Chapter 11 - Review

Chapter 11 - Public Speaking Preparation (Steps 1—6)

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the nature of public speaking and communication apprehension; apply the suggestions for managing apprehension in public speaking and for overcoming procrastination.

2. Select and narrow public speaking topics, purposes, and theses.

3. Explain the sociological and psychological characteristics of an audience and use these characteristics in analyzing your own audiences.

4. Identify the basic principles of and sources for researching your speech topic and the criteria for evaluating research; effectively evaluate, integrate, and cite this research in your speech.

5. Explain the nature and types of supporting materials in informative and persuasive speeches.

6. Generate main points for your speech from your thesis.

7. Describe the major patterns of speech organization and organize your own speech into an appropriate pattern.

Before getting to the steps for preparing and presenting a public speech, we'll define public speaking and consider the benefits that will reward your public speaking efforts. In addition, we'll address what is probably your number one problem: the fear that so often accompanies giving speeches. As you read these four chapters dealing with public speaking, you'll find it useful to consult the public speaking sections of My Communication Lab.

The Nature of Public Speaking

Public speaking is a form of communication in which a speaker addresses a relatively large audience with a relatively continuous discourse, usually in a face-to-face situation. A student delivering a report to a political science class, a teacher lecturing on the structure of DNA, a minister preaching a sermon, and a politician delivering a campaign speech are all examples of public speaking. In addition, delivering a speech to a television camera to be broadcast to an entire nation or over the radio to be heard by thousands or millions of people is similar in many ways to what is traditionally thought of as public speaking. One way in which it differs is in the nature of the audience feedback. In face-to-face public speaking, the audience gives the speaker immediate feedback largely through facial expressions, head nodding, and posture. In mediated public speaking, the feedback may come a while after the speech in the form of political commentary, for example. Increasingly, however, both remote and immediate audiences are communicating with both face-to-face and mediated public speaking through social media sites such as Twitter. While the speaker is speaking (and afterward as well), listeners are sending messages-communicating approval or disapproval or asking s they hope the speaker will address-to the speaker as well as to other audience members. The simple hashtag has already brought about dramatic changes in public speaking and will surely continue to do so.

In addition to the speeches that you will give in this class and during your college career, you will also he called on to make formal and informal speeches throughout your life. For example, you may make a presentation about a new product at a sales meeting, present your company's rules and regulations to a group of new employees, explain the benefits of a new playground to members of your local PTA, or give a speech about your family genealogy at a family reunion. Regardless of the circumstances under which you give a speech, you will find the 10 steps to public speaking preparation discussed in this chapter and the next extremely practical.

BENEFITS AND SKILLS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Public speaking draws together a wide variety of social, academic, and career skills. Although these skills are central to public speaking, they also enrich other competencies. Among these are your ability to present yourself to others with confidence and self-assurance, to conduct research efficiently and effectively, co understand human motivation, to analyze and evaluate the validity of persuasive appeals, and to use persuasion effectively.

Public speaking, also develop and refine your general communication abilities by helping you explain complex concepts; organize a variety of messages for clarity and persuasiveness; develop logical, emotional, and ethical appeals to support an argument; and improve your listening and delivery skills. It's important to remember, however, that effective public speakers aren't born; they're made. Through instruction, exposure to different speeches, feedback, and individual learning experiences, you can become an effective speaker. Regardless of your present level of competence, you can improve your public speaking skills through proper training.

COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION

People experience communication apprehension in all types of situations (as illustrated throughout this text), but it is in the public speaking situation that apprehension is most common and most severe.

If you experience public speaking apprehension, the following 10 suggestions will help you reduce it, as well as any communication apprehension you might have in small group and interpersonal communication situations:

· Gain experience. New situations such as public speaking are likely to make you anxious, so try to reduce their newness. The best way to do this is to get as much public speaking experience as you can. With experience, your initial fears and anxieties will give way to feelings of control, comfort, and pleasure. Experience will show you that the feelings of accomplishment in public speaking are rewarding and will outweigh any initial anxiety.

· Think positively. When you see yourself as inferior-for example, when you feel that others are better speakers or that they know more than you do-anxiety increases. To gain greater confidence, think positive thoughts and be especially thorough in your preparation. Visualize success; dismiss thoughts of failure.

· Be realistic. Unrealistically high expectations are likely to create anxiety and make you more fearful of the public speaking situation (Ayres, 1986). You do not have to be perfect; you do not have to give the best speech in the class. View your goal as giving a speech that represents the best you can do. At the same time, avoid "catastrophizing," visualizing the very worst that can happen.

