Introduction to Public Speaking – Week 5 Lecture
Chapters 9 -11 Outline
This week, it’s time to start thinking not only
about the process of public speaking but the process of public speaking online. In your readings and
assignments, you’ll put into practices some of the
principles of effective online delivery. Chapter 9 describes the types of
visual aids that speakers may use, the criteria for making choices about which
and how many visual aids to use, ways of designing visual aids to best adapt to
the audience’s needs, and guidelines for using them in speeches. Chapter 10
addresses the critical role of language in the speech process, specifically
discussing effective oral style and how to use the kind of
language that is instantly intelligible to the ear so the audience receives the
same meaning you intend. Chapter
11 describes the characteristics of effective delivery. It explains the
elements of effective delivery and discusses the three types of speech delivery
and the settings in which each is most appropriate. The chapter also describes
how to conduct a rehearsal session that will prepare you to deliver your speech
in a dynamic, conversational style.
CHAPTER 9
OUTLINE
Introduction (p. 154): Presentational aid: Any visual, audio, audiovisual, or other
sensory material used in a speech.
I.
Benefits
of presentational aids (p. 154).
A.
They
clarify and dramatize your verbal message; they help audiences understand and
remember your message; they allow you to address the diverse learning style
preferences of your audience members; and they increase persuasive appeal.
B.
Using
presentational aids may help you to feel more competent and confident.
II. Types of presentational aids (p. 155).
A.
Visual
aids enhance the verbal message by allowing audiences to see what it is you are describing or explaining.
1.
Actual objects: inanimate or animate samples of the idea
you are communicating.
a. Inanimate objects make good visual aids if
they are:
i.
Large
enough for all audience members to see.
ii.
Small enough
to carry to the speech site.
iii.
Simple
enough to understand visually.
iv.
Safe.
b. Some animate objects also make effective
visual aids.
i.
You can
be a visual aid by showing motions like how to
swing a golf club or use your attire to illustrate the native dress of a
particular country.
ii.
Another
person can be a visual aid by helping you
demonstrate a process.
iii.
Animals
can also be effective visual aids but keep in
mind that they can also be hard to control and distracting.
2.
When an
object’s size is inappropriate, too complex, potentially unsafe or uncontrollable, a model, a three-dimensional scaled-down or scaled-up version of an
actual object, can be an effective aid.
3.
If an
exact reproduction of material is needed, photographs can be excellent visual aids.
Be sure the image is large enough for the audience to see and that the object
of interest in the photo is clearly identified and, ideally, in the foreground.
4.
Simple drawings and diagrams (a type of drawing that shows how the whole
relates to its parts) can be effective because you can choose how much detail to include.
5.
Maps can be effective visual aids because they allow you to orient audiences
to landmarks, states, cities, land routes, weather systems, and so on.
6.
A chart is a graphic representation that
distills a lot of information into
an easily interpreted visual format.
a. A flowchart
uses symbols and connecting lines to diagram a sequence of steps through a
complicated process.
b. An organizational
chart shows the structure of an organization in terms of rank and chain of
command.
c. A pie
chart is a diagram that shows the relationships among parts of a single unit.
7.
A graph presents numerical comparisons.
a. A bar
graph uses vertical or horizontal bars to show relationships between two or more variables.
b. A line
graph indicates change in one or more variables over time.
B.
Audio aids enhance a verbal message through sound.
Audio material should make up no
more than about 5 percent of your speaking time.
C.
Audiovisual aids enhance the verbal message through sight and
sound. Keep them to no more than 5 percent of your speaking time.
D.
Other
sensory aids. Depending on your topic, you may want to choose sensory aids that appeal to smell, touch, or taste.
III. Choosing presentational aids (p. 161). It is
important to decide what content you want to highlight and how. These
guidelines can help you make your decision.
A.
Illustrate
the most important ideas to understand and remember.
B.
Clarify
complex ideas that are difficult to explain verbally.
C.
Are
appropriate for the size of the audience.
D.
Make
dull information and details more interesting.
E.
