Speaking to a Brief and Taking Questions · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Speaking to the brief, fielding questions

English · Speaking & Listening · ages 15-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Why are notes better than a script?

    • Scripts impress judges more
    • Notes are faster to write
    • Notes keep you natural and looking up

  2. What comes before choosing your points?

    • Asking who the listeners are
    • Memorising every word
    • Designing complex slides

  3. The key line deserves slower pace, stress, and a pause after it.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A question fairly challenges your case. How do you answer?

    • Concede the fair part, hold the rest with a reason
    • Deny the question was asked
    • Abandon your whole position

  5. Your pace runs flat through the key claim. What is the fix?

    • Speak faster to save time
    • Slow down, stress it, then pause
    • Skip the claim entirely

  6. Knowing your audience changes which points you stress.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Two speakers know equal facts. One studied the panel, one did not. Who lands the brief?

    • The unprepared one, since facts rule
    • The prepared one, who stresses what those listeners need
    • Neither, since briefs ignore audiences

  8. A speaker answers a fair challenge by repeating the same slogan louder. What is missing?

    • A louder voice
    • A longer script
    • A concession where fair, plus a reasoned hold
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Speaking to the brief, fielding questions W1-mt_ykCrDCiVIy-s1

  1. Notes keep you natural and looking up · Scripts flatten pace. Notes keep your own voice and gaze.
  2. Asking who the listeners are · Audience decides emphasis. Classmates and judges need different talks.
  3. True · Pace marks importance. The pause lets the point settle.
  4. Concede the fair part, hold the rest with a reason · Fair points get conceded. The rest is held with reasons, not noise.
  5. Slow down, stress it, then pause · Flat pace buries the point. Delivery must lift it out.
  6. True · Different rooms care about different things. Stress follows need.
  7. The prepared one, who stresses what those listeners need · Briefs are heard by someone. The studied talk lands its one thing.
  8. A concession where fair, plus a reasoned hold · Volume is not argument. Questions want reasons, not slogans.
Worksheet · LightMySky