Public Speaking (COM110) Chapter 1 Notes from

Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach

Authored by Steven A. Beebe and Susan J. Beebe
Chapter 1 : Speaking in Public
Public speaking, much like conversation requies you to organize your thoughts into
words to be presented to an audience. You will usually be forced to make decisions
"on your feet", even thought the speech is prepared ahead of time. Public speaking
does intend to be more intentional than conversation, because the speaker and listener
tend to be well defined and unchanging roles. The language used in a speech tends to
be much more formal than normal conversation, and contains less slang.

Declamation is the delivery of an already famous speech.

Elocution is the delivery of a speech with an elaborate set of stances, gentures, and
facial expressions which are supposed to be used to convey the speaker's feelings.

The ethical bounds of speech include that a speaker should have a responsible goal
and use sound evidence, reasoning, and communications. An ethical speaker should
also be honest.

The parts of public speaking include the source, receiver, message, channel, feedback,
context, and noise. The source is the origin of the speech, while the receiver is the
receipient of the speech. The message is the actual content of the speech being
delivered, including the gestures which accompany the actual words. The channels
are the means over which the receiver obtains the message, which usually include
auditory and visual. Feedback is the resulting information that the receiver gives back
to the source during the process of the speech. The environment and situation under
which the speech occurs are the context. Finally, you have noise which is any outside
factor interfering with the total transmition of the message the the receiver.

Chapter 2 : Ethics and Public Speaking

A good public speaker should be audience-centered, present good and well organized
ideas, choose the right words, deliver a message well, have good research skills, and
be able to think and listen carefully.

The speaker must be audience-centered which means being able to adapt to the
expectations of the group receiving the message. This not only includes the topic and
the presentation of the topic, but the manner in which the speaker associates with the
audience.

For a speaker they must develop good ideas and organize those ideas well. Finding
something interesting to say is critical to a speech. Once you have found something to
say, delivering it in a orderly manner is critical to the speech. This logical presentation
is known as disposition.

Choosing the right words to convey your idea, and be able to keep the audience awake
with those words, is central to a speech. If nobody listens than the message, no matter
how important, is lost.

The actual content is very important. The speaker must learn to listen to the ideas of
others, research the topic, and then think out and effective manner to relay their
message using the facts they have avaliable to them.

Selecting and narrowing down a topic can be difficult. You must determine who the
audience is, what the occasion is, and what background you have that applies to the
situation. A specific-purpose sentence is one method of telling the listeners waht you
want them to do once you finish your speech. This lets the audience know what your
speech is about and the purpose of the speech: to inform, persuade, or entertain.

Each speech must contain a topic, general purpose, specific purpose, and central idea.
Once you have picked the central idea, you must find facts that support the idea and
organize them into a speech. Practicing the speech is the next step in a successful
development process, which leads into the actual delivery. Delivery is the stage in
which most speakers feel very nervous, but the speaker tends to feel more nervous
than they appear.

Developing confidence in yourself is key to becoming less nervous. Some suggestions

to developing confidence include knowing your audience, being prepared, speaking
on the appropriate topic, having rehearsed, being organized, knowing your topic, and
focus on remaining calm and concentrated on your messages. In all cases, the more
practice speaking you have, the less nervous you will feel.

Chapter 3: Listening
Listening critically is an important talent because it helps you to be able to think
critically. Humans use the ability to select what they listen to to determine what they
hear. To catch the attention of a person you must speak on something interesting or
different from what they are used to hearing. To keep their attention you must vary
your presentation.

To listen well to a speaker you must be attentive, must remember what has been said,
and must avoid information overload. You must also avoid allowing your mind to
wander or be distracted as you work.

To be a better listener you must be able to adapt to the speaker's deliver, and listen
well to the message. You must avoid overreacting or jumping to conclusions.

Taking some notes often will help improve your listening skills. Remember to not
take too many notes, but take enough so that you can remember what was said.

Be careful not to take so many notes that you are not listen anymore.
Chapter 4 : Selecting a Topic and a Purpose

Audience analysis is the process of analyzing the expected audience.

Demographics involve statistical facts of the audience including age, gender, culture,
ethics, racial background, religion, and education. Always attempt to perform some
form of survey of the audience to determine these factors. Many good speeches can be
ruined by insulting the audience.