Enhance
rather than overwhelm the verbal message.
F.
Demonstrate
cultural sensitivity and avoid offending your
audience.
IV. Preparing presentational aids (p. 161). The
goal is to prepare professional- looking and sounding presentational aids that
will enhance your ethos (perceived competence, credibility, and character) in
addition to clarifying your message and
making it more memorable. There are several guidelines to follow:
A.
Limit
the reading required of the audience.
B.
Customize
presentational aids from other sources.
C.
Use a graphics and type sizes that can be seen easily and a
volume and sound quality that can be
heard easily by your entire audience.
D.
Use a
consistent font that is easy to read.
E.
Make
sure information is laid out in an aesthetically
pleasing way.
F.
Use
graphic illustrations as visuals.
G.
Use
color strategically.
1.
Use the
same background color and theme for all your
presentational aids.
2.
Use the
same color to show similarities, and use opposite colors (on a color wheel) to show differences
between ideas.
3.
Use
bright colors to highlight important information. Avoid using red and green
together because audience members who are color-blind
may not be able to distinguish between them.
4.
Use
dark colors for lettering on a white background and a light color for lettering on dark background.
5.
Use no
more than two or three colors on any presentational aid that is not a photograph or video clip.
6.
Pretend
you are your audience. Sit as far away as they will be sitting, and evaluate
the colors you have chosen for their readability and appeal.
V. Using presentational aids (p. 165). The
following guidelines are helpful in using
presentational aids.
A.
Plan
carefully when to use each presentational aid and make a note of it on your
formal outline and in your speaking notes.
B.
Position
presentational aids and equipment so all audience members can see and/or hear them before beginning
your speech.
C.
Talk
about and visually reference the visual aid while showing it and the audio or
audiovisual aid just before and just after playing it.
D.
Make
eye contact with the audience (not the presentational aid) while discussing it.
CHAPTER 10 OUTLINE
Introduction
(p. 170): In written communication, effective style evolves through a
repetitious process of reading and revising. In a speech, effective style
develops through a repetitious process of practicing aloud and revising. This chapter
will help clarify the difference between oral and written style and then
provide some specific strategies to employ to ensure that language is
appropriate, accurate, clear, and vivid.
I. Oral
style: the manner in which
one conveys messages through the spoken
word (p. 170).
A.
The
oral style is more formal than everyday talk. The degree of formality is based on the
rhetorical situation.
B.
Four
primary characteristics distinguish an effective oral style from an effective written style.
1.
An
effective oral style tends toward short sentences and familiar language.
2.
An
effective oral style features plural personal
pronouns.
3.
An
effective oral style employs descriptive words and phrases that appeal to the
ear in ways that sustain listener interest and
promote retention.
4.
An
effective oral style incorporates clear macrostructural elements.
II. Speaking
appropriately means using
language that adapts to the needs, interests, knowledge, and attitudes of your
listeners and avoiding language that alienates any audience members (p. 172).
Speaking appropriately means paying
special attention to verbal immediacy.
A.
Relevance.
Listeners pay attention to and are motivated to listen to ideas that have a
personal impact.
B.
Common ground: shared background, knowledge, attitudes.
1.
Use
personal pronouns: “we” language, the use of “we,” “our,” and “us,” conveys a sense of connection
with your listeners.
2.
Ask
rhetorical questions.
3.
Draw
from common experiences.
C.
Linguistic sensitivity: choosing words that are respectful of
others and avoids potentially offensive language. You can enhance verbal immediacy by avoiding:
1.
Generic language that uses words that apply only to one sex,
race, or other group as though they
represent everyone.
2.
Nonparallel language, when terms are changed
because of the sex, race, or other
group characteristics of the individual.
a.
Marking is the addition of sex, race, age, or other group designations to a description.
b.
Irrelevant association
is when
we emphasize one person’s relationship to another when that relationship is
irrelevant to the point.
3.
Offensive
humor, such as dirty jokes and racist, sexist, or other “-ist” remarks, may not be intended to be offensive,
but if some listeners are offended, you
will have lost verbal immediacy.
