Week 9 Speech Workshop: One Card, Two Takes

Part 1 — The Big Picture

This workshop is where your outline becomes a performance. You take one card from your own speaking outline, check that its citation cue leads to a complete who, what, and when, and practice one key sentence three ways: flat, with one strategic pause, and with full vocal variety. Then you run the rehearsal loop for real: two takes from the card for a listener, each measured in a delivery table, with one moment named to fix between them. Along the way you use a chatbot as a rehearsal coach and then check its work, because a chatbot that never saw your take often praises it anyway, hands you an ideal rate that does not exist, or rewrites your keywords into a script you would have to memorize.

Time budget: Plan for about 90 minutes.

Part 2 — The Task

Guiding question: When you deliver one card of your speech twice, does the fix you name after take 1 show up in take 2, and can you point to the moment?

Workshop data: One card of your own speaking outline, one key sentence said three ways, and two takes of 60 to 90 seconds delivered from the card (student-generated)

Source: The data in this workshop is your own: one keyword card from a speech you will give, one sentence from it said three ways, and two takes of 60 to 90 seconds delivered 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 have no card or cannot practice aloud this week, the fallback supplies illustrative take notes attributed to no one.

• Rows: 1 card per student, checked on the 4 rows of the card check table, one sentence said on the 3 rows of the three-ways table, 2 takes measured on the 8 rows of the delivery table, and heard on the 5 rows of the listener checklist
• Columns: the card check and three-ways tables have the item and what you found; the delivery table and the listener checklist have the measure, take 1, and take 2
• Measures: the length of each take in seconds, the words spoken, words per minute, the filler words, fillers per minute, seconds of eye contact in a 30-second sample, deliberate pauses, 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. Choose one card from your own speaking outline: a main-point card that carries a citation cue, if you have one. Copy its keywords into the card check table in Part 4 and check the citation cue against the oral citation it stands for: does the sentence you will say name who, what, and when before the evidence? 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 card's keywords are copied into the card check table, and the citation row says whether the cue leads to a complete who, what, and when.
2. Pick one key sentence from that card. Say it three ways and note each in the three-ways table: once flat, in one even tone; once with one strategic pause placed before the word that matters most; and once with full vocal variety, changing rate, pitch, and volume on purpose. 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 three rows of the three-ways table say where your pause fell or what changed, and the full-variety row names at least two of rate, pitch, and volume.
3. Do take 1: deliver the whole card for 60 to 90 seconds to a listener, glancing at the card and then looking up. You may record video on your own phone, record audio only, or speak with no recording while your listener times you with a stopwatch. Keep any recording on your own device. Your listener marks the take 1 column of 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, its length in seconds is written down, the listener checklist is marked for take 1, and nothing has been uploaded or shared.
4. Fill in the take 1 column of the delivery table: count the words you said (from your recording, or by writing the take down right after), the filler words, and the deliberate pauses; time a 30-second sample of eye contact if you have video or your listener timed it; then work out words per minute and fillers per minute and write the one moment to fix. 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 take 1 column holds counts, the two per-minute figures with their divisions, and a moment a viewer could find, not a feeling.
5. Rehearsal coach step: in a new chat with one approved chatbot, describe take 1 in words using your delivery table (never upload or link a recording) and ask for one specific, actionable suggestion about your delivery from the card. Write down its most 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 make in take 2 is written in your own words and tied to a moment.
6. Do take 2 for the same listener, trying the take 1 fix and the coach suggestion. Fill in the take 2 column of the delivery table and have your listener mark the take 2 column of the 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 of the delivery table and the listener checklist are complete, and the take 2 moment names whether the take 1 fix showed up.
7. AI-critique step: paste the prompt in Part 6 into the same chatbot below your description, 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 speaking-outline card ready this week, if no listener is available, or if speaking aloud is not possible for you right now.

Do the card check, coach, and critique steps on the illustrative take notes below instead of your own takes. Use the notes to fill in the delivery table and the listener checklist, work out the per-minute figures and the eye-contact share for both takes, and in analysis questions 2 to 4 say what you would change in your own speech. You submit the same items and earn the same credit.

This route earns the same credit as the primary route.

Illustrative notes from two 90-second takes of a card from an informative talk on a neighborhood seed library, attributed to no one, measured on the same rows as your own tables.

Fallback model data

Item	Fallback take notes
The card	Seed library · borrow a packet · grow it · return seeds from your harvest · cue: the library's own sign-out sheet, this season
Take 1	90 seconds; 165 words spoken; 9 filler words; 18 seconds of eye contact in a 40-second sample; 3 deliberate pauses; read most lines off the card and clicked a pen
Take 2	90 seconds; 150 words spoken; 6 filler words; 30 seconds of eye contact in a 40-second sample; 7 deliberate pauses; one pause before the line about returning seeds
Listener's note after take 1	Could not repeat where the sign-out count came from; noticed the pen clicking
Your delivery table, three-ways table, and one moment to fix

Part 4 — The Scaffold

Check the card you will speak from before you rehearse it, so the citation you say out loud is complete.

Student scaffold table 1

Card check	What your card shows
Main point on the card
Keywords on the card
Citation cue on the card, if any
Does the spoken citation name who, what, and when? (yes, or what is missing)

Say one key sentence three ways and write down what you changed each time.

Student scaffold table 2

Version	Where you paused or what changed
Flat, one even tone
With one strategic pause (the words right before it)
With full vocal variety (which of rate, pitch, and volume changed)

Measure both takes the same way so a change between them is something you can point to.

