Lesson video

Hello and welcome.

Thanks for joining me today.

I'm Mrs. Butterworth and I'll be guiding you through the learning.

Now, today's lesson is all about choosing a topic for a speech and also developing those ideas.

Now, choosing a topic for a speech can be quite tricky 'cause there are so many ideas to pick from.

But you also want to make sure that your topics are interesting, sophisticated, and engaging for the audience.

So we're gonna spend a bit of time thinking about how to choose an appropriate topic before developing further.

And I've got just the strategies to help you do that.

So are you ready to get started? So by the end of this lesson, you will have picked an appropriate speech topic and develop some effective topic sentences.

So before we delve into the lesson, let's look at those important keywords that are gonna help us understand everything we need to do today.

So let's read them through together first, they are impressive, elaborate, appropriate, and sophisticated.

So what do they mean? Well, impressive is to cause admiration or awe, it means something is really good and makes you go, wow.

So today when we're thinking about picking a topic, we want an impressive topic.

We want to create an impressive speech to really impress our audiences.

And then we have the word elaborate.

Now, elaborate means to add more detail or information to something.

So when you are writing your persuasive speeches, you want to make sure you are elaborating where is appropriate.

So adding in that extra information or detail and then appropriate.

So appropriate means it is suitable for a particular purpose or situation.

So today, when we're thinking about our speech topics, we want to make sure it's appropriate for the task, but also for who we will performing the speeches to.

And then sophisticated.

So sophisticated is about being complex, advanced, or refined.

So when we're thinking about uses of language or vocabulary, sophisticated vocabulary tends to be more complex, tends to be a bit more advanced.

It's those words that make you go, wow.

So we could say that sophisticated vocabulary is also impressive vocabulary.

Shall we keep going? Okay.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by considering how to choose a topic for a persuasive speech before moving on to developing ideas and creating topic sentences.

So we're gonna make sure that we've got a really good outline of our speech by the end of this lesson.

So let's start by considering those all important topics.

So we know a persuasive speech needs to be engaging, but we also want it to be impressive.

We want to, wow, we want these to be sensational.

So this means the following things.

You need to use formal language, although you want it to be naturalistic and slightly conversational.

The language does need to be formal so that in order to include sophisticated vocabulary and also to impress your audience, you also need to use sophisticated vocabulary.

So using those lovely complex words, you'll need to present complex ideas supported by relevant information.

And this is a really key idea here, this idea about complex ideas.

So this is why it's so important when you consider your topic, because if the ideas are quite simplistic or they don't allow you to elaborate, you're going to be limiting yourself, which we do not want.

You need to present the speech in a logical way.

So it needs to make sense.

You need to use a range of rhetorical devices, and I'm sure you've done plenty of work on this already, but just thinking about all of those wonderful things, rhetorical questions, rule of three, anecdotes, all of those wonderful things to really engage your audience.

You may also need to be able to respond to questions and elaborate.

So at the end of your speech, you may be required to ask questions from your audience.

And this will require you to elaborate or add extra information to your speech.

So as I have said, you need to ensure that the topic you pick enables you to do these things, particularly that idea about sophisticated vocabulary, complex ideas, and interesting questions.

So can you remember what is missing from the success criteria? So what goes underneath that formal language? Excellent.

Well done to everyone that said, using sophisticated vocabulary.

And this is so important not just for our speeches, but when we are writing generally, it is so important that we're using that sophisticated vocabulary.

Okay, so let's look at the task.

So you are going to write and present a speech arguing about a change you wish to see in the world.

So this gives us an idea of where to start when we're looking for topics.

But I want you to discuss first, what are the key words in this task? What is the purpose, audience and form.

Pause the video so you've got plenty of time to discuss your ideas.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

Loads of you really getting your heads around this idea of purpose, audience and form.

So that is fantastic 'cause it really helps inform the types of language that we use and the ideas that we use and all of that sort of thing.

