DSST Principles of Public Speakin

[jlongbo]

Has anyone taken the Speech CLEP recently? If so, I'd like to know what you think the difficult of the exam is and what's the best study material you used? Also, I'm curous on what to expect for the actual speech portion - i.e. what are some good topic examples to use to practice? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mskitty]

I took it a month ago. I passed the written test but not the speech part because "did not have enthusiasm and/or had a low rate in voice fluctuation". I didn't really study. I read the Wise Owl Guide to DSST Principles of Public Speaking second edition a couple of times and a black book with a bunch of tests (can't remember the name). I went over three tests in the book. The difficult part of the exam is not knowing what topic you will get because you have 15 minutes to create a speech. If you went to ALS, follow the outlines and you will be set. It's a persuasive speech, so you need to pick a side and stick to it. Examples would be if marijuana should be legalized or should students wear uniforms in school.

I am sucking up to pay the fee to take it again because I absolutely do not want to go to a speech class.

[SoliDeoGloria]

Hi! Below is a copy of what I wrote for the Specific Feedback section of this forum. If you are a subscriber to InstantCert, I would highly recommend checking out the Specific Feedback on this test.

I took this test a month ago, and took two weeks to study off and on, probably didn't need that long though. I know that this is a dreaded test for many people, but it really isn't that bad, with some practice.

I didn't study for the multiple choice portion until the week before, and the only resource I used for that was the Peterson's Official Guide to Mastering the DSST. You should be able to get it from your library. I also reviewed the DSST Official Fact Sheet.

The impromptu speech was the part I wasn't looking forward to...I'm not that great at speaking off the top of my head. But as the saying goes, "practice makes perfect." This is one of those tests you just have to take a deep breath, dive in, and don't look back until you are done . I also have to share that I have the opportunity to watch impromptus on several occasions, so I have seen how they work, but have never given one myself.

I used How to Write a Speech for the Principles of Public Speaking DSST Study Guide - Free-Clep-Prep.com for most of it. There is a page with a list of sample topics and audiences. I went through all of these, plus these topics:
Should there be year-round school?
Should women be in active combat?
Should there be imposed term limits?
Should guns be controlled by the government?
Should minors be tried as adults?
Should students be required to perform community service?
Should there be state-run gambling?
Should we continue daylight savings?

I also went through Peterson's three PT - very helpful - and scored 58%, 70%, and 79%, respectively.

I practice about 20 speeches in preparation for this. I downloaded the audio recorder recommended on the FCP website and gave my speeches to my computer. My speeches started out very poorly: choppy, long pauses, too short. I probably went through 10 speeches before I finally started seeing any progress, but they did slowly get better. It is really fun to watch and realize that you actually can do it! So don't give up too early .

The basic format I used for my speeches was as follows:

Introduction: Hook (sentence, quote, or story)
State three points (3 points give a well-rounded speech)

Body: point 1
explain what it is
examples
Same thing with points 2 and 3

Conclusion: Restate 3 points
Summarize what was said
Clincher (tie it back into your hook for extra effect)

Speeches are different than papers because you have to share your information in a way that will help your audience remember what you said throughout the whole speech. The golden rule about giving a speech is "Tell your audience what you are going to say. Say it. Tell them what you said."

I passed received a score of 71 on the multiple choice part, and a PASS on the speech! Praise the Lord! A lot of prayer went into this test.

This is a rather long post, but I mostly just want to encourage you that it is completely possible to pass this test. And being able to overcome a challenge is very inspiring. Don't pass over this test just because it looks too hard!