FIRST, THINK: Who is this person and why are they significant?   Make a list of people you might like to talk about and list some adjectives to describe them.  Consider how comfortable and capable you are discussing someone if they are no longer alive.

Brainstorming

List of People to Make Speech 3 About

Family Members:

Mom- The definition of resilience, hardworking, achieved her dreams, calm unless provoked, good hustler, everyone loves her cooking, leader quality (back home + explain), grumpy at times.

Sister-Supportive, thoughtful, best person to debate with, logic on point (no joke), no bs kind of person, always two step ahead.

Carlos- too cool for school, wanted to join the army, raises animals back home (Jamaica)

Pete- music, anime and video game lover, hates doing the dishes, love to be out driving (every day is an adventure for him), always positive despite how bad things might get

Role Models:

Jesse William-an activist and video game actor (Detroit Becomes Human), won the Humanitarian Award that Bet gave him, humble, has a strong character, isn’t loud, easy going, supports minorities and the LGBT community.

Trevor Noah- comedian, dancer, and YouTube host of The Daily Show, very good at articulating his arguments, can see both sides of the story, always presents himself well, shows women respect, has a good image, seems like a people’s person.

NEXT: BRAINSTORM:  What other stories or anecdotes can you think of? Continue to add depth to your outline and speech.  (Writing a draft of a toast for your “person,” even if you are not composing a toast, might help shape your speech.) 

NEXT: NARROW:  Pick one person and focus on what you think your audience should know about this person.

NEXT: STRUCTURE:  Lay out 3 clear parts on paper: Intro, Body, Conclusion and start to budget the time your will spend delivering each part.

Very Very Very Rough Draft

Introduction:

Who? Mom

I’d like to make a toast to my mother. 

Working thesis: The strong independent woman who raised her children without any help.

Why?

-Because she is the reason why I went to college

            Other than the fact that she drives me crazy every now and then

-I still love her

-She is the only reason why I’m trying so hard in college.

-Unlike me, my mother never got the opportunity to complete high school or go to college.

Body Paragraph

What do I mean?

-It was different time period

-She was raised in Jamaica

-Some things happened to her (I don’t think she’d okay with my sharing)

She grew up poor

She had to skip school to help around the house

Her mother couldn’t afford to send her to college (It’s no different for me but I’m not in the same position that she was)

She acquired life skills:

-Humble (works with what she has)/ simpler things in life

-Street Smart vs. book smart

            Pretty chill unless provoked vs. simple math

-Make some good chicken/ food in general

-Has good people skills/everyone looks to her kind of like a chief leader of a Native American Tribe.

American Dream

-Got her CAN license/ that’s how she provides.

-Learned English and stopped fighting me about it

-She works harder when times get hard and has a little faith

Closing Paragraph:

With all she’s been through, I’d expect her to be in a terrible mental state.

During the tough times in college, I turn to her.

 If she didn’t quit, why should I? 

NEXT:  IN MOTION: Draft, add, subtract, practice, revise, repeat.  This speech, like all the others, is meant to evolve as you keep working with it throughout the week.

 Questions? Please email me.