So let's just share some of those brilliant ideas.

So the form is a speech which we know.

So you will need to ensure your language is adapted for the form.

It will need to be engaging and interesting.

So made me think about all the interesting speeches or talks that you have seen.

What made them so good? You know, what was the language that those speeches used to really engage the audience and to get their point across.

The purpose is to argue or persuade.

So you have got to do some convincing.

So you'll need to include some rhetorical devices to ensure you argue your point persuasively and effectively.

So you need to think carefully about when and where you use those rhetorical devices for maximum impact.

Okay.

And the audience isn't specified here, so some of you may have picked up on that.

So you'll need to consider who your audience will be.

It might be your class or a teacher or somebody else.

And you will need to ensure that you adapt your language and tone appropriately for your audience.

So it's now time to start thinking about those all important topics.

So it's important to pick a topic or subject you are interested in.

However, it is so important to remember that these speeches need to be impressive.

The ideas or the topics that you pick need to enable you to use some really sophisticated vocabulary.

They need to engage all of your audience and also enable you to explore some complex ideas.

So with that in mind, I would like you to discuss, please, what are your initial ideas and why or why not are they appropriate? So pause the videos, you've got time to discuss these ideas, or you may just wish to sit quietly and think your ideas to yourself.

But pause the video and we'll share some ideas in a moment.

Off you go.

Okay, great stuff.

Some really lively, interesting discussions happening there.

I love how some of you have started to really think about those initial ideas and either tweaking them or thinking about how they can be adapted to make a really impressive topic.

So two of our pupils are going to share their discussion now.

So let's read this through together.

So Izzy says that she's really interested in football, so I might do a speech on why Messi is the best footballer.

What do you think, Sophia? Now Sophia gives some really good advice out here.

She says, I could see why you would pick that, Izzy, it's a good idea to pick something you are interested in.

However, it won't give you the best opportunity to explore complex ideas and vocabulary.

I'm also not sure it will engage all of your audience.

And Sophia says to think about the task.

And I think that's some really good advice from Sophia because remember, the task is about persuading an audience.

It's about thinking about a change you want to see in the world.

So is talking about your favourite footballer really going to enable you to make some impressive comments? Is it gonna enable you to engage all of your audience? I'm not sure it is.

So Sophia's advice is really good about considering that task.

And Izzy says, ah, okay, so Izzy's starting to see, and what she says is that perhaps I could use football to speak to a wider problem.

So maybe gender inequality or perhaps how sport can be used to benefit underprivileged communities.

So you can see here how Izzy has really started to think about, yes, I'm interested in football, but how can I use this to speak to some bigger ideas, some more complex ideas.

So she starts to think about the complex ideas of gender inequality and also the idea of like underprivileged communities.

So you can see how she's starting to really adapt that initial idea of football.

So that's a really great thing to do, well done Izzy.

And then Sophia says exactly, so she gives her a really good title now she said, exactly.

So something like can football unite the world and break down gender barriers, which is a really fantastic title for a speech.

Posing it as a question is a great idea as well because it kind of sets you up for a debate, doesn't it? And Izzy says, that's great.

I could start by outlining the wider issues and opinions first.

Absolutely Izzy, a great idea.

Now let's see what Sophia's thinking.

So what are you thinking, Sophia? So Sophia's struggling a little bit with coming up with an idea.

So she says she would really like to argue about overdevelopment and green spaces, but she doesn't feel like she knows enough about the topic.

And that's such a key thing, isn't it? You might think, oh, I've got such a great idea, but I don't really know anything about it.

Or I don't know enough to be able to persuade an audience convincingly.

So Izzy says some really great advice here.

She says, don't let that put you off.

You could definitely research some information to help you give your argument credibility.

In fact, I will need to do that too.

And this is a really key point, when you have decided on a topic, it's important to go away and do some research.

So you've got some interesting facts or statistics, you might even find some interesting studies.

