COMM2625 NA
Public Speaking and Presentational Skills
Assignment #1
100 points available
Learning objectives: 1) to get you in the habit of a critical review of speakers and messaging; 2) to gain
experience researching, citing and identifying valid sources for your own speeches and 3) to sharpen
your critical writing skills.
Last week we discussed presenters we admire. Using this subject, find a suitable and publicly available
video clip of a presentation that person has given and present a critical review of why you believe the
individual is a good speaker. (Note: if you did not mention a public figure, select another person to
review.)
The video/speech/presentation you select to analyze should be at least 3 minutes long and not longer
than a TED Talk (~18 minutes). It does not have to be a continuous speech, for example you may select
an athlete’s or coach’s postgame press conference as long as they continuously speak for a few minutes
during each answer. While you may use social media clips to bolster your critique, do not use Instagram
Reels, YouTube Shorts (regular YouTubes are good), TikTok videos and Snapchat Stories as the basis of the
initial critique.
Prepare a two-page (1.5 spaced – between 800-1000 words) analysis of the person’s performance
including:
A brief summary of the topic, venue in which it was given, purpose (please include a link to the
original interview/speech)
Evaluate the person’s performance: do you think they met the purpose of the presentation? Why
or why not – give an example of their delivery/body language to support it.
Who do you think the intended audience is/was, and do you think this person resonated with
that segment of the population? Why or why not?
Do you believe this speaker has a solid grasp of the ethical constraints involved in public
speaking? Why/why not and how are things like their word choice and body language supporting
your analysis?
If there was Q&A, did this person appear to be an active listener? What led you to believe that?
From your review, what do you believe the key takeaways were for the audience listening?
Would you be able to summarize the person’s main points.
Do you believe this person has a strong personal brand? Why or why not? Using 2-3 additional
sources, cite examples of how this person speaks consistently across platforms and over time.
(This is where you are permitted to use social media clips to show a person’s personal brand.)
If you call out a specific part of the video/speech it is helpful to cite the time stamp.
The assignment is due February 12th and should be submitted via Canvas.