The Overview

Our first assessment task next year is the PERSUASIVE ORAL PRESENTATION. It will take place in the first week of term 1 (beginning on Wednesday 27 January).

The basics of the task are as follows:

This is a 5 to 7 minute oral presentation.
It must be persuasive. Persuasive techniques must be used.
It must be on an issue that has been in the Australian media since September 2015.
It must be researched and you must provide a fully referenced bibliography.
No technology or props (other than cue cards) can be used during your speech.

Your assessors will be looking at whether you have the ability to present complex ideas in a sustained, coherent and logical argument. You will need to demonstrate that you can skilfully use highly appropriate oral language conventions in order to engage an audience. You will need to show accurate and detailed knowledge, and the acknowledgement of sources where appropriate.

Planning Sheet

Remember that you need to complete a copy of this planning sheet and submit it as soon as possible (final due date: Monday 7 December): VCE Persuasive Oral Presentation – Planning Sheet

Revision: Year 11 Persuasive Oral

There is a lot of material that was provided to you earlier in the year when you first encountered this task. To aid in your revision, I have included all of it below in this now very long post. Go back over this material and revise it carefully, as many of these same things will be highly relevant to your upcoming oral.

You also need to look at the Persuasive Oral Presentation page on STL Link. It contains additional information and examples.

Past resources can be found below:

Introducing the Year 11 Persuasive Oral Presentation

Your task is to prepare a 5 to 7 minute persuasive oral presentation on a current issue that has been discussed in the media. You will need to draw upon the ideas and techniques studied as part of the Language Analysis unit so far and demonstrate your understanding of them through presenting an informative, intelligent and engaging speech.

The notes from our last class can be found here, including the criteria that you will be assessed by.

Persuasive Oral Presentation Introduction from mmcdonald2

It’s important that you pick an issue that has substance and which you can get passionate about. Have a look at what’s in the media and have a look at the different types of issues and approaches you can take:

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (ABC)
Insight (SBS)
Dateline (SBS)
The 7.30 Report (ABC)
ABC News (ABC)
The Guardian AU
The Huffington Post AU
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Vice (YouTube/Independent)

Resources that you need to be using

You can now be selecting and researching the topic for your speech, with the aim of starting planning and/or writing your speech early next week. You should make use of the following resources when doing so:

VCE English Persuasive Oral Presentation Page (STL Link)
VCE Persuasive Oral Presentation Planning Sheet (this needs to be completed and handed in by the end of next week)
The Elements of Good Delivery (things to keep in mind when writing your speech)
Examples of Persuasive Speeches (AIDPSC)

Even nothing can carry meaning.

A talk is much more than just the words you say. It needs to have variation: moments of light and shade, sections which build and sections which fall, and a shift in tone to match the changing content you are delivering.

Sometimes it can be useful to strip away any meaningful content and look at the importance of delivery in capturing, orientating and guiding an audience. While the following speech in completely meaningless in what is being said, pay close attention to how it is being presented, and note the shifts in the presenter’s tone, volume, pacing and gesture:

After watching the above speech, consider the following questions:

What elements of delivery stood out for you in this performance? Identify as many different techniques as possible.
How did the construction of the speech accommodate these elements?
How did the nature of the speaker’s delivery change over the course of the speech?

It’s not enough to question authority. You need to speak with it.

Confidence is the basis of all public speaking. You can have an excellent, logical and factually supported argument, but if you don’t speak with confidence, you will have tremendous difficulty convincing anyone to follow you.

There are many things that we do that make us appear to be lacking in confidence. Our tone, words and stance all pay a crucial part. Learn to control these elements of your delivery, and you will appear confident regardless of how you actually feel.

Watch the below performance by Taylor Mali, and consider: what are the things we do when speaking that make us appear uncertain, uninformed or lacking in conviction?

After watching the above speech, consider the following questions:

How does our tone influence the meaning of our statements?
Why is vocal inflection at the end of sentences particularly important?
What vocabulary choices convey a disinterested, indecisive or unconvinced tone?
Why is it important to speak with conviction, confidence and authority?
What choices can you make when writing a speech that will help to achieve this?

It’s time to write!

You are now at the point when you can begin writing your speech! You should be using all of the lessons learned from the examples you’ve studied and be apply this in what should be the best piece of public speaking that you have ever completed in your life.

Structure is essential to a good speech. Because we can’t re-read your content if we miss something, you need to be clear and purposeful. Don’t forget the basic general structure of a speech that we covered in our first class on this topic:

You will have the opportunity to prepare your speech in detail, so you can play around with this structure and make it a bit less blatant. However, all of these elements should still be included in an order similar to this.

