Lesson video

Hello everyone.

My name's Mrs. Riley and I will be teaching you this lesson today.

In our lesson today, we're going to be taking another look at speeches and specifically looking at how to address an audience.

Let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is to understand how rhetorical questions can be used to address an audience when delivering a speech.

These are our keywords today.

Let's go through each one.

The first keyword is audience.

My turn, your turn.

Audience, Audience, well done.

An audience is a group of people listening to or watching a performance or speaker.

The next key word is addressing.

Addressing.

When you address someone, you are speaking to a person or a group of people.

The next key word is rhetorical question.

Rhetorical question.

A question, a rhetorical question is a type of question asked that does not expect an answer, but rather makes a point or creates emphasis.

And we're going to look at those in more detail later in the lesson.

So in our lesson today, we're going to look first at addressing an audience and then we'll be analysing a speech by Michelle Obama.

So let's get started with addressing an audience.

In the previous lesson, you learned all about audience engagement during speeches.

We looked closely at the verb engage, which means to get or hold the interest of.

If you are engaged with this lesson now you will all be focusing and I will have your attention.

If you find something engaging, it means your attention is completely hooked on that thing and it's very difficult to break.

In this lesson, we're going to look at specific techniques used for engagement, which helps us address the audience directly.

So first of all, could we discuss how can a speaker be engaging when making a speech? If somebody was going to come into the classroom right now and make a speech, what could they do to be engaging? I'd like you to discuss this with your partner.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

Let's go through some answers.

So these are some top tips that a speaker can use to engage with their audience when making a speech.

First you can stand up to speak.

It's really simple, but it's really effective.

Speak in a loud, clear voice.

Vary the pace.

That means how quickly or slowly you speak.

Speak in full sentences.

Make eye contact with the audience.

Use facial expressions and gestures.

Ask rhetorical questions.

That's our key word for today.

And use repetition.

So let's now look at these techniques in more detail.

So speak in a loud, clear voice so that the audience will be able to hear and understand every word 'cause that will help them be engaged throughout the speech.

If you can't hear someone or understand them because they're mumbling, you probably are going to lose interest and stop listening.

So really important.

Varying the pace.

If you sometimes slow down the speed of the speech, it can emphasise key points and allow the audience time to absorb important information.

So if you were giving a speech and there was a really important part, a really important message, if you slowed down when you gave that message, everyone would have more of a chance to absorb it.

Using facial expressions and gestures can help to convey the emotional tone of the speech and make the message clearer.

If we just spoke like a robot and never changed our facial expression or didn't move our bodies at all, it might be more difficult to understand how the person speaking is feeling.

And also it will probably be less engaging.

Making eye contact with the audience forms a connection between the speaker and the audience, and it helps to keep the audience focused on you and your message.

If you just read from a piece of paper and never look up, you're not going to connect with the audience as much, which means they might not be as engaged.

Using repetition is an excellent way to engage an audience because hearing the same words repeated will grab their attention and make the speech more memorable.

So let's check your understanding.

Which of these techniques allows the audience to hear and understand the speaker? So all of these are good techniques, but which of these techniques focuses on allowing the audience to be able to hear the speaker? Pause the video while you answer the question.

Okay, well done.

The correct answer is B, speaking loudly and clearly will help the audience to hear and understand the speaker.

Now, would you like to look at one special technique in more detail? Are you excited to learn about it? What do you think it might be? That that technique has been used in the sentences above? So could you discuss now what do you think that technique might be and explain how it has been used? So in that first paragraph there, "Now, would you like to look at one special technique in more detail? Are you excited to learn about it? What do you think it might be?" What technique have I used there and how has it been used? So pause the video now while you discuss that with a partner.

Okay, hopefully you discovered that the technique is the use of rhetorical questions.

A rhetorical question is a question asked that does not expect an answer, but rather makes a point or creates emphasis and it can be an excellent way to address the audience directly.

This is an engaging technique because it gets the audience thinking more deeply and considering what their response would be.

So when I asked you, would you like to learn another technique? What do you think it might be? Even though I'm not expecting you to answer me, I'm hopefully making you, I'm encouraging you to think deeply and to think about what your response might be.

So a rhetorical question addresses the audience regarding the topic of the speech and encourages them to think but doesn't expect an answer out loud.

