CST 110 Chapters 7-10

Audience Analysis

(2 parts) (1) finding out all you can about the audience AND (2) adapting the topic to the audience Our goal is to get the audience to be interested in our topic so we try to approach it in a way that will catch & keep their attention.

Gathering Information 4 Functions of Supporting Material

(Why do we use Supporting Material) a) to clarify b) to make interesting c) to make memorable d) to prove

Adapt to your audience AS you speak.

- Always use audience analysis BEFORE you start preparing a presentation but you should think about adapting to the audience as you gain more & more experience giving speeches. Beginning speakers shouldn't deviate from what they have prepared. Don't start ad-libbing & changing your speech. It can negatively affect your presentation. Experienced speakers can adapt as they are speaking by carefully reacting to the following: * Identify & react to nonverbal cues from your audience. - Estimate amount of audience eye contact, which may indicate audience interest or disinterest. Observe audience facial expressions, which can signal daydreaming & other attention barriers. Look for restless movement in the audience, often directly revealing loss of interest. Check out nonverbal responsiveness, such as head nodding, clapping, & reacting to speaker suggestions; without these signs, your audience lacks interest & support. * Responding to nonverbal audience cues during the speech is crucial. * If your audience seems confused & doesn't understand your point: 1. Try phrasing your information in another way. 2. Slow your speaking rate if you've been speaking too rapidly 3. Repeat, for clarity, your overall main point. 4. Give an example.

Socioeconomic status and Informal analysis

- Be mindful of a person's perceived importance & influence based on factors such as income, occupation, & education level. Gather information about your audience, both formally & informally. - proceeds from observations & questions to your audience prior to your speech. You may also question other persons who know about your speech audience with useful questions to both groups.

Religion and Group membership or/Affiliations

- Use great care in discussing religious beliefs with an audience, in terms of both what you say & how you say it. - Audience group memberships will influence speaker choices. Ex.- service, religious, political organizations, special interest groups

PURPOSE STATEMENT (PS)

- a complete (1) sentence that describes exactly what you want your audience to do/think after the speech. What are the 2/3 things you want your audience to know/remember after they hear your speech? This one sentence belongs at the top of your outline. It's NOT part of your introduction. You do not say this sentence to the audience during your speech. It's for you to focus on your objective for the speech. This one sentence is worth 10 points on your overall speech grade Questions to Ask About Your Purpose Statement 1) Does My Purpose Meet the Assignment? 2) Can I Accomplish My Purpose in the Time Allotted? 3) Is the Purpose Relevant to My Audience? 4) Is the Purpose Too Trivial for My Audience? 5) Is the Purpose Too Technical for My Audience? How to write the PS correctly: * After listening to my speech, the audience will... (be specific) (what are the 2/3 things you want your audience to remember?) * After listening to my speech, the audience will know the 3 main causes of WWII.

SOURCES of Supporting Material (Where to find Supporting Material)

1) PRINTED SOURCES - newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlets. Just because it is in writing, it doesn't guarantee that it's true. Sometimes you get a bias view so don't depend on just 1/2 sources to give you accurate information. It needs to be a credible source. Sometimes you just get "limited"/edited information. Libraries 1) Full text databases combine both an index & text. 2) Extensive databases, such as Lexis/Nexis, may be available. 3) Academic Search Premier is the largest multidisciplinary academic database. Numerous other databases are also available. 4. Libraries traditionally hold the most up-to-date paper sources of information, newspapers. Consult a newspaper index to find topic information. 5. All major libraries contain reference resources, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, atlases, almanacs, yearbooks, books of quotations,& biographical dictionaries. a) Encyclopedias can be general/topic-specific. b) The Oxford English Dictionary & others, are excellent resources. c) Directories are also available in the reference section. d) An atlas is a geographical tool for information about people & resources in various regions. e) Almanacs and yearbooks are compilations of facts, much of it statistical. f) Books of quotations are available. g) Biographical dictionaries are reference works on people of note. h) Many libraries are repositories for official government documents. Be sure to identify and preserve potentially valuable visual aids. 2) NON-PRINT SOURCES - TV, radio, Internet. TV / Radio - you can't just use "hearsay" when using it. You must either have it taped/have a transcript. You cannot say "Oprah said.....on her show last night" without a way of proving it. Internet Research The Internet today is a vast collection of computers accessible to millions of world citizens. Information available includes personal & company pages, periodicals, newspapers, & other reference materials. Each Web site and Web page has its own address/(URL). Individual Web pages are hyperlinked (each is linked to many other pages, forming the "Web").

