COMS 1301-1
Persuasive Speech Critique
COMS 1301
18%--Putnam
Name: ___________________________________ Time: _______ Score: _______ /100
The Motivated Sequence Format
Attention-Getting Idea and Proposition: Step #1:

Effectively captured the audience’s attention: ( ) Strong attention-getting idea; ( ) fair; some
development of the process but needs to go further; ( ) very little, if any evidence of something to
capture our attention at the onset of the speech

Effect contact during this step was: ( ) strong and effective for the opening; ( ) adequate but room
for improvement in overall contact with the audience; ( ) very little or no eye contact; too many
notes; too close to a manuscript-type opening
Points: 10 9 8 7 6 5 ____
Proposition Statement:

Language was ( ) clearly stated and persuasively worded as required; ( ) clearly stated but not
persuasively worded; ( ) persuasively worded but not clearly noted; ( ) not stated so the audience
could grasp what your purpose is/was.

Stated in the right amount of time after the speech began ( ); took too long to reach the
proposition; ( ) arrived at the proposition too quickly.
Points: 10 9 8 7 6 5 ____
Stating the Need: The Problem, Step #2

( ) Effectively developed a sense of cognitive dissonance by developing the problem fully and with
strong evidence; ( ) fair; on the right track but stopped short of adequately developing the problem
with sufficient evidence; ( ) spent little to no time on the problem; jumped far too quickly to the
solution and left the audience with no feelings of dissonance.


Supporting material used to describe/develop the need/problem was ( ) fully noted and well cited;
fair, citing some sources but needing to do more and needing to provide more support for the
problem; ( ) far too brief; few if any sources cited and little to no evidence supplied to bolster the
case.
Points: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 ____
Proposing a Solution; The Satisfaction Step #3

The solution to the problem was ( ) clearly stated and well developed with sources cited; ( )
noted briefly but needed more development and more sources cited; ( ) developed poorly with no
sources noted

The solution was ( ) practical or easy for the audience to do and likely desirable as well; ( )
perhaps desirable but not every practical or easy to accomplish; ( ) not clear why this audience
would want to enact the solution.

The two-sided argument ( ) was used, showing at least one but not more than two reasons why the
audience would be reluctant to endorse the solution, and then effectively refuted; hinted at but not
clearly stated; ( ) was not apparent to the audience; could not hear the two-sided argument being
used

The speaker made reference to practical or personal experience, if applicable ( ) yes; ( ) no
Points: 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 ____
COMS 1301-2
The Visualization Process, Step #4

( )The benefits to the audience from adopting the solution were clearly indicated after the
satisfaction step was completed; ( ) the benefits from adopting the solution were hinted at but
not clearly stated or easy to detect

If the speaker did not emphasize the positive benefits, then the negative side of ignoring the
solution was noted clearly ( ) or not indicated clearly ( )

The transition step from the Satisfaction to the Visualization step was readily apparent to the
audience ( ) yes ( ) no
Points: 8 7 6 5 4 3 ____
Requesting Action, Step #5

( ) The speaker’s request for action was clear and specific; the action request was somewhat
vague or hard to accomplish, lacking specifics needed for this step; the request for action was
nonexistent.

The directions followed the rules by being in writing via some type of visual aid, and not given just
orally ( ) yes ( ) no

The time spent on this last step was appropriate for the speech ( ) yes ( ) no

The speaker ended with a closing thought of some type ( ) yes ( ) no
Points: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 ____
Outline and Bibliography

( ) Effectively followed the format taught in lecture and required for this assignment (Chapter 10
sample to be used; ( ) did not follow the format, did another Informative Speech outline sample
despite the directions required to the contrary; ( ) followed the format but was not thorough or
adequate in preparation.

The outline was ( ) properly typed as required ( ) hand-written, thereby giving up half the points
of this step

The bibliography included ( ) the four or more sources required for this assignment ( ) was present
but lacked sufficient source material; ( ) no bibliography was attached, thereby losing three points
from this section
Points: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 ____
Delivery Skills

Eye contact was ( ) strong and effective from start to finish; ( ) generally strong but room from
improvement at times; ( ) fair; tendency to rely too much on notes; too close to a manuscript
delivery; ( ) read the speech; little to no eye contact.

Movements and Gestures were ( ) strong and varied throughout the speech; ( ) need more
movement; ( ) need more gestures; ( ) lacking both movement and gestures

Speaking rate was ( ) fluid and effective from start to finish; ( ) tendency to be too rapid at times;
( ) much too fast; needs to slow down

Verbal flaws were ( ) non apparent; good job! ( ) occasional slips with such phrases as
___________ ( ) too many _____________ , need to reduce them.

Speaking style was ( ) natural and fluid, strong extemporaneous delivery; ( ) fair, at times fine, but
other times too many notes; ( ) manuscript delivery severely damaged your conversational speaking
style
Points: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 ____
Visual Aid

Was carefully prepared; easily seen and followed the two Golden Rules critical for effective visual
support; added substance to the speech and reflected some degree of thought and preparation by the
speaker; was used properly; displayed at the proper time and removed when necessary
Points: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 ___