What is public Speaking

is a way of making your ideas public—of sharing them with other people and of influencing other people

How is it used During modern times many women and men around the globe have spread their ideas and influence through public speaking. In the United States, the list includes Franklin Roosevelt, Billy Graham, Cesar Chavez, Barbara Jor- dan, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. In other countries, we see the power of public speaking employed by such people as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, South African leader Nelson Mandela, Burmese democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, and Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

What about you? How can you give a public speech

But what does that have to do with me? I don’t plan to be a president or a preacher.” Nevertheless, the need for public speaking will almost certainly touch you sometime in your life—maybe tomorrow, maybe not for five years. Can you imagine yourself in any of these situations?

One example You are the assistant manager in a branch office of a national company. Your immediate superior, the branch manager, is about to retire, and there will be a retirement dinner. All the executives from the home office will attend. As his close working associate, you are asked to give a farewell speech at the party. You prepare and deliver a speech that is both witty and touching—a perfect tribute to your boss. After the speech, everyone applauds enthusiastically, and a few people have tears in their eyes. The following week you are named branch manager.

Establishing the Objectives

For any successful presentation, you must know your objectives. It is these objectives that drive your presentation and move the audience to your end goals. Your end goals may be that the attendees take a particular action, adopt a new perspective, or respond to facts and information. Establishing these goals requires careful planning. The key to designing your presentation is determining these objectives. After all, they become the foundation upon which your content, organization, and visual aids are built.

Establishing the objectives for your presentation requires an analysis of your own goals, as well as your audience's needs and expectations. By considering the nature of your audience, you can more easily determine what you will present and how you will present it. An audience analysis will enable you to:

Select appropriate points of emphasis in your presentation Develop a useful level of detail

Choose and prepare appropriate visual aids Create a tone that is sensitive to your audience's circumstance Your presentation will ideally form a bridge between something

you have and your audience wants. Let the audience analysis influence the form of information presented so you can create this bridge.

Planning and Organizing Your Material

When you have determined the characteristics of your audience, then you are ready to plan and organize your material. The tips listed below will assist you in tailoring your approach accordingly. Keep in mind that the use of visual aids will help to produce effective one-way or two-way communication. Many factors are involved in choosing these visual aids, and the type of interaction you want to develop with the audience will influence your choice.

Planning Your Material Do not wait to prepare your presentation while on your way to the

training session. You cannot do your best at presenting or persuading by "winging it".

At a minimum, prepare an outline of goals, major issues to be discussed, and information to be presented to support main themes.

Limit content to your major point and no more than five key supporting points.

Analyze your audience. Prepare your content considering such things as whether they are likely to be friendly or unfriendly, lay or technical in their background, and whether they want only to listen or to respond and contribute.

Select appropriate visual aids and a presentation style that will be effective in the physical setting for your training session.

Organizing Your Material

When organizing your material, consider an "old chestnut" of public speaking - "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em; tell 'em; and tell 'em what you told 'em." This recommendation:

Recognizes the importance of reinforcement in adult learning Completes the communication for the listener

Informs people who arrive late of what they missed Recognizes the importance of organization, highlighting, and summarizing

main points for the audience Serves to clarify main themes for the audience at the end of the

presentation

Start with at least a rough outline of the goal and major points of the presentation before selecting the visual aid(s). For example, a particular scene or slides may trigger ideas for the presentation, providing the power of images. Do not proceed too far without first determining what you want to accomplish, what your audience wants to gain, and what the physical setting requires.

Each element of an audio-visual product - a single slide or a page of a flip chart presentation, for example, - must be simple and contain only one message. Placing more than one message on a single image confuses the audience and diminishes the potential impact of visual media. Keep visual aids BRIEF.

Determine the difference between what you will say and what the visual aid will show. Do not read straight from your visuals.

Ask the audience to read or listen, not both; visual aids should not provide reading material while you talk. Rather, use them to illustrate or highlight your points.

