Purpose

The purpose ofthis assignment is to better understand the fundamentals ofestablished, powerful, effective persuasive speakers by examining aspeech that they have given. In addition to exploring the historicalcircumstances that led to the speech, you will be looking at thedelivery, organizational, and persuasive techniques that can be found inthe speech.

Tasks with Directions

1. Review Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech (available under resource materials in this module).

2. After reviewing this speech, you will write a three to four (3-4) page paper discussing the following:

1. Historical significance of the speech. Discuss thecircumstances that led to the speech being given. Why was this theappropriate time to give this particular speech? Why did this persongive this speech? Who was the intended audience, and how was itreceived?
2. Delivery Techniques. What kinds of nonverbal andverbal behaviors is the speaker engaging in, and how does it contributeto the effectiveness of the speech? Is the delivery style that thespeaker used effective? Could he or she have been more effective withtheir body language to better engage their audience? What kind ofpersona does the speaker project?
3. Organization Techniques. Review the organizationalpatterns. Talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the way thisspeech is organized. Include comments on the introduction, body,conclusion, transitions, etc. Was this speech well organized and easy tofollow? Did the organization contribute to the audience’s overallunderstanding/interest in the speech?
4. Persuasive Techniques. Discuss the persuasivestrategies used in this speech (for example, ethos, pathos, and logos,listener needs, cognitive dissonance, etc.) and provide specificexamples. What strategies are used most? How are they used? Are theyeffective? Your analysis should be thorough and specific.

Directly reference the text of the speech that you have chosen, andbe sure to cite all of your sources. You will need to find informationabout the history surrounding your speech, and you are expected toconduct college level research. You are not permitted to use Wikipediato copy and paste information.

You are welcome to extend beyond the provided questions but theyshould give you a baseline for starting your speech. Your analysisshould include:

• Three to four pages (typed)
• One-inch margins, double-spaced
• 12pt Times New Roman font, with no cover page required
• Citation of the course textbook using APA formatting