3 Aspects

1) You, the Speaker, must feel comfortable with your topic. You must also be concerned with your credibility. a) CREDIBILITY - "believability" of the speaker (3 C's) 1) Competence - expertise (do you know what you're talking about) 2) Character - trustworthiness, can people trust you/do you've a reputation of lying? 3) Charisma - the ability to draw the audience in & make them want to listen to you. (charm, enthusiasm) 2. Audience a) Use Audience Analysis & Demographics - Types of audiences 1) Passersby - people who come & go during the speech 2) Captives - present because they have to be there 3) Volunteers - present because they want to be there c) Attitudes/Beliefs/Values 1. Attitudes reflect a person's likes & dislikes for persons, objects, places, & events. 2. Beliefs reflect what we hold to be true/false. 3. Values determine our choices of right and wrong. 3. Occasion - You need to know the details of what's expected of you so you can prepare accordingly.(3 aspects)

listening ethically guidelines

1-Communicate your expectations & feedback to speakers. 2-Know what information & ideas you want to get out of the communication transaction. 3-Expect a coherent, organized, & competently-delivered presentation. 4-Communicate your objectives by reacting to speaker's message & delivery. 5-Be sensitive to & tolerant of speakers whose messages & deliveries reflect different ethnicities & cultures.

7 steps in the speech making process

1. Audience Analysis 2. Choosing & Narrowing your topic / Determine your Purpose Statement 3. Gathering Supporting Material 4. Organizing Your Speech 5. Introduction / Conclusion 6. Outlining & Notecards 7. Rehearsing & Delivery

7 steps in speech making process

1. Audience Analysis 2. Choosing & Narrowing your topic/Determine your Purpose Statement 3. Gathering Supporting Material 4. Organizing Your Speech 5. Introduction/Conclusion 6. Outlining & Notecards 7. Rehearsing & Delivery

Reducing Stage Fright

1. Experience builds ability and confidence - the more you do something, the better you get at it. The same thing is true with public speaking. 2. Be prepared - The more prepared you're to give the speech, the better the speech will be. Daydream & think about all the bad things that could happen during your speech. After you've thought of all those bad things happening, think to yourself, "If they did happen, what would I do about it"/"how could I prevent that from happening"? Anything from dropping your notecards to the equipment you're using doesn't work can really frustrate a speaker but if you already know what you would do if it did happen, you're better prepared to deal with it. 3. Put everything into perspective - Everyone's in the same boat. Everyone has to do a speech. Think positively about the presentation. Practically everyone gets nervous so you're not unique in how you feel. 4. Visualize success - Daydream & see yourself doing a great job. Then do everything you can to fulfill that daydream but following the instructions on how to construct and deliver the speech. 5. Most nervousness isn't visible - Most people feel like they're shaking like a leaf but in reality most nervousness isn't even noticed. If you hold sheets of paper, they tend to rattle & the audience can see the shaky hands. That's a reason why we use notecards rather than sheets of paper. 6. Don't expect perfection - Sometimes we set ourselves up for failure when we expect everything to go perfectly. When we make a mistake, we'll beat ourselves up & be hard on ourselves. Remember, you're human! You're allowed to make mistakes. The sign of an effective speaker is how they handle themselves when a mistake happens. Remember, Murphy's Law can happen anytime. 7. Know your audience - We'll be looking at audience analysis in the 1st step in the speech making process. You need to find out about your audience.

