Giving a Public Service Annouoncement

Speaking For Broadcast

                                                    (Giving a Public Service Announcement)

 

            The field of broadcasting continues to influence a much wider array of career possibilities. With the expansion of radio station formats and cable TV, people need broader communications skills at an earlier age to fit into today’s job market. The ability to write and deliver a message which conveys a complete thought in sixty seconds or less is the reality of both broadcast and personal communications.

 

            For the Public Service Announcement (PSA) division of public speaking, 4-H’ers must create and present a PSA on some aspect of the 4-H program of interest to them.  All PSA’s will use the state theme as the basis for their PSA.  The PSA must promote 4-H and be general enough so the PSA could be used anywhere in the state. All 4-H PSA’s must include the required tag line within the last ten seconds of the PSA.  The length of the PSA is 60 seconds. Sound effects and public domain music may be used.  Copyrighted material may not be used.  The emphasis is on the presentation of a PSA for radio. For that reason, scoring is based on the content of the material and the delivery. Appearance and gestures do not enter into the judging at this time.

 

            We realize that this will be a first time experience for many participants. We hope the following tips are of some help in preparing for this exciting new opportunity.

 

            Written notes for preparation of PSA’s*

 

  1. Type on one side of the paper only.
  2. Double or triple space, and don’t type in all capital letters, as they are hard to read in quantity.
  3. Never continue a paragraph or sentence from one page to another.
  4. Never split words or hyphenated phrases from one line to the next.
  5. It’s best not to use abbreviations, as the word they represent may not come to you as they are being spoken.
  6. Use contractions whenever possible. Your talk should be given in conversational style, as if you were speaking to just one person. NOTE/EXAMPLE: Contractions should not be used when you wish to emphasize a certain word.
  7. If a title is to be used for a person mentioned in the talk, give the title first. It’s usually best to use the title the first time only when mentioning a person’s name.
  8. Don’t include middle initials unless they are widely known by initials as part of their name. (For example, more people would know the poet E.E. Cummings by that name than if a first name were spelled out.)
  9. It’s important that you be able to pronounce everything correctly. Use phonetic spelling for difficult words.
  10. Balance your sentences and keep them simple. Avoid long ones or short choppy ones.
  11. Simplify numbers or statistics by using generalizations such as: about, nearly, almost, at least.
  12.  In general:
  1. Catch the listener’s attention with a striking or interesting statement.
  2. Elaborate or clarify this statement.
  3. Make a final pitch at the end and be sure listeners know how they can become involved.
  4. Avoid backing up if a word is mispoken. This is a tightly timed activity and it’s best to continue in order to meet the time requirements.

DAWSON COUNTY 4-H PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST

SCORE SHEET

CONTESTANT'S NAME ___________________________________________________________________

TITLE OF SPEECH _______________________________________________________________________

 

I.    SUBJECT - 20%                                                                                       COMMENTS:

 

     All speeches must be original and include 4-H as the major component of the speech.

 

        Use of 4-H in Subject:

        How effective was 4-H incorporated into the speech?  Did the speech use 4-H as a solution to a specific issue, explain some

          element of 4-H, or identify and solve a problem within 4-H?

          Did it accomplish objective(s) to entertain, inform, persuade, and/or obtain action?

 

      Content -

          Did the speaker use good examples, illustrations or facts?

          Was there a substantial message?

          Was the speech convincing?

          Did the speech have adequate information about the topic?

     

II.   ORGANIZATION - 20%

 

Introduction -

          Does it gain and maintain attention?

          Does it indicate the direction of the speech?

 

Body –

  Were the main points clearly stated?

  Was there evidence to support the main points in the speech?

 

Conclusion -

          Does the speech seem to end with a purpose?

          Does it summarize main points?

                 

III.  DELIVERY - 40%

 

Bodily Action/Poise –

  Does the speaker maintain eye contact with the audience?

  Are movements and gestures natural and purposeful?

  Does the speaker have a friendly, conversational attitude?

  Is the speaker enthusiastic about the speech?

 

Voice -

  Does the speaker’s voice have good pitch, quality and force?

  Is the speech delivered using an appropriate articulation rate?

  Does speaker use correct grammar, pronunciations and word choices?

  Does the speech have a good flow and transitions?

 

IV.  GENERAL - 20%

 

        Was the speaker’s personal appearance and clothing appropriate?

          How attentive and engaged was the audience?

          Does the speaker show appropriate physical behavior while seated

          and while going to deliver their speech?

          Was the length of the speech delivered within the allotted time frame?

 

RIBBON PLACING (Please Circle):     Purple     Blue     Red     White