· See public speaking as conversation. When you're the center of attention, as you are in public speaking, yon feel especially conspicuous; this often increases anxiety. It may help, therefore, to think of public speaking as another type of conversation (some theorists call it "enlarged conversation").

· Focus on your listeners. When you focus on your listeners, you'll be less fixated on your own performance and less apprehensive. Focus on informing them about your topic or persuading them to think differently or do something. The more attention you place on your audience, the less you'll have for worrying about your performance.

· Stress similarity. When you feel similar to (rather than different from) your audience, your anxiety should lessen. With all audiences, but especially with multicultural gatherings, stress similarities in experiences, attitudes, and values; it will make you feel more at one with your listeners.

· Project confidence. Stand tall, and maintain direct eye contact with your listeners. Behaving confidently is likely to feed back and lead you to feel confident. Feeling confidently is also likely to increase the positive reactions from the audience, which will further help to put you at ease.

· Prepare and practice thoroughly. Much of the fear you experience is a fear of failure. Adequate and even extra preparation will lessen the possibility of failure and the accompanying apprehension. Because apprehension is greatest during the beginning of the speech, try memorizing the first few sentences of your talk. If there are complicated facts or figures, he sure to write these out and plan to read them; this will remove from your mind any worry about forgetting them.

· Move about and breathe deeply. Physical activity- gross bodily movements as well as the small movements of the hands, face, and head-lessens apprehension, Using a visual aid, for example, will temporarily divert attention from you and will allow you to get rid of your excess energy. If you breathe deeply a few times before getting up to speak, you'll sense your body relax. This will help you overcome your initial fear of walking to the front of the room.

· Avoid chemicals as tension relievers. Unless prescribed by a physician, avoid any chemical means for reducing apprehension. Alcohol does not lessen public speaking anxiety and tranquilizers, marijuana, and artificial stimulants are likely to create problems rather than reduce them. They're likely to impair your ability to remember the parts of your speech, to accurately read audience feedback, and to regulate the timing of your speech.

If, as a listener, you perceive that the speaker is apprehensive, you can help in a number of ways:

· Positively reinforce the speaker. A nod, a smile, an attentive appearance (especially maintaining eye contact) will help put the speaker at ease. Resist the temptation to check your text messages or talk with a friend.

· Ask s in a supportive manner. If there's a period, ask information-seeking s rather than firing off critical challenges. And ask s in a way that won't encourage defensiveness. Instead of saying, "Your criticism of heavy metal music is absurd;' say, "Why do you find the lyrics of heavy metal harmful?"

· Don't focus on errors. If the speaker fumbles, don't put your head down, cover your eyes, or otherwise communicate your awareness of the fumble. Instead, continue listening to the content of the speech; let the speaker know that you're focused on what is being said.

STARTING EARLY

At the most obvious level, starting early provides you with the time needed to process the information you’re going to talk about and to get used to the idea of preparing for the presentation of your speech. Starting early provides you with the time to overcome the inevitable unanticipated roadblocks: a website that you thought would be helpful is now dead, the person you wanted to interview isn't available, or your neighbor's parties make the weekends useless for working on your speech. You will also have the time to rehearse your speech to ensure that your delivery will be effective and to help reduce any fear of public speaking you might have. Interesting enough, starting early may enable you to avoid health problems often associated with procrastination; for example, college students who procrastinate experience more colds and flu, more gastrointestinal problems, and more insomnia. Here are several suggestions for overcoming this tendency to delay certain tasks. Supplement these with the excellent advice given on college websites (just search for "procrastination").

· Make a commitment to starting early. Create a computer file for your speech, collect information, and file it for easy retrieval.

· Beware of your tendency to seek out distractions. You don't have to rearrange and organize your photos or redo your Facebook profile, for example. When you get the urge to do something else, become mindful of what you're really doing- making an excuse to delay the task at hand.

· Avoid self-handicapping strategies (Chapter 2, p. 45); these will only make it more difficult for you to prepare and present an effective speech.

· Work in small steps. Fortunately, this aid to overcoming procrastination is built into the 10-step public speaking system used here; each step is already a relatively small unit. Set aside 20 or 30 minutes (it's often best to start with small units of time) and see what you can do with step I. Then, when you're farther along in the process increase the time you spend on each step.