But just so that you are knowledgeable about this topic, because if you are knowledgeable, you're going to be able to persuade your audience much more convincingly.

So Izzy asked Sophia if she has any other ideas.

And Sophia says that she's thinking about maybe doing homework.

And I know this can be a really popular choice of topic and Sophia says, I hate homework and think it should be abolished.

But again, Izzy makes a really good point.

She says, wow, you definitely feel strongly about that, which is a great place to start.

And this is true if you are interested in something or you feel really strongly about something, that is a great place to start.

But Izzy gives Sophia a bit of a caution.

She says, but you don't want your speech to be overly negative and just a rant.

And that's so important.

And again, why it's important to research your topic and to consider both ideas because you're not gonna persuade all of your audience if you're just being overly negative or ranty or angry or confrontational.

So Sophia says, I need to ensure my tone is appropriate.

Absolutely.

And she said that she could link it to some bigger issues like teenage mental health, maybe research some key information and consider the school's perspective too.

And that's such a great thing to do.

So like I said, Sophia's considering some other ideas linked to homework.

She's thinking about doing some research to make sure she's really knowledgeable, but she's also considering other opinions too.

So she's thinking about the school and wider implications because that's gonna be far more persuasive and engaging than someone stood up presenting a speech that just feels like they're being, they're shouting at you if you like.

Okay, so Izzy and Sophia are good to go.

They know what they're gonna do, so they're gonna go off and do it.

So true or false time.

Picking something you are interested in is a good way to begin looking for a topic.

Is that true or false? Absolutely, that's true.

So something that you are interested in or feel really strongly about is a great place to start, but now you must pick an A or B to justify your answer.

Okay, this is really good, however.

So it needs to be appropriate for the task and enable you to present complex ideas and sophisticated vocabulary.

So this is a really key point here.

Yes, pick something you are interested in.

Yes, pick something you feel strongly about, but just make sure that you are considering all the things that you need to to make it a really impressive speech.

Okay, so once you have a general idea, so like we've just seen with Izzy with her football and Sophia with her homework, you need to make sure it is specific and focused.

So I'm going to show you a way that you can do that.

So I have a grid here and this is a really useful way.

So you may have come up with a general idea.

So your general idea of area of interest.

So I've used zoos for example.

You could choose sports, it could be football, it could be green spaces, homework, all of those things that we've looked at.

But I'm gonna look at zoos for my general idea and then I start to think, well what is my opinion on that? So I've thought about three things that the reason I want to talk about zoos is because animals in captivity suffer.

That's my opinion.

They're an outdated concept and ethical zoos aren't viable.

So these are three things that kind of talk about my opinion, but I need to think about alternative opinions too.

So I'm thinking, so what are the objections to this or the alternative opinions.

And they are that they are necessary for animal conservation and fund this, they're important educational resources and they can prevent extinction.

So you can see here we've got a really good range of alternative opinions.

And then I'm thinking, well why does any of this matter? So I've come up this idea.

So my overall argument considering those opinions is that zoos are outdated and animal welfare can never be assured.

However, there is the conservation and educational element to consider.

So you can see here I've started to already set up an interesting debate, an argument to go with my general idea of zoos.

And what I can do with this information is I can turn it into an effective title for my speech, which will underpin the argument that I will make in my speech.

So I could set up my speech as a question, do the welfare issues in zoo outweigh the conservation and educational benefits? So I could pose it as a question, which is a great way to title your topic.

Or I could, or I could title it as a statement.

Animal welfare should never be the cost of education and entertainment.

So you can see here how going through this process, I have picked something I'm interested in, but now it's also really interesting, engaging, it's focused and it's gonna allow me to access that complicated and sophisticated vocabulary and those complex ideas.

Okay, so have a look at these titles here and I'd like you to decide which two of these titles are the most effective for a persuasive speech.

A, B, C, or D.

Off you go.

Okay, do you want the answer? It's A and C.

Yes, absolutely.