Give participants paper copies of various graphic aids used in your presentation. They will be able to write on the paper copies and have them for future reference.

Assess your cost constraints. An overhead transparency presentation can always be used in a formal environment if 35 mm slides are too expensive.

Account for production time in your planning and selection process. Slides must be developed, videotape edited - you do not want to back yourself against a wall because the visuals are not ready. You can often get production work done in 24-48 hours, but it is much more expensive than work that is done on an extended schedule.

Use local photographs and examples when discussing general problems and issues. While a general problem concerning welding safety, for example, may elude someone, illustrating with a system in use at the site can bring the issue home.

Use charts and graphs to support the presentation of numerical information. Develop sketches and drawings to convey various designs and plans.

When preparing graphics, make sure they are not too crowded in detail. Do no over-use color. See that line detail, letters, and symbols are bold enough to be seen from the back of the room.

Do not use visual aids for persuasive statements, qualifying remarks, emotional appeals, or any type of rhetorical statement.

If you have handouts, don't let them become a distraction during the presentation. They should provide reinforcement following your address. Consider giving them out after the presentation, unless the audience will use them during the presentation or will need to review them in advance of the presentation.

Practice presenting the full program using graphic materials so you are familiar with their use and order. If you use audio-visual materials, practice working with them and the equipment to get the timing down right.

Seek feedback on the clarity of your visuals and do so early enough to allow yourself time to make needed adjustments.

Informative Speech

Informative speeches are speeches that are designed to teach the audience about a specific topic. The sole purpose of an informative speech is to inform the audience about a topic that is useful, unique and interesting. If you are asked to give an informative speech, it is important to pick a topic that interests you and that you already know something about.It also should be presented in a way that the audience can relate to.

Structure An informative speech is designed with the

same structure as most other speech types, and contains three sections. Informative speeches begin with an introduction that explains the topic in a captivating manner. The body of the speech is next; it provides greater details about the subject. The last section is the conclusion, which is designed to summarize the subject and tie all of the loose ends together.

1- Welcome your audience2-Introduce your subject3-explain the structure of your presentation4-explain rules for the questions

Short Introduction Beginning

Present the subject itself Body of the presentation Middle1 -Summarize your

presentation2 -thank your audience

3-Invite questions

Short conclusion End

Questions and answers

Organization Like other types of speeches, one characteristic of

an informative speech is organization. When a person writes an informative speech, he should research the topic thoroughly and organize the information in a clear, logical manner. This is often accomplished by writing an outline for the speech. List each goal or point of the speech topic in order and determine ways to move from one point to the next.

Details Informative speeches use relevant examples, they employ smooth transitions, and they are delivered in a conversational tone. Provide examples that help your audience understand your main points either orally or through the use of visual aids. Make your transitions clear from one point to the next to keep your audience's attention. This prevents their losing track of what you are saying. Visual aids are an ideal way to help an audience clearly see what you are explaining.

Describe, Explain, Demonstrate The primary function of an informative speech is to describe, explain or demonstrate an idea. To do so effectively, it is vital that information is presented in a way that is unbiased. Similarly, the research used to elaborate on the material should be drawn from sources that are impartial and have no stake in the issue. If the topic is particularly controversial, an informative speech would present both sides of the debate with equal time and credence.

Clarity The main object of an informative speech is the education and clarity of the audience. As such, informative speaking entails that enough information is presented for the audience to take away a sufficient amount of information without being overburdened with unnecessary details. The language used to describe the topic is carefully considered to be casual enough to engage the targeted audience, while getting the message across. Effective speeches are clear, concise and well edited.

Tools and Strategies Effective strategies for presenting new ideas in an informative speech is to use vivid illustration to explain a particularly difficult concept. Using familiar ideas to explain new ones will often engage an audience and make getting a difficult point across more accessible. Additionally, metaphor, allegory and other colorful and engaging language are characteristics of informative speeches. Successful speakers often find a way to make the content personal for the audience and are thus able to engage and teach effectively.