The rest of this chapter looks at the first six of the 10 steps for preparing an effective public speech. The final four steps are covered in the next chapter.

Practice Quiz

1. If you are going to inform or persuade an audience, you must know who they are.

A. True

B. False

2. The __________ purpose of your speech identifies the information you want to communicate or the attitude or behavior you want to change.

specific

major

general

objective

3. Portia’s audience does not know much about her topic, stamp collecting. One thing Portia might do is to__________.

avoid talking down to her audience

emphasize the similarities between her and the audience

build her speech from areas of agreement up to the major differences

ask for a fair hearing

The first step in preparing an effective public speech is to analyze your audience.

True

False

Which of the following is an example of public speaking?

a family chatting about their day around the dinner table

a minister preaching a sermon to a packed church

a supervisor calling a quick team meeting of five employees

a college freshman Skyping with her mom and dad

Which of the following would make the best topic for a speech?

Sports in America

The 1976 Cincinnati Reds: March to the Pennant

Baseball: A History

The National League: 1900-2000

Public speakers are not born-they are made.

True

False

If you mention your sources in your speech, then there is no need to provide a written citation as well.

True

False

Which of the following would probably be the BEST topic for your very first public speech?

“All Good Mothers Nurse Their Babies”

“Barack Obama: Traitor to America”

“How to Grow Tomatoes at Home”

“Only Christians Go to Heaven”

As Ali develops the main points of his speech, he should avoid __________.

eliminating any points

developing the points separately

presenting too much information

combining points

Kiara is wondering if her audience of single college students would be interested in a speech about post-partum depression. In this case, Kiara is analyzing the __________ of her audience.

educational levels

relational status

political beliefs

values

Zion is organizing his persuasive speech in a motivated sequence. He is primarily interested in changing his audience’s beliefs about legalizing same-sex marriage. Therefore, his speech must go at least as far as the __________ step.

need

satisfaction

visualization

attention

In an informative speech, your supporting materials __________.

establish your credibility

primarily amplify the concepts you discuss

provide motivational appeal for your audience

offer evidence to support your argument

Your speech’s __________ focuses on the __________.

purpose; message

thesis; audience

purpose; thesis

thesis; message

One way to reduce communication apprehension is to __________.

avoid speaking in public except when absolutely necessary

set extremely high expectations for yourself

focus on your own performance

get as much public speaking experience as you can

Which of the following would be a primary source?

a television news story commemorating Pearl Harbor Day

a diary kept by a pioneer who traveled the Kansas prairies

an encyclopedia article about the Renaissance

a book report about the Harry Potter series

Which of the following would be an example of a persuasive speech?

a speech about your trip to Vietnam

a demonstration of how to upload a file to YouTube

a speech at a political convention

a lecture in a chemistry class

Which of the following is a good way to pick a topic for your first speech?

randomizing

trolling

brainstorming

stonewalling

When you organize your topic on the basis of a time relationship, you generally divide the speech into two, three, or four major parts.

True

False

When is communication apprehension the greatest?

about a week before you give your speech

during the beginning of your speech

as you prepare to make your final remarks

after you finish the speech and get listener feedback

When you know you have a speech to deliver, you should __________.

remember that almost everyone works better under pressure

seek out several distractions to help reduce communication apprehension

commit to starting your research early

begin by working in large, two- to three-hour steps

The __________ pattern is useful in informative speeches when you want to discuss how something is constructed and what it does.

what-if

structure-function

claim-and-proof

multiple-definition

Vicente is preparing a speech on space travel. He notes that one of the sources he has consulted was written in 1940, so he decides he will not use that source. On what basis did Vicente decide the information was not reliable?

currency

sufficiency

fairness

qualifications

The __________ pattern divides a speech topic into subtopics or component parts.

problem-solution

claim-and-proof

spatial

topical

As you are giving a speech, it is never a good idea to __________.

address audience responses directly

emphasize your competence in the general subject area

ignore the messages your audience is sending you

use answers to your “what-if” s

Communication apprehension is uncommon among public speakers.

