Instructor’s Manual (Lecture Notes Only) for
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook Sixth Edition By Steven A. Beebe Susan J. Beebe
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 1: SPEAKING IN PUBLIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1.1
Explain why it is important to study public speaking.
1.2
Discuss in brief the history of public speaking.
1.3
Sketch and explain a model that illustrates the components and the process of communication.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Why Study Public Speaking? A. We study public speaking to learn and practice strategies for effective delivery and critical listening. B. We study public speaking to discover new applications for skills we already possess, such as researching and organizing ideas. C. The study of public speaking provides long-term advantages related to empowerment and employment. 1. Empowerment gives you an edge over less-skilled communicators. 2. Communication skills are the top factor in helping college graduates obtain employment.
II.
The Rich Heritage of Public Speaking A. Fourth to first centuries BCE: golden age of public speaking in which Aristotle and other orators refined speaker guidelines still followed today. B. Nineteenth century: public speakers practiced declamation and elocution. 1. Declamation: speakers delivered already famous speeches. 2. Elocution: speakers practiced the expression of emotion through posture, gestures, movement, facial expression, and voice. C. Twentieth and twenty-first centuries: technology expands the parameters of public speaking while drawing on age-old public-speaking traditions.
III.
The Communication Process A. Communication as Action 1. Speaker: a source of information and ideas for an audience. 2. Speaker’s job: to encode, or translate, ideas into a code, or verbal or nonverbal symbols that the audience can recognize. 3. Message: the speech itself. 4. Listener’s job: to decode or translate the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal symbols back into a message. 5. Channels: the message is transmitted from sender to receiver via two channels. a. Visual: audience members see the speaker and decode the speaker’s nonverbal symbols. b. Auditory: audience members hear words and vocal cues. 6. Receiver: individual audience member decodes the message. 7. Noise: anything that interferes with the communication of a message. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
a. External noise is physical, such as incessant coughing or a noisy air conditioner. b. Internal noise may stem from either physiological (a bad cold) or psychological causes (worry about an upcoming exam) and may directly affect either the source or the receiver. B. Communication as Interaction 1. Without an audience to hear and provide feedback, public speaking serves little purpose. 2. Context: the environment or situation in which the speech occurs. a. Physical context includes the temperature or lighting of a room. b. Cultural context includes the speaker’s and audience’s cultural traditions and expectations, their identification with social groups, and their level of perceived power, influence, and social standing. C. Communication as Transaction 1. The most recent communication models focus on communication as a simultaneous process. 2. Listeners nonverbally express their thoughts and feelings at the same time the speaker is talking. D. Public Speaking and Conversation 1. Public speaking requires more preparation than conversation. 2. Public speaking is more formal than conversation. 3. Roles of speakers and audiences are more clearly defined in public speaking than in conversation. CHAPTER SUMMARY As you study public speaking, you will discover new applications for skills you may already have, such as focusing and organizing ideas and gathering information. You will also gain long-term advantages related to empowerment and employment. Public speaking has a long history. The guidelines formulated by Greek philosopher Aristotle in the fourth century BCE are still followed today. Students of public speaking in the nineteenth century practiced the arts of declamation and elocution. Contemporary students of public speaking draw on previous traditions and use digital technology to reach worldwide audiences. Linear communication models include the source, the message, channels, receivers, and noise. Interactive models of communication add two dimensions to the communication process: feedback and context. Feedback refers to the verbal and nonverbal messages provided by the audience. Context refers to the actual environment in which the speech occurs. Physical context includes the temperature and lighting of the room. Cultural context includes the audience’s and speaker’s cultural traditions and expectations. Public speaking is an important skill that is different from everyday conversation because it is more formal, requires more preparation, and establishes the roles of the speaker and the audience more clearly. KEY TERMS public speaking empowerment declamation
elocution source encode 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
code message decode
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
channel receiver
external noise internal noise
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
feedback context
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. If you have not already done so, consider building a video collection of your former students presenting speeches, especially the “Names” first speech. Students feel comfortable seeing others “just like themselves” demonstrating an assignment. This author remembers that imitation was an integral part of Roman rhetorical education. This speech is further described in chapter 2 of this Instructor Resource Manual (IRM). You might also choose to personally model this assignment, as well as upcoming assignments (this author wrote casually). 2. Ask students to write a one-page essay explaining their goals for the class. What do they believe they already do well in public speaking? What do they hope to do better by course end? Encourage them to write about their behavior goals as well as their attitude goals. Ask them to identify both short-term and long-term goals for their public speaking future. Return essays at the end of the course so students can evaluate their progress toward their self-stated goals. 3. ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO ANSWER IN CLASS USING FULL SENTENCES. DO NOT ACCEPT SINGLE-WORD OR FRAGMENT ANSWERS. (This author has found it to be an allaround good policy. To him, the current decline in students’ critical thinking ability, if justified, could certainly relate to instructor permissiveness in accepting incomplete oral answers.) 4. Interact with students to the tune of the question “What are models?” Accept a number of answers and examples. Explain the linear model concept. State the main advantage of linear models (simplicity of understanding and learning) and the big disadvantage (“static” understanding versus “process” thinking). Briefly explain the five typical components of linear model communication: source, message, channels, receiver, and noise. Develop the feedback concept using an analogy with a furnace and thermostat. The thermostat tells the furnace when to burn or rest, just as audiences may tell a speaker when to start and stop, when to expand, when to change topics, and when a speaker is doing well. Use your classroom experiences to illustrate how student (audience) feedback altered the behavior of the speaker (instructor). Make the context variable meaningful by contrasting instruction in a middle school classroom with college instruction of the same subject. Add an example where a speaker argues for a strong Social Security system, first to a group of teenagers and second to an audience of “Gray Panthers.” 5. Using materials from your graduate school notes or personal classical library, share with students famous quotations about public speaking from the ancient greats: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle. Add as declamation these famous sayings from U.S. history: Benjamin Franklin, commenting on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence— “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or we shall all hang separately!” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address—“This union cannot long survive, half-slave, half-free.” John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address—“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Washington Monument Speech—“I have a dream that . . . one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” 6. Explain that adapting to diversity is a natural development of public speaking theory, as public speaking is measured by its effects in and on audiences. Do, however, briefly review social and political pressures associated with achieving societal equity in a nation of diversity. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Complete the following “Get Acquainted” student survey. Collecting the information will acquaint the instructor and students and will also provide contact information. Ask students to complete data between the first and second day of class. In class, students will pair off and discuss responses to the survey. Students could introduce their partners to their classmates, commenting on interesting responses. Encourage, but do not require, students to exchange surveys with one another. Feel free to edit, adapt, or extend the survey. (Do so at your department’s budget expense!) 2. Consider a first speech often called “What’s My Name?” Objectives for introductory speeches are typically for the students and instructor to become acquainted with one another. Many instructors choose not to evaluate and grade beginning efforts. To this author, however, even first efforts deserve careful attention from the instructor. In his classes, the first speech requires research and preparation and is evaluated as “Complete” (on to the next speech) or “Incomplete” (must consult with instructor, correct, and deliver again (typically outside the classroom during office hours). Either first-speech approach, relatively unprepared or relatively prepared, will probably produce good results. Introductory speeches have objectives other than acquaintance, including giving students the opportunity to practice organizational and delivery skills, gain speaking experience early on, practice the “extemporaneous” method of delivery, and achieve early success, as well as providing the instructor with first impressions of a particular class’s needs. This author requires sustained applause as students approach to speak and even louder responses when students finish speaking. To him, clapping, whistles, and even foot-stomping are highly productive in immediate reduction of student speech apprehension. The author provides very positive oral feedback and limited written feedback immediately following each presentation. The “What’s My Name?” initial speech fits in well with attempts to stimulate immediate class cohesion. 3. Talking about oneself is relatively non-anxiety provoking. In addition, talking about one’s names is ego involving. Combining the two promotes excellent first speeches. A minimum time of two minutes works well, with students often going five minutes. The specific purpose for all is “I want my audience to remember me by both names FOREVER!” Preview important future research methods by assigning students to interview themselves and others (especially family) about their names. In addition, ask them to conduct formal research (library, internet) into the etymology of their names. Encourage students to plan a number of memory assists, such as repetition, association, others’ reactions to their names, and nicknames. With strong positive feedback from the instructor, and loud, enthusiastic responses from the audience, this speech can get a class off to a bang-up start.
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
4. Demonstrate the practices of declamation and elocution using material from Beebe and Beebe chapter 17. (The section on nonverbal aspects of delivery will work well.) Show the materials to students as you speak demonstrating the practices of declamation and elocution. Then, contrast by delivering the material in our modern style. For a perfect model of elocution, see John Carradine as a last-century politician and elocutionist in the Jimmy Stewart/John Wayne/Lee Marvin film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. 5. Lead the class in discussing speeches that have changed public awareness, attitudes, and willingness to take action. Ask students about speeches observed on television or on campus. Ask them why they remembered such speeches. Give students practice in critical analysis of speechmaking by probing a bit, not settling for vague reactions, for example, “It was very moving.” Discovering what apparently made a speech moving, motivating, or especially informative will help students understand the textbook’s main point that public speaking is a unique communication tool. JOURNAL PROMPTS 1.1 The Importance of Studying Public Speaking Why is it important to study public speaking? What are two long-term advantages? 1.2 Internal Noise Give an example of internal noise that is affecting you as you read this question. What could a public speaker do or say that would help you focus on the speaker instead of the internal noise that may distract you from their message? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Reasons You Study Public Speaking Why are you taking this course in public speaking? What do you hope to gain from the course?
6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
PUBLIC SPEAKING STUDENT SURVEY Instructions: Please provide the following information to help your instructor (and classmates, if you agree) get acquainted with you. Contact with instructor may be necessary. Name:_____________________________________Phone(s)______________ ______________ Mailing Address__________________________________________________________________ Email Address__________________________________________________________________ Year in School______________Probable Major___________________Minor_________________ Have you taken a public speaking course before? Yes__________ If Yes, where?
High School__________
No__________ College__________
Some people experience communication apprehension (stage fright, anxiety) when thinking of public speaking. Which statement below best expresses the way you feel now about yourself and public speaking? (Check only one statement, please.) __________I really have no public speaking apprehension. __________I have less public speaking apprehension than most people I know. __________I think I have average public speaking apprehension. __________I have more public speaking apprehension than most people. __________I have much more public speaking apprehension than most people. Would you care to express concerns or ask questions about the course? If so, please write them below. (I will share and respond to questions and concerns during class without revealing names.)
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 2: IMPROVING YOUR CONFIDENCE LEARNING OBJECTIVES 2.1
Explain the reasons for and processes involved in nervousness about public speaking.
2.2
Describe effective strategies for building public-speaking confidence.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Understanding Your Nervousness A. Know your reasons for anxiety. 1. There are various reasons for feeling nervous: fear of humiliation, concern about not being prepared, worry about appearance, pressure to perform, personal insecurity, concerns about audience interest, inexperience, fear of making mistakes, and fear of failure. 2. Being a perfectionist may be linked to increased apprehension. 3. Some may have a genetic tendency to feel more anxiety than others in a speechmaking situation. B. Use your anxiety. 1. Your audience cannot see evidence of everything you feel. 2. Listeners are not likely to detect nervousness in your voice. 3. Realize your body is helping you.
II. How to Build Your Confidence A. Know your audience and anticipate their reactions. B. Don’t procrastinate. C. Select an appropriate topic. D. Be prepared. E. Be organized. F. Know your introduction and conclusion. G. Make practice real. H. Use virtual reality when you rehearse. I. Breathe. J. Channel your nervous energy. K. Visualize your success. L. Give yourself a mental pep talk. 1. Replace any negative, anxious thoughts with positive messages. 2. Use positive self-talk. M. Look for positive support. N. Seek speaking opportunities. O. Focus on what you have accomplished, not on your fear. CHAPTER SUMMARY 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Public speaking is a complex process. When students begin a speech class, they may experience nervousness. This chapter provides a discussion of communication apprehension, its manifestations, and ways to control apprehension. Although these topics will be covered more fully in later chapters, this overview gives students a chance to see the process they are about to undertake. TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Introduce the subject of public speaking nervousness, suggesting that all speakers are affected by anxiety about public speaking to some extent. Point out that nervousness can be successfully managed, as well as reduced by additional speaking experience. Briefly describe ten techniques for managing public speaking nervousness. Use examples of successful management from personal experience or from speakers in your other or prior classes. 2. You may need to devote an entire class period to managing speech anxiety. Encourage students to talk about their fears and why they feel apprehensive about public speaking. Find out if your communication department or institution offers a workshop or seminar to manage speech anxiety, and if so, announce it to your class. Or you may want to invite someone from the department who has expertise in apprehension reduction to give a mini-presentation to your class, focusing on one of the text’s suggestions for managing anxiety. 3. Tell students that speech planning and preparation is never complete without practice. Using information from the text, provide students with good speechmaking practice tips. As motivation for students to include good practice in their preparations, point out that practice will reduce public speaking nervousness. Suggest that practice will be complete when wording of the speech becomes well established (but not memorized word for word). CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Advise students to discreetly observe their audiences immediately prior to speaking in order to grow more comfortable with listeners. Additionally, advise observation to determine last-minute, small changes in a speechmaking plan. Advise students to approach the speechmaking area confidently, “taking command” of the area and audience before actually beginning to speak. Deliver the speech as planned and practiced. Draw your examples from sample speeches in the textbook or from historical speeches on the internet. 2. There is safety in numbers. Students may feel more comfortable opening up in a group communication situation. Assign students to bring a small object to class. (Do not yield to student questions about the objects—it’s more fun that way.) Divide students into two lines, facing one another at a distance of six to eight feet and displaying their objects to the other line. Tell students they are to “sell” their objects to the students in the other line, loudly and simultaneously. Allow a minute for the sales and several minutes for tension release and laughter after the exercise. Cruise the lines during the sales pitches, encouraging those who need it. As a variation, suggest standing closer to the other line of students. Conclude the exercise by complimenting as many “stars” as you can. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
JOURNAL PROMPTS 2.1 Managing Your Apprehension What are some ways you can manage your nervousness about giving a speech? 2.2 Building Your Confidence You are preparing your first class presentation for your public-speaking class. Understandably, you’re feeling very nervous. What are some ways you can build your confidence before you speak, as well as during and after your speech? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Building Your Confidence How do you feel when you’re about to give a speech or talk in front of a crowd? Are you nervous? If so, what are some strategies you could use to build your confidence?
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 3: PRESENTING YOUR FIRST SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 3.1
Explain why it is important to be audience-centered during each step of the speechmaking process.
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7
Select and narrow an appropriate topic for a speech. Differentiate between a general speech purpose and a specific speech purpose. Develop a sentence that captures the central idea of a speech. Identify three strategies for generating the main ideas for a speech. Describe several types of supporting material that could be used to support speech ideas. Develop a speech with three main organizational parts—an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Identify successful strategies for rehearsing a speech. Describe the essential elements of effective speech delivery.
3.8 3.9
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Consider Your Audience A. Considering the audience is at the center of the speechmaking process model. B. Considering the audience is a continuous process. 1. Being audience-centered involves making decisions before you speak based on your knowledge of your audience’s interests, needs, and values. 2. Being audience-centered involves being sensitive to your audience’s responses during the speech in order to make adjustments.
II.
Select and Narrow Your Topic A. Who is the audience? B. What are my interests, talents, and experiences? C. What is the occasion?
III.
Determine Your Purpose A. General purpose 1. To inform 2. To persuade 3. To entertain B. Specific purpose 1. A concise statement indicating what you want listeners to be able to do, remember, or feel after your speech
IV.
Develop Your Central Idea A. A central idea is also called a thesis statement. B. A central idea is a one-sentence summary of your speech. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
V.
Generate the Main Ideas A. Subdivide your central idea into key points by asking: 1. Does the central idea have logical divisions? 2. Can you think of several reasons the central idea is true? 3. Can you support the central idea with a series of steps? B. The number of major ideas in your speech will be determined by your time limit, topic, and research.
VI.
Gather Supporting Material A. Gather and prepare supporting material. 1. Tell stories based on personal experiences. 2. Supporting material should be personal, concrete, and appeal to your listeners’ senses. 3. Relate abstract statistics to something tangible. B. Research your topic. 1. Go to the library and learn to navigate electronic databases, on-site resources, and internet indexes such as Google Scholar. 2. Check books, television, the internet, and social media for examples you can use in your speech.
VII.
