Speeches of Introduction; Interview Baseline Story Project

INSTRUCTIONS: Your short introductory speech should reveal something about the nature or character of the person you interviewed. When asked, please introduce your partner to the rest of the class. You may use your notes to help guide you, but try not to simply read off of your notes. Try to remember what your partner told you, then report this to us.

• Before you present your speech (all students are required to try this!), prepare your notes by adding a short introduction sentence. 
• Speeches usually open with an interesting statement or lead-in. This is called The Hook. 
• Begin your introductory speech with a clever hook or attention-grabber. Write an interesting opening line for your speech to introduce your partner.
• When called, please stand up and introduce your partner. You may use your notes if you get stuck, but try to also "talk" to us. No one likes to be "read" to. 
• As a class politely listen to each speech. Listening is an important element in the communication process. It is extremely rude to chat, ignore, or otherwise distract a speaker. Please be courteous in this class. As the class rule states: Respect all NOUNS (that includes you and me and each other).

When called, please come up to the front of the room and introduce your partner. You may use your notes if you get stuck, but try to "talk" to us. No one likes to be "read" to. As a class, politely listen to each speech. Listening is an important element in the communication process. It is extremely rude to chat, ignore, or otherwise distract a speaker. Please be courteous in this class. As class rules state: Respect all NOUNS (that includes you and me and each other).

Effective Elements of a Speech include:

• Volume
• Pace
• Pitch or tone of voice
• Language or imagery
• Organization
• Creativity
• Confidence (ethos)
• Body posture/Facial expressions/Gestures/Eye contact

While listening to a speech, a listener should:

• Pay attention
• Make eye contact with the speaker
• Be courteous and polite
• Avoid interruptions
• Listen (not just hear)

After all students have given their speech, please listen for further instructions for our next writing task.

THE TASK: You will use your interview notes to create a fictional character and place that character (based loosely on your original partner) into your story. 

THE RULES: Your story can follow any genre (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, western, romance, realistic, action, comedy, etc.) Want to write about teenage vampires? Go ahead! Choose a genre or topic that you are interested in. This helps a writer write a story successfully.

Your story should be relatively short (approx. 3-5 pages, double spaced). You can always add to the draft later. When you have completed your first draft, please title your story, put your standard heading on the top left following MLA guidelines and proofread your work for spelling/grammar errors. When satisfied that this is your 'best' work, please print and turn in. This assignment is not due yet. You should aim to write at least 1-2 page(s) per class period.

Remember that a hook works just as well for a story as it does for a speech. Revise your opening sentence of your story to HOOK your reader. Be creative to grab our attention!

In the Lab: Please use the time given to you in our lab to work on your story. If you get stuck, think about who your character is, what your character wants in that particular setting, and move the plot forward by cutting to the next interesting scene. If you find your character not acting, reacting, or making decisions--introduce conflict (forces) that cause the character to act, react, or make decisions. This is good advice to keep a story going.

HOMEWORK: Continue working on your draft.