Speech- Chapter 15: Delivery

- Eye Contact

- When giving a formal presentation, effective eye contact involves looking at people in all parts of the room (including the camera if being recorded) throughout the speech. As long as you are looking at someone (i.e., those in front of you, in the left rear of the room, in the right center of the room) and not at your notes or the ceiling, floor, or window, everyone in the audience will perceive you as having good eye contact with them. Generally, you should look at your audience at least 90 percent of the time, glancing at notes (even if they are on your PowerPoint or Prezi slides) only when you need a quick reference point. Maintaining eye contact is important for several reasons...

Extemporaneous Speeches

- Most speeches, whether in the workplace, in the community, or in class, are delivered extemporaneously. extemporaneous speech* - a speech that is researched and planned ahead of time, although the exact wording is not scripted and will vary from presentation to presentation - When speaking extemporaneously, you refer to speaking notes reminding you of key ideas, structure, and delivery cues as you speak. Some speakers today use their computerized slideshows as speaking notes. If you choose to do so, however, be careful not to include too many words on any given slide, which will ultimately distract listeners from focusing on you as you speak. - Extemporaneous speeches are the easiest to give effectively. Unlike impromptu speeches, when speaking extemporaneously, you are able to prepare your thoughts ahead of time and have notes to prompt you. Unlike scripted speeches, extemporaneous speeches do not require as lengthy a preparation process to be effective.

- Gestures

- gestures are the movements of your hands, arms, and fingers. - Effective gestures emphasize important points or ideas, refer to presentational aids, or clarify structure. For example, as Aaron began to speak about the advantages of smart phone apps, he said, "on one hand" and lifted his right hand face up. When he got to the disadvantages, he lifted his left hand face up as he said, "on the other hand." - Gestures may also create confusion between cultures - effective gestures must appear spontaneous and natural even though they are actually carefully planned and practiced. When you practice and then deliver your speech, leave your hands free so they will be available to gesture as you normally do.

Cognitive symptoms

- most common cause of speech apprehension - stems from negative self-talk (e.g., "I'm going to blow it" or "I just know I'll make a fool of myself")

Modeling

- observing how your friends and family members react to speaking in public - If they tend to be quiet and reserved and avoid public speaking, your fears may stem from modeling.

Previous experience

- socialized to fear public speaking - result of modeling and negative reinforcement

[Characteristics of Effective Delivery Style]

Effective public speech delivery style is both conversational and animated.

2) Consider your topic and purpose.

In general, the more serious your topic, the more formally you should dress. For example, if your topic is AIDS and you are trying to convince your audience to be tested for HIV, you will want to look like someone who is an authority by dressing the part. But if your topic is yoga and you are trying to convince your audience to take a yoga class at the new campus recreation center, you might dress more casually.

Step 2: Determine whether or not these fears are rational.

Most are irrational because public speaking is not life threatening.

[Rehearsals]

Rehearsing* - the iterative process of practicing your speech aloud - A speech that is not practiced out loud is likely to be far less effective than it would have been had you given yourself sufficient time to revise, evaluate, and mull over all aspects of the speech (Anderson, 2013). Figure 15.4 provides a useful timetable for preparing and practicing a classroom speech. In the sections that follow, we describe how to rehearse effectively by preparing speaking notes, handling presentational aids, and recording, analyzing, and refining delivery.

[Scripted Speeches]

Scripted Speech* - a speech prepared by creating a complete written manuscript and delivered by rote memory or by reading a written copy - Obviously, effective scripted speeches take a great deal of time to prepare because both an outline and a word-for-word transcript must be prepared, practiced, and delivered in a way that sounds both conversational and animated. - When you read a scripted speech from a manuscript or teleprompter, you must become adept at looking at the script with your peripheral vision so that you don't appear to be reading and you must still sound conversational and animated. - Because of the time and skill required to effectively prepare and deliver a scripted speech, they are usually reserved for important occasions that have important consequences. Political speeches, keynote addresses at conventions, commencement addresses, and CEO remarks at annual stockholder meetings are examples of occasions when a scripted speech might be most appropriate and worth the extra effort.

Step 3: Develop positive coping statements to replace each negative self-talk statement.

There is no list of coping statements that will work for everyone. Psychologist Richard Heimberg of the State University of New York at Albany reminds his clients that most listeners don't notice or even care if the clients do what they're afraid of doing when giving a speech. Ultimately, he asks them, "Can you cope with the one or two people who [notice or criticize or] get upset?"