Persuasive Speech

Persuasive speeches Persuasive speeches are oral presentations designed to change the way the audience thinks, feels or acts on various subject matter by establishing credibility and appealing to intellect. There are three basic persuasive speeches: those that pertain to factual matter, those concerning values, and those pertaining to policy. Understanding the characteristics of a persuasive speech can help you readily identify one as well as prepare to give one.

Basics

A persuasive speech is meant to convince the audience of an idea. A proper persuasive speech will not try to convince the audience of something using coercion or force, but rather by establishing trust and influencing the audience through proof or evidence. A persuasive speech is aimed to give the audience new ideas, influence their values, beliefs or attitudes, and cause them to consider something they may have not been open to before.

Content One of the major characteristics of a persuasive

speech is its content. The speech will typically identify a need or address a problem. Once the problem is identified, the speaker will then work to explain or prove a practical solution. In many cases, a persuasive speech will advocate for the audience to stop doing something. In these cases, the speaker will work to explain why the audience's current action is impractical or inefficient, as well as providing a solution. The speech content will contain proof that supports these ideas to prove a point.

Flow A persuasive speech will have a particular flow.

This flow is also known as Monroe’s motivational sequence, a five step sequence that most persuasive speeches follow. The speech will begin with a visual aid, statistic or story that engages the audience and grabs their attention. Next, the speaker will work to prove or disprove the subject of his speech. Once he has offered proof of the subject matter, the speaker will provide details of the suggested alternative as well as proof of its benefits. Finally, the speaker will attempt to inspire the audience to action.

Methods The various methods the speaker initiates

are other characteristics of persuasive speeches. The speaker will speak at a moderate pace and pause often. He will not be overly animated or impassioned. The person giving the persuasive speech will speak at a rate that does not cause the audience to view him as a "fast talker." Clear, deliberate speech allows the speaker to appear as an authority on the subject matter.

Anticipation A persuasive speech will also anticipate any

kind of doubts, hesitations or reservations the audience may have. The persuasive speaker should come equipped with a rebuttal and a claim for each point a doubtful member of the audience might address. The speaker will offer support to each of his claims, as well as offer an explanation of the evidence.

Persuasive speaking is a technique people use that is aimed at convincing or influencing the speaker’s audience. People who give persuasive speeches often embrace an idea, an attitude or an opinion about a topic and write their speeches in a way that causes the audience to react to it. Persuasive speaking has several key characteristics that set it apart from other types of speaking.

 

Audience Focus Persuasive speaking is always done in a way

that focuses directly on the audience. The writer of a persuasive speech concentrates each point of the speech directly on influencing the audience to think a specific way. According to Austin Community College, persuasive speaking is a way of manipulating the listeners' thinking.

Pronouns  

  Persuasive speaking primarily uses first and second

person pronouns. This includes using “I,” “we,” “you” and “your.” By using these types of pronouns, the speaker refers directly to himself with the words he speaks and also talks straight to his audience by calling them “you.”

 

Clear Claim A persuasive speech should present a clear and

direct claim to let the audience know exactly what the speaker’s point of view is. A persuasive speech never gives the audience a chance to choose an opinion of the subject, but instead the speaker tries to offer only one position about the topic. When writing a persuasive speech, never deviate from your claim or stance on the subject. To convince the audience of your perspective, it is important to offer at least three support points. These points are strong pieces of evidence that prove your position is the best position to take.

Appeal

Writers of persuasive speeches use various types of appeal to convince the audience. Ethos is a type of appeal where the speaker is qualified to speak about the subject. Ethos causes the audience to believe the speaker is an authority on the subject; it is obtained through the speaker’s qualifications, experience and knowledge. Pathos is another type of appeal a speaker often uses. Pathos works by appealing to the audience's emotions. To use this type of appeal, use illustrations, parables and stories with moral values. Logos is a different type of appeal that uses facts and figures to support the speaker's position.