So you've got A is homework helping or hindering student learning? So we've got that question there, which really opens up a debate and it's engaging with some bigger ideas.

And then C is a lovely statement.

So scrolling with caution, navigating the impact of social media on young minds.

So again, you can see how these titles are engaging with some really bigger and wider debates and complex ideas.

And they're just much more interesting.

If you look at B and D, my favourite band or the benefits of video games, they don't really open up a debate.

They don't look at some wider issues, which could be quite limiting for them.

The benefits of video games could be a good starting point, but it would need some work.

So you might think about looking at the impact of video games on young people and mental health, or you might look at the problems with video games and violent crime for instance.

So it's all about taking those initial ideas and just engaging with some wider debates that are just gonna make them more interesting and more complex and most importantly more impressive.

Okay, so now it's over to you.

So what I would like you to do is complete the grid.

So it's the same as the grid that we looked at a moment ago.

So I'd like you to complete the grid with your own topic and create your speech title.

So remember you could come up with your general idea.

So the things that you're thinking about, think about what your opinion is, what the alternative opinions are and why this matters, which should help you to generate an effective topic title.

And remember a question or a really good statement is the best way to do this.

Now if you are still struggling and you haven't got even a general idea, I'll put some ideas here for you.

So you could think about social media, maybe some environmental issues, animal rights or something to do with crime and justice.

So hopefully those general ideas will spark something if you are struggling still.

But you are going to need to pause the video so you've got plenty of time to get this completed.

Okay, good luck and off you go.

Okay, great work everyone.

I can really see how some of you are adapting those initial topic ideas into fully formed titles that will enable you to do all of those wonderful things.

So really well done.

So Alex has kindly offered to share his title and I'm going to give him some feedback so we can think about how we could improve our own titles.

So Alex is saying that he is going to do a speech about space travel.

Now he receives this feedback.

So this is the feedback that I have given him.

Now, space and space travel is a really interesting idea for a topic.

It's a really interesting general idea.

But what he needs to do to make it even better is it needs to set up a debate and be more specific with what issues you are going to discuss 'cause at the moment, that's so big, isn't it, a speech about space travel.

It could be about anything to do with space travel.

So Alex has gone away and he's rewritten his topic using this feedback and he has reworked his title to say this, space travel a waste of resources or necessary for society to evolve.

So you can see here by framing it as a question and thinking about those bigger ideas, Alex has a much more interesting topic and it looks at those wider debates and issues.

So well done Alex, for changing that.

Now look at your own work and make sure that your title does everything that it needs to do.

Okay, we have reached the second part of our lesson.

So we have our topics for our persuasive speeches, and now we need to think about how we can start developing ideas for those topics and creating topic sentences.

So let's keep going.

Okay, so you have decided on your title and now we are going to start generating some ideas.

So look at these questions.

Why are people talking about this topic? Are there different on the topic? How do I feel about this topic? What is my opinion? And is there more to debate or find out? So looking at your topic and asking these questions can be a good way to start generating some further ideas to discuss.

So what I would like you to do is using these questions I would like you to discuss, think about or write down some ideas.

So pause the video so you have got time to think about your topic in relation to these questions.

Off you go.

Okay, well done everyone, excellent discussions.

And I can see how we're really starting to flesh out those topics and flesh out those topic titles in order to create some excellent persuasive speeches.

But it is time for a true or false question.

So you should only consider your own opinion.

Is this true or false? And the answer is false.

Absolutely.

Now I need you to justify your answer by picking A or B.

Well done to everyone that said A, considering other opinions will give a balanced and well argued speech.

So yes, it is so important to think about those other opinions when giving your speech because you don't want to alienate members of the audience.

You want to include them, you want to get them on side.

So by showing that you've considered their point of view is more likely to do that.

Well done everyone.

Let's keep going.

Okay, so Laura has chosen this title.

An appeal to world leaders to disarm their military powers.

