Philosophy Speech Day Two
Key Concepts You Need to Know
1. What is an attention grabber? Where would I expect to see an attention grabber in your speech or essay?
2. What are five specific ways that you could grab the attention of your audience?
3. What is the difference between an attention grabber and a topic sentence?
4. What is the difference between a topic sentence and a thesis statement?
5. What topic have you selected as the concept for your Philosophy Speech? Define your concept. What does it mean?
How does the dictionary define it? How do you define it?
6. What other words mean similar things? What other concepts come to mind? What are its synonyms? What are this
word’s antonyms? Using your dictionary, find the definition for at least five words that were unfamiliar to you before. You
will use at least four of these words in your next writing task.
7. As you begin to develop your ideas, you will need to develop questions that relate to your topic. Consider these
questions that relate to the topics of fear, love, success, and perseverance:
 “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” What do you fear? Is fear ever a good thing? Why are some people
afraid of the dark? Why are some people afraid of public speaking? What makes some people afraid of change?
 What is true love? How does infatuation differ from true love? What does it mean to “truly” love thy neighbor as
thyself?
 What is the formula for success? Who do you know who is successful? Are there different definitions of success?
How do you define success? When have you felt the most successful? Do the strongest people always succeed?
 Can perseverance be taught? Can it be learned? What is the relationship between perseverance and success?
Do we learn from failure? Is it always good to persevere? Can it ever be negative?
What big questions relate to YOUR theme? Write five questions that relate to your theme that cannot be easily or simply
answered. These should not be yes/no questions, but rather complex questions that different people would be likely to
answer in a variety of ways. Then, in a page, explore your answers. Use ideas from your brainstorming sheet and use the
four new words you found in #6 above. Please type one page on this topic by Thursday. We will use this in class
Thursday as we work on outlining your speech.
Philosophy Speech
*Remember your Hero Speech. This assignment is very similar only this time you are on your own!
Overview: A narrative speech or essay tells a story with a purpose. For this assignment, your purpose will be to
illustrate how you came to believe something about yourself or about the world around you. You will start with an
abstract idea as the theme of your speech. You will give examples and tell at least one story from your personal
experiences to illustrate your insight into the theme. Some possible speech themes include: trust, perseverance,
honor, love, fairness, justice, friendship, success, failure, and hope. *You must have your topic approved before
beginning your speech process. You will write this speech in the first person for an audience that might include
students, parents, teachers, and other members at large from your community. Keep that in mind as you consider
your approach to your topic.
I. Introduction - I am looking for a compelling introduction with all three of the key components we have discussed
in class:
A. Attention Grabber
1. No rhetorical questions this time
2. Try opening with a descriptive passage that draws the listener into your story.
3. Other strategies include: story telling (anecdote), bold statements, or startling statistics.
B. Context Builders- You should frame or define your concept and introduce it before your thesis statement.
C. Thesis Statement
1. Your speech must have a focus that relates to your advice or insights with regard to the theme.
2. Example: True success requires embracing risk, silencing self-doubt, and maintaining
integrity.
II. Body
A. You need at least three key ideas in your speech.
1. You should frame your speech around informing and/or advising your audience about your topic. In some
cases, you may even have the intent of persuading your audience to change their views.
2. Think back to the topic sentences from our hero speeches. I will approve and grade your topic sentences
before your speech. Take care to complete all of the process steps!
B. You should include at least one anecdote in your speech.
1. You need to describe a specific incident, a moment in time that relates to your topic. For example, if you
want to tell us about your Uncle Bill, don’t just tell us about him, tell us a relevant story about him, a specific
incident that stands out in your memory.
2. Include details as you tell your story. Describe using the five senses!
C. Take time to develop each of your key ideas with specific examples. You should use a variety of examples.
Consider people in the politics, sports, entertainment, and history whose actions illustrate your main ideas.
D. You should have at least one quote in the body of your speech. We will talk about how to integrate a quote
into your speaking and writing.
E. Do not use “you” in your speech. This should be in the first-person. You may use the third-person when
appropriate. Never say “you” when you mean “I”.
III. Conclusion- Always take time to wrap up your ideas in a way that reminds us of your key ideas and leaves us
with a bit of inspiration. Most importantly, never end your speech with, “And so yeah”, “Well I’m done”, or “That’s
about it”. Your final line should feel like an ending, not simply like you ran out of steam
Process Steps
1. You will complete a brainstorming chart. Your chart should include at least six values or themes that you see
as relevant to your life and experiences with lessons, events, and people listed in relation to at least three of
those values.
2. You will complete various activities daily to help you to better craft your speech. These are important
process grades. They are also opportunities that will help enhance your speech and help you to succeed on
this task! See me if you do not understand any of the steps or need additional assistance.
3. You will write up one page about your idea. This must be in complete sentences and should be written
neatly so that I can read it and respond to you.
4. You must complete a detailed outline of your speech. Each key idea, or key part of the body of your speech
must be introduced with a clear and complete transitional sentence. Other details in your outline do not need to
be in complete sentence format. You should write out your introduction and conclusion in their entirety.
5. You are required to complete note cards for your speech. You must skip lines and you must write only on
one side of each card. There should be no more than five words written on any given line.
6. You will be assigned the task of practicing your speech in front of at least three adults and two students.
7. You will present your speech in class before a live audience. You will use note cards only. You will only
have a maximum of 8 note cards.
8. I will record your speech with a video camera. You will be required to watch your own speech and evaluate
your performance. You will need to come to my classroom after school, arrange to see your speech during the
lunch hour, or bring a 1GB jump drive to class so that I can send your recorded speech home with you to view
and evaluate.
*Visual aids are optional. Exceptional use of visual aids will be rewarded with challenge points. If you are
interested in this, see me outside of class and we can talk about my criteria for visual aids.