Speeches: The Power of Storytelling

Which is more powerful: putting the audience in the shoes of a specific person facing the problem you are addressing, or telling the audience how they should feel about this problem?

• Steve Jobs: "How to live before you die" (from 1:14-5:30, 5:30-9:00, or 9:00-15:00)
• Jamie Oliver: "Teach every child about food" (from 0:20-0:55, 3:50-4:44, 7:50-8:25, and 11:12-12:05)
• Ken Robinson: "Schools kill creativity"(from 3:38-6:17 and 15:12-17:30)

Which speech is the most powerful?  

What makes a story the most powerful: that it has a character who is faced with a tough choice, that it is a personal story in which the speaker shares his or her emotions, or that it is funny?

Speeches: Power and Corruption

  
When you give a speech, you have power over your audience: they are giving you their attention. Sure, they have the power to decide if they agree with you or not and whether they want to do anything about what you say, but your power could cause them to change their minds and take action. Will you use this power wisely, or will this power corrupt you?

1. Hitler speech (From 1:40-2:08 and 3:35-4:40) 
2. Severn Suzuki speaking at the UN on the issue of the environment (“I’m Only a Child”) 
3. Rachel Sequoia "Share the Air" pitch

Which speech is the most powerful?  Is this power being used for good, or used for evil?  Does the power come from the speaker's words (their message), their voice (tone, volume), or something visual (body gestures, visuals, setting)?

Experiencing History - Signing the Constitution

Here are some websites that may be useful as you decide whether or not YOU will sign the Constitution.

• Google (www.google.com) and Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) 
• Clip from the movie 1776 showing the debate over slavery before signing the Declaration of Independence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_41wDUvai1s or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk5NAeIRY4k (from 4:50 on)
•  Congress for Kids: http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_index.htm
•  The Constitution for Kids (k-3^rd grade): http://www.usconstitution.net/constkidsK.html
•  The Constitution for Kids (4^th-7^th grade): http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids4.html
• Constitution Facts: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-kids/