A. What is Public Speaking?

Public speaking is the process of communicating information to an audience. It is usually done

before a large audience, like in school, the workplace and even in our personal lives. The benefits
of knowing how to communicate to an audience include sharpening critical thinking and
verbal/non-verbal communication skills.

B. Models of Public Speaking

The original model mirrored how radio and telephone technologies functioned and consisted of three
primary parts: source, channel, and receiver. The source was the part of a telephone a person spoke
into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone where one could
hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there is static that interferes
with listening to a telephone conversation, which they called noise.
In public speaking, the source is the person who is giving the speech, the channel is the speaker’s use
of verbal and nonverbal communication, and the receivers are the audience members listening to the
speech. As with a telephone call, a wide range of distractions (noise) can inhibit an audience member
from accurately attending to a speaker’s speech. Avoiding or adapting to these types of noise is an
important challenge for public speakers.

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C. Dialogic Theory of Public Speaking

Most people think of public speaking as engaging in a monologue where the speaker stands and

delivers information and the audience passively listens. However, all communication, even public

speaking, could be viewed as a dialogue. The dialogic theory is based on three principles:

1. Dialogue is more natural than monologue.

2. Meanings are in people not words.

3. Contexts and social situations impact perceived meanings.

Let’s look at each of these in turn.

1. Dialogue vs. Monologue

The first tenet of the dialogic perspective is that communication should be a dialogue and
not a monologue. Public speaking situations often turn into dialogues when audience
members actively engage speakers by asking questions. Nonverbal behavior (e.g.,
nodding one’s head in agreement or scowling) functions as feedback for speakers and
contributes to a dialogue. Overall, if you approach your public speaking experience as a
dialogue, you’ll be more actively engaged as a speaker and more attentive to how your
audience is responding, which will, in turn, lead to more actively engaged audience
members.

2. Meanings Are in People, Not Words

Part of the dialogic process in public speaking is realizing that you and your audience may
differ in how you see your speech. Words must be mutually agreed upon by people
interacting with each other. If you say the word “dog” and think of a soft, furry pet and
your audience member thinks of the animal that attacked him as a child, the two of you
perceive the word from very different vantage points. As speakers, we must do our best to
craft messages that take our audience into account and use audience feedback to
determine whether the meaning we intend is the one that is received. To be successful at
conveying our desired meaning, we must know quite a bit about our audience so we can
make language choices that will be the most appropriate for the context. Although we
cannot predict how all our audience members will interpret specific words, we do know
that—for example—using teenage slang when speaking to the audience at a senior center
would most likely hurt our ability to convey our meaning clearly.

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 3. Contexts and Social Situations

Human interactions take place according to cultural norms and rules. How we approach
people, the words we choose, and how we deliver speeches are all dependent on different
speaking contexts and social situations. If you look at the speech he delivered to kids
around the country and then at his speeches targeted toward adults, you’ll see lots of
differences. These dissimilar speeches are necessary because the audiences (speaking to
kids vs. speaking to adults) have different experiences and levels of knowledge.
Ultimately, good public speaking is a matter of taking into account the cultural
background of your audience and attempting to engage your audience in a dialogue from
their own vantage point.

Considering the context of a public speech involves thinking about four dimensions:
physical, temporal, social-psychological, and cultural.

a. Physical Dimension

The physical dimension of communication involves the real or touchable environment

where communication occurs. For example, you may find yourself speaking in a
classroom, a corporate board room, or a large amphitheater. Each of these real
environments will influence your ability to interact with your audience. Larger physical
spaces may require you to use a microphone and speaker system to make yourself heard
or to use projected presentation aids to convey visual material.

How the room is physically decorated or designed can also impact your interaction with
your audience. If the room is dimly lit or is decorated with interesting posters, audience
members’ minds may start wandering. If the room is too hot, you’ll find people becoming
sleepy. As speakers, we often have little or no control over our physical environment, but
we always need to take it into account when planning and delivering our messages.

Temporal Dimension

The temporal dimension “has to do not only with the time of day and moment in history
but also with where a particular message fits into the sequence of communication events.
The time of day can have a dramatic effect on how alert one’s audience is.

