Public Speaking

1. Public Speaking • The Process

2. Select Your Topic and Purpose • Topic - something that is interesting to you and your audience. • Depends upon the type of speech you are giving.

3. Select Your Topic and Purpose • Informative - select a topic somewhat familiar to your audience, but will make them wanting more. • Persuasive - choose either a topic your audience agrees with or disagrees with. • Narrative - tell a story your audience will find interesting.

4. Select Your Topic and Purpose • taboo - a topic that causes conflict. • Avoid taboos in speeches.

5. Select Your Topic and Purpose • How to find your topic: • Topic Lists • Surveys • News Items • Personal Interest

6. Select Your Topic and Purpose • Limit your topic - plan to cover a topic in depth rather than a broad, general topic.

7. Select Your Topic and Purpose • Purpose • General purpose - inform, persuade, narrate • Specific purpose - identifies the information you want to communicate to your audience.

8. Analyze Your Audience • Important factors to know about your audience: • culture • age • gender • religion/religiousness

9. Analyze Your Audience • How does your audience think? • How willing is your audience? • How knowledgeable is your audience? • How favorable is your audience?

10. Analyze Your Audience • Analyze and Adapt • Focus on your listeners as message senders • Address audience responses directly

11. Research Your Topic • Begin searching what you already know • Get an overview of the topic • Follow up with more detailed and specific sources

12. Research • How do you integrate research into your speech?

13. Research • Example: • My discussion of the causes of anorexic nervosa is based on the work of Dr. Peter Rowan of the Priory Hospital in London. In an article titled “Introducing Anorexia Nervosa,” Rowan notes that “this is a disorder of many causes that come together.” It’s these causes I want to cover today.

14. Research • Introduce the quote • Author • Where you got the information • Explain how it relates • Use quote to continue your thoughts

15. Thesis and Main Points • Start with your thesis - main idea • What is your “claim”? What is the main thought behind your speech? What are you saying?

16. Thesis and Main Points • Main Points • These are the points you want your audience to take away from your speech • Select points that are most relevant, not just to fill space • Shoot for around 3 main points.

17. Support Your Main Points • Examples, illustrations, testimony • Definitions • Statistics • Logical support • Motivational support • Credibility

18. Organize Your Information • Time • Spatial • Topical • Problem-Solution • Cause-Effect/Effect-Cause • Motivated Sequence • Structure-Function • Compare-Contrast • Pros and Cons • Claim and Proof • Multiple Definitions • Who, What, When, Where, Why • Fiction-Fact

19. Time • Organize major issues on the basis of some time, or temporal relationship • Organize into two, three, or four major parts. • Typically used for historical events or topics that take place in time.

20. Spatial • Patterning the main points on the basis of space or physical location. • Discussions of physical objects or travel fit well.

21. Topical Pattern • Divides the speech into subtopics or component parts. • Useful for discussing larger topics that have multiple parts.

22. Problem-Solution • Divides main topic into two main parts: problems and solutions. • Useful for persuasive speeches. • You must provide solutions to problems.

23. Cause-Effect/Effect-Cause • Similar to problem-solution • Useful for persuasive speeches • Divide into causes and effects

24. Motivated Sequence • Arrange information to motivate your audience to respond positively to your purpose • Attention • Need • Satisfaction • Visualization • Action

25. Structure-Function • Discussion of how something is constructed. • Useful in informative speeches.

26. Comparison-Contrast • Discussion of how two things are similar and different • Useful in informative

27. Pro and Con • Useful in informative speeches • Objective explanations

28. Claim and Proof • Prove truth or usefulness of a proposition • Useful for persuasive • Used frequently in trials

29. Multiple Definition • Useful in informative speeches • Explain the nature of a concept

30. Who, What, Why, Where, When • Useful in informative speeches • Mainly for reporting events

31. Fiction-Fact • Useful in clarifying misconceptions (think Mythbusters) • Informative or Persuasive

33. Discussion • George and Rose want to give their speeches on opposite sides of Megan’s law-the law requiring that community residents be notified if a convicted sex offender is living in close proximity. If George and Rose were giving their speeches to our class, what would you advise each of them to do concerning the statement of their thesis?

34. Discussion • You’re to give a speech to your class on the need to establish a day care center for parents who attend college but have no means to hire people to take care of their children. You want to use the motivated sequence. How would you accomplish each step?

35. Practice • Conduct a biographical search for some famous person you’re interested in. • Create a one minute speech using one of the strategies discussed about your chosen individual.

36. Public Speaking • Preparation and Delivery

37. Word Your Speech • Your speech must be understood immediately by your audience. • Be sure to use qualifiers: however, although, perhaps, etc.

38. Word Your Speech • Clarity • Vividness • Appropriateness • Personal Style • Power • Sentence Construction

39. Clarity • Be Economical - Don’t waste words. • Use Specific Terms and Numbers • Use Guide Phrases - first, second, also... • Use Short, Familiar Terms - favor the short over the long • Carefully Assess Idioms - use words your audience will understand • Vary the Levels of Abstraction - Combine high abstraction with low

40. Vividness • Use Active Verbs • Use Figures of Speech • Use Imagery

41. Appropriateness • Speak at the appropriate level of formality • Avoid Written-style expression (former, latter, etc) • Avoid slang, vulgar, and offensive expressions

42. Personal Style • Use personal pronouns • Direct questions to the audience • Create immediacy - a connectedness, a relatedness, a oneness with your listeners.

43. Power • Avoid the following • Hesitations • Too many intensifiers • Disqualifies • Tag questions • Self-critical statements • Slang and vulgar language

44. Sentence Construction • Favor short over long sentences • Favor direct over indirect sentences • Favor active over passive sentences • Favor positive over negative sentences • Vary the type and length of sentences

45. Construct • Build your Conclusion and Introduction with care • Both will determine the effectiveness of your speech.

46. Conclusion • Summarize • Close

47. Summarize • Restate your thesis. • Restate the importance of your thesis. • Restate your main points.

48. Close • Use a quotation. • Pose a challenge or question. • Motivate your audience to do something. • Thank the audience.

49. Introduction • Gain Attention • Orient the Audience

50. Gain Attention • Ask a question • Refer to specific audience members • Refer to recent happenings • Use illustrations or dramatic or humorous stories • Use visual aids