Lesson video

Hello everyone.

My name is Mrs. Riley, and I'm here today to teach you this lesson.

In our lesson today, we're going to be looking at speeches and we're going to be thinking specifically about how a speaker connects with an audience.

Let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is to understand how the use of personal experiences and anecdotes can help to connect with an audience.

These are our key words for today's lesson.

Let's start by saying each one aloud.

My turn, your turn.

You ready? Audience.

Activist.

Humanitarian.

Anecdotes.

Lovely.

Well done.

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

An activist is a person who campaigns to bring about political or social change.

A humanitarian is someone who cares about the wellbeing of other people and works to help those in need.

And anecdotes are short stories from a person's real life.

If I were going to tell you a little story about myself, it would be an anecdote, a short story about a real experience from my life.

Now in our lesson today, we are going to look at how Emma Watson connects with an audience.

We're going to start by analysing a very famous speech that Emma Watson gave, and then in the second learning cycle, we're going to have a go at delivering a speech ourselves.

So first let's just remind ourselves what a speech is and what is the purpose of a speech.

Could you pause the video and discuss that with your partner now? Okay, let's come back together.

Well done, I heard some lovely discussions going on then.

A speech is the formal communication of someone's thoughts through words to an audience.

The purpose of a speech is to always have an impact on the audience in some way.

We don't want the audience to sit there passively and not have any of their thoughts changed or opinions changed from a speech.

We to impact them in some way.

Very commonly, the purpose of a speech is to persuade the audience.

So often that's what a speech is for.

It's to persuade the audience of something, and this is the main purpose that we're going to be focusing on.

Speech are made every day all around the world by lots of different people.

Some of them might be very formal speeches, like the speech we're going to look at today by Emma Watson, was a very formal speech in a formal setting.

But also there are more informal speeches.

For example, at a celebration, someone might give a speech to a group of people.

So let's think about what kind of jobs might require to make a speech.

What jobs might you have to do where you might have to deliver a speech? Can you pause the video and discuss that with your partner? (distorted audio) Okay, well done.

I heard so many different jobs mentioned.

Here are a few examples.

A politician, a teacher, an activist.

That's what we're going to look at today in particular, and a business leader.

Now these, of course, are only a few examples.

There are so many jobs where you might be required to give a speech.

So let's think about what makes a successful speech.

What are the features of a successful speech? I'm going to show you one as an example.

Having good knowledge of the topic.

Anyone delivering a speech needs to have good knowledge of what they're talking about.

Otherwise it's probably not going to be a very successful speech.

So there's one feature of a successful speech.

I wonder if you can think of any others.

Pause the video now and discuss this with your partner.

(distorted audio) Okay, let's come back together.

Let's go through a few more features of a successful speech.

Including facts and statistics is really powerful.

That shows not only that you've done research, but it shows to people that what you are talking about is real, it's not made up, including facts and statistics.

For example, you might say 80% of people have done this.

Or according to statistics, last year there were 90% of people, that's an example of a statistic that you might include.

Emotive language.

So using language that's going to stir up feelings in the audience that's going to make them react emotionally.

Including rhetorical questions.

Asking the audience questions, not that they're expected to give an answer to, but that will make them think hard about the question you're asking them.

Anecdotes, we know anecdotes is one of our key words today.

So it's a really important aspect of today's lesson.

It's when you give a short story about your real life.

Quotations.

Perhaps you might quote something that somebody else said in your speech.

Repetition.

Lots of people might repeat a certain phrase to really make that powerful and stand out.

And having a clear purpose.

Thinking to yourself before a speech, "What am I trying to achieve here? What's the purpose of this speech?" So all of these would make a successful speech.

And obviously, we also have to think about the delivery of a speech.

How do we actually say our speech? Should we shuffle around a lot? Should we look down? Should we talk loudly? Quietly? How do you think a speaker could make the delivery of their speech successful? Could you pause the video and discuss that now? (distorted audio) Okay, lovely.

Let's come back together.

I heard some really good ideas there.

Let's see if they're the same as mine.

So, addressing the audience.

Perhaps you might address some individuals in the audience or groups of people in the audience.

Speaking confidently.

You need to come across confident, and then people are going to trust and believe in what you're saying.

Showing your personality and charisma.

