun means the same thing as enjoyable. This makes the reasoning circular.

45. Circular Reasoning • Definition: A complicated fallacy, an argument that begs the question asks the reader to simply accept the conclusion without providing real evidence • the argument either relies on a premise that says the same thing as the conclusion (which you might hear referred to as "being circular" or "circular reasoning"), or simply ignores an important (but questionable) assumption that the argument rests on. • Sometimes people use the phrase "beg the question" as a sort of general criticism of arguments, to mean that an arguer hasn't given very good reasons for a conclusion, but that's not the meaning we're going to discuss here. • Examples: "Active euthanasia is morally acceptable. It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death." Let's lay this out in premise-conclusion form: • Premise: It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death. • Conclusion: Active euthanasia is morally acceptable. • If we "translate" the premise, we'll see that the arguer has really just said the same thing twice: "decent, ethical" means pretty much the same thing as "morally acceptable," and "help another human being escape suffering through death" means "active euthanasia." So the premise basically says, "active euthanasia is morally acceptable," just like the conclusion does! The arguer hasn't yet given us any real reasons why euthanasia is acceptable; instead, she has left us asking "well, really, why do you think active euthanasia is acceptable?" Her argument "begs" (that is, evades) the real question (think of "beg off").

46. Circular Reasoning • An argument in which the writer, instead of applying evidence simply restates the point in other language. • Students should not be allowed to park in lots now reserved for faculty because those lots should be for faculty only.

47. False Analogy An analogy points out similarities in things that are otherwise different. A false analogy claims comparison when differences outweigh similarities. Essentially, it’s comparing apples and oranges!

48. False Analogy Example If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we find the cure for the common cold? While both things being compared here are related to science, there are more differences than similarities between space and biological advancements.

49. False Cause This fallacy gets its name from the Latin phrase "post hoc, ergo propter hoc," which translates as "after this, therefore because of this." • Definition: Assuming that because B comes after A, A caused B. • Of course, sometimes one event really does cause another one that comes later--for example, if I register for a class, and my name later appears on the roll, it's true that the first event caused the one that came later. But sometimes two events that seem related in time aren't really related as cause and event. That is, correlation isn't the same thing as causation. • Examples: "President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.“ • The increase in taxes might or might not be one factor in the rising crime rates, but the argument hasn't shown us that one caused the other.

50. False Cause • The assumption that because one event follows another, the first is the cause of the second. • Since Governor Smith took office, unemployment for minorities in the state has decreased by seven percent. Governor Smith should be applauded for reducing unemployment among minorities.