Essentials of Human
Communication, 6/e
Chapter Ten:
(Steps 1–6)
Public Speaking
Preparation
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Your First Steps
Appreciating the benefits and skills of public speaking
while managing your communication apprehension
 Select topic and purpose
 Analyze your audience
 Formulate thesis; identify major
propositions
 Research your topic
 Support propositions
 Organize speech materials
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Benefits and Skills of Public Speaking
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Enhances social, academic, and
career skills
Enriches personal and
professional competency
Equips you to organize, explain,
develop, and improve how you
put together clear, credible, and
supported ideas for various
audiences
Makes you a better listener
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
What is Public Speaking?
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One individual addressing
a rather large group
In a continuous discourse
In a face-to-face situation
Types: sales
presentations, teaching,
preaching, and company
presentations
Closest electronic
comparison: the
newsgroup
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Dealing with Communication
Apprehension
Strategies for reducing your stage fright:
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Gain experience
Think positively
See it as a conversation
Stress similarities
Prepare and practice thoroughly
Move about and breathe deeply
Avoid chemicals to cope
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
The Steps in Public Speaking Preparation and Delivery
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Step 1—Selecting…
Topic
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Choose topics that interest you by brainstorming,
creating lists, reading the news
Make sure your topic is appropriate in scope and
depth for your presentation
Purpose
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Decide General Purpose: to inform, to persuade
Focus Specific Purpose: identify what you want
audience to believe, think, or do according to your
guidance and information
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Step 2—Analyze the Audience
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Sociology
Cultural Factors
Age
Gender
Occupation
Income
Lifestyle & social status
Religiousness
Psychology:
How willing, favorable and
knowledgeable is your audience?
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Analysis and Adaptation during the Speech
Focus on listeners as
message senders
Ask “What If” questions
Address audience
responses directly
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Step 3—Researching Your Topic
Always critically evaluate your information:
Is it current, fair, logical, objective?
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Libraries—Newspapers, journals, magazines,
reference material
Internet—Electric libraries, online databases, online
journals, search engines
Computer—Review CD-ROM/DVD reference material
Integrate research into your speech but
avoid plagiarizing someone else’s work.
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Step 4—Formulate Your Thesis
Thesis is the main idea you want to convey to your
audience
And…
Identify Your Main Points
 Eliminate points that seem least important to thesis
 Combine points that have a common focus
 Select points that are most relevant to your audience
 Use two, three, or four main points at most
 Phrase points in parallel style
 Develop distinct main points
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Step 5—Support Your Main Points
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Examples, illustrations, and testimonies
Definitions
Statistics (summary figures)
Presentation aids
(charts, graphs, tapes, CDs)
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Logical support
Motivational support
Credibility appeals
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008
Step 6—Organize Your Information
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Time pattern—in the order of events
Spatial pattern—trips or building descriptions
Topical pattern—subjects that are linked together
Problem-solution pattern
Cause-effect/effect-cause pattern
Motivated sequence
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The Motivated Sequence
Attention
 Need
 Satisfaction
 Visualization
 Action (for persuasive speeches)
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Other Thought Patterns
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Structure-Function
Comparison/Contrast
Pro/Con
Claim and Proof
Multiple Definitions
Who? What? Why? Where? When?
Fiction-Fact
Copyright (c) Allyn & Bacon 2008