Week 14 — Practice Exercises · Special-Occasion & Small-Group Communication

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective: Objective 8 (special-occasion speech types; criteria for success; group roles) · SLO A (planning a special-occasion speech) · SLO B (critical analysis)
Practice exercises — ungraded · recommended before Quiz 14
Format: BYOAI coach. Use one approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) to check your thinking. Instructions below.

How to use these exercises

These six exercises are low-stakes reps — they're ungraded, but they're the best preparation for the quiz and the assignment. Work through them on your own first; then paste each question into your approved chatbot and compare your answer to what it says. When the chatbot disagrees with you or you disagree with it, pause and work out which of you is right.

Coaching rule: the chatbot will sometimes be confidently wrong about the exact classification of a described scenario. If its answer seems off, push back: "Can you explain the difference between a speech of introduction and a speech of presentation?" Make it justify its answer. Your job is to evaluate the explanation, not just accept it.

If the chatbot gives vague feedback ("Good answer! You seem to have a solid grasp of the concepts") — push back: "That's too generic. Tell me specifically what I got right and what I could add or sharpen." This is the same AI-critique habit from every week.

Exercise 1 — Speech Type Classification (3 items)

For each described speech, name the special-occasion speech type (speech of introduction, speech of presentation, speech of acceptance, tribute / toast, after-dinner speech, commencement speech).

A. Before a keynote speaker takes the stage at a campus conference on mental health, a faculty member spends 90 seconds telling the audience who the speaker is, why this particular person's perspective matters, and what the audience is about to hear. The faculty member ends by saying "Please welcome Dr. Okonkwo."

B. At a retirement party for a long-serving library director, one of her colleagues spends two minutes sharing a specific story about the director's generosity during a difficult budget crisis, names a quality it reveals, wishes her well in what comes next, and closes with "Please raise your glass."

C. At the end of a student leadership conference, a student who has just received the Outstanding Leadership Award takes the microphone, thanks the committee and the organization, names the mentor who had the most influence on her growth, and says why the award means something specific to her work.

If-incorrect notes: for A — the introducer does not present an award; they prepare the audience for the main speaker and hand off the room. For B — a toast is a tribute delivered at a social occasion, almost always brief, ending with a raised glass. For C — the acceptance speech receives an honor; the presentation speech gives it; they are complementary.

Exercise 2 — The Three Criteria (apply them)

Rate each described speech on the three criteria — occasion fit (yes/no), appropriate brevity (yes/no), and mood/tone match (yes/no) — and briefly explain your rating for any "no."

A. At a colleague's retirement party, a speaker delivers a 12-minute detailed review of all the budget decisions the retiree made over 25 years, including several moments of criticism. The audience grows restless around minute 8.

B. At a graduation ceremony, a commencement speaker delivers a 6-minute speech that focuses entirely on the graduates — their courage, what they're walking into, and one genuine wish for their next chapter. The audience is attentive throughout.

C. At a wedding reception, a best man delivers a 90-second toast that includes one vivid, funny story about the groom, ends with a genuine wish for the couple, and concludes by raising his glass.

If-incorrect notes: for A — occasion fit may technically be yes (it's a retirement party), but brevity and possibly tone miss. Occasion fit is also compromised if the critical review changes the mood from celebratory to uncomfortable. For B — all three criteria pass. For C — all three criteria pass. A 90-second toast with a specific story and clear signal is the model execution.

Exercise 3 — Specific Detail vs. Generic Sentiment

For each pair of described opening lines, identify which is specific-and-vivid (likely to land) and which is generic (likely to disappear). Explain why.

Pair A:
- Line 1: "Marco has always been a dedicated and hardworking student who never gives up."
- Line 2: "Marco spent three weeks rewriting the same paragraph until it said exactly what he meant. I watched him do it. And it was the best paragraph in the whole paper."

Pair B:
- Line 1: "When my grandmother called from the hospital, she didn't ask us to come. She asked us to bring the good olive oil — because she was already planning the dinner she'd cook when she got home."
- Line 2: "My grandmother was an incredibly resilient person who always looked on the bright side."

If-incorrect notes: generic lines use adjectives to tell ("dedicated," "resilient," "always looked on the bright side"). Specific vivid lines show a scene or a detail that lets the audience feel who the person is. The chatbot may label both as acceptable — push back if it does; ask which one would make an audience feel something.

Exercise 4 — Group Role Classification (4 described behaviors)

For each described behavior in a group meeting, classify it as a task role, a maintenance role, or a self-centered / dysfunctional role. Name the specific role behavior if you can.

A. Every time the group starts to agree on a direction, one member brings up a new objection — often unrelated to the original concern — and the group never moves forward.
B. One member consistently summarizes what the group has decided every 15 minutes and writes it on a shared document so everyone stays on the same page.
C. One member notices that a quieter group member has been trying to speak for several minutes and says, "Kezia, I think you were going to say something — can we hear your idea?"
D. One member dominates every meeting by restating her own ideas at length and cutting off others mid-sentence, then takes sole credit for the group's final product.

If-incorrect notes: A = blocking/obstructing (self-centered). B = recording/summarizing (task). C = gatekeeping (maintenance) — drawing out quiet members. D = dominating + recognition-seeking (self-centered). If the chatbot labels C as a task role, push back — gatekeeping is about keeping the group relationship healthy and inclusive, not about moving the task forward.

Exercise 5 — Introduction vs. Presentation (spot the confusion)

A student writes: "Before she was handed the award, the department chair gave a speech introducing Prof. Kim and explaining why she deserved the Faculty Excellence Award."

What speech type is the department chair actually giving? Is this a speech of introduction, a speech of presentation, or something else? Explain the distinction.

If-incorrect notes: this is a speech of presentation — the chair is presenting/giving an award. A speech of introduction would be introducing Prof. Kim before she gives a speech, not presenting her with an honor. The key marker is the presence of an award being given.

Exercise 6 — Plan a Toast (brief planning exercise)

Think of one real occasion in the next year or two where you might give a short speech: a friend's graduation, a family member's birthday, a teammate's last game, a colleague's departure. You don't need to name the person.

Answer these three questions:
1. What special-occasion type is this (toast/tribute, introduction, presentation, acceptance, or commencement)?
2. What is one specific, true detail you know about this person that could anchor the speech (a moment, a habit, a decision, something they did)?
3. What is the right tone for this occasion — celebratory, reflective, gently funny, warmly serious?

You don't need to write the speech — just plan the bones. Then share your three answers with the chatbot and ask it to identify whether the detail is specific enough to land. If it says "great, that's very vivid" without explanation, push back: "Tell me specifically why this detail is vivid. What would you hear in the audience if I delivered this at the actual event?"