Shitty First Draft on...Beethoven?

TED Talk Self-Organization Sheet

1)     Audience. First, determine who your audience is and customize your writing accordingly. Write in as much detail as you can who you believe your audience to be below.

-The audience is the classroom and who you are presenting to.  Basically, the audience does not know much about the subject at hand, so you kind of have to dumb it down a little bit so that the audience understands what is going on.  This is not talking down to the audience, this is making it better for them to understand so that they understand the TED Talk better.  Each person needs to understand your subject before you start talking about it right away with no background information.  Also, the TED Talk people will also have to understand this blog as well.

2) Purpose and message. Two things must be settled in your own mind before you are ready to write your speech. First, what is the purpose of your talk? That is, why have you been asked to speak in the first place? Go back to the assignment sheet and read the purpose of the assignment. Write you own version of that below. Then think about your message. What is that you want readers to believe after they hear your talk?

-The purpose of my talk is to explain what a creative genius my person or thing is, in this case, Beethoven.  And I have been asked to speak because someone has been following my blog and asking about my person and how they are creative and they are curious as to why I think that person is creative.  The purpose is explaining why Beethoven is a creative genius and explaining what did he do to become a creative genius.  What I want the readers to believe is that even though Beethoven is not as well known as say a famous athlete or something, he was still very important and developed many things that people still even use today.  The overall message that I’m trying to say is that even small people whose name aren’t even a household name can drastically change the music industry and the past music and how it has developed over time. 

3) Brainstorm. It may take you some time to figure out just what the purpose and main message of your speech will be, especially if you have a lot of diverse knowledge about your subject. Make a list of all the things you might possibly be interested in speaking about. Once the list is in written form, it will be easy to see which points are not likely to fit into your time frame. Probably the biggest problem both writers and audiences face is not too little information, but too much. Write your list below.

-What I really want to push in this TED Talk are many things.  I would like to see how Beethoven has influenced artists now a days and see if without Beethoven, would they still be here today and would that music still be here today.  I also want to talk about how Beethoven is not really recognized now as doing much of anything.  Saying this is terrible, because he had much influence in the music timeline.  I also want to talk about him being a genius even though he went deaf midway through his career.  For him to keep being able to have that push is astounding and should be recognized as genius especially because he couldn’t hear some of his pieces.  Also, I would like to talk about other famous composers that he had influenced in his time period and future time periods.  Even in modern times like today.  Although I find this point to be very important, I was most likely leave it out because most people don’t want to hear about Chopin, Mozart, etc.

IN ORDER:

·       Beethoven and how he has influenced modern songs today

·       His genius and his deafness

·       Also, about how he isn’t recognized much today as he was say, 50 years ago.  He is slowly being forgotten. 

·       Then, IF TIME PERMITS, talk about how he influenced/worked off of other composers like Brahms, Bach, Chopin, Haydin…Etc.

4) Categorize. Your brainstorming session should yield several areas that will be subcategories of your main message. You can then move those pieces about like a puzzle, seeing which ones best fit together for your audience. Or think of the categories as stepping-stones. Leaving a gap too large between any two stones will sink not only you but your audience as well. Writing a speech is not all that different from writing a paper. Reorganize your topics below

                  -Firstly, I could start with how his deafness influenced his songs afterwards.  Also compare his songs before and after.  Also, with his modern song influence, talk about how he is being forgotten. 

5) Write an attention grabber. Remember your audience will not be feeling any of the anxiety you are likely to feel. After all, their requirements are few: sitting, listening. It may be tempting for you to launch into the meat of your material, eager to prove that you have something to offer from the get-go. However, do yourself and your audience a favor and have something interesting to say at the beginning—an anecdote, a joke, or a question that will allow them time to settle in and focus. Write some potential attention grabbers below.

- Did you know that Beethoven went deaf at the age of 32, and kept composing into his death?  That has to take something because he has done this and basically done the impossible.  I could also include some kind of joke into this (music humor).  Or, I could talk about how he wrote nine symphonies, which is a very big deal because of how hard it is to write even just one symphony, and some of the other greatest composers of all time only wrote one.  Beethoven himself wrote nine.  Also, Beethoven did choral work too, so its not like he only wrote instrumental, he also wrote voice as well.  Also, another attention grabber:  Did you know Beethoven died with something simple, the flu.  Shows what kind of things can take great people away from you.  

6) Body. Sticking firmly to the topics you’ve introduced will be easier if you create each section like a mini-paper. Have an introduction, main body, and conclusion here as well. No one likes to simply be read at, so you will help yourself to stay on-topic by having this outline in your memory, on a blackboard, or on a slide. Keep in mind too that all sections need not be equal in length. Spend time deciding and writing the ones that need the most emphasis and do not make a shorter topic longer than it needs to be. Outline the information in the body of your talk below.

                  -Mainly, this will talk about Beethoven and his music, nothing too complicated.

7) Introduction. After you’ve grabbed their attention, use the introduction of your speech to let the audience know what to expect. Write a first draft introduction below.

                  -The intro will include some light fun facts about Beethoven and different things.  Jokes and humor are always a good thing here. 

8) Conclusion. This often seems to be the most problematic part for the speechwriter. Have you said enough? Too much? If you say “finally” or “in conclusion,” be prepared to end the speech pretty quickly. Audiences know that it’s over; to keep going can irritate them and may even lose any good will you’ve accumulated. So take care in your speech writing to draw an apt and memorable conclusion. And stick to it!

                  -The conclusion will talk about how he is a creative genius and how everything influences with him.