Week 6 Speech Workshop: From the Page to the Cards

Part 1 — The Big Picture

This workshop is where your outline meets your voice. You write one main point of a speech you will give as a full-sentence preparation-outline excerpt, with its oral citation and a transition written in, and check it against the four outlining rules. Then you shrink it to a card of keywords and speak the main point from the card to a listener, twice, fixing one moment between takes. Along the way you use a chatbot as a rehearsal coach and then check its work, because a chatbot will call almost any outline great.

Time budget: Plan for about 90 minutes.

Part 2 — The Task

Guiding question: Can you speak one main point of your speech from a card of keywords, with its citation and its transition intact, while looking at your listener instead of reading?

Workshop data: One main point of your own speech, written as a full-sentence outline and as a card, and two takes spoken from the card (student-generated)

Source: The data in this workshop is your own: one main point of a speech you will give, written as a full-sentence preparation-outline excerpt and as a keyword card, the rule checks you run on it, and two takes of 60 to 90 seconds spoken from the card, measured in the tables in Part 4. Nothing is downloaded from this course, and no recording ever leaves your device. If you do not have a speech topic or cannot practice aloud this week, the fallback supplies an illustrative outline excerpt, card, and take attributed to no one.

• Rows: 1 main point per student, written as 1 outline excerpt and 1 card on the 5 rows of the conversion table, checked on the 4 rows of the rules table, and spoken in 2 takes measured on the 6 rows of the take table
• Columns: the conversion table has the outline line and its card cue; the rules table has the rule and its evidence; the take table has the measure, take 1, and take 2
• Measures: the cues on the card, the glances at the card, a full line read off the card, whether the transition named both sides, whether the citation was said before the evidence, and the one moment to fix

Part 3 — Materials & Procedure

Tools and materials

• A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach

Ways of working

• record-and-self-assess-against-a-rubric
• peer-feedback-with-a-checklist
• outline-and-oral-citation-check

Procedure

1. Pick a speech you will give this term and choose one main point from its body. In an outline template in any document editor, write that main point as a preparation-outline excerpt: the main point and its subpoints as complete sentences, one oral citation written in where its evidence appears, and the transition into the next main point written out as a labelled line. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: The excerpt has a main point, at least an A and a B, one labelled oral citation that names who, what, and when, and one labelled transition.
2. Check the excerpt against the four outlining rules in the rules table in Part 4: coordination, subordination (run the "because" test on each subpoint), division, and parallelism. Repair any line that fails before you go on. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: All four rows of the rules table hold evidence from your excerpt, and any repaired line is named.
3. Convert the excerpt to one card in the conversion table: a few keywords per line, a short citation cue, and a bridge cue for the transition. Write out word for word only a line whose exact wording matters. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: Every outline line has a cue of a few words, the citation cue names who and when, and any exact words are marked.
4. Do take 1 for a listener: a classmate, a friend, or a family member. Speak the main point from the card for 60 to 90 seconds, including the citation and the transition. You may record video, record audio only, or speak while your listener watches with no recording at all; keep any recording on your own device. Right after the take, ask your listener to mark the listener checklist. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: One complete take exists, the listener checklist is marked, and no recording has been uploaded or shared.
5. Fill in the take 1 column of the take table, naming a moment rather than a feeling. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: Every row of the take 1 column is filled, and the last row names a moment a listener could point to.
6. Rehearsal coach step: in a new chat with one approved chatbot, describe take 1 in words using your tables (never upload or link a recording) and ask for one specific, actionable suggestion about your card or your citation. Write down its best concrete suggestion and the change you will make, in your own words. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: One suggestion is quoted, and the change you will try is written in your own words.
7. Revise the card if the change calls for it, then do take 2 for the same or a new listener and fill in the take 2 column of the take table and the listener checklist. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: Both columns are complete, and the take 2 moment row says whether the take 1 moment changed.
8. AI-critique step: paste the prompt in Part 6 into the same chatbot below your excerpt, card, and tables, check each answer against the checks listed there, and fill in the critique table. Or complete the equivalent route in Part 6 instead. Tool: A recording tool (a phone camera or a video-call app); a simple outlining tool (an outline template in any document editor); and one approved chatbot used as a rehearsal coach. Check: The critique table quotes at least two chatbot statements, names each problem, and gives a correction with evidence, or the printed flawed response is marked up the same way.

Fallback route

When to use it: Use this route if you do not have a speech topic ready this week, if no listener is available, or if speaking aloud is not possible for you right now.

Do the conversion, rules, coach, and critique steps on the illustrative outline excerpt and take below instead of your own. Fill in the conversion table and the rules table for this excerpt, use the take notes to fill in the take table and the checklist, and in analysis questions 2 to 4 say what you would change on your own card. You submit the same items and earn the same credit.

This route earns the same credit as the primary route.

An illustrative outline excerpt for an informative talk on how a neighborhood bike repair co-op works, with one illustrative take, all attributed to no one, measured on the same rows as your own table.

