There are numerous reasons that a student might not be able to speak on a particular day.  Some are valid reasons, and others are not. 

Please do not assume that because you couldn’t make a speech day that you will be able to make-up the speech.  The only way a students is able to make up a speech is if they have discussed their absence with me in person (not email, not via notes), and I have approved the make-up.  I will approve make-ups for situations that are discernibly out of the student’s control, or are directly related to medical-health emergencies.  Planned absences, job-related training sessions, visits to long-lost relatives in some other country, the death of family animals, and trips to the DMV are examples of absences that bear no relationship to class attendance and performance.  They may be personal, yes; so is this class and your decision to commit yourself to it.  If you discover difficulties in your negotiation of priorities after having committed to the course, that is a problem for which you will have to claim responsibility.

Second, please do not assume that if you do get a make-up a speech that it will happen within the same round as everyone else.  We may have run out of time, and it is unfair to everyone else to lose precious preparation time in class just to hear speeches that could or should have been delivered earlier, when scheduled.  If you are allowed a make-up, there are some things you should know: (1) if there is time in the round, you will be asked be on stand-by for each available day after your scheduled day, and if and when we have time, you will be allowed to go then; (2) if there is no time then, you may have to deliver the speech to the professor solo, without an audience; (3) if your reasons for missing the speech are less than valid, but the professor allows the make-up out of grace, you will only be able to recover half the points for the assignment, as it falls under the category of a late assignment, and the syllabus clearly states that late assignments can achieve no more that half credit.

The practice of determining speaker order on the day you deliver your speech is based on first-come-first-served.  If you wish to have more control over this, you are advised to come to class early and write "Speakers" on the board, listing the numbers downward, and putting your name in where you wish.  If you don't care, then come later, after others have already made those choices. 

Speech days are determined by the instructor prior to each round; the order will be intentionally mixed up throughout the semester so that people don't have to go first (or last) every round.

Speech Development Procedure:

For each of the last three speeches (Self-Intro, Speech to Inform, Speech to Persuade), you must provide a Preview Sheet to the instructor no less than one week in advance of your speech date.  This document must be typed on 1 sheet of paper (front and back may be used, if desired).  If no Preview Sheet is provided, then the speech itself will not receive any more than 50% of the total earned.

The speech development procedure is as follows:

1. Select your specific topic.
2. Develop a particular purpose and/or focus to the topic.
3. Conduct some initial research for sources.
4. Analyze why this topic would be especially relevant to this audience.
5. Hand in your Preview Sheet to the instructor while you continue your preparations.
6. Write out your speech.
7. Develop visual and/or audio aids for your key points.
8. Reduce it to a key-word outline.
9. Practice the speech using notes and visual aids only.
10. Deliver your speech on the assigned day.

Preview Sheet content:

1. Your name
2. Date you are giving your speech
3. Topic
4. Specific purpose for the topic
5. Outline of speech
6. Projected visual aids
7. Why you are drawn to this topic
8. Why the audience might need to know about it.