[Angels and Air]

So for my Speech & Debate Class, each student has been assigned to persuade our class to "alter the audience's opinion of a philosophy or commitment." It only has to be 3-7 minutes with a poster/video presentation.
 
I decided that my subject was going to be "Listening to Music at a Lower Volume."
 
My current 3 speaking points are:

1. Listening to Music At High Volumes Damages Hearing
2. Causes You to Be Oblivious to the Outside World
3. Inappropriate Etiquette (others can hear your music, people talking to you but you can't hear them, etc.)

 
Can anyone offer me any advice or better speaking points to use? The first bullet point is obvious and will probably take up most of the time, but the 2nd and especially the 3rd topic aren't as strong as the first...
 
I also thought about pairing a cheap pair of earbuds with a headphone amplifier to show the class how loud their personal media players could get... Not sure if I'm going to go through with it because I don't want the drivers to burst while I'm demonstrating the loudness.
 
Your Thoughts! 

 

[StratocasterMan]

Listening at a lower volume saves batteries. Less batteries need to be manufactured and less natural resources need to be used to make batteries which reduces emissions. Reduced emissions slow global warming. Reduced global warming protects polar bear habitats. Therefore, listening at lower volume saves polar bears. 

 

[Angels and Air]

Eh... that's kinda... "out there"... 

 
I had some ideas of incorporating humor into my presentation, but presentations started today (I go on Friday), and everyone has a serious tone in their speeches...
 
I don't feel like being the lone wolf...

 

[RickH9]

Listening at a lower volume saves batteries. Less batteries need to be manufactured and less natural resources need to be used to make batteries which reduces emissions. Reduced emissions slow global warming. Reduced global warming protects polar bear habitats. Therefore, listening at lower volume saves polar bears. 

THAT'S GOLDEN!!!

 

[adamlr]

Quote:

So for my Speech & Debate Class, each student has been assigned to persuade our class to "alter the audience's opinion of a philosophy or commitment." It only has to be 3-7 minutes with a poster/video presentation.
 
I decided that my subject was going to be "Listening to Music at a Lower Volume."
 
My current 3 speaking points are:

1. Listening to Music At High Volumes Damages Hearing
2. Causes You to Be Oblivious to the Outside World
3. Inappropriate Etiquette (others can hear your music, people talking to you but you can't hear them, etc.)

 
Can anyone offer me any advice or better speaking points to use? The first bullet point is obvious and will probably take up most of the time, but the 2nd and especially the 3rd topic aren't as strong as the first...
 
I also thought about pairing a cheap pair of earbuds with a headphone amplifier to show the class how loud their personal media players could get... Not sure if I'm going to go through with it because I don't want the drivers to burst while I'm demonstrating the loudness.
 
Your Thoughts! 

 
if your speech is about "Listening to Music at a Lower Volume", shouldnt your speech be a presentation FOR moderate volume as opposed to AGAINST high volume such as the speaking points youv written? maybe try and focus on the pros of listening at lower volumes (safety and health, allows for longer listening experience so you can enjoy your music for longer, allows you to be responsive to the outside world, doesnt bother other people etc) or maybe change the subject to "why not to listen at high volumes"? thats my input atleast...
 
 
Quote:

Eh... that's kinda... "out there"... 

 
I had some ideas of incorporating humor into my presentation, but presentations started today (I go on Friday), and everyone has a serious tone in their speeches...
 
I don't feel like being the lone wolf...

 
if the humor is tasteful and successful, there shouldnt be a problem, infact, standing out and being a "lone wolf" is exactly what you need to do for an outstanding grade. it is dangerous though and can result in the opposite effect.

 

[ZMZB]

Quote:

Eh... that's kinda... "out there"... 

 
I had some ideas of incorporating humor into my presentation, but presentations started today (I go on Friday), and everyone has a serious tone in their speeches...
 
I don't feel like being the lone wolf...

Don't you want to stand out of the crowd? IMHO, you don't have to be dead serious to push ideas, humor, if done well (properly timed & subtle) can help people ease their way into your ideas.

 

[cheapfi]

Go for humor.  It is worth it,  I have found that humor relaxes the audience and makes them connect more.  This gives them the feeling of involvement, and the illusion of your speech being much better than it really was.  It helps in the grades.
 
But hey I once made a 3 minute speech about the artistic merits of crayons for creativity vs markers.    So no need to take me to seriously.  We had a teacher who would have us do speeches on the spur of the moment with 10 minutes or less prep time.  It was actually a really good class.

 

[ZMZB]

Quote:

Go for humor.  It is worth it,  I have found that humor relaxes the audience and makes them connect more.  This gives them the feeling of involvement, and the illusion of your speech being much better than it really was.  It helps in the grades.
 
But hey I once made a 3 minute speech about the artistic merits of crayons for creativity vs markers.    So no need to take me to seriously.  We had a teacher who would have us do speeches on the spur of the moment with 10 minutes or less prep time.  It was actually a really good class.

Well, I once made a presentation 20 minutes presentation on the subject "Cats are better pets than dogs" with my final conclusion being that pigs are also good pets. But it was for a class about presentation skills, so the subjects were irrelevant.
 
