Speech Transition Exercise
A Public Speaking Class Activity for Teaching Transition Statements
Help your students learn to organize their speeches better with this fun transition statement activity.
If you're teaching a public speaking class, one of the most difficult lessons for students to learn is how to use verbal transition statements to connect one point to another. Transition statements are important during a speech because otherwise, the audience will have a much more difficult time following along.
Transitions can be simple, such as:
- "Now that I've told you about the health benefits of oranges, I'd like to tell you about the health benefits of pomegranates."
- "Second, I'd like to tell you about pomegranates."
- "Finally, another fruit that's very healthy is the pomegranate."
However, students can also use more creative transitions that tie together points in interesting ways.
- "While most people are aware of the health benefits of oranges, a lesser known fruit is also very nutritious: the pomegranate."
- "But if you're bored with the plain old orange and want something more exciting in your lunch box, check out another healthy fruit: the pomegranate."
- "Orange is pretty, but if red is more your speed, try a pomegranate."
Preparing the Exercise
All you need for this exercise is a stack of index cards, or even some lose scraps of paper. On each card or scrap, write down a word, phrase, or name of a person or place. Vary the words over a number of different categories, and be sure to use some words that are humorous and relevant to the students. Types of words you can use include:
- Places (New York, Paris, a nearby town)
- Foods (oranges, pomegranates, the cafeteria's questionable chicken nuggets)
- Celebrities that can be the source of humor (Flavor Flav, Britney Spears)
- Politicians (Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, a local politician caught in a scandal)
- TV shows watched by students, popular and/or terrible (The Office, The Hills, Elimidate)
- People around the school (a math teacher, the principal)
The Exercise
Each student should go to the front of the room and draw a card randomly, and then immediately start talking about the subject on the card-- pomegranates, let's say. After awhile, pick another card for the student and say, "Okay, Joe, your next topic is Flavor Flav."
The student then has to find a way to transition from pomegranates to Flavor Flav. After a moment's thought, she might say, "Pomegranates are only good when they're ripe, and that takes time. And one person who knows all about what time it is -- is Flavor Flav."
Some students are more creative than others, so if someone gets stuck, ask the audience to help. It's also a good idea to let students pass on a topic. If someone doesn't know what a pomegranate is, just offer another topic.
You can also do this as a chain. After one student is done talking about pomegranates and Flavor Flav, give someone else another random topic, and let him continue the story.
To add a small element of competition, add a prize. The student with the best response (as chosen by you or the students) can have a small number of extra credit points, or a small physical reward.
It's also a good idea to demonstrate the activity yourself. Since the students are going to be put on the spot, put yourself on the spot first and compare several random items.
Learning how to organize a speech can be painfully dull, but this is a very important skill to master. To make the process more fun--and encourage some creativity along the way--try this transition exercise.
