Due Dates: This activity is available as extra credit. There is no due date, but no extra credit is accepted after the last class meeting of the semester.
Purpose
Critically evaluating presentations is a key competency of this course.
Skills
In this assignment you will:
- Critically evaluate a real-world presentation that occurs outside of class.
Knowledge
This assignment will also help you become familiar with the following important content in this discipline:
- Verbal and nonverbal delivery
- Organizing presentations
- Use of evidence
- Audience analysis
Task
View a real-world presentation outside of this or any other course. The presentation you watch should be longer than 7 minutes. Press conferences and TED talks work well for this activity, but other options are also acceptable. Talk to your instructor if you are not certain if a presentation would be acceptable for the activity.
Your Speech Critique will be a written paper 400-500 words long (approximately two full pages, double-spaced). You will need to include citations and references for the presentation itself, the textbook, and to one additional academic source you refer to in the critique. Citations and references should be in APA format (7th Edition). A complete speech critique will typically contain 5-6 paragraphs. The following organizational scheme is not mandatory, but is usually very effective.
- Introduction to your critique
- Audience
- Environment
- Objective
- Discuss organization of the presentation
- Introduction complete and effective
- Order of main points
- Use of transitions
- Conclusion complete and effective
- Discuss research and supporting evidence in the presentation
- Evidence supports main points
- Citations/sources clear
- Use of visual aids effective (visual evidence that supports their points)
- Delivery evaluation for the presenter
- Verbal delivery
- Nonverbal delivery
- Other comments (optional)
- Conclusion of your critique
- How do the above paragraphs show that the objective was or was not achieved?
- What have you learned about presenting from this critique?
Criteria for Success
A Speech Critique that is between 400 and 500 words, addresses all of the items listed above, and contains complete references and citations will receive full points.