From directions to demos: Writing in-depth instructions

Originally posted 1/30/12.

Communication Students: Here's your assignment we talked about today. You are to write specific ingredients, steps, and any alternatives or further customizations for each section. Again, remember—you need every single step and incredibly specific ingredients. No slacking—I'll be grading hard!

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread (2 pieces)
• Peanut butter (2 tablespoons)
• Jelly (1.5 tablespoons)
• Butter Knife (for putting PB onto bread)
• Spoon (for putting Jelly onto bread)

Steps:

1. Put peanut butter onto bread piece #1. Using the knife, smear 2 tablespoons of peanut butter onto one side of the bread. It's best to make sure that it's spread evenly across one side. When you are done, put that piece of bread aside.
2. Put jelly onto bread piece #2. Take a spoon full of jelly (approximately 1 to 1.5 tablespoons) and smear it onto one side of the bread. Again, make sure the jelly is spread evenly.
3. Put 'em together. Pick  up the peanut butter piece and put it, PB-side down, on top of the jelly piece (jelly-side up). At this point, I'd recommend you cut the sandwich in half to make it easier to eat.
4. Enjoy. Goes great with a tall, cold glass of milk.

Alternatives:

• Creamy or crunchy? Either type of peanut butter will work, and either type are delicious.
• Don't like jelly? Use honey or marshmallow fluff instead. 
• Toasting the bread is awesome because the warm bread will melt the peanut butter, but the jelly will stay pretty cool.
• Awesome people cut the bread diagonally; lame-os cut the sandwich in half from a square to two rectangles.
• Secret Webb Family Recipe: use three pieces of bread to make a double sandwich. (1) Smother two pieces of bread with jelly. (2) Fry the third piece of in a little bit of butter until it's really hot. (3) Cover both sides of the hot bread with peanut butter. (4) Arrange the sandwich as:
  
  • cold/regular bread
  • jelly
  • peanut butter (which is starting to melt)
  • hot, gooey bread
  • peanut butter (which is starting to melt)
  • jelly
  • cold/regular bread

Ok, so that's what I'm expecting. Seems a lot more in-depth than just "TEACH-AH, JUST PUT IT TOGETHA!" Now YOU make a blog post, just like I did, with all the information for your speech.

What are you going to present? Check out these Demo topics, Comm students!

Today in class, I asked Communications students to look over the following list of Demonstration speech topics and pick 5 that they would be the most interested in presenting.

Select 5 possible speech ideas you'd be interested in presenting and blog them (one short paragraph each). Of the 5 you select, only three of them may be from my list here, so make your own ideas! Go.

Demo topics, Demo topics, hot, fresh, and off the press!

Communications students got lucky that I forgot to post a list of possible Demonstration Speech topics after asking you to look at my list last class, but hey, better late than never. Here are some options for your speeches:



So, right off the bat, your first assignment is to select 5 possible speech ideas you'd be interested in presenting and blog them (one short paragraph each). Of the 5 you select, only three of them may be from my list here, so make your own ideas! Go.

"I'm not sure what to do with my hands..."

2 things today for Communications class, before you head out on break:

1. This:
   
   
   
   
2. Look at this list of Demonstration speech topics:
   
   
   
   Remember, what you're supposed to do is to pick 5 different Demonstration speech topics (that you can actually do) and write 5¶s—one for each of your 5 picks. Again, write something like this:
   

   1. How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich^*—It's easy to make a PB&J sandwich, but I would teach not only how to make one, but different things you can do to make it delicious (e.g. different ingredients, tricks with temperature).

   ^*You cannot use that in your own list.

If you could get that done by the Sunday, January 29th before we get back (so I can check it on your blog and have an answer for you), that would be great! Have a wonderful and relaxing break!

Demonstrate your skills for Speech class

Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking. The word glossophobia comes from the Greek γλῶσσα glōssa, meaning tongue, and φόβος phobos, fear or dread. [Glossophobia.com]

First off, I've got to commend my Communication class for their amazing speeches this last Friday for assembly! They worked extremely pretty hard, and I think that, for the most part, the audience was pretty impressed with what the saw. They're not perfect speakers yet, but they're getting there, and I want to congratulate them all for stepping up (literally) and talking in front of everyone.

So now, after spending nearly half the semester on the first of 3 types of speeches (informatives), we'll move to my favorite one: DEMONSTRATION SPEECHES! As I've been telling you the last few days, these speeches will require you come up to the front of the room and teach/show us how to do something. Traditionally, these speeches rock because they're the chance for us to justify snacking in class. You can teach us how to cook something, how to do something, or how to make something, but it has to be something you do completely in front of us.

So, what should you be picking as a speech topic? Here are some options!



So, right off the bat, your first assignment is to select 5 possible speech ideas you'd be interested in presenting and blog them (one short paragraph each). Then, you'll fill out the Pre-Planning Process sheet, and start working on an outline! Get started!