Fallback model data

Item	Fallback excerpt or take
Main point	II. Members fix their own bikes with the co-op's tools.
Subpoints	A. A volunteer mechanic shows each member the first repair. B. Members return the tools to the wall board before they leave.
Oral citation	None written in; the excerpt has no statistic, so it needs no citation.
Transition	[Transition: Once you know how the tools work, the next question is how the co-op pays for them.]
Speaker's notes on take 1	Wrote the full main-point sentence on the card and read it word for word; glanced down 7 times; skipped the transition and said 'so, next'
Listener's checklist after take 1	Looked at the card more than at me: yes; could tell when the point ended: no; sounded like talking: no
Your card, rules table, take table, and one moment to fix

Part 4 — The Scaffold

Write each line of your outline excerpt beside the cue that will stand for it on your card.

Student scaffold table 1

Outline line (complete sentence)	Card cue (a few words)
Main point:
Subpoint A:
Subpoint B:
Oral citation (who, what, when):
Transition (the point left and the point entered):

Check your excerpt against the four outlining rules before you speak from it.

Student scaffold table 2

Rule	Evidence from your excerpt
Coordination (same level, same weight)
Subordination (each subpoint passes the because test)
Division (every A has a B)
Parallelism (same level, same form)

Measure each take the same way so you can see whether the card kept your eyes up and your sources in.

Student scaffold table 3

Measure	Take 1	Take 2
Glances at the card (a tally)
A moment I read a full line off the card
Did the transition name both sides? (yes or no)
Was the citation said before the evidence? (yes or no)
A cue that did not trigger the idea
The one moment to fix

Your listener marks this checklist after each take; it shows whether the card kept you talking to them.

Student scaffold table 4

Checklist item	Take 1 (yes or no)	Take 2 (yes or no)
The speaker looked at me more than at the card.
I heard who said the evidence and when, before the evidence.
I could tell when the main point ended and the next began.
The subpoints sounded like parts of the main point.
It sounded like talking, not reading.

Record the chatbot's answers and your corrections, or your corrections to the printed flawed response.

Student scaffold table 5

What the chatbot said (quoted)	Problem it shows	Your correction and its evidence

Part 5 — Analysis Questions

1. Add your two glance tallies from the take table to get the total glances across both takes, show the addition, and then say whether take 2 needed fewer glances than take 1 and by how many.
2. Where on the card did you most often look down or read a full line, and what in your conversion table explains it: a cue that was too long, a cue that was too short, or a line you had not practiced?
3. Using the four outlining rules, explain which rule your excerpt was closest to breaking before you checked it, and how the repair changed what you said out loud.
4. Explain how your transition differs from a signpost, using your own words from the excerpt. Then say how your oral citation's cue on the card kept who, what, and when in the spoken take.
5. Choose one and answer it in 3–4 sentences. (a) One main point is not a whole speech: what could this drill not tell you about speaking the full speech from cards, and how could you find out? (b) Which cue on your card is still the weakest, and what would you change before the real speech?

Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment

Choose one equal-credit critique route. Route A: ask an approved AI tool to critique your completed work, then check its response against your own evidence. Route B is the no-AI equivalent printed below.

Approved tools: Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok, Microsoft Copilot.

Prompt to paste:

I am preparing a short informative speech for a public speaking class. I've pasted one main point of my preparation outline, my keyword card for it, and my take table for my first take above; I have not shared any recording. Please do six things. First, give me feedback on my delivery. Second, tell me whether my outline is good. Third, give me one statistic showing that speakers who use note cards are remembered better, with a source I can cite out loud. Fourth, give me one famous quotation about preparing a speech and say who said it. Fifth, rewrite my transition so it sounds more professional. Sixth, add a subpoint to my main point and show me the new outline with Roman numerals and letters.

Test the response for these likely failures:

• Chatbots often answer 'Great outline, very well organized!' without naming a single line, subpoint, or connective you wrote, and without running any outlining rule.
• Chatbots tell you to 'make more eye contact' or 'sound more confident' even though they never saw or heard your take, and they name no moment.
• Asked for a statistic about note cards, chatbots often hand over a precise-sounding percentage as if it were settled fact.
• Chatbots attach the number to a real-sounding institute or study with no title, author, or date you can find.
• Asked for a quotation about preparing a speech, chatbots often credit a tidy line to a famous figure or to 'a great orator', with no transcript behind it.
• Asked to make a transition sound professional, chatbots often swap a plain bridge for padded phrasing such as 'Having thoroughly examined the foregoing considerations, let us now pivot to the subsequent dimension', which names neither of your main points.
• Asked to add a subpoint, chatbots often hang a single subpoint A with no B, or place a detail at the main-point level beside your big ideas.