Attitudinal analysis is another important factor of audience reaction. This includes

the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the audience. Attitude reflects likes and dislikes,
while beliefs are what the individual holds as true or false. Values, separate from
attitude and beliefs, are what a person judges to be right or wrong. Knowing your
audience's attitude on a topic is necessary before presenting a speech.

Another important attitude is that of the audience toward the speaker. A credible
speaker is more likely to be believed and listened to than a person speaking from
research.

The environment can also determine the outcome of a speech, which makes
envrionmental analysis important. The more attractive the decor the more open the
audience tends to be to a message, but a room that is too flashy can detract from the
message, by distracting the audience.

A speaker must be able to adapt to the nonverbal clues an audience gives as well as
the verbal responses. Clues such as eye contact with the speaker, the facial
expressions of the audience, and restless movement within the crowd tend to be
indicative of the audience's interest in the message and the speaker. You must be able
to make changes to grab the audience's attention when their attention begins to
wander.

Chapter 5 : Analyzing the Audience

To present a speech you must follow four basic steps which include: selecting and
narrowing your topic, determining your purpose, developing your central idea, and
generating your main ideas.

When selecting your topic you must consider the audience, the occasion, your
background and interests. Next you must brainstorm and list as many ideas as you
can. Next you must go thought the list you have created and decide which topic you
can reasonably narrow down to a managable size to speak on.

Next you must decide the general purpose of your speech. More information on this is
given in Chapter 14.

Once the general purpose is decided you should write the specific purpose of the
speech. This can be phrased as "At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to
. . .". It should be very precise, and be limited to a single idea.
The central idea is sometimes called the thesis. This is stated as as declarative
statement. It should summarize the entire speech in a single line.

The final step is generating your main ideas. The main ideas should be divided into
logical divisions (usually three of four), each of which support the central idea. In
most cases the ideas can be represented as logical steps or progression.

Chapter 6 : Gathering Materials

Supporting materials are critical to any speech. One of the strongest most useful
supporting materials is that of the story. Everybody loves to hear a story. You may
also use the idea of a hypothetical illustration in the same manner as a conventional
story. When using either a story of hypothetical illustation it is important to follow
certain guidelines. Make sure the illustration is relevant to your topic. The illustration
should represent a common trend, not outlying oddities. Make your illustrations vivid
and specific. Make sure your listeners can identify with the story. Remember the best
illustrations are personal ones.

Another form of supporting material is the explanation, which is a statement that

makes clear how something is done or why it exists as it does. Descriptions, which
explain what something is like, are closely related to explanations, and are also often
used. In the use of either an explanation or description, it is also important to follow a
few basic guidelines. Make sure the explanation or description are brief and concise.
Use language that is concrete and specific in any explanation or description.

In many speeches it is necessary to use definitions to explain little known terms.

Remember to only use definitions when needed, and to make sure that they are
understandable. Also make sure if you use a definition that it fits the way in which
you used the word within the speech.

Analogies, or comparisons, can be used to relate very similar items. You must make
sure that you make the similarities between the two objects readily apparent to the
audience.

Statistics, can be very influential within a speech. Make sure to always quote where
the statistics were found, and that the source is reliable. It is often also helpful to
round statistics and present graphic representations to help make the numbers easy to
remember.

The final source that is commonly used is that of the quotation, which is an excerp
from an authority on a topic. You must make sure you identify the source of the quote,
and why they not only are an expert, but are unbiased on the topic. Make sure you
also quote your source accurately.
Chapter 7 : Supporting Your Ideas
How to plan an interview

1. Obtain background information about the person you wish to interview

2. Design the questions you will ask
3. Plan a questioning sequency, know in what order you will ask the questions
4. Determine the method of recording the responses

Developing a Reaseach Plan

1. Develop a preliminary bibliography

2. Locate the materials you need
3. Determine which material is most important
4. Take notes as you read

CHAPTER 8 : Organizing the Body of the Speech

You must organize your main points. You may use either chronological, topical,
spatial, causal, or problem-solution organization to organize the points.
Chronological order is organization by time or sequence. Topical order is order by
recency or complexity. Spatial order is order by location or position. Causal order is
cause-effect pairing. Problem-solution ordering is the lists of the problem and then
solutions to the problem.

