KS3 · English

Analysing a spoken speech

Imagine you could only read a speech, never hear it. No voice, no pauses, no face. What would you miss? More than you'd think.

English · Spoken language

Two ears, two channels

Sort each technique: is it part of what is said, or of how it is delivered?

Still to sort

What is said (rhetorical devices) (0)

Choices made in the words themselves.

Where the line is: If it would still be there in a written transcript, it belongs here.

How it is delivered (non-verbal features) (0)

Choices made in the voice and the body.

Where the line is: If you need to hear or see the speaker to notice it, it belongs here.

11 of 11 still to sort.

Every technique a speaker uses lives in one of two places: in the words they choose, or in the way they deliver them.

Tone, audience and purpose

What makes a persuasive speech powerful?

Emma Watson gave her HeForShe speech at the UN headquarters in New York in September 2014. Her tone was encouraging, motivational, inclusive, polite and empowering.

Which of these is closest to what you think makes a persuasive speech work?
How sure are you?

Predict, then check

Think about delivery, not words.

A speaker keeps exactly the same pitch and volume from the first sentence to the last. What happens to the speech?

Two ends of a speech

IntroductionvsEnding

Same speech, different jobs.

Focus

Its job

Introduction

Hooks the audience in

Ending

The last chance to influence them

The insight

One gets the audience listening. The other is the final moment to move them.

Where it comes

Introduction

The first thing the audience hears

Ending

The last thing the audience hears

What the audience should be left with

Introduction

Interest

Ending

Knowing exactly how to help, or what to think or feel

English Lit · Paragraph craft

Build the paragraph: device, quotation, effect

An analytical paragraph is built from parts. Tap a slot to see its job, then tap again to see a model sentence.

Analysing a speech · one device, one paragraph

Tap a slot to fill or empty it.

Selected slot

Tap a slot above

The quotation slot is yours to fill. The model leaves it empty on purpose.

Terms to name what a speaker is doing

Say it in your own words first, then flip.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Listen with two ears: one for what the speaker says, one for how they say it.

What you need to know

  • A speech persuades through two channels at once: the words chosen and the way they are delivered.
  • Speakers adapt their tone and language to the audience and the purpose.
  • Persuasion doesn't need anger. Emma Watson's HeForShe speech, at the UN headquarters in New York in September 2014, was encouraging, motivational, inclusive, polite and empowering.
  • Her purpose was to mobilise everyone, including men and boys, as advocates for gender equality.
  • Have a goYour classmate Jas says: 'To win a room over, you've got to shout at it.' Jas is very sure. What would you tell Jas?

    You don't need anger to persuade. Watson's encouraging, inclusive tone still motivated people.

    Jas has mixed up attention with persuasion: Watson's tone motivated people without alienating them, and her purpose was to bring everyone in.

  • Rhetorical devices live in the words: personal pronouns, personal anecdote, statistics and facts, and rhetorical questions.
  • Personal pronouns create an inclusive tone and a sense of collective responsibility.
  • Have a goIn the line 'We can do this together, you and I', which words are the personal pronouns?

    'We', 'you' and 'I'.

    Personal pronouns are the words that stand in for people, whether that's the speaker, the audience or both together.

  • Non-verbal features live in the delivery: pitch, tone of voice, pace, volume, gesture, posture and eye contact.
  • Have a goA speaker leans towards the audience and holds their eye while making a key point. Which channel is that: what is said or how it is delivered?

    How it is delivered. Posture and eye contact are non-verbal features.

    It would vanish from a written transcript, and anything that does is delivery, not wording.

  • Varying pitch, volume and pace emphasises the key parts. Keeping them the same makes a speech monotone.
  • The introduction hooks the audience in. The ending is the last chance to influence them.
  • To analyse a device: name it, add a short quotation, then explain its effect on the audience and how it serves the purpose.

The big picture

A speech persuades through two channels at once: the words the speaker chooses and the way they deliver them. You'll learn to sort a speaker's techniques into those two channels, say what each one does to an audience, and use Emma Watson's HeForShe speech to see that a powerful speaker doesn't have to be angry.

Key points

1A speech works through words and delivery together, so analyse both.
2Tone and language are adapted to audience and purpose. Anger isn't required.
3Rhetorical devices: personal pronouns, personal anecdote, statistics and facts, rhetorical questions.
4Non-verbal features: pitch, tone of voice, pace, volume, gesture, posture, eye contact.
5Good analysis names the feature and explains its effect on the audience.

Worked example

Problem

You've been given a speech to analyse. How do you get from listening to a finished paragraph?

⚠ Watch out

Analysing only the words. Pitch, pace, volume, gesture, posture and eye contact never show up in a transcript, so it's easy to forget they're part of how a speech works.

🧠

Memory hook

Two ears: one for what is said, one for how it is said.

✓

Check yourself

Pick any technique from this lesson. Can you say which channel it belongs to, what it does to the audience, and how that helps the speaker's purpose?

Flashcards

(12)
What are the two channels a speech persuades through?
The words chosen (rhetorical devices) and the way they are delivered (non-verbal features).
What does a speaker adapt to suit the audience and purpose?
Their tone and language.
How would you describe the tone of Emma Watson's HeForShe speech?
Encouraging, motivational, inclusive, polite and empowering.
What was Watson's purpose in the HeForShe speech?
To mobilise everyone, including men and boys, as advocates for gender equality.
Where and when did Watson give the HeForShe speech?
At the UN headquarters in New York, in September 2014.
Which four rhetorical devices does this lesson name?
Personal pronouns, personal anecdote, statistics and facts, and rhetorical questions.
What do personal pronouns create in a speech?
An inclusive tone and a sense of collective responsibility.
Is pace a rhetorical device or a non-verbal feature?
A non-verbal feature. It belongs to the delivery, not the words, along with pitch, volume and gesture.
Why does a speaker vary pitch, volume and pace?
To emphasise the key parts. Keeping them the same makes the speech monotone.
What is the job of an introduction?
To hook the audience in.
What is the job of an ending?
It is the last chance to influence the audience, so they know exactly how to help or what to think or feel.
What three moves build an analytical paragraph about a device?
Name the device, add a short quotation, then explain its effect on the audience and how it serves the purpose.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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