Organize Your Speech A. Divide your speech into three major divisions. 1. Introduction 2. Body 3. Conclusion B. Outline your speech. 1. Use Roman numerals for main ideas. 2. Don’t write your speech word for word.
VIII. Rehearse Your Speech A. Rehearse standing up. B. Make eye contact. C. Rehearse early. D. Speak loudly. E. If you are not sure what to do with your hands, keep them at your side. F. Don’t memorize your speech. G. Rehearse using the same notes you plan to use when presenting. IX.
Deliver Your Speech A. When you are introduced, walk calmly and confidently to the front of the room. B. Establish eye contact with your audience. C. Smile naturally. D. Deliver your attention-catching opening sentence. E. Concentrate on your message and your audience. F. Deliver your speech using a conversational tone. G. Deliver your speech just as you rehearsed it before your imaginary audience. H. “Be sincere, be brief, and be seated.” 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter explains why it is important to be audience-centered during each step of the speechmaking process. The chapter then summarizes the speechmaking process by offering an overview of topic selection, general and specific purposes, central ideas, main ideas, support material, speech organization, rehearsal, and delivery. Although these topics will be covered more fully in later chapters, this overview gives students a chance to see the process they are about to undertake. KEY TERMS general purpose specific purpose
central idea main idea
invention supporting material
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Explain the concept of audience-centered speechmaking as the most important principle in the textbook. Define the concepts of human beliefs, attitudes, values, and needs. Explain how each concept contributes to your audience’s responses to you and your speechmaking. Analyze the audience-centered model of speechmaking, showing how audience characteristics can affect each step in the model. Draw your examples from sample speeches in the textbook or from historical speeches on the internet. 2. Using the chapter outline, share broad questions that can assist students in selecting speech topics. Draw from personal experiences in selecting and narrowing topics. 3. Define the concept of a central idea. Explain central ideas as both the essence and the summary of a speech. Emphasize that central ideas emerge from initial research and then function as guides for final research. Examine and analyze the textbook’s examples of well-done central ideas. 4. Tell students that speech planning and preparation is never complete without practice. From the chapter outline, provide students with good speechmaking practice tips. As motivation for students to include good practice in their preparations, point out that practice will reduce public speaking nervousness to a minimum. Suggest that practice will be complete when wording of the speech becomes well established (but not memorized word for word). 5. Advise students to discreetly observe their audiences immediately prior to speaking, in order to grow more comfortable with listeners. Additionally, advise observation to determine last-minute, small changes in a speechmaking plan. Advise students to approach the speechmaking area confidently, “taking command” of the area and the audience before actually beginning to speak. Deliver as planned and practiced. CLASS ACTIVITIES 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
1. Bring to class examples of speeches in which speakers were audience-centered or not audience-centered. Ask the students to evaluate the situation and determine what choices the speaker made (or should have made) to address that specific audience. Two good speeches to compare and contrast might be Ted Kennedy’s apology following Chappaquiddick and Bill Clinton’s apology during the Starr hearings. 2. Use the chapter outline to share broad questions that can assist students in selecting speech topics. Draw from personal experiences in selecting and narrowing topics. 3. Show students a speech from the students’ speech videos accompanying this text. Have them identify the general and specific purposes and the central ideas of several speeches. 4. Divide students into groups. Ask each group to simultaneously compose a one-point central idea on a topic you announce (for example, “Dating”). Emphasize that good central ideas are clear, concise, precise, and contain full sentences. Ask each group to write its work on the chalkboard. Analyze the examples. (Humor will be appreciated.) Be generous with praise for effective work. Repeat the exercise for two-point and three-point central ideas. 5. There is safety in numbers. Students may feel more comfortable opening up in a group communication situation. Assign students to bring a small object to class. (Do not yield to student questions about the objects—it’s more fun that way.) Divide students into two lines, facing one another at a distance of six to eight feet and displaying their objects to the other line. Tell students they are to “sell” their objects to the students in the other line, loudly and simultaneously. Allow a minute for the sales and several minutes for tension release and laughter after the exercise. Cruise the lines during the sales pitches, encouraging those who need it. As a variation, suggest standing closer to the other line of students. Conclude the exercise by complimenting as many “stars” as you can. 6. The purpose of this activity is to use ungraded practice speeches to introduce students to the process of preparing and delivering a message to an audience. Students will no doubt feel uncomfortable about speaking in front of the class, especially if this is their first public speaking class. Practice speeches help students reduce their discomfort; they also acquaint students with one another so that the first formal, graded speech will be less threatening. For more informality, this activity can be done with students seated in a circular arrangement. No lectern or table is needed because the speaker merely remains seated with the audience. Review this assignment with students during one class session, and then begin the exercise the following session. Request that speakers limit their remarks to a few minutes. Students should be encouraged to rehearse out loud a few times in order to adhere to time constraints. Remind them also to listen well to other students’ messages so that they will learn more about their classmates. Feedback can be given to speakers orally or in writing, from just the instructor or from peers or both, but because students have likely had so little experience in public speaking, a very basic evaluation is recommended. Three examples of these speeches follow. Paired Introductions: divide the class into student pairs, and then allow the students some interaction time to “interview” one another. During that class session or the next one, students will introduce one another in an interesting way to the rest of the class. Give them a few hints for 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
questions to ask one another, such as, “Who do you admire most today and why?” “What is the most serious problem that college students face today?” Literature Exploration: ask students to bring in a piece of literature to read to the class. The reading can be one or two minutes in length. Ask students to respond to the following questions: How do you see yourself reflected in the literature? How is the literature relevant to you and your culture? What meaning does the literature hold for you? The passage can be from any genre, for example, essay, song, poetry, short story, novel, speech, letter, or a newspaper or magazine article or column. The passage may be one that the student enjoys, one that voices a concern or feeling, one that tells of a personal experience, or one that provoked new insights. Object Exploration: instead of a literature passage, ask students to bring to class an object that is personally symbolic. The object could be a poster, photograph, memento, or gift. Urge students to be creative and thoughtful in their choice of object and explanation of it. JOURNAL PROMPTS 3.1 Considering Your Audience What do you know about your public speaking class as an audience, based only on observing them or hearing them introduce themselves to the class? How might you use this information to make your speech audience-centered? 3.2 Selecting Your Topic Reflect on the information you already know about your public speaking class as an audience. What strategies for learning more about your audience will help you select your speech topic? 3.3 Determining Your General Purpose Ada’s first speech is to introduce herself to her classmates. What is Ada’s general speech purpose? 3.4 Developing Your Central Idea Following the guidelines in this chapter, write a central idea statement for a speech on the topic of buying car insurance. 3.5 Generating Your Main Ideas Your central idea is “Making your own meals from vegetables in your garden is an easy and enjoyable hobby.” What is the best way to generate main ideas from this central idea? Should you use logical divisions, reasons, or steps? 3.6 Gathering Supporting Material You have found a statistic confirming that 350 active members of the military died by suicide last year. Rather than just stating that number in your speech, how can you illustrate the statistic so it has greater meaning and impact on your audience? 3.7 Organizing Your Speech Think of a speech you recently heard. What were the speaker’s introduction, body, and conclusion? 5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
3.8 Rehearsing Your Speech Jamal has prepared a speech outline and is ready to rehearse his speech. Give Jamal three suggestions that he can use as he rehearses to ensure a good final performance. 3.9 Delivering Your Speech Think of a speech you recently delivered to your class or to another audience. If you were to give the same speech to the same audience again, what would you do the same and what would you differently? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Being Audience-Centered Why is it so important to be audience-centered during each step of the speechmaking process?
6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 4: ETHICS AND FREE SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 4.1
Describe the relationships among ethics, free speech, and credibility.
4.2
Explain how free speech has been both challenged and defended throughout U.S. history.
4.3
List and explain five criteria for ethical public speaking.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Ethics A. Ethics are the beliefs, values, and moral principles used to determine what is right or wrong. B. Ethics and free speech 1. In a country in which free speech is protected by law, the right to speak freely must be balanced by the responsibility to speak ethically. 2. Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking. C. Ethics and speaker credibility 1. Aristotle used the term ethos—the root word of ethics and ethical—to refer to a speaker’s credibility, or believability. 2. An audience perceives a credible speaker to be competent, knowledgeable, dynamic, and trustworthy.
II. The History of Free and Ethical Speech A. 1791: First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” B. 1919: the Supreme Court ruled it was lawful to restrict speech that presented “a clear and present danger” to the nation. C. 1940: Congress declared it illegal to urge the violent overthrow of the government; however, the U.S. Supreme Court continued to protect rather than limit free speech. D. 1964: public officials must prove slanderous statements were made with “actual malice.” E. 1989: Supreme Court defended burning the U.S. flag as a speech act protected by the First Amendment. F. 1997: expression in a democratic society outweighs any benefit of censorship. G. 2001: September 11 terrorist attacks sparked new debate over balance between national security and free speech. H. 2013:Black Lives Matter gains traction in protesting racism and anti-Black brutality. I. 2017: #MeToo becomes the slogan of a free speech movement for survivors of sexual harassment and assault. J. 2021: Amnesty International claims social media contributed to the spread of false and misleading information during the COVID-19 pandemic. III. Speaking Ethically A. Have a clear, responsible goal. B. Use sound evidence and reasoning. 1. Ethical speakers use critical-thinking skills to formulate arguments and draw conclusions. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
2. Share all information that might help the audience reach a sound decision. C. Be sensitive to, and tolerant of, differences. 1. Accommodation: sensitivity to differences. a. Does not mean you must abandon your own convictions. b. Willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints. 2. Use respectful and inclusive language. D. Be honest. E. Do not plagiarize. 1. Plagiarism: using the words, sentence structures, or ideas of others without crediting them. 2. Patchwriting: lacing a speech with phrases you find in a source but do not credit. 3. Do your own work. 4. Acknowledge your sources. 5. Take careful notes. 6. Cite sources correctly. a. Oral citation b. Written citation c. When in doubt, document sources. CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter deals with issues of ethics in public speaking. Ethics are the beliefs, values, and moral principles by which people determine what is right and wrong. Any instance of public speaking should include a concern for ethics. By historically tracing the legal protection and restriction of free speech in American society, this chapter places students’ speeches firmly in this tradition. In creating ethical speeches, students should develop a clear, responsible goal; use sound evidence and reasoning; demonstrate sensitivity to and tolerance of differences; speak honestly; and avoid plagiarism. Students should also recognize the need to listen ethically (chapter 5) by communicating their expectations and feedback, demonstrating sensitivity to and tolerance of differences, and listening critically. KEY TERMS ethics free speech credibility First Amendment
speech act ethical speech accommodation plagiarism
patchwriting oral citation written citation
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Lead a student discussion of ethics in politics. If you have access to videos from the last presidential election, scan the various speaking formats (“sound bites,” full speeches, and variations), issues, and candidates. Discuss both candidates and the journalists who followed them. What are candidates’ and journalists’ ethical responsibilities to our society? How do we, as a mass audience, determine whether political figures are ethical? One particularly good source of sound bites is the documentary Feed that focuses on outtakes from the 1992 political election. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
2. Share verbatim with students the requirements of ethical speaking found in this IRM (chapter 4). Tell students that until they discover for themselves a better analysis of ethical speaking, the analysis in this chapter will serve them well. 3. Plagiarism is a hot topic with many students. No doubt some will have gotten into trouble for plagiarism at some point in their educational careers. An honest, open discussion of plagiarism early in a speech course is advisable. Students tend to view plagiarism in a restricted sense, typically relating it to the practice of lifting material from published sources and using it in papers as if it were their own work. They tend to be unaware of plagiarism that occurs in live events (such as public speeches); or when students collaborate on projects and produce one work for two grades; or when they share outlines, notes, or full speeches and use them in public speaking classes. A discussion of the many forms of plagiarism may help instructors avoid, or at least reduce, this problem and keep students out of “hot water”! 4. If you feel it warranted, as this author has at times, share with students portions of their “Code of Student Conduct” plagiarism section. If you are personally aware of, or have other reliable information about instances of, plagiarism, share with students some examples of “Crime and Punishment” (of plagiarism) in their college. Treat the examples as tragic—as occurrences that may have been avoided by studying plagiarism, as their class is doing now. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Ask students for examples of free speech violations from either high school or college. In what ways did a speaker violate freedom of speech? What should the speaker have done differently? How did listeners react to the violation? 2. The purpose of this activity is to further students’ understanding of the concept of free speech and how it functions to protect society. Bring to class several examples of controversial speechwriting that are protected by the First Amendment. Have students discuss the pros and cons of allowing such messages. 3. Direct students to give between-class thought to these ethical propositions. Ask students to come prepared with opinions and defenses of their opinions. • • •
Should fashion magazines be allowed to retouch images of celebrities? You are aware that a close friend has successfully “aced” an examination by cheating. Do you tell or not tell? You have received information that your instructor, who authored the textbook you are required to buy, committed acts of plagiarism in writing the book. Were the author’s actions ethical or unethical?
4. Divide students into small groups and ask them to discuss one of the propositions. Direct each group to prepare one member to report on the group’s deliberations. Allow a 15- to 20-minute discussion. As each group reports, allow the class to agree, disagree, and question the group. At 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
the end of exercise, provide an overall summary. Ask students what options they suggest for resolving their feelings about a proposition. For example, should the “acing” friend be required to retake the exam? 5. The purpose of this activity is for students to consider the lack of ethics involved in plagiarism. Assign five students to find an interesting magazine or newspaper article, outline it, and present it as a speech in class, without citing the source of the information. Although the activity may be instructive for students who had not previously thought about this kind of plagiarism, discussion should help students understand and avoid it. Some questions to stimulate students’ thinking include: • • • •
What do students learn about public speaking when they give a speech that is simply an oral summary of a magazine or newspaper article? What does that do to the ethical climate of the classroom? Of the institution? What is your school’s official policy regarding plagiarism? What are the potential consequences? As a listener, how can you identify a speech that is plagiarized? What might be the consequences of plagiarizing a speech presented to a professional or community group?
JOURNAL PROMPTS 4.1 Ethics and Free Speech Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram continue to review and revise their policies regarding the protection of free speech. Given their widely diverse audiences that include international users, commercial users, and political dissidents, how can social media best develop audience-centered policies regarding free speech? 4.2 The History of Free and Ethical Speech Why do you think the U.S. Supreme Court has historically considered flag burning and pornography to be “free speech acts”? 4.3 Acknowledging Sources When do you need to give credit to a third-party source? What source information should you include in an oral citation? What about a written citation? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Free Speech Under what circumstances (if any) do you feel that the U.S. Congress and courts can and should limit the constitutional right to free speech?
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 5: LISTENING LEARNING OBJECTIVES 5.1
List and describe five barriers to effective listening.
5.2
Identify and implement strategies for becoming a better listener.
5.3
Identify and implement strategies for improving your critical listening and thinking skills.