It's kind of a way of making our audience a bit more active even though they're not answering, it's encouraging them to actively think about what their response might be.

So for a speech about equal rights, you might say something like, "Will you stand up for what is right and fair?" or sorry, "fair and right?" For a speech about showing kindness, you might include a rhetorical question like, "What kind of friend will you be?" Now again, I'm not expecting the audience to reply, but hopefully I'm connecting with them and getting them to think about what kind of friend they would like to be.

For a speech about protecting the environment, I could ask my audience, "How do you want to leave the planet for the future?" So these rhetorical questions encourage the audience to reflect on their responsibilities and future actions.

So let's check your understanding.

I would you to match the rhetorical question to the appropriate speech topic.

So the rhetorical questions are A, will you stand up for what is fair and right? B, what kind of friend will you be? And C, how do you want to leave the planet? And the speech topics area speech about protecting the environment, a speech about equal rights and a speech about showing kindness.

So you could draw an imaginary line across from A, B, and C across to the speech topic.

Pause the video while you complete that now.

Okay, lovely.

Let's come back together and see how you got on.

So, A, will you stand up for what is fair and right would be a good rhetorical question in a speech about equal rights.

What kind of friend will you be is a rhetorical question that would be useful in a speech about showing kindness.

And how do you want to leave the planet would be a useful rhetorical question in a speech about protecting the environment.

Could you now discuss how does using rhetorical questions in a speech help the speaker to achieve their purpose? Pause the video while you discuss that now.

Okay, lovely.

Let's come back together.

I heard some lovely discussions there.

Well done.

So I heard somebody saying, "It addresses the audience directly and encourages them to think about what their answer would be, which engages them in the topic." Someone else said, "It often requires the audience to consider their responsibilities and future actions regarding the topic." So here is a reminder for some top tips a speaker can use to engage with the audience when making a speech.

Now in a second for your task, you're going to be making some speeches.

So I really want you to focus and remember all these top tips.

Standing up to speak.

Speak in a loud, clear voice.

Vary the pace.

If there's a really important bit, slow down.

Speak in full sentences.

Make eye contact with the audience.

Don't just look down.

Use facial expressions and gestures.

Ask rhetorical questions.

Use repetition.

So for your task, you are going to develop some rhetorical questions to address and engage an audience.

Imagine these rhetorical questions are for a speech with the title, "Protecting our planet for future generations." Here are some phrases you could begin your rhetorical questions with.

"What kind of planet.

?" "What will you.

?" And, "How do you want to.

? So you could start your rhetorical questions with those phrases.

So imagine you're giving a speech about protecting our planet for future generations and as part of that speech you're going to include some rhetorical questions.

So you're going to now develop those rhetorical questions and think about perhaps three rhetorical questions you could include in a speech about protecting our planet.

So good luck with this task.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

I heard some brilliant rhetorical questions there.

Let's check, did we do the following? Did we remember to use rhetorical questions? That was the key part of that task.

Did we, when we asked them, stand up to speak and speak loudly and clearly? Did we vary the pace? Perhaps if there was one really important question, we might have said it a bit slower.

Did we make eye contact with our audience? So here's an example of what you might have said.

What will you do to look after and protect our planet? What changes are you going to make? So both of those rhetorical questions don't expect an answer, but they are asking the audience to have to reflect and have a think.

Here's another one.

What kind of planet do you want to leave behind for future generations? How will you help to preserve the beauty of our planet? So there's lots of lovely examples of rhetorical questions.

Okay, let's move on to our second learning cycle, analysing a speech by Michelle Obama.

So could you discuss, first of all, have you ever heard of Michelle Obama before? And do you know why she is an important figure? Could you pause the video and discuss that with your partner now? Okay, well done.

I heard lots of lovely ideas there.

I heard someone saying, "I have heard her name before and I think she was the wife of the President of America." And I heard someone else saying, "I think she did lots to advocate for people who needed help in her role as first Lady of the United States." Well done.

So here's some information about Michelle Obama.

There's a picture of her as well.

Michelle Obama was born in 1964 in the city of Chicago, which is in Illinois in the United States of America.

Michelle Obama originally graduated and worked as a lawyer, or in America, they sometimes call it an attorney.

She later campaigned for her husband, Barack Obama, to become president of the United States.

She became First Lady, which is the wife of the President of the US and served next to him for eight years, from 2009 to 2017.

