FIRST, THINK: Who is this person and why are they significant? Make a list of people you might like to talk about and list some adjectives to describe them. Consider how comfortable and capable you are discussing someone if they are no longer alive.
My mom is the parent who raised me and has always been my biggest supporter. Without her, I would’ve never made it this far in life; definitely not to UNE, and definitely not nearly as happy as I am now.
My grandfather has been a major presence in my life and has taught me so much about the world in a way that school and theory could not.
Aria is my roommate and one of closest friends I’ve ever had the fortune of having, always encouraging my creative side and reminding me of how much fun life can be, whether she actively knows it or not.
NEXT: BRAINSTORM: What other stories or anecdotes can you think of? Continue to add depth to your outline and speech. (Writing a draft of a toast for your “person,” even if you are not composing a toast, might help shape your speech.) Imagine that this is a SKETCH.
Introduction:
-who is Aria: my roommate, one of my closest friends I made at the tail end of freshman year, a marine biology major and education minor
-what does she mean to me? what impact has she had on me?
Body:
-encouraged me to join theater and explore the part of myself that wanted to act
-brought out my more confident side by seeing someone else who often felt out of place thrive in a group of other people
-brought out my more social side by listening to what I have to say and communicating her own interests and excitement about academics, the arts, going to events, etc.
-offered me support when I was struggling with family struggles and sharing her own vulnerabilities; kindred spirits
Conclusion:
-so what does this all mean? It means that she’s one of my biggest supporters in my dreams, someone I draw hope and inspiration from, and someone I hope to keep in my life until I die.
NEXT: NARROW: Pick one person and focus on what you think your audience should know about this person.
-I’ve picked Aria already.
NEXT: STRUCTURE: Lay out 3 clear parts on paper: Intro, Body, Conclusion and start to budget the time your will spend delivering each part.
NEXT: IN MOTION: Draft, add, subtract, practice, revise, repeat. This speech, like all the others, is meant to evolve as you keep working with it throughout the week.
Dry-Dry Run:
Throughout this dry-dry run (done with friends due to my absence), I realized I still have a lot to do for this speech (which in hindsight is unsurprising considering my being out sick), but I feel confident that I can give this speech successfully. After delivery my dry dry run in front of two of my friends, Kay and Connor, who both know the person I’m discussing in my speech personally. They told me that my pacing was off (which I definitely recognized) and my lack of eye contact, but they also asked to know more about my subject outside of my relationship to her. With this in mind, I feel like I can definitely prepare, given that I restructure my outline to better accomadate the added information.