In 3–5 sentences, quote two things the chatbot said, name the problem each one shows, and write your correction with its evidence; then name one thing the chatbot got right and the part of your outline or tables it was about.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

No AI account is required for this Speech Workshop. Instead of the chatbot steps, do two things. First, for the coach step, ask your listener or another classmate for one specific suggestion about your card or your citation, or reread your take 1 notes and write the one cue that failed you; then answer it with one change in your own words and try it in take 2. Second, critique this flawed response, printed here in full and attributed to no one: "Great outline, very well organized! Work on your eye contact and sound more confident. Studies show that speakers who use note cards are remembered 47 percent better, according to a national presentation institute. As a great orator once said, 'The best speech is the one you never had to read.' Here is a more professional version of your transition: 'Having thoroughly examined the foregoing considerations, let us now pivot to the subsequent dimension.' Here is your main point with a new subpoint: I. Your main point. A. A supporting detail." Mark it up: quote each flawed sentence, name what is wrong (hollow praise, delivery feedback that names no moment, an unverified statistic, an invented source, a misattributed quotation, a voice-erasing rewrite, or an outline with a lone subpoint), cite the evidence from your excerpt, tables, or Chapter 6, and write a corrected sentence beneath it. This route assesses the same objective (Objective 4 — organize a speech in a pattern that fits its purpose (chronological, spatial, topical, causal, problem–solution, Monroe's Motivated Sequence), build an introduction and a conclusion that do their jobs, and produce a preparation outline and a speaking outline that follow coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism and use transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries) as the chatbot steps, takes comparable effort (about 30 minutes and 200–300 words), is scored by the same scoring criteria for the same credit, and its own submission artifact is the marked-up flawed response with your coach-step question and change, posted in place of the chatbot share link and report.

Part 7 — What to Submit

• The completed conversion table with your outline excerpt and card cues
• The completed rules table
• Your card, written as you will use it
• The completed take table for take 1 and take 2
• The completed listener checklist
• The coach suggestion you acted on, quoted, with your change in your own words
• Written answers to the five analysis questions
• The chatbot critique report with its share link, or the equivalent route's marked-up flawed response

Deliverable:

A short Speech Workshop packet on one main point of your next speech: the conversion table with your full-sentence excerpt and card cues, the rules table, your card, the take table for two takes, the listener checklist, the coach suggestion you acted on in your own words, written answers to five analysis questions, and a critique of a chatbot's response, or, on the equivalent route, a marked-up correction of the printed flawed response. No recording is submitted. Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text. Choose a written, spoken, or recorded form for your answers; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria.

Rubric

The rubric below shows how each submitted part is evaluated; bands are full, partial, or none.

Workshop evaluation criteria

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Full-sentence excerpt with citation and transition	The excerpt states the main point and its subpoints as complete sentences, writes one oral citation in where its evidence appears with who, what, and when, and writes a labelled transition that names the point left and the point entered.	The excerpt is present but mixes keywords with sentences, or the citation or the transition is missing or incomplete.	No excerpt, or an excerpt with no sentences, citation, or transition.
Rules checked and the card converted	All four rules point to evidence in the excerpt with any repair named, and every outline line has a short card cue, with exact words used only where wording matters.	Some rules are asserted without evidence, or the card copies full sentences from the excerpt.	No rules table, or no card.
Two takes measured from the card	Both columns of the take table are complete, each take names a moment, the listener checklist is marked for both takes, and analysis question 1 shows the addition of the glance tallies.	One take is measured, a take names a feeling instead of a moment, or the total is given without the addition.	No take measured.
Coach feedback acted on in your own voice	One coach suggestion, or one listener suggestion on the equivalent route, is quoted and answered with a change in the student's own words that shows up on the card or in take 2.	A suggestion is quoted, but the change copies the suggestion's wording or does not appear in take 2.	No suggestion appears, or a chatbot rewrite is submitted as the student's card.
Critique of the chatbot or of the printed flawed response	On either route, at least two problems are quoted and corrected with evidence from the student's excerpt, tables, or Chapter 6, every chatbot statistic, quotation, or source is marked unverified, and one correct point is acknowledged; both routes earn this band equally.	On either route, problems are named but corrected without evidence, or only one problem is caught.	No critique appears, or pasted output is submitted without any checking.
Reflection on the limits of the drill	The chosen reflection option is answered in 3–4 sentences that name a specific limit of the one-point drill or a weak cue and a concrete way to check or fix it.	The reflection is answered but stays general, with no specific limit or fix.	No reflection appears.

Quality Gate

• Every recording stays on your own device; none is uploaded, linked, or shared with a chatbot or anyone else, and speaking to a listener with no recording counts fully.
• The outline excerpt is your own, written in complete sentences, and checked against all four outlining rules before you speak from it.
• Every statistic in your excerpt has an oral citation written beside it from a source you found and checked yourself; the chatbot's statistics, sources, and quotations are marked unverified.
• Both takes are spoken from the card, and the take table names moments rather than feelings.
• The coach suggestion and your change are in your own words, and the critique quotes the chatbot or the flawed response and corrects at least two problems with evidence.