4.
Profanity
and vulgarity.
D.
Cultural
diversity. When you are a member of a cultural group that operates differently
from that of the majority of your audience, you need to adapt your language to be appropriate for your audience.
E.
Speaking
accurately. Use accurate language,
words that convey your meaning precisely.
1.
Language
is arbitrary. The words we use to represent things are arbitrary symbols.
2.
Language
is abstract. Two people might interpret the same word quite differently.
3.
Language
changes over time. New words and phrases are constantly being invented and
existing words are abandoned or assigned new meanings.
F.
Using
accurate language is crucial to effective speaking because it helps you to be intelligible, clearly understood.
1.
Denotation: direct, explicit meaning given to a word by its language community (the dictionary definition).
a.
Denotation
reflects current and past practices in the
language community.
b.
Meaning
may vary depending on the context,
the position of a word in a sentence and its relationship to the other words around it.
2.
Connotation: positive, neutral, or negative feelings or evaluations associated with a word.
a.
Our
perception of a word’s connotation may be even more important than its denotation
in how we interpret the meaning of the word.
b.
Connotations
give emotional power to words
3.
Dialect, a regional or ethnic variety of a language, can also affect listener understanding of your message.
a.
Speech communities are smaller groups that speak a common dialect.
b.
If your
audience doesn’t share the dialect you normally speak,
using it during your speeches can interfere with the intelligibility of your
message.
c.
Because
most audiences are diverse, the best way to ensure being
understood by all and to conveying positive ethos is to use Standard English.
IV. Speaking clearly decreases ambiguity and
audience confusion when we speak.
(p. 179)
A.
Use specific language: clarifying meaning
by using precise words that narrow what is understood
from a general category to a particular item
of group within a category.
1.
Choosing
specific language is easier when you have a large working vocabulary.
a. Study one of the many vocabulary-building books.
b. Take note of words that you read or that people
use in conversations and look them up.
c. Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms that
may be more specific options.
2.
Use a
more complex word only when you believe that it is the very best word for a specific
context.
B.
Choose
familiar terms.
1.
Avoid
the use of jargon, slang, abbreviations, and acronyms unless you define them
clearly the first time they are used and using them is central to your speech goal.
a. Jargon
refers to unique technical
terminology of a trade or profession that is not generally
understood by outsiders.
b. Slang
refers to informal,
nonstandard vocabulary and nonstandard
definitions assigned to words by a social group of subculture.
2.
Overusing
and misusing abbreviations and acronyms can also hinder clarity.
C.
Provide
details and examples: achieving clarity by adding details and examples.
D.
Limit vocalized pauses: unnecessary words
interjected into sentences to fill
moments of silence.
V. Speaking vividly is one effective way to maintain
your audience’s interest and help them remember what you say. Vivid language is full of life:
vigorous, bright, and intense (p. 181).
A.
Use sensory language, language that appeals
to the senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling. To develop
vivid sensory language, consider how
you can recreate what something, someone or some place looks like, sounds like,
feels like, tastes like or smells like.
B.
Use rhetorical figures, phrases that make
striking comparisons between things
that are not obviously alike, and rhetorical structure of speech, phrases that combine ideas in a
particular way.
1.
A simile is a direct comparison of
dissimilar things using the word like or
as. Similes can be effective because
they make ideas more vivid in listener’s minds.
2.
A metaphor is an implied comparison
between two unlike things,
expressed without using like
or as. Metaphors can be
effective because they make an abstract concept more concrete.
3.
An analogy is an extended metaphor.
Analogies can be effective for holding
your speech together in a creative and vivid
way.
4.
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words that are near one
another. Use sparingly to catch listeners’ attention and make the speech memorable.
5.
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in a phrase or phrases.
6.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that sound like the
things they stand for, such as “buzz,” “hiss,” “crack,” and “plop.”
7.
Personification attributes human qualities to a concept or
an inanimate object.
8.
Repetition is restating words, phrases, or sentences
for emphasis.