So this is what she is going to write her speech on.

She then starts to create some topic sentences to begin structuring her speech.

So she's thinking about those key ideas that she wants to include.

So her first topic sentence is, if we ever want to reach a moment of world peace, we must all put down our weapons of destruction.

And then topic sentence two, millions of pounds, dollars and yen are put into weapons of destruction rather than construction.

How can we let this continue whilst our country suffer? Topic sentence three.

We are a global community.

We are one community.

We are not the divided society that existed a century ago.

Oh, I like that one.

And then the concluding topic sentence, we are on the brink of success or disaster.

Your actions will save or ruin the world.

Wow, it's a very impactful concluding topic sentence.

Okay, so I'd like you to really explore these topic sentences further.

So you're going to need to pause the video in a moment and discuss what form are the sentences and what methods has Laura used.

So pause the video and off you go.

Thanks for your input everyone.

Let's feed back some ideas.

So let's look at the sentence forms first and then we'll look at the methods.

So those sentence forms. So the first sentence is an imperative sentence and this really sets the urgent tone.

So an imperative sentence is about giving up command or an instruction and it really establishes what she wants to say from the outset.

We must all put down our weapons of destruction.

So by setting and establishing that tone from the start, we know exactly what Laura wants from this persuasive speech, what her point of view is.

And it also really hooks the audience in, doesn't it? Laura also uses a rhetorical question in her second topic sentence.

And this really starts to challenge the audience.

So it's almost like halfway through her speech, she feels like she can start being a bit more challenging.

How can we let this continue whilst our countries suffer? She also uses declarative sentences now, declarative sentence, they give a statement and they really sound authoritative.

We are on the brink of success or disaster.

Your actions will say or ruin the world.

And likewise, that fact of millions of pounds, dollars and yens are put into weapons of destruction rather than construction.

That use of declarative sentence is really impactful as well 'cause it positions Laura as really authoritative, really confident, really persuasive.

I also really like what Laura's done with her sentence structure here where she says weapons of destruction rather than construction.

So it's almost like a comparison there or there's like parallel structures happening there to show the difference between destruction and construction.

And I think that's quite clever on Laura's part.

And she also uses in terms of methods.

So we've looked at the sentence structure.

So let's move on to methods.

She uses this first person pronoun, we throughout those topic sentences.

And this really creates a sense of unity and collective responsibility.

And you may have noticed in other speeches that you have looked at, many speech givers do this idea of we need to do this, we want this because it creates that sense of unity and collective responsibility.

In terms of methods.

Laura also uses direct address, but she's been clever because she does not use direct address until the concluding sentence.

So sometimes we can use direct address, we can overuse it throughout the speech, but actually wait until the very end is really impactful.

Your actions will save or ruin the world.

And I think that's a really good choice on Laura's part.

And in topic sentence three, we have this rule of three.

We are a global community.

We are one community.

We are not the divided society that existed a century ago, which is a really great way to emphasise points.

And it also gives it pace, doesn't it? It makes it sound really urgent and it develops that urgency that she's already established in topic sentence one.

So you can see how Laura carefully using these devices throughout her sentences to establish an urgent tone and then build on that.

She hasn't overused one particular method or sentence structure.

She's used a variety and she's used them very carefully to hook and engage and persuade her audience.

Okay, so I'd like you to look at these two pupils is effective topic sentence.

Let's read the sentences together first.

So billions of pounds and dollars are invested in industries that contribute to environmental destruction rather than conservation.

How can we allow this to persist while our planet suffers? And then the other topic sentence, I think we should do something about the amount that is spent on non environmentally friendly industries.

It's not right to keep killing the planet.

Okay, which one of those sentences, those topic sentences is the most effective? Okay, pick now.

Well done to everyone that noticed it was indeed this sentence.

Yes, it's just, it's much more assertive and confident.

It uses a rhetorical question and it uses that declarative sentence at the start.