Another element of the temporal dimension is how a message fits with what happens
immediately before it. For example, if another speaker has just given an intense speech
on death and dying and you stand up to speak about something more trivial, people may
downplay your message because it doesn’t fit with the serious tone established by the
earlier speech. You never want to be the funny speaker who has to follow an emotional
speech where people cried. Most of the time in a speech class, you will have no advance

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notice as to what the speaker before you will be talking about. Therefore, it is wise to plan
on being sensitive to previous topics and be prepared to ease your way subtly into your
message if the situation so dictates.

Social-Psychological Dimension

The social-psychological dimension of context refers to “status relationships among

participants, roles and games that people play, norms of the society or group, and the
friendliness, formality, or gravity of the situation.

Cultural Dimension

When we interact with others from different cultures, misunderstandings can result from
differing cultural beliefs, norms, and practices. As public speakers engaging in a dialogue
with our audience members, we must attempt to understand the cultural makeup of our
audience so that we can avoid these misunderstandings as much as possible.

Each of these elements of context is a challenge for you as a speaker. Throughout the rest
of the book, we’ll discuss how you can meet the challenges presented by the audience and
context and become a more effective public speaker in the process.

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STRUCTURING PUBLIC SPEAKING

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Public Speaking:
Know Your Audience

Whether you are presenting to a small group of 20 or a large group of 200, there are many
things you can to do in advance to ensure that your presentation achieves the desired
response. The most important is to know and understand your audience as well as the
venue logistics.

To connect with your audience, you need to understand why your topic is important to
them. What do they expect to learn from the presentation? Don't assume the audience is
like you. They may have cultural or geographic biases and the more you understand them,
the better you can express yourself to them and avoid speaking gaffes. It is also important
to know the level of knowledge they have about your topic, so you can present the
information with the correct tone to keep people interested and engaged.

If you are presenting in a foreign country, it is important to understand the cultural

differences of the audience. How do they dress? How is their sense of humor? How do
they typically communicate? What gestures are appropriate or inappropriate? Are there
religious factors that should be considered?
There are several things you can do to prepare and research your audience before and
at the beginning of the talk that will help you adjust your speech to better engage the
audience.

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Research in Advance
Prior to the meeting or event, speak to the organizer or sponsor of the meeting and find
out the level of knowledge the audience has on the topic for discussion. Ask about the
audience expectations as well as their demographics–age, background, gender, etc. If
you are presenting at an industry event, research the event Web site and familiarize
yourself with the mission of the event and typical attendees.
If you are presenting to a corporation, then learn as much as you can about them by
visiting their Web site, reading news reports, and reviewing their blogs.

Greet Them at the Door

If you are unable to find out much information about the audience prior to the meeting,
you'll have to improvise and adjust your talk on the fly based on information you collect at
the beginning of the meeting.

Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public

speaking and leadership skills, suggests that, if possible, the speaker greet people at the
door and ask questions to ascertain their level of knowledge and expectations of the
audience. You'll also make a few friends in the beginning and it's always nice to have
friends in the room.

Call and Response Technique

Toastmasters also suggests that speakers use the "Call and Response" technique at the
beginning of the talk. Frame questions at the beginning geared toward learning about the
audience. Find out how much experience they have with the topic and adjust the speech
accordingly. Using this method you can also gauge the mood of the audience. If the
audience seems to be in a lighthearted mood, the speaker can use humor to keep
audience interest. If they seem to be serious or the topic is of a serious nature, then the
speaker should get right to meat of the talk.

Be Familiar with the Room Layout

Public speaking coach Lisa Braithwaite suggests that the speaker visit the location of the
talk prior to the meeting if possible to see how the room will be laid out, and to make any
requests for positioning the visual aid equipment. Braithwaite also notes that knowing
more about the venue and the size of the room will give the speaker some idea as to how
energetic and physical they will have to be to engage the audience, whether a microphone
will needed, and what type of visual aids will be the most effective.
When you know more about your audience and their expectations, you'll be able to tailor
your talk to make it more interesting. Your audience will be engaged and satisfied, and
you will willingly accept their applause at the end.

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 HOW TO MAKE A GOOD SPEECH FOR SCHOOL
A good speech in school will earn you the admiration of your teachers and peers alike. You
probably won't deliver the kind of speech you hear in the movies, but that's a good thing: people
will enjoy your original take much more. From getting an idea to conquering stage fright, here are
the steps to take if you want to make your final speech a memorable, exciting success.

