1 # Cue Card (Speech)

A speech that somebody delivered and you heard

You should say:

  • who gave the speech

  • what the speech was about

  • whether it impressed you or not

and explain why you liked/disliked the speech.

Transcript:

I can't forget the day in 2012, I was sitting in Crystal Hall Pearl Continental Lahore. The hall was filled with the people, there were many professionals, academicians, Educationist; and there are many, who wants to know about the philosophy. Everyone was waiting for a giant scholar, a philosopher, an american linguist Mr. Naom Chomsky; you know the time of his speech was 9 AM, but the hall was filled at 8 O' clock, one hour before. He came in as he was so punctual, and he started delivering his ideas. The topic of his speech was Power Politics. He introduced the concept of power, what power was and how basically the power, the use of power, is manipulated by our political leaders, and how they are alluding us to get their votes, just to fulfill their vested interests. I can't forget that his content, his way of delivery, the form; everything was awesome. Even now as 5 years have been passed, I am still using his words just to debunk the speeches, whenever a political leader deliver. Definitely, he wants to get the votes, he wants to be successful in the next election but thanks to Mr Naom Chomsky that with his ideas I can debunk them. Thank you so much!

More Vocabulary:

Formal address, Elevate emotions, Audience, Seek to convince, Persuade, Motivate, Paradoxical statements, Iconoclast, Verbosity, Exaggerate, Irony, Aficionado, Naive, Artless, Spellbinding, Pin drop Silence, Art of public speaking, Orator, follower, Echo, Voice resonate in the hall, Development of thoughts, In a nutshell. Applaud, The most distinctive rhetorical features, Bent of mind, inclined to, Beg to differ.

Response 2 (Script)

Personally, a good speech is one which manages to give me goosebumps and a tiny smile. Yes, I'm not the most expressive person. One of the most effective speeches I have ever had the pleasure of listening to in that regard was a lecture delivered by an Islamic scholar in South Africa earlier this year.

I always make it a mission not to fiddle or get distracted while listening to a speech; that does not necessarily imply that I'm enthralled with what I'm hearing. Most of the lectures I am subject to tend to be a mere passing of time, as I often get the feeling that most speakers tend to think of their speech they give as an obligatory event, consequently leaving little space for true passion to coat their words. This particular scholar, however, managed to enthral me in earnest with his words and the conviction and finesse with which he delivered them. His use of simple yet fascinating metaphors and comparisons to get his point across was awe-inspiring. There is an art in simplicity, and thinking back, I'm sure that everyone in the audience paying attention to his speech understood and was inspired by his every word. He outlined the importance of an education- both Islamic and otherwise- in the most brilliant way, presenting the listeners with a logical argument on the topic that was almost impossible to dispute.

The scholar pointed out the faults of the society when it comes to educating- or not educating- the youth in a manner that made them feel enlightened rather than chastised. After all, in an age where sensitivities soar and sense lay stagnant, the endeavour was rather expertly carried out. I'm sure I'm not the only person who left that venue reflecting over the lecturer's sentiments on education. It inspired me to take more of an initiative to enlighten myself and solidify my intentions to always spread and receive knowledge wherever possible.

Thank you.

Written by Wardah Razzaq.