True

False

Suppose the president of the United States delivers a speech over the radio to be heard by listeners in their homes. How does this differ from what is traditionally thought of as “public speaking”?

a radio address is not continuous discourse

not enough people will hear the speech for it to be considered “public speaking”

listener feedback will not be immediate

the president will probably be reading from prepared notes

In the first part of his speech, Donald shows how difficult it can be for people with physical disabilities to maneuver in and out of public buildings. In the second part of his speech, he discusses some things that can be done to make these buildings more accessible. Donald appears to be using the __________ pattern for his speech.

fiction-fact

problem-solution

structure-function

time

Rick’s audience seems bored with his presentation. Rick might consider __________.

rephrasing his ideas

moving closer to them

pausing for a moment to let the audience absorb what they have heard

giving the audience additional explanations and definitions

One difference between informative and persuasive speeches is that informative speeches __________.

try to change the audience’s beliefs

rely heavily on logical and credibility support

use the thesis to state the debatable position to be argued

are generally noncontroversial

In his speech, Owen wants to show the similarities and differences between American football and Canadian football. A good organizational pattern for him to use would be the __________ pattern.

structure-function

pro-and-con

comparison-and-contrast

claim-and-proof

Most __________ topics lend themselves well to organization by a time pattern.

historical

music-related

controversial

entertainment-related

Chloe is feeling very nervous about her upcoming speech. Which of the following would you advise her to do?

focus on the speech rather than the audience

take a few deep breaths just before she gets up to speak

visualize herself delivering a perfect speech

have a drink or two before she delivers the speech

Malvine is interviewing her grandfather about his experiences in World War 2. Which of the following is an example of the type of she should ask?

“Was it difficult being in the Army?”

“Did you serve in the Pacific?”

“What was it like, being under enemy fire?”

“Were the meals as bad as I’ve always heard?”

Your speech aims to demonstrate that Hurricane Sandy was a direct result of global warming. A good organizational pattern for you to use would be the __________ pattern.

spatial

topical

pro-and-con

cause-effect

Patrick wonders if his informative speech about the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon show will be well received by his audience: residents of the local senior citizens center. Which audience characteristic is Patrick considering here?

gender

age

occupation and income

religion

When you are trying to find a topic for a speech, you should __________.

ignore your own interests and pursuits as the audience will simply not be interested

read surveys to discover what your audience finds important

avoid brainstorming as this will simply provide you with too many ideas

stay away from issues that have been in the news recently

Ximena can tell that her speech-arguing in favor of a national healthcare system-is not going over well with her audience. Ximena would be wise to __________.

emphasize the differences between herself and her audience

build her speech from areas of major differences, to areas of slight disagreement, up to areas of agreement

ask her audience to hear her out first

attempt to completely win over the entire audience

Once you phrase your thesis statement, the main divisions of your speech will suggest themselves.

True

False

Which organizational pattern is traditionally used by journalists?

the multiple-definition pattern

the fiction-fact pattern

the advantages-disadvantages pattern

the who? what? why? where? when? pattern

Victoria wants to show in her speech that an increase in school funding will result in higher test scores. The multiple-definition pattern would be a good organizational pattern for her speech.

True

False

The appropriateness of a speech topic will vary with the culture of the audience.

True

False

As you conduct research for your speech, be aware that articles in Wikipedia __________.

are considered primary sources of information

are written by experts in their fields

rarely include extensive references

are not fact-checked

J.B.’s speech is attempting to persuade his listeners that childhood vaccines cause autism. One of his main sources is a famous actress, who claims in a new book that her son became autistic after receiving a vaccine. In this case, J.B.’s source __________.

does not have the necessary credentials to write authoritatively on this issue

is very good because the book is brand new and therefore very current

should be persuasive to the audience because the actress is writing about her own personal experiences

is not good because scientific information in books is too out of date to be useful

Begin your research by examining what you already know.

True

False

You are in the audience during Isamu’s speech and you can tell that he is very nervous. The kindest thing you can do for him would be to __________.

smile at him, make eye contact, and pay attention to him

make an obvious show of texting on your phone, to make him think you do not notice his nervousness

cover your eyes each time he makes a mistake, to give him a realistic idea of how he is doing

get up and leave quietly so as not to prolong his embarrassment

Ideally, your speech should contain no more than __________ main points.

four

five

six

seven

The __________ of a speech focuses on the __________.

purpose; audience

purpose; message

thesis; audience

thesis; purpose

In her speech, which is organized in a motivated sequence, Salomé hopes to persuade her young listeners to register to vote. Therefore, she will need to organize her information all the way through the __________ step.

action

need

satisfaction

attention

In a persuasive speech, __________ includes appeals to the audience’s emotions and to their desires for status, financial gain, or increased self-esteem.

logical support

motivational support

credibility

a presentation aid

Chapter Quiz

1. The main idea that will be conveyed to an audience is the __________.

purpose

thesis

hypothesis

theory

Noticing that you are very nervous about your upcoming speech, Javier makes a grave error when he advises you to __________.

think of your speech as a conversation

drink a few cups of coffee before your speech

focus on your audience rather than on yourself

spend plenty of time practicing

Jacques has been asked to deliver a speech to the school chess club. In this case, he needs to pay particular attention to his audience’s __________.

religion

political beliefs

occupation and income

special interests

Which of the following is an example of a thesis of a speech?

