“Treat people as if they were what they
ought to be, and help them to become
what they are capable of being.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832 )
Special Occasion Speech Development
Requirements for Special Occasion Speeches:
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TIME LIMIT: 4.5 minutes
GENERAL PURPOSE:
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To Inspire or To Entertain
MANUSCRIPT:
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2 copies due on the workshop day (FRIDAY)
2 copies of the final version the day you
deliver the speech
Manuscripts must include the specific
purpose and central idea
Manuscripts must include 5 stylistic
devices you must label and highlight them
FOCUS OF ASSESSMENT:
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creative ideas and language
sense of structure
 Usually topical
 Introduction, Body, Conclusion
connection with/impact on audience
 accomplishing the goal of the speech
whether it be to inspire or to
entertain
originality of thought and expression
Good Delivery
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DELIVERY:
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Use a delivery manuscript or a speaking
outline (see workbook p. 108 for advice
on manuscript delivery)
Continue to aim for a conversational
style
Helpful hand gestures
 80% eye contact
 No distracting movements
 Vocal inflection
Quiz Question 1
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What are the two General Purposes you
can choose from for this speech
assignment?
 Hint: Not “to inform”
Language Matters
Denotation vs. Connotation
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Denotation is the dictionary definition.
Connotation is the cultural meaning—
what the terms suggests or implies.
"House" vs. "Home"
One feature of vivid language is
imagery.
Concrete Words
 Simile
 Metaphor
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Personification
Stylistic Devices
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Simile – Explicit comparisons using the words
like or as to compare things that are different
yet have something in common.
“While working at the North American Review, I
saw a picture of him on the cover of a tribute
issue, with lines within the lines of his face like
tree rings.”
Stylistic Devices
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Simile Example
 “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never
know what you’re going to get.”
Stylistic Devices
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The cliché is like the cardinal sin of similes!
 Originality matters this round.
 You can do better than using other
people’s words.
Quiz Question 2
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Create a simile about Speech 212. Don’t
use a cliché or you won’t get points for this
question!
Stylistic Devices
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Metaphor – an implicit comparison that
does not use like or as to compare things
that are different yet have something in
common.
Stylistic Devices
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Metaphor example:
 A crocodile’s teeth are white daggers ready
to tear through you.
Metaphor
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Referring to the “chapters” of a life
Space as a “frontier”
Stylistic Devices
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Personification – Giving life-like qualities
and characteristics to inanimate objects.
“James farmed Maplehearst until age
forced him to move into town—but the
land followed closely behind him as he
wrote.”
Stylistic Devices
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Personification Example:
 I think that batteries are the most dramatic
of all objects. Most things will break or stop
working, but batteries die.
A second feature of vivid
language is rhythm.
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Parallelism
Alliteration
Antithesis
Repetition
Stylistic Devices
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Parallelism – The similar arrangement of a pair or
series of related words, phrases, or sentences.
Stylistic Devices
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Parallelism Example
 I would not, could not, on a boat!
 I would not, could not, with a goat!
Parallelism Examples
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Parallelism
 Reagan “There will be more shuttle
flights and more shuttle crews, and,
yes, more volunteers, more civilians,
more teachers in space.” (W p. 93)
 Bush “Americans are generous and
kind, resourceful and brave.” (W p.
100)
Stylistic Devices
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Alliteration – Repetition of the initial consonant
sound of close or adjoining words.
Stylistic Devices
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Alliteration Examples
 Peter Piper Picked a Pack of Pickled Peppers
 “The kind of friend you don’t need to dress
up for in the morning—a better breakfast
buddy than Cap’n Crunch or Count
Chocula.”
Stylistic Devices
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Antithesis – The juxtaposition of
contrasting ideas, usually in parallel
structure.
Stylistic Devices
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Antithesis Examples
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“Ask not what your
country can do for you;
ask what you can do for
your country.”
“We are not defined by
our traits, we define
our traits.”
"Not that I loved Caesar
less, but that I loved
Rome more.”
Stylistic Devices
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Repetition – Repeating the same word or set of
words at the beginning or end of successive
clauses or sentences.
Stylistic Devices
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Repetition Examples
 I have a dream…
 One hundred years later…
 Go back to…
Quiz Question 3
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What kind of stylistic device is the underlined
portion below?
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“Like any good friend, caffeine doesn’t
scold you when you ask it for help. It
doesn’t judge you for the mistakes you’ve
made. Instead it rolls up its sleeves and
gets to work.”
Quiz Question 4
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What kind of stylistic device is the underlined
portion below?
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“I believe in the power of stories. I believe
in the power of shared experiences. I
believe in the power of knowing life
through someone else’s point of view.”
Quiz Question 5
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What kind of stylistic device is the
underlined portion below?
"We must learn to live together as
brothers or perish together as fools."
(Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)
Final Exam
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Here in this room:
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2 o’clock lecture: 12 – 2:00 Monday, Dec. 12
3 o’clock lecture: 12 – 2:00 Friday, Dec. 16
We’ll ask you to RSVP in LAB
Review materials posted by Monday
Reminder:
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We’ll drop your lowest test score
It’s all multiple choice
It’s cumulative (covers material from all semester)
Course Evaluations
•Lecture
Evals (you’ll do Lab evaluations in Lab
sections)
•Instructors: Mr. Anderson & Dr. Slagell
END