Choosing A Topic

1. Look early 2. Pick something that interests you Audiences can sense enthusiasm - or the lack of it! 3. Pick something that you know something about a) Never speak about something you don't know anything about 4. Use "brainstorming" to generate ideas. a) Personal Inventory / Knowledge b) Personal Experience c) Interests / Hobbies d) Places you have visited 5. Consider the audience. a. Choose topic relevant to the interests & expectations of the audience. b. Take into account the current knowledge of audience about topic. 6. Choose a topic appropriate to the audience & occasion A. Consider yourself. 1. Choose topics that reflect your personal concerns & convictions. 2. Choose topics that incorporate your personal experiences. 3. Don't neglect topics you would like to learn more about. 1. Don't procrastinate

Use three methods of post-speech analysis, or survey

1. Measure nonverbal responses, such as the intensity of applause. 2. Cumulate audience verbal responses, seeking both general & specific comments, especially on your most important main points. 3. Use questionnaires again for survey responses.

Chapter 9 (Step 2) Choosing & Narrowing your topic/Determine your Purpose Statement Determining the General Purpose

1. To Entertain Tries to get audience to enjoy itself Providing knowledge not primary goal 2. To Inform Defines, describes or explains, teaches Main objective is to increase listener's knowledge 3. To Persuade / Motivate Works to change or reinforce audience's convictions/ to urge action Purpose is to get listener to believe or do something

Sources of material part 2

3. INTERVIEWS Having determined that answers aren't available in stored materials, researchers may find interviews useful. Determine the purpose of the interview: what do you want to find out, & from whom? Set up the interview, using common courtesy to secure appointments & permission to record. Interviews should be well-planned. 1. Gather background information. 2. Plan specific questions. 3. Plan question sequences. 4. Plan a recording strategy. Conduct the interview. 1. Be professional (dress properly; have everything needed). 2. Take materials for note taking and arrive on time. 3. Remind subject of purpose. 4. Use prepared questions as a guide. Ask for clarification, if needed. 5. End on time, thank subject. 6. Follow up the interview by organizing information. These last 2 aren't effective as supporting material 4. SURVEY RESEARCH - sometimes the research isn't valid & stats can be manipulated Suppose you surveyed 10 people about an issue and 7 out of 10 agreed - & you said "70% of the people polled said they were for the proposal". While the math is correct, the sampling isn't really valid. This would be unethical if you didn't disclose the actual number of people polled to the audience. 5. PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS- we all have our own "personal opinion" & our perception may be accurate/ inaccurate.

Part 2 Reducing Stage Fright

8. Know your topic - Never speak about a topic that you aren't comfortable with. 9. Breathing Techniques - Sometimes we don't breathe properly when we're nervous. We take shorter breaths & our heart is racing. By pushing the air SLOWLY out of your lungs - until you can't push anymore air out, then SLOWLY breath in until you can't take anymore air in - then exhale SLOWLY. Repeat this about 5 to 6 times & it'll start to slow your heart rate & the badly needed oxygen will be transported to your brain and you will actually think more clearly. Some people's hands shake/their knees feel like rubber & they don't understand what their body is doing. When you're nervous, your body's muscles become tense & tighten up. By nonchalantly folding your arms & clinching your fist while you count to 10 and then un-clinching them and wiggling them, you'll start to relax those muscles. Do this several times as you're waiting for your turn to give your speech. Do the same thing for your legs if you have wobbly knees. Tighten your leg muscles for 10 seconds & then cross & uncross your legs. 11.Eat & Sleep - Always have something in your stomach before you give a speech. Your body & mind will perform better. Even if you don't feel like eating something, force yourself - even if it's a candy bar. 12. Know your Intro & Conclusion - Know exactly what you're going to say to begin the speech & ultimately what you're going to say to end the speech. Pre-plan your words. Don't just wing it. 13.PRACTICE - There is no substitution for practicing - & practicing early. There is a specific way to practice your speech - which will be discussed when we get to the 7th step in the speech making process. Procrastination gets people into trouble and then they can't practice adequately.

Gender

A key question is, "What's the ratio of females to males?" What if the audience are all males/all females? Avoid gender stereotypes. Speakers must attempt to avoid sexist language/remarks. Make your language, & your message, as inclusive as possible.

