Earlier in this course, you drafted an informative speech. Now that you've learned more about making speeches and presentations clear and concise, look through your speech for sections or sentences that could be more clear and concise. Remember, the point of an informative speech is to share information with listeners, so clarity is key!
Start by reading your speech aloud. Is it easy to read? Does it make sense? As you review what you’ve written, check for the problems listed below. First, find a sentence in your speech that shows the first problem listed. Then click the problem to review how to improve your speech.
| Problem: Complicated sentence. (The most important thing to do, when you are choosing a college, is to consider how much money you have to spend on college and whether you feel comfortable having a large loan to pay back because having a large loan could limit your career and lifestyle options.) | Solution: Create more than one sentence. (When choosing a college, think carefully about your finances. How much do you have to spend on college? Are you comfortable with the idea of paying back a large loan? If you have a large loan to repay, you may have to limit your choices of career or lifestyle.) |
| Problem: Too many long words. (The utilization of an automobile when traversing relatively minor distances is unnecessary.) | Solution: Use shorter words. (You don’t need to use a car to travel short distances.) |
| Problem: Unclear language or structure. (When you cook eggs for friends the best way is always to be sure you choose the fresh ones because they’re better.) | Solution: Clear language and structure. (When you cook for friends, choose fresh ingredients.) |
Be sure to fix any problems with clarity or conciseness in your speech. Mark the changes you make by boldfacing, underlining, or highlighting your changes. Then submit your revised speech to your teacher.
Your work on this assignment will be graded according to the following rubric.
| Criteria | |
| Long and Complicated 2 points |
1 Point: You identified any overly complicated sentences in your draft and revised them to make them more simple and direct. |
| 1 Point: You identified any unnecessarily long words in your draft and replaced them with simpler words that listeners will know and understand right away. | |
| Clearing Things Up 2 points |
1 Point: You identified any sentences that were structured in a way that would make their meaning unclear. |
| 1 Point: You identified and boldfaced, highlighted, or underlined several changes that you made to your speech draft, showing that you took the assignment seriously and looked for problem areas. |