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Choose a topic or theme. Most of your speech should explore one topic, or several
related topics that follow a theme. What this theme is depends on the nature of the
speech. Graduation speeches often have a theme about memories or the future, school
election speeches convince people you'll make good decisions if elected, and class
assignment speeches usually argue a controversial point.
 If you're not sure which theme to choose, write down or summarize a few stories and
statements you could include in your speech. Pick the ones you like best and see if
there's a unifying theme to tie them together.
 See What to Do and What Not to Do for more advice on themes.

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Pick a tone that makes you comfortable. If you enjoy making people laugh, write a
funny speech. If you are a serious person, create moments that will cause reflection.
Remember to end on an inspirational and uplifting note, especially for commencement
speeches.

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Use short sentences, and avoid words your audience won't understand. Avoid
long, meandering sentences and overcomplicated arguments. Unlike when writing an
essay, you'll have difficulty explaining technical terms or referring back to your earlier
points. Keep each sentence easy to follow. If younger kids will be present, make sure to
use words and concepts they can understand.
 Don't interrupt one point with a clause, or section set aside by commas or parentheses.
Instead of saying "Our tennis and basketball teams, which we all know won the regional
championships two years ago, need increased funding to compete," say "Our tennis
and basketball teams both won the regional championships two years ago. Now we
need to increase their funding to compete with other schools."
 You can reference your school's slang once or twice to get a laugh, but don't overdo it,
especially if there are parents in the audience.

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Write down original stories and messages. You can write a whole rough draft, or
come up with several separate stories and inspirational statements that fit your theme.
Stick to your own ideas and specific detail. People will enjoy and remember original and
detailed sentiments more than generic phrases such as "I will make our school proud"
or "Our class will go on to do great things."
 Find a broad message that your whole audience can connect to their own life, but still
deals with a specific idea. For instance: "Become an even better version of the hero
who inspired you." (But don't steal your "original" idea from this website!)
 Your stories can be specific incidents in your life or from history, but you should connect
them to a more general idea. For instance, you could tell a story about your sibling's
hospital visit, then go on to talk about overcoming fear and hardship in general.
 If you like what you're writing but it doesn't fit the theme you had planned, it's fine to
adjust your topic or switch it entirely. Switch back and forth between writing stories and
brainstorming a theme if you keep getting stuck.

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Find a gripping way to begin your speech. Pick an engaging and on-theme story to lead with,
one that will grab your audience's attention and prepare it for the overall tone and message. Pay
extra attention to the first sentence:[1]

 Surprise your audience by diving right into a tough story. "When I was ten years old, I lost my
father."
 Make your audience laugh by telling a joke, especially one that everyone in the room will get.
"Hello everyone. Let's have a round of applause for the guy who installed air conditioning."
 Start with a grand, thought-provoking statement. "Our galaxy contains billions of earth-like
planets, and we're only just beginning to discover them."

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 Most likely, someone else will introduce you, and many of your classmates know you already.
Unless you're asked specifically to introduce yourself, you can get right to the good stuff.

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Make the theme clear. Your audience should know what your overarching theme is
before you've finished your first few sentences. State exactly what you're talking about
or at least suggest it strongly right at the beginning.
 To use an example from earlier, if your theme is "Become an even better version of the
hero who inspired you," you could begin your speech with two or three sentence about
your hero, then say "You all have heroes who inspire you, but you don't have to just
follow them. You can become even greater than the people you look up to."

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Move from one idea to the next in a natural order. Don't jump straight from a joke to a story
about surviving a car crash. Think about what the audience is feeling and expecting after each
section. It's good to surprise them, but do it with your ideas, not by confusing them with a
completely different topic.

 Include phrases such as "Now I'd like to talk about..." and "But we should also remember..."
when moving on to your next idea.[2]

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End with a memorable statement that captures your speech. A good joke or an idea
that makes people think are two good ways to end a speech, depending on the overall
mood. If you're arguing a point, summarize it briefly and end by restating your position
firmly.
 Build up to a big ending, then crack a joke to wrap up a funny speech. "And I know
when you walk to the ballot box tomorrow, you'll be ready to do the right thing. Protect
the interests of yourself and your school by washing your hands afterward. Do you know
how many people touch that thing?"
 If you're giving a commencement speech, leave people feeling excited or awed about
the future. This is a big moment and you have the power to help them realize it. "Years
from now, you will be the father or mother your kid looks up to. The writer who changes
the way we think. The inventor who creates new ways to live. Come up to the stage and
start becoming heroes!"

