Grade 10 · Language Mastery and Public Speaking · Public Speaking
Delivering a Persuasive Speech
Structure a speech with a hook and call to action.
Learning objectives
- Structure a speech with a hook and call to action
- Use rhetorical devices purposefully
- Rehearse with feedback and timing
AERO English Language Arts alignment
AERO.ELA.10.SL.4
Present claims and findings with relevant evidence, sound reasoning, appropriate eye contact, adequate volume and clear pronunciation. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
AERO.ELA.10.SL.5
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and add interest. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
AERO.ELA.10.L.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
AERO.ELA.10.L.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words using context, word parts and reference materials. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
AERO.ELA.10.SL.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and respectfully. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
AERO.ELA.10.SL.3
Evaluate a speaker's argument, reasoning and use of evidence, identifying claims that are not supported. Grade 10 / MYP 5 emphasis: produce independent, evaluative analysis with nuanced interpretation, ready for MYP eAssessment demands.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion C — Producing text
ENGAGE
When Words Lead to Action
A persuasive speech does more than share an opinion: it guides an audience towards a reasoned decision. Imagine that you want your school to create a shaded lunchtime walking route. You have only two minutes to make people listen, understand and act. Your structure, evidence, voice and visual choices must work together. In this lesson, you will examine a model speech, plan your own response and rehearse it using precise feedback.
Think about it
- What makes you listen closely to a speaker?
- What could make a call to action convincing?
EXPLORE
Read a Model Persuasive Speech
Original model speech: One Shaded Path
Imagine finishing lunch and stepping outside, not into an empty courtyard, but onto a cool, shaded path where you can walk, talk and return to class refreshed. Our school should create a marked lunchtime walking route with shaded rest points. In a student council survey of 180 learners, 72 per cent said that heat or lack of shade discouraged them from walking outdoors. The bar chart beside me makes the pattern clear: students want to move, but the present space does not always support them.
Some may argue that such a route would cost too much. However, we do not need an expensive new building. We need clear signs, carefully placed shade and a safe route using spaces we already have. A walking path would support focus, wellbeing and responsible use of our campus. It would help us move with purpose, return with energy and learn with attention. So let us take one practical first step. This week, add your name to the student council proposal and ask your form representative to support a one-month trial. One path, one trial, one healthier school day.
Read like an evaluator
Notice how the speaker connects the hook, evidence, counterclaim, visual display and final action. Judge how each choice strengthens the central claim.
Think about it
- How does the opening image prepare the audience for the speaker's claim?
- Which rhetorical patterns make the final half of the speech memorable?
- How does the bar chart strengthen the evidence rather than merely decorate the presentation?
EXPLAIN
Build and Deliver an Effective Speech
1. Shape a purposeful structure
| Stage | Purpose | Useful approach |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | Gain attention and establish relevance | Use a vivid image, striking fact or focused question. |
| Claim | State the position clearly | Make one specific, arguable proposal. |
| Reasoning and evidence | Show why the claim deserves support | Connect reliable evidence to each reason. |
| Counterclaim | Show awareness of another view | Acknowledge it fairly, then answer it with reasoning. |
| Call to action | Turn agreement into a practical next step | Name who should do what and when. |
2. Use rhetorical devices purposefully
Rhetorical devices should sharpen meaning, not replace evidence. Anaphora repeats opening words, as in “We need clear signs, we need useful shade, we need a safe route.” A tricolon groups three parallel ideas: “focus, wellbeing and responsibility”. A rhetorical question invites reflection without requiring a spoken answer. Direct address, using “you” or “we”, builds connection. Select one or two devices that suit your audience and purpose; too many can sound artificial.
Evidence needs interpretation
Do not simply announce a statistic. Explain what it suggests, why it matters and how it supports your claim. A source should also be credible and identified accurately.
3. Make multimedia serve the argument
A visual display should clarify information, strengthen a claim or add controlled interest. Use a simple chart for numerical comparisons, a labelled map for a proposed route or one relevant photograph for context. Give every visual a short title and source. Keep text brief, ensure labels can be read from a distance and refer to the visual directly. Evaluate whether the audience understands the claim better because of it. If not, revise or remove it.
4. Rehearse for control and credibility
Mark pauses after important claims, underline words to stress and practise difficult pronunciation. Keep an open posture, make steady eye contact across the audience and use adequate volume without shouting. Time the complete speech. Ask a partner for evidence-based feedback: identify one effective choice, explain its effect and recommend one precise improvement.
MYP_PRACTICE
Plan, Rehearse and Refine
Prepare a 60–90 second speech proposing one realistic improvement to school life or the local environment. Your speech must include a hook, a clear claim, relevant evidence, one rhetorical device, a response to a counterclaim and a specific call to action. Plan one simple visual, then rehearse with timed peer feedback.
- Choose a focused proposal, such as a shaded reading space, a water-saving campaign or clearer recycling signs.
- Draft your hook, claim, strongest reason, evidence, counterclaim response and call to action.
- Plan one visual that clarifies evidence; add a title, readable labels and a source note where needed.
- Deliver your speech while a partner records the time and notes voice, eye contact, reasoning and rhetorical choices.
- Revise one content choice and one delivery choice, then rehearse again within 60–90 seconds.
EXIT_TICKET
Before you close this lesson
Think about it
- Which choice in your speech most effectively connected evidence to your claim, and why?
- What will you change in your next rehearsal to improve audience understanding?
Watch
How to Speak So That People Want to Listen | Julian Treasure | TED
TED · 10 min
Learn vocal and delivery techniques that can make spoken communication clearer and more engaging.
Before you watch: What makes you want to keep listening to a speaker?
- Which vocal technique could most improve your next presentation?
- How do pace, pitch, and volume affect a speaker's message?
Watch
What Aristotle and Joshua Bell can teach us about persuasion - Conor Neill
TED-Ed · 5 min
Explore how Aristotle's ideas and a real-world performance demonstrate the importance of persuasive context and appeal.
Before you watch: What makes an audience accept a speaker's message?
- Which persuasive appeal from the video seemed most effective?
- How can context change an audience's response to the same message?
Interactive practice · timed speech rehearsal
The 90-Second Persuasion Studio
Use the prompts to plan and deliver a 60–90 second persuasive speech. Rehearse twice. After the first delivery, use your partner's precise feedback to revise both meaning and delivery.
Check your answer
Task
Choose one realistic change that would benefit your school or local environment.
Steps
Sentence frames
Pick a topic
Prompts
Your answer
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Key vocabulary
- hook
- An opening designed to capture attention and introduce the speech's purpose.
- anaphora
- The repetition of words at the beginning of nearby phrases or sentences.
- counterclaim
- A reasonable position that challenges your main claim.
- call to action
- A clear request telling the audience what to do next.
Practice questions
0/3 correct
Level 1 · Criterion A
Which quotation from the model speech is the clearest example of a tricolon?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Why is the proposed bar chart an effective multimedia choice?
Level 3 · Criterion C
Which revision creates the most precise and achievable call to action for a speech about reducing wasted water at school?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 2 · Criterion A
Analyse how the model speech moves from its hook to its call to action. Refer to at least two structural choices.
Level 3 · Criterion C
Write a four-sentence persuasive section supporting a shaded outdoor study area. Include a hook, relevant evidence or sound reasoning, one purposeful rhetorical device and a specific call to action. Add a brief note describing one useful visual.
Reflect & track
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