5.4
Use criteria to effectively and appropriately evaluate speeches.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Overcoming Barriers to Effective Listening A. Improve listening skills to become a better listener and a better speaker. B. Listening requirements: 1. Select a message from several competing messages. 2. Attend to the message. 3. Understand the message. 4. Remember ideas and information. 5. Respond with behavior showing you listened to the message. C. Information overload 1. Working memory theory of listening: hard to concentrate on and remember messages when our working memory is full. 2. Problem: keep audience from tuning out. a. Balance new information and key points with interesting supporting material. b. Build redundancy into your message. c. As a listener, increase concentration on the speaker. D. Personal concerns E. Outside distractions 1. As a listener, do your best to control the listening situation: a. Turn off electronic devices unless using one to take notes. b. Minimize distractions by moving to another seat, closing blinds, closing the door, and closing distracting applications on electronic devices. F. Prejudice 1. As a listener, guard against becoming so critical of the message that you don’t listen to it, or so impressed that you decide too quickly that the speaker is trustworthy. 2. As a speaker, use your opening statements to grab the audience’s attention. G. Differences between speech rate and thought rate 1. Most people talk at a rate of 125 words a minute but can listen to up to 700 or 1,200 words a minute. 2. This difference gives you time to ignore the speaker periodically, which will eventually make you stop listening. 2. Listen more effectively by mentally summarizing what the speaker has said from time to time. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
II. How to Become a Better Listener A. Listen with your eyes. 1. Nonverbal clues play a major role in communicating. 2. A good view can increase your level of attention and improve your understanding. B. Listen mindfully. C. Monitor your emotional reaction to a message. D. Be a selfish listener. E. Listen for major ideas. F. Practice effective listening. G. Understand your listening style: 1. Relational-oriented listener 2. Task-oriented listener 3. Analytical listener 4. Critical listener H. Become an active listener. 1. Re-sort disorganized or disjointed ideas. 2. Rephrase or mentally summarize the key points you want to remember, and look for “information handles” in the form of previews, transitions, signposts, and summaries. 3. Repeat key points periodically that you want to remember. I. Take effective notes. 1. Write notes in longhand. 2. Stay mentally engaged. J. Listen ethically. 1. Communicate your expectations and feedback as a listener. a. Know what information and ideas you want to extract. b. Expect an organized and competently delivered presentation. c. React to the speaker’s message with appropriate verbal and nonverbal feedback. 2. Be sensitive to and tolerant of differences. a. Remember that your preferred approach to speaking and listening may differ from the speaker’s. b. Remember that different cultures have different speaking styles. c. Ethical listeners adapt their listening style to maximize comprehension. III. How to Improve Critical Listening and Thinking Skills A. Critical listening is the process of listening to evaluate the quality, appropriateness, value, and importance of the information you hear. B. Critical thinking is the mental process of making accurate judgments about the conclusions presented in what you see, hear, and read. C. Distinguish between facts and inferences. 1. Facts: information proven true by direct observation. 2. Inference: a conclusion based on partial information or an evaluation that has not been directly observed. D. Evaluate the quality of the evidence. 1. Evidence: facts, examples, opinions, and statistics used to support a conclusion. a. Determine whether a fact is actually a fact. b. Decide whether the speaker has used examples effectively. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
b. Opinion: quoted comment from someone. c. Statistic: number that summarizes a collection of examples. IV. How to Analyze and Evaluate Speeches A. Rhetorical criticism: the process of using a method or criteria to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of messages. B. Tips for giving feedback to others. 1. Be descriptive. 2. Be specific. 3. Be positive. 4. Be constructive. 5. Be sensitive. 6. Be realistic. C. Tips for giving feedback to yourself. 1. Look for and reinforce your skills and speaking abilities. 2. Evaluate your effectiveness based on your specific speaking situation and audience. 3. Identify one or two areas for improvement. CHAPTER SUMMARY Listening is a process that involves selecting, attending, understanding, and remembering. Some barriers that keep people from listening at peak levels include information overload, personal concerns, outside distractions, prejudice, and differing speech and thought rates. Ways to improve listening skills include listening with your eyes, listening mindfully, monitoring your emotional reaction to a message, being a selfish listener, listening for major ideas, practicing effective listening, understanding your listening style, becoming an active listener, taking effective notes, and listening ethically. The chapter also includes valuable information about improving listening and critical thinking skills, as well as on analyzing and evaluating speeches. KEY TERMS select attend understand remember respond working memory theory of listening prejudice
listening styles relational-oriented listeners task-oriented listeners analytical listeners critical listeners critical listening critical thinking facts
inference evidence examples opinion statistic rhetorical criticism
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Ask students if they have completed a course, or even just a unit, in “listening.” (Chances are they have not.) Argue that listening is a combined mental and motor skill that, as with any other skill, 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
requires knowledge of theory, techniques, and guided criticized practice. Ask students to faithfully read the text material, listen carefully to your chapter lecture, and attempt to measure themselves as they listen to you and their classmates. Relate listening back to chapter 1, in which all of communication was presented as a process. Point out that listening itself is a process, involving four simultaneous and interactive stages. Review the stages. Connect effective listening to the theme of the course: audience-centered public speaking. Remind students that in our democratic form of government we have two responsibilities: to speak up and out effectively on societal issues and to, as audiences, be informed or persuaded through effective listening. 2. Assign students to write a one-page essay in which they describe a listening situation they’ve experienced within the last day. They should identify, by using appropriate labels from the text, elements within the listening process, including: • Selecting from internal and external sources • Attending to a specific message • Understanding the message, making sense out of what is heard • Remembering the message 3. Mention to your students that the “winners” of televised political debates are generally chosen on the basis of nonverbal factors, according to numerous polls conducted shortly after the debates have aired. Persons polled mention delivery variables, such as facial expressions, gestures, perceived confidence, and self-esteem, as criteria for determining the best debater. Ask the class why viewers tend to focus on delivery and not content or organization. What, if anything, can be done to reduce this focus on a speaker’s presentational style? Is “style over substance” acceptable in this situation? 4. Remind students (from chapter 3) of the importance of public speaking (oratory) in our history and government. Connect that importance to the necessity of excellent criticism of public speaking. Ask students for their feelings about the point you are making pertaining to speechmaking and speech criticism. Briefly share with them your favorite example of historical speech criticism serving a vital role in our society. 5. Briefly define three criteria for evaluating speeches. Refer to your example of historical rhetorical criticism above. Share how a rhetorical critic applies the criteria to a selected speech. 6. Remind students that they are their own best critic (least threatening! most supportive! most congratulatory! least analytical!). Seriously, however, tell them they are in an excellent position to help themselves improve their speaking abilities, more than even the instructor or their classmates. Review, emphasize, and point out the suggestions in “Tips for Giving Feedback to Yourself.” Offer yourself as an example—review one of your own speeches using the three suggestions. 7. Students will be somewhat skeptical when you tell them to “listen ethically.” You will have to admit the concept is a bit of a stretch, but hey, listeners are not required to uncritically accept messages. If speakers can be active plagiarizers, then listeners can be passively unethical both during and after an unethical speech by not protesting to the speaker and others. Now, you inform students, the other side of the coin has emerged. Just as speakers must be audience-centered, audiences 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
must be speaker-centered! A process is a process. As speakers must be a part of the audience in order to be effective, so audience members must be a “part of the speaker”—and none more tellingly so than in the case of audience members assisting speakers in making an ethical presentation. Audiences have a responsibility to provide verbal and nonverbal feedback that encourages speakers to make ethical presentations. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. The purpose of this activity is to increase students’ understanding of differences between effective and ineffective listening. Show excerpts from film or television that depict characters talking and listening, because interpersonal examples work well to start a discussion (and they are easier to find than mediated examples of public speaking that show audience reactions). As students view the excerpts, have them jot down general descriptions of the kind of listening portrayed, at what points listening broke down, what prompted the poor listening, and how the speaker responded when the receiver stopped listening. When students discuss the importance of listening in interpersonal situations, they can move the discussion further (to the public speaking context). 2. In a discussion or essay, ask students to talk about the five main barriers to listening described in the text. Ask them to explain which barrier they believe affects them the most, as well as ways they have tried to overcome the barrier. Generating specific examples of barriers that emerged in recent listening experiences can be very beneficial. JOURNAL PROMPTS 5.1 Barriers to Effective Listening Describe a situation in which you experienced a barrier to effective listening. Looking back, what could the speaker have done to keep you from tuning out? What could you have done to become a better listener? 5.2 Listening Styles What is your usual listening style? How do you adapt your style when situations call for a different one? 5.3 Separating Facts from Inferences Explain the difference between facts and inferences. Provide an example of each. 5.4 Giving Feedback to Others What kinds of comments from classmates evaluating your speeches would you find most helpful? What types of remarks would be least useful? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Listening Barriers What is your most challenging barrier to listening, and which strategies from this chapter will help you most in overcoming it? 5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 6: ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE LEARNING OBJECTIVES 6.1 Use informal and formal methods of gathering information about your audience. 6.2 Explain how to analyze and use information to adapt to your audience. 6.3 Explain how to identify demographic information about your audience. 6.4 Explain how to identify psychological information about your audience. 6.5 Describe the speaking situation. 6.6 Use strategies to assess audience reactions after your speech. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Gathering Information about Your Audience A. Gathering information informally B. Gathering information formally 1. Ask specific questions about audience attitudes. a. Open-ended questions: allow for unrestricted, more detailed answers. b. Closed-ended questions: offer alternatives from which to choose.
II. Analyze Audience Information A. Audience analysis: examining information about your listeners B. Audience adaptation: ethically using your information to customize your speech to the audience III. Identifying Demographic Information A. Demographics: statistics about such audience characteristics as age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, culture, group membership, and socioeconomic status B. Age: can suggest topics, other kinds of examples, and supporting materials C. Gender, sex, and sexual orientation 1. Avoid assumptions about gender identity and sexual orientation. 2. Speakers must avoid sexist language or remarks. 3. Make your language, and your message, as inclusive as possible. D. Culture, ethnicity, and race 1. Culture: a learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms shared by a group of people. 2. Ethnicity: a social classification based on a variety of factors, such as nationality, religion, language, and ancestral heritage, that are shared by a group of people who also share a common geographic origin. 3. Race: a term that has evolved to include a group of people with a common cultural history, nationality, or geographical location, as well as genetically transmitted physical attributes. 4. Avoid ethnocentrism: the belief that your own cultural traditions and perspectives are superior to those of others. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
E. Group membership 1. Know the political, social, service, professional, work, or religious groups to which your listeners belong. F. Socioeconomic status 1. Be mindful of a person’s perceived importance and influence based on factors such as income, occupation, and education level. 2. Remember that your audience will be made up of diverse individuals, who can influence your approach to the topic, how to adapt the message to your audience, and your choice of examples and illustrations. IV. Examining Psychological Information A. A psychological audience analysis explores an audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and values toward a topic, purpose, and speaker. 1. Attitudes: reflect your likes and dislikes. 2. Beliefs: what you hold to be true or false. 3. Values: an enduring concept of good and bad, right and wrong. B. Identify your audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and values, about your topic according to the following three dimensions: 1. Interested–uninterested 2. Favorable–unfavorable 3. Captive–voluntary C. Identify your audience’s attitudes toward you, the speaker. 1. Credibility: others’ perception of you as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and interesting. V. Considering the Speaking Situation A. Situational audience analysis includes an examination of the time and place of your speech, the size of your audience, and the speaking occasion. VI. Reflecting on Your Audience after You Speak A. Always review the audience’s positive or negative response to your speech through four audience responses: 1. Observe nonverbal responses: facial expressions, smiles, nods, and intensity of applause. 2. Listen to verbal responses: try to ask listeners for responses to the speech in general, as well as getting their specific comments. 3. Consider survey responses: develop questions to help you determine both general and specific responses to you and your speech. 4. Observe behavioral responses: listeners’ actions indicate your effectiveness. Learn whether the audience ultimately behaved as you intended. CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter focuses on the importance of being audience-centered. Effective speakers learn as much about their audience as they can before the speech through demographic, psychological, and situational analyses. Audience analysis can be both informal and formal. Audience analysis is also crucial after the speech; however, the best gauge of a speaker’s success lies in whether the audience remembers or acts on the message. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
KEY TERMS open-ended questions closed-ended questions audience analysis audience adaptation common ground relationship demographics gender
androgynous sex culture ethnicity race ethnocentrism socioeconomic status
psychological audience analysis attitude belief value credibility situational audience analysis
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. What cultural factors have the potential to affect nonverbal responses from an audience? If the speaker is from a different culture than the audience members, how will the speaker gauge audience feedback? How will the speaker formulate an appropriate response to this feedback? Since cultural diversity has such potential to affect the public speaking context, a discussion of these questions is appropriate. 2. Using both textbook and dictionary definitions, compare and contrast the concepts of attitudes, beliefs, and values. Point out the interrelationships among these three concepts. Draw from personal experience to illustrate how each concept has affected your choices in responding to speeches, advertising, and (if you are comfortable with it) religious experiences. 3. Review the concepts of “captive” audiences and “voluntary” audiences. Tell students that, to you, the differences are purely intellectual (if you agree with this author). You want students to give “real” speeches to their “real” classmates, who are live, breathing humans with all the needs, wants, and passions thereof. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Prepare ten questions on five note cards. On the same topic, include one open-ended question and one closed-ended question. The questions should be humorous. For example: Topic: “Who is the strongest superhero?” •
Open-ended: Which superhero do you think is the strongest?
•
Closed-ended: Would Superman win in a fight against Batman?
•
Call on a student not previously alerted to distinguish which question is which. Repeat for each set of questions for which you have time. Allow time for the wisecracks, snickers, and
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
bellows that will accompany the exercise. (Also expect each student to acquire good understanding of the two question forms.) 2. The purpose of this activity is to help students better understand the notion of matching a message to an audience. Each student should bring to class one advertisement from a magazine or newspaper. As each student shows their ad, the rest of the class should discuss who the target audience is for the ad. Ask them to discuss these questions: What messages in the advertisement are conveyed? What elements of the advertisement are most closely linked to the target audience? If the advertisement was redirected to appeal to a very different target audience, what elements would need to change? 3. Class Demographic Audience Analysis Questionnaire: The purpose of this activity is to help student speakers discover the demographics of classmates they will be speaking to throughout the term. Instruct students not to put their names on the questionnaires. (See questionnaire at the end of this chapter.) 4. Class Attitudinal Audience Analysis Questionnaire: The purpose of this survey is to help student speakers discover attitudes of classmates to whom they will be speaking throughout the term. Instruct students not to put their names on the questionnaires. Computer-scanned response forms allow you to easily summarize student responses for the class. (See questionnaire at the end of this chapter.) 5. Use the board or handouts to list potential speech topics. Have students indicate whether they think the topic is more of a “women’s topic” or a “men’s topic” and then explain their designations. Giving Yourself a Facial, Cleaning Your Hunting Rifle, and Mammograms as Lifesavers are examples of topics that could be used for this exercise. A class discussion about why we tend to connect certain topics to one sex or the other may prove insightful. Then, select a few classdesignated, single-sex topics and discuss ways in which those topics could be presented to appeal to members of both sexes. 6. Students are probably accustomed to being “preached at” with respect to cultural and ethnic sensitivity. Divide into small groups. Ask students to give serious thought to their recommendations to the president of the United States on this question: How should the president approach a national TV speech in which the president strongly urges cultural, ethnic, and religious sensitivity? Ask students to apply suggestions found thus far in Beebe and Beebe. 7. As students prepare for their next speech, have them either in class or as a homework assignment develop a strategy for audience analysis. Have them include both formal and informal components to their plan. JOURNAL PROMPTS 6.1 Gathering Information Informally What kind of information about your audience can you gather informally? What are the limitations to this approach? 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
6.2 Audience Analysis When examining the information you’ve gathered about your audience, what should you look for? 6.3 Culture, Ethnicity, and Race Describe the differences between culture, ethnicity, and race. 6.4 Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values What are the differences between attitudes, beliefs, and values? Use examples in your explanation. 6.5 Adapting to a Speaking Situation You just found out that the speech you’re planning to give is scheduled for 8 AM. Based on this early start time, what adaptation strategies should you consider? 6.6 Reflecting on Your Audience after Speaking You have just concluded your speech, and you’re eager to find out what your audience thought about it. What kind of nonverbal, verbal, and behavioral responses would help you evaluate the audience’s response to your message? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Audience Reactions How can you tell if an audience liked your speech? What kind of audience reactions should you look for?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CLASS DEMOGRAPHIC AUDIENCE ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE Instructions: Please do not place your name on this questionnaire. Please answer briefly in the space provided. 1. Age: 2. Gender: 3. Culture, Nationality, Ethnicity, and/or Race: 4. Religion: 5. Hometown and State: 6. Marital Status: 7. Major: 8. Hours Enrolled This Term: 9. Current Employment: 10. Membership in Organizations, Clubs, and Groups: 11. Favorite Leisure Time Activities (e.g., sports, hobbies):
6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CLASS ATTITUDINAL AUDIENCE ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE Instructions: Please do not provide your name on this questionnaire. Indicate your opinion about the following topics by entering, in the blanks in front of the items, the number that corresponds to your answer. Use this scale:
1 = Strongly Agree 2 = Agree 3 = Neutral or Don’t Know 4 = Disagree 5 = Strongly Disagree
______ 1. The answer to the substance-use-disorder problem is partly in legalizing drug use. ______ 2. Waterway gambling and state lotteries are good solutions to some governmental economic problems. ______ 3. The most important objective for any government is peace. ______ 4. Laws that limit cigarette smoking infringe on people’s rights. ______ 5. In general, I support current state government policies. ______ 6. In general, I support current federal government policies. ______ 7. I am looking forward to the increased cultural and ethnic diversity predicted for the United States’ workforce. ______ 8. Animal rights groups are fanatics who interfere with economic and scientific progress. ______ 9. People who are gravely ill or in pain should have the right to die (including by suicide and euthanasia). ______ 10. Any pregnant person has a right to an abortion. ______ 11. Family values in the United States have deteriorated to a crisis point. ______ 12. One of the most important issues facing us is the preservation of the planet. ______ 13. College students today are more bigoted and prejudiced than college students twenty years ago. ______ 14. LGBTQ+ people should be allowed into the military without recrimination. ______ 15. For too long the United States has practiced a policy of military intervention and destruction of other cultures. ______ 16. Women deserve equal rights to men. ______ 17. I favor more legislation restricting gun usage in the U.S. ______ 18. The current trends in the United States are too liberal. ______ 19. Prayer and religious teaching are needed in schools. ______ 20. I believe that Affirmative Action is still an important and necessary program in the U.S. ______ 21. Citizens should be more patriotic toward their country. ______ 22. I am in favor of capital punishment. ______ 23. Mass media in the U.S. contains too much sex, violence, and denigration of people. ______ 24. Pornography is destructive. ______ 25. One of the most crucial issues of our time is human rights.
