The purpose of this Speech Observation Paper is to analysis the verbal strengths and weaknesses, and the non-verbal strengths and weaknesses of the speaker, Billy Wilson.
This Speech Observation Paper is on "Principles from the Prophets, On Location in Jordan, Deciding Your Destiny." The setting was developed with the intent of being recorded and viewed on VHS tape players or through Internet access for the purpose of teaching lessons from the Bible. The location used is a powerful tool in recording the lesson, "Deciding Your Destiny." This location is described as a "traditional location where the Prophet Elijah was carried back to Heaven in a chariot of fire and by a whirlwind" (www.vosministries.org). The location is in Jordan, Israel, with Billy Wilson as the speaker. .
Billy Wilson strolls down a desert terrain and stops and leans on a three to four foot high boulder, used as his prop or seating for the duration of the lesson. Behind Billy Wilson is the Bethany-Beyond-Jordan. Billy Wilson begins by explaining the importance of the setting, "Many archeologists have called this the birthplace of Christianity because right here in this vicinity is where John the Baptist declared, "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River" (www.vosministries.org).
Billy Wilson's setting is recorded without a live audience, his audience being the viewers of VHS videocassettes or through the www.vosministries.org website.
Billy Wilson's verbal strengths include verbal cues by directly stating the point of his speech by saying, "What I want to talk to you about" and highlighting a brief description, using this cue several times in the speech. This approach reinforcing the important lesson in the information he is conveying. Billy Wilson's use of the rise, fall, and the tone of his voice maintains the listener interest in the story. The use of personal pronouns in reference to his viewer as an individual that he is addressing and not a mass of spectators creates a bond between himself and the viewer.