Developing Questions

EQ: What does effective communication look like? How do I use effective communication [questioning strategies] to

uncover a personal story?

Interview Speech: Partner and Personal

EQ: What does effective communication look like? How do I use effective communication to uncover a personal story?

Journal: On a sheet of paper in your notebook, respond to the following prompt

Think about a time that you had a rich conversation with someone in which you walked

away with new knowledge or appreciation for the person or topic you were discussing.

What was the topic of discussion? What was the experience like for you? Did you spend

most of the conversation listening? Did you balance the conversation between listening

and speaking? Were there disagreements? What communication strategies did you use?

Tuesday Agenda1. Wrap up TED Analysis from Friday

2. Wrap up Introductions / Conclusions from last week

3. Introduce Next Speech / Discuss Calendar

4. Types of Questions: Brief Notes

5. Celebrity Interviews--Establishing an angle

6. Personal Angle--partner speech

Speech #2Interview Speech

Guidelines: You must interview someone of interest. Think of a subject carefully. You may want to go beyond the bounds of school and familiar territory, or you may use this as an opportunity to learn more about a family member.

The goal of the speech is for you to gain some knowledge or insight into a time, lifestyle, problem, or occupation. It is essentially a personal experience speech about someone else.

*Person interviewed must be 22 years of age or older. No siblings or parents unless cleared by me.*

Uncover: Who they are, what they have learned in their life, and how they want to be remembered

Closed questions: questions geared toward

specific information, often “yes” or “no”

Open Questions: questions that an individual

can expand on

Probing questions: AKA “follow-up” questions

that usually follow open questions

“Did you enjoy…?”

“When were you born?”

“Tell us about the time…”

“What was a favorite memory from childhood?”

“What was THAT experience like?”

“What were you feeling during THAT particular event?”

Question types: Where will you start?

Question types: Write this downStart the interview with closed (easy to answer) questions to make the interviewee feel comfortable.

Transition to open questions to allow interviewee to expand on ideas and take direction of the conversation.

Interject with probing questions to learn more about a particular subject or redirect the interviewee’s responses to fit your purpose/angle.

Question Examples: Too Vague..Unsure where to startWEAK BETTER

What was WWII like? Where were you when you heard about Pearl

Harbor?

Could you describe basic training?

What was your job in the service?

Question Examples: Yes / No, Too General, UninterestingWeak Better

Is your job exciting? What parts of your job do you like, dislike?

Can you tell me about an exciting (thrilling, sad,

dangerous) experience on the job?

Question Examples: What specific THINGS do you want to know about?Weak Better

How were things different in the 1950s?

Could you describe the clothing you wore?

What did teenagers do for fun?

What was considered a luxury?

Celebrity StoriesWith your speech group, write ten

interview questions for the following celebrity lives. What

questions would you ask to uncover their story?

Application: Speech Groups● With your speech group, look at the questions posed for the

celebrity group. Label them by category:○ Open-ended (O)○ Close-ended (C)○ Probing (P)

● Label each question with a number--what order should they ask the questions in?○ Number one should be first question, number ten the last

question

One Sentence SummaryAt the bottom of your questions, write a one sentence summary of

the story that you would like to uncover of this celebrity.

We want to find out how Rebel Wilson went from a politics / law interest to acting, and if this previous interest influences her current

career at all.

Personal AngleOn a notecard write the following:

● Your name● Three things about yourself that would make an

interesting story or speech, something unique about yourself.

● OR a celebrity-like blurb about yourself

● Ms. Osberg○ Spent 4 months in South Africa○ Grew up with three brothers○ Played three sports until I tore my ACL○ Played Eileen Dover in a play in middle school

Celebrity Stories: http://thelala.com/10-mind-blowing-back-stories-favorite-celebrities/

Her original career path consisted of something in law or politics. After hallucinating that she won an Oscar she redirected herself toward an acting career. [Rebel Wilson]

She was a single mother on welfare before her book sold for $4,000, now netting a profit of over a billion dollars. [JK Rowling]

His career started as a juggler and unicyclist before being seen by a talent scout and acting in his first movie [Patrick Dempsey]

She was previously an army cadet in her pre-teen / teenage years before becoming a famous pop star. [Rihanna]

She struggled with dyslexia since she was diagnosed at the age of 6. She made a deal with her parents to practice reading every day if they hired her an agent. She is now one of the highest paid actresses. [Keira Knightley]

He was born to a 19 year old aspiring actress and was raised by his grandparents, all while believing that his mother was actually his sister. [Jack Nicholson]

She grew up singing Christian songs as a musical outlet in a strict, conservative household. She moved out at age 17 and struggled to find a job until being signed by Capitol Records. [Katy Perry]

Jim Carrey can mostly afford anything he desires in life. But he wasn’t always in this predicament growing up as a child. He spent many years of his adolescence living with his family in a VW van. As years past, he moved on to live in a tent on his sister’s front yard lawn. Look at his success now after struggling with homelessness for the longest time.

