In creating a good speech there are many elements that should be present, especially in ones that are containing rhetoric and the art of persuasion.  In order for a speech to be effective in portraying a message it needs to be straight forward, engaging, entertaining, and have well thought out points.  As speeches continue for the next week and a half it is important to look back on what has been effective and what has not been so effective in portraying whether or not something is a civic artifact.

First, I will talk about the parts of speeches that have been less effective in portraying the message of something being a civic artifact or not.  First point I will make is that when speaking with a lot of interjections such as the word um or like it takes away the effectiveness in the point the speaker is trying to make.  Halfway through a speech that a person is constantly using um or like the audience begins to get side tracked and can even begin to count to keep their interest in their speech because the interjections become an interruption to the point the speech is trying to make.  Next point I will make is that a speech that does not elaborate on the specific point that the speaker is trying to make.  In our case of the civic artifact if the speaker does not elaborate on what makes the artifact civic or not civic then there is pretty much no point in creating the speech in the first place.

Second, I will talk about the parts that have been effective in the speeches.  One of the most important things in an effective speech is the pacing in which the speaker gives the speech.  There have been multiple speeches that I have seen that have good pacing.  Good pacing is essential in giving an effective speech because it allows the audience to follow what the speech is trying to portray.  If the audience is able to follow the message then the message is easier to be locked into the brains’ of the audience.  Another element to an effective speech is using a good visual.  In the speeches we’ve seen the visuals have been powerful all by themselves.  They are engaging enough to keep the audience interested in the topic for the duration of the speech.