Analyze your audience AFTER you speak.

Always review the audience's positive/negative response to your speech. The purpose of post-speech audience analysis is to make your next speech better!

Demographics

An audience-centered speaker adapts to audience demographics

Formal analysis typically involves surveys & questionnaires

Decide what you need to know that you don't already know. Let topic & speaking occasion determine questions. Use questionnaires to develop demographic information such as age, occupation, & membership in professional organizations. Be cautious in interpreting generalized data, which might lead you to faulty inferences & conclusions. Use two question types: Open-Ended & Closed-Ended. Open-ended questions don't restrict answers & produce generous information. Close-ended questions yield specific answers you may need.

Culture, ethnicity, and race

Each of these personal characteristics influences the way an audience perceives a message, & requires adaptation by speakers. Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, & norms shared by a group of people. Ethnicity is that portion of a person's cultural background that relates to a national /religious heritage. Race is a person's biological heritage. Speakers must avoid "Ethnocentrism" which is the belief that one culture is somehow superior to another. Learn about cultural differences & be sensitive to them.

Speaking Ethically Guidelines

Ethical speaking requires that speakers have a clear, responsible goal. Your ethically responsible goal should be made clear to your audience, in order to give them choices. 1-Socially responsible, ethical speakers use critical thinking skills (analysis, evaluation) to formulate arguments & draw their conclusions. Unethical speakers substitute false claims & manipulation of evidence for logic. 2-Ethical speaking requires that speakers be sensitive to & tolerant of differences. Sensitivity & tolerance is increasingly labeled as "accommodation". Sensitivity & tolerance, or accommodation, suggests avoidance of language that might be interpreted as biased/offensive. 3-Ethical speakers must try to be honest. Knowingly offering false or misleading information to an audience is an ethical violation.

A Ethical Behavior what is the definition of ethics?

Ethics are the beliefs, values, & moral principles by which we determine what is right & wrong.

B Stage Fright being nervous is normal.

Everyone gets nervous. Some people get more nervous than others but the more times you get in front of an audience, the less nervous you become. (One of the main reasons for fear of the unknown.) You don't know what's going to happen, if you'll mess up & how you'll handle it. There's a phenomenon called "Murphy's Law". Murphy's Law is simply this. Something will happen (usually negative) when you least likely expect it to happen. The unexpected thing happens & you didn't plan for it or anticipate it happening. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

C. Audience Responsibility

Giving Your FULL attention to each speaker which is Audience Etiquette.

Number

How many will be in attendance? It's important to know how many people will be present in case you are preparing handouts, deciding how you should incorporate effect visual aids

Listening critically means holding a speaker to ethical speaking responsibilities

Is the speaker presenting both sides of an issue? Is the speaker disclosing the available information? Communicate your approval/disapproval through nonverbal feedback. If the speaker's message troubled you, check afterward for possible misunderstanding, or confer with others, & seek a forum for expressing your dissent. Don't yourself resort to unethical messages & tactics while seeking to express your opinions & beliefs about others' messages.

Age

Knowing the average age of your audience can be very helpful in choosing topic, approach, & types of humor, examples, illustrations, & other supporting materials. What if your audience members are senior citizens? You would want to use examples they could relate to. You wouldn't want to use those same examples if your audience were teenagers. You would gear the examples to what teenagers care about. What if the members of the audience are 5 year olds? You have to adapt your topic to the age group to be most effective.

Positive stage fright is known as "Facilitative Stage Fright".

Look on the positive side of the situation. Telling yourself that you can do it, that you'll do just fine, preparing effectively & doing your best will help reduce the stage fright.

As with all sources, Web resources should be evaluated.

No search strategy can ensure the quality of the sites you discover. But 6 criteria can assist in validating web resources. 1. Is the source accountable? a. Are author and qualifications available? b. Does an organization sponsor Web site? c. Can you follow hyperlink to homepage of document? d. What is sponsoring organization's domain? e. If author/sponsor cannot be identified, be wary of site. 2. How accurate are the sources of facts, & have they been validated? 3. Is the information presented in an objective manner? 4. How "current" is the information? 5. Although not strictly an issue of validation, the usability of a site is a factor. 6. Is the presentation of information diversity-sensitive? (Note) Just because you can download & print the article doesn't mean that it's a "printed source." Be sure to identify & preserve potentially valuable visual aids. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA as a source in your speech!