Billions of pounds and dollars are invested in industries as opposed to Andeet's, which is a little bit less confident I think that we should do.

So you can see how those sentence structures and those methods can be used to create a really confident, authoritative and persuasive tone.

Okay, so it is time for your second practise task and now it's over to you because now you are going to write your topic sentences to begin structuring your speech.

So you'll need three topic sentences and a concluding topic sentence.

Now remember I would also like you to use those different sentence forms and rhetorical devices.

So try and use a declarative sentence and an imperative sentence and get those rhetorical devices in.

So you might use a rule of three, rhetorical questions, first person pronouns and direct address.

The most important thing is to consider how and when you are going to use these for maximum impact.

So think about what the example that we looked at.

You know, Laura didn't use direct address until her concluding topic sentence, which made it sound like a call to action was really impactful.

Likewise, you might decide to start with an imperative sentence to really establish an urgent tone and to almost hook your audience in.

So remember, don't overuse those rhetorical devices and really think about where you were going to position them in your topic sentences.

Okay, so there's lots to think about.

We've looked at those of examples.

So I know you can do this and I look forward to seeing what you produce.

Okay, are we ready? And pause the video now.

Fantastic work so far.

Let's just have a look at Aisha's work here because she'd really like some help with her topic sentences and hopefully this will give you some pointers too.

So she has given us topic sentence two and three.

So let's look at these and consider how we could help her.

So second topic sentence is we are strong, united and powerful.

Together we must make a change.

And the next topic sentence, we are bigger, better, and brighter if we work together, we must make a difference.

So thinking about what she has done here, it is really great that Aisha has used imperative sentences and rule of three.

However, the sentences are very similar.

So she's used both of those things in both of the sentences.

So they're very similar in structure and use of devices.

So they lose impact, they don't have that variety and they're not developing her ideas further.

So what I would say to Aisha is to try changing one of the sentences.

So by changing one of the sentences, it will just add some more variety.

So she could perhaps use a declarative sentence instead and she could potentially use a rhetorical question.

So Aisha's going to go away.

She rewrites her sentences.

And what she also does is she also changes the order to make it even more impactful.

And this is something you may want to consider as well, are your topic sentences and use of rhetorical devices in the best order.

So let's look at the changes that Aisha has made.

So we now have this first sentence.

Tech industries rely on our addiction to likes and swipes.

How can we allow them to continue to dominate and influence young people's minds? What a great topic sentence.

So you can see here Aisha's rewritten her topic sentence to now include a declarative sentence and a rhetorical question, which means her third topic sentence uses that rule of three and imperative and is really impactful.

So you can see the differences that these changes have made.

So what I would now like you to do is to check through your own sentences and consider these questions.

Have you varied your sentence forms and have you used rhetorical devices? So look, have you got a declarative and an imperative? Have you got a rule of three? A rhetorical question? Maybe you've used direct address, also personal pronouns.

But just make sure you have used a variety for impact.

And then you want to consider are your sentences in the best order? Perhaps your first topic sentence would be better as your concluding topic sentence.

So think about those things too.

So pause the video so you've got time just to check through your work and make any changes that you need to.

Off you go.

Well done everyone.

We have reached the end of the lesson and what a fantastic lesson that was.

I really enjoyed that.

I loved hearing your initial ideas and watching how you turn them into really great speech topics.

So really fantastic work and I've loved those topic sentences as well.

Fantastic work.

So remember that speeches should be impressive, which means presenting complex ideas clearly and using that sophisticated vocabulary, you need to consider the purpose, audience and form of your speech.

Your speech topics should be appropriate and enable you to present a speech with layers of complexity and interest.

Those all important topic sentences should include a range of sentence structures and rhetorical devices.

So make sure you are changing that for each sentence and it's us useful to consider the order of your topic sentences to make sure they are impactful.

So again, excellent lesson.

Really enjoyed it and cannot wait to see you all again soon.

But until then, goodbye.