364 Part 4 Public Speaking
Activities
- LaunchPad for Real Communication offers key term videos and encourages self-
assessment through adaptive quizzing. Go to bedfordstmartins.com/realcomm
to get access to:
LearningCurve
Adaptive Quizzes.A
1L hPdf RlC iTHINGS TO TRY
Video clips that illustrate key concepts, highlighted in
teal in the Real Reference section that follows.- Think back to a memorable speech you’ve witnessed, either in person or through
the media. What kind of speech was it? Was the speaker trying to inform, per-
suade, or celebrate? Was he or she successful in that endeavor? Did the speech
change the way you felt? - Tune in to a few news pundits—for example, Bill O’Reilly, Rachel Maddow,
Randi Rhodes, or Rush Limbaugh—on the radio, on television, or online. Lis-
ten carefully to what they say, and consider how they back up their statements.
Do they provide source material as they speak? Can you link to their sources
from their online blogs? How does the way they back up their points or fail to
back them up influence your perceptions of what they say? - Take a look at your school’s policy on plagiarism. Does your school clearly de-
fine what acts constitute plagiarism? How harsh are the punishments? Who is
responsible for reporting plagiarism? How is the policy enforced? - The next time you read something—a magazine article, a political blog, a work
of nonfiction, a chapter in a textbook—take time to think about the research
presented in it. What kinds of research did the authors do? How do they back
up their statements? What kinds of research materials do they include?