Serious aspect Plagarism

Plagiarism is typically & properly defined as: presenting the words & ideas of others without crediting them (to their proper authors). Plagiarism is a serious offense. Do your own work. Plagiarizing others doesn't provide you with new skills. Avoid extensive editing by a friend; your speech may turn into your friend's speech. Acknowledge your sources. Credit direct quotations, statistics, non-original visual materials. Credit the opinions & assertions of others, even if you paraphrase rather than quote directly. In speaking, make sure the audience hears the credits. Orally cite your sources IN the speech.

public speaking & everyday thoughts

Public speaking & everyday conversation are closely interrelated. Both require speakers to focus & verbalize their thoughts. Conversation speaking requires speakers to make decisions on their feet. Conversation speaking allows speakers to adjust their messages based on the nonverbal responses of the receivers.

fundamental differences between conversation & public speaking

Public speaking is more planned than conversation, public speaking is more formal than conversation. The language used in everyday conversation isn't appropriate in formal speaking situations. In public speaking the roles of speaker & audience are more clearly defined. Many times, the roles of the speakers involved in conversations can change, whereas the roles are more stable in public speaking.

Why are speakers nervous?

Public speaking ranks as the most anxiety producing experience. The goal should be to manage and "reduce" your nervousness. There are various reasons for feeling nervous, such as fear of humiliation, concern about not being prepared, worry about appearance, pressure to perform, personal insecurity, concerns about audience interest, inexperience, fear of mistakes & failure.

Narrowing Your Topic

Research says that your audience will only remember 2/3 things from your speech. They'll not remember your entire speech. You've to decide what you want them to specifically remember when your speech is done. These 2/3 things are your main points in the speech. Never have more than 2/3 main points in your speech no matter how long the speech is. You cannot explain everything there's to know about your topic. You've a time limit in every speaking situation. In our class, your time requirement for the Informative Speech is 5 mins & the Persuasive Speech is 8 mins. Let's say you're a history major & you really know a lot about history. You start out by saying to yourself: What specifically do I really enjoy about history? You might be thinking about American history, European history/even Asian history. Narrow it down.... Perhaps you really enjoy American history. Next, ask yourself, "What about American history do I like? Perhaps it's the various wars, leadership styles, a certain period of time such as the early 1800's. Narrow it down... Let's say you're leaning towards American wars. We've had many wars in our short history as a nation. Suppose you've narrowed it down to the Civil War and WWII. You now have to decide which one would be better for your presentation. You might lean towards the Civil War since we live in an area that is rich with heritage and actual battlefields but you might be thinking about WWII since your grandfather fought in that war & you've his uniform/metals that could be visual aids. You might even have a personal story that your grandfather was in. Perhaps you've chosen WWII as your topic. You cannot do your speech on WWII because you can't possibly cover everything that happened in that war. WWII took more than 5 years and you've only 5 mins in your Informative Speech. You've to narrow your topic. What can you possible tell your audience about WWII that takes about 5 minutes? Perhaps you can tell them about the 3 main causes of WWII. Now that is a realistic plan. You've narrowed your topic so it fits the time requirement. Your next step is to write a specific purpose statement.

Chapter 10 (Step 3) GATHERING SUPPORTING MATERIAL

Supporting material is the "guts" of a speech. Even though you know your topic, it's still important to gather supporting material to build your credibility with your audience. You must tell your audience where you got some of your information. This is known as "citing your source". You're required to cite at least 1 source during the Informative Speech & 3 sources during your Persuasive Speech. ***The best way to work the source in is to say - "According to , it says/states.". Select the best supporting material for your speech. Use accountability, accuracy, objectivity, currency, usability & diversity in evaluating supporting material.