So, not just being like a robot, but showing people your personality and charisma.

That's always going to help for people to connect with you.

Speaking in an emotive manner.

If you're feeling angry about what you are speaking about, show it.

If you're feeling excited about what you're speaking about, then show it to the audience.

Making eye contact, that's really important.

If you spend the whole time looking down and reading your notes, you're not going to connect with your audience as well.

Rehearsal, make sure that you practise and practise and practise, so that when you deliver the speech, you deliver it really confidently.

All of these help to achieve the purpose of engaging the audience and having the impact you want.

So I would like you to now discuss which do you think is more important? The words in a speech or how the speech is delivered? So is it more important to write an incredible speech with really good powerful words, but it doesn't really matter how you deliver it? Or is it more important that you don't worry too much about the words in the speech, but it's really important how you deliver it to the audience? I'd like you to have a think about that now.

Can you pause the video and discuss that with your partner? Okay, let's come back together.

I heard some lovely discussions there, and it was really nice to hear that people had different opinions as well.

So here's what you might have said.

You might have thought that how the speech is delivered is the most important element, because no matter what words you say, if the audience isn't engaged, they won't absorb the words.

So you might think that it doesn't matter so much about the words, 'cause if if you're not saying them in a engaging way, they won't be listened to anyway.

Or maybe you disagreed.

Maybe you think the words in the speech are the most important element, because an audience needs to hear clear facts and evidence in order to be persuaded.

So there are two different opinions.

Neither of them are right or wrong, because they're just both your own opinion.

So today we're going to focus on a particular technique used to connect with an audience to persuade them.

We're going to look at how sharing personal experiences through the use of anecdotes helps a speaker to connect to their audience.

So when you are giving a speech about a certain topic, if you include certain stories, short stories from examples from your own life, that's going to help the audience to connect with you.

And that's what we're focusing on in our lesson today.

So an anecdote, remember, is our short stories from a person's real life.

They are real stories that have happened to you.

And we are going to analyse a speech by Emma Watson and there's a picture of Emma Watson.

I'd like you to just pause the video now and discuss have you ever heard of Emma Watson before? And do you know why she's an important figure? Pause the video now.

Okay, let's come back together.

Emma Watson is an actress.

She is best known for playing "Hermione" in the Harry Potter films. She is also an activist, humanitarian, and public speaker.

And hopefully, you see there two of our key words, an activist and a humanitarian.

So let's just remind ourselves what they mean.

An activist is a person who campaigns to bring about social change.

A humanitarian is someone who cares about the wellbeing of other people and works to help those in need.

So Emma Watson is an activist, but she's is an actress, but she's also both of these things.

A cause that Emma Watson is very passionate about is the need for gender equality.

This is something that she really cares about.

Gender equality.

Gender equality is a noun and it's when access to rights or opportunities is not affected by gender, so that men and women have the same opportunities and equal rights and opportunities.

In 2014, Emma Watson was named a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador.

Within this role, she has worked on campaigns and made speeches to fight for gender equality.

So let's check your understanding.

What cause has Emma Watson worked hard and campaigned for? Is it, A, climate change? Is it, B, gender equality, or is it, C, animal rights? Pause the video and think about your answer.

Okay, well done.

The correct answer is B.

Emma Watson has worked hard and campaigned for gender equality.

The United Nations launched a movement titled "HeForShe" in September, 2014.

Its role was to fight for gender equality.

Men and people of all genders were invited to stand with women in this fight.

So it shouldn't just be women fighting for equality of the genders, it should be men and women.

At the launch of HeForShe, Emma Watson made a powerful speech, which is now famous in lots of countries.

In her speech at the UN HeForShe launch, Emma Watson shared personal experiences through anecdotes.

There's that keyword "anecdotes." So in this very important speech she gave, she included anecdotes to connect with her audience.

So I would like you now to watch the first few minutes of the speech by Emma Watson.

Now you'll have to find this speech on the internet yourself.

So either your teacher will find it for you or make sure you ask a parent or guardian or trusted adult to help you find the correct speech you're looking for on the internet.

After you've watched this first few minutes of the speech, I would like you to discuss what anecdotes does Emma Watson tell the audience to explain why she holds her beliefs.

So as you're watching, see if you can spot any short stories that she tells, examples from her real life.

