Introduction to Public Speaking

As an avid environmentalist, James wants to persuade his coworkers to ride their bikes to work more often. He decides to record a short video and send it around via email. Which of these quotes is most likely to be in his video?

"By riding my bike to work, I not only decreased my carbon emissions by a ton, I also lost ten pounds!"

One of the ways that speakers can engage the audience is by honing their presentation skills. Which of the following demonstrates an ineffective presentation skill?

Accompanying the speech with intriguing but fairly random visuals

Ana works at a software company and is giving a presentation to her team about how she plans to approach a particularly challenging coding task. As she is talking, she sees some of the software engineers frowning and scratching their heads. She pauses her speech and says "I know this might look overly complicated, but we have to think about what we'll be building a year from now, not just solving the problem today." This is an example of:

Adapting to the audience.

Mattias's heart is racing just before he presents his marketing plan to a new client. What is happening to him?

Adrenaline is making his heart pump harder.

Which of the following is most likely to be a direct benefit of taking a public speaking course?

Becoming a better listener.

A speaker can establish or damage their credibility in a speech. What is the best way to establish credibility?

Cite reputable sources during the speech.

Generally speaking, which of the following was ranked as the most desirable job skill for potential employees?

Communication skills.

Joan gives a speech about the research on learning styles and argues that, since there is no evidence that learning styles actually exist, taking an assessment to find out one's learning style might actually do more harm than good. When Joan is finished, Flo asks, "So you're saying that we each need to learn according to our individual learning style?" What seems to have happened here?

Flo didn't decode the argument the way Joan intended.

Carlton wants to persuade his audience to wear seatbelts every time they get into a car. How can he best accomplish this goal?

He can quote statistics about how many people survive crashes wearing seatbelts.

Isaiah has trouble being able to read his notecards during speeches. What is happening to him?

His adrenaline rush is causing temporary vision impairment.

Feruza is giving a passionate speech on the importance of students registering to vote. Suddenly, some students in the hall get into a loud argument outside the classroom. How would we describe this situation in terms of the process of communication?

Interference

During Christopher's speech, he notices that his audience is looking outside as there is drilling from construction outside the window. What is his audience experiencing?

Interference that blocks their attention.

Lee is an experienced manager at a toy store and has to choose between two applicants for a retail job. Sam's references say he is a hard worker, arriving early to work and staying late to lock up. Issac's references say that he is skilled at speaking to customers and helping coworkers. Based on surveys of employers, whom do you think Lee will choose?

Isaac because he has strong communication skills.

Amit's boss was so impressed by a memo Amit wrote that his boss asks him to present his ideas at a meeting on Friday afternoon. When thinking about the context of this meeting, what should Amit keep in mind?

Late on a Friday, his coworkers may be tired, so Amit should try to project energy and engage the audience.

Which of the following is not a likely benefit of taking a course in public speaking?

Learning project management techniques.

Mel stayed up all night preparing his speech. Now, he feels disoriented and his notes aren't organized. What should he do?

Number his notecards and try to give vocal energy.

Greg is really nervous about delivering his first speech in public speaking class. What strategy should he use?

Practice the speech and visit the space to set up well in advance.

Jill wants to persuade her audience to adopt a pet. Which emotional appeal might she use?

She should tell a story of how having a pet changed her grandma's outlook on life.

Luther gets nervous every time before his speeches in public speaking class. He most likely is experiencing

Situational communication apprehension where his fear of public speaking kicks in.

Sarah feels like she might pass out during her speech on the benefits of walking a dog. What is happening to her?

The adrenaline in her body is affecting her breath control, resulting in lightheadedness.

Isaac and Karl are classmates. During class, Karl uses the class chat app to ask Isaac if he can copy his assignment from the last class. The chat, however, was accidentally sent to the class group chat and read by their teacher. Both Karl and Isaac are asked to stay after class to discuss the consequences of cheating. What component of the communication process does the chat app represent?

The channel

Which of the following is a way in which speeches are different from written texts?

The speech must include audible organizational indicators.

Mariah has to give the toast at her best friend Sue's wedding. If she wants to entertain the audience, she should be sure to include:

The story about how she and Sue met after picking up each other's order by mistake at a favorite restaurant.

Maricruz is preparing a speech to introduce herself to her class. She is trying to decide what information to include and what tone she should use. The most important outcome of her speech is how the class will connect with and feel about her. What is the primary goal of her speech?

To entertain

Jana is writing a speech to explain the process of adopting a pet. What is the goal of her speech?

To inform the audience about what is involved in pet adoption.

Although he enjoys being around people, Jayden often doubts himself when interacting with others. His symptoms range from mild sweating and fidgeting when speaking with an acquaintance or group of people to sheer heart pounding panic when giving presentations at work. Which type of CA does Jayden experience?