She's also an accomplished author.

What did Michelle Obama work on during her time as First Lady? Well, the role of the first lady in America is to work as an advocate in many ways.

And an advocate is a noun.

It's a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause.

As First Lady, Michelle Obama, advocated for many causes including education, physical health and poverty.

As an advocate for education, Michelle Obama has made many speeches aimed at inspiring and motivating young people.

One of her most famous speeches was made at Eastern Kentucky University to the graduating class of 2013.

So this is in America.

A group of students are graduating, they're finishing their time at university and they're about to go off and look for different jobs or start their life as an adult.

And Michelle Obama gave a speech at that ceremony where they graduated and it became very famous.

Lots of people have seen it because not only did the people see it who were actually there at the live speech, at the live graduation ceremony, but lots of people have watched it on the internet.

And so it's become very famous.

And in this speech she addressed the audience directly by using rhetorical questions.

One of our keywords for today.

So I would like you now to watch part of this speech that Michelle Obama gave at Eastern Kentucky University in 2013.

Now you are going to have to look for this speech on the internet.

So either your teacher will show that to you or if you need help looking for it yourself on the internet, you need to ask a parent or guardian or trusted adult to help you to find it.

So I hope you enjoy watching part of the speech now and see if you can look out for those rhetorical questions.

Pause the video now.

Okay, let's come back together.

Well, I hope you enjoyed watching that incredible speech.

When I watched it, I actually had to watch the entire thing because I was so inspired by what she said and actually I left feeling really motivated and I really loved how much she used those rhetorical questions.

So let's just check your understanding, which university did Michelle Obama make a speech at where she used rhetorical questions to address the audience? Was it A, in Kings College, London.

B, Eastern Kentucky University, or C, New York University? See if you can remember.

Pause the video now.

Well done.

It was B, Eastern Kentucky University.

And the main rhetorical question repeated in Michelle Obama's speech is, "Who are you going to be?" So all of these graduates have just finished at their time at university and she's now asking them before they go off and get jobs or whatever they are going to go on and do.

She's asking this rhetorical question, "Who are you going to be?" Now obviously there's thousands of people in the audience, so she's not asking them to all answer.

It's a rhetorical question.

She's asking them to reflect on who they are going to be.

Michelle Obama also uses repetition as an engaging technique by repeating this question at various points.

So she uses this rhetorical question and she repeats it to really emphasise how important it is.

So I would like you to now discuss, you've had quite a lot of information, so I'd like you now to pause and discuss why do you think Michelle Obama chose the rhetorical question, "Who are you going to be?" So remember, this is a group of a group of students who've just finished their degrees, they finished their time at university, they're about to leave and go and find jobs.

And she's asking them, "Who are you going to be?" Why do you think she chose that rhetorical question? Pause the video and turn and tell your partner now.

Okay, well done.

Let's come back together.

Here are some examples of what you might have said.

"I think she chose this rhetorical question because the audience are graduates and she wanted them to consider who they want to be after graduating." Someone else might have said, "I think she chose this rhetorical question to encourage the graduates to think about what they would do next." So let's look at an extract from the transcript of Michelle Obama's speech at Eastern Kentucky University.

And this is available in the additional materials.

So this is actually the copy of what Michelle Obama said in her speech.

"And my first question is, who are you going to be? And if you'll notice, I'm not asking what are you going to do, but who are you going to be? I'm asking you about how you plan to live your life every day.

How are you going to respond when you don't get that job you had your heart set on? For all of you who are going to be teachers, what are you going to do if the students in your class next year just don't respond to your lessons? For all of you going into business, how will you react when your boss gives you a goal that feels way too high? These are the moments that define us, not the day you get the promotion, not the day you win the teacher of the year, but the times that force you to claw and scratch and fight just to get through the day.

The moments when you get knocked down and you are wondering whether it's even worth it to get back up.

These are the times when you've got to ask yourself, who am I going to be?" Okay, so we read that extract from Michelle Obama's speech.

I would like you now to discuss, "What do you think Michelle Obama's questions were prompting the audience to consider?" Could you pause the video and discuss that with your partner now? Okay, well done.

Again, I heard some lovely discussions there.

