How to Critique a Speech
Decide whether the speech resonates with the target audience., Evaluate the speech’s clarity., See if the speech is convincing and educational., See if the speech has personality., Evaluate the closing.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide whether the speech resonates with the target audience.
The content, including word choice, references and anecdotes, should be tailored to the audience who will be listening to the speech.
For example, a "don't do drugs" speech aimed at first graders will sound very different from one meant to teach awareness to college students.
As you listen to the speech, try to determine whether it hits the mark or seems a bit off.
Do not base your critique on your own personal opinion, but on how the speaker would be perceived by a wider audience.
Your own biases should not come into play.
If possible, note audience members’ reactions to the speech.
Do they seem to understand it? Are they rapt with attention? Do they laugh along with the jokes, or do they seem bored? -
Step 2: Evaluate the speech’s clarity.
The speaker should use correct grammar and easy to understand language, making it pleasant to listen to the speech and follow what it’s about.
Within a few sentences, the main subject of the speech should be clear, and the rest of the content should build in a smooth, understandable manner to support the speaker’s thesis.
Again, whether or not you agree with or like the speaker should be less important than what the speaker is saying.
When you’re deciding whether the speech is clear, consider the following questions:
Is the introduction effective? Did the speaker make his or her primary argument apparent within the first few sentences, or did it take awhile before you figured out what he or she was getting at? Is the speech full of distracting tangents that do not relate to the primary argument, or does it build in a logical manner toward the conclusion? If you were to repeat the speech to someone else, could you recite all the main points or would you have trouble remembering what it was really about? , In a well-written speech, arguments are skillfully put forth to prove a larger point.
The content of the speech should demonstrate the speaker’s expertise on the subject at hand, and the audience should come away feeling they learned something new.
Look for gaps in the speaker’s reasoning or places where further research would have made a point more convincing.
Listen for names, dates, and data cited to back up the points the speaker is making.
Write down any names, dates, statistics, and other research-related information given by the speaker so that you can look it up later.
After the speech, do some fact checking to make sure they’re accurate.
Inaccuracies in data are very important to notice because they can impact the credibility of the talk.
If you must critique the speech directly after it is given, using the internet to quickly fact-check a speech can be useful.
Wait for the question and answer, meet and greet, or break period to look up the speaker's points. , Anecdotes and the occasional joke break up the serious tone of the speech and keep it from getting boring.
If the speech is too dry, it doesn’t matter how convincing the argument is; people will never hear it, because they’ll be too distracted.
When you’re determining whether the speech is engaging at a high level, ask these questions:
Does it start with a good hook? In order to engage people right away, good speeches usually start with a funny or intriguing point that draws the audience in.
Does it stay engaging the entire time? A good speaker will pepper anecdotes and jokes throughout to grab and keep listeners' attention.
Are the anecdotes and jokes distracting, or do they help build the speaker’s argument? Some listeners will tend to miss the important points, listening only to the hook.
The best way to properly critique a speech is to wait for the speaker to make a joke and then listen very closely to what he or she says afterward.
Think of jokes and anecdotes as highlighter pens, pointing out the main ideas.
Does the speaker use illustrations judiciously? One really superb, memorable illustration is better than three that don't stick with the audience and are only partially related to the main goal of the speech. , A good close should tie up all of the points and give the audience new ideas for using the information they've been given.
A poor closing will only summarize the points, or outright ignore them and go on to a topic that has nothing to do with what the speaker has been saying for the rest of the allotted time period.
Remember that the ending of a speech is one of the most important parts in the speech making process.
It should regain the audience's attention and be powerful, thoughtful, deep, and concise.
When ending a speech, the speaker must also exhibit the greatest level of confidence one can muster, since this technique will help the audience also gain confidence in the speaker's presentation. -
Step 3: See if the speech is convincing and educational.
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Step 4: See if the speech has personality.
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Step 5: Evaluate the closing.
Detailed Guide
The content, including word choice, references and anecdotes, should be tailored to the audience who will be listening to the speech.
For example, a "don't do drugs" speech aimed at first graders will sound very different from one meant to teach awareness to college students.
As you listen to the speech, try to determine whether it hits the mark or seems a bit off.
Do not base your critique on your own personal opinion, but on how the speaker would be perceived by a wider audience.
Your own biases should not come into play.
If possible, note audience members’ reactions to the speech.
Do they seem to understand it? Are they rapt with attention? Do they laugh along with the jokes, or do they seem bored?
The speaker should use correct grammar and easy to understand language, making it pleasant to listen to the speech and follow what it’s about.
Within a few sentences, the main subject of the speech should be clear, and the rest of the content should build in a smooth, understandable manner to support the speaker’s thesis.
Again, whether or not you agree with or like the speaker should be less important than what the speaker is saying.
When you’re deciding whether the speech is clear, consider the following questions:
Is the introduction effective? Did the speaker make his or her primary argument apparent within the first few sentences, or did it take awhile before you figured out what he or she was getting at? Is the speech full of distracting tangents that do not relate to the primary argument, or does it build in a logical manner toward the conclusion? If you were to repeat the speech to someone else, could you recite all the main points or would you have trouble remembering what it was really about? , In a well-written speech, arguments are skillfully put forth to prove a larger point.
The content of the speech should demonstrate the speaker’s expertise on the subject at hand, and the audience should come away feeling they learned something new.
Look for gaps in the speaker’s reasoning or places where further research would have made a point more convincing.
Listen for names, dates, and data cited to back up the points the speaker is making.
Write down any names, dates, statistics, and other research-related information given by the speaker so that you can look it up later.
After the speech, do some fact checking to make sure they’re accurate.
Inaccuracies in data are very important to notice because they can impact the credibility of the talk.
If you must critique the speech directly after it is given, using the internet to quickly fact-check a speech can be useful.
Wait for the question and answer, meet and greet, or break period to look up the speaker's points. , Anecdotes and the occasional joke break up the serious tone of the speech and keep it from getting boring.
If the speech is too dry, it doesn’t matter how convincing the argument is; people will never hear it, because they’ll be too distracted.
When you’re determining whether the speech is engaging at a high level, ask these questions:
Does it start with a good hook? In order to engage people right away, good speeches usually start with a funny or intriguing point that draws the audience in.
Does it stay engaging the entire time? A good speaker will pepper anecdotes and jokes throughout to grab and keep listeners' attention.
Are the anecdotes and jokes distracting, or do they help build the speaker’s argument? Some listeners will tend to miss the important points, listening only to the hook.
The best way to properly critique a speech is to wait for the speaker to make a joke and then listen very closely to what he or she says afterward.
Think of jokes and anecdotes as highlighter pens, pointing out the main ideas.
Does the speaker use illustrations judiciously? One really superb, memorable illustration is better than three that don't stick with the audience and are only partially related to the main goal of the speech. , A good close should tie up all of the points and give the audience new ideas for using the information they've been given.
A poor closing will only summarize the points, or outright ignore them and go on to a topic that has nothing to do with what the speaker has been saying for the rest of the allotted time period.
Remember that the ending of a speech is one of the most important parts in the speech making process.
It should regain the audience's attention and be powerful, thoughtful, deep, and concise.
When ending a speech, the speaker must also exhibit the greatest level of confidence one can muster, since this technique will help the audience also gain confidence in the speaker's presentation.
About the Author
Betty Howard
Writer and educator with a focus on practical lifestyle knowledge.
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