CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SPEAKING

What Is Public Speaking?

If you had to define “public speaking” in your own words, what would you say?

Public speaking is the process of presenting a message to an audience, large or small.

Importance of Public Speaking Course

Learn how to speak to a public audience.Learn skills that apply to one-on-one

communication.Develop the oral presentation skills that are

prized in the job market.An ideal environment for gaining experience

and building confidence.Permits you to make a contribution to the

lives of other people.

Long-Term Advantages

Empowerment The ability to speak with competence and confidence will

provide empowerment. To be empowered is to have the resources, information, and attitudes that allow you to take action to achieve a desired goal.

Being a skilled public speaker will give you an edge that other, less skilled communicators lack—even those who may have superior ideas, training, or experience.

Employment “I’ll pay more for a person’s ability to speak and express

himself than for any other quality he might possess.” Charles Schwab,

industrialist.

Speech Communication Process

Speaking and communicating are not the same.

A good speaker must be able to communicate information such that it is received and understood by the listener.

To be an effective speaker, you must understand the process of speech communication.

Elements of Speech Communication Process

There are seven elements of the speech communication process:(1) Speaker(2) Listener(3) Message(4) Channel(5) Feedback(6) Interference(7) Situation

Speaker

The originator of the message sent to a listener. A source of information.

Guiding question is “Am I getting through to my listener?”

Why should a speaker not focus on “Am I giving out good information?” or “Am I performing well?”

Good speakers are audience-centered.

Speaker (continued)

The job of the speaker is to encode, or translate, the ideas and images in his or her mind into verbal or nonverbal symbols that an audience can recognize.

May use words (“The fabric should be 2 inches square”) or gestures (showing the size with his or her hands)

Speaker (continued)

A speaker has certain responsibilities:

Never distort information. Be honest about facts and figures.

Respect your audience. Do not talk down to your audience.

Reject sterotyping and scapegoating.

A stereotype is an oversimplified or exaggerated image.

A scapegoat is when a person or group is unfairly blamed for some real or imagined wrong.

Listener

The recipient of the message sent by the speaker.

The listener’s decoding of the speaker’s message will depend on his or her own particular blend of past experiences, attitudes, beliefs, and values.

The true test is not whether a message is delivered by the speaker, but whether it is accurately received by the listener.

Message

The speech itself—both what is said and how it is said.

If a speaker has trouble finding words to convey his or her ideas or sends contradictory nonverbal symbols, listeners may not be able to decode the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal symbols back into a message.

Channel

The medium used to communicate the message.

Examples: radio, television, the Internet, a public-address system, or direct voice communication.

Feedback

The response that the listener(s) gives the speaker.

One way in which public speaking differs from casual conversation is that the public speaker does most or all of the talking. But public speaking is still interactive.

Without an audience to hear and provide feedback, public speaking serves little purpose.

Skillful speakers are audience-centered. They depend on the nods, facial expressions, and murmurs of the audience to adjust their rate of speaking, volume, vocabulary, type and amount of supporting materials, and other variables to communicate the message.

Interference

“Noise”

Anything that blocks or hinders the accurate communication of the message.

3 types: External Interference Internal Interference Speaker-Generated Interference

External Interference

Arises outside the listener.

If your public-speaking class is frequently interrupted by the roar of cars passing back and forth on the street, it may be difficult to concentrate on what your instructor is saying.

Examples: noisy air conditioner, baby crying, incessant coughing

Internal Interference

Comes from within the listener.

An audience member worrying about an upcoming exam is unlikely to remember much of what the speaker says.

Daydreaming is a common example.

Speaker-Generated Interference

Comes from the speaker.

Perhaps the speaker uses words that are unfamiliar to the audience.

Another example is if the speaker has a bad cold that may cloud the speaker’s memory or subdue his or her delivery.

Situation

The environment or situation in which the speech occurs.

“Context”

No speech is an island. No speech occurs in a vacuum. Rather, each speech is a blend of circumstances.

THE END