Student scaffold table 3

Measure	Take 1	Take 2
Length of the take, in seconds
Words spoken
Words per minute (words ÷ minutes)
Filler words counted
Fillers per minute (fillers ÷ minutes)
Seconds of eye contact in a timed sample, such as 30 seconds (if timed)
Deliberate pauses counted
The one moment to fix

Your listener marks this checklist after each take; it shows what reached them.

Student scaffold table 4

Listener check	Take 1	Take 2
The speaker looked up through at least one whole idea
I heard a planned pause before an important line
I could repeat the citation's who, what, and when
I noticed a nervous habit, such as a pen click or pacing
It sounded like the speaker 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)	The problem it shows	Your correction and its evidence

Part 5 — Analysis Questions

1. From your delivery table, divide each take's words by its minutes (seconds ÷ 60) to find words per minute, and divide each take's fillers by its minutes to find fillers per minute. Show all four divisions, then say in one sentence why neither rate is the correct one.
2. Which line of your three-ways table changed the most for your listener, and where did your strategic pause fall? Use a listener-checklist mark as evidence.
3. Name one physical-delivery change between your takes: a descriptive or emphatic gesture you added, or an adaptor you cut. Say the moment it happened, how you observed it (video, mirror, or your listener), and why it helped or hurt.
4. Explain why your take was extemporaneous rather than memorized or impromptu, using your card as evidence, and say whether the citation on your card reached your listener with its who, what, and when.
5. Choose one and answer it in 3–4 sentences. (a) Two takes of one card are not a whole speech: what could this drill not tell you about your delivery of the full speech, and how could you find out? (b) Which moment in your take 2 still feels least like you talking to people, and what will 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 rehearsing a short speech for a public speaking class. I've described my two takes above in words, with my delivery table; I have not shared any recording. Please do six things. First, tell me what you think of my delivery. Second, give me the ideal speaking rate in words per minute and the percentage of a message that comes from body language, with a source I can cite out loud. Third, give me one famous example of a powerful pause in a real speech, with the exact words, who said them, and when. Fourth, rewrite my card so I sound more confident. Fifth, turn my card's keywords into an outline with Roman numerals and letters. Sixth, tell me the one thing I should change in my next take.

Test the response for these likely failures:

• Chatbots often open with 'What a confident, engaging delivery!' about a take they never saw, without naming a single moment or measure from your table.
• Chatbots tell you to 'slow down', 'project more', or 'work on your body language' even though they never heard or saw either take, and they name no sentence or second where it happened.
• Asked for the ideal speaking rate or the share of a message carried by body language, chatbots often hand over a precise-sounding number, such as a percentage for nonverbal meaning, as settled fact.
• Chatbots attach that number to a real-sounding institute, journal, or 'communication experts' with no title, author, or date you can find.
• Asked for a famous example of a powerful pause, chatbots often quote a well-known speech line from memory and credit it to the wrong speaker or the wrong occasion.
• Asked to make your card sound more confident, chatbots often hand back a full paragraph of formal sentences that you would have to memorize, which turns extemporaneous delivery into a recital in someone else's words.
• Asked to reorganize your card's keywords into an outline, chatbots often hang a single subpoint A with no B, or lift a detail on the card up to the level of a main point.

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 table or card 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 for one specific suggestion about your delivery from the card, or reread your take 1 notes and write the one moment that hurt the take most; 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: "What a confident, engaging delivery! Slow down and work on your body language. Experts agree the ideal speaking rate is 150 words per minute, and studies show that most of a message comes from body language, according to a national communication institute. The most famous pause in history came right before Lincoln said 'ask not what your country can do for you.' Here is your card rewritten so you sound more confident: 'Esteemed audience members, it is my distinct privilege to present an overview of the seed library initiative and its numerous community benefits.' Here is your card as an outline: I. Seed library. A. Borrow a packet." 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 tables, your card, or Chapter 9, and write a corrected sentence beneath it. This route assesses the same objectives (Objective 5 and Objective 1) 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 card check table
• The completed three-ways table
• The completed delivery 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 card of your next speech: the card check table, the three-ways table, the delivery 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
Card checked and one sentence said three ways	The card check table is complete, the citation row says whether the spoken citation names who, what, and when (or what is missing), and all three versions of the key sentence name where the pause fell or which of rate, pitch, and volume changed.	The card check or the three-ways table is incomplete, or the versions are described as feelings rather than as what changed.	No card check and no three-ways table.
Two takes measured in the delivery table	Both columns hold counts and seconds, words per minute and fillers per minute are shown as divisions, each take names a moment a viewer could find, and take 2 says whether the take 1 fix showed up.	One take is measured, the per-minute figures appear without their divisions, or a take names a feeling instead of a moment.	No take measured.
Listener checklist and physical delivery	The checklist is marked for both takes, and analysis question 3 names one physical-delivery change between takes, a gesture added or an adaptor cut, with the moment it happened and how it was observed.	The checklist is marked for one take only, or a physical change is named without its moment.	No checklist and no physical-delivery change.
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 in take 2.	A suggestion is quoted, but the change copies its wording or does not appear in take 2.	No suggestion appears, or a chatbot rewrite of the card is submitted as the student's own.
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 tables, card, or Chapter 9, 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 a 90-second, two-take drill or a moment that still needs work, 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 card is your own keywords, not a chatbot's script, and both takes are delivered from it rather than read or recited.
• Every count in the delivery table comes from your own take, every per-minute figure shows its division, and each take names a moment rather than a feeling.
• Any rate, percentage, source, or speech quotation a chatbot supplies is marked unverified, and no number is presented as the correct speaking rate.
• 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.