Lecture 1

1. Lecture 1 Speech Communication Process; Ethics in Public Speaking; Your First Speech…

2. Public Speaking and Critical Thinking • What is critical thinking? • --- Focused, organized thinking about such things as • the logical relationshipsamong ideas, • the soundness of evidence, and • the differences between fact and opinion;

3. Critical thinking is… • --- a matter of logic --- • of being able to spot weaknesses in other people’s arguments and to avoid them in your own.

4. The Speech Communication Process: seven elements • speaker, • message, • channel, • listener, • feedback, • interference, • situation

5. Speaker: • 1. Personal credibility, • 2. Knowledge of the subject, • 3. Preparation of the speech, • 4. Manner of speaking, • 5. Sensitivity to the audience and the occasion • But first of all: say something that sparks your own enthusiasm.

6. Message: • 1.narrow down your topic ; • 2.do research and choose supporting details; • 3.organize your ideas for listeners to follow; • 4. express your message in accurate and appropriate words; • 5. tone of voice, appearance, gestures, facial expression and eye contact;

7. Channel: • the most direct channel: • your listeners will see you and hear you without any electronic intervention

8. Listener: • 1.do not assume that listeners will be interested; • 2.understand their point of view and get them involved; • 3. avoid too basic/sophisticated message; • 4. relate to their experience, interests, knowledge and values.

9. Feedback: • verbal or non-verbal • Posture; • Reaction; • Facial expression; • Action…

10. Interference: • anything that impedes the communication of a message; • external • Or • internal

11. Situation: • time/certain occasions • and • place/physical setting

12. Cultural diversity in the modern world: • international multiculturalism • Language, • Ways of thinking/seeing the world • Gestures, facial expressions, and other nonverbal signals… • --- Never overlook listeners’ cultural values and customs;

13. Ethnocentrism • the belief that our own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures; • keep in mind the growing diversity of life; • avoid any words or phrases that might cause misunderstanding; • try to relate to a wide range of listeners;

14. Ethics in public speaking • guided by a strong sense of integrity; • The goal of public speaking is to gain a desired response from listeners, but NOT at any cost; • “The ideal of commendable speechmaking is the good person speaking well.”

15. Ethics: • the branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs. • In an ideal world, as the Greek philosopher Plato noted, all public speakers would be truthful and devoted to the good of society.

16. Guidelines for Ethical Speaking: • Make sure your goals are ethically sound. • Be fully prepared for each speech. • Be honest in what you say. • Avoid name-calling and other forms of abusive language.

17. Name-calling: The use of language to defame, demean, degrade or dehumanize individuals or groups. Avoid racism, sexism, ageism, sizism, shapism…that devalues the people in question and stereotypes them in ways that assume the innate superiority of one group over another.

18. Put ethical principles into practice. • It is easy to pay lip service to the importance of ethics, but much harder to act ethically. • “Being ethical means behaving ethically all the time --- not only when it’s convenient.

19. Plagiarism: • to present another person’s language or ideas as your own; • 1. Global plagiarism: • Pirates an entire speech from a single source. • 2. Patchwork plagiarism: • Pirates a speech from several sources. • 3. Incremental plagiarism: • Fails to give credit for borrowed parts of the speech.

20. Guidelines for Ethical Listening: • Be courteous and attentive; • Avoid prejudging the speaker; • Maintain the free and open expression of ideas

21. Giving your first speech --- ice-breaker speech: • Developing the speech: • 1) select a limited number of points; • 2) make your presentation mysterious or suspenseful; • 3) use colorful, descriptive language; • 4) use witty remarks, jokes, funny situations, etc…

22. Organizing the speech:an introduction, a body and a conclusion • Introduction: • 1) open your speech with a question, a story, startling statement, quotation… • 2) orient your listeners toward the subject matter of your speech; • 3) give a clear sense of the topic and purpose of the speech.

23. Body: • 1) relate the events in the chronological or topical order; • 2) use transition statements;

24. Conclusion: • 1)let the audience know that you are about to finish your speech; • 2)reinforce the major theme of the speech; • 3) try to end on a dramatic, clever or thought-provoking note.

25. Speaking extemporaneously • --- combines the careful preparation and structure of a manuscript presentation with the spontaneity and enthusiasm of an unrehearsed talk. • Plan your major points and supporting materials without trying to memorize the precise language you will use.

26. Bring a few brief notes • Write or print key terms and phrases • Keep your notes large enough • Learn to use the fewest notes Rehearsing the speech: Out loud; Ask for feedback; Time your speech.

27. Presenting the speech: • a relaxed but upright posture; • look over your audience and smile; • natural and spontaneous gestures; • avoid nervous mannerisms; • look at the audience frequently; • eye contact with every listener; • use your voice expressively.