Special Occasion Speech
Select one type of special occasion speech from list: 1) Speech of Acceptance 2) Speech of Presentation 3) Eulogy or Tribute 4) After Dinner Speech 5) Speech of Inspiration FOCUS OF ASSESSMENT: TIME ­ 4 Minutes DELIVERY Specifics ● Creative use of language ● Creative ideas ● Sense of structure ● Connection with/impact on audience ● Originality of thought & expression ● Aims for a conversational style Potential DANGERS OF THE ASSIGNMENT: ● Sounding informative, e.g. doing a biography ● Inappropriate or ineffective humor ● Reading the speech to the audience ● Plagiarism II. Speaking on Special Occasions: Language Use Your word choices lead other people to make assumptions about you, so it is in your best interest to become conscious of your choices. For the Special Occasion Assignment one major expectation is that you will use language creatively. Creative use of imagery and rhythm can help your ideas be remembered and can help create the mood appropriate for the occasion. One feature of vivid language is imagery. We create imagery with concrete words. You could say: "They were great people and we will always remember them." But what Reagan said was better: "We will never forget them or the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved good­bye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.'" We create imagery with simile. You could say: "The impact of freedom in one part of the world has a great impact on freedom in other parts of the world." But what Adlai Stevenson did say was better: "Freedom is like a drum; strike it anywhere and it resounds everywhere.” We create imagery with metaphor. You could say: "Now is the time to put an end to segregation and to abolish racial injustice." But what Martin Luther King, Jr. did say was better: "Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." A second feature of vivid language is rhythm. We create rhythm with alliteration. You could say: "My constituency is the desperate, the cursed, the poor, the overlooked, and the despised." But what Jesse Jackson did say was better: "My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised." We create rhythm with antithesis. You could say: "We should negotiate from a position of strength and we should always be willing to negotiate." But what John F. Kennedy said in his 1989 Inaugural address was better: "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." We create rhythm with repetition. You could say: "We are a people in a quandary about the present as we search for our future and for a national community." But what Barbara Jordan did say was better: "We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community." We create rhythm with parallelism. You could say: "Rich and poor, intelligent and ignorant, wise, or even foolish, man, woman and child­­it is ever the same, each soul must depend wholly on itself." But what Elizabeth Cady Stanton did say was better: "Rich and poor, intelligent and ignorant, wise and foolish, virtuous and vicious, man and woman­­it is ever the same, each soul must depend wholly on itself." Developing your skills in the creation of imagery and rhythm is a major goal of the special occasion speech assignment. Practice!
Practice!
Practice!
The Speech
1. Why? What is the purpose of the special occasion? ● Before you determine specific aims, first determine the general goal of your special occasion speech topics. Do you want to entertain or amuse? ○ An after dinner speaker tries to ridicule the listeners by spoofing persons or to exaggerate familiar situations. 2. Do you want to celebrate or praise? Ask yourself: who or what is being honored or set in a positive light? Why? Accomplishments? If it's a person: how does the life and works of this person influence other people? ● Tribute speech topics stimulate and strengthen the audiences' sentiments of adoration and excitement, share joy over someone's character, or over successes at the beginning or completion of a project or season. ● Other special occasion speech topics to celebrate or praise can be developed for weddings, birthdays, and roasts and toasts. ● Commemorative special occasion speech topics honor and strengthen the values of a person, group, institution, place, event, idea or subject. Focus on the values of life and past, present, and future of society. The special occasion speech topics have to be symbolic. ● Eulogies honor a deceased person and praise the person's virtues and character. Tell what we learned and why we are thankful. 3. Inspire your audience? Inspirational special occasion speech topics are based on policy or value claims. Uplift the morale of an organization. What do you want to accomplish? How can you persuade the audience to believe, feel or think the same? This is the core of that type of occasion speech topics. With commencement special occasion topics you can offer insight and knowledge by revealing your own personal ideas and thoughts. List behavioral standards and identify how the educational institution, company or other group could strengthen those standards. 4. Set a social agenda? Keynote speeches reinforce or establish new goals in special occasion speech topics. Set the tone and arouse enthusiastic emotions for upcoming discussions. Of course there are more other unique moments at which a bit more ceremonial special occasion speech topics are expected. E.g. introductions and announcements, vote of thanks speeches, and events at which people are being welcomed, say farewell, retire, nominated or accept a special award. 5. Who do your special occasional speech topics address? What kind of organization? In case of a celebration or honoring ceremony: who is being praised? What are her or his needs and expectations? Is it a special group competition, group discussion or special event? 6. When will you speak? Will a host introduce you and your special occasional speech topics? Prearrange that you don't cover the same special occasion speech topic! Are you the only public speaker? If there are more people, then bear in mind to wake up the audience if you for example deliver your special occasion speech topics as speaker number seven. 7. Where are you speaking? What is the ambiance, can you maintain the proper atmosphere? How big is the room? Is there a full­length podium? A hand­held microphone? Can you get in touch with your listeners? All very important details to consider when preparing for delivering a special occasion speech.