Please keep the following things in mind when writing your speech:

Include persuasive techniques: This is an explicit requirement of the task. You must include a range of persuasive language techniques that we have studied in class. Their usage should be clear and deliberate (i.e. when marking your presentation, I should be able to identify when a technique is used and how it is affecting the audience).
Make it easy on your audience: Having a clear statement of contention, a clear structure and signposting your arguments makes a huge difference to your audience. Remember that we are not reading your speech; we are listening to it, and this means that you need to us a different, clearer and simpler structure than a piece of writing. Return to your message at the end, leave us with a call to action and make it crystal clear what you’ve been arguing and what needs to be done.
Don’t waste your hour in the spotlight: You are asking for roughly five minutes of undivided and very close attention from roughly twenty different people who don’t really know why they should care about what you’re discussing. You need to earn the right to be listened to. Establish your authority, be engaging and speak with conviction. Make us believe in you and what you have to say. Construct a speech with this in mind.

Learning from others.

It is very useful to look at how other students have approached this task. Examples of this can be found on the Persuasive Oral page. Below are two examples of high scoring oral presentations from previous years. Watch them carefully and consider what elements are done well, and what elements could be improved, as they are also by no means perfect.

Topic: Banning ‘the bouncer’ in cricket

Things that are done well in this speech:

Good eye contact.
Good fluency of delivery.
Very good pacing.
Good variation of tone.
Clear signposting between points.
Persuasive techniques are used: emotive language, attacks, alliteration, personal anecdotes, etc.
Argument is logical and rebuttal arguments are raised and dealt with.
Strong final message.

In your opinion, what could be improved?

Topic: We need to go to Mars

Things that are done well in this speech:

Interesting hook to begin.
Clear outline of topic and contention.
Very good eye contact.
Very fluent delivery.
Good pacing.
Very good variation of tone.
Persuasive techniques are used: emotive language, colloquial language, expert evidence, listing, inclusive language, repetition, personal anecdote, appeals, etc.
Strong final message

What, in your opinion, could be improved?

Planning your Speech

You will need to begin planning your speech by filling in the following planning document. The more information and detail you include in your plan, the easier it will be to write your speech. Remember that you also need to be keeping a list of sources that you are using.

This planning sheet is due at the beginning of next week.

You can download the planning document here:

VCE Persuasive Oral Presentation Planning Sheet

Using Persuasive Techniques

You must use persuasive techniques in your oral presentation. A number of techniques should be used, and you are seeking to demonstrate your knowledge of each technique by using it correctly and as effectively as possible.

Download and complete the following table. For each of the ten technique you will need to explain what its effect on the audience is when used effectively. For five of the techniques you will need to offer an opinion as to where it would work best in a persuasive speech (i.e. where and how should you use this technique.

This activity is designed to make you engage with the purpose behind using each technique and to consider how you can use it in your own speech before you begin planning and writing your script.

You can download a copy of the ‘Persuasive Techniques: Usage in an Oral Presentation’ table here and complete it in Word:

Persuasive Techniques Table (Oral Presentations)

You can download a copy of the completed persuasive techniques table we compiled as a class here:

Complied Persuasive Techniques Table (Oral Presentations)

You should use this table to help revise relevant persuasive techniques and use it as a tool to help your write your speeches. Remember that you need to use a range of persuasive techniques (although not necessarily every technique mentioned in this table). Whenever you use a technique, you should actively reflect on what the intended effect on the audience is of using this technique in this way, and whether you are likely to achieve this goal.

Rebuttal Arguments

Generally speaking, a persuasive speech is made up of two types of arguments:

Positive Arguments: presenting arguments that support your point of view.
Rebuttal Arguments: responding to an opposing side’s argument, explaining why their approach is incorrect or should not be followed and why your side is better.

Most of your speech should be focussed on presenting positive material (i.e. the points/arguments that support your side of the issue). However, you should aim to include one rebuttal argument in your speech, as this shows that you have researched other points of view and have a detailed enough understanding of the topic to successfully explain why they are incorrect.

In general terms, a rebuttal argument should be structured as follows:

Briefly state an opposing argument.
Explain in detail why this argument is incorrect/inaccurate/should be given little weight/etc.
Explain why your position is the correct one/provides a better alternative.

While it isn’t as formal as what you will be producing, the following video provides an good example of a ‘rebuttal’ from the TV show The West Wing. Watch it carefully and consider:

What argument is the president responding to?
How does he rebut this argument?
Can you identify any persuasive techniques that are used to try and sway the audience?

Examples of Persuasive Speeches

Below are some examples of people giving persuasive speeches. Some are included because they are famous, some are included because they particularly effective, some will be by adults and some will be by secondary school students. Keep in mind that these speeches are often on contentious topics – be asking yourself ‘how persuasive are these speakers?’, not ‘do they support my preexisting views on these topics?’.

For each speech you watch, make sure you consider: