Speech 2214
More Public Speaking Notes

Understand your purpose

w General Function/Purpose

n “To Inform”

n “To Persuade”

n “To Entertain”

w Specific Purpose – “spells out what you want your listeners to understand, believe, feel or do.” (it is you general function + your topic)

n “To inform my audience about hiking trails in Shenandoah National Park”

Ethics

w Considering the morality of an act.

n What would YOU do?

n What would YOU feel?

n Do the would and should seem to fit?

Communication Apprehension is Natural!

w Identify the cause

w New and different situations

w Subordinate status

w Feeling conspicuous

w Lack of similarity

w Prior history of apprehension

w Reduce

w Performance visualization

w Systematic desensitization

n Ask questions; answer question; speaking in a group; introduce a speaker; speak yourself.

w Use Basic Skills

n Prepare and Practice

n Gain Experience

n Move about and Breathe Deeply

n Avoid Chemicals as Tension Relievers

n Put Apprehension in Perspective.

Steps of Speech Writing Process

w Step 1: Select topic and purpose

n Topic

w Worthwhile?

w Appropriate?

w Culture-Sensitive?

w Limit and narrow

Characteristics of a Good Topic

w Do I really care about this topic?

w Importance to the speaker

n Matters to you!

w Value for listeners?

w Interest?

n Gains and holds the audience’s interest

w Appropriateness -- Does the topic satisfy the assignment/engagement?

w Manageable within the time available

w For audience and occasion and assignment

w Can I develop responsible knowledge on this topic?

Purposes

w General Purpose: To Inform or To Persuade

w Specific Purposes “to persuade my audience that they should be tested for HIV infection”

Step 2: Analyze your Audience:

w Attitude, Belief and Values (p. 290)

w Sociology (Demographics) of the audience

n Culture Factors

n Age

n Gender

n Religion and Religiousness

w Psychology of the Audience

n How willing is your audience?

n How favorable is your audience?

n How knowledgeable is your audience?

w Analysis and Adaptation During the Speech

w Ethical Concerns

Step 3: Research your Speech Topic

n General Principles

w What do you know

w Work from the general to the specific

w Take accurate notes

w What sources are available?

w Evaluate Internet Sources: Cite correctly!

n Evaluation Questions:

w Reliable? Source, date, type of data?

w Reasoning Logical?

n Integrate into the Speech

w Mention who, when and where

w Provide smooth transitions

w Avoid useless expressions

w Use signal verbs

w Avoid even the suggestion of plagiarism (p. 304)

Step 4: Formulate Thesis and Major Propositions

w Thesis

n Main assertion: what you want the audience to absorb from your speech.

w Informative: state early and clearly

w Persuasive:

n Neutral or positive audiences: state explicitly and early

n Hostile: delay until you have moved them closer to your point.

w Major propositions: principal assertions or main points.

w Eliminate points less important to your thesis.

w Combine points that have a common focus

w Select points that are most relevant or that interest audience.

w 2-5 main points (I contradict book here which says 2-4)

w Word each of the major propositions in the same (parallel) style.

w Develop each main point so that they are separate and discrete.

Step 5: Support Propositions

w Examples

n Hypothetical; Real; Extended

w Narratives

n Explanatory; Exemplary; Persuasive

w Testimony

w Statistics

n Make clear to audience

n Make meaningful

n Connect wit the proposition

n Visually and verbally reinforce

n Use in moderation

w Presentation Aids (see text p. 316)

Step 6: Organize Speech

w Informative

n Chronological/ Temporal

n Spatial

n Topical

w Persuasive

n Problem-Solution

n Cause-Effect/Effect-Cause

n Motivated Sequence

Step 7: Construct Introduction, Conclusion and Transitions

w Introduction

n Attention

n Tie

n Credibility

n Thesis/Preview

w Conclusion

n Brakelight

n Review

n Tie

n Memorable End

Step 8: Outline Your Speech

n Balance

n Simplicity

n Parallelism

n Order

Step 9: Word Your Speech

n Oral Style

n Choose Words:

w Clarity

w Vividness

w Appropriateness

w Personal Style

w Forcefulness/Power

n Phrase Sentences

w Short, direct, active, positive and variety.

n Easy to Remember!

Step 10: Rehearse and Delivery your Speech!

w Rehearsal

n Speech as a whole

n Time

n Approximate the Actual Speech Situation

n See yourself as a speaker

n Incorporate changes and make delivery notes

n Often

n Long-term Delivery Improvement Program

w Delivery:

n Impromptu

n Manuscript

n Memory

n Extemporaneously

Persuasive Speeches , In Particular…

w Question of fact, value or policy…

n Fact = what is true or false, what is..

n Value = what is good or bad, right or wrong, etc.

n Policy = what, if anything, should be done?

w Need

w Plan

w Practicality

w Types can stimulate action or can be aimed at beliefs.

n Continuance

n Avoidance

n Discontinuance (STOP!)

Principles of Persuasion

w Avoid Ethical Errors

n Name-calling; Glittering generality; Transfer; Testimonial; Plain Folks; Card-stacking; Bandwagon; Agenda-setting; Attack

Principles to Consider

w Selective Exposure of Audience

w Cultural Differences

w Audience Participation

w Inoculation

n How much do they oppose you?

w Magnitude of Change

n Foot-in-the-door and Door-in-the-face

w Identification

w Consistency

Aristotle’s’ Proofs

w Logos – Logical Appeals

n Recency

n Corroboration

n Fairness

w Pathos – Emotional Appeals

n Motive Hierarchy

n Motive (Maslow)

w Ethos – Credibility Appeals

n Peer, Expert, Celebrity

n 3 C’s of Credibility

w Competence, Character, Charisma