Speaking event #3

The speech I critiqued was given by Shawn Boonstra.The speech was about what to do when doubt and disappointment enter your world. The speaker talked about doubt, and doubting the divine. The speaker used the story telling method to arouse the interest of the audience. It was the story of King Herod and John the Baptist. The king takes a prisoner, John the Baptist, and puts him in prison. John was in a prison cell of sorrow. He had heard of the works of Christ. John sent his disciples to ask Christ “Are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus does not criticize John for his doubting. The message was go to the record book when we doubt, where is God? The bible states “ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are rised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them”(American Standard 1154). His point in the speech was, people drift away from God, and they need to be reminded of their faith. The speaker was careful to select and phrase his words effectively. He used hand gestures and maintained great eye contact.

One type of speech connective that was used is a transition, where the speaker completed one thought and moved on to another. The speaker ended on a quote from an unknown author, "The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn that shines more and more under the perfect day. By faith we may look to the here after and grasp the pledge of God, for a growth of intellect, the human faculty uniting with the divine, and every power of the soul being brought into direct contact with the source of light. We may rejoice that all which has perplexed us in the providences of God will then be made right. Things hard to be understood will then find an explanation, and where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken purposes we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harvest.” This was a speech arranged in a problem- solution order it was dived into two main parts. Part one presented the existence of a problem. Part two gave a workable solution to the problem. This was a creative speech that delivered the message: God’s got your back. When in doubt don’t trip out!