Listening to and Critiquing Public Speeches

To listen actively, one must do all of the following except:

All of the above are necessary for active listening

_____________ is the process of evaluating something and rendering a judgment.

Criticism

Which of the following best illustrates a failure to listen with an open mind?

Faith felt that Dr. King's views were biased before she listened to the audio clip of his speech and knew she would be bored during most of it.

Which of the following below is the best example of an effective critique?

Good job, your ideas were organized and your demonstration really engaged the audience. One thing you could do differently is try to make more eye contact and use your notecards less.

Which of the following is not an example of an effective critique of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech?

I could tell he was passionate about his topic, but I found Dr. King's speech to be too long and, at times, rather boring.

What is the main problem with the following critique? "You put some thought into it, but you obviously do not care much about the topic you are presenting."

It is not behavior focused.

What is the main problem with the following critique? "That was the stupidest speech I've ever heard. You weren't organized, you were boring, it went too long, your visual aids were ugly and useless, and nobody cares about your topic."

It is not ethical.

What is the main problem with the following critique? "I've never liked horses, so I didn't think your speech was very interesting. Besides, the way your voice sounds has always bugged me."

It is not objective.

What is the main problem with the following critique? "Your organization was confusing, you spoke too quietly and couldn't be heard, your visual aids were distracting, and your presentation was much too long."

It is not positive.

Why is simply telling someone their speech was "good" not effective feedback?1

It is too broad; not specific.

1097-05-01-02-00_files/i0130000.jpg Which area of active listening does the boy in this image need to work on?

Listening ethically

Avoiding offensive listening; listening objectively; weighing the pros and cons; examining the data; and listening without emotional involvement are all examples of which area of active listening?

Listening with empathy

What is the main problem with the following critique? "There is still some room for improvement, but overall I thought your speech was well organized and engaging. I particularly liked the visual aid with the bicycle, and the length was just right."

NOT It is not objective. It is not constructive.

Have you ever felt like the person in this image during a speech or presentation? List four or five things this person can do to be a more effective listener.

Take notes - Make an effort to build an understanding of the speaker's message - Think more deeply about the message - Avoid becoming self-focused or distant - Evaluate and analyze the speaker's message - Critique the speaker's performance and presentation - Listen actively - Listen for total meaning - Listen with empathy - Listen with an open mind - Listen ethically

Your friend is preparing a speech for class tomorrow. She asks you to watch her speech and give her feedback. During her speech she stares at her paper and rarely looks up. You can barely hear or understand what she is saying. She rocks back and forth from one leg to the other. Her speech lasts 28 minutes and is filled with long quotes from scientists. When she finishes you really don't remember what she spoke about. Prepare a critique of your friend's speech. Remember the guidelines for effective critiques!

You should try to make contact with the audience consistently. You don't want them to think you're having a conversation with the paper, when instead you should be having a conversation with the audience.

Which of the following best defines the term "total meaning"?

a message that is not partial, misinterpreted, or filtered; the entire message

After listening to Christine's speech, Albert tells her that it was good, but it was "kinda boring", and that most people probably won't care about her message. This is an example of:

criticism

Feedback such as good/bad; helpful/useless; important/unimportant; etc. are examples of:

criticism

After Joanne's speech, she asked for feedback. One student raised his hand and said that her topic was very relevant to this audience and that her message was very clear thanks to her good organization. However, he felt that her speech could have been more interesting had she used more visual aids to engage the audience. This is an example of:

critique

After listening to Freddy's speech, Caroline tells him that she liked it very much because it was really good and interesting, and that he chose an important topic to speak on. This is an example of:

critique

When offering a _____________, it is best to be as objective and fair as possible.

critique

Two major components of active listening are __________________.

effort and focus

Jeff fell asleep in his chair while Elizabeth was delivering a speech on the effects of pollution on the atmosphere. This is an example of failing to _________________.

listen ethically

Gina considers herself pro-cell phone, and quickly forgot most of the main points of Mark's persuasive speech on why students should not be allowed to use their cell phones at school. This is an example of a failure to ___________________.

listen with an open mind

During a presidential debate, Fran agreed with everything said by her political party's candidate, while she disagreed with each point made by the opposing party's candidate. This is an example of a failure to listen ___________________.

with empathy