Public speaking - Exam Study guide

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.

Davis's track coach is offering some coaching advice after a meet. Although his coach offered some positive notes, he discussed 18 techniques that Davis should work on to fix before the meet next week. Davis feels defeated and like he should just give up. Why is the feedback that Davis's coach offered ineffective?

It is not reasonable

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 which blocks their attention

In her speech about the Paralympics, Lena refers to "amputees." How could she change this phrase to use "People-First Language?"

"Athletes who have had amputation."

Antônia is talking to her family about a conversation they had in her Anthropology class about Japanese culture. Her younger sister asks "wait, what's culture?" How might Antônia answer?

"Culture is every aspect of our experience that isn't physical fact. So our language is culture, and the things we think are important are part of culture, and so is the way we dress or what we eat."

Michael has asked Nicole to watch his speech and give him some feedback before he delivers it for a grade in class. Nicole thinks Michael's topic is very interesting and applicable, the anecdotes he used were engaging, and that his eye contact and facial expressions were very good. She is concerned that he is moving all around the room, shifting his weight a lot as he speaks, and that his gestures are a little distracting. In which order should Nicole put her comments using the sandwich method?

"I find the topic and anecdotes in this speech really engaging. I find myself a little distracted by all of the body movement, gestures, and movement around the room. Is there a way to make the body movement as solid as the eye contact and facial expressions?"

Joao is telling a story about something that happened in his Intercultural Communication course. His younger brother asks "What's intercultural communication?" How might Joao reply?

"Intercultural communication happens when people with different backgrounds or experiences communicate."

Lila is excited to speak about the benefits of yoga to her speech class. She interviewed her yoga instructor for her speech. Lila will include a quote and some stories from her instructor, who has been teaching yoga for 26 years and has trained hundreds of other instructors. How can she show the quality and credibility of this source when she references her instructor?

"Kathy Lim has been a yoga instructor for 26 years and teaches a 500-hour training course for new yoga instructors. She is passionate about making yoga accessible to as many people as possible."

Bedour is preparing a speech about Barack Obama's presidency. Using the guidelines from this section, how should she properly cite this quote from Obama in your speech: "We don't fear the future; we shape it."

"Speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Presidency Obama spoke these words: 'We don't fear the future; we shape it.'"

Jamal's friend asks him: "How do I know if an object or style is cultural appropriation or not?" What might Jamal answer?

Has the source culture been historically exploited or oppressed? Does the object have particular cultural meaning or religious significance? Does someone besides the source group stand to profit or benefit from its use this way? If the answers are yes, it may well be appropriation.

Which of the following is an important difference between the way public speaking was used during the abolitionist movement in the 1800s and the Black Lives Matter movement in the 2000s?

Black Lives Matter has far more ways to create and disseminate the message, including Twitter, social media, YouTube, cell phone recordings, and podcasts.

To improve their presentation skills, a speaker should pay attention to audience feedback. When and how does the audience give feedback to the speaker?

Both during and after the speech, through verbal and nonverbal communication.

Steve and his brother are discussing the upcoming presidential election. They disagree on who they will vote for and what they believe is most important for the country. Steve is getting increasingly angry with his brother. What is an effective strategy for Steve to keep an open mind?

He can ask for a break to calm down and then return to the conversation

Jason gave his instructor an outline of his speech, which includes a Work Cited with all his sources listed. Does he still need to verbally state his sources when he presents his speech?

Absolutely. All sources for his speech must be cited and attributed.

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

Using the recommendations from this section, which would be the best way for Tina to re-phrase the following sentence from her speech about recommendations for police reform: "If a policeman has the right training, he is less likely to use violence."

If police officers have the right training, they are less likely to use violence."

Paraphrase the following quotation, including a citation, as though you were using the ideas in a speech: "A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, stretching and damaging the brain cells and creating chemical changes in the brain." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015

A 2015 report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a concussion as an injury to the brain caused by the brain being jostled back and forth. The injury might happen when someone's head or body is hit or bumped. The movement can harm the brain by both damaging cells and creating chemical changes

At a school board meeting, Wally is presenting his plan to eliminating honors and AP classes in the interest of fairness and equality. His presentation is well crafted and expertly delivered, but many of the other people disagree strongly, and he loses the vote. What led to this situation?

A difference in values

Lois is speaking to a group called Booksmart (promoters of literacy education) about trying to rally support for a ballot measure increasing funding for local libraries. Given his topic, what kind of audience can he expect at his talk?

A friendly audience

What is ethics

A set of standards that help a person determine what is the right thing to do

When José is talking with Kendall, he checks his phone a few times. Kendall is offended that José is not paying attention after José responds to Kendall's question about their plans for next week with "Oh yeah, that was fun." José has identified that anticipating an important phone call is a distraction. How can he improve his listening in this discussion?

