Public Speaking—Demonstration Speech

Your next assignment is the demonstration speech; you know the one, where someone stands in front of the class teaching someone how to do something. First, a few guidelines:

The speech needs to be between 4-6 minutes long. PRACTICE before giving the speech, in front of a mirror, demonstrating your idea, BEFORE coming to class.

Choose something that has a concrete ending point. It has to be finished at the end of your speech. A golf swing won’t work; people spend years getting it right. Making brownies will; when you’re finished, you’re finished.

You need to keep talking during the whole speech.

Learn all you can about the background of what you’re doing – history, stories, anecdotes, interesting facts, etc. Have them all ready to fill in the dead air zone.

Where is a great place to use storytelling skills to deliver a heartfelt or humorous anecdote about your demo topic?

You are teaching how to do something, so make sure your audience can see, hear, and clearly understand.

You will turn in a typed outline to me before starting your speech. Make a copy for yourself or use notes.

Bring all supplies with you, including a trash bag and table covering (if relevant).

You want an excellent grade, of course, so here are a few tips:

Keep it simple. 4-6 minutes goes very quickly, so choose a topic with a fairly simple process. Building a coffee table, for example, won’t work.

Keep it visible.

Folding origami sounds fun, but the class won’t be able to see it. Remember your audience, and choose something they can SEE.

Think about doing your demonstration in an upright rather than horizontal mode. Show how to set a table on a slanted piece of wood rather than flat table.

Keep it interesting. And fun. And engaging.

Bring a final product.

If you are making brownies, bring all the ingredients and demonstrate how to measure, sift, stir, and scrape.

Then, because we won’t have an oven in class, bring the final brownies to show that end result.

You may NOT bring knives without checking them into the office.

No alcohol, illegal materials, dogs, or something that will make others feel uncomfortable.

Keep your content school-appropriate, please.

Look at the audience, keep chatting, be clear with your demonstration. The class should be able to do the task you’re showing, once you’ve finished your speech.

Don’t write out the whole speech.

Just have notes so that you are looking up more than looking down.

Outlines should have clear indentations and use the format on back to make them easy to see and to follow steps.

Outline

(type this up and turn it into me the day of your speech)

Introduction

Get the audience’s attention. Give them a reason to listen. Create curiosity.

Introduce you and your topic. DO NOT say, “I’m gonna show you how to make cookies today.”

Include the reason you are demonstrating this particular topic and why your audience should find it interesting.

This is your justification. You need to show the audience why they should listen. If you can’t think why they would be interested, you probably need to find another speech.

This is worth repeating. Do not forget your audience!

State your central idea statement. Why is this important? What is your purpose? Make this clear, and one sentence long.

Body of your speech: the steps you need to follow

Show the tools, supplies, necessary for completion

If you need visual aids, posters, models, etc., show these here as well.

Your visual aids should simply enhance your presentation.

They should be incorporated into the speech, not just listed.

They should be large enough for the audience to see.

Go step by logical step through the process.

Clearly show the class what you are doing.

Have anecdotes and interesting information available to use up those long pauses.

Know what you are going to say, and in what order.

Conclusion

Summarize the main points of your topic

Remember your audience, and remind them why this topic is important

Provide some closure, DO NOT say, “well, that’s it. I’m done.”

Don’t forget your audience. Remember your eye contact and posture. Remember voice inflections. Remember your time limit. Don’t forget you are teaching a skill.

Have fun.