A speech to change the world: persuasive speech analysis

Last updated: 15/11/2023
Contributor: Sarah Pillay
A speech to change the world: persuasive speech analysis
Main Subject
Key stage
Category
English
Resource type
Complete lesson
Student activity

Using 12-year-old Severn Suzuki's impassioned speech on climate change to the United Nations Earth Summit as a starting point, KS3-4 students explore the range of persuasive techniques she uses before planning their own speech on a topic of their choice. 

You might also like Speech analysis practice: Greta Thunberg.

An example task from the resource: 

Find and annotate or colour-code the following techniques in the speech from the check list below.

Try to explain the effect of each one on the audience.

  • Emotive language
  • Use of 1st person plural inclusive pronoun ‘we’
  • Use of 2nd person ‘you’
  • Anecdotes
  • Imperative verbs
  • Direct speech
  • Use of facts and figures
  • Rhetorical questions
  • Repetition
  • Abstract nouns

 

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