Public
Speaking C-3
Think
(a lot) before you speak.
How well we communicate
with others is key to our effectiveness and success in life. Communication
is particularly important in leadership. We will all find ourselves
in different leadership roles, from time to time, whether we view
ourselves as leaders or not. It might be as a coach for a Little
League team, or a member of a church group, or an officer in a
community organization, or it might involve speaking up in a meeting.
Our effectiveness in these situations depends on our ability to
communicate.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this
module you should be able to:
1. Prepare a speech.
2. Improve your speech delivery.
3. Evaluate a speech given by yourself or someone else.
PREPARING TO SPEAK
Many people are fearful
of speaking before others, and they shy away from it at all costs.
In a national survey, people were questioned as to their greatest
fear in life. The fear listed more often than any other (41%)
was "speaking before others." We can overcome that attitude
of fear through preparation and practice.
Speaking before others
can either become a major barrier, or an avenue to success and
accomplishment in life. Learning to speak before others, in small
social groups as well as in larger community groups, provides
us with one of the greatest opportunities we have for personal
growth.
How can you become
more effective in speaking up for yourself? The following pointers
are as pertinent to one-on-one communication as they are to speaking
before a group.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE:
The makeup of your audience (whether one person or one hundred)
greatly influences what you are able to say, and how you say it.
People don't have to listen to you, and they won't unless they
want to. People are more likely to give you their attention if
you speak to their needs, concerns and interests. Take time
to analyze the person or group you'll be speaking to. If you don't
know the person or group, consult with someone who does. What
are their expectations of you? Use illustrations that are pertinent
and meaningful to your audience. Have your facts together, and
adapt them to the needs and interests of the listener. Avoid inflammatory
statements.
Analyze your audience
not only before you speak but also while you are speaking. Pick
up and respond to your audience's nonverbal reactions. Seek questions
and feedback. Adjust your comments accordingly.
Getting your point
across and getting people to take action sometimes require waiting
for the right time, "the teachable moment." Pushing
a point before people are ready for it can become a futile effort.
Know your audience.
BE PREPARED:
Think through what you want to say, and how you are going to say
it. The biggest mistake most of us make is not being prepared.
We know we might be called upon, or that there is an action we
wish to support or oppose, and yet we avoid thinking about what
we would say until that time arrives.
THE SPEECH
The following suggestions
will be helpful in preparing yourself to speak, whether to two
or three people or to a large group.
OPENER
Have a prepared opener,
a two or three sentence lead-in that grabs your listeners, and
clearly states what you hope to accomplish in speaking to them:
"I'm a 4-H member, and I'd like to share with you what 4-H
has done for me." "I support this proposal (motion),
and the reasons I do are..." Get the opening clearly fixed
in your mind. Many people suffer a moment of panic just as they
begin to speak. This prepared opener will get you over that moment
of panic.
As you prepare to talk,
take a couple of deep breaths to calm yourself. Stand (If the
group is small and informal, you may choose to remain seated).
Standing brings attention to you and will strengthen your impact
on the group. Position yourself so that you can see everyone,
with no one to your back. Make eye contact. Acknowledge any introduction
with "thank you". Pause for attention. Don't apologize:
"I'm not prepared," or "I'm not a very good speaker,"
or "I didn't know I was going to be called upon." Don't
hem and haw around. Don't use common- place clichés like, "It's
a pleasure to be here." Instead start right off with your
prepared opening statement.
BODY
Then in the body of
your presentation, include the logic, facts, examples, the points
you wish to make. Clearly indicate what you would like your listeners
to do with the information you are providing them. Outline the
points you wish to make. Think through the ordering and organization
of those points, and how you will make the transition from one
point to the next, from the opener to the conclusion. Know what
you are going to say, and then say it.
Your message will be
strengthened if you can: Incorporate vivid examples. Share actual
experience. Make a comparison or analogy that your audience can
relate to: "Have you ever...?" Touch briefly on arguments
that oppose your viewpoint, showing their weakness. Quote an authority,
or use simple statistics to support your argument.
In your delivery, make
eye contact. Speak directly to individuals in your audience. Pick
out a face, focus on it for several seconds, then move on to another.
Vary your speaking pace and the loudness of your voice. Use gestures
and appropriate pauses to keep the attention of your audience.
CLOSING
Finally, write out
a two or three sentence closing that summarizes the key points
you've made. Strive for a climax, a challenge, a call for action
that will leave your message clearly in the listeners' minds.
Memorize it. The closing is your point of greatest potential impact.
Don't give it away by sitting down abruptly with "Well, that's
about all I have to say." If you run out of time, calmly
move into your prepared conclusion, and no one will know the difference.
PRESENTATION TIPS
GET TO THE POINT: Jesse
Nirenberg in his book on Creative Persuasion {2] states that people
do too much beating around the bush, and as a result reduce the
impact of their message. They tend to give too much background
information, leaving the listener confused as to their aim. Dr.
Nirenberg suggests that the purpose of your opening remark should
be to motivate the other person to continue the discussion. This
is best accomplished by getting right to the point and stating
your conclusions: "I suggest...." "I would
like to see us...." "I'm concerned about...."
Then state the anticipated
benefits of your proposal to the listeners and to the group
or the special interests they represent. If you delay in describing
the benefits, your audience will use their own imaginations to
do so--and their imaginations might be less motivating than yours.
Quantify those benefits.
Then follow with
a question to stimulate the listener to react. The listener's
reaction then gives you a cue as to what you should say next.
Explore the other person's position, if he disagrees or challenges
you. Give him more information if he agrees. Don't overload. We
all have the tendency to say too much at a time.
