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SavannahYear 8
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EnglishPersuading a real audience30 min★★★ difficulty

Giving a short speech that keeps to the point

Three minutes, one idea, spoken to real people. GCSE English includes a spoken presentation, and it is passed by preparation, not by confidence. You can do this quietly and still do it well.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Give short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point

Key learning points

  • • One idea, three reasons
  • • Cue cards, not a script
  • • Delivering it as yourself
  • • Questions afterwards

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

speechespresentationsexpressingkeepingreasons

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Giving a short speech that keeps to the point

An English teaching video on this topic from TED Ideas Studio. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Give short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should have a persuasive argument written, with reasons and evidence.

Recap: Writing for a named audience and purpose
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Signposting
Telling listeners what is coming: 'I have three reasons.'
Cue cards
Short prompts, not a full script to read aloud.
Pace
Speed of speech; nerves speed it up, so plan pauses.
Emphasis
Stressing the words that carry your point.
Q and A
Answering questions afterwards, briefly and honestly.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Building the three minutes

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

One idea, three reasons

A three-minute speech holds one claim and about three reasons - roughly 350 to 400 words. Open with a specific hook: not 'today I will talk about buses' but 'if the 8.05 goes, forty-one pupils lose their route to the only sixth form here.' Signpost your three reasons, give one piece of evidence each, and close by naming what you want done.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

Cue cards, not a script

Write six cards with three or four words each. A full script gets read at speed in a flat voice; cards keep you speaking to people. Mark two deliberate pauses and underline the three words you want stressed most. That is your entire delivery plan.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

A three-minute speech should carry...

8

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Cue cards are better than a full script because...

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Delivering it

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Delivering it as yourself

Slow down more than feels natural - nerves accelerate speech. Look at the back wall or a friendly face if eye contact is hard; that is fine and is not marked against you. If you lose your place, pause, look at the card, and carry on. A calm pause reads as control; nobody in the audience is counting your seconds.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

Questions afterwards

Expect two or three questions. Answer in a sentence or two, and 'I don't know, but I would find out by...' is a good answer, not a failure. Keeping to the point in Q and A is part of the objective, so resist restarting your whole speech to answer one detail.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

Nerves usually change your delivery by...

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

A good answer to a question you cannot answer is...

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • Reading a script aloud scores lower than speaking from cue cards.
  • Louder is not better; clear and slow is.
  • You do not need to be extroverted to score well - structure and clarity are what count.
  • Long answers in Q and A lose marks for keeping to the point.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

A three-minute speech holds one claim and about three ____ - roughly 350 to 400 words.

____ to the point in Q and A is part of the objective, so resist restarting your whole speech to answer one detail.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Giving a short speech that keeps to the point

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Signposting means...

  2. 2. Roughly how many words is three minutes of speech?

  3. 3. If you lose your place you should...

  4. 4. A strong opening is...

  5. 5. Difficulty with eye contact...

  6. 6. Keeping to the point in Q and A means...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

The last bus

The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.

She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.

Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.

Original extract written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
  2. How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
  3. Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.

  • Reading response

    Reading

    Read the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.

    2 paragraphs (PEE)

  • Extended writing

    Writing

    Write your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.

    250–350 words

  • Reading log

    Reading

    Note the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.

    20 minutes' reading

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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