COMM 101
Instructor Course Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the basic elements of communication, to provide practical experience in the preparation and presentation of speeches, and to improve listening skills. The goal of this course is to improve organizational and verbal weaknesses and to strengthen any present communication talents, while also developing an air of confidence while speaking.
In this course an assignment that stood out to me was an assignment where students had to analyze a speech Oprah gave. I remember this course very well because my professor came from the same country as me and would always have bigger expectations because of that. Furthermore, this assignment taught me about the little things that we do when we speak in front of people and the right things to do in that situation. It improved my speaking skills significantly. Personally, I plan on using this knowledge in life overall because it is very helpful. Below is my artifact of the assignment.
Emmanuel Agyei
11/3/19
SPEECH ANALYSIS
There are many factors that are incorporated with making and presenting a speech, from the topic or title, general purpose,specific purpose, thesis, introduction, body and conclusion. When you are presenting a speech even your body will show weather your confident with what your doing or not, from your body language, eye contact, tone of your voice and mannerisms.
For this assignment I’m going to describe and analyze Oprah Winfrey’s speech at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards. I’m going to talk about the content, structure and delivery of her speech.
Oprah started off the speech in chronological order, with informing the audience about her background as a little girl, she said, “ in 1964, I was a little girl sitting on the linoleum floor in mothers house in Milwaukee, watching Ann Bankrof present the Oscar for best actor, at the 36th Academy awards”. She talks about where she’s coming from and what a moment it was seeing an African American being celebrated, this sets a foundation for her thesis and topic for her speech . Oprah sets the official topic by saying, “at this moment, there are some little girls watching, as I become the first black woman to be given this award”, She sets her topic about the “me too movement” without even mentioning it from the start. The specific purpose of the speech, is by the end of her speech the audience and the world will know that women can do it too, women can be great too despite the circumstances. She thanks the people who helped her through her journey and also thanks the press, there are many hints in her speech that indicate what she is actually talking about, and one of them is talking about the press and how it’s a dedication to uncovering the absolute truth, that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and injustice, this provides relevance to her speech.
In addition, she transitions, by saying, “ which brings me to this”, which help her dive deeper into the talks about truth, and being able to speak your truth as a strong and empowered woman.
Oprah’s organizational pattern is that of an expert, because she used chronological order, from when she was a little girl and things that took place in the past leading her to the present. Then she takes it back “ to the little girls watching”and the “me too” statement to conclude her speech at the end. She doesn’t use any vocalized pauses, and all her words are clearly stated and delivered. She uses modern factors in her speech to capture her audience’s attention and emotions.
In various moments of her speech she uses the tone, rate, pitch and intensity of her vocals to increase the audience’s interest in her speech. As an American media executive, actress and talk show host, producer and philanthropist, she knows how to speak in front of a big audience, and also has the confidence to do so. And she’s not afraid to let the audience know how educated through the vocabulary she uses when she speaks. Oprah was also prepared for the speech because of the attire she was in, and how she presented herself, through eye contact, attentiveness, and also, there were no nonverbal distractions.
As a public speaker, there are many things you need to know to deliver a great speech and Oprah’s speech at the Golden Globe Awards, is what is deemed as a great speech, she included all the things a good speaker should incorporate in their speech, verbally and non-verbally.
Work Cited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN5HV79_8B8, http://www.oprah.com/index.html