2) Visualization

Visualization* - developing a mental picture of yourself giving a masterful speech - If we visualize ourselves going through an entire speech-making process successfully, we are more likely to be successful when we actually deliver the speech (Dwyer, 2012). - Visualization has been used extensively to improve athletic performances

- Vocal Expression

Vocal Expression* - variations in pitch, volume, rate, and quality that affect the meaning an audience gets from the sentences you speak - speeding up your rate: raising your pitch, or increasing your volume reinforces emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, excitement, anticipation, and a sense of urgency or fear. - Slowing down your rate: lowering your pitch, or decreasing your volume can communicate resolution, peacefulness, remorse, disgust, or sadness.

3) Avoid extremes.

Your attire shouldn't detract from your speech. Avoid gaudy jewelry, over- or undersized clothing, and sexually suggestive attire. Remember you want your audience to focus on your message, so your appearance should be neutral.

monotone*

a voice in which the pitch, volume, and rate remain constant, with no word, idea, or sentence differing significantly from any other - Although few people speak in a true monotone, many severely limit themselves by using only two or three pitch levels and relatively unchanging volume and rate when giving public speeches. - An actual or near monotone not only lulls an audience to sleep but, more important, diminishes the chances of audience understanding.

Apprehension gradually decreases for most of us as we speak. Researchers have identified three phases we proceed through:

anticipation, confrontation, and adaptation (Behnke & Carlile, 1971).

anticipation phase*

anxiety we experience before giving the speech

performance orientation*

believing we must impress a hypercritical audience with our knowledge and delivery

communication orientation*

focusing on talking with others about an important topic and getting the message across to them - not about how they might be judging our performance.

Delivery*

how a message is communicated orally and visually through the use of voice and body

- Posture

posture is how you hold your body. When giving a public speech, an upright stance and squared shoulders communicate a sense of confidence. Speakers who slouch may be perceived as lacking self-confidence and not caring about the topic, audience, and occasion.

Spontaneity*

the ability to sound natural when giving a speech - The hallmark of a conversational style is spontaneity

audience contact*

when speaking to large audiences, create a sense of looking listeners in the eye even though you actually cannot - You can create audience contact by mentally dividing your audience into small groups. Then, tracing the letter Z with your gaze, talk for four to six seconds with each group as you move through your speech. - When speaking virtually via Web conferencing software using a computer screen and camera, be sure to look into the camera as you speak rather than at your image or their image(s) on the screen. When you look into the camera, your audience will perceive you as having eye contact with them.

4) Cognitive Restructuring

Cognitive Restructuring* - replacing anxiety-arousing negative self-talk with anxiety-reducing positive self-talk through a 4 step process.

1) Communication Orientation Motivation (COM)

Communication Orientation Motivation (COM)* - adopting a communication rather than performance orientation toward speeches.

1) Consider the audience and occasion.

Dress a bit more formally than you expect members of your audience to dress. If you dress too formally, your audience is likely to perceive you to be untrustworthy and insincere. If you dress too casually, your audience may view you as uncommitted to your topic or disrespectful of them or the occasion.

[Management Techniques]

We propose five techniques to help manage apprehension effectively: communication orientation, visualization, systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring, and public speaking skills training.

Step 1: Identify your fears.

Write down all the fears that come to mind when you know you must give a speech.

Step 4: Incorporate positive coping statements into your life so they become second nature

You can do this by writing your statements down and reading them aloud to yourself each day, as well as before you give a speech. The more you repeat your coping statements, the more natural they will become

Pauses*

moments of silence strategically used to enhance meaning - If you use one or more sentences in your speech to express an important idea, pause before each sentence to signal that something important is coming or pause afterward to allow the idea to sink in. - Pausing one or more times within a sentence can also add impact. Nick included several short pauses within and a long pause after his sentence "Our government has no compassion (pause), no empathy (pause), and no regard for human feeling" (longer pause).

conversational style*

presenting a speech so that your audience feels you are talking with them

Accent*

the articulation, inflection, tone, and speech habits typical of the native speakers of a language - Everyone speaks with some kind of accent, since "accent" means any tone or inflection that differs from the way others speak. - If your accent is "thick" or very different from that of most of your audience, practice pronouncing key words so that you are easily understood, speak slowly to allow your audience members more time to process your message, and consider using visual aids to reinforce key terms, concepts, and important points.

pronunciation*

the form and accent of various syllables of a word - ("athalete" for athlete), leaving out a sound ("libary" for library), transposing sounds ("revalent" for relevant), and distorting sounds ("troof" for truth)

Public speaking apprehension*

the level of fear a person experiences when anticipating or actually speaking to an audience

[Use of Voice]

your voice is the sound you produce using your vocal organs. How your voice sounds depends on its pitch, volume, rate, and quality. As a public speaker, you can achieve a conversational and animated delivery style by varying your pitch, volume, rate, and quality in ways that make you more intelligible and expressive.