Celine Dion had a very rough life growing up. Before winning all of her Grammy Awards as a great singer, Dion grew up poor being one of fourteen children in her Canadian family. Her husband mortgaged their home to pay for the release of her first album. Perseverance always pays off.

The 39 year old actor Leonardo DiCaprio was not always such a stand out lead actor. Growing up he was exposed to drug use, prostitution, crime and violence while living in rough area near Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. He describes his old neighborhood like a scene out of “Taxi Driver” show. At the age of 15 he went up to his mom and said,”I want to be an actor, so please take me to acting lessons.” You can say the rest was history.

Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn’t an instant

success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five time before he founded the successful Ford Motor

Company.

Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, Ford can proudly show that he does, in fact, have what it takes.

Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.

Theodor Seuss Giesel: Today nearly every child has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham, yet 27 different publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Charles Schultz: Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip has had enduring fame, yet this cartoonist had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Even after high school, Schultz didn’t have it easy, applying and being rejected for a position working with Walt Disney.

Bethany Hamilton had her arm bitten off by a shark.

Hamilton started surfing when she was just a child. At age 13, an almost-deadly shark attack resulted in her losing her left arm. She

was back on her surfboard one month later, and two years after that, she won first place in the Explorer Women’s Division of the NSSA

National Championships. Talk about determination.

Long ago, before Whoopi Goldberg was diagnosed with dyslexia and before she knew how common this learning issue is, kids in school called her “dumb.” But her mother told her not to listen to them. Her mom told her she could be anything she wanted to be. Goldberg believed her and grew up to become a comedian and talk-show host—and one of only about a dozen people to have won a Grammy, an Academy Award, an Emmy and a Tony Award.

As the star of the Harry Potter movies, actor Daniel Radcliffe can be seen zipping around on his broomstick and saving the day during Quidditch matches. In real life, he has dyspraxia, which can make it difficult for him to tie his shoes. Handwriting also continues to be a challenge. He was 9 when his mother encouraged him to audition for a play. “I was having a hard time in school,” he said. His mom thought acting would boost his confidence. She was right!

Teacher Interview**Sit With Your Speech Group**

Essential Question: How do I sequence questions properly to elicit the best response from my interviewee?

Agenda1. Write ten questions with your speech group

2. Swap and sequence

3. Conduct Interview

4. Debrief

5. Brainstorm

Practice! Teacher Interview:)● With your speech group, write ten questions that you might

use to interview a teacher. ○ Write one question per note card.○ Write from a variety of categories (3ish per category)

Card SwapSwap cards with another group--read the questions out loud and then rank them in order of how they should be asked in the interview

● Write the number on the notecard ● #1 being the first question asked● After they are all sequenced, star** what you believe to

be the two best questions from that group.

Sequencing Question TypesStart the interview with closed (easy to answer) questions to make the interviewee feel comfortable.

Transition to open questions to allow interviewee to expand on ideas and take direction of the conversation.

Interject with probing questions to learn more about a particular subject or redirect the interviewee’s responses to fit your purpose/angle.

Teacher Interview: Question Asking Procedure:

● Each student should have 2-3 questions in front of them (divide your questions among your group)● Thinking about sequencing, students with more closed ended questions may consider asking their question first,

then students with open ended questions should follow suit, as their question fits into the conversation● Feel free to ask follow-up questions if your initial question does elicit the response you were hoping for

During the interview:

● Cell phones should be away, be respectful of your interviewee and classmates

Post-interview:

● What went well with the interview?● What could be improved?● How did the order of questions influence the interview?

Notes to Outline● Debrief notes

○ What are the main ideas that stuck out from the interview?

○ Were there any stories that were particularly enlightening

that we want to focus on?

○ Is there an angle we can look at the interview from and craft

our speech around?

BrainstormWith your speech group, brainstorm different people that you could interview for your speech. Who do you know collectively or individually that would be a good candidate for your speech? What do you hope to learn from them?