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 7: ADAPTING TO YOUR AUDIENCE AS YOU SPEAK LEARNING OBJECTIVES 7.1 Explain how to read nonverbal cues to understand listeners’ reactions to your speech. 7.2 Describe several adaptations you can make to respond to listeners’ nonverbal cues. 7.3 List several ways you can customize your message to your audience. 7.4 Identify and use strategies for adapting to a diverse audience. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Read Nonverbal Cues A. Eye contact 1. Eye contact is the best indicator to determine listener interest. 2. The more eye contact your listeners have with you, the more likely they are listening. B. Facial expression 1. Attentive listeners also have attentive facial expressions. 2. Beware of an unresponsive face. C. Movement and posture 1. An attentive audience doesn’t move much. 2. Squirming, along with general body movement, often indicates audience members have lost interest. D. Nonverbal responsiveness 1. Frequent applause and nods of agreement with your message are indicators of interest and support. 2. Interested listeners also respond when encouraged or invited to do so by the speaker.
II. Respond to Nonverbal Cues A. If your audience seems inattentive or bored: 1. Tell a story. 2. Use a relatable example, personal if possible. 3. Remind your listeners why your message should be of interest to them. 4. Eliminate some abstract facts and statistics. 5. Use appropriate humor. 6. Make direct references to the audience. 7. Encourage audience participation by asking questions. 8. Ask for a direct response. 9. Speed up the pace of your delivery; use dramatic pauses. B. If your audience seems confused and does not understand your point: 1. Be more redundant; repeat key points. 2. Phrase your information in another way; use a concrete example to illustrate your point. 3. Use a visual aid (chalkboard, flipchart). 4. Slow your speaking rate, if necessary. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
5. Ask for audience feedback. 6. Ask someone in the audience to summarize the key points you are making. C. If your audience seems to be disagreeing with your message: 1. Provide additional data and evidence to make your point. 2. Remind audience of your credibility, credentials, or background. 3. Rely less on anecdotes and more on factual data; present facts and data visually (chalkboard, whiteboard, flipchart). 4. If you do not have the data or answers demanded, tell the audience you will provide more information post-speech by mail, telephone, email, or social media—and make sure you do it. III. Customize Your Message to Your Audience A. Use audience members’ names to relate information to specific people; ask permission first. B. Refer to the town, city, or community where you are speaking. C. Refer to a significant event that happened on the date of your speech. D. Refer to a recent news event. E. Refer to a group or organization. F. Find ways to apply facts, statistics, and examples to the people in your audience. IV. Adapt to Diverse Listeners A. Diversity means differences. B. Target audience: segment of your audience you most want to address or influence 1. Use strategies to reach the different listeners in your audience. a. Use a variety of supporting materials (illustrations, examples, statistics, opinions). b. Remember the power of stories. c. Consider showing the audience a brief outline of your key ideas. d. Use visuals that transcend language differences (such as pictures and other images, especially emotional ones). CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter focuses on the importance of being audience-centered. Audience analysis and adaptation continue during the speech. Speakers should look for nonverbal feedback in the form of eye contact, facial expression, movement, and responsiveness, as well as verbal feedback and appropriate response. Audience analysis and adaptation should also reflect the diversity of listeners. KEY TERM Target audience
2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGY What cultural factors have the potential to affect nonverbal responses from an audience? If the speaker is from a different culture than the audience members, how will the speaker gauge audience feedback? How will the speaker formulate an appropriate response to this feedback? Since cultural diversity has such potential to affect the public speaking context, a discussion of these questions is appropriate. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Ask students to interview an instructor about the importance of identifying verbal cues from their students during classroom lectures or discussions. What do the cues tell them about course content, about themselves and their students, and about whether they should adapt? 2. Divide students into groups of four, seated two opposite two at about four feet apart. Have one member of one twosome begin telling an interesting story while the opposite two do their best to show disinterest nonverbally. Give each of the four a chance to experience disinterest. Good laughs will occur. Call on several students to express their feelings when being shown disinterest. Ask several other students to recall what advice the textbook gives to speakers facing some disinterest in the audience. JOURNAL PROMPTS 7.1 Nonverbal Responsiveness What kinds of nonverbal cues indicate audience interest and support? 7.2 Responding to Your Listeners How would you adapt your message if, while you were speaking, you realized you were not holding your listeners’ attention? 7.3 Customizing Your Message What are some ways you can customize a message for a specific audience? 7.4 Adapting to Diverse Listeners When adapting to a diverse audience, what are some strategies you can use to reach the different listeners in your audience? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Adapting to the Audience Think about the last time you lost interest in a speech and started yawning or fiddling with your smartphone. If the speaker had noticed your reaction, what could they have done to recapture your interest?
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
CHAPTER 8: DEVELOPING YOUR SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 8.1 Select and narrow a topic for a speech. 8.2 Write an audience-centered, specific-purpose statement for a speech. 8.3 State a central idea for a speech. 8.4 Apply three ways of generating main ideas from a central idea. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Select Your Topic A. Consider the audience. 1. Choose a topic relevant to the interests and expectations of the audience. 2. Take into account the current knowledge of your audience about the topic. 3. Choose topics that are important to you and your listeners. B. Consider the occasion. C. Consider yourself. D. Brainstorm. 1. Start with a blank sheet of paper, and set a time limit. 2. Write as many possible speech topics as possible without stopping to evaluate. 3. Later, evaluate the list to choose a viable topic. E. Listening and reading for topic ideas. F. Don’t procrastinate! G. Narrow your topic. H. Determine your general purpose. 1. To inform: defines, describes, or explains something. 2. To persuade: provides information to try to change or reinforce an audience’s beliefs or to urge them to action. 3. To entertain: aims to get listeners to enjoy themselves.
II. Determine Your Specific Purpose A. Formulating the specific purpose 1. Specific purpose: a concise audience-centered statement of what your listeners should be able to do at the end of your speech. 2. Specific-purpose statements begin with the same words: “At the end of my speech, the audience will . . .” B. Clarify the specific purpose. 1. Your specific purpose reflects the interests, expectations, and knowledge level of your audience. 2. Limit the specific purpose to a single idea. 3. Your specific-purpose statement should use words that specify observable or measurable audience behavior. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
C. Using your specific purpose 1. Everything you do while preparing the speech should contribute to your specific purpose. 2. The specific purpose can help you assess the supporting material you are gathering. III. Develop Your Central Idea A. Central idea: a one-sentence summary of your speech, sometimes called the thesis statement 1. It should reflect consideration of the audience by taking into account their needs, interests, expectations, and knowledge. 2. It should be a single idea. 3. It should be a complete, declarative statement. 4. It should use direct, specific language. IV. Generate and Preview Your Main Ideas A. Generate your main ideas by asking three questions: 1. Does the central idea have natural divisions? 2. Can you think of several reasons why the central idea is true? 3. Can you support your central idea by tracing a series of steps or a chronological progression? B. Consult your specific-purpose statement as you generate your main ideas to ensure they are helping to achieve your purpose. C. Having generated main ideas, add a preview of those main ideas to your central idea to produce a blueprint for your speech. CHAPTER SUMMARY The main steps in planning a speech are selecting and narrowing your topic, determining your purpose, developing your central idea, and generating your main ideas. A speech topic should be appropriate to the demands of the occasion or assignment, as well as to the audience. A topic should be narrowed appropriately, and a general purpose, specific purpose, and central idea (or thesis) should be developed. KEY TERMS brainstorming general purpose specific purpose central idea
declarative sentence main ideas blueprint
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Bruce Gronbeck has suggested that students give speeches on “issues that divide people.” What are those issues? Lead a discussion to determine what students think are “the hot issues of the day,” resulting, hopefully, in class speeches given on some of these topics.
2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
2. Ask students to give examples of appropriate and inappropriate topics for the following speech occasions: dedication of a military veteran’s memorial, a funeral, a university commencement ceremony, a “roast,” a new city hall groundbreaking ceremony, an awards dinner. 3. Explain the relationship between specific purpose and central idea. A specific purpose specifies speech outcomes; a central idea guides and organizes speech content. Emphasize two “laws” of central ideas: MUST BE AUDIENCE-CENTERED; MUST BE A SINGLE SENTENCE SUMMARIZING THE SPEECH. Review the four helpful criteria for constructing central ideas. 4. Review the three most common general purposes. Ask students to explore their dictionaries and thesauruses with you. What are the differences between the words general and specific? Tell students that developing the specific purpose is the most important part of their planning (outline). The specific purpose is the absolute essence of audience-centered approaches for conceiving, planning, and delivering speeches in this modern age. It first guides research and selection of materials and then serves as a continual reminder of the only true measure of your success—getting the desired response(s) from your audience. Review the three guidelines suggested for constructing effective specific purposes. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. As a variation of the brainstorming technique mentioned in the text, use several headings or categories to help students structure their topic ideas. The following categories may prove useful: People and Places, Hobbies, Activities/Sports, Travel/Locations, Pet Peeves, Media, Current Events, “Hot” Topics, Campus Facts/Issues. Some of these categories lend themselves more readily to informative, demonstrative, or persuasive speech purposes. 2. Call the roll, and as you do, ask students to adopt an informative speech topic, which you record (some students will be hesitant—tell them you will return to them). Be sure each student has a topic. In a subsequent class, divide students into groups. Instruct each group to assist each member in narrowing their topic choice to one with enough information for a 5–8 minute speech to inform. Cruise the groups, guiding, leading, praising, and correcting. Direct the student groups to write their results on the chalkboard. Lead a brief discussion of several topics, acknowledging good work and making improvements where needed. 3. The purpose of this activity is for students to practice narrowing topics and writing specific purpose statements. This activity can be done individually (with a partial or whole list of topics), in dyads, as small groups, or as an entire class discussion. First, review with students the information in chapter 6 of the text. Then, hand out the list of speech topics; explain that they are to narrow each topic and write a specific purpose statement for each. You may wish to come back to this activity in a later chapter to link it to adapting to your audience, conducting research, and other developmental aspects. See the end of this chapter for a list of topics in a format that works for this assignment. 4. Ask students to imagine themselves as a commencement speaker for a high school graduating class. In a brief essay or in-class discussion, students should generate three general speech topics with corresponding specific-purpose statements that would be appropriate for that audience, for the occasion, and for themselves as speakers. 3
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
5. The purpose of this activity is to give students added experience in developing potential speech topics with the benefit of classmates as collaborators. To illustrate the entire process of developing a speech as described in chapter 8, work through each of the following steps with the class using a hypothetical speech topic. This activity could take an entire class session (depending on how much discussion students generate). Step 1: Brainstorm for potential topics with your students, but be sure to remind them that brainstorming does not include evaluating. Encourage free association and building on the ideas of others. Ask a student to record topic suggestions on the chalkboard. Limit this part of the activity to ten minutes. Step 2: Take a vote in class on the five most popular topics. Step 3: Discuss the appropriateness of each of the five selected potential topics by using the three guidelines given in the text (consider the audience, consider the occasion, consider yourself). After a brief discussion, take another vote to determine the winning topic. Step 4: Lead the class through the process of narrowing the surviving topic to be manageable for a five-minute speech. Step 5: Ask students to formulate a general purpose (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain) for the topic and then move on to stating a specific purpose. In order to devise the specific purpose, ask the class to decide what the audience should be able to do, feel, believe, or accomplish at the end of the speech. Step 6: Students need to word the specific-purpose statement carefully. Does the statement of purpose meet these three tests? • • •
Is the language precise enough? Is the purpose written as a single idea? Does the purpose meet the needs, interests, expectations, and knowledge level of the audience?
Allow the class to make any adjustments pertaining to the specific purpose statement at this time. Step 7: Next, students need to develop a central idea for the speech. After formulating the central idea, test it against these guidelines: • • • • •
Is the central idea a declarative statement? Is the central idea a complete sentence? Does the central idea use specific language? Is the central idea a single idea? Does the central idea reflect a consideration of the audience? The occasion? The speaker? 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
• Step 8: The final step is to generate main ideas. As a guide to determining main points, use the following questions: • • •
Does the central idea have natural divisions? Can you think of several reasons why the central idea is true? Can steps or a chronological progression support the central idea?
Follow-up: After the activity, summarize for the class what took place. Remind students that the group began with nothing and followed a perfect approach to speech planning, whether for the classroom or the real world. JOURNAL PROMPTS 8.1 Brainstorming List some of your own interests and experiences. Use them to brainstorm at least ten possible speech topic ideas. 8.2 The Specific-Purpose Statement Consider the following specific-purpose statement: “To describe the reasons I enjoy spelunking as a hobby.” Analyze this statement according to the criteria presented in this chapter. Rewrite it to correct any problems. 8.3 Specific-Purpose Statement versus Central Idea How does a central idea differ from a specific-purpose statement in both focus and application? 8.4 Generating Main Ideas Suppose your central idea is “Self-driving cars are dangerous.” What three questions would you ask yourself to come up with main ideas for a speech on this topic? How would you answer those questions? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Writing Your Specific-Purpose Statement Write a specific-purpose statement for a speech you could give at some point during this course.
5
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
PRACTICE IN NARROWING TOPICS AND WRITING SPECIFIC PURPOSES Instructions: Take each general speech topic and narrow it to something usable for a five-minute informative speech. Then write behavioral specific-purpose statements for each topic. ASTRONOMY Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: DANCING Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: DINOSAURS Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: ETHNIC FOODS Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: GAMBLING Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: WAR REFUGEES Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: LEARNING DISABILITIES 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: THE LIFE OF A PERSON WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: MALNOURISHED AMERICANS Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: SEXIST LANGUAGE Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: TRADE IMBALANCES WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement: ZOOKEEPERS Narrowed Topic: Behavioral Specific-Purpose Statement:
7
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 9: GATHERING SUPPORTING MATERIAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES 9.1 Describe how personal knowledge and experience can serve as a source of supporting material for a speech. 9.2 Locate and evaluate internet resources for a speech. 9.3 Explain how to use online databases to find supporting material for a speech. 9.4 Describe traditional library holdings that can provide supporting material for a speech. 9.5 Summarize how to conduct an effective interview. 9.6 Explain five strategies for a methodical research process. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Personal Knowledge and Experience A. You may be able to provide an effective illustration, explanation, definition, or other type of supporting material from your own knowledge and experience. B. Personal knowledge often heightens your credibility in your listeners’ minds.
II. The Internet A. Locating internet resources 1. Vertical search engines are more specialized than Google and can help narrow a search. 2. Enclosing a search phrase in quotation marks can help you narrow your search. B. Exploring internet resources 1. You will find a wide variety of websites. You can distinguish between them by their domain. 2. The domain is indicated by the last three letters of the site’s URL. Common categories are: a. Commercial: these websites exist to sell products or services. The domain is often .com. News and entertainment sites also often have .com domains. b. Educational: this type of site provides information about an educational entity. The domain is usually .edu. c. Government: the purpose of this type of website is to provide information produced by government agencies, offices, and departments. The domain is usually .gov. d. Military: Information about or from the military is usually indicated by internet addresses that end in .mil. e. Organizational: the purpose of this type of website is to advocate a group’s point of view. The domain is usually .org. C. Evaluating internet resources 1. Six criteria can serve as standards for evaluating internet resources and identifying fake news. a. Accountability: find out what individual or organization is responsible for the site. b. Accuracy: it may be difficult to determine a site’s accuracy unless you are an expert in the area the site addresses. Consider author credibility.