Chapter 1 Step 1 Analyzing your audience

The audience is the most important aspect of a speech. Some people think the most important aspect is the speaker or the topic they are speaking about. Think about it. Why would someone stand in front of an empty room giving a speech? It's the audience that we have to be concerned about.

Chapter 7 A. Ethical, B. Stage Fright, C. Audience Responsibility Public Speaking - why should we study public speaking?

We study public speaking to develop new ways to utilize skills we already possess, such as researching & organizing information. In addition, a long term advantage to studying public speaking is empowerment. Your ability to speak before an audience will give you an advantage over less competent communicators.

Analyzing the speaking situation

When preparing a speech, there are 3 aspects to consider as you analyze the speaking situation. Before agreeing to do a presentation or speech, you should ask a series of questions. You might be getting yourself into a predicament if you don't know all the facts about the speaking situation you have committed yourself to. Find out every little detail about the speaking engagement so you don't have any surprises/ unpleasant experiences.

Rules of Speech

You'll be graded as an audience member. Inappropriate behavior will result in a loss of points in your Attendance/Participation grade. If a student's blatantly disrespectful, the instructor will remove that student from class & fail the course. PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONE WHEN IN CLASS - don't even put it on vibrate. So that each student giving a speech has a fair opportunity to earn their grade, the audience must display appropriate SOCIAL MANNERS. Acceptable Behavior: Giving your FULL attention to each speaker when the speech is in progress. Unacceptable Behavior: (while speech is in progress) Doing "other" work (your speech/notecards should already be done!) Talking / Whispering to anyone Cracking your knuckles, Eating/Drinking. Digging into book bag/purse. Tapping fingers/other objects Painting fingernails/Clipping fingernails. Clicking a pen on & off. Walking in/Walking out - when a speech is in progress Sighing outloud. Making your "friend" laugh. ANY OTHER BEHAVIOR THAT WOULD BE DISTRACTING TO SPEAKER/AUDIENCE. Part of your Attendance & Participation grade/points will be deducted if inappropriate behavior is observed. Please give your attention & RESPECT to each speaker. You can be removed from class for inappropriate behavior

Your body also responds differently.

Your audience cannot see evidence of everything you feel. However, physical changes are caused by anxiety. You experience physiological changes (breathing rate, adrenaline, increased blood flow, rapid heartbeat, shaking, quivering voice) because of your psychological state. You may improve your energy level, which helps you function better. How you label your nervous energy may make you feel either more fearful/more enthusiastic as a speaker. Don't let anxiety negatively affect you. Your heightened state of readiness can actually help you speak better. You're more likely to gain the benefits of the extra help your brain is trying to give you if you think positively rather than negatively about speaking in public.

Occasion aspects

a) Time - (consider time of day, time limits / time requirement) How long are you expected to speak. Every speaking situation has a time requirement. When is the presentation? After lunch - when everyone is tired? Evening? Always ask how long the presentation is to be and if the person doesn't know/care, start asking questions - Do you want a 10-15 minute speech, 15-20 minutes? 30 minutes? Ask if there are other speakers giving presentations. You don't want to run over & deny them of their time. b) Place - Where's the presentation to take place? Is it in an auditorium, a classroom, outside? If it's in an auditorium/large room, is there a microphone? If so, what kind of microphone? Knowing about all of these little details can make/break your presentation. Try to visit the room/place were you will be speaking if possible. You can get a feel for what you need to do as you are preparing at home. c) Audience Expectation - Why is the audience there? What is their expectation? Customize your speech so they get something out of it.

1. Constructive Critisism

a) praise - tell speaker what was effective b) give alternatives / be specific if something was ineffective c) avoid emotional language - ugly, hurtful comments d) giving feedback to others 1. Be descriptive 2. Be specific 3. Be positive 4. Be constructive

Negative stage fright is called "Debilitative Stage Fright"

stems from bad experiences either you've experienced/bad experiences that you've observed of others in that situation. It also has to do with irrational thinking. Telling yourself that you can't do it, you'll get sick, you'll mess up, everyone will laugh are all examples of debilitative stage fright. You're psyching yourself out in a negative way.