As said already, humor helps you stand out, makes you presentation livelier, but during a serious presentation, do keep it to a minimum and do it with subtlety.

 

[billybob_jcv]

It is a Speech & Debate class - which means the content is completely irrelevant as long as the argument *sounds* logical and is persuasive. With your topic, I'm thinking either fire & brimstone Southern Baptist preacher, Martin Luther King "I have a dream" or Ronald Reagan "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall". But if you start in character, then stay in character - if you are Kruschev lambasting the United Nations General Assembly, then in the middle of your tirade, take your shoe off and bang on the podium for emphasis.

 

[cheapfi]

Just make sure you video it.   I want to see the shoe banging.

 

[Angels and Air]

Well, after panicking, I finally finished my Speech for tomorrow... if you guys notice any errors or can give me some tips, please respond as soon as possible!
 

Why You Should Lower Your Music Volume​

 
Music is a huge part of our lives. Everyone listens to it. Throughout our campus, students can be seen popping an ear bud or two into their ears, enjoying their music. But did you know that listening to music can be... dangerous!? This can be true if you listen to your music too loudly.
 
The most dangerous repercussion of loud music is hearing loss. The maximum volume of iPods can exceed 100+ decibels, while rock concerts can range from 110-120 decibels and can even go all the way up to 140 decibels if you are right in front of the speakers. Occasionally going to concerts or listening to music above 85 decibels could result in temporary hearing loss, but repeated exposure or listening to high volumes over longer sessions can result in permanent hearing loss. According to a national survey, one out of five teenagers suffer from hearing loss so serious, that the damage might be permanent. Teens that regularly listen to music at high-volumes may not have an immediate effect on their hearing, but it is likely to result in hearing loss later in their life. When suffering from hearing loss, noises sound muffled, and your ears aren’t able to hear all the sound frequencies normally possible, meaning that you wouldn’t be able to detect a low pitched noise such as a passing train or a high pitched noise like a chirping bird. One solution for hearing loss is getting a pair of hearing aids, which can improve hearing to an extent but cannot correct hearing and can be expensive. Not to mention the fact that wearing a hearing aid as a teenager wouldn’t exactly be “cool”.
 
In addition to ruining your hearing, loud music may not be “socially acceptable”. People will consider it rude if you’re listening to music so loudly, that it leaks through your earbuds/headphones and annoys other people. More so if you are at a relatively quiet location, such as a library or a café. Blasting your music through speakers in your home also might annoy your neighbors, so it is best to keep it down.
 
Listening to loud music can also distract you from important surroundings, putting you in danger. Between 2004 and 2011, a study from Injury Prevention, found that 116 pedestrians wearing headphones were injured or died in the U.S. resulting from accidents involving cars or trains they didn’t hear or see coming. Overall, the number of injuries related to headphone use tripled between 2004-05 and 2010-11. In the study, researchers found that in 29% of cases, victims failed to hear the warning sounds of horns and sirens.
 
There are so many good reasons why you shouldn’t listen to loud music and how it can be harmful. Who knows, your music might even sound better a little softer. I’m not asking you guys to stop using a product or completely change your lifestyle. All I want is for you guys to simply lower your music volume.

 

[proton007]

I think its pretty good overall, and you bring some nice points. I just want to highlight a few points. 
 
If you're giving this speech to a decision making audience, you want it to be pro audience. Meaning, you emphasize your point, while not criticizing any of the audience's. This will make sure ppl listen, otherwise they may tune out. So rather than saying, "don't do this", you should say "lets do this, and this is why you should!" 
 
Make it more personal. You might want to relate to someone you know who's had this problem before, or maybe, introduce daily things the audience can notice.
Also, introduce ways for the audience to make a judgment. How can they tell if their music is too loud? For example, " a whisper is measured at 30 decibels, a normal conversation at 60 decibels", so 100dB is definitely too high.
 
Shift the blame. The audience is not at fault, the audio makers are. Most modern earbuds don't provide enough isolation, and users have no choice but to increase volume.
 
And maybe, you can include a few suggestions as well, stuff like IEMs that don't need to be driven as loud.
 
Some humor, as others have suggested.

 

[Angels and Air]

Thanks for the input! 

 
I honestly don't think that my class is going to pay attention to my (or anyone else's) speech because my speech is during 5th Period on the Friday before Thanksgiving Break... everyone'll just want to get out of school!
 
I had to make a poster to go along with the speech, that I'll be walking around the classroom with while talking, there's a little chart that shows what daily noises are measured in decibels. Pretty small though (couldn't find a bigger resolution picture), so I'm going to have to read it off. 
 
I thought about including getting Headphones/IEMs that have Noise Isolation or Noise Cancellation to prevent the need of raising the volume, but I didn't include it since I wanted to finish as quickly as possible... I might as well add it in early tomorrow morning!
 
As ironic as it sounds, the class I'm least social in out of all of my classes is Speech & Debate... I can't imagine other students seeing me trying to include humor... I doubt anyone would laugh anyway. 

 
 

 

[proton007]

Can use slides?
Otherwise looks good.