Calendar of Assignments:

First Assignment: Welcoming Speech

A visiting delegation from Kyoto University will be on campus to discuss establishing an exchange program. They will be welcomed at an official ceremony by the Chancellor. The Chancellor wants a student representative to speak at the occasion. You have been selected to represent the student body and give a brief speech welcoming the delegation.

A welcoming speech does for a public occasion what a genuine and informal greeting does for a private guest. It should pay tribute to the delegation, refer to the significance of the occasion, and express a genuine feeling that the guests are indeed welcome. You will need to do some research on Kyoto University by looking up its web page. Incorporate some information about the university and its mission in your welcome. This should be a short speech not exceeding 700 words. It should be in html mark up language on a computer disk so that it can be uploaded to our site

Second Assignment: Presentation Speech

The organization you work for is having a ceremony to recognize an employee for an exceptional accomplishment.

You need to provide a rationale for the award: employee of the year; life time achievement award; most valuable employee, etc. This is a ceremonial speech that should focus on the values of the organization and praise the individual for demonstrating how important those values are. In your speech, you should be specific about the nature of the achievement. Describe the accomplishment so that the audience will see how important it is. This should be a short speech with an effective introduction, graceful transitions and a rousing conclusion as the award is presented. Weight of one.

Third Assignment: Orientation Speech

The organization you work for is about to begin training a new group of employees or volunteers. You are to write an informative speech that tells them what their training will consist of. You are not doing the actual training. Your speech will be an overview of the process designed to acquaint them with the organization, its goals, and its functional organization. You must be clear about the expectations for new members/volunteers. This is not a motivational speech but a speech to reduce the anxiety all new comers to an organization experience. This should be longer than the first two speeches. Weight of one.

Fourth Assignment: Motivational Speech

The organization you work for or a unit within the organization is not meeting the goals set for the organization in the comprhensive plan adopted at the start of the year. It is your job to write a speech to motivate the people in the organization to work harder to achieve the goals. You will need to think clearly about how to motivate better behavior. What kinds of appeals will work? How can you get the people to work together more effectively as a team? This should be a short speech that clearly specifies goals, and ways to meet them for the people involved. Weight of two.

Fifth Assignment: A Speech of Tribute

The purpose of this speech is to praise an individual who has had a great influence upon your life. Imagaine a situation in which you are called upon to make a brief speech of praise for this person. Your speech should identify the values that this person exemplifies in his life. You may wish to identify character traits such as courage, honesty, loyalty or personality traits such as good humor or friendliness to praise. Speeches of this type lend themselves to stories that reveal the characteristics of the person being praised or specific examples of exemplary deeds. This should be long enough to enable the audience to understand why you are praising this person and how he has influenced your life. Try to avoid the usual cliches and don't overdo the praise. Weight of two.

Sixth Assignment: Lobbying Speech

The organization or business that you work for must lobby a public body such as the Planning Commission or the City Council for permission to do something that is not permitted by current regulations: rezone property, get a traffic light installed, exceed the size limits on signs or something similar. You need to create a situation and write a speech for the head of your organization to present. This is an argumentative speech. It requires good logical arguments and evidence to convince the board members to go along with your organization's request. Write this speech as formal presentation before a public body. It should be long enough to state the case for your side. After the speech there will be questions from the staff and members of the board that will focus on specifics. Weight of three.

Last Speech: Communication Day Address

Write a speech to be delivered by Frank Trimble, Chair of our department, at a special Communication Day Convocation. This will be the keynote speech for the occasion which will consist of a series of programs by students, alumni, faculty, and invited guests that highlight the activities of the Communication Studies Department. Professor Trimble's speech will welcome our guests and provide a rationale for the Communication Studies program. In essence his speech will argue that Communication Studies is an important part of the liberal arts curriculum and that those majoring in it gain a meaningful education that not only prepares them for a career but also to participate as a citizen in our society. This speech should be at least eight type written pages long ( about 1200 words) and represent your best work. Before beginning to write it, you will need to research what a liberal arts education is and how communication studies contributes to it. Aside from library materials, you may wish to talk to professors, alumni and fellow students to learn their perceptions of the program and how it contributes to their education. This is due on the day of our final exam. Weight of four.

Lloyd Rohler rohlerl@uncwil.edu