Who can forget two memorable utterances by former US President John F Kennedy in two good speeches that he made, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” and “First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” These two stick in the listener’s minds and stay on forever. How does one go about writing and delivering a speech as enduring as these? In this quiz for Upper Primary English we shall find out!
Delivering speeches is an important way of communicating to a dedicated audience. You can have several types of speech such as informative, instructional, persuasive, entertaining or special occasion speeches. All these different types of speech are delivered to specific audiences and the subjects chosen depend upon the audience to be addressed.
[readmore]A good example of subjects chosen when writing is the way current Indian Prime Minister Modi went about addressing rallies in different parts of the country during the run up to the general elections in May 2014. He chose topics that were dear to a particular state and captured the attention of the people he was addressing. His speech writers were well conversant with the subjects to be tackled and the audience to whom the speech was aimed at. On his part Mr Modi delivered the speech in a manner that captivated the audience and drew repeated applause from them, indicating that the speech was making an impact. Mr Modi was practicing all the rudiments of good speech writing and delivery.
Good speeches should have a strong idea if they are to be important to the audience. The idea should be encapsulated in an outline that encompasses a strong introduction, a cogent body and a firm conclusion. The other important aspect of speech writing that Mr Modi practiced was repeat principle. Important ideas were repeated to drive home the idea and make it stick in the listeners’ minds.
Speech writing can be made more meaningful and effective if, after the writing, the speech is read out loud. Reading out loud would help the speech writer to use better words choosing from an array of synonyms available in the English language.
The quiz that follows tests your knowledge both of speech writing and of speech delivering.
1.
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Choose the true statement from the following list. |
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[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the audience to whom it is to be delivered. |
[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the topic the audience to whom it is to be delivered would be interested in. |
[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the attention span of the audience to whom it is to be delivered. |
[ ] |
All of the above. |
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2.
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Which of the following is not a type of speech? |
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[ ] |
Informative |
[ ] |
Instructional |
[ ] |
Persuasive |
[ ] |
Delusional |
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3.
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A good speech should... |
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[ ] |
have an introduction. |
[ ] |
have a solid body. |
[ ] |
have a strong ending. |
[ ] |
all the above. |
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4.
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You can organise the body of a speech causally, spatially, topically or... |
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[ ] |
haphazardly. |
[ ] |
tabularly. |
[ ] |
chronologically. |
[ ] |
mentally. |
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5.
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You should collect stories, ideas and examples on a speech subject because... |
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[ ] |
you want to cram your speech with as much information as you can gather. |
[ ] |
you feel that it is invigorating to search for ideas. |
[ ] |
you want to make the speech as long as possible. |
[ ] |
you want the audience to understand your speech and also make your speech more interesting. |
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6.
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In a speech the strategy of repeating... |
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[ ] |
helps to leave an impression. |
[ ] |
helps to relieve boredom. |
[ ] |
helps to fill time. |
[ ] |
helps to improve the speaker's vocabulary. |
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7.
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The best way to improve wording in a speech is... |
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[ ] |
to improve spelling. |
[ ] |
to use complicated words. |
[ ] |
to read aloud. |
[ ] |
to use words that are difficult to pronounce. |
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8.
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You need to have an outline for your speech because... |
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[ ] |
it is fashionable to do so. |
[ ] |
the organisers demanded an outline. |
[ ] |
it is the speech itself. |
[ ] |
it gives you a framework for building a logical flow for your message. |
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9.
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The characteristics of a good speech are... |
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[ ] |
voice modulation. |
[ ] |
choice of words. |
[ ] |
simple language. |
[ ] |
all the above. |
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10.
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The ending of a speech should usually be... |
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[ ] |
a possible solution to a problem outlining benefits and shortcomings. |
[ ] |
a description of how you went about preparing for the speech. |
[ ] |
a thanksgiving for the opportunity to deliver a speech. |
[ ] |
a description of the pitfalls you faced while preparing for the speech. |
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|
1.
|
Choose the true statement from the following list. |
|
[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the audience to whom it is to be delivered. |
[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the topic the audience to whom it is to be delivered would be interested in. |
[ ] |
A speech is dependent on the attention span of the audience to whom it is to be delivered. |
[x] |
All of the above. |
|
|
2.
|
Which of the following is not a type of speech? |
|
[ ] |
Informative |
[ ] |
Instructional |
[ ] |
Persuasive |
[x] |
Delusional |
|
|
3.
|
A good speech should... |
|
[ ] |
have an introduction. |
[ ] |
have a solid body. |
[ ] |
have a strong ending. |
[x] |
all the above. |
|
|
4.
|
You can organise the body of a speech causally, spatially, topically or... |
|
[ ] |
haphazardly. |
[ ] |
tabularly. |
[x] |
chronologically. |
[ ] |
mentally. |
|
|
5.
|
You should collect stories, ideas and examples on a speech subject because... |
|
[ ] |
you want to cram your speech with as much information as you can gather. |
[ ] |
you feel that it is invigorating to search for ideas. |
[ ] |
you want to make the speech as long as possible. |
[x] |
you want the audience to understand your speech and also make your speech more interesting. |
|
|
6.
|
In a speech the strategy of repeating... |
|
[x] |
helps to leave an impression. |
[ ] |
helps to relieve boredom. |
[ ] |
helps to fill time. |
[ ] |
helps to improve the speaker's vocabulary. |
|
|
7.
|
The best way to improve wording in a speech is... |
|
[ ] |
to improve spelling. |
[ ] |
to use complicated words. |
[x] |
to read aloud. |
[ ] |
to use words that are difficult to pronounce. |
|
|
8.
|
You need to have an outline for your speech because... |
|
[ ] |
it is fashionable to do so. |
[ ] |
the organisers demanded an outline. |
[ ] |
it is the speech itself. |
[x] |
it gives you a framework for building a logical flow for your message. |
|
|
9.
|
The characteristics of a good speech are... |
|
[ ] |
voice modulation. |
[ ] |
choice of words. |
[ ] |
simple language. |
[x] |
all the above. |
|
|
10.
|
The ending of a speech should usually be... |
|
[x] |
a possible solution to a problem outlining benefits and shortcomings. |
[ ] |
a description of how you went about preparing for the speech. |
[ ] |
a thanksgiving for the opportunity to deliver a speech. |
[ ] |
a description of the pitfalls you faced while preparing for the speech. |
|
|