So, you've got two things.

First, you're going to watch the first part of her speech and then you're going to discuss what anecdotes she included.

Pause the video now.

Okay, let's come back together.

I hope you enjoyed watching the start of that really powerful speech that Emma Watson had delivered.

So, what anecdotes does Emma Watson tell the audience to explain why she holds her belief? Let's go through some of the answers you might have had.

She said that her male friends didn't feel comfortable talking about their feelings when they were 18.

She said she was called "bossy" as a young girl for wanting to do the same thing as her brothers, and they were not called the same thing.

She said when they were putting on shows and she wanted to direct them, she was called "bossy," which her brothers weren't if they wanted to be the director.

Now sharing anecdotes involves the speaker telling short stories linked to their own life.

And this is a key technique that helps the speaker connect to the audience.

Emma Watson tells the following anecdotes.

Being called "bossy" as a young girl when her brothers were not for doing the same thing.

Being treated differently to men by the media by age 14.

Female friends giving up sports they loved so they wouldn't be too muscly at the age of 15.

And male friends being unable to express their feelings at the age 18.

So she's gone through chronologically in her life when she talks about being called "bossy" as a young girl and then being treated differently as she grew older.

She's going through different phases in her life and giving examples or giving anecdotes, short stories from her life, about when she has felt that genders haven't been equal, that she's been treated differently for being a girl.

So I would like you to discuss now, why do you think that sharing anecdotes helps the audience connect to the speaker? Imagine if Emma Watson didn't include those stories.

She didn't include any anecdotes.

Why do you think it's important or why do you think sharing anecdotes can help the audience connect to the speaker? Pause the video and discuss that now.

Okay, let's come back together.

So here are a couple of answers that you might have said.

You might have said, "I think it makes the speech more personal.

This leads to greater empathy from the audience.

When Emma Watson shared her anecdotes, I really imagined how hard those moments might have been for her." Here's another example.

"If a person has real life experience regarding a topic, it makes me value their voice and opinions even more because they have firsthand experience." So they're talking about something that they understand because it's actually happened in their life.

The use of anecdotes in a speech helps the audience connect to the speaker.

Using anecdotes helps to achieve the following.

It makes a speech more personal.

It shares lived experience on a topic.

It often creates empathy in the audience.

All of this helps to achieve the purpose of persuading the audience.

So let's check your understanding.

Using anecdotes in a speech does what? A, makes a speech more personal.

B, makes a speech more formal and impersonal.

C, shares lived experience on a topic, and D, often creates empathy in the audience.

There's more than one answer.

Pause the video now.

Okay, well done.

So using anecdotes in a speech makes a speech more personal, shares lived experience on a topic, and creates empathy in the audience.

So it's now time for your task.

In this task, you're going to discuss, if you were making a speech on gender equality, like Emma Watson did, what one anecdote would you share? Can you think of an example of an anecdote you could share where you felt you were treated differently because you were a girl or a boy? If you can, get into girl and boy partners so you can hear an anecdote from a different perspective.

And consider a time when you found it difficult to do something because it didn't match up to what a girl or a boy is supposed to do.

Pause the video while you complete this task.

Okay, let's come back together.

Well done for opening up and sharing an anecdote from your life.

That was really, really good.

So here's what Izzy might have said.

Izzy might have said, "I often want to play football, but it feels quite difficult to do because it's mostly boys who play football at school.

Sometimes I've been told that football isn't for girls and it's a boys' sport." And this is what Sam said, "I really like to bake and share my cakes with others, but my friends have made fun of me before and said that baking is only for girls." So here are two examples of where Izzy and Sam have felt that they have been treated differently because of being a girl or being a boy.

And this kind of idea that there's certain things that are for girls and for boys, which of course we all know isn't true.

So we are now going to focus on our second learning cycle, actually delivering a speech yourselves.

So I've written a similar speech to Emma Watson's persuading my audience to join the fight for gender equality.

And I've included Izzy and Sam's experiences as anecdotes in my speech as a way to try to connect with the audience.

I'm going to model delivering this speech in character as Izzy.

So imagine now that I am Izzy, and then you're going to deliver this speech to an audience yourself.

You will have the option of including your own anecdotes or using Izzy and Sam's experiences.