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
c. Objectivity: objectivity is related to accountability. Once you know who is accountable for a site, consider the interests, philosophical or political biases, and source of financial support of that individual or organization. d. Timeliness: look for evidence that the site was posted recently or is kept current. e. Usability: the site should load fairly quickly. The layout and design of the site should facilitate its use. f. Diversity: an inclusive website will be free of material that communicates bias against any gender, ethnicity, race, culture, or sexual orientation, as well as against people with disabilities. 2. Wikipedia’s reliability and appropriateness for academic use are limited. III. Online Databases A. Online databases provide access to bibliographic information, abstracts, and full texts for a variety of sources. B. Your library may subscribe to several or all of the following popular full-text, searchable databases: 1. Academic Search Ultimate 2. JSTOR 3. Nexis Uni 4. Newspaper Source Plus IV. Traditional Library Holdings A. Books 1. Libraries’ collections of books are called the stacks and are organized by call number. 2. Computerized card catalogs supply each book’s call number, so researchers can locate available library resources. B. Reference resources: The call numbers of print reference resources will have the prefix ref, and they usually cannot be checked out. V. Interviews A. Having determined that some questions cannot be answered easily by doing online or library research, an interview may be necessary. B. Preparing for the interview 1. Determine your purpose: what do you want to find out? 2. Schedule a meeting: decide whom you need to speak with, arrange the meeting, and ask permission to record the interview. 3. Plan your questions. a. Take full advantage of the interviewee’s specific knowledge. b. Combine closed-ended and open-ended questions. C. Conduct the interview. D. After an interview: 1. Read and revise notes as needed, and save and label any recordings. 2. Send a thank-you note to your interviewee. VI. Research Strategies A. Develop a preliminary bibliography, “menu of possibilities.” 1. Resources in a preliminary bibliography for a 10-minute speech: 10–12. 2. Design a system to keep track of resources. Consider a web-based citation manager. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
B. Locate resources. C. Assess the usefulness of resources (before beginning in-depth research). D. Read and record. 1. When taking notes, start with the resources you think are best. 2. If you copy verbatim from a source, clearly indicate if it’s a direct quote or a paraphrase. 3. Record the source; consistently keep track of your sources as you take notes. E. Identify possible presentation aids: 1. Consider charts, graphs, photographs, and other potentially valuable visual material. 2. Keep copies or make a list of any potential presentation aids you find. KEY TERMS vertical search engine domain fake news online databases
stacks preliminary bibliography citation manager
CHAPTER SUMMARY Supporting material is an integral part of any speech. Five main sources of supporting material discussed here include personal knowledge, the internet, online databases, traditional library holdings, and interviews. All resources used in a speech should be carefully organized and documented. Once resources are identified, a speaker should develop a preliminary bibliography, locate resources, consider their potential usefulness, read and record notes, and identify possible presentation aids. TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Discuss with students how important surveying personal experiences and knowledge is in the research process. Selecting a speech topic and main points are strongly aided by personal data. Students don’t always know how much they know (and sometimes they hesitate because of some values against “tooting their own horn”). Link back to chapter 6, which discusses the usefulness of citing one’s own knowledge and experience in a speech (speaker credibility). 2. Lead a class discussion on types of questions not to ask an interviewee. As examples, avoid overly vague questions, such as, “Do you think prejudice is on the rise?” Reduce leading questions, such as, “Don’t you agree that universal healthcare is a basic right?” Hostile questions can end the effectiveness of an interview. Consider “Why has your department continued archaic practices that should have been discarded years ago?” or “Why do so many students cheat on examinations?” 3. Ask your students to bring in a bibliography or a “works cited” page from one of their last major writing assignments. Ask them to discuss the entries. How were these initially located? How valuable was each source? How was material used in the paper? Which sources were the easiest to access? Which were the most difficult to access and why? You may also want to discuss the difference between citing 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
sources in a written bibliography and citing them orally in a speech, as a form of review from other chapters. 4. Explain to students the importance of correct bibliographical form. Some of your students may not be aware of the common stylistic formats (APA, MLA, Turabian, and The Chicago Manual of Style). Also, students may not understand why instructors insist upon conformance to a style. Here’s a beautiful chance for you to preach precision writing and make some converts (as well as to increase accuracy and style in the bibliographies handed in to you). 5. Lead a discussion of the ethical dilemmas posed by electronic resources and data. How do we accurately document internet sources? Highlight recent changes in both MLA and APA documentation styles used to document electronic resources. 6. Consider communicating with your students via e-mail instead of using of traditional communication forms (such as for class course information, performance feedback, etc.). Ask some colleagues in various departments if they would mind being interviewed by email by one of your students as an expert witness for that student’s speech. Match student to colleague and provide email addresses. In a much later class, review the experiment for its value to this research unit. Use the opportunity to review correct citations of interview notes. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. The purpose of this activity is for students to familiarize themselves with the campus library. Take time to organize a scavenger hunt at your campus library, making certain to inform library personnel of the activity. You can create lists of specific electronic resources, traditional types of materials discussed in the text, and unique sources housed in your library. Find specific enough information to list so that students must locate the exact item in question. The size of your class, time constraints, and library limitations will determine the due date for this assignment. Some examples include the following: • • • • • • •
Where, specifically, are dissertation abstracts stored? Provide bibliographic information for an article on a prominent societal issue. How do you apply for an interlibrary loan, and how long does it typically take to receive those materials? What is the color of the bound volumes of ERIC Resources in Education? Locate bibliographic information on a book published in the 1920s. On what shelf are the current issues of Vital Speeches of the Day? Where do you find this year’s issues of the Journal of Experimental Psychology?
2. Require students to watch or record a television broadcast interview (e.g., CBS’s “60 Minutes,” ABC’s “Nightline” or “20/20,” etc.). Using textbook strategies on interviewing as a guide, have students analyze and critique the exchanges between and among the interview participants. 3. Give students three scenarios in which they will play “interviewer.” Ask them to develop five openended questions they will ask during hypothetical interviews. Ask them to plan questions in sequence, as the text recommends, and to be able to justify their sequence. Suggest these hypothetical interview 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
scenarios: the campus health director about eating disorders among students, the academic vice president about campus grading policies, and a local Red Cross representative about the organization’s responses to crises. In a subsequent session, lead a discussion about the effectiveness of the questions volunteered by students. 4. The purpose of this activity is for students to broaden their thinking regarding the process of gathering supporting materials for a speech. Give the class five topics and brainstorm with students about where they would go to research the topics for sources of supporting materials. Make sure they generate a wide range of sources, including electronic and traditional library resources (e.g., internet resources, the New York Times Index, instead of just the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, etc.). Sample topics include: • • • • •
The Habitat for Humanity program Taxation Trends Smokers’ versus Nonsmokers’ Rights Alzheimer’s Disease and Its Impact on Patients’ Families The History of Militias in the United States
JOURNAL PROMPTS 9.1 Evaluating Internet Resources You are researching a speech on how to get the best car rental deal. An internet search generates dozens of sites. You’re not sure which ones are okay to use as sources. What criteria should you consider when evaluating these sites? 9.2 Online Databases What are online databases, and how can you use them to find material for your speech? 9.3 Effective Interviews Ryan has arranged an interview with an incarcerated-person’s rights expert for a speech he’s working on for class. What should Ryan do to prepare for this interview? 9.4 Reading and Recording You have developed a preliminary bibliography, located potential resources, and evaluated their usefulness. Now you’re ready to start taking notes for your speech. Where should you start? What should you include in your recordings? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Collecting Supporting Material Why is Wikipedia not the most reliable or appropriate resource for academic use? What other types of internet resources might fall short of the evaluation criteria outlined in this chapter?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 10: SUPPORTING YOUR SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 10.1 Explain the importance of and best practices for using illustrations in a speech. 10.2 Differentiate how descriptions and explanations are used in speeches. 10.3 Summarize how to use definitions in a speech. 10.4 Describe how to use analogies in a speech. 10.5 Explain how to effectively present statistics in a speech. 10.6 Describe the value of using opinions in a speech. 10.7 Select the best supporting material for a speech. CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Use Illustrations A. Illustration: a story or anecdote 1. Brief illustrations: no more than a sentence or two. A series of brief illustrations can, at times, have more impact than either a single brief illustration or a more detailed extended illustration. 2. Extended illustrations: longer and more detailed than brief illustrations; they resemble a story. 3. Personal illustrations: sharing an experience with the audience—can increase credibility. 4. Hypothetical illustrations: describe situations or events that might happen. B. Be certain stories are directly relevant, personal, and vivid. II. Use Descriptions and Explanations A. Description: provides the details that allow audience members to develop a mental picture of what speakers are talking about. A description is vivid, accurate, and specific. B. Explanation: a statement that clarifies how something is done or why it exists or existed. III. Provide Definitions A. Definitions have two uses in speeches. 1. They are used to define all specialized, technical, or little-known terms. These definitions are achieved by classification—the kind of definition you would find in a dictionary. 2. They are used to define a term by showing how it works or how it is applied in a specific instance—known as an operational definition. IV. Use Analogies A. Analogy: a comparison B. Literal analogy: a comparison between two similar things C. Figurative analogy: a comparison that relies on imaginative insights
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
V. Use Statistics as Support A. Statistics can represent hundreds or thousands of individuals and can help a speaker express the magnitude or seriousness of a situation. B. Use reliable sources. 1. As an ethical speaker, your goal is to cite reputable, authoritative, and unbiased sources. a. Reputable: sources known to have expertise in research or statistics. b. Authoritative: the most authoritative source is the primary source—the original collector and interpreter of the data. Do not assume that a secondary source—a secondhand account—has reported the statistics accurately. c. Unbiased: sources with no special interest in their statistics supporting any particular viewpoint. 2. As you evaluate your sources, try to find out how the statistics were gathered. C. Interpret statistics accurately. D. Make your statistics understandable and memorable. 1. Dramatize statistics with your choice of perspective. 2. You can compact a statistic, or express it in units that are more meaningful or easily understandable to your audience. 3. Exploded statistics are created by adding or multiplying related numbers. 4. You can compare statistics with one another to heighten their impact. 5. Use visual aids to present your statistics. VI. Use Opinions A. Expert testimony: an opinion of someone who is an authority on a subject can add weight to your arguments. B. Lay testimony: although not as authoritative as expert testimony, opinions from people with firsthand experience can stir an audience’s emotions. C. Make a point memorable with a literary quotation. D. Use opinions effectively. 1. Be certain that your “authority” is unbiased and an expert. 2. Cite your source properly and be sure to quote accurately. 3. Use opinions that are representative of prevailing opinion. 4. Limit quotations to one or two per speech. VII. Select the Best Supporting Material A. Six criteria can assist in knowing what supporting material to use and what to eliminate. 1. Magnitude: the larger the numbers, the more convincing your statistics. 2. Relevance: the best supporting material is whatever is the most relevant to your listeners. 3. Concreteness: discuss abstract ideas using concrete examples and specific statistics. 4. Variety: a mix of illustrations, opinions, definitions, and statistics is more interesting and convincing than using one type of supporting material. 5. Humor: audiences usually appreciate a touch of humor in an example or opinion; use only if the topic is not somber. 6. Suitability: your decision about whether to use a certain piece of supporting material depends on you, your speech, the occasion, and your audience. KEY TERMS 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
illustration brief illustrations extended illustrations personal illustrations hypothetical illustrations description
explanation definitions classification operational definition analogy literal analogy
figurative analogy statistics expert testimony lay testimony literary quotation
CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter describes the six primary types of supporting material—illustrations, descriptions and explanations, definitions, analogies, statistics, and opinions—as well as guidelines for their effective use. Six criteria for selecting supporting material include magnitude, relevance, concreteness, variety, humor, and suitability. TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Students sometimes view supporting materials as a necessary evil rather than as tools to greatly enhance their speeches. They may end up using the most accessible sources (a magazine they subscribe to) rather than the best sources. This is particularly a problem now that so many resources are available online and through library web pages. Discuss this problem with students. 2. Statistics are used to clarify or supplement information and to give ideas persuasive power. Ask students to bring to class examples of statistics. Where are statistics most often used? In addition to evaluating sources, why is it critical for speakers to refer to the source of a statistic during their speech? Students should come up with several reasons, first, from a speaker’s point of view and, second, from an audience perspective. What is a listener likely to think when a statistic is unsubstantiated, when there is no accompanying date and source? What happens when a speaker overwhelms an audience with too many statistics? How can statistics enhance and detract from a speaker’s credibility? 3. Use one of the sample speech manuscripts provided in the textbook for analysis and discussion. Ask students to study the assigned speech intensely. In the subsequent class, analyze the speech in terms of supporting material. The following suggestions can guide you and your students through the analysis: • • • • • • • •
Identify the types of supporting materials used in the speech. Judge the effectiveness of at least ten of the support materials used. What kinds of illustrations are used? Are the illustrations relevant and interesting? How are explanations and descriptions employed? If definitions are used, how effective are they? If analogies are used, are the comparisons valid? Do the statistics cited adhere to guidelines in the book? 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
• •
Evaluate how well the supporting materials, as a whole, are integrated into the speech. What suggestions would you make to the speaker?
CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Photocopy and project a speech from Vital Speeches of the Day or from The New York Times for the class. Ask students to identify definitions the speaker used and whether or not definitions were used effectively according to the guidelines in the text. Next, ask students to examine the speaker’s use of analogies, both literal and figurative. How were they used in the speech, and were they effective? If no analogies were used, at what points could analogies have been inserted to enhance the speech? 2. Issue students the five terms below. Direct them between classes to (a) look up each term in at least two dictionaries, and (b) construct personal “operational definitions” for each term. Several classes later, when you are calling roll, ask a number of students to provide both dictionary definitions and operational definitions. The suggested words are: reverberate, redundant, retching, reeling, and recanting. 3. Assign students to develop figurative analogies for the following situations. Remind them of the value of humor in supporting ideas. Call on students over a period of several classes when you need a class to get “loosened up.” Use these situations: • • • •
A dishonest salesperson is. . . A procrastinating student is. . . The Dallas Cowboys are. . . This city/town is. . .
4. Ask students to thoroughly review the suggestions in the chapter for using opinion effectively. Assign students to find—from life around them, on TV, or in reading—at least one flagrant violation of a suggestion. (They should look up the word flagrant.) In a subsequent session, ask volunteers to share their examples. 5. Instruct students to bring to class examples of statistics (downloaded from the internet would be just dandy). Pick an example or two to analyze, demonstrating the effective use of statistics textbook guidelines. Ask students, “Is it critical for a speaker to identify sources of statistics? Why? (or why not?),” “What are listeners likely to think when they realize a speaker has been lax in sourcing and crediting statistics?” “What happens when a speaker ‘overwhelms’ an audience with numbers?” “How can a speaker’s use of statistics add to credibility? Detract from credibility?” 6. The purpose of this activity is to increase students’ ability to listen for and identify supporting materials when they are used in a speech. Select a video-recorded speech to show in class. Select a speech from the Beebes’ text, from your library or media services department, or from your own collection of past student speeches. Have students use the form below to structure the way they listen and attend to the speaker’s supporting materials. Then, hold a discussion about their reactions to the speech and about effective use of supporting materials. 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
JOURNAL PROMPTS 10.1 Using Illustrations What are the differences between brief, extended, personal, and hypothetical illustrations? How could you use these different kinds of illustrations in a speech? 10.2 Using Analogies Think of a speech you recently presented (or heard) in class. Provide one literal analogy and one figurative analogy that could have been used in this speech. 10.3 Using Statistics You’re working on a speech about the student loan crisis. You would like to use statistics in your speech to make it more memorable and easier to understand. What are the five ways—as explained in this chapter— that you can achieve this goal? 10.4 Using Opinions Under what circumstances might it be better to use lay testimony versus expert testimony in a speech? 10.5 Selecting the Best Supporting Material You have researched more than enough materials for your upcoming ten-minute speech assignment. As a result, you’re having trouble deciding what to eliminate. What are the six criteria you can use to help you decide what to use and what to cut? SHARED WRITING PROMPTS Evaluating Sources How can you tell if a source is reputable, authoritative, and unbiased?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
FEEDBACK FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING MATERIALS Speaker’s Name:
Listener’s Name:
Instructions: Check all types of supporting materials you heard in the video-recorded speech. Then, evaluate the speaker’s use of textbook principles that guide the effective selection and use of support in a speech. Illustrations: _____ Brief illustration _____ Extended illustration _____ Hypothetical illustration
_____ Relevant _____ Specific _____ Vivid
_____ Personal _____ Represents a trend _____ Listeners can identify with
_____ Kept brief _____ Specific and concrete
_____ Avoidance of overuse _____ Describing
Definitions: _____ Definition by classification _____ Operational definition
_____ Used when needed _____ Consistent use
____ Understandable
Analogies: _____ Literal analogy _____ Figurative analogy
_____ Comparison of similar things _____ Comparison readily apparent
Explanations and Descriptions: _____ Explaining how _____ Explaining why ____ Use of vivid language
Statistics: _____ Numerical data
_____ Used reputable sources _____ Interpreted accurately _____ Effective visual aid _____ Understandable
_____ Memorable Opinions: _____ Expert testimony _____ Literary quotations opinion
_____ Identified sources _____ Cited unbiased sources _____ Quotations used sparingly _____ Cited representative
_____ Authority is an expert on subject General Effectiveness: _____ Timeliness
_____ Significance
_____ Relevance
6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 11: ORGANIZING YOUR SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 11.1 List and describe five patterns for organizing the main ideas of a speech. 11.2 Explain how to integrate supporting material into a speech. 11.3 Use verbal and nonverbal signposts to organize a speech for the ears of others. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Organizing Your Main Ideas A. There are five common organizational patterns: 1. Topical 2. Chronological 3. Spatial 4. Cause and effect 5. Problem–solution B. Organize ideas topically. 1. Topical organization: if a central idea has natural divisions, your speech can often be organized topically. 2. Primacy emphasizes the most important or convincing point first, especially if audiences are unfamiliar with or hostile to your topic. 3. Recency emphasizes the last point made because audiences tend to remember best what they hear last. 4. Complexity arranges points from simplest to most complex. C. Organize ideas chronologically. 1. Chronological organization: organization by time or sequence. D. Organize ideas spatially. 1. Spatial organization: ideas are arranged according to their physical locations or directions. E. Organize ideas to show cause and effect. 1. A speech may first identify a situation and then discuss the effects that result from it (cause→effect); this pattern emphasizes the effects. 2. A speech could present a situation and then seek its causes (effect→cause); this pattern emphasizes the causes. F. Organize ideas by problem–solution. 1. Like causes and effects, problems and solutions can be discussed in either order. G. Combine multiple patterns. H. Acknowledge cultural differences in organization. 1. As an audience-centered speaker, you should investigate and acknowledge, or even consider adopting, the customary organizational strategy preferred by your listeners.
