ESSENTIALS OF SPEECH
What is communication?
 Communication: an exchange of information
that occurs anytime someone else sees
and/or hears you
Encoding/Decoding
 Encoding: Putting words together in phrases
and sentences to represent feelings and ideas
 Decoding: Listeners interpret words by
sorting out ideas they create in their own
minds
Important Aspects of
Communication
 How loudly/quickly you speak
 How high/low your voice is
 Appearance
Considering your audience
 Keep your audience in mind
 Messages: thoughts and feelings we express
 Codes: Commonly agreed-upon language and
behaviors
Getting in the way of
communication
 Noise
 Physical: fan blowing, lawn mower, bells
 Psychological: audience is bored/distracted
 Physiological: Room temp, voice too loud/soft
 Field of experience
 Evaluate your audience for their knowledge/attitudes
 Context
 Environmental/chronological factors
 Historical/seasonal/temporal setting
 Geographic location
Informal vs. Formal
Communication
 Informal communication
 Is usually spontaneous
 Examples: making introductions, talking on the
phone, answering questions in class, chatting with
friends/family
 Formal communication
 More structured, prepared in advance
 Examples: interviews, giving a speech, taking part
in a debate, theater productions
Nonverbal communication
 Facial expressions
 Hand gestures
 Eye movements
 Head and body movements (nodding,
shrugging, shuffling)
 Posture
 Smiling or frowning
Choosing a topic
 Choose a topic that interests you
 Find sufficient material on your subject
 Make sure your topic is appropriate to you,
your audience, and the occasion
 Make sure you have enough time to research
the topic and that you have enough time
Analyzing your audience
 Have some idea of what they already know
about your topic
 Decide how much background information to
give
 Generate interest
Credibility
 Credibility: the perception that a speaker is
trustworthy, knowledgeable, and dynamic
 Listeners want to know you understand your
topic
 Listeners also want to know you have their
best interests at heart and that you feel
strongly about the speech’s content
Determining your purpose
 Purpose: overall intention, the reason you’re
making the speech
 Three main categories of speeches
 Inform, entertain, persuade
 Determine your purpose by asking yourself
what reaction you want from the people who
hear you
Creating the body of your
speech
 Identify your main ideas
 Choose between two-five (2-5) main points
 Create your thesis
 Thesis: A one-sentence statement that clearly and
concisely explains what you’re going to talk about
in your speech
Tips for creating a thesis
 Make sure your thesis is a complete
statement, not a fragment
 Form your thesis as a statement, not a
question
 Be sure your thesis does not imply that you
will discuss more that you can cover in your
allotted time
 Make sure your thesis has enough substance
to distinguish your presentation of the topic
from anyone else’s
Gathering materials
 Use reliable resources! No Wikipedia
 Provide supporting materials to explain/back up
your ideas with evidence
 Look for:
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Quotes
Statistics
Examples/anecdotes
Definitions
Song lyrics
Poems
Lines from plays/films
Visual Aids
 Make sure the visual aid adds to what you’re
saying
 Practice with the visual aid
 Types of visual aids:
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Photos
Videos
Graphics
Selected objects pertaining to your speech
Assistants
Models
Introducing your speech
 Get your audience’s attention with your
introduction
 Refer to the purpose of the speech
 Ways to grab the audience’s attention:
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Pay the audience a general compliment
Open with a story
Refer to a recent incident
Use a quotation
Open with a novel idea or a striking statement
Refer to a preceding speaker
Ask pertinent and challenging questions
Combine 2 or more of the techniques
Introducing your speech
 Prepare and open the minds of your audience
for the thoughts to come
 Important if the audience is hostile toward your
topic
 Indicate the direction and purpose of the
speech and to illuminate what end it will
serve
 Dullness, cliché ideas or language, false leads,
and fillers have no place in an introduction
Introducing your speech
 Your speech begins before you start talking
 Starts with…
 Remaining calm and comfortable
 Remaining seated calmly
 Rising quietly when it is your turn to speak
 Surveying the scene
Crafting your conclusion
 Your conclusion brings together all the
thoughts, emotions, discussions, arguments,
and feelings
 Your conclusion should make a powerful
impact on the audience
 No weak remarks!
