Informative Speech Instructions

This course requires you topresent an informative speech to an audience of 3 or more adults. You mustuse a camcorder to recordthe presentation.After recording the presentation, you must download it from your camcorder onto your computer and then upload it in Blackboard using Kaltura. To do this, follow the Uploading a Video to Blackboard with Kaltura tutorial document, which is in the Assignment Instructions folder. Your grade for the speech will be determined by the degree to which it satisfies the requirements listed below.

Topic Selection

This assignment requires you to research a job field that you already work in or that you may wish to enter somedayto show how someone can use it as a platform for promoting something God values in the world.See the Alban text pp. 405–480for descriptions of several job fields you may wish to consider for the purpose of this project. See the Alban text pp. 73–76 for a list of things God values in the world.

Speech Goals:Because this is an informative speech—a speech in which you merely report information from credible sources without expressing your personal opinion—your goal in this presentation is simply to use information from appropriately credited expert sources in 2 ways:

(1)   To describe this occupation to your audience; and,

(2)   To show through documented examples or expert quotations how people can use this occupation as a platform for advancing something that God values according to the list of things God values that appears in the Alban text, pp. 73–76.

Among the many occupation-related points you could communicate to your audience in this informative speech are the nature of the work, the training or credentials required, employment-related trends,future outlook there, pay scale, etc. See the“Profiles” section on the WebCOM site for examples of people from a variety of occupational fields who have used job skills/situations as platforms for promoting something God values in the world.

OtherTopic Criteria:Your topic must satisfy not only the preceding criteria, but also the topic selection criteria set forth in the Alban text and the Liberty University Online Honor Code. In addition, yourtopic must comply withthe following:

• Topic Appropriateness: Avoid any topic that leads you to portray legally or ethically questionable texts or behaviors in a favorable light. This includes but is not limited to theses that advance sexually promiscuous activity, the use of illegal substances, or other behaviors that Liberty University’s statement of values prohibits. Questions about the appropriateness of topics, sources, etc. should be directed to your instructor early in the speech-planning process.
• Topic Originality: Your speech topics MUST be researched,selected, and delivered primarily for this course and not primarily for, or in conjunction with, a presentation for a church group, a Sunday School class, a social group, or any other small group. You may not give a speech that serves a double purpose.
• Topic Grading Criteria: You must choose a topic that enables you to construct the speech in a way that satisfies the specific requirements of the Speeches Grading Rubric, which lists the criteria that your instructor will use when grading your presentation.

Research, Organization, and Outlining

Basic Requirements:For yourinformative speech, you are required to:

• Research credible sources for information about your topic.
• Form a main idea for your speechbased on your research.
• Express this main idea as a complete thought in a singledeclarative thesis statement sentence.
• Choose the information from your research that most powerfully delivers the type of information that this thesis statement requires.
• Present this information in a logically sequenced outline of properly documented main points, sub-points, and perhaps even sub-sub-points,usingthe Informative Speech Outline Template document as your formatting guide. Your outline in its final form will serve as the blueprint that you mentally must follow whileextemporaneously deliveringthe speech to your audience.
• Research Requirements:For your informative speech, you are required touse 3expert sources.You must use and clearlycite examples, illustrations, statistics, quotations from experts, etc. from at least 3 expert sources in this project. An expert source is a person, group of persons, or organization with documentable expertise in the area it addresses. Information from such sources typically derives from personal interviews with credentialed experts or from documentable print and/or electronic publications (see the Alban text, pp. 161–167, for more about this).
• The Bible as an Expert Source: While you may of course use the Bible as a source when related to your topic, it must be in addition to the 3 required sources.
• The Alban Text as an Expert Source: The third section of the Alban text, pp. 405–480, and the U.S. Government’s Occupational Outlook Index count as 1of your 3sources, not as2 separate sources.
• Non-Expert Sources:Never use information from anonymous or questionable sources such as Wikipedia or any printed source authored by someone whose credentials for addressing the topic are not clearly established.
• Liberty University Database Source Options:It behooves you to consult the Liberty University Library’s research portal for access to many potentially useful, credible databases.

Organization and Outlining Requirements

Topical Sequencing Required: You must use the Topical organizational pattern for addressing your topic (see the Alban text page 221–222 for more about this).

The Draft and the Final Outlines: The speech outline process involves 2 submissions.If you post the optional draft version of your outline by the Module/Week 3 deadline for it, your instructor will post constructive feedback that you should heed and assimilate as you compose the final outline for submission a week later. The draft outline (if you do it) and the final outline must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents via the designated Blackboard submission links.

Use the Outline Template:You must use the Informative Speech Outline Template document as a guide for constructing your speech outline.Retain the givenformatting. Provide information for each category—an audience description, organizational pattern, purpose statement, etc. Include clearly distinguished introduction, body, and conclusion sections.

Outline Parts:

• The introduction must be listed in this order: your attention-getter, motive-for-listening, credibility statement, purpose statement, and preview statement.
• The body must include 2–5 main points, each with supportive subpoints, and perhaps even sub-subpoints.These will consist mainly of documented examples, illustrations, statistics, quotations from experts, etc. that you have derived from the 3 or more expert sources that this project requires.
• The conclusion must include a summary statement and a concluding element that refocuses the audience’s attention on the main point.
• The Works Cited (MLA), Reference page (APA), or Bibliography (Turabian) must properly credit your sources and must do so in the format prescribed bythe respective format used.