Once you have your main points in order you must determine in which order you wish
to present the supporting material for each point. You may choose primacy, recency,
specificity, complexity, or soft to hard evidence as order methods. Primacy is most
important material first, which is opposite of recency. Specificity means going from
specific to general or vice-versa. Complexity moves from simple ideas to more
difficult ones. The final way is soft to hard evidence ordering, which moves from
opinion or inference to hard facts such as statistics.
Chapter 9 Beginning and Ending the Speech
Correct Outline Form

1. Use standard outline numbering. Roman numbers first, then capital letters,
numbers, lowercase letters...etc.
2. Each point should have at least two subdivisions, if any.
3. Indent each subpoint under the first letter of the main point. The periods of
each point on a given level should line up. This means the first column of
Roman Numerals do not line up, but the last column does.
4. Capitalize the first word of each point
5. All points at the same level should be parallel in structure. Either they are all
single words, single sentences, or something that is the same...

Three types of Outlines

Preparation outline
A full outline using complete sentences and outline form that includes the entire
speech. Also serves as a first rehearsal outline. This outline can also include the
purpose, central idea, introduction, preview statement, transitions, and conclusion as
outside parts of the speech that are inserted between outline parts.

Audience outline
This outline once again includes the purpose, central idea, introduction, preview
statement, and conclusion. It also includes a dense form of the actual outline short
phrase explainations of the mainpoints and major subpoints.

Delivery Outline
This outline is your speaking notes. It should be brief, but include all key points,
statistics, and transitions that the speakers uses. The purpose statment and central idea
are not needed in this form of outline, but often part of the introduction and
conclusion are included to help the delivery of the speech.

Chapter 10 Outlining the Speech

You speech introduction is your introduction of yourself as the speaker to the
audience. You must get the audience's attention and let them know not only what you
will be talking about, but why they should listen to you. You must establish your
credibility, and preview the topic briefly so that you will keep the audience listening.

The closing is the most memorable part of the speech for the audience. You should
summarize and reemphasize your ideas in a memorable way and then motivate the
audience to remember the topic and act on your words. You must also provide a sense
of closure to the speech.
Chapter 11 Using Language
The manner of delivery of a speech is important to ensuring that the information
reaches the listener. As much as 65% of the social meaning of the message is based on
non-verbal signals. Communicating in an effective manner will increase audience
attentiveness. This makes choosing the manner of speaking very important. There are
four methods to choose from.

Manuscript reading is the method of delivery preferred for policial speeches which
require specific wording, but usually frowned apon for public speaking.

Speaking from memory is similar to manuscript reading in the fact that the speech is
prewritten and can sound very stiff. It is a good idea to only rely on memorization and
reciting for speeches which must be carefully worded.

Impromptu speaking is the "off the cuff" method of delivering a speech. There is no
preparation, and is reserved for occasions that occur without warning.

Extemporaneous speaking is the most used style of giving a speech. You deliver the
speech in conversational style with an outline or notecards, but not by memorization.

Effective gestures include natural, relaxed, and unobtrusive gestures which are varied
and are in concert with the presentation. These gestures are accompanied by good eye
contact with the audience to let them know you are intersted in their reactions.

The quality of the vocal delivery is very important. You must clearly articulate the
words which you use. You also use inflection, or the varying of the pitch of your
voice, to make sure you keep the attention of the audience.

You should also dress in a manner which does not disturb the audience to detract from
what you are saying.

Chapter 12 Delivery
Visual aids help enhance understanding and information retention. They also tend to
help the listeners organize ideas and help to illustrate a sequence of events or a
procedure. Visual aids also help to keep the audience's attention.

Types of visual aids include three-dimensional aids (such as objects), two-

dimensional aids (such as drawings), or audio-visual aids (such as movies).

You should prepare the visual aid before you speak, and rehearse the speech with the
visual aid. You should make sure that you acutally use the visual aid to make a point,
not just as a showpiece. It is also important to make sure that the visual aid doesn't
distract the audience from the speech.

Use common sense with your visual aids.

 Chapter 14 Speaking to Inform
Often the purpose of public speaking is to inform the audience of a topic that you
have knowledge with. It is important when you are speaking to attempt to make your
message clear and jargan free. It is also important to make your message accurate,
vivid, and interesting. These speeches often attempt to explain ideas, objects,
procedures, people, or events.

In any speech there are several ways to inform the audience. You must define any
special vocbulary you intend to use, describe the who, what, when, where, or why, or
narrate a story to effectively communicate with your audience.

Another important aspect of a speech is making it memorable. This can be

accomplished by presenting information that relates to the listeners, giving the
listeners a reason to listen to you, using some redundancy, keeping the ideas simple,
presenting in a logical connected fashion, reinforcing key ideas both verbally and
non-verbally, and pacing the presentation in an orderly fashion.