So I heard someone saying, "I think she wanted the audience to consider what kind of person they wanted to be no matter what they chose to do next." Someone else said, "I think she wanted the audience to consider which characteristics they wanted to display as they entered the working world." Someone else might have said, "I think she was prompting the audience to consider how they would show resilience in tough moments." Well, I think all of those answers are correct.

Now, a speech is written for a specific audience in order to achieve its purpose.

The specific audience in that case was a graduating class who had just completed their degrees and were about to embark on the next chapter in their lives.

The purpose of the speech was to inspire the graduating class to reflect on the kind of people they wanted to be for themselves and on the world around them.

So what was the purpose of Michelle Obama's speech, A, to congratulate a graduating class.

B, to teach a graduating class, or C, to inspire and motivate a graduating class? Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

The purpose of Michelle Obama's speech was to inspire and motivate a graduating class.

The answer is C.

Okay, so I'm going to remind you now again of some top tips a speaker can use to engage with that audience when making a speech.

Now, in your task, which is coming up, you are going to be making your own speeches.

So again, really concentrate for these with these top tips 'cause they're going to be really helpful in your task.

So, stand up to speak.

It's sounds simple, but it's really important.

Always speak in a loud, clear voice.

Vary the pace.

If you have a really important message, slow down.

Speak in full sentences.

Make eye contact with the audience.

So if you are reading from something that's written down, remember to look up and connect with your audience.

Use facial expressions and gestures.

Ask rhetorical questions.

That's our one of our key words from today.

Use repetition.

So all of these are going to help you to make a really brilliant speech.

So in your task, you are now going to write your own short speech using rhetorical questions.

And then you are going to share your speech with an audience, which might just be a few friends or it might even be in front of the class.

Now, I would like you to use this speech by Michelle Obama as inspiration.

Think about a change you would like to see made in the world or in your own life.

You can use one of these ideas to inspire you if you wish.

So you don't have to use these, but they're there to help you.

So it could be about protecting the environment or it could be about helping those in need.

I want you to think of rhetorical questions you can use to prompt the audience to think about their future or their responsibilities.

Here is two examples of rhetorical questions you could use.

What will you do to preserve our planet if you are using protecting the environment as your theme or how will you help those less fortunate if you chose helping those in need? But you might also choose something different to make your short speech about.

It only needs to be a few sentences, but remember to try and include some rhetorical questions and think about all those things like standing up straight, loud, clear voice, keeping eye contact with the audience when it comes to performing.

So good luck.

I hope you really enjoy this task.

Pause the video now.

Okay, brilliant.

Let's come back together.

Well done.

You should feel really proud of yourselves for writing and delivering a speech.

So let's just have some time to reflect.

I want you first of all to think about the speeches that you heard, that you listened to and think, did the speaker do the following? Did they use rhetorical questions? Did they stand up to speak? Did they speak loudly and clearly? Did they vary the pace? Were some bits quicker and some bits slower? And did they make eye contact with you? So could you perhaps pause the video again and just perhaps give someone some feedback.

If somebody who gave a speech to you, perhaps you could quickly give them some feedback, remembering to use really kind and encouraging words.

Okay, brilliant.

Well done.

Well, here's an example of what someone might have said in their speech.

"Do you cherish the beauty of the planet we live on? We need to protect our planet by doing simple things like recycling and using less plastic.

If we all help out, we can keep our earth clean and safe for animals and ourselves.

Can you make a difference? Let's start today by picking up litter to make our world a better place." So there's the speech and you can see in a separate colour the two rhetorical questions that they have used.

And then here's some feedback someone might have given them.

They might have said, "I liked the way you used two rhetorical questions and you also used eye contact really well, which helped me to keep focused on you and connect with what you were saying." So that's an example of what that task might have looked like.

Okay, let's summarise what we've learned today.

We've learned that Michelle Obama is an American lawyer and author who served as the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017.

We've learned that successful public speaking includes speaking loudly and clearly and engaging the audience.

We've learned that a speech is written for a specific audience in order to achieve its purpose.

For example, the purpose of Michelle Obama's speech to the graduates was to inspire them.

A speaker can engage an audience through a variety of techniques, including rhetorical questions.

So thank you for all your hard work today, and I hope you feel really proud of yourselves.

Perhaps next time you are asked to make a speech, you can think about all the things we learned about today, about how to address an audience, and perhaps you might be able to include some rhetorical questions.

Hopefully I'll see you for some more learning another time.

Bye for now.