As a model for students and to help me better understand the process , I gave two soapbox speeches on the day I introduced the project. These are the outlines I put together for my speeches. The main components of a soapbox speech are the Hook, Problem, Solution, Counterargument, Why should you care, and Clincher.
Hook- The hook captured the attention of the people. The original soapbox speakers would go to a place with a lot of people walking by, get on the soapbox, and try to get a few to stop and listen. This section includes rhetorical questions to get people thinking. It also can include the speaker painting a picture for the audience.
Problem- The audience needs to be sold on the fact that this problem is serious and requires immediate attention. This is an ideal place for stats and details about the situation.
Solution- Students will give the solution their particular Progressive reformer proposed at the time. It will be given in a way in which it is explained as the only solution and one which the audience needs to take an active part in making a reality.
Counterargument- This is a chance to set yourself up for success. Find a weak counterargument, propose it to the groups (some would say...), and then just destroy it. It is like arguing with someone who cannot respond. Sometimes it is hard to find a counterargument. It is hard to argue against helping poor people. In this case, consider deflecting the blame: "The problem here is not poor people being taken advantage of, the problem is the large flood of unskilled immigrants flooding into the country". You can just follow that deflection up with destroying it, just like a weak counterargument: "We were all immigrants once and this country is founded on the labor, dreams, and efforts of hard working immigrants".
Why Should You Care- This is the big selling point for a speech. Why should the average person put effort, time or money towards address this issue. Most of the time it boils down to, "How does this affect me?". This is where that connection needs to be made. Consider this like an audience member saying, "So What?!?". That answer is built into your speech. If the issue is African American rights, this is where you explain that really that is a problem that affects all Americans, therefore this is a American problem.
Clincher- This is the conclusion and it requires some thought and planning. This is a good place to save your emotion or pleas to help ourselves before it is too late. There can also be connections made to the present or future, if this problem is not address right now.
I did my research and put info into these categories. I then went through each category one at a time and put those bullets in an appropriate order. Some of them were moved to other sections or deleted. I timed myself reading through the points out loud, which helped me identify where I needs to add material or trim information.
Once I had the outline polished and at the right time length (shoot for 30 to 60 seconds over the required time limit), I practiced with the outline in hand several times. I then set it down, gave the speech with it by my side, only referring to it when I needed. Finally, I started just rolling through it without the outline, instead just looking at the key words listed above: Hook, Problem, Solution, Counterargument, Why should you care, and Clincher. These words will be on the front board for speakers to look at during the final speeches.
Overall, a successful speech is all about practice and more practice. Roll through it five times in one day and three more times the next morning, and so forth. Five 3 minute practice speeches really is not a long time commitment. I rolled though mine on the way to and from work in the car. Please let me help you with any portion of this process or the entire thing. We can do this together if that would be helpful. The important point is that if you feel this is going to be a real difficult process, you need to get started sooner than later. This is not the kind of task that can be procrastinated on of just winging it on the soapbox. Students have proven for years that regardless of nerves and fear, these speeches can be done, and done real well, with faith in the process and the willingness to put the time in for preparation.
For Gun Control Outline
· Hook
o Assault weapons are designed for the sole purpose of
killing mass amounts of people in a short amount of time
o Why does the average person require access to these
weapons of mass destruction?
§ For protection? Carry it around over your shoulder as
you walk through your day or try to navigate through the halls of your home in
the middle of the night when you hear a noise
§ For hunting? What are you hunting?
o Gun advocates are painting gun control as an attack on
our rights
§ The reality is that no one, no one is calling to get
rid of all guns
§ We are just calling for some common sense measures to
control who gets the guns and what kinds of weapons are accessible
· Problem
o Mass shootings are on the rise in America and zero
legislation has been passed to address the situation
§ America has 5% of world population, but accounts for
31% of all mass killings
·
90 mass shooting
in US, 18 in Philippines, 15 in Russia
o In response, no laws have been passed, gun ownership
has skyrocketed, and it has become easier to get a gun
§ This strikes me as the worst course of action, or
inaction
· Solution
o Ban certain guns- After the largest mass shooting
ever, Australia banned weapons in their country promoting a mandatory gun buy-back
program
§ Handguns went from 2K to 15K in black market, assault
rifles upwards of 40K
·
This outprices
most people and makes guns less accessible
o Laws requiring safe gun storage to avoid theft and
accidents
§ Lock boxes in cars and homes and trigger guards
o Universal background checks, including mental health
and criminal
§ No-fly lists, violent offenders, mental disorders
·
Common sense
reforms
o These are standard restrictions in most countries
including Italy, France, and Germany
· Counter Argument
o The second amendment states “A well regulated militia,
being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to
bear arms, shall not be infringed”.