II. Organizing Your Supporting Material
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
A. There are four organizational strategies that may be more specifically adapted to your supporting materials than the five standard patterns. B. These strategies include: (1) primacy or recency, (2) specificity, (3) complexity, and (4) soft to hard evidence. 1. Primacy or recency: can help you determine whether to put a main idea at the beginning or the end of your speech (e.g., one item of supporting material may be more dramatic than the others and would work best at the end). 2. Specificity: if supporting material varies from specific to general, you may either offer your specific information first and end with your general statement or make the general statement first and support it with specific evidence. 3. Complexity: arrange ideas from simplest to most complex. 4. Soft to hard evidence: arrange ideas from “soft” to “hard”; strategy relies on the recency principle. a. Soft evidence: rests on opinion or inference. b. Hard evidence: includes factual examples and statistics. III. Organizing Your Presentation for the Ears of Others: Signposting A. Signposts: organization cues for your audience, including previews, transitions, and summaries B. Previews: 1. Initial preview: the statement of what the main ideas of the speech will be 2. Internal preview: Used throughout the speech, these previews introduce and outline ideas that will be developed as the speech progresses. C. Transitions: 1. Transition: a verbal or nonverbal signal that a speaker is moving to another idea. 2. Verbal transitions. a. Repeating a key word. b. Using well-known transitional phrases such as in addition to, in summary, in other words, therefore. c. Numbering points. 3. Nonverbal transitions: a. A change in facial expression. b. A pause. c. An altered vocal pitch or speaking rate. d. A movement 4. Good speakers use a combination of verbal and nonverbal transitions. D. Develop summaries: 1. Summary: a recap of what has been said. 2. Most speakers use two types of summaries. a. Internal summary: occurs within the body of a speech and is often used in conjunction with an internal preview to form a transition. b. Final summary: restates and reinforces the main ideas of a speech. CHAPTER SUMMARY Good speakers always organize their speeches with their audience in mind. The five most common organizational patterns are topical, chronological, spatial, cause and effect, and problem–solution. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Support material should be organized and incorporated smoothly into your speech. Supporting material for each main point can be organized according to one of the five common patterns or according to the strategies of primacy or recency, specificity, complexity, or soft to hard evidence. Additionally, signposts help to structure a speech and to focus audience attention. KEY TERMS topical organization primacy recency complexity chronological organization spatial organization cause-and-effect organization
problem–solution organization soft evidence hard evidence signposts preview initial preview internal previews
transition verbal transition nonverbal transition summary internal summary final summary
TEACHING STRATEGIES We should not assume that students know how to use illustrations, statistics, or testimony in developing their speeches, or that they know how to cite sources of supporting material. A class discussion of how to work these items smoothly into a speech will be beneficial for students. 1. Why is organization even more critical in effective speechmaking than in essay writing? Point out to students that the reader is in control when reading an essay—free to go back and reread sections or pause to ponder a thought. The speaker is in control during a speech. The audience has to listen intently and does not have the advantages of a reader. The message, therefore, must be easy to follow since it is a “one-time-only” experience. The more tightly organized a speech is, the easier it is for the audience to follow. 2. Prepare as a projection the following examples of the cause-and-effect organizational pattern: • • • •
“Smoking and the risks of cancer” “The relationship between television violence and increases in crime” “The relationship between social media and self-esteem” “The benefits of a high-fiber diet”
3. Ask students: should a speech on each topic begin with the cause or the effect? Press students to state reasons for their choices, and you’ll feel really good about this exercise. You may also extend this exercise with similar preparations for the other organizational patterns. 4. Ask students to volunteer a personal triumph or skill mastery. Hopefully you will hear about sports, and art, and writing. Ask the volunteers, “Did you find the skills under a flat rock or earn the triumph by accident, or was it the result of organized study and practice?” (They will agree that it was an organized and time-consuming process). Tell them how the word haphazard is used and ask, “Did your teachers and coaches work on a haphazard basis, or did they have an organized approach?” 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Work the crowd a bit. Extend this exercise extemporaneously until you’re ready for the Big One, which is “Don’t we all agree that organization is required for a winning effort”? Isn’t it true about writing? Isn’t it true about public speaking? 5. Analyzing a speech within a feature film is an effective alternative to using political or student speeches. For excellent resources for the use of feature films as teaching devices in communication courses, see Proctor, R. F. (1995), “Teaching Communication Courses with Feature Films: A Second Look,” Communication Education 44, 154, and the three articles that follow. 6. Discuss ways in which internal and initial preview statements differ. What do previews do for listener comprehension? In what ways do previews also benefit the speaker? 7. Point out to students that listeners often rely on ending signals for preparation for disengagement. Often, these cues can signal an audience to listen more carefully for final pieces of information. Encourage students to develop effective ending signals instead of the usual “finally” and “in conclusion.” Two examples are “As I end my speech, I want to leave you with this challenge” and “The words of inspirational political figure Barbara Jordan eloquently echo what I’ve been saying today. . .” CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. The purpose of this activity is for students to realize ways in which organization comes to them naturally. Place several items in a paper bag. Anything can be used, but the activity works best if there are similar kinds of items or if students can easily place items into categories. For example, take paper clips of various types, different-colored pens, different-sized rubber bands, etc. from your office. Give the bag to a student volunteer and tell them to “do something with the contents of this bag.” (You may want to add the phrase “that does NOT inflict harm on anyone.”) Responses from students typically include grouping similar items in categories on their desks (your objective), constructing something (so don’t give tape or glue as an object), and giving items away to classmates. If your first volunteer doesn’t categorize the objects, give them to someone else, and so on. Someone always categorizes them. Then, ask the class to describe what that person has done with the objects and why. This activity demonstrates our human tendency to want to make sense of things by examining and categorizing—an excellent introduction to the concept of organizing a speech. 2. Have students brainstorm major points for the following spatially ordered topics: the ringed layout of the Pentagon with sensitive offices in the innermost rings, key locations on campus, and the chambers of the human heart. 3. Break students into small groups and ask them to brainstorm potential speech topics that lend themselves to a topical organizational pattern. Then have students isolate the three best topics that emerged from their discussions and brainstorm major divisions of each topic. Finally, engage the class in a discussion of why order of arrangement is important in a speech, keeping in mind the principles of primacy and recency. 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
JOURNAL PROMPTS 11.1 Organizing Ideas to Show Cause and Effect Provide three ideas for speeches that could be organized to show cause and effect. 11.2 Integrating Supporting Material Describe the supporting materials used in a persuasive or informative speech that you have recently heard. What strategy did the speaker use to organize the order of the supporting materials? 11.3 Signposts Recall a recent speech or take notes on an upcoming lecture or a TED Talk. Give an example of the speaker’s use of signposts. SHARED WRITING PROMPT Organizing Ideas Topically Provide three examples of speech topics that could be successfully organized topically.
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 12: OUTLINING AND REVISING YOUR SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 12.1 Develop a preparation outline for a speech. 12.2 Prepare speaking notes for a speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Develop a Preparation Outline A. Most speakers develop a preparation outline that includes: 1. The central idea 2. Main ideas 3. Subpoints 4. Supporting material 5. Specific purpose 6. Introduction 7. Blueprint 8. Key signposts 9. Conclusion 10. References (optional) B. Use complete sentences. C. Use standard outline formatting. D. Write and label your specific purpose at the top of your preparation outline. E. Add the blueprint, key signposts, introduction, and conclusion to your outline. F. Analyze your preparation outline. 1. Use the completed preparation outline and the following questions to analyze and possibly revise the speech. a. Does the speech as outlined fulfill the purpose you have specified? b. Are the main ideas logical extensions (natural divisions, reasons, or steps) of the central idea? c. Do the signposts enhance the flow of one idea into the next? d. Does each subpoint provide support for the point under which it falls? e. Is your outline form correct?
II. Preparing Your Speaking Notes A. Speaking notes: a shorter outline providing enough clearly formatted details to ensure you can make your presentation as planned in the preparation outline. B. Choose your technology. 1. Smartphone or electronic tablet 2. Note cards C. Use standard outline formatting. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
D. Include your introduction and conclusion in abbreviated form. E. Include your central idea and not your specific-purpose statement. F. Include supporting material and signposts. G. Include delivery cues. KEY TERMS preparation outline standard outline formatting speaking notes CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter introduces preparation outlines and speaking notes. These outlines serve different purposes and are formatted differently. A preparation outline is more complete and includes fully formatted ideas. A speaker uses the preparation outline to begin rehearsing the speech. Speaking notes are derived from the preparation outline. A speaker should only include as much information as needed in speaking notes, including cues and other important reminders. TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Ask students to list ways that outlining has helped them with other projects. Typical responses might include summarizing chapters in a textbook, writing a research paper, reviewing for a major exam, or preparing directions to a location. Remind students that outlines are essentially LISTS. Most people make lists all the time: shopping lists, party invitation lists, daily chore lists, etc. Lists (outlines) are handy organizing devices, especially for speechmaking. Emphasize to students that outlines allow a speaker to accomplish many tasks, compared with the limitations of a word-forword manuscript. Some advantages are (1) speakers can make alterations more easily than in a manuscript, (2) outlines clearly show whether or not all main ideas have been equally supported, and (3) speakers can easily check whether they have a variety of supporting material. 2. Reviewing and redefining the major parts of a speech (and speech outline) are probably much in order (also consider reviewing “blueprint” and “signposts”): • • • • • •
General Purpose Specific Purpose Central Idea Main Points Subpoints Conclusion
3. Share with students this central idea: “Our college has three major advantages over other institutions: small class size, superior instructors, and lots of green grass.” By way of review, ask 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
students the organizational pattern of the central idea. After a few false starts, someone will give the correct answer: topical. Casually ask students to evaluate the central idea. A student will quickly discover a problem. The first two topics derived from the central idea are logically connected, but they are not logically connected to the third element—lots of green grass. You might consider repeating the exercise with the samples from the other four organizational patterns shown below (chapter 11): • • • •
“Instructor careers pass through three stages: early, middle, and graduate student.” (chronological) “Our campus is divided into three areas: north, south, and technological.” (spatial) “Smoking cigarettes often leads to cancer, heart disease, stroke, and lung diseases.” (cause and effect) “Our polluted drinking water issue can only be fixed by reducing water use.” (problem– solution)
Remind students that the final goal of a preparation outline (indeed, any form of outline) is to allow them to judge the logic, unity, and coherence of the planned speech—to see how well the parts fit together. 4. Discuss with students why proper indentation is important in outline mechanics. Students may think you are nitpicking about form when, actually, indentation is a helpful visual cue for a speaker. Indentation indicates the importance of a point. The farther toward the right margin, the less essential the idea. If a speech is running long, cut it by removing outline items in reverse order of indentation. For example, among the outline items II., A., 1., a., a speaker would cut the “a.” subpoint first and the “1.” subpoint next. 5. Note cards or index cards can be purchased in a pack or in a spiral-bound configuration. Students may prefer spiral-bound because if cards are dropped while speaking, they are still in order. Warn students who use individual cards to number them. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. In preparation for an upcoming round of speeches, ask students to bring a written statement of a potential speech topic to class. For that topic, students are also to bring statements of at least three main points in the suggested topic and supporting materials they have gathered. Pair students and swap papers. Have each student attempt the “mapping” technique with their unfamiliar material. Encourage students to make suggestions to each other about organizational choices. 2. Assign students a very narrow topic, such as: • • • •
Three benefits of having a dog Three relaxation techniques How to sew on a button My least favorite television commercial
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Each student is to prepare and bring to a subsequent class both types of outline—preparation and speaking notes. In pairs, direct them to compare both of their outlines. 3. The purpose of this activity is to enhance students’ listening, note-taking, and outlining skills. Show a video of a speech to students, asking them to take notes on main points, subpoints, and supporting materials. The speech will go by quickly, so instruct students to write in phrases and key words to get as much information as they can. Independently or in small groups, have students transform their notes into speaking notes. Working in reverse from actual presentation to outlining stage will reinforce organization and outlining skills in students and help them understand the transference from notes to live performance. JOURNAL PROMPTS 12.1 Developing a Preparation Outline When developing your preparation outline, what should you include? What should you not include? 12.2 Speaking Notes Geoff plans to deliver his speech using hastily scrawled notes on a sheet of paper torn from his notebook. What advice would you offer him for preparing better speaking notes? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Outlining Your Speech Why is it so important to create an outline when you are developing a speech?