Crafting your conclusion
 Your conclusion must be…
 Carefully worded
 Carefully organized
 Carefully rehearsed
 Committed to memory
 To deliver a great conclusion, your body, your
mind, and your spirit must work together in
harmony
Crafting your conclusion
 Use direct eye contact, appropriate gestures
and actions, alert posture, and your most
sincere voice
 Thank the audience for their attention
 Hold the floor for a few moments in case
there are questions or comments
Effective strategies in
developing a conclusion
 Summary
 Restate the speech title, the purpose, a particular
phrase that you’ve used throughout the speech, a
quote from literature that sums up what your
speech has been aiming toward
 Recapitulation
 Restate the points in a 1-2-3 order
 May become monotonous
 Can be highly effective when done correctly
Effective strategies in
developing a conclusion
 Using a striking anecdote, analogy, or simile
 Can use them separately or combine them into a
summary or recapitulation
 Emotionally charged or idealized statement
of the thesis
 Pour emotion into restating your thesis
 Powerful restatement of the thesis
Effective strategies in
developing a conclusion
 Vivid illustration of the central idea
 Paint a picture in the mind of your audience
 A call for action from the audience
 Encouraging your audience to get involved in your
cause
Titling your speech
 Your title should be…
 Provocative
 Brief
 Relative to your subject
 Interesting
Delivering your speech
 Your speech should reflect your point of view and
your personality
 Two methods of wording your speech
 Rehearse aloud from an outline
 Memorize the introduction and conclusion
 Don’t memorize the speech word-for-word
 Memorize the main points
 Recording yourself helps to see what changes you need
make
 Write your speech out in full
 Make brief notes to refer from when giving your speech
 Recording yourself helps as well
Preparing speaker’s notes
 Put a few words or points on a card or sheet
of paper
 Prepare a full-sentence outline
 Notes should be a guide, not a crutch
Rehearsing your speech
 Most speakers need 4-6 rehearsals
 Standing in front of a mirror helps you to
observe your posture and other body
language
 Videotaping helps for self-evaluation
Improving vocal quality
 Proper breathing
 Nervous speakers breathe too shallowly
 Project your voice-breathe using the muscles of
your lower chest and abdomen
 Breathing the wrong way leads to hoarseness
 Articulation problems
 Problems speaking clearly
 Mumbling, dropping the ends of words,
mispronunciation
Improving vocal quality
 Pacing your presentation
 Nervousness can cause you to speak too fast
 Resist the temptation to get the speech over with
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in a hurry
Take a few deep breaths when walking to the
podium or the front of the room
Keep your speaking rate steady regardless of your
nervousness
Don’t sound monotone either
Speak normally and conversationally
Understanding body language
 Body language consists of…
 Movements
 Facial expressions
 Postures
 Gestures
 Body language can be…
 Conscious: aware that you are doing it
 Unconscious: unaware that you are doing it
Using visual aids
 Make sure it serves a purpose
 Should illuminate one or more of your speech’s
main points
 Use color to emphasize details and to compare
and contrast
 Practice with your visual aid
 Make sure everyone in the audience can see it
 Keep your visual aid out of sight until you are
ready to use it; when you are finished, remove it
from view
Listening-Audience Dos and
Don’ts
DO
DON’T
Arrive on time for the presentation and Roll your eyes and make faces
sit quietly
Turn off your phone or anything that
makes noise for the whole
presentation
Sigh or yawn loudly
Remain attentive
Shuffle or fidget, tap your foot, crack
your knuckles, drum your fingers
Take notes when appropriate
Speak or whisper
Applaud the speaker once the
presentation is finished
Eat or drink
Traits of a good listener
Relating what you hear to your own
experience
Taking notes
Using prior knowledge to
understanding new ideas or
information
Using eye contact and good posture
to show the speaker that you’re
paying attention
Thinking of questions you would like
the speaker to answer
Asking questions when it’s
appropriate
Making associations and creating
vivid mental images to help you
remember the information
Analyzing your response to the
presentation afterward
Barriers to listening
 Physical and mental barriers
 Hunger
 Thirst
 Fatigue
 Environmental barriers
 Temperature
 Noise
 Lighting
 Overcrowded conditions
Listener bias
 Keep an open mind
 Being closed minded prevents you from
learning something new
 Try to remain as objective as possible
Taking notes
 Jot down items the speaker emphasizes or
repeats
 Write key words and phrases
 Jot down questions to ask the speaker
Evaluating the speaker
 Oral evaluation
 Given aloud in front of the class
 An atmosphere of trust is most important
 Everyone must provide constructive feedback
 Begin with something positive
 It gives the speaker confidence
 When giving negative feedback, don’t point out
everything the speaker failed to do; choose 1 or 2
points that might be improved
 Make suggestions
 Make your feedback as specific as possible
Evaluating the speaker
 Written evaluation
 More detailed
 Can use a rubric
 Being evaluated by your peers
 Keep an open mind
 Don’t get defensive
 Ask for clarification if needed
Evaluating the speaker
 Evaluating yourself
 Look at the content of your speech and your
delivery
 Create a rubric for yourself (or use one provided)