Lesson Plan
Public Speaking Essentials
Students will refine their public speaking skills focusing on clarity, confidence, and engagement, preparing for effective career communication.
Mastering public speaking enhances career readiness by equipping students with the ability to articulate ideas persuasively and confidently in professional settings.
Audience
10th Grade Group
Time
50 minutes
Approach
Interactive practice, group feedback, and reflective assessment.
Prep
Preparation
10 minutes
- Review Public Speaking Essentials to identify key components of effective speaking.
- Familiarize yourself with the Engaging Your Audience Slide Deck for visual cues and tips.
- Prepare a setup for the Speech Practice Workshop ensuring space for breakout groups.
- Review the Public Speaking Assessment to be ready for providing structured feedback.
Step 1
Introduction & Overview
10 minutes
- Introduce the importance of public speaking in professional environments.
- Summarize key points from Public Speaking Essentials, emphasizing clarity, confidence, and engagement.
- Explain the session's activities and expected outcomes.
Step 2
Engaging Your Audience Slide Deck
10 minutes
- Present the Engaging Your Audience Slide Deck to illustrate techniques for audience engagement.
- Encourage students to note down strategies they find impactful.
Step 3
Speech Practice Workshop
20 minutes
- Organize a speech practice session where students can volunteer to speak on a given prompt.
- Divide the class into small groups for peer feedback and reflections.
- Facilitate discussions on what enhancements can be made using pointers from the essentials.
Step 4
Feedback & Assessment
10 minutes
- Utilize the Public Speaking Assessment for both self-assessment and peer review.
- Consolidate feedback and summarize key takeaways.
- Allow time for questions and additional tips from the teacher.
Slide Deck
Engaging Your Audience
Learn key techniques such as storytelling, effective body language, and maintaining eye contact to captivate your audience throughout your speech.
Introduce the concept of engaging your audience. Highlight the importance of visual aids, storytelling, body language, and eye contact. Emphasize that these techniques help keep an audience interested and make the speech more impactful.
The Art of Storytelling
Stories are a powerful tool in public speaking. They help illustrate ideas, evoke emotions, and connect with your audience on a personal level.
Discuss the power of storytelling in speeches. Explain how a well-told story can help illustrate key points and make the content more memorable.
Body Language & Movement
Keep your energy up and use purposeful movements to emphasize your points. Good posture, hand gestures, and eye contact can elevate your delivery.
Explain the importance of body language. Provide examples of effective gestures, posture, and movement that enhance the spoken word.
Key Takeaways
Engaging your audience is about connecting through stories, supported by confident body language and meaningful eye contact. Practice these to improve your public speaking skills.
Summarize the key points and strategies for audience engagement. Encourage students to integrate these techniques into their practice speeches.
Activity
Public Speaking: Find Your Voice
This session is designed to help you enhance your public speaking skills by focusing on clarity, confidence, and engagement. Over the course of 50 minutes, you'll get to practice giving short speeches and receive valuable feedback from your peers. There are several key components to this lesson:
1. Introduction & Overview (10 minutes)
- The teacher will explain why public speaking is a critical skill in career readiness, especially in professional environments.
- You will be introduced to key ideas from the Public Speaking Essentials lesson-plan which emphasizes clarity, confidence, and engagement.
2. Engaging Your Audience (10 minutes)
- A slide deck, Engaging Your Audience, will present various strategies for captivating your audience.
- Take notes on techniques like storytelling, effective body language, and maintaining eye contact you'll want to use during your speech.
3. Speech Practice Workshop (20 minutes)
- You will choose or be assigned a prompt and deliver a short speech on it.
- After your speech, you'll join a small group to share feedback and discuss your delivery style.
- Consider how you can use the tips from both the Public Speaking Essentials and Engaging Your Audience materials to improve your next delivery.
4. Feedback & Assessment (10 minutes)
- Feedback will be provided both via self-assessment and peer review using the Public Speaking Assessment.
- We'll summarize key takeaways, address any questions, and discuss how to apply these skills in future presentations.
Follow-Up Questions:
- What strategies did you find most effective in engaging your audience?
- How did peer feedback help you recognize areas for growth?
- What will you do differently in your next speech based on today’s exercise?
This lesson is not only about delivering a speech, but also about learning to communicate confidently and effectively—an essential skill for your future career.
Good luck, and remember: Everyone's voice matters, and every word brings you closer to finding your unique speaking style.
Rubric
Public Speaking Assessment Rubric
This rubric is designed to provide clear criteria for evaluating public speaking skills, focusing on clarity, confidence, engagement, and overall effectiveness. It guides both self-assessment and peer feedback to help you identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Scoring Scale
Each criterion will be scored on a scale of 1 to 4:
- 1 - Beginning: The speaker shows minimal proficiency in this area and requires significant improvement.
- 2 - Developing: The speaker shows some proficiency, but inconsistencies and gaps are apparent.
- 3 - Proficient: The speaker competently meets the standard with clear and effective use of techniques.
- 4 - Exemplary: The speaker excels in this area, demonstrating advanced skills and highly effective techniques.
Criteria
| Criterion | 1: Beginning | 2: Developing | 3: Proficient | 4: Exemplary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarity | Speech is difficult to follow; ideas are unclear. | Speech has some clarity, but transitions are rough. | Speech is clear with well-organized ideas. | Speech is exceptionally clear and well-structured, with smooth transitions and precise language. |
| Confidence | Speaker appears nervous with minimal eye contact. | Speaker shows some confidence but may appear tentative. | Speaker demonstrates confidence and maintains good eye contact. | Speaker shows high confidence, engaging the audience with strong eye contact, posture, and voice projection. |
| Engagement | Audience engagement is low; minimal effort to connect. | Some attempts to engage but inconsistent throughout. | Engages the audience with appropriate energy and interaction. | Captivates the audience with excellent use of storytelling, body language, and vocal variety. |
| Content & Organization | Ideas are scattered and lack a clear structure. | Organization is basic; some ideas are underdeveloped. | Well-organized content with coherent points and supporting details. | Exceptionally organized; content is creative, well-developed, and logically structured to maintain interest. |
| Overall Effectiveness | The speech does not meet the criteria for an effective presentation. | The speech meets some criteria, but overall impact is limited. | The speech is effective and meets most criteria for a strong presentation. | The presentation is highly effective, leaving a lasting impact on the audience by fully integrating all key aspects. |
Instructions for Use
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Self-Assessment: After delivering your speech, reflect on each criterion and score yourself honestly. Note specific areas where you believe you excelled or could improve.
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Peer Review: Your peers should use this rubric to give constructive feedback. Focus on providing specific examples from the speech that relate to each scoring area.
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Teacher Feedback: The teacher will incorporate both self-assessment and peer review feedback to provide additional insights and suggestions for growth.
Feel free to add notes or comments beside each criterion, as this will help guide your learning process and aid in preparing for future presentations.