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 13: DEVELOPING AN INTRODUCTION LEARNING OBJECTIVES 13.1 Explain the functions of a speech introduction. 13.2 List and discuss methods for introducing a speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Purposes of Introductions A. Get the audience’s attention. 1. Key purpose: To gain the audience’s favorable attention. B. Introduce the subject. C. Give the audience a reason to listen. 1. Show listeners how the topic affects them. 2. Show relevance: the degree to which the information affects your listeners directly. D. Establish your credibility. 1. Credibility: a speaker’s believability. E. Preview your main ideas. 1. Usually comes near the end of the introduction, included in or following a statement of the central idea. 2. The initial preview allows your listeners to anticipate the main ideas of your speech. II. Effective Introductions A. Use illustrations or anecdotes. B. Present startling facts or statistics. C. Use quotations. D. Incorporate appropriate humor. E. Ask questions. 1. Can be an effective opening for a speech. 2. Use a rhetorical question: the kind you don’t expect an answer to. F. Refer to historical events. G. Refer to recent events. H. Reveal something about yourself. I. Make note of the occasion. J. Acknowledge preceding speeches. 1. If an earlier speaker has spoken on a topic closely related to yours, refer to it when you speak by drawing an analogy. 2. Your introduction becomes a transition from that earlier speech to yours. KEY TERMS
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
credibility anecdote rhetorical question CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter describes the importance of crafting an introduction, including its five purposes: getting audience attention, introducing the subject, giving the audience a reason to listen, establishing speaker credibility, and previewing main ideas. There are ten methods of introducing a speech; introductions may use one or multiple methods. TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Students may be familiar with writing introductions for essays and research papers but have limited experience developing them for oral communication purposes. Talk with your class about the importance of having an effective beginning to their speeches. Too often speakers leave the introduction to “inspirations of the moment” or “divine intervention.” More often, these inspirations or interventions don’t come, and speakers may begin quite poorly, thus undermining their credibility and good ideas in the body of the speech. Students need to realize that all five purposes of introductions should be accomplished within a speech. 2. You can effectively gain your audience members’ attention, but they also need a reason to listen. Strong reasons for audience members to listen include the “Biggies”—the desire to survive and prosper, which a speaker should employ whenever possible. Consider the strength displayed in this reason to listen: “I am here to tell you how to extend your active life by ten years.” A speaker can similarly offer reasons to listen based on an audience’s needs for air, shelter, rest, water, and food (physical drives). 3. Ask students to watch video clips of television hosts. How do the hosts gain attention in their opening monologues or other activities? The hosts are, of course, trying to get the attention of two audiences—the one in front of them and the one at home. How do their introductions appeal to both audiences? Did they use techniques from this unit? 4. Review with students the concept of credibility, which has now appeared in three textbook chapters. You won’t waste anybody’s time if you once again look it up in both dictionaries and the textbook. One purpose of introductions is to establish or reinforce speaker credibility. Suggest to students these possible elements of establishing speaker credibility in introductions: • • • • •
Use warm, personal references. Call audience members by name when possible. Use “common ground”—speak of “we,” “us,” “our values,” or “our goals.” Speak casually but authoritatively about your qualifications to address the subject. Use some careful namedropping (your associations with persons knowledgeable about your topic). 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
5. Share with students again that getting and holding audience attention is the one inescapable task in effective public speaking. It must follow, as night follows day, that techniques for holding your audience’s attention should be learned, practiced, and perfected. It is suggested that you review, verbatim, the techniques from the chapter outline above, found in section II Effective Introductions, A–J, and follow that review with audience-grabbing examples of each technique. Feel free to use any or all of the following examples: •
Illustration (anecdote). To illustrate a point that college students are not unwilling to get involved on important issues, tell the story of the four Kent State University students who were killed on their campus while expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War.
•
Startling Facts and Statistics. To make a point about the importance of “Thinking the Unthinkable,” share with students that current medical research suggests that physical immortality for humans will be achieved within the next fifty years.
•
Quotation. To support the idea that change takes a long time but does happen, remind your audience that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).
•
Humor. For a point about teachers who are overly fond of themselves, combine humor and quotation with “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach!”
•
Questions. For a speech on “exercising,” open the introduction with a series of questions to the audience: “Do you want to feel better physically? Have more endurance? Have fewer illnesses? Maintain a healthy weight? Glow with that healthy look? Live longer? Appropriate and regular exercise is the answer to those questions for us all.”
•
Reference to historical events. To make a point about harmful workplace conditions, refer to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
•
Reference to recent events. To make a point about resistance and resilience, you can reference the war in Ukraine.
•
Reveal something about yourself. Disclose information about yourself and your own experiences. This helps students view you as a real person, not just an instructor.
•
Make note of the occasion. What will you say to your students on the last day of class? What every teacher will say: “Did you think we would ever reach this day?”
•
Acknowledge the preceding speech. When Henry Grady delivered the famous “New South” speech in post–Civil War Atlanta, the speaker before him was General William Tecumseh Sherman, who was known as the “Slash and Burn” traveler through the Confederacy. Grady, to defuse audience hero worship of Sherman, to get the audience laughing a bit, and to draw attention to his theme of reconciliation, referred gently to Sherman as someone “a bit careless with matches!” 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
6. Ask students to attend a public speech of their choice at school or within the community and take notes, paying particular attention to the introduction and its effect on the audience. Have students make 3- to 5-minute presentations of their “critiques.” This is a good time to briefly review the listening skills presented in chapter 5. 7. Lead a discussion about pitfalls to avoid when planning an illustration for an introduction. Some illustration pitfalls are: • • • • •
Too lengthy. The audience will find a long story tedious. Get to the point quickly. Too involved. Too many details and characters can cause listener confusion. Too emotional. Tugging on the heartstrings is fine, but gut-wrenching emotion may make an audience uncomfortable. Too vague. The absence of concrete details leaves the audience unaffected. Be specific with people, places, and events. Let the audience know whether the illustration is real or hypothetical. Too tangential. Tie the illustration to the topic of the speech. Don’t use an illustration or humorous anecdote merely for the purpose of loosening up the audience.
8. Demonstrate alternative ways to present statistics in an introduction. Consider these suggestions: • • • •
Use dramatic visual aids, such as vivid charts or graphs that make you see and feel a statistic, not just hear it. Change a statistic that says “30%” into “Three out of every ten persons. . .” (people mean more to audiences than abstract percentages). Use statistics that appear to involve the present audience: “The Department of Labor says that one-half of us will change jobs four times during our careers.” Actually “count off” audience members. For example, if a speaker walked in front of or among an audience of thirty and asked nine people to stand up, then the statistic “three in ten” would become quite humanized and very real to the audience.
9. Speakers often overlook the necessity to “try out” their humor on others before the actual audience hears it. The military calls it a “dry run.” Ask students what comedians call it when audiences for unknown reasons fail to respond. (Comedians say, “I died out there!”) No one wants to create a “deafening silence” in their classroom. Try out your humor—on your dogs, on your cats, on other humans. “Try it before you buy it.” 10. Mention to students the importance of technique when asking rhetorical questions. Tell them to pause briefly after each question and reestablish eye contact with their listeners. This will further stimulate the audience’s involvement with the speaker and message. 11. Share with students that merely having someone’s attention does not necessarily guarantee a favorable response from them. However, without attention there will be no listening, and without listening, no favorable response. Attention of an audience, therefore, becomes indispensable, does it not? A famous quotation has it that “if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well.” In the
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
case of attention, it must be done well. Remind students that securing audience attention is not enough; attention must be held throughout the speech. 12. While emphasizing that the topic of a speech should always be clearly stated in the introduction, warn students to avoid beginning their speech with the trite “Today, I’d like to talk to you about. . . ” or “The topic of my speech is. . .” These overused openings lack the curiosity-provoking dimension requisite for effective introductions. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Have small groups of students determine how they could establish listening motivation during introductions for the following speech topics: • • • •
Maintaining an exercise program Recycling Volunteering for a community agency Making your voice heard by writing letters to companies
2. Ask students to write introductions for the following speech topics. In a subsequent class meeting, students can discuss the effectiveness of each introduction. • • • • •
Learning a second language Animal testing for medical and cosmetic purposes History lessons taught through feature film Performance art The impact of video conferencing software (such as Zoom) on corporate communication
JOURNAL PROMPTS 13.1 Effective Introductions Provide an example of an introduction you’ve heard that effectively caught your attention and gave you a reason to listen. 13.2 Illustrations and Anecdotes Your first assignment is to give a speech introducing yourself to your classmates. What illustration or anecdote could you use to introduce yourself and gain the audience’s attention? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Effective Introductions What important functions does a speech introduction need to perform in order to be effective?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 14: DEVELOPING A CONCLUSION LEARNING OBJECTIVES 14.1 Explain the functions of a speech conclusion. 14.2 List and discuss methods for concluding a speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Purposes of Conclusions A. Summarize the speech. 1. Reemphasize the central idea in a memorable way. 2. Restate the main ideas. B. Provide closure. 1. Use verbal and nonverbal signals. 2. Motivate the audience to respond.
II. Effective Conclusions A. Effective conclusions may employ the following methods: 1. Illustrations 2. Quotations 3. Personal references 4. Any of the other methods used for introductions B. Refer to the introduction: 1. Finish a story from your introduction. 2. Answer your opening rhetorical question. 3. Remind the audience of the startling fact or statistic you presented in the introduction. C. Make an inspirational appeal or challenge, rousing listeners’ emotions. KEY TERM closure CHAPTER SUMMARY A speaker should always end with impact; specifically, the conclusion should be memorable and provide repetition. Conclusions are just as important as introductions since conclusions leave the final impressions. A conclusion should summarize your speech, reemphasize your central idea in a memorable way, provide closure, and motivate the audience to respond. Conclusions can use any of the tactics of introductions, refer to the introduction, or make appeals/challenges.
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGY Review with students the methods of effective conclusions and the outcomes expected from those methods. Tell them that six in ten salespeople fail to make a sale because they don’t directly ask for it. A successful conclusion, however, must do just that: ask for the sale—the specific purpose response the speaker has been seeking. Good conclusions hand an audience the contract and the pen, making them want to sign on the dotted line. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. The purpose of this activity is for students to recognize concluding devices and to understand what makes these aspects of a speech successful. Provide scenarios to students working in small groups. The scenarios should briefly describe an excerpt from a successful speaking event or a disastrous one. The key element differentiating good from bad scenarios should be the speaker’s conclusion. Have groups discuss each scenario, label the devices the speaker used to end the speech, and isolate what made the conclusion successful or disastrous. Group members should offer alternatives for the “disastrous” speeches. Sample scenarios include the following: •
Libby was running late to a banquet at which she was the spotlight speaker. She didn’t get time to eat with everyone and barely made it into her seat before she was introduced to the audience and expected to speak. Because she was rattled throughout her speech, she felt she owed her audience an explanation. When she ended her speech, she offered a long and disjointed apology for being late, attempting to explain in a humorous way how she fought traffic to get to the event. To end her speech in the allotted time, Libby quickly listed her main points again and made a rather abrupt end to her speech.
•
Miguel spoke to dorm residents about stress and depression. He gave current statistics on the rising rate of depression among college students and offered useful suggestions for spotting depression in yourself and your friends. After summarizing his points, Miguel told a moving story about his own experiences with depression. His last line in the speech was “Life really is precious, no matter how bad it seems in one moment, one day, one year. I know that the sun really does come up again in the morning, and it can be an incredible day.” The audience’s attested to the success of Miguel’s presentation.
2. The purpose of this activity is to sharpen students’ abilities to critique speeches, as well as to reinforce textbook information about conclusions. Using video clips of both famous and ordinary sample speeches, ask students to listen and take note of speakers’ conclusions. (The best way to do this activity is to use a series of speech conclusions.) Students should write which type of device each speaker used to end their speech. Discuss with students their responses, their assessments of the effectiveness of conclusions, and why some speakers were better than others. 3. Ask students to design concluding inspirational appeals or challenges for speeches on the following topics, and have them present conclusions in a subsequent class: •
Donating blood 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
• • • •
The Peace Corps Habitat for Humanity Save the rain forests campaigns Volunteering at the local animal shelter
JOURNAL PROMPTS 14.1 Conclusions What two purposes does a conclusion serve? 14.2 Inspirational Appeals and Challenges You are working on a speech about the importance of becoming a blood donor. In your speech’s conclusion, what would be an effective inspirational appeal or challenge to your listeners? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Your Best Conclusion What is the best speech conclusion you have ever heard? Why was it good?
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 15: USING WORDS WELL LEARNING OBJECTIVES 15.1 Describe three differences between oral and written language styles. 15.2 List and explain three ways to use words effectively. 15.3 Discuss how to adapt your language style to diverse listeners. 15.4 List and explain three types of memorable word structures. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Oral versus Written Language Style A. Oral style is more personal. B. Oral style is less formal. C. Oral style is more repetitious.
II. Use Words Effectively A. Use specific, concrete words. 1. General semantics theory states that more concrete words equal clearer communication. B. Use simple words. C. Use words correctly. 1. Your effectiveness with your audience depends in part on your ability to use English correctly. 2. Consult dictionaries to confirm meanings and pronunciation. a. Denotation: a word’s literal meaning—the dictionary meaning. b. Connotation: the unique meaning we associate with a word, based on our past experiences. D. Use words concisely. III. Adapting Your Language Style to Diverse Listeners A. Use language your audience can understand. 1. Beware of ethnic vernacular: words combining the English language with another language. 2. Beware of regionalisms: words or phrases specific to one part of the country but rarely used in quite the same way in other places. 3. Beware of jargon: the specialized language of a profession or interest group. 4. Use Standard American English (SAE). B. Use respectful language. C. Use unbiased language. 1. Avoid gendered language. 2. Avoid sexist language. IV. Craft Memorable Word Structures A. Create figurative images (using figurative language). 1. Metaphor: an implied comparison, e.g., “He is a snake.” 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
2. Simile: a less direct comparison that includes the word like or as, e.g., “His lies make him as slippery as a snake.” 3. Personification: giving human qualities to inanimate things or ideas, e.g., “The sun smiles upon your city.” B. Create drama. 1. Sentence length: use a short sentence to emphasize an important idea. 2. Omission: leave out a word or phrase that the audience expects to hear. 3. Inversion: reverse the expected word order of a phrase or sentence. 4. Suspension: use a key word or phrase at the end of a sentence rather than at the beginning to create verbal suspense. C. Create cadence, the rhythm of language. 1. Repetition: using a key word or phrase more than once gives rhythm and power to your message and makes it memorable. 2. Parallelism: occurring when two or more clauses or sentences have the same grammatical pattern. 3. Antithesis: using parallel structure but contrasting meanings. 4. Alliteration: repeating a consonant sound (usually an initial consonant) several times in a phrase, clause, or sentence. 5. Onomatopoeia: pronouncing a word like its meaning. CHAPTER SUMMARY When preparing a speech, remember that oral language is different from written language. It is more personal, less formal, and more repetitious. Public speakers who use specific, concrete, and simple words create a clearer meaning. Speakers must also ensure that they are using words correctly. The words speakers use can have two different meanings: denotation is the literal dictionary definition, whereas connotation is the unique meaning we associate with the word, based on our past experiences. Good speakers are able to adapt their messages to the diversity of the audience, avoiding ethnic vernacular, regionalisms, or jargon. When encountering an audience as diverse as the members of a public-speaking class, use Standard American English (SAE). Speakers must also avoid using gendered and sexist language. Memorable speeches create figurative images using metaphors, similes, personification, and crisis rhetoric. Speakers can create drama through the use of varied sentence length, omission, inversion, and suspension to keep the audience engaged and listening. Cadence can be created through stylistic devices such as repetition, parallelism, antithesis, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. KEY TERMS denotation connotation ethnic vernacular regionalisms
jargon Standard American English (SAE) figurative language 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
metaphor simile personification crisis rhetoric
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
omission inversion suspension
cadence repetition parallelism
antithesis alliteration onomatopoeia
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Review the ways in which oral language style differs from written language style, using section I. of the chapter outline as a guide. 2. It doesn’t get any better than this. Ask your students, “How can you tell when a public speaker is dead?” This author cannot predict exactly how your students will respond, but it’s going to be fun! What you are doing, of course, is introducing the concept of vividness in a speaker’s style and use of language. Your point is going to be that speakers who do not achieve memorable word structure might appear to be “dead” (since their language is). Remember the comedian who “died out there”? So it may be with speakers who neither know nor care about memorable style created by effective language. 3. A trend in public speaking courses is to show students examples of “great speeches,” primarily made by men. For an excellent overview of speeches made by women in U.S. history, see Kohrs Campbell, K. (1993) (Ed.), “Women Public Speakers in the United States, 1800–1925: A Biocritical Source” (Westport, CT: Greenwood). 4. The purposes of this exercise are to reinforce text information on the differences between oral and written style, and for students to identify examples of public speakers using effective language. Try to locate a transcript and video of one of Ronald Reagan’s speeches. Reagan was an expert at using language to create a desired effect. Bill Clinton’s inaugural address in 1993 also employed interesting uses of language. Or you could ask students to compare the language usage of men and women in their speeches. Have students read the transcript first, noting interesting or especially effective language. Then view the speech, asking students to note any differences between the effects of language in a transcript and in the actual delivery. 5. Cover the subject of “concrete” versus “abstract” words. Share, as a general principle, that concrete words are normally the preferred choice but that at times abstract words simply must be used. For example, in a speech on U.S. military interventions, a speaker might wish to argue that such interventions incur excessive costs. The speaker could use the word overspending. A more powerful word would be more abstract: profligate. Abstraction, by nature, means more inclusive, wider in connotations. In that sense, abstract words are often more efficient, covering more ground in a single bound. 6. Engage students in a discussion of politically correct language. Provide a list of politically correct terms, ranging from serious (people living in poverty instead of poor people) to humorous (follicularly challenged instead of bald). Which of the terms do students readily use, possibly not realizing they are politically correct? Which terms can students not imagine themselves using? Why? Discuss the goals of politically correct language, as well as the “backlash” against it. Why are people reluctant to change, to make their language more sensitive to diversity? 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
7. Discuss the power of language in the following partial quotations from speeches. What mental images are created? How does the choice of words add to the statement’s impact? 1. Martin Luther King Jr.: “When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind.” 2. Abraham Lincoln: “A house divided cannot stand.” 3. Shirley Chisholm: “Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.” 4. John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you...ask what you can do for your country.” 5. Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” 6. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” 8. To help explain how metaphor and simile can be effectively incorporated into a speech, ask students to complete the following sentence—either orally or in writing: “Giving a public speech is ________.” Some common similes and metaphors might be “pure hell” or “like a trip to the dentist’s office.” Discuss which examples are metaphors and which are similes. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Ask four student volunteers to prepare written step-by-step directions from a location on campus to a well-known city landmark (city building, hospital, nightclub). When completed, collect them from students and convert them into projections. In a subsequent class, ask four other volunteers to devise oral directions for the same trip. Give them a few minutes, and then ask them to step outside. Arrange to show the projections behind students who will speak, where those students will not see the projections. Bring in the speakers one at a time to give their directions. The audience will see the written and hear the oral directions. Afterward, discuss with students the differences they perceived in the oral and written directions. 2. In the movie Renaissance Man, Danny DeVito is a teacher of undereducated military recruits. One session that evokes his students’ interest pertains to uses of language, for example, metaphor, simile, and oxymoron. Show this excerpt as an introductory device for the use of language in speeches. 3. Instruct students to prepare a 30-second oral essay titled “My Favorite Place in the Entire World.” Ask students to do their best to use vivid language to develop forceful images. Hear speeches in a subsequent class. Ask the audience to identify words, phrases, clauses, and sentences that, for them, really “lit things up.” Tell students no notes are permitted and to please not write and memorize. 4. Generate a list of words and phrases that tend to evoke strong connotative meanings. Some examples are freedom, faith, justice, and loyalty. As you write words on the whiteboard, solicit student connotative meanings. While the class discusses various meanings, ask several students to look up “denotative” meanings in the dictionary. Discuss differences between both types of 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
meaning. Emphasize that connotative meanings can evoke emotional responses in audience members. Ask when such responses are appropriate or inappropriate for the purpose of the speech. 5. The purpose of this activity is to give students practice applying principles of effective language by rewriting speech segments. Give students sample speech segments that need rewriting. Students have to identify the mistakes or ineffective elements in the segments and rewrite them, demonstrating an appropriate use of language. Collect the writings and select some for class sharing. Speech Segment #1: (Television Violence—rewrite statistical explanations and sexist language.) There is just too much violence on television these days. In fact, 70% of the public thinks there’s too much violence on television. Although media violence is not the only contributing factor, research says that the media cause at least 10% of the violence in the U.S. Consider, for example, the typical viewing habits of an elementary school child. By the time the average kid finishes elementary school, he will have seen 8,000 television murders and over 100,000 acts of violence. This desensitization toward violence means that it is time for things to change. Speech Segment #2: (Sweatshops—rewrite statistical explanations and sexist language.) Erik Ness of the Progressive Media Project reported that conditions for workers in Indonesia are pitiful. A workman making Nike sneakers averages ten hours a day, works six days a week to bring home a measly fourteen cents an hour to his family and gets two cents an hour for overtime. Of these workmen, 80% are female, and 88% of those women are malnourished. Last year, Nike’s net profits were $329 million. 6. Ask students to find and list a minimum of ten common metaphors and similes. The newer the better, but older models are acceptable. Prime the pump for students with these examples: • • • • • • •
Working my fingers to the bone. Wound tighter than a yo-yo. Hitting the nail on the head. Busy as a bee. Crookeder than a dog’s hind leg. Caught between a rock and a hard place. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the gates of Heaven.