Adopt a strategy to reduce his distraction now that he has identified it

Alex really likes his mayor. The first time he heard him speak was at an event held at his club. Ever since, Alex raves about the good things his mayor has accomplished and defended him against others' critiques of the major by stating that he has done the best he could have. When the mayor speaks, Alex always applies the best scenarios to the mayor's words and doesn't even notice anything that the mayor says that he might disagree with. How has Alex's judgement created a barrier to listening?

Alex has pre-decided that everything that's said by the mayor is good

Danica is discussing a new project she's working on that involves a client that April has previously worked with. As Danica is explaining the project and her initial impressions of the client, April is already considering what information would be helpful for Danica to know. Before Danica can get into the specific project details and her interactions with the client, April begins listing all of the takeaways she has from the last time she worked with that client. Danica is upset because she was just about to list the takeaways from the last project that the client shared with her. How did April's anticipation form a barrier to effective listening?

April interrupted and showed that she didn't care to listen

Based on the reading, why is it important to use inclusive language in public speaking?

Because doing so helps to make all listeners feel fairly represented

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

Cite reputable sources during the speech

Mario, a student at Trident University, has been asked to give a speech to the college alumni association at the scholarship golf fundraiser. What is something he should do before the day of the event?

Consider why this group will be attending the event.

Amal, who is majoring in philosophy, is giving a speech to his class about why philosophy isn't a waste of time. He has the class fill out a survey and finds out that many of his classmates are majoring in business and marketing. How might this information shape the organization of his speech?

He can start with the questions one might encounter in the business world, then show how philosophy can help resolve these questions.

Kimberly is taking a public speaking class with her friend, Cory. They ride together to each class and sit next to each other but Cory actively listens while Kimberly only writes down what the powerpoint says and studies it later. They both spend the same amount of time preparing their speeches but Cory does much better. What academic benefit from active listening helped Cory to perform better?

Cory may not have paid attention to hints, pointers, or feedback that were not on the powerpoint

Nathan worked very hard on his term paper. When he got his paper back, he read through the grading rubric to see that he received a B-. What type of feedback did Nathan receive?

Evaluation feedback

Jerry's political science professor has made his political leanings very clear; He often makes comments during his lectures. Jerry has turned in a paper with an opposite viewpoint from his professor. His professor invites him to office hours to discuss the merits and drawbacks of each of their respective political systems. What is an effective strategy for Jerry to listen to his professor with an open mind during this meeting?

Decide that the goal of this conversation is not to persuade or get the other person to agree

Rhea has decided to attend an open town hall meeting about replacing a nearby dog park with a community center. Rhea takes her dog to that park often, so she cares very much about what will happen to the dog park. What can Rhea do to better listen with an open mind?

Decide that this event will either challenge or reinforce her own belief system

Audience analysis is the process of gathering information about an expected audience, used to help a public speaker adapt the content of a speech. How do demographic and inference data differ in regards to audience analysis?

Demographic data is information about characteristics of a population whereas inferences are a type of "educated guess" made from observations or research.

Daniel works from home. During the workday, his children often come into his office to complain about a sibling or share a story with him. Often, Daniel simply gives a quick answer while continuing her work. This leads to his children interrupting him even more or misbehaving to get his attention. What can Daniel do differently to ensure that his children feel acknowledged while still doing what he needs to for work?

Devote his full attention to his children when he can set aside his work, or tell them that he cannot give them the attention they deserve now, but will seek them out as soon as he can.

Elise has hearing difficulties and cannot tune out background noise. She is starting a new semester and wants to make sure that she can effectively listen during her classes. What can Elise do to prepare for her listening situation?

Discuss a seating plan with her teachers to ensure that her exposure to background noise is minimized

Hua will be presenting before a community group on school safety. What should be her first step?

Finding out about the audience and the event

what is legal behavior

Following laws, as written in statues, regulations and codes, and as interpreted by the courts

Which of the following best illustrates tailoring a speech to the audience?

Geraldo is a visual artist. Since he'll be speaking at a fundraiser for a local music venue to an audience of rock fans, he decides to talk about album cover art.

Carl thinks his history teacher doesn't know what he's talking about. During a lecture, he gave wrong information about the sequence of events that led to WWI. Carl figured that if his teacher didn't know something that so many other people knew, that his teacher doesn't know anything. How has Carl's judgement created a barrier to listening?

He focused on a mistake that was mentioned

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.

Which of the following is most likely to be considered an example of ethnocentrism?

Hilde, who is visiting China from Norway, remarks that people in China "seem to have no idea of personal space" on public transportation.

In the Mali Empire (1235-1670), which of these roles best describes that of a griot or jeli ?

Historian, story teller, mediator, and advisor

Why was public speaking so important to American social movements?

Leaders used the spoken word to help their listeners imagine a better world.