Chapter 15 : Speaking to Persuade

Persuasion is the process of trying to get a person to change or reinforce an attitude,
belief, value, or behavior. The idea of a persuasive speech is to communicate your
argument, or reason for believing something, to the audience. The purpose of doing
this is to either reinforce what the audience's attitude and behaviors or to influence
their attitudes, beliefs or values. Most often you are actually influencing attitudes
because beliefs and values are tightly ingrained in a person.

One manner to change the attitude of a person is to present cognitive dissonance

which is information which conflicts with what the person believes to be true. The
audience will tend to react by either:

• attaching the credibility of the source

• reinterpreting the message
• seeking new infomration
• stopping listening
• changing attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors

Another manner to persuade the audience is to appeal to their needs. These needs
include physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs.
According to Abraham Maslow these needs must be satisified in a heirarchy, and the
more needs you can appeal to, the more affective you will be.

You may also use positive or negative motivation appeals to persuade the audience.
Chapter 16 Methods of Persuasion
To effectively persuade an audience you must establish credibility. This includes the
factors of competence, trustworthiness, dynamisn, and charisma.

To persuade an audience you must use logic, reasoning, and proof to state your case.
Some of the types of reasoning avaliable to the speaker are inductive and deductive
reasoning. Inductive reasoning is arriving at a general conclusion from specific
instances. Analogies are special version of inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning
is arriving at a specific conclusion from a general statement. Deductive reasoning is
based on premises. Causal reasoning is also commonly used as a "cause-and-effect"
reasoning pattern.

You must support your reasoning with evidence. Evidence may be fact, inference,
example, opinion, or statistics.

You must avoid fallacies, which arrise when you use evidence that is irrelvant or do
not use solid evidence, can be an ethical problem. You must be careful to avoid
causal, circular, bandwagon, and strawman fallacies. Ither fallacies include binary
thinkings, heasy generalization, attacking irrelavant features of a person, red herrings,
appealing to misplaced authority, and non sequitur (illogical arguements).

Remember that you can use honest emotions to help pursuade. This includes using
emotion-arousing words and actions. You may also appeal to fear, hope, pride,,
courage, and reverence.

Remember that you may be facing on of three audiences:

receptive,
neutral,
or unreceptive.
You must vary your approach with the audience.

The organizational patterns of persuasive speeches include the problem-solution

method, refutation method, and the cause & effect method.

Chapter 18 : SMALL GROUP

A small group is generally defined to be between 3 and 12 people with 5 to 7 being
ideal. To constitute a group the body of people must communicate face-to-face, share
a common purpose or goal, feel a sense of belonging and responsibility to the group,
and exert some influence over one another.

The advantages of working in a group include that as a group you have more
knowledge and creativity avaliable. Group work also tends to teach and satisfy group
members more than individual work. The disadvantages include the effects of group
pressure, dealing with dominating or lazy individuals, and the extra time that may be
required in making a decision as a body.

The method most used in group problem solving is the process called reflexive
thinking. This is a five step method which includes the following parts: (1) Identify
and define the problem, (2) analyze the problem, (3) generate possible solutions, (4)
select the best solution, and (5) test and implement the solution.

When working in a group it is important to follow certain guidelines. Some of these

guidelines include: coming prepared for discussion, analyzing the problem before
proposing solutions, avoid opinions and assumtions where facts are avaliable, keep
the group on track, and be courteous.

Another important part of a group is the leadership, which varies from authoritarian,
to democratic, to passive. Each style has its advantages and disadvantages, but the
democratic style is by far the most common. It is the responsibility of the leader to
have a prepared agenda which the group is informed of, and helped to follow in a
timely manner. The group has a responsibility to follow the given agenda and
accomplish the work with the leader.

Once the group has obtained results, it is often necessary to present these results to the
public. This can be accomplisheed in a variety of formats including symposiums,
forums, panel discussions, or written reports. A symposium presentation is a public
discussion in which the group presents the information to the public in a series of
short speeches. This contrasts to the forum presentation in which the audience asks
questions of the group, and group members return short improptu speeches
responding to the question. The less formal method of presentation is the panel
discussion during which members present information to the public in an informal
moderated discussion, which is usually followed by a question and answer session.
The final method of presentation is that of a written paper presented to the public
containing the information discovered and the methods used to determine the
decision. A written paper often accompanies one of the other forms of presentation.