9.
Antithesis is combining contrasting ideas in the same
sentence. Use in the concluding
remarks to be memorable.
CHAPTER 11 OUTLINE
Introduction (p. 187): Delivery is important because how well the ideas are spoken can have a major impact on the audience’s
interest, understanding, and memory.
I.
Characteristics
of an effective delivery. Delivery is
how a message is communicated nonverbally through your
use of voice and body. Nonverbal
communication includes all speech elements other than the words themselves (p. 187).
A.
Conversational:
Use a conversational tone so your
audience feels you are talking with them, not at them. The hallmark of conversational tone is spontaneity, the ability to sound
natural as you speak.
B.
Animated:
Be animated, lively and dynamic. The
secret is to focus on conveying the passion you feel about your topic through
your voice and body.
II. Use of voice and body. Achieving effective
conservational and dynamic delivery
is the goal (p. 188).
A.
Use of
voice: Characteristics of voice—the
sound produced by vocal organs—include the following: pitch is the highness or lowness of the sounds produced; volume is how loudly or softly you
speak; rate is the speed at which
you talk; and quality is the tone or
timbre of your voice and what distinguishes it from the voices of others.
1.
Intelligibility:
To speak intelligibly means to be understandable.
a.
Appropriate
volume is the key to intelligibility.
b.
The
rate at which you speak can determine how intelligible your message is.
c.
Articulation, using the tongue, palate, teeth, jaws, and
lips to shape vocalized sounds that
combine to produce a word, can determine how intelligible your message is.
d.
Pronunciation, the form and accent of various syllables of
a word.
e.
Accent, the inflection, tone, and speech habits typical of native speakers of
a language, may impact intelligibility. If your accent
is different from most of your audience, practice pronouncing
key words so that you are easily understood; speak slowly to allow your audience members more time to
process your message; and consider using visual aids to reinforce key terms,
concepts, and important points.
2.
Vocal
expression: Use vocal expression by changing your pitch, volume and rate,
stressing certain words, and using pauses strategically.
a.
Actual
or near monotone, a voice in which
the pitch, volume, and rate remain
constant, with no word, idea, or sentence differing significantly from any other,
diminishes the chances of audience understanding.
b.
Use stress, emphasis placed on certain
words by speaking them more loudly than the rest of the sentence, to shape your meaning.
c.
Pauses, moments of silence strategically placed to enhance meaning, can also
mark important ideas.
B.
Use of
body: Effective use of the body contributes to how conversational and animated your audience perceives you to be.
1.
Appearance, the way you look to others, matters; studies show that a neatly
groomed and professional appearance sends important messages about a speaker’s
commitment to the topic and occasion, as
well as the speaker’s credibility.
a.
Consider
your audience and the occasion.
b.
Consider
your topic and purpose.
c.
Avoid
extremes; you want your audience to focus on your message, so your appearance
should be neutral, not distracting.
2.
Posture refers to the position or bearing with which you hold your body.
3.
Poise is a graceful and controlled use of the body that gives the impression
that you are self-assured, calm, and dignified.
4.
Eye contact is directly looking at the people to whom
you are speaking.
a.
Maintaining
eye contact helps audiences concentrate on
the speech.
b.
Maintaining
eye contact bolsters ethos.
c.
Maintaining
eye contact helps you gauge audience reaction to your
ideas.
d.
When
speaking with large audiences of 100 or more people, you must create a sense of
looking listeners in the eye even though you actually cannot. This process is called audience contact.
5.
Facial expressions, the eye and mouth movements that convey emotions can help animate your speech.
6.
Gestures, the movements of your hands, arms, and fingers, can emphasize important points and clarify structure.
7.
Movement refers to changing your body position. During your speech, it is
important to engage only in motivated
movement, movement with a specific purpose such as emphasizing an important
idea, referencing a presentational aid, or clarifying macrostructure.
III. Delivery methods (p. 195).
A.
Impromptu speeches: delivered with only seconds or minutes of advance notice for preparation and
usually presented without referring to notes.
