After viewing the video Do You Believe In Me?, respond to the following questions. (I expect more than one sentence answers.)
1. Is he a good speaker? Why/why not?
This little 5th grade boy was an amazing speaker. His message was relateable, and he made it interesting with funny parts, and pieces that inspired people to do something differently. In my opinion, if a speaker is successful in inspiring change, they have succeeded in being a good speaker.
2. What were his good characteristics as a speaker? His bad?
He was confident in his message, his words were clear and easy to understand, and he spoke in a way that made people want to listen. I had issues picking out a bad characteristic from that speech.
3. How did he use his voice (vocal inflection) to make his speech more effective?
He raised his voice when he came to an inspiring point, and he lowered his voice when he wanted people to get serious. Dalton also used good pauses to give people time to really reflect on certain important sentences.
4. How did he use gestures to make his speech more effective?
When pointing out different schools he made pointing motions that were really funny and it made people cheer for their school. Motions like that kept the audience focused on the speech and eager for more.
5. Why do you think they selected him as their keynote speaker? (Keynote speakers are the main speakers of a meeting, convention, etc.)
The impact of the message Dalton gave was amplified by the fact that it came from a fifth grader who honestly had faith in what he was saying. I think that the people who organized the convention choose him because they knew the combination of the powerful message, along with who and how presented it had the potential to change lives.
6. What was the main point of his message? Was it an important message? Why/why not?
His message of "Believe" was a message was so important because it had potential to change the way teachers and all types of school faculty go about their work and how they interact with kids. It could then change the lives of thousands and thousands of kids in the Dallas area, and eventually impact the future.
7. Do you think the teachers believed his message? Did it inspire them? Why/why not?
From the response of cheering, shouting, and "Amen!"'s that came from the audience I think it was obvious that they believed in what he was saying because Dalton believed in what he was saying and they in turn, were inspired to change.
In 100-150 words, respond to the following:
What did you think of his message? If you were a teacher, would it have inspired you? Do not repeat any information that you used in the seven questions above.
Being a speech student myself, I was inspired by how well this kid spoke. His speech wasn't long, but it hit all the right points. Honestly, it made me think about my goals to be a teacher, and how it will get tough at times, but that because I'm passionate about it and about really changing lives that it will be so, so worth it. I hope that is the message the teachers in the audience listening heard too. His speech inspired me to speak with the kind of confidence that he had and really believe in what I speak about because as he gave the perfect example of, if people believe in what they say, the people listening will too!