WHO DO YOU WANT TO INTERVIEW FOR YOUR SPEECH? Decide by Thursday!

Interviewee Suggestions● Grandparents

○ Married for 60 years○ Passed away at a young age

● Aunts or Uncles○ Unique job○ Multiple jobs (following creative passions)

● Person who has a job that you are interested in● Something that you want to learn more about

○ Passion, hobby, personal experience

● Someone who has a unique story / personal experience○ Brother--five knee surgeries by the time he graduated high school

○ Brother / Sister-in-law--both have travelled to multiple countries--how this shapes their view of American

● Someone who attends a college you are interested in

Extras

REgroup with Speech Groups: 1:15-1:25● Compile the notecards that you prepared as homework● Write two more questions together as a group● Sequence the cards in what you believe to be the best order for the notecards (number them)● Star** the best two questions from your speech group (aim for one closed question and one open question)

If there’s time...

● Trade questions / notecards with another group● Read through the questions and sequence them in order of what you believe should be asked first to last

(write the number on the notecards)● Choose the best two questions from that group and put a star** on the notecard (aim for one closed question

and one open question)

Interview Examples➔ As you watch the following interviews, write down ten questions that are used in

the interviews (aim for three questions per interview).

➔ After viewing all interviews, write a plus (+) or a minus (-) if you think the question

was a good or bad interview question.◆ Marshawn Lynch: http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=G1kvwXsZtU8

◆ Jimmy Fallon and Ben Stiller: http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=zkESoUBVQDs

◆ Story Corp: Army Vet and Teacher:

https://storycorps.org/listen/erik-booker-and-jenna-power-151016/

TED Assignment:PS#3: Analysis of Communication

1. Choose one delivery and one content area to focus on as you watch the TED Talka. Delivery: eye contact, body language, voiceb. Content: introduction, body, conclusion

2. As you watch the speech, take notes about what the speaker does related to your chosen areas

a. Eye contact: i. He doesn’t use any note cards

ii. He focuses on one area of the audience for one point and then moves on to another area for another point….

b. Introduction:i. He tells us the topic of his speech for his introduction without a real attention getter

ii. He then backpedals and tells us a story to introduce us to the topic

TED Assignment:1. Using the rubric, give the speaker one score for the area of delivery and one score for

the area of content that you decided to focus on.

2. Write a paragraph for each area that explains why you gave that score, using specific

reference from the notes you took while watching the video.

3. Turn in when you come to class tomorrow.

1 Developing 2 Capable 3 Proficient 4 Mastery

Analyzing Communication

Provides vague or clichéd observations of the communication that

occurred. Lacks specific examples

Applies generalizations to the communication that occurs. Explains how communication

occurred

Summarizes and goes into detail and gives

specific examples of the communication that

occurs

Evaluates communication that occurs and goes beyond

the obvious to arrive a unique conclusions about

how to communicate effectively

Developing (1) Capable (2) Proficient (3) Mastery (4)

__Eyes focused on notes more than audience

__ Eyes focused on notes and occasionally on audience

__ Eyes focused on audience while still relying on notes

__ Eyes scan the entire audience and only glimpses at notes

__Body language distracts from overall message (slouching, hands in pocket)

__ Body language is repetitive or doesn’t match message

__ Body language is confident and poised

__ Body language is purposeful, natural and enhance the overall message

__ Voice quality lacks energy, volume, or articulation: doesn’t match purpose (shaky, mumbling)

__ Voice quality is unsure or inconsistent

__ Voice quality is steady and controlled: matches purpose

__ Voice quality is commanding and natural

Developing (1) Capable (2) Proficient (3) Mastery (4)

__ Intro struggles to gain attention / lacks focus

__ Intro is straightforward and to the point

__ Intro gains audience interest and provides focus

__ Intro is creative and establishes clear direction

__Internal structure and/or transitions are unclear. Struggles to meet time

__ Internal structure is clear but lacks continuity through transitions. Close to Time.

__ Internal structure and transitions are established and guide audience. Within time limit.

__ Internal structure flows seamlessly with varied transitions and is easily understood.

__Conclusion does not wrap up the speech. Leaves audience unsatisfied.

__ Conclusion lacks punch and struggles to connect with intro

__ Conclusion ties to the intro and leaves audience satisfied

__ Conclusion is thought provoking and leaves audience w/ lasting impression