To persuade my audience that all alcohol advertising should be abolished.

Lee Harvey Oswald was not the lone gunman in the Kennedy assassination.

To explain to my audience how to grow herbs in containers.

To convince my audience that they should support the construction of a new parking lot at the museum.

If your first speech is informative, select a topic about which your audience knows a lot.

True

False

Public speaking draws together a wide variety of social, academic, and career skills.

True

False

Spending some time on Twitter would __________.

help you avoid self-handicapping strategies as you prepare your speech

give you an idea of potential speech topics people are interested in

expose you to the most accurate and credible information available anywhere

be a waste of time if you still need to select a topic for your speech

Keeping “what if” s in mind as you prepare your speech will help you make on-the-spot adjustments to your audience.

True

False

Which of the following is an example of a specific purpose of a persuasive speech?

to convince your audience to vote for the upcoming school tax levy

to tell your audience how to upload a file to YouTube

to demonstrate to your audience how to make pasta from scratch

to inform your audience of the benefits of regular exercise

Discussions of most physical objects fit well into __________ organizational patterns.

pro-con

problem-solution

spatial

topical

It is preferable to cover a limited topic in depth rather than a broad topic superficially.

True

False

The form of communication in which a speaker addresses a relatively large audience with a relatively continuous discourse is called __________.

intrapersonal communication

mass communication

media literacy

public speaking

As part of his research on global warming, Aaron finds a website that contains links to dozens of articles claiming that global warming is a hoax but not one that indicates global warming is actually occurring. Aaron should beware of the __________ of the information he finds on this website.

currency

grammar and syntax

timeliness

fairness

Danni senses that her audience has become impatient with her. One thing she might do is to __________.

pause a moment and rephrase her ideas

say “my last argument” instead of her originally planned “my third argument”

provide additional examples or definitions

paraphrase what she has just said in order to recapture their interest

An informative speech organized in a motivated sequence could stop after the __________ step.

attention

satisfaction

need

problem-solution

The best place to get expert advice about databases and other useful resources available to you, especially nonprint resources, is probably __________.

your academic advisor

a student who took a communications class last year

your college library

Wikipedia

Corazon wants to interview a famous author to gather some information for her upcoming speech. Corazon should __________.

include all of her s in the initial e-mail she sends the author

be sure to avoid open-ended s

tape or print the interview, with her subject’s permission

avoid using a “cheat sheet” as she conducts the interview

In his speech on capital punishment, Gerard wants to refer to remarks his state senator recently made about the subject. The best place for Gerard to find this material would probably be __________.

the local newspaper

a biography published about the senator last year

an academic research article on capital punishment

an encyclopedia article on capital punishment

Suppose Amber wants to show why the plan to turn a local vacant lot into a playground is a much better idea than the plan to pave the lot over and make it a parking lot. A good organizational structure for her speech might be the __________ pattern.

advantages-disadvantages

structure-function

who? what? when? where? why?

multiple-definition

In the __________ organizational pattern, your main points would be incorrect statements, and under these would be accurate information that contradicts the misconceptions.

fiction-fact

multiple-definition

time

pro-and-con

If you need to begin preparing for a speech, but you know you are a procrastinator, it would be a good idea for you to __________.

begin by working in small units of time

accomplish some household tasks first to motivate yourself

set aside all day one weekend to begin gathering materials

remind yourself that everyone does better under pressure

One way a persuasive speech differs from an informative speech is that a persuasive speech __________.

is usually much shorter than an informative speech

attempts only to communicates new information to listeners

relies heavily on logic and credible data

is never humorous or entertaining

In an informative speech, consider using __________ to clarify complex terms.

definitions

motivational support

primary sources

numerical data

You should use parallel grammatical structures in wording the major propositions of your speech.

True

False

Be certain to mention your sources in your speech by citing, at minimum, __________.

the date you did your research

the names of the authors

the publication date

the publication title

Pages

SPC1017 - Essentials of Human Communication

Chapter 11 - Review

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

Popular Posts

Blog Archive