Emotional symptoms

- feeling anxious, worried, or upset

Physical symptoms

- stomach upset (or butterflies), flushed skin, sweating, shaking, light-headedness, rapid or pounding heartbeats, stuttering, and vocalized pauses ("like," "you know," "ah," "um," and so on)

2) Maintaining eye contact bolsters ethos.

Just as you are likely to be skeptical of people who do not look you in the eye as they converse, audiences also will be skeptical of speakers who do not look at them. In the dominant American culture, eye contact is perceived as a sign of sincerity. Speakers who fail to maintain eye contact with audiences are perceived almost always as ill at ease and often as insincere or dishonest (Levine, Asada, & Park, 2006).

- Appearance

-studies show that a neatly groomed and professional appearance sends important messages about a public speaker's commitment to the topic and occasion, as well as about the speaker's credibility -Three guidelines can help you decide how to dress for your speech:

- Poise

Pose*- graceful and controlled use of the body - Poise gives the impression that you are self-assured, calm, and dignified. Mannerisms that convey nervousness (swaying from side to side, drumming fingers on the lectern, taking off or putting on glasses, jiggling pocket change, smacking the tongue, scratching the nose, hand, or arm) should be noted during practice sessions and avoided during the speech.

3) Systematic Desensitization

Systematic Desensitization* - gradually visualizing and then engaging in more frightening speaking events - The process starts with consciously tensing and then relaxing muscle groups in order to learn how to recognize the difference between the two states. - while in a relaxed state, you first imagine yourself and then engage in successively more stressful situations—for example, researching a speech topic in the library, practicing the speech out loud to a roommate, and finally, giving a speech to an audience. - The ultimate goal of systematic desensitization is to transfer the calm feelings we attain while visualizing to the actual speaking event. Calmness on command—and it works.

adaptation phase*

the period during which our anxiety gradually decreases. - begins about one minute into the presentation and tends to level off after about five minutes

confrontation phase*

the surge of anxiety we experience when beginning to deliver the speech

[Symptoms and Causes]

Symptoms can be cognitive, physical, or emotional

animated*

lively and dynamic - Even a well-written speech given by an expert can bore an audience unless its delivery is animated, that is, lively and dynamic - The secret is to focus on conveying the passion we feel about the topic through our voice and body.

3) Maintaining eye contact helps you gauge the audience's reaction to your ideas.

Because communication is two-way, audience members communicate with you while you are speaking to them. In conversation, the partner's response is likely to be both verbal and nonverbal. In public speaking, the audience's response is likely to only be through nonverbal cues. Bored audience members might yawn, look out the window, slouch in their chairs, and even sleep. Confused audience members might look puzzled by furrowing their brows or shaking their head. Audience members who understand or agree with something might smile and nod their heads. By monitoring your audience's behavior, you can adjust by becoming more animated, offering additional examples, or moving more quickly through a point.

[Use of Body]

Because your audience can see as well as hear you, how you use your body also contributes to how conversational and animated your audience perceives you to be. Body language elements that affect delivery are appearance, posture, poise, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, and movement

1) Maintaining eye contact helps audiences concentrate on the speech.

If you do not look at audience members while you talk, they are unlikely to maintain eye contact with you. This break in mutual eye contact reduces a sense of conversational delivery and often decreases concentration on the message.

5) Public Speaking Skills Training

Public Speaking Skills Training* - the systematic teaching of the skills associated with preparing and delivering an effective public speech - Skills training is based on the assumption that some public speaking anxiety is caused by not knowing how to be successful. So if we learn the skills associated with effective speech making (e.g., audience analysis, topic selection and development, organization, oral language, and delivery style), then we will be less anxious (Kelly, Phillips, & Keaten, 1995).

[Delivery Methods]

Speeches vary in the amount of preparation and practice you do ahead of time. The three most common delivery methods are impromptu, scripted, and extemporaneous.

Articulation*

using the tongue, palate, teeth, jaw movement, and lips to shape vocalized sounds that combine to produce a word

[Preparing Speaking Notes]

