Week 15 — Speech Workshop / Rehearsal Studio · "The Impromptu Drill"

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective: Objective 8 — deploy PREP under real time pressure; manage composure; self-assess structure and delivery · SLO A (deliver) & SLO B (analyze a delivery)
Worth 50 points · Speech Workshops group = 15% of the grade · Workshop 15
Format this week: draw-plan-record-self-assess — a phone camera or Zoom + one approved chatbot + the PREP scaffold below.

This is Workshop 15 of 15 — the last Workshop of the term. Every instructional week has one Speech Workshop; this week's drills the skill that brings them all together. No special equipment. Just a way to record yourself, a set of prompts, and 60 seconds to think.

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Part 1 — The Big Picture

Every other Workshop this term gave you time to prepare: draft an outline, revise for clarity, rehearse from a keyword outline. This one doesn't. This week you get a random prompt and 60 seconds to plan. That's it.

The whole point of PREP (Point → Reason → Example → Point) is that it works even when your brain is under pressure — because it gives the panic a checklist. "Say the Point. Give one Reason. Make it concrete. Restate the Point." Four moves, any prompt, any time.

The guiding question: When the prompt surprises me and the clock is running, can I trust the structure — and can I land cleanly enough that the audience never sees the scramble?

What skill this drills: the ability to generate a structured, composed, audience-ready response under conditions you can't control — the most transferable speaking skill in the course.

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Part 2 — The Drill: Draw a Prompt and Record

Step 1. Draw your prompt (do not read all of them first — the surprise is the point).

Close your eyes, pick a number from 1 to 8, and use that prompt:

#	Prompt
1	"What is the most underrated skill for success in any job?"
2	"What would you tell a first-year college student who is struggling?"
3	"What is one thing most people get wrong about communication?"
4	"What does leadership mean to you?"
5	"What is something you used to believe that you no longer believe?"
6	"What is one way technology has changed how people relate to each other?"
7	"What does 'thinking on your feet' mean to you personally?"
8	"If you could teach one idea from this course to someone who never took it, what would it be?"

(Prompts are personally focused and non-partisan — there is no correct answer. Use the one you drew.)

Step 2. 60 seconds to plan. Set a timer for 60 seconds. Write ONLY the keywords below — one short phrase per step. Nothing more; no sentences, no full script.

PREP step	Your keyword (one phrase only)
Point — the main idea I want to say first	___
Reason — one reason why	___
Example — the specific story/moment/event	___
Point again — how I'll restate it to close	___

Step 3. Record. When the 60 seconds are up — go. Record yourself on a phone or Zoom for 60–90 seconds, speaking from memory of those four keywords. Do not read the keywords off the page. Look at the lens.

Do not re-record yet. Watch this first take all the way through, even if it feels rough.

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Part 3 — Self-Assessment Scaffold

Fill this in after watching your first take:

PREP structure check:

Did this happen?	Yes / Partially / No	What I noticed
I said the Point in my first sentence (not the second or third)	___	___
My Reason was brief and clear — one or two sentences	___	___
My Example was personal and specific (a real moment, not "some people say")	___	___
I restated the Point at the end to close	___	___

Composure and delivery check:

What to watch for	Score (1–5)	What I noticed
Composure — paused before starting instead of filling with "um"	___	___
Pace — not rushing through it	___	___
Eye contact — looked at the lens, not at the notes	___	___
Filler words — count your "um / like / so / you know"	___ (count: ___)	___
Landing — the second Point felt like a real close, not a trail-off	___	___

Your ONE thing: of all the above, what is the single most useful change for your next take? Write it in one sentence: "Next time I will ______."

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Part 4 — Analysis Questions

Answer in a sentence or two each:
1. Did your Point actually come out in the first sentence? If it came out later — what did you say first instead, and why?
2. How specific was your Example? If you watched it back and thought "that was vague," what would a more specific version sound like?
3. How did the 60-second planning window affect your composure? Did having the PREP keywords help — or did you feel the urge to over-plan?
4. After picking your ONE change, do a second take. Did naming one specific change actually help? (This is the impromptu rehearsal loop — one fix at a time.)

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Part 5 — Rehearsal-Coach Moment (BYOAI)

Bring in your approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) as a rehearsal coach.

1. Describe your drawn prompt and your four PREP keywords (as you had them going into the recording).
2. Ask: "I just recorded a 60–90-second PREP-structured impromptu speech on this prompt, with these keywords. Give me specific, actionable feedback on my PREP structure — did the keywords set me up for a clear Point-first opening, a concrete Example, and a clean landing?"
3. Read its feedback and try its best concrete suggestion in your next take.

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Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (required — the BYOAI judgment step)

The signature habit for this course: make the AI be specific, and catch it when it isn't.

