Speaking in Public and Listening
WHAT IS PUBLIC SPEAKING?

Public Speaking is a way of sharing your ideas with
other people and of influencing other people.
PUBLIC SPEAKING PRODUCES ANXIETY IN MOST
PEOPLE
People’s Biggest Fears
3. Death
2. Snakes
1. Public Speaking
DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE
Nervousness is Normal
1.

Actors are nervous before a play, politicians are
nervous before a speech, and athletes are nervous
before a big game.

Surveys show that 76% of experienced speakers
have stage fright before taking the floor.
2.
DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE … CONT’D
Dealing with Nervousness

Rather than trying to eliminate every stage fright, you should
transform it from a negative force into positive nervousness.

Here are many ways you can turn your nervousness from negative
force into a positive one:

Acquire Speaking Experience

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

Think Positively

Use the Power of Visualization

Know That Most Nervousness Is Not Visible

Don’t Expect Perfection

Take a couple slow, deep breaths before you
start to speak

Make eye contact with your audience

As you are waiting to speak, quietly tighten and
relax your leg muscles, squeeze your hands
together and then release them

Concentrate on communicating rather than
worrying about stage fright
LISTENING IS IMPORTANT
Although most people listen poorly, there are
exceptions.
 Top business people, and successful politicians
are all excellent listeners.

KINDS OF LISTENING
1.
2.
3.
4.
Appreciative Listening – listening for
pleasure or enjoyment, as when we listen to
music.
Empathic Listening – listening to provide
emotional support for the speaker, as when a
doctor listens to a patient or when we listen
to a friend is distress
Comprehensive Listening – listening to
understand the message of a speaker, as
when we attend a classroom lecture or listen
to directions
Critical Listening – listening to evaluate a
message for purposes of accepting or rejecting
it, as when we listen to the speech a political
candidate, or arguments in a court
FOUR CAUSES OF POOR LISTENING

Not Concentrating


Although we talk at a rate of 120 to 150 words a minute,
the brain can process 400 to 800 words a minute.
Listening Too Hard

We try to pick up a speaker’s every word as if every word
was equally important
Jumping to Conclusions
 Focusing on Delivery and Personal Appearance

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER
LISTENER

Take Listening Seriously


Be an Active Listener



Listening comes from practice.
We listen to music while studying; parents listen to their
children while fixing the dinner. This is passive listening.
Active listeners give their undivided attention to the speaker
to understand his or her point of view.
Resist Distractions



We try to eliminate all physical and mental distractions
Make a conscious effort to pull your mind back to what the
speaker is saying. Try to anticipate what the speaker is saying
next. This is not the same as jumping to conclusions.
Another way to keep your mind on a speech is to review
mentally what the speaker has already said and make sure
you understand it
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER
…
CONT’D
 Don’t’
be Diverted by Appearance or
Delivery

Gandhi was a very unimpressive-looking man who
often spoke dressed in a simple white cotton cloth.
 Suspend



Judgment
If you are sure of your beliefs, you need not fear
listening to opposing views.
If you are not sure, you have every reason to listen
carefully.
It has been said more than once that a closed mind
is an empty mind.
 Develop
Note-Taking Skills
ENOUGH FOR TODAY!