Document Your Sources Properly:

• In-Text and End-Page Citations:Whether you directly quote, summarize, or paraphrase it, any information that you present in your outline and in the speech itself must be explicitly attributed to the source from which you derived it. This requires youto use parenthetical citations or footnotes in the outline itselfto show which information derives from which expert source. This also requires you to list the same sources on a Works Cited (MLA), Reference (APA), or Bibliography page (Turabian) in the format prescribed by the style manual that you choose for this project.
• Use Direct Quotes Sparingly:If you include directly quoted material from another source in your outline, it must account for no more than 20% of the outline’s content.
• Offset Direct Quotes with Quotation Marks: You must place the directly quoted material inside double-quotation marks to make it clear that you are not claiming to be the originator of the quotation’s wording. Failure to use double-quotation marks to offset directly quoted material constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense that results in automatic failure of the assignment or automatic failure of the course (see the Liberty University Honor Code for more information about this).

 

Speech Recording and Submission Process

You must record and submit your Informative Speech presentation in a manner that satisfies the following requirements. They are outlined first and then explained in further detail below that. Your failure to satisfy these requirements will result in the grading penalties prescribed by the Speech Grading Rubric:

Basic Speech Delivery Requirements:

• You must use a camcorder or other video recording device to record your speech presentation.
• You must upload your recorded speech presentation to Blackboard using Kaltura for the instructor to view and to grade. Use the Uploading a Video to Blackboard with Kaltura tutorial document, which is in the Assignment Instructions
• Your speech must be 4–6 minutes of uninterrupted, recorded presentation.
• You must deliver your speech to a visually-documented live audience of 3 or more adults.
• You must deliver the speech extemporaneously. Your speech delivery must have a natural conversational quality. DO NOT READ YOUR SPEECH. Speeches that appear to the instructor to be read may be deemed unqualified for grading and may not be accepted.
• You may use notecards for occasional reference during the speech presentation if needed. However, do not let these become a visual distraction. Do not use computerized devices or larger pieces of paper for these speaker’s notes.
• You must maintain strong posture, gestures, and eye contact with the audience and you must avoid any visually or aurally distracting mannerisms while speaking.
• You must use an effective volume, pitch, rate, and vocal delivery during the presentation.
• You must properly use a visual aid during your speech delivery.

1. Video Recording Device Requirement:The instructor needs to clearly hear and see your speech in order to assess presentational qualities and determine your score for the project. Thus, you must use a digital video recording device, with good video and audio recording quality,to record your speech presentation and a computer to upload it to Blackboard using Kaltura for the instructor’s viewing. If you do not have a video recording device with uploading capabilities, you can acquire a camcorder via MBS, Liberty University Online’s official textbook provider. You could also consider borrowing such a device from a friend, your church, a public library, or other source. Unless you submit the required audio-visual recording of your speeches, you are highly unlikely to complete this course with a passing grade, so be sure to complete these important assignments.

 

 

Also,it is strongly recommended that you use a tripod or a trustworthy audience member to hold your camcorder to allow for stable video recording.

• Webcams:Although a computer webcam may be used to record a speech in a manner that satisfies the aforementioned requirements,the instructor will not accept a speech recording in which the speaker appears to be reading his/her speech from the computer’s screen. This includes all speeches delivered by a speaker who appears to be sitting or standing too close to the camera, even if this speaker was not, in fact, reading the speech.

2. Speech Recording Requirements: Before you record your speech, be sure to practice it in advance.Practice recording it for personal evaluation so that you can determine how to improve the speech’s presentational qualities. Additionally, ask someone to help track the time for you and give signals to let you know whether you have satisfied the presentation’s time requirement.

• Your speech recording must be unbroken. Do not stop the camera until your presentation is complete.
• Document your audience first.Yourunbroken speech recording must begin by visually documenting the required live audience of3or more adults.
• Keep the camera still during the speech.Except when panning the camera from your audience toward the lectern, the camera must remain in a stationary position and stay focused on the speaker throughout the presentation.
• Stand the proper distance from the camera (8–15 feet)while speaking. Your speech must be given from a standing position (unless you have aLiberty University documented handicap that restricts your mobility). If you appear to be standing closer to or farther from the camera than this, your speech may not be accepted for grading. A speech seemingly delivered from a sitting position in front of a webcam will receive a score of zero.
• Be visible throughout the speech.The top half of your body must be visible throughout the entire speech presentation.
• Yourrecorded speech must last 4–6 minutes from its first spoken word to its last spoken word.Speeches that exceed or fall short of this will receive point reductions per the terms of the grading rubric.

3. Speech Download Requirement: Once you finish recording the speech presentation, download it to your computer. Using media viewing software, confirm that your presentation is visible and that the sound is audible before you upload it.Most computers come with already-installed media player software (e.g., Windows Media Player or QuickTime). If you do not have media player software on your computer, consider the following downloadable free programs: GOM Media Player or VLC Media Player.

Always keep a copy of the speech recording file in case technical complications require you to repost the file to your instructor.

 

4. SpeechUpload Requirement:Once you have viewed your speech on the computer to verify that it is presentable, upload it to Blackboard using Kaltura. Use the Uploading a Video to Blackboard with Kaltura tutorial document, which is in the Assignment Instructions
5. Speech Outline Submission Requirement: Submit your corresponding final informative speech outlinevia its designated Module/Week 4 link.

Note the following submission-related advice:`

• Never try to submit your speech file directly via Blackboard as a file attachment. This will not work. You must use Kaltura to upload the video to Blackboard (refer to the Uploading a Video to Blackboard with Kalturatutorial document, which is in the Assignment Instructions folder.
• Confirm that your upload succeeded. Watch the entire video to confirm whether the upload was successful.

If you have questions about these guidelines, you should direct them to your instructor as soon as possible.

*The views and opinions expressed in the videos are those of the speakers or authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by Liberty University.