PORTRAY CONFIDENCE:
Good speaking is 50% attitude. If you approach a speaking situation
with confidence that you will do OK, you most likely will. If,
instead, you approach the situation with fear and self-depreciating
thoughts ("I'm a poor speaker" or "They are not
interested in what I have to say"), you will likely perform
under your capability. Your nervousness, your anxiety as a speaker,
is rarely as obvious as you think it is. So relax. The object
of good speaking is not to remove the butterflies from your stomach,
but rather to teach them to fly in formation.
Be enthusiastic.
Show people that you believe in and are excited about what
you're saying. Unless you have convictions and are willing to
express them, you really have nothing to say. Enthusiasm is contagious.
Be Yourself. Develop
your own unique style. Learn from others, but don't copy them.
HAVE A SUPPORT GROUP:
A support group is one or more persons that you feel comfortable
with, that you can rely on for encouragement and suggestions.
A support group is formed through mutual consent, with the purpose
of giving each other constructive feedback as to how well you
do in communicating with others. Communication is a learned skill
that comes through practice, learning through experience. A support
group can be very helpful in assisting you with that learning
experience. Public speaking is a skill that is difficult to perfect
on your own. It is difficult to objectively evaluate one's own
performance.
A support group (person)
has two objectives: (1) build the speaker's self-confidence and
(2) strengthen skills. Self-confidence is developed by
giving nonverbal encouragement through smiles, an agreeing nod
of the head, or excitement in your eyes, while the person is speaking.
Following the presentation, give immediate, sincere feedback as
to what the speaker did well. Be specific: "It was particularly
effective when you...." Generalities, ("You did a good
job") are less helpful. Don't whitewash, with false encouragement.
Skills are strengthened
through helpful critique with specific suggestions as to where
improvement might be made. This is to be distinguished from the
more negative approach of criticizing and pointing out "mistakes."
In giving feedback:
(1) Tell the person in very specific terms what you liked about
what she did. Feedback what you perceived as the audience's reaction.
Acknowledge progress made over previous presentations.
(2) Give one, not more
than two, specific suggestions for improvement, e.g., "After
you made your points, you just stopped and sat down. A two or
three sentence summary and restatement of your recommendation
might have been more conclusive in leaving your points clearly
with the listener." (3) Conclude with an overall statement
of positive regard. Don't combine your likes and dislikes into
a single statement connected with a "but: "It was a
good talk, but..."
SPEECH
EVALUATION (3)
The following checklist
is provided to help you evaluate yourself and others as a speaker.
The most important criteria is overall impact on the listener.
Were the speaker's objectives obtained? Were the people being
spoken to motivated to action? What distracted from the presentation?
1. Overall impact of
the message on you and the audience.
2. Content and organization
of the message:
a. Opening
1) Caught audience's
attention.
2) Clearly stated speaker's purpose.
b.Body
1) Well thought
out and researched.
2) Good examples and illustrations.
3) Logical; clear transitions from one point to the next.
c.Closing
1) Good summary.
2) Concluded with a challenge, call for action, or recommendation.
3. Delivery style:
a. Voice
1) Vocal variety
(not monotonous).
2) Pace--not too fast or too slow; periodic pauses.
3) Projection--not too loud or too soft.
4) Feeling--enthusiasm, used vivid words, showed credibility.
b. Appearance
1) Physical appearance--posture,
dress.
2) Eye contact
3) Gestures
4) Visual aids.
c. Language
1) Clear enunciation.
2) Grammar.
GET A GOOD INTRODUCTION:
A much neglected aspect of effective communication is the making
of introductions. A good introduction can make a speaker, new
member or guest feel great about themselves and the group. Most
introductions, unfortunately, are done in a spur of the moment,
haphazard manner.
In introducing a speaker,
your objective is to get the audience's attention, to put the
speaker at ease, and to set the stage. You are to introduce the
topic and purpose of the talk, as well as provide
background on the person. Clearly indicate what and why: On what
subject will the person be speaking, and why is he
or she speaking on that topic. Contact the speaker in advance
to get the information you need. In making an introduction, indicate
your interest in the person and the topic. Weave the speaker's
name into the introduction as much as possible. Be brief. Emphasize
the two or three things you personally find most interesting about
the person. Illustrate the pertinence of the speaker's subject
to the group. Don't provide a pedigree. Once the person has spoken,
stand and compliment the person on the presentation. Lead the
applause.
People will become
more willing to speak when they receive a supportive introduction,
and then complimentary feedback on what was said. Recognition
and support are key to the development of speaking skills and
confidence.
PRACTICE: Effective
communication can be boiled down to three words. They are practice,
practice, practice. Good communicators are so because they work
at it. It doesn't just happen. Practice fine tunes our speaking
skills, overcomes our fears, raises our comfort level and builds
self-confidence.
A very effective but
little used means of practice is mental imagery. Mental
imagery involves sitting down in a quiet, comfortable spot, and
closing your eyes. Visualize in detail the person(s) you will
be speaking to. Visualize yourself delivering your message. Hear
yourself speaking the words you plan to use. Visualize yourself
as calm, relaxed and confident, with good eye contact and rapport
with the audience. Visualize every detail of your presentation.
Anticipate different problems, such as losing your train of thought;
anticipate likely questions; anticipate different audience responses.
Then think through how you would handle each. Clearly visualize
yourself as poised and effective--a success.
A community resource
that can be very helpful in improving your communication and public
speaking skills is membership in a Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters
also offers an excellent eight-part educational program called
Speech craft, that is available to community groups. Toastmasters
develops speaking skills and confidence in a fun, non-threatening,
supportive atmosphere.[4]
EXERCISE:
Prepare and deliver
a short speech. Practice it until it is smooth. Get a colleague
(or a support group) to evaluate you using the speech evaluation
above. |
