Public Speaking
Mrs. Pieczynski
Oral Communication
Public Speaking
 Getting Ready and Gathering Information
 Preparing Your Speech
 Presenting Your Speech
Getting Ready
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Choosing Your Topic
Knowing Your Purpose
Writing a Thesis
Knowing Your Audience
Knowing Your Occasion
Supporting Your Thesis Statement
Gathering Information
1. Choosing Your Topic
• Start with a general subject area.
• Limit your topic to a specific category within that
area.
• Limit your topic again so that you can cover it
effectively in one speech. (examples, parts, uses,
etc)
EXAMPLES
Places
Jobs
People
a fishing location
lawn care
my grandfather
the best place in NEPA to fish for Bass
my summer lawn care job
why I admire my grandfather
2. Knowing Your Purpose
• 3 General Purposes
– Speech to Inform
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Presents new information or new insights
EX: teachers giving lectures, announcers broadcasting news
– Speech to Persuade
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Tries to change an attitude or believe, or move an audience to action
EX: politicians urging voters for support, lawyers addressing a jury
– Speech to Suit a Special Occasion
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Entertains or amuses an audience or recognizes a specific reason for the audience being present (promotes
group bonding or social cohesion)
EX: club officers giving a “roast” to a member at a banquet, valedictorian addressing graduates and their
families
• Specific purpose
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Expressed in a declarative sentence.
Stated precisely.
Contains only one idea.
Includes words that show intent. (explain, show, give OR prove, convince motivate)
3. Writing a Thesis
• A complete sentence that expresses the speaker’s most
important idea, or key point, about a topic. This
statement guides the development of a speech.
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General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: I want to explain the characteristics of the six major
classifications of show dogs.
THESIS: Show dogs are classified according to their characteristics as hounds,
terriers, working dogs, toys, sporting dogs, and nonsporting dogs.
General Purpose: To Persuade
Specific Purpose: I want to convince the class that they should read To Kill a
Mockingbird.
THESIS: TKAM is an excellent book because it features interesting characters,
thought-provoking issues, and an exciting plot.
4. Knowing Your Audience
• Demographic data (age, culture, education)
• Knowledge, beliefs, and feelings about the topic
5. Knowing Your Occasion
• When? (date and time)
• Where? (size of room, seating arrangement, podium)
• What are the restrictions? (Time Limit,
Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Memorized, Script,
Speaking Note Cards)
6. Supporting Your Thesis
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Facts (can be verified)
Opinions (personal vs. expert)
Examples (single instance that supports a statement)
Illustrations (a detailed example)
Anecdotes (brief, often amusing, story)
Statistics (numerical facts) *not too many!*
Comparisons (figurative vs. literal), or Contrasts
Definitions (explains what a word or concept means)
Descriptions (word picture of a person, place, thing, event)
Quotations (someone’s exact words) *Not too many! Not too lengthy!*
ALWAYS CITE YOUR SOURCES!
7. Gathering Information
• Using Your Own Knowledge and Experience
– Personal Experience and Observation
• Collecting Information from Others
– Interviews, Surveys, Request Letters
• Using the Library or Media Center
– Librarian, Ref. Books, Journals, A/V Materials
• Recording Your Information
– Name of Source, Author, Page #, Info (Q , P, S?)
• Identifying Your Sources
– Use at least 3 credible sources, VARIETY of types
Preparing Your Speech
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Outlines
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Outline: Why Plan It?
1. Helps you to test the strength of your ideas and the
logic of the structure of your speech (ideas that
sound good at first might be weak once you outline
them)
2. Helps you organize your information, and a clear
organization helps your audience to recognize your
main points and follow their development
3. Helps tremendously when you rehearse your
speech
4. Provides a base for good speaker notes
Introduction: Why Plan It?
1. Attention: capture their sustained interest and focus
2. Goodwill: audience’s respect and positive feelings. what
you say in your opening remarks and the way in which
you say it (your tone, your inflection, and other
nonverbal signals)determines whether or not your
audience will trust and accept you
3. Interest: refers to the involvement or concern your
audience shows about your topic - include facts,
examples and other information that will hold your
audience’s attention
Introduction: Effective Attention Getters
Startling statements: surprise your audience!
Question: your audience will listen carefully for the answer
Story: everybody loves a story/anecdote, but be careful to make sure it’s
immediately relevant and brief
Quotation: from a recognized expert or one that illustrates your topic in
a creative way
Personal reference: immediately relates the speech topic to the
audience’s experience
Audiovisual materials: to support your words of intro and add variety
and interest to your speech (picture slideshow, music, charts, graphs,
etc.)
Introduction: Steps
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Attention-Getter
Reason to Listen
Thesis
Credibility Statement
Preview Key Ideas
Body: Why Plan It?
• Determine the main points you want to
stress (no more than 5)
• Organize the main points in a consistent
pattern the audience can follow
• Outline all the material you plan to use in the
speech
* Because the body of the speech contains the most important
information, many experienced speakers prepare it first
Body: Unity
• As you sort and arrange your material and
group related ideas, take care to keep unity
(oneness) in mind
• All parts of the speech should fit together to
make a ‘whole’ and all of the information
contained in the speech should relate to a
specific purpose
Body: Organization
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Chronological (in order of time)
Often used for giving directions, showing how things are made, or
explaining the history of something in terms of a sequence of events
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Spatial (position in space)
Often used in describing places.
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Topical (smaller parts arranged in specific order)
Often used to examine parts of a whole, such as a series of reasons
or a list of major features.
Body: Steps
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Signpost
State
Support
Summarize
Transition
Repeat for Each Point (no more than 5 key points)
Body: Effective Transitions
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Transitions are the bridges between ideas. They:
– connect parts of a speech
– Emphasize the points you are making
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First, let’s …. Now that we ….., let’s move on to
our second point…..
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Indicate on your speech outline.
Conclusion: Why Plan It?
1. Emphasize the key idea of the speech
2. Prove the specific purpose was achieved
3. Intensify the emotions, or feelings, of the
audience
4. Prove that the speech is important and relevant
to the audience
Conclusion: Steps
1. Review Key Ideas (Best in Reverse Order)
2. Restate Thesis
3. Provide closure
– Quote, Call to Action, Recommendation, etc.
– Stirring ending (intensifies emotion you want
audience to feel)
Presenting Your Speech
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Comparing Methods of Delivery
Controlling Stage Fright
Improving Nonverbal Behavior
Improving Vocal Skills & Verbal Messages
Using Speaker’s Equipment and Materials
Controlling Other Factors that Affect Delivery
1. Comparing Methods of Delivery
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Impromptu
Manuscript
Memorized
Extemporaneous
2. Controlling Stage Fright
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Stage Fright is NORMAL.
Audience is not likely to know you are nervous
Experience will help
Practice will help
– Videotape or record the speech
– Practice in front of someone
– Practice many times
– Imitate good speakers
3. Improving Nonverbal Behavior
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Appearance (Formal or Informal)
Eye Contact
Facial Expressions
Effective Gestures
Good Posture
4. Improving Vocal Skills and Verbal
Messages
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Enthusiasm
Vocalized Pauses
Articulation, Pronunciation, Enunciation
Diction
Grammar
5. Using Speaker’s Equipment &Materials
• Speaker’s Stand
• Microphone
• Audiovisual Materials (Objects, Graphics,
Projections)
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Must simplify and clarify a point
Must be visible, legible, audible
Reveal ONLY when necessary
Use gestures to interact with the aid
6. Controlling Other Factors that
Affect Delivery
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Timing (pacing)
Audience Feedback
Distractions
Unexpected Events