Trait Communication Apprehension

Bessie gets nervous when she has to speak to a person either on the phone or in person, no matter who it is. She most likely is experiencing

Trait communication apprehension, which makes her generally nervous to talk to people.

Visual aids are able to refocus the audience by providing what?

Visual representation of a complex idea

Joanie constantly hears "no one wants to listen to you" in her mind every time she gets up to speak. What can she do?

Replace the negative statement with a positive one and repeat it.

Karen notices several students in her speech class giving her a puzzled look when she starts speaking about the term biological anthropology. What should she do?

Respond to this feedback by explaining what biological anthropology is.

Tania gets up to defend her master's thesis in front of her professors. She suddenly develops shaky hands and has trouble getting words to come out of her mouth. What is she experiencing?

The high stakes of getting her master's degree have intimidated her.

Juan wore a very bright colored ball cap during his informative speech. He notices the audience staring at it, and begins to regret wearing it. What probably happens during his speech?

He believes the audience is judging his clothing choices instead of listening.

Vicky's hands shake every time she gets in front of her coworkers to speak. What is happening to her?

Her adrenaline kicks in and her body is using the energy to increase performance.

To help an audience follow the argument, a speaker should:

Provide clear audible signposts of shifts in the argument.

What is the most important part of conducting a speech rehearsal before going in front of the audience?

Recreating the speaking situation as much as possible so it seems familiar when the speech is presented.

Jill had a negative experience in elementary school when students laughed at the way she mispronounced a word during a speech she gave in a class. Now in her college public speaking class, she often hears that laughter in her head before she starts speaking and it paralyzes her. What is happening?

She's had a prior negative experience and believes it will be repeated.

Lenny is an expert on the statistical modeling of voting patterns, so a local senior center invites him to give a talk about the upcoming elections. For his speech, Lenny decides to adapt an article he just submitted for publication in the Journal of Political Science. After reading his manuscript for 30 minutes, he asks if there are any questions. No one says a word. What probably happened?

Since his speech was intended to be read instead of heard, the audience couldn't follow it.

Christy is terrified to deliver her demonstration speech to the class. What can she focus on instead of her fear?

The importance of her message.

Which of the following scenarios best describes the context of a speech?

Cori, a city planner, has been invited to give a short talk about greenspace at a local park on Arbor Day.

As Chris stands up to speak at a public hearing, he hears a voice in his head telling him he's a horrible public speaker and should probably just sit down. What is happening to him?

He's anticipating failing during the speech and therefore psyching himself out.

Matteo gets up to give his persuasive speech on becoming an organ donor. When he looks into the audience and sees all eyes on him, he freezes and can't begin his speech. What is happening?

He's realized he's the center of attention and it awoke his nerves.

Knowing some information about your audience can help you tailor the speech to them. For example, how does knowing the size of the audience impact your speech?

It helps the speaker adjust their volume and visual aids.

During rehearsal, Julian realizes his PowerPoint slide has text that is too small to be read from the back of the room. What should he do?

Quickly remake the slide using a larger font.

Christina has a career in client services for a growing tech company, TechStar. She consults with her clients on how to use TechStar's software more effectively to grow their business. She would like to take on a more senior role within client services so she has asked to begin mentoring junior employees. Explain how she can practice her leadership skills to help her achieve her goal.

She can help her mentees set specific and realistic goals to focus on.

One of the benefits of reading a speech over watching it, is the audience can pace themselves with the information they take in. How can a public speaker help the audience with this?

Slow down the rate of speech and clarify points when the audience looks lost.

Audience members provide both verbal and non-verbal feedback to a speaker. Which of the following is an example of feedback during an online speech?

Susan looks at her watch during the speech.

Arnold has identified the source of his CA stems from uncertainty, specifically he is nervous about the degree of unpredictability when he will deliver his speech for a grade. Which practice technique would be helpful to help him reduce his anxiety about the degree of unpredictability?

Timing his full run-throughs to ensure he has room to speak more quickly or slowly on the day of his speech.

Hana has to write a discussion post for her biology class. She tells her friend María that she's planning to base it on a fascinating post she just read on social media about how thawed-out Jurassic viruses are causing increased rates of asthma in the Northern hemisphere. María responds, "That reminds me of something we just worked on this week in Public Speaking. . ."

You should make sure to check on the accuracy of that source.

For her business class,Tatiana must give a presentation report on the company she's interned with all semester. The catch is that her presentation will not be done in class, instead it will be done in front of her direct supervisor, office manager, and regional manager. She's attended presentations in the conference room during her internship and she's met each of the people who will be grading her presentation. She's been confident when practicing her speech in front of several classmates. Tatiana researched her speech very well and feels that it is a good, solid presentation. But when she walks into the conference room to give her presentation, Tatiana starts sweating, turning red, and her voice is shaking. What is the main reason Tatiana may be experiencing fear?

Feeling intimidated by the audience