A good way to get useful feedback from your audience is to:

Let one or two people know in advance that you'd like to ask them for feedback.

Zhang is attending a dinner party where he will be introduced to several people. He wants to make sure he remembers their names and a few details about each one. What can Zhang do to come prepared to listen?

Make a listening goal

Karl is visiting Vietnam with his wife, who grew up there. His in-laws are extremely accommodating—driving them around, cooking them delicious food, and helping them feel at home. Karl is careful to thank them graciously—in Vietnamese—whenever they help him. At some point his wife says "you know, with people that are close to us, like family, we tend not to say thank you so much, because that's really for acquaintances and strangers. Family members are happy to help each other!" "Ah!" says Karl. "That's really good to know. I'll try not to do it so much in the future." This is an example of

Metacognitive Cultural Intelligence.

In his weekly team meeting, Tariq listens as his coach is going over boring budget rules that the team must follow when they travel next week. Tariq maintains eye contact and nods his head to show comprehension. What type of feedback does Tariq give?

Nonverbal - affirming

Which of the following is NOT usually collected as demographic data?

Occupational goals

which of the following is the best example for a potential conflict of interest

Rebel has an influential blog in which she reviews new movies. During the day, she works for a large film production company.

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

Casey has decided to try using the Cornell note taking method to see if it better helps her learn. She divides the paper into columns and records the main concepts and key ideas on the right and any questions or key words she has on the left, connecting them to the main concepts and key ideas. As she reads through her notes, she makes connections between what she already knew and what she learned. She reviews her notes before and after class and before exams. For some reason, though, she is still struggling to remember the course content. What step has Casey missed in taking Cornell notes?

She did not use her notes to test her memory

Sami is a dental hygienist. She's just learned about a new treatment using ozone, and is giving a presentation about it to her coworkers. After she's talked for a while about the research behind ozone treatments, she notices one of her coworkers glancing at their phone. What should she do?

She shouldn't worry-- maybe that coworker is expecting an important call or text. It might be time to reengage the audience with a question, though.

Tami is helping her friend Michael rehearse his speech about international debt relief. To make one of his points, Michael says "for instance, when you bought your home, the lender probably wanted to know about your salary at the time, but they didn't consider what would happen if you lost your job." After Michael finishes, Tami suggests he consider adjusting that line, since he's likely to have a socioeconomically diverse audience. Why does she think he should change it?

Some audience members might not own a home, or might be hourly workers (rather than salaried).

Marcus is venting to his friend, James, about a frustrating interaction with a colleague. James offers advice on how to better interact with that colleague the next time. Marcus gets frustrated with James and tells him "That's not what I need to hear right now. Can't you just listen?" What kind of listening is needed in this situation?

relational

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

Which of the following is an example of unconscious bias

Ted is surprised that the building contractor is a woman

In creating his persuasive speech to get his audience to believe that capital punishment should be abolished, Juan must do what in preparation?

research the opposing viewpoint and target research towards that group

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

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

Vishal is introducing a keynote speaker at a conference. As soon as Vishal gets on stage, he shouts "Hello!" to the audience while looking at them and pausing. The audience then shouts "Hello!" What type of feedback has the audience provided?

Verbal - call and response

Sandra is reading an excerpt from her book at a local book signing event. As she finishes a particularly poignant sentence, some members of the audience make "Oh" or "Mmm" sounds. What type of feedback does the audience give?

Verbal - utterance

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

Visual representation of a complex idea

Your friend texts you and says she's having an "ethical dilemma." What is she trying to figure out?

What is the right thing to do

Anthony has a team meeting every Monday at 7 AM that he takes remotely. During the meeting, he switches to bluetooth and drives his kids to school. He finds that he misses important information during the meeting. What is the most likely distractor for Anthony?

While in the car, he is paying attention to the driving

are there limits to protections on free speech

Yes

What is bias?

a tendency toward or against someone or something

As a spokesperson for a large nonprofit organization, Jana is a member of the National Communication Association and follows the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication. During a press conference, she misstates a statistic, which ends up being reported in a newspaper article. What would be the ethical thing for her to do?

accept responsibility for the mistake and issue a retraction or correction

Kristin gets the opportunity to speak on community television about why they need a stoplight at a busy intersection in her neighborhood. What should she consider doing before the speech?

advertise to people in her neighborhood that it is happening

Which of the following is considered demographic data?

age

Greta Thunberg made news when she spoke out against climate change at the UN Climate Change COP24 Conference as a 15 year old girl from Sweden. What enabled her to do this

she is a passionate activist advocating for policy change

Sabine finished a major cross-functional project with Wasif, a colleague from a different team. Sabine wants to make sure that Wasif's manager knows how well he executed his share of the project as well as how often Wasif went above and beyond, often taking time to meet with other colleagues when they needed help. Sabine sends this feedback to Wasif and CC's his manager. What type of feedback is this?