1. After it gives feedback on your PREP keywords or your described speech, look hard at what it said. This week's three failure modes:
   - Hollow praise: "Excellent PREP structure! Very engaging and clear!" — does nothing if it doesn't tell you whether the Point actually came first or the Example was actually specific.
   - Vague delivery feedback: "Just be more confident and you'll do great." — confidence is the result of specific techniques. Make the AI name the technique (pause before starting; say the Point in the first sentence; commit to the Example even if it's imperfect), not the feeling.
   - Fabricated frameworks: the chatbot sometimes invents "best practices" for impromptu or Q&A that don't match actual communication training. If it gives you a specific named technique you haven't heard, verify it against a real source before trusting it.
2. Push it: "That's too general. Name the single most specific thing about my PREP keywords that would produce a stronger recorded speech — and tell me exactly what to change." See whether it can get concrete.
3. Write 2–3 sentences reporting: one example of empty praise or vague feedback it gave, and what genuinely useful, specific feedback would have said instead (e.g., "Not 'be confident' — 'your Reason keyword is too abstract; replace it with the specific consequence that connects your Point to your Example'").

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Part 7 — What to Submit

Submit a single document (or text entry) with:
- Your drawn prompt and your four PREP keywords (the ones you went into the recording with).
- Your completed self-assessment scaffold (Part 3) — all checks and scores with real observations + your "one thing."
- Your Part 4 answers.
- Your Part 6 AI-critique paragraph.
- Your recording (upload or link) — required; this Workshop is built around the record step.

Due Sunday, Dec 13, 11:59 p.m. (50 points).

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Instructor answer key & model responses — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Students draw their own prompt and record their own impromptu, so there is no single right content. The key grades the honesty and specificity of the PREP self-assessment and the quality of the AI-critique — not the polish of an impromptu clip.

Model PREP keywords (Prompt: "What does leadership mean to you?"):
- Point: "Leadership = showing up when it's inconvenient."
- Reason: "Easy to lead when things are going well / real test = hard moment."
- Example: "Group project, W12 / partner disappeared 2 days before / had to reorganize + contact Prof. / everyone showed up for final."
- Point again: "Leadership isn't a title — it's the choice you make when no one's making you."

Model self-assessment snippet (illustrative):
- Point in first sentence: Yes — "I started with 'Leadership means showing up when it's inconvenient.'"
- Example was personal and specific: Partially — "I named a real event but I said 'a group project last semester' without saying what class or why it mattered. More specific: 'Week 12, COMM 1, my partner disappeared two days before the presentation.'"
- Filler count: 4 — "Four 'ums,' all in the first 15 seconds before I settled."
- One thing to fix: "Next time I will pause for a full beat after my opening Point sentence before going to the Reason."

Model AI-critique (illustrative): "The chatbot opened with 'Great PREP structure — very organized and clear!' without telling me whether my Point actually came out in the first sentence or whether my Example was specific enough. When I pushed it, it gave one concrete note: 'Your Reason keyword is abstract (real test = hard moment) — tie it to a specific consequence, like a deadline or a grade, to make it tangible.' That's the kind of feedback that changes the next take. Generic praise doesn't."

Expected answers:
- Part 4: (1) Any honest observation about where the Point landed — full credit for specificity. (2) Full credit for naming what a specific version would look like ("not 'some leadership situation' — 'my team's Week 12 presentation, two days before'"). (3) Any honest reflection on planning vs. composure — no single right answer. (4) Full credit for attempting a second take and noting whether the single fix helped.
- Part 6: Full credit for a specific catch — most commonly the AI's "great PREP structure!" paired with a concrete version of what useful feedback says (names a specific keyword, sentence, or moment).

Grading rubric — 50 points

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Prompt + PREP keywords submitted + recording (Part 2) — all four PREP keywords recorded with the drawn prompt; a recording was actually made and submitted (15)	15	8–12	0–6
Self-assessment quality (Parts 3–4) — honest, specific, names a concrete improvement tied to a specific PREP step or delivery move (15)	15	8–12	0–6
Rehearsal-coach engagement (Part 5) — used the coach on the actual PREP keywords and tried a concrete suggestion (10)	10	5–8	0–4
AI-critique (Part 6) — names a specific instance of hollow/vague AI feedback and what useful, specific feedback would say (10)	10	5–8	0–4

Quality gate (self-checked): the four rubric criteria sum to exactly 50 (15 + 15 + 10 + 10 = 50). This Workshop asserts no external quotations, statistics, or attributed studies — the content is a PREP drill using the student's own drawn prompt and personal example. There is nothing to fabricate or misattribute. The AI-critique targets the chatbot's hollow praise, vague delivery advice, and potential fabricated frameworks — all three failure modes relevant to impromptu coaching.