B.
Scripted speeches: prepared by creating a complete written manuscript and delivered by reading from
or memorizing it.
C.
Extemporaneous speeches: researched and planned ahead of time but
with wording that is not scripted and varies from
presentation to presentation.
IV. Rehearsals: rehearsing is the iterative process of practicing your speech aloud. (p. 196).
A.
Speaking notes: a key word outline of your speech includes
hard-to- remember information and delivery cues.
1.
The
best notes contain the fewest words possible written in lettering large enough to be seen
instantly at a distance.
2.
To develop
notes begin by reducing your speech outline to an abbreviated outline of key
phrases and words.
3.
A
separate note card can be used for quotations and
details you must cite exactly.
4.
During
practice sessions, use the notes as you would in the speech.
B.
Presentational aids.
1.
Carefully
plan when to use the presentational aids.
2.
Consider
the audience’s needs carefully.
3.
Position
presentational aids and equipment before beginning your speech.
4.
Share a
presentational aid only when talking about it.
5.
Display
presentational aids so that everyone in the audience can see and hear them.
6.
Reference
the presentational aid during the speech.
7.
Talk to
your audience, not to the presentational aid.
8.
Resist
the temptation to pass objects among audience
members.
C.
Practice rounds.
1.
Practice aloud.
a.
Record
(audio and video) at your practice session.
b.
Read through your
complete sentence outline once or twice to
refresh your memory.
c.
Make
the practice as similar to the speech situation as possible, including using the presentational aids you’ve prepared.
d.
Start
the timer on your phone, computer, or stopwatch.
e.
Regardless
of what happens, keep going until you have
presented your entire speech.
f.
Stop
the timer and compute the length.
2.
Analyze
and make adjustments.
3.
Practice
aloud again.
4.
Additional
practice rounds with breaks in between will likely lead to noticeable improvement.
V. Adapting while delivering your speech (p. 200).
A.
Be
aware of and respond to audience feedback.
B.
Be
prepared to use alternative developmental material.
C.
Correct
yourself when you misspeak.
D.
Adapt
to unexpected events.
E.
Adapt
to unexpected audience reactions.
F.
Handle
questions respectfully. Be aware of time available for question- and-answer period, the time designated for addressing
audience questions and comments.
VI. Adapting your speech for virtual audiences
(p. 202).
A. To reach multiple audiences successfully, we
must consider not just those who are informed about
the topic, but also those who may not be informed,
may be apathetic, and may even be hostile toward it.
B. As speakers, we need to consider how to
adapt our delivery for virtual
audiences. When adapting speeches for virtual
audiences:
1.
Adapt
your speech to address multiple audiences.
2.
Choose
presentational aids carefully.
3.
Become
proficient with technology in advance.
4.
Employ
the fundamentals of effective public speaking.
5.
Treat
the camera as a person.
GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS
actual object: an inanimate or animate sample of the idea
being communicated
audio aid: a presentational aid that enhances the
speaker’s verbal message with additional sound
audiovisual
aid: a presentational aid
that enhances the speech using a combination of visuals and sound
bar
graph: uses vertical or
horizontal bars to show relationships between or among two or more variables
chart: a graphic representation that distills
complex information into an easily interpreted visual format
diagram: a type of drawing that shows how the whole
relates to its parts
flowchart: uses symbols and connecting lines to diagram
a sequence of steps through a complicated process
graph: presents numerical information in visual
form
line graph: indicates changes in one or more variables
over time
model: a three-dimensional scaled-down or scaled-up
version of an actual object
organizational
chart: shows the structure
of an organization in terms of rank and chain of command
other
sensory aid: a
presentational aid that enhances the speech by appealing to smell, taste, or
touch
pie chart: shows the relationships among parts of a
single unit
presentational
aid: any visual, audio,
audiovisual, or other sensory material used in a speech
visual aid: a presentational aid that allows the
audience to see what the speaker is describing or explaining
accurate
language: words that convey
the meaning you intend
alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words that are near one another
analogy: an extended metaphor
antithesis: combining contrasting ideas in the same sentence
assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in a phrase or phrases
common
ground: the background,
knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and philosophies shared by audience members
and the speaker
connotation: the positive, neutral, or negative feelings
we associate with a word
context: the position of a word in a sentence and its
relationship to the words around it
denotation: dictionary definition
dialect: a unique form of a more general language
spoken by a specific cultural or co- cultural group
generic
language: language that uses
words that may apply only to one sex, race, or other group as though that group
represent everyone
intelligible: understandable
irrelevant
association: emphasizing
someone’s relationship to another when that relationship is irrelevant to the
point
jargon: unique technical terminology of a trade or
profession
linguistic
sensitivity: using
respectful language that doesn’t offend others
marking: the addition of sex, race, age, or other
group designations to a description
metaphor: implied comparison between two unlike things
without using like or as
nonparallel
language: when terms are
changed because of the sex, race, or other group characteristics of the
individual
onomatopoeia: words that sound like the things they stand
for
oral style: how one conveys messages through the spoken
word
personification: attributing human qualities to a concept or
an inanimate object
repetition: restating words, phrases, or sentences for
emphasis
rhetorical
figures of speech: phrases
that make striking comparisons between things that are not obviously alike
rhetorical
structures of speech: phrases
that combine ideas in a particular way
sensory
language: appeals to the
senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling
simile: direct comparison of dissimilar things using
like or as
slang: nonstandard vocabulary and definitions
assigned to words by a social group or co-culture
speaking
appropriately: using
language that is adapted to the needs, interests, knowledge, and attitudes of
the listener and avoiding language that alienates audience members
specific
language: words that
clarify meaning by narrowing what is understood from a general category to a
particular item or group within that category
speech communities: group of people who speak a common dialect
Standard English: form of English taught in American schools
and detailed in English grammar handbooks
verbal immediacy: language that reduces the psychological
distance between you and your audience
vivid language: language that is full of life—vigorous, bright,
and intense
vocalized
pauses: unnecessary words
interjected into sentences to fill moments of silence
words: arbitrary symbols used to represent things
accent: inflection, tone, and speech habits typical
of native speakers of a language
animated: lively and dynamic
appearance: the way you look to others
articulation: using the tongue, palate, teeth, jaw
movement, and lips to shape vocalized sounds
audience
contact: creating a sense
of looking listeners in the eye when speaking to large audiences
conversational: sounding spontaneous, as though talking with
an audience
delivery: communicating through the use of voice and
body
extemporaneous
speech: a speech researched
and planned ahead of time, although the exact wording is not scripted
eye contact: looking at the people to whom you are
speaking
facial expression: eye and mouth movements that convey emotions
gestures: movements of hands, arms, and fingers
impromptu
speech: a speech delivered
with only seconds or minutes of advance notice for preparation
intelligible: understandable
monotone: a voice in which the pitch, volume, and rate
remain constant
motivated
movement: movement with a
specific purpose
movement: changing the position or location of the
entire body
nonverbal
communication: all speech
elements other than the words themselves
nonverbal immediacy: a perception of being personable and
likeable
pauses: moments of silence strategically placed to enhance meaning
pitch: highness or lowness of vocal sounds
poise: graceful and controlled use of the body that
gives the impression of self- assurance
posture: position of the body
pronunciation: form and accent of various syllables of a
word
quality: timbre that distinguishes one voice from
others
rate: speed at which you talk
rehearsing: iterative process of practicing the speech
aloud
scripted
speech: a speech prepared
by creating a complete written manuscript and delivered by reading from or
memorizing it
speaking
notes: a key-word outline
of the speech, plus hard-to-remember information and delivery cues
spontaneity: sounding natural, no matter how many times a
presentation was practiced
stress: emphasis placed on certain words by speaking
them more loudly than the rest of the sentence
vocal
expression: variety created
in your voice through changing pitch, volume, and rate, as well as stressing
certain words and using pauses
voice: sound produced by vocal organs
volume: how loudly or softly you speak