appreciation feedback

Ken is passionate about getting 18 year olds registered to vote. Where should he try to give his speech about the importance of voting?

at a local highschool make up of 17 and 18 year olds

Over Thanksgiving, Chae's family is discussing politics. Chae disagrees with his uncle and does not give what his uncle has to say much weight. In fact, most of the time that his uncle speaks, Chae gets angry and is already prepared with his rebuttal. What component of active listening will help Chae to be a better active listener?

attitude

After reading a couple articles to prepare for her speech about deforestation, Yolanda figured she had enough material for her 5-minute speech, but her instructor required her to include at least 5 sources in her Works Cited. Yolanda decides to add 3 sources that she neither read nor include in her speech. What did Yolanda do that was unethical?

beefing up a bibliography

Hate speech is:

communication that uses pejorative or discriminatory language on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity

Rachel has made an appointment with a financial planner to decide how she should best diversify her savings to reach her goals. What type of listening should Rachel employ during her meeting?

critical

At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2018, pop singer Madonna came on stage in a costume inspired by the North African Amazigh people which included a horned headdress, braids, and heavy silver necklaces. There was a heated debate in the media about whether this was:

cultural appropriation.

Sophie has just learned that Germans like to eat mayonnaise on top of their french fries. "Gross!" she says. "That's just wrong!" This is a (fairly harmless) example of:

ethnocentrism.

ethical dilemmas arise...

everyday

Sydney will be speaking before a graduating college class on their commencement day. The college has let her know that they have a higher percentage of non-traditional graduates. Sydney realizes that to tailor her speech to this audience she needs to know more about their static characteristics such as age, gender, and social class. To do so she should:

gather demographic information

Diana is outraged with the amount of crime in her neighborhood. She stands outside and starts talking about the problem. Most of the audience agrees with her that there is a problem. What could make her speech more effective?

give the audience a specific and attainable action step

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

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?

hes anticipating failure during the speech and therefore psyching himself out

Brian just got back from London. He said he enjoyed his trip, but that it was dangerous to cross the street because "English drivers drive on the wrong side of the road." His statement is an example of ethnocentrism because

it defines "right" or "normal" according to the speaker's cultural standards.

Chelsea delivers a speech to the local PTA asking parents to volunteer more with student activities. At the time, parents seemed excited about the great things happening at the school, but then Chelsea still found herself short of parent volunteers for some of the activities. What could she have done better?

made a specific ask for which activities need parent volunteers

Which of the following groups would be considered a "protected class" against hate speech?

muslims

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

No matter how small the intended audience, posts on social media should always be considered...

public speech

In audience analysis, three methods used to gather information before you speak are

observation, inference, and data collection (surveys)

Cultural competence is one way of describing

one's ability to behave appropriately and communicate effectively within a multicultural and diverse environment.

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

If you find some key information from a source that you want to include in a paraphrase in your speech, you should:

state that authors ideas in your own words

When Europeans first arrived in the "New World" (modern-day North America):

there was already a wide diversity of cultures on the continent, with long standing traditions of public communication

Eric is in a video conference with his class. He has answered several questions that the teacher asked the class, but never got a response from his professor or the other students. In fact, another student received credit for saying the same thing as Eric did after he said it. Eric is getting very frustrated until he realizes that he forgot to take himself off of mute. What is the reason that Eric's teacher and classmates did not respond to his contributions?

they did not hear him

why do professions have a code of ethics

to help members make choices that follow the established values and practices of that profession

Katherine procrastinated her speech preparation and rushed to finish up before her class presentation. She couldn't remember all of her sources and, while she didn't use quoted materials, she forgot to cite her sources. What type of plagiarism was this?

unintentional plagiarism

Gessica is overwhelmed by her coursework this semester. She knows she should have started her speech preparation weeks ago. She is panicking and decides to buy and present a speech she buys from a website. What type of plagiarism is this?

using a pre-written paper

When you paraphrase someone else's ideas into your own words in a speech, do you still need to cite the original author?

yes

Joe's classmate gives a speech in which he claims that Christians are stupid because religion has been debunked by science. Even though Joe isn't religious, he speaks up after the speech and says that he thought the speech was unfair and probably unethical. "Hey, it's a free country," says his classmate. "That's my first amendment right." Is he correct?

yes, but only insofar as he wont be arrested for saying these things

Miranda is engaged in a discussion about gun control. She feels very strongly about it and can feel herself getting very angry. Because Miranda has an emotional trigger about gun control, will she be able to effectively listen?

yes. She can acknowledge what she's feeling, set it aside and listen to what the other person has to say

Adapting your speech as you are presenting it is not easy. However, it is doable if...

you are observant of your audience, pay attention to their cues, and have a plan in place.