“ At this juncture ”

I.

SETTING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the session, the students will be able to;

1. Deliver and present with confidence and impact

2. Master the art of speaking without notes
3. Give and receive feedback
4. Understand the secrets of successful public speaking
 5. Prepare a speech and source information
6. Understand the importance of structured arguments
7. Use verbs that agree with the subject.

II. ORAL MUST-DO

Connect

When students have settled, introduce the Speak Up! Competition: a public speaking
competition to teach you how to be a great speaker.

Give an overview of the competition: over the next three lessons, students will learn how to
make a great speech. In particular they will learn the 3Cs of public speaking:

 Connection
 Construction
 Content

They will then use these skills to prepare and make an outstanding one minute speech to their
class. The top two speakers – voted by the class – will go through to the final. For each class
there will be two prizes – best speaker and most improved speaker. In the final there will be 1 st,
2nd, 3rd place prizes.

The reason we are doing this project is that whatever you do in life, you will at some point have
to speak in public, and in many jobs you have to do it all the time – teaching, journalism,
politics, police, community work, youth work, lawyer, campaigner etc. It’s a most vital skill, but
most adults are terrified of it!

The Great Speech:

Show this video of a great speaker (or choose any others that you think might work, like an
Obama speech), and ask students to think what makes a great speaker / speech. You can put
this link into Youtube, or use the video file in the shared area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&feature=related

Ask students to discuss their views of what makes a great speaker in pairs, and then get
feedback from students and collate them.

III. UNFREEZING
ACTIVATE:

Explain that you can have the best speech in the world written down on paper, but if you can’t
CONNECT with your audience, it will have no impact.
To CONNECT you have to:

 Use your body – eyes, hands and movement

 Vary your volume – every body must be able to hear you, but you don’t always have to
shout
 Vary your speed – faster, slower and use the ‘power of the pause’
 Show your energy, passion and humour!

Play the video again, and ask students to put up their hand when they spot the speaker using
one of the above skills.

IV. PADDLE UP
Subject Verb Agreement

Here are the basic rules governing the subject and verb agreement.

1. Singular subjects requires singular verb; plural subject requires plural verb.

Examples:

a. Risk is inextricably woven into investing.

b. Many product providers report their performance in print media, SMS, the Internet and e-
mail.

2. Prepositional phrase (preposition + object of the preposition) intervening between the subject

and the verb usually do not affect the agreement.

a. Volatility in asset prices is not the new normal.

b. Investing in low risk instruments seems easy.

3. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or singular
verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed
by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the preposition determines the form
of the verb.

a. All of the investment is gone.

b. All of the investments are gone.

4. When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb,
so identify the subject and make the verb agree with it.

a. Here are some ways to properly ride the risk.

b. There is an increasing number of Filipinos who are now more open to taking on risks to grow
their wealth better.

5.  A compound subject joined by and typically requires plural verb, but if it signifies only one
person or thing, take singular verb.

a. Professionals and beginners are offered seminars and trainings on personal and financial
planning.

b. Newspapers and magazines now have a section on personal finance.

6.  A compound subject connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but
also considers the subject nearer the verb.

a. Nobody or nothing is exempted from risks.

b. Not only saving but also investing helps you grow your money.

7. Singular indefinite pronouns such as everybody, everyone, no one, somebody, someone, etc.,
requires singular verb.. 

a. Everyone has the capacity to be a great investor.

b. Nobody is exempted from risk

8. Plural indefinite pronouns such as few, many, several, all, and some require plural verb.

a. Some have gone as far as incorporating personal finance tools.

b. Many are even raising caution

9. If two infinitives are connected by and they require plural verb.

a. To save and to invest necessitate patience.

b. To succeed and to fail depend on you.

10. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb; but, when
they are linked by and, they take the plural verb.
a. Investing in various companies is good for everyone.

b. Investing in various companies and spending in diverse gadgets are both safe and risky.

11. Intervening words between the subject and the verb such as along with, as well as, besides,
including with, altogether with, not, etc should be disregarded. Use a singular verb when the
subject is singular.

a. Life insurance along with savings and investments ensures that you will leave something to
your family.

b. Risk as well as return, price, and investment makes the investor thinks.

12. The phrase the number of requires singular verb while the phrase a number of requires
plural verb.

a. The number of investors increases as the years go by.

b. A number of investors increase as the years go by.

13. Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. If it pertains to only one
person or thing (single unit), take singular verb. If it pertains to separate unit, take plural verb.

a. The majority rules. (singular)

2. The jury have gone their separate ways for the holidays. (plural)

14. Special nouns such as tweezers, scissors, pants, etc always require a plural verb unless there
is a quantifier that requires a singular verb.

a. Scissors are expensive

b. A pair of jeans is inexpensive.

15. Nouns plural in form (such as politics, physics, economics, statistics, mathematics, etc), but
singular in meaning requires singular verb.

a. Physics was my favorite subject last year.

b. Mathematics is a challenging subject

Exercise:

1. Nobody (has, have) tried investing in several companies.

2. Somebody (has, have) spilt milk on the table cloth.

3. Neither of them (has, have) the book.

4. A pair of jeans (has, have) been bought there.

5. My glasses (was, were) on the table this morning.

6. Mathematics (is, are) mentally-stimulating

7. My brother and friend (was, were) sick yesterday.

8. It is only Juan, not his classmates that (play, plays) outside the classroom.

9. Everybody at the supermarket (was, were) looking for the missing boy.

10. Either my uncle or my parents (is, are) going to buy me a laptop.

11. Half of the campus (is, are) varsity players

12. Some of the children in the playground (is, are) playing hide and seek.

13. One fifth of the rice field (was, were) destroyed by the grasshoppers.

14. The students but not their teacher (join, joins) the rally.

15. Here (is, are) the markers for you.

16. Filipinos here and abroad (is, are) saving money for the future.

17. Everyone (need, needs) a companion.

18. Bread and butter (is, are) my favorite breakfast.

19. Bread and butter (has, have) increased their prices.

20. Tweezers (is, are) very useful.

21-22. The family that (pray, prays) together (stay, stays) together.

V. OPEN

DEMONSTRATE:

In pairs ask students to prepare a 30 second speech to their partner on the following topic: The
person I most admire

They must make the speech WITHOUT notes, but they must:
  Use their body (they will need to stand up if there’s space!
 Vary their volume
 Vary their speed
 Show energy, passion and humour!

Give them around 10 minutes to draft some ideas then give a 30 second speech yourself to model
what you want them to do. Then give them around 5 minutes to practice their speech in pairs.
Each must take a turn, and then give each other feedback .

VI. PACKING UP!

CONSOLIDATE:

Ask for volunteers to share their 30 second speech with the class. Feedback using
What Went Well / Even Better If, but only in terms of the success criteria for
CONNECTION. At this stage, don’t focus on any other aspects of making a speech.

VII. Adding In

Three key differences between speaking to large groups and speaking to small
groups.

1. Movement

One of the differences

between speaking to large
groups and speaking to
small groups is how you
should use movement.
When you’re speaking to
large groups, there are
many factors to consider
that could limit how much
you should move.
Will you be projected on a screen? How many cameras are there? Will you be
shown from different angles? And so on. Make sure you have a strong grasp of
how you’re going to look if/when you choose to move.

When you’re speaking to a smaller

group, you have much more
freedom to use movement for
impact and emphasis. Moving and
then stopping before you deliver a
key point is a great way to capture
your audience’s attention, for
example. You can also use
movement as punctuation in
between your points. You have
more choices, but you still need to be intentional.

2. Concentration level

Another one of the differences

between speaking to large groups
and speaking to small groups is the
amount of concentration required.
When you speak to a large group,
the energy of the crowd is
palpable. You need to ride it like a
wave — if you aren’t completely
focused and in the moment, you
could get crushed. You need to
really concentrate on what you’re doing and not worry about what’s going on in
the crowd.

When you’re speaking to a smaller group, the energy is not as intense. You still
need to focus, of course, but you have a little more freedom to tune in to the
audience, too. You have more opportunities for connection, whether they ask you
questions or you seek out their feedback.

3. Style
 You may think that
the larger your
audience is, the
“bigger” your style
needs to be — that
you need to be
larger than life to
grab the attention of
a big crowd. In
reality, the opposite
is true. If you’re
speaking to a large
group, your style
should be more personal — especially if you’re being projected onto a screen.
The audience doesn’t need to be drawn to you because the camera is already
giving them a close-up.

If you’re speaking to a smaller group, you actually need to work harder to draw
your audience in. You also need to think more about where your audience is
focusing their attention. If you gesture, they will focus on your whole body. If
you’re still, they will focus on your face. You have more freedom to experiment
with your style.

There are many speaking skills that are effective regardless of audience size. But
by thinking about these three factors, you will increase your impact — no matter
how many people are listening.