Activity 1: Introduction to Public Speaking
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Read the following article, watch the videos, and create a 1-pager.
Your 1-pager should contain: an illustration 3 ideas from each video 3 most important quotes from the article 3 questions (or concerns) you have |
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Activity 2: Comparing and Analyzing Performance
Text of poem: https://poets.org/poem/bells
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Activity 3: Comparing and Analyzing Performance, part 2
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https://www.inklestudios.com/poemsbyheart/
Activity 4: Tips on Reciting from Poetry Out Loud
https://www.poetryoutloud.org/competing/tips-on-reciting/
PHYSICAL PRESENCE
Body language, and poise.
Tips:
Qualities of a strong recitation:
Ease and comfort with the audience. Engagement with the audience through physical presence, including appropriate body language and confidence—without appearing artificial.
Video Examples:
VOICE AND ARTICULATION
Pace, rhythm, intonation, and proper pronunciation.
Keep in Mind: Contestants will use a microphone at the National Finals.
Tips:
All words pronounced correctly, and the projection, rhythm, and intonation greatly enhance the recitation. Pacing appropriate to the poem.
Video Examples:
DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS
Recitation is about conveying a poem’s sense with its language. A strong performance will rely on a powerful internalization of the poem rather than excessive gestures. Appropriate interpretation enhances the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the poem’s language.
Tips:
The interpretation subtly underscores the meaning of the poem without becoming the focal point. A low score in this category will result from recitations that have affected character voices and accents, inappropriate tone and inflection, singing, excessive gestures, or unnecessary emoting.
Video Examples:
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
This category is to evaluate your comprehension and mastery of the poem. The poet’s words should take precedence, and you should be able to voice them in a way that helps the audience to understand the poem better. To do this, you must effectively use intonation, emphasis, tone, and style of delivery.
Tips:
The meaning of the poem is powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The interpretation deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, themes, allusions, irony, tone, and other nuances are captured by the performance. A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.
Video Examples:
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
This category is to evaluate the overall success of the poem, the degree to which the recitation has become more than the sum of its parts.
ACCURACY
If you rely on a prompter or note cards during your recitation, points will also be subtracted from your accuracy score.
Body language, and poise.
Tips:
- Present yourself well and be attentive. Use good posture. Be confident and make a direct connection with the audience.
- Nervous gestures and lack of confidence will detract from your score.
- Relax and be natural. Enjoy your poem—the judges will notice.
Qualities of a strong recitation:
Ease and comfort with the audience. Engagement with the audience through physical presence, including appropriate body language and confidence—without appearing artificial.
Video Examples:
- Sophia Elena Soberon “Bilingual/Bilingue” by Rhina P. Espaillat
- Shawntay A. Henry “Frederick Douglass” by Robert Hayden
- William Farley “Danse Russe” by William Carlos Williams
VOICE AND ARTICULATION
Pace, rhythm, intonation, and proper pronunciation.
Keep in Mind: Contestants will use a microphone at the National Finals.
Tips:
- Project to the audience. Capture the attention of everyone, including the people in the back row. However, don’t mistake shouting for good projection.
- Proceed at a fitting and natural pace. People may communicate too quickly when nervous, making the poem hard to understand. Do not communicate so slowly that the language sounds unnatural or awkward.
- With rhymed poems, be careful not to recite in a sing-song manner.
- Make sure you know how to pronounce every word in your poem. Articulate.
- Line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. Decide whether a break requires a pause and, if so, how long to pause.
All words pronounced correctly, and the projection, rhythm, and intonation greatly enhance the recitation. Pacing appropriate to the poem.
Video Examples:
- Jackson Hille “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins
- Sophia Elena Soberon “Bilingual/Bilingue” by Rhina P. Espaillat
- Shawntay A. Henry “Frederick Douglass” by Robert Hayden
- Madison Niermeyer “I Am Waiting” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Kareem Sayegh “The Man-Moth” by Elizabeth Bishop
DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS
Recitation is about conveying a poem’s sense with its language. A strong performance will rely on a powerful internalization of the poem rather than excessive gestures. Appropriate interpretation enhances the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the poem’s language.
Tips:
- Do not act out each word of the poem. Movement must not detract from the poem’s voice.
- You are the vessel of your poem. Have confidence that your poem is strong enough to communicate without a physical illustration. Let the words of the poem do the work.
- Depending on the poem, occasional gestures may be appropriate, but the line between appropriate and overdone is a thin one. When uncertain, leave them out.
- Avoid monotone delivery. However, too much enthusiasm can make your performance seem insincere.
The interpretation subtly underscores the meaning of the poem without becoming the focal point. A low score in this category will result from recitations that have affected character voices and accents, inappropriate tone and inflection, singing, excessive gestures, or unnecessary emoting.
Video Examples:
- Stanley Andrew Jackson “Writ on the Steps of Puerto Rican Harlem” by Gregory Corso
- Madison Niermeyer “I Am Waiting” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Kareem Sayegh “The Man-Moth” by Elizabeth Bishop
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
This category is to evaluate your comprehension and mastery of the poem. The poet’s words should take precedence, and you should be able to voice them in a way that helps the audience to understand the poem better. To do this, you must effectively use intonation, emphasis, tone, and style of delivery.
Tips:
- You must understand the poem fully. Be attentive to the messages, meanings, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances in your poem.
- Be sure you know the meaning of every word and line in your poem. If you are unsure about something it will be apparent to the audience.
- Think about how you should interpret the tone and voice of your poem. Is it a quiet poem? Is it a boisterous poem? Should it be recited more quickly or slowly, with a happy or mournful tone? Your interpretation will be different for each poem, and it is a crucial element of your performance.
The meaning of the poem is powerfully and clearly conveyed to the audience. The interpretation deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, themes, allusions, irony, tone, and other nuances are captured by the performance. A low score will be awarded if the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem.
Video Examples:
- Jackson Hille “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins
- Allison Strong “Sonnet CXXX: My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” by William Shakespeare
- Carolyn Rose Garcia “Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
- William Farley “Danse Russe” by William Carlos Williams
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
This category is to evaluate the overall success of the poem, the degree to which the recitation has become more than the sum of its parts.
- Did you captivate the audience with the language of the poem?
- Did you bring the audience to a better understanding of the poem?
- Did your physical presence, voice and articulation, and dramatic appropriateness all seem on target and unified to breathe life into the poem?
- Did the performance honor the poem?
ACCURACY
If you rely on a prompter or note cards during your recitation, points will also be subtracted from your accuracy score.
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