- Prior to your first rehearsal session, prepare a draft of your speaking notes - Speaking notes* - a key word outline of your speech - including hard-to-remember information or quotations and delivery cues. - The best notes contain the fewest words possible written in lettering large enough to be seen instantly at a distance. To develop your notes, begin by reducing your speech outline to an abbreviated outline of key words and phrases. Then, if there are details you must cite exactly accurately—such as a specific example, a quotation, or a set of statistics—add these in the appropriate spots. You might also put these on a separate card as a "Quotation Card" to refer to when delivering direct quotations during the speech. - Next, indicate exactly where you plan to share presentational aids. Finally, incorporate delivery cues indicating where you want to make use of your voice and body to enhance intelligibility or expressiveness. For example, indicate where you want to pause, gesture, or make a motivated movement. Capitalize or underline words you want to stress. Use slash marks (//) to remind yourself to pause. Use an upward-pointing arrow to remind yourself to increase rate or volume. -For a 3- to 5-minute speech, you should need no more than three 3-by-5-inch note cards for your speaking notes. For longer speeches, you might need one card for the introduction, one for each main point, and one for the conclusion. Speakers using computerized slideshows may also use the "notes" feature on the program for their speaking notes. - Use your notes during practice sessions as you will when you actually give the speech. If you will use a lectern, set the notes on the stand or, alternatively, hold them in one hand and refer to them only when needed. How important is it to construct good speaking notes? Speakers often find that the act of making the notes is so effective in helping cement ideas in the mind that during practice, or later during the speech itself, they rarely refer to them at all.

Negative reinforcement

- concerns how others have responded to your public speaking endeavors - If you experienced negative reactions, you might be more apprehensive about speaking in public than if you had been praised for your efforts (Motley, 1997).

- Facial Expressions

- facial expression is the arrangement of facial muscles to express emotions. - For public speakers, effective facial expressions can convey nonverbal immediacy by communicating that you are personable and likable. They can also help animate your speech. - Nonverbal immediacy* - communicating through body language that you are personable and likeable - Speakers who do not vary their facial expressions during the speech and instead wear a deadpan expression, perpetual grin, or permanent scowl tend to be perceived as boring, insincere, or stern. - To assess whether you are using effective facial expressions during your speech, practice delivering it to yourself in front of a mirror or record your rehearsal and evaluate your facial expressions as you watch it.

-Movement

- movement refers to changing your body position. - During your speech, engage only in motivated movement* - movement with a specific purpose. - To emphasize a particular point, you might move closer to the audience. To create a feeling of intimacy before telling a personal story, you might walk out from behind a lectern and sit down on a chair placed at the edge of the stage. Each time you begin a new main point, you might take a few steps to one side of the stage or the other. - To use motivated movement effectively, you must practice when and how you will move until you can do so in a way that appears spontaneous and natural while remaining "open" to the audience (not turning your back to them). - Avoid unmotivated movement such as bobbing, weaving, shifting from foot to foot, or pacing from one side of the room to the other because unplanned movements distract the audience from your message. Because many unplanned movements result from nervousness, you can minimize them by paying mindful attention to your body as you speak. At the beginning of your speech, stand up straight on both feet. If you find yourself fidgeting, readjust and position your body with your weight equally distributed on both feet.

- Intelligibility

Intelligibility* - understandable - If you practice your speech using appropriate pitch, volume, rate, and vocal quality, you can improve the likelihood that you will be intelligible to your audience. - Speaking at an appropriate pitch is particularly important if your audience includes people who have hearing loss because they may find it difficult to hear a pitch that is too high or too low. - Appropriate volume is key to intelligibility. You must speak loudly enough, with or without a microphone, to be heard easily by the audience members in the back of the room but not so loudly as to cause discomfort to listeners seated in the front. You can also vary your volume to emphasize important information. For example, you may speak louder when you introduce each main point or when imploring listeners to take action. - The rate at which you speak can also influence intelligibility. Speaking too slowly gives your listeners time to let their minds wander after they've processed an idea. Speaking too quickly, especially when sharing complex ideas and arguments, may not give listeners enough time to process the information completely. Articulation, pronunciation, and accent can also affect intelligibility...

Impromptu Speeches

impromptu speech* - a speech that is delivered with only seconds or minutes of advance notice - usually presented with very few if any notes. - Because impromptu speakers must quickly gather their thoughts just before and while they speak, carefully organizing and developing ideas can be challenging. As a result, they may leave out important information or confuse audience members. Delivery can suffer as speakers often use "ahs," "ums," "like," and "you know" to buy time as they scramble to collect their thoughts. That's why the more opportunities you have to organize and deliver your thoughts using an impromptu method, the better you'll become at doing so. - Some of the most common situations that require using the impromptu method are during employment and performance review interviews, at business meetings, in class, at social ceremonies, and to the media. In each situation, having practiced organizing ideas quickly and conveying them intelligibly and expressively will bolster your ethos and help you succeed. - You can improve your impromptu performances by practicing mock impromptu speeches. For example, if you are taking a class where the professor often calls on students at random to answer questions, you can prepare by anticipating the questions that might be asked and practice giving your answers aloud. Over time, you will become more adept at organizing your ideas and thinking on your feet.