§ A militia is no longer necessary to secure a free
state
·
In 1791 when this
amendment was passed America had a frontier of hostile natives, many people
killed their food, competitive world powers seeking expansion, and no standing
army
o A militia/guns were necessary THEN
§ Also the right to bear arms has never been unlimited
·
Could not store
gun powder in the house
·
Illegal to give
weapons to slaves, indentured, Catholics
·
Even today
(landmines and rocket launchers)
· Why Do I Care?
o St. Louis is consistently in the top five in murders
in America
§ East St. Louis is usually up there too
o Missouri has had a conceal and carry law which
required an 8 hour training course and background check
§ As of January 1st, that is going away to be
replaced with unrestricted conceal and carry
·
No background or
criminal check, no training
§ When you add this to the loophole that allows people
to buy a weapon at a gun show without a background check, this means ANYONE can
own and carry a gun
·
Gun shows almost
every weekend in Missouri
§ Stand Your Ground Law
·
Protect people
who want to use their guns to use “deadly force”
o Missouri has deputized any person who is willing to use
deadly force
§ If you trust the average person walking around to
·
Safely store the
weapon from children and crooks
·
Perform under
pressure with no training
·
Not use their
weapon because they were cut off or offended
§ Think of the people you go to school with, they all
can carry guns as of the age of 19
· Clincher
o The issue goes beyond bad people doing bad things
§ Of the gun deaths between 1999 and 2013 58% were from
suicided and almost 10K were from children playing with guns
§ From 2001 to 2015 more women were shot by their
partner that American soldiers serving in the war zones or Afghanistan and Iraq
§ Who pays for these crimes, besides the countless
families whose lives are ruined by the loss of a loved one, You Do
·
Court and jail
cost for offenders, Medicare, mental health care for the affected, insurance
claims, lower property value
o The way I see it, you have three options
§ You can flood the community with more guns and count
on others to use their lethal weapons responsibly
§ You can build a wall of denial you can hide behind and
pray this won’t happen to you
§ Or you can work actively to create positive change to
address the real and growing issues of gun control
Gun Rights Outline
· Hook
o
Our
world is getting growing more violent and our children are not safe riding
their bikes around the community anymore
§ We are under constant attack from
terrorist groups and mentally unstable fanatics
§ Crime is on the rise and that guy
wants me to put my defenses down, making myself and my family vulnerable
o
Now
is not the time for Americans to shy away from a threat
§ We need to stand up for ourselves and
our rights just as many Americans have done before us
o
That’s
why I carry and why you should
§ Criminals beware!
· The next store you rob, the next
house you break into, or the next airport you attack, you may find yourself out
gunned
· Problem
o
Our
rights are under attack
§ There is no right more inherent that
the right to bear arms as deliberately protected under the 2nd
amendment
o
“Assault
weapons” have been wrongly mischaracterized
§ Used for hunting and marksmanship
competitions
§ Actually less powerful than many
hunting rifles
o
People
are calling for more background checks
§ These are an invasion of our privacy
· The info goes into a database which
could be misused
o
Hackers
are everywhere
· Solution
o
More
guns
§ Gun ownership deters crime
· From 1980-2009, in states with largest
increase of gun ownership death from shooting declined 90%
o
Looser
gun restrictions
§ It should not be made more difficult
for people to gain the means of protecting themselves
§ Gun control does not work
· Mexico has some of the strictest gun
restrictions, but the rate of gun homicides is 3 times America
o
Gun
Control is unnecessary since few people are killed by guns
§ How many gunshot victims do you know?
· 21 times heart disease
· 18 times tumor
· Twice as likely diabetes, flu,
traffic accident
o
Only
1.3% of deaths between 1999- and 2013 were from gun shots
§ Firearm violence is exaggerated by
liberals and news outlets
· U.S. ranked 28th in
international homicide rates with 3 people per 100K in 2012
o
It
is not gun control that is needed, it is gun safety education
· Counterargument
o
Some
will argue that guns kill people, but it is people that kill people
§ Gun control laws do not stop crime,
they just disarm the victim
· Of the mass shootings between 1982
and 2012 75% of the guns were purchased legally
o
Criminals
will steal guns and ammo
§ Chicago police department confiscated
50K guns from 2001-2012
· All 50 states, half outside of
Illinois
· Why Do I Care?
o
You
now have the right to protect yourself and truly address the threat
§ The NRA reports guns are used for
self-defense 2.5 million times a year
§ The police cannot protect everyone,
everywhere
· Large majority of gun owners declare
they feel safer
o
Do
you feel safe? Do you feel protected from the threat surrounds us on all sides?
· Clincher
o
Gun
Control laws give too much power to the government opening the door to further
restrictions on our freedom
§ Are they gonna tell me I can’t smoke
outside…oh wait
§ Red meat because its unhealthy =>
syrupy drinks
§ The Constitution was written to
protect Americans from tyrannical powers or King George
· We must protect ourselves from other
tyrants who would strive to take our freedoms
o
Some
have cast themselves as the victim tomorrow’s headlines by refusing to defend
themselves
§ What’s worse is that they are
supporting laws that will make a victim out of you and I
· Stand up for your rights while you
still can!