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Edit and polish it as much as possible. Congratulations, you've finished your first
draft. Wait, the work isn't over yet! To write a good speech, you will need to work on it,
think about it, and maybe even rewrite the whole thing.
 Have a teacher, family member, or trusted friend check it over for grammar mistakes
and offer feedback. Spelling isn't as important, since you'll be speaking out loud.

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Consider visual aids. Bringing in maps, pictures, or other materials is most practical and useful
for speeches given as class assignments, since you'll have something to write on and don't
need to transport your materials outside the classroom. You won't need anything like this for a
graduation speech.

 If your topic involves a lot of numbers, plan to write them on the board so your audience can
remember them.[3]

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Turn the speech into note cards, then practice! No one wants to listen to you read
an essay out loud. You'll need to become familiar enough with what you wrote to deliver
it confidently while looking at your audience. It is a good idea to write down notes on
small index cards to jog your memory.
 Your notes are there to remind you what to say next and of important facts. "Move on to
bear wrestling story (guy's name is Paul Bunyan)" is the level of detail you need.

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Think about movement and materials. Will you be standing or sitting? Do you have room to
move around a little, or will you stand in place? Where will you keep your note cards, visual
aids, or other materials? What will you do with them once you're done?[4]

 Practice giving your speech in as situation as similar to your actual speech as possible.
 In general, you should stay fairly still while giving a speech. Small hand gestures and
occasionally moving to a new spot are fine, especially if they help you feel and appear
confident.[5]

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Practice speaking loudly and clearly. If you're going to speak to a roomful of people or more,
learn to project your voice, not mumble or scream. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart
and your back straight. Try to speak using your diaphragm, pushing the air out from low in your
chest.[6]

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Time yourself while you read the speech out loud. Use the stance and techniques
described above. If you have already memorized your speech, use your index cards.
Otherwise, that's okay — just read it from the page.
 If you speech is too long, you absolutely need to cut some material out of it or shorten
the longer stories or ideas. If you're giving a commencement speech, aim for a 10 or 15
minute maximum. An election speech should be no more than a few minutes, and your
teacher should be able to tell you the time limit for a class assignment speech.

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Talk slowly and pause between ideas. It's easy to rush when you're nervous. Pause at the
end of each sentence. At the end of a section, before you move on to the next idea, make a
longer pause and pretend you're looking across your audience making eye contact with a few
people.

 If you can't stop rushing, work out how long you should spend on each section and write the
number of minutes at the top of each index card or paragraph. Practice near a clock so you can
check whether you're on pace.[7]

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Deliver your speech to a mirror until you can do it without reading. Start by reading
your speech out loud, then try to look down at the page less and less and make eye
contact with your reflection instead. Eventually, you should be able to make your
speech while only referring to notes written on index cards.
 Use slightly different words each time once you have the main ideas down. Try not to
get caught up on exact memorization; using a new phrase to communicate the written
idea makes your speech sound more natural.

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Pay attention to other details once you become comfortable with the content. Once you
can remember each idea and connect them together smoothly, watch the mirror more closely
and correct any issues you see.

 Practice varying your facial expression if your face looks fixed and mechanical.[8]
 Try to vary the tone of your voice as well. Don't make it sound like you're reciting every word
from memory; pretend you're speaking in ordinary conversation.

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Practice in front of a test audience. Gather together your family members or friends
and ask them to listen to your practice. You'll probably feel nervous, but the practice will
make you more confident for the actual speech.
 Try to make eye contact with different members of your audience throughout the
speech. Don't stare at any one person for too long.
 Resist the temptation to hide by standing near a corner or large object.
 Don't fidget, tap your foot, or make other nervous gestures. Try slowly walking back and
forth across the stage to get rid of your nervous energy.

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Use their feedback to practice more. The members of the audience may pick up on
problems you didn't even consider, whether with the statements you make or your
delivery style. Take their advice gracefully; they're doing you a favor by letting you know
what you need to improve.

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Prepare yourself for confidence on the day of the speech. Get to bed early the night before
and eat full, comforting meals that won't upset your stomach. Take your mind off the event with
other activities in the hours before the speech.

 Dressing nicely will increase your confidence and gain respect and attention from your
audience.

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Introduction Storytelling is an ancient and valuable art that extends around the globe. In this unit,
students develop their own storytelling talents, apply the techniques of storytelling, create storytelling
guides, and perform a story for an audience. This unit can be taught to an entire classroom or given as a
self-directed extension activity. Each lesson is quite short, and they can easily be combined.

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