So when you give your speech, you can just use Izzy and Sam's anecdotes as an example.

Or if you feel that you've got your own anecdote, you can use that instead.

So you're now going to listen as I read this speech to you.

"Hello everyone.

Today, I want to talk to you about something very important, gender equality.

This isn't just about girls and women, it's about boys and men too.

Gender equality is for everyone.

I want to start by sharing how I first became passionate about this cause.

When I'm in school, I love playing football.

Staying active and working as part of a team is a big part of who I am and what I love.

But sometimes that's really hard for me because people say that football is just for boys.

Why should anyone be left out of a sport because they are a girl.

Everyone should have the chance to learn and play no matter what gender they are.

And it is not just girls that are suffering as a result of these unfair gender stereotypes.

Let me tell you about my friend Sam.

He loves to bake and he's honestly brilliant at it.

But sometimes even his own friends tease him and say that baking is only for girls.

It hurts him deeply to be judged this way.

Gender equality means living in a world where boys and girls can truly be themselves and not be confined by their gender.

So let's make a promise today.

Let's promise to treat everyone with respect and to support each other's dreams. Let's promise to break down the barriers that keep us from being ourselves.

Together, we can create a world where everyone feels equal and free." Okay, so we're now going to, I'm now going to model delivering an anecdote from this speech.

So here's one of the anecdotes from the speech.

Let me just remind you of the anecdote.

"While I'm in school, I love playing football.

Staying active and working as part of a team is a big part of what I am and what I love.

But sometimes, that's really hard for me because people say that football is just for boys.

Why should anybody be left out of a sport because they are a girl.

Everyone should have the chance to learn and play no matter what gender they are." So there was Izzy's anecdote.

I would like you to discuss, did this anecdote help you to connect to me or to Izzy? Pause the video and discuss that now.

Okay, let's come back together.

So here's what you might have said.

"Hearing about how gender inequality has stopped you from doing what you love, made me really empathise with you." "I could really hear the emotion in your voice and see how much you cared about the cause, and this made me want to know more." So it's now time for your second task.

In this task, you're going to deliver the speech, which can be found in the additional materials of this lesson, to an audience.

I want you to focus on delivering the speech, particularly your anecdotes, in a way that allows you to connect to your audience.

You can read the anecdotes in the model speech or you can substitute them for your own.

So if you want, you can use the anecdotes that are there or you can take those out and replace them with your own experience, your own anecdote.

And then ask for feedback from your audience.

You might ask them, "Did you feel connected to me during the speech? How did my anecdote make you feel? Did you feel persuaded to support gender equality? And which element of my speech or my delivery was the most persuasive?" So these are questions you can ask your audience for feedback.

Now really think about all those things we learned about in learning cycle one.

How to deliver a speech successfully.

Make sure you are speaking loudly and clearly.

Make sure that you're confident, showing charisma, and most importantly, really try to connect with your audience.

So good luck, I hope you enjoy this task.

Pause the video now.

Okay, let's come back together.

I hope you enjoyed delivering those speeches, and well done if you managed to include some of your own personal anecdotes.

So here's some examples of some feedback you might have been given.

"Did you feel connected to me during the speech?" Someone might have said, "I felt connected to you because you were able to speak clearly and confidently about this important topic, while also sharing personal experiences from your life." "How did my anecdote make you feel?" Someone might have said, "Your anecdote made me feel sad actually.

I don't want any of my friends who are girls to feel like they can't play sports that make them happy.

It's made me think about how boys could do more to include girls in these spaces." "Did you feel persuaded to support gender equality, hopefully?" "I felt really persuaded.

You were able to convince me that gender equality is beneficial to everyone by sharing experiences from different perspectives.

I felt inspired when you spoke about breaking down barriers that keep us from being our true selves." So let's summarise what we have learned today.

We've learned that a speaker can connect with an audience in a variety of ways.

We've learned that a speaker can use personal experiences and anecdotes to connect with an audience.

Emma Watson is an actress and she's best known for playing "Hermione" in Harry Potter films. She is also an activist, humanitarian, and public speaker who gave a famous speech as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014.

So thank you so much for all your hard work today, and in the future, if you are ever going to deliver a speech, perhaps you could try to include some anecdotes to help to connect to your audience.

See you another time.

Bye.