In a subsequent class, divide students into groups of three. Have students share all items. Ask each group to choose its “coolest” or “jazziest” example to share with the class (well, funniest would be OK, too).
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
7. Create a projection that shows, on the left side, the vivid language descriptors of this chapter and, on the right side, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Challenge students to match right to left. If students disagree, require them to argue their point of view. Use these sentences and others you create. • • • • • • • • •
The airplane flew with the grace of a dancer, maneuvering effortlessly as a champion skier. Personification Religion is the opiate of the proletariat. Metaphor Is there no one who can rid me of this millstone about my neck? Suspension As a ship in a gale may founder, so may our ship of state in this crisis. Simile Heavy, heavy hangs over thy head. Inversion She sells sea shells by the seashore. Alliteration Do not negotiate from fear, but never fear to negotiate. Antithesis We will fight them on the beach; we will fight them in the villages and in the cities; we will fight them in the mountains, and if this war should last a thousand years, men will still say this was their finest hour. Repetition The foot bone’s connected to the anklebone; the anklebone’s connected to the knee bone; the knee bone’s connected to the thighbone. Parallelism
8. Have students write the names of three of their favorite songs on a blank piece of paper. Instruct them to write some of the most meaningful or significant lyrics for each. Remind the class that words have the power to create mental images and influence our attitudes and behavior. Ask for volunteers to read examples out of their songs that fulfill each of these functions. As discussion ensues, look for opportunities to note agreement and disagreement among students’ interpretations of lyrics. 9. Advertisers use the stylistic techniques of omission and suspension frequently to promote products. Ask students to bring example advertisements from the internet or television that illustrate these techniques. Here are a few examples: Omission: Nike ads that read “Just do it,” “Pizza Hut...Making It Great!” “Diet Pepsi...Uh Huh!” Suspension: “You’re the heart of me, that’s a part of me, Dr. Pepper you’re a part of me”; “It’s a new generation of Olds.” 10. The purpose of this activity is to analyze how language is used in songs to illustrate principles that apply to public speaking. Ask students to play clips of songs that employ interesting (and tasteful) uses of language. You may want to require students to produce written transcripts of the lyrics. Have students play their selections while students note specific choices of words. Discuss the language use as it applies to the chapter information. RELATED READING For an excellent resource on unbiased language, see Maggio, R. (1988), The Nonsexist Word Finder: A Dictionary of Gender-Free Usage (Boston: Beacon Press). JOURNAL PROMPTS 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
15.1 Oral versus Written Styles You recently wrote a paper for class on trends in virtual reality. Your instructor has asked you to present the content of your paper to the class. How should the style of your oral presentation differ from your written paper? 15.2 Connotative and Denotative Meanings Explain the difference between connotative and denotative meanings. 15.3 Speaking to Diverse Listeners When communicating with a diverse group of listeners, how should you adapt your language style? 15.4 Creating Drama What are four strategies you can use to create drama in your speech? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Figures of Speech Imagine you’ve been elected president and have to give an inaugural address. How would you create drama and cadence in your address?
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 16: METHODS OF DELIVERY LEARNING OBJECTIVES 16.1 Explain how to effectively deliver a manuscript speech. 16.2 Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of memorizing a speech. 16.3 Describe how to deliver an effective impromptu speech. 16.4 Explain the benefits of delivering a speech extemporaneously. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Manuscript Speaking A. Manuscript speaking: delivering a carefully crafted speech that the speaker reads word-for-word 1. Government officials must often deal with sensitive and critical issues. 2. Advantages and Disadvantages: a. Advantage: can choose words very carefully when dealing with sensitive information b. Disadvantage: rarely done well enough to be interesting
II. Memorized Speaking A. If you are accepting an award, introducing a speaker, making announcements, or delivering other brief remarks, memorized delivery is sometimes acceptable. B. Advantage: speakers can have maximum eye contact with the audience. C. Disadvantages: 1. Sounds stiff, stilted, and over-rehearsed. 2. Speakers run the risk of forgetting parts of a speech, leading to awkward searches for words. 3. Speakers cannot adapt the speech if the situation changes. III. Impromptu Speaking A. Impromptu speaking: often described as “thinking on your feet” or “speaking off the cuff” B. Advantages: 1. Can speak informally. 2. Can maintain direct eye contact with the audience. 3. Audiences usually respond well to relevant, personal illustrations. C. Disadvantages: 1. Techniques of impromptu speaking must be learned and practiced. 2. Usually lacks logical organization and thorough research. IV. Extemporaneous Speaking A. Extemporaneous speaking: speaking from a general outline that contains key ideas and their organization, not exact words. 1. Advantages: a. Delivered in a conversational style. b. Sounds spontaneous, yet appropriately polished. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
c. Well-organized and researched. d. Customized to the audience. 2. Disadvantages: a. Takes time to prepare. b. Requires skill to deliver the speech well. B. Develop an extemporaneous style in four steps: 1. Rehearse your speech using your preparation outline. 2. Rely less and less on your outline each time you rehearse. 3. Stop rehearsing or consider other ways of expressing your ideas if you are memorizing the speech. 4. Develop your speaking notes after several rehearsals with your preparation outline, and rehearse with them until you feel comfortable. CHAPTER SUMMARY Speakers can use four delivery methods—manuscript, memorized, impromptu, and extemporaneous speaking. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. KEY TERMS Manuscript speaking Memorized speaking
Impromptu speaking Extemporaneous speaking
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Discuss specific ways that oral style differs from written style. For example, oral communication uses short words, contractions, simpler sentence structure, and repetition. Why must these differences be taken into account when using a manuscript delivery? If a speaker decides to use a manuscript format, what aspects of effective delivery must they work hardest to produce? 2. Warn students that rote memorization of a speech is no easy task. Since we are not accustomed to doing much memorization these days, it is a difficult, time-consuming project. In addition, a memorized speech does not give the speaker much opportunity for audience feedback. As with a manuscript, if the speaker has already determined exactly what to say, the speaker will likely not be as sensitive to audience feedback. 3. Explain to students that every time an extemporaneous speech is rehearsed, it changes somewhat. Thus, one disadvantage of extemporaneous delivery is the difficulty in timing a speech accurately. Extemporaneous speakers also tend to be more sensitive to audience feedback. This sensitivity is generally a plus, unless it causes the message to lengthen when a speaker responds to audience confusion. Through adequate rehearsal and with experience, a speaker should be able 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
to gauge the time of a message within 30–40 seconds. Helping students learn to match a body of information to time constraints is another goal of the public speaking course.
CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Select a manuscript that is serious in nature and requires about a minute to deliver. Ask for two student volunteers. Assign one student to deliver the manuscript “cold” (student will not see the script until five minutes before delivery). Ask the second student to memorize the manuscript and rehearse it. Practice the script yourself until you can do a really good job with it (i.e., it seems spontaneous to listeners). On the designated day, call for the speakers in order. Should you get lucky, the first speaker will sound ill-prepared, the second “memorized,” and you, spontaneous. After the presentations, lead a discussion of the places for, and the advantages and disadvantages of, the manuscript reading delivery method. Thank the volunteers as if you were never going to quit thanking them. They will have done the class and you a valuable service. 2. For a quick but supportive exercise in impromptu speaking, divide students into groups of three and give these instructions. Each group will listen to their members speaking. Offer them a choice of location, whatever you think will facilitate and motivate the exercise. Student 1 gives student 2 a topic, and student 2 speaks for a minimum of two minutes. Student 2, of course, gives student 3 the topic, who. . .and you see how it goes. Again, never mind the noise—it’s all for a good cause. After, reinforce the advantages and disadvantages of the impromptu speaking method. 3. Ask for three student volunteers. Distribute a one-page, full-sentence outline of an informative speech to each volunteer. Give the volunteers several class days to rehearse a short speech based strongly on the outline (they will be permitted only one notecard while speaking). As students prepare to speak, project the original outline behind the speakers so that audiences can see the outline and hear the speaker. Ask two students to wait outside while the first student speaks and then is seated. You know the drill. After the speeches, discuss the differences that the speeches demonstrated. Lead a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the extemporaneous speech delivery method. Review all the speech delivery methods. See Table 16.1 in the textbook. 4. Ask students to bring in all of their speaking note cards, thus far accumulated. Divide into groups of three. Have students share their notes, asking questions that come to mind, including: • How did you get your topic idea? • What, where, and how did you do your research? • Have you tried other stuff with your notes? • Did you memorize the notes? • Do you plan to improve your process? How? JOURNAL PROMPTS
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
16.1 Manuscript Delivery What is a manuscript speech? What are some ways you can make a manuscript speech sound more natural? 16.2 Memorized Speaking Why does memorized speaking typically sound stiff and stilted? 16.3 Impromptu Speaking Skills Answering an instructor’s question or presenting a summary of a small group discussion to the larger class may call for impromptu speaking skills. Based on your experiences in such situations, which of the three guidelines described in this chapter have you used when called on to deliver an impromptu speech? 16.4 Extemporaneous Speaking Why would you want to avoid giving a speech that sounds memorized? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Manuscript Speaking In what kinds of situations would you want to deliver a manuscript speech?
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 17: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVES 17.1 Make effective eye contact during a speech. 17.2 Use gestures effectively while speaking. 17.3 Move purposefully in ways that enhance your message while speaking. 17.4 Display an appropriate posture while delivering a speech. 17.5 Use facial expressions to enhance verbal messages. 17.6 Choose appropriate attire for making a speech. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Eye Contact A. For North Americans, eye contact is the most important aspect of speech delivery. B. Eye contact makes you more credible as a speaker.
II. Gestures A. Use gestures to emphasize important points, as well as to indicate places, enumerate items, and describe objects. B. Guidelines for using gestures effectively: 1. Stay natural—gestures should be relaxed. 2. Be definite—avoid minor hand movements that might appear as an accidental brief jerk. 3. Use gestures that are consistent with your message—if you are excited, gesture more vigorously. 4. Vary your gestures but don’t overdo it—strive for variety; don’t use one all-purpose gesture. 5. Make your gestures appropriate to your audience and situation—more formal situations call for bolder, more dramatic gestures. 6. Adapt your gestures to audience cultural expectations—consider toning down your gestures for predominantly high-context listeners who value nonverbal cues, tone of voice, posture, and facial expressions more than words. III. Movement A. Move purposefully. B. Reduce physical barriers. C. Establish immediacy. 1. Immediacy is a perception of closeness with the audience, such as coming out from behind a lectern. D. How to move effectively. 1. Avoid random pacing and overly dramatic gestures. IV. Posture 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
A. While face and voice indicate emotion, a speaker’s posture communicates the intensity of the emotion portrayed. B. Posture should reflect your interest in the event. V. Facial Expression A. Your facial expression sets the emotional tone of the speech before you start speaking. B. We most often express only six primary emotions; cross-cultural studies that show the facial expressions of these emotions are universal. C. Tips for monitoring your facial expression: 1. Be mindful of the emotion you wish to convey to listeners. 2. A pleasant, positive facial expression signals your interest in communicating with listeners. 3. Don’t exaggerate facial expressions when presenting online; close-ups amplify intensity. 4. Listeners from high-context cultures prefer subtler facial expressions. VI. Personal Appearance A. Personal appearance affects how your audience will respond to you and your message. B. Appropriate wardrobe depends upon climate, custom, culture, and audience expectations. CHAPTER SUMMARY Physical characteristics of effective delivery include eye contact, gestures, movement, posture, facial expression, and personal appearance. Nonverbal delivery is extremely important to speaker credibility and usually has more impact than the speaker’s vocal delivery. KEY TERM immediacy TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Demonstrate use of movement for two purposes: •
Show use of movement to reduce physical barriers between the speaker and the audience. (Move across the front area with appropriate movements to get closer to more of the audience; move down aisles, if possible and appropriate.)
•
Demonstrate use of movement to reinforce verbal transitions. (Make appropriate movements side to side and forward-backward in sync with verbal point changes, while telling students what you are doing, of course.)
2. Explore with students the effects of posture on messages. Ask students their interpretations of the speaking and associated postures you will display.
2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
•
Stand rigidly. Say to the student audience, “I feel very relaxed when teaching.”
•
Stand apparently relaxed but with arms tightly clasped behind your back. Say to students, “Students are very welcome in my office.”
•
Sit on the table, all slouched down. Say to students, “I absolutely need your undivided attention.”
Ask students to share their own examples about use of posture to vivify messages and to weaken messages. 3. Ask students, “What do you suppose I mean when I say that people ‘dim their lights’?” Let them think a bit. Unless they have heard the phrase in another class, they probably do not know that it refers to persons approaching each other with no intent of stopping for conversation. How do you indicate “No, no contact, please.” Answer: one or both look down and away about 25 degrees, hence, “dimming the lights” (eyes!). Review the use of the eyes for other clear messages. Don’t neglect courtship; it’s an attention-getter for students. Ask if students know the ancient Chinese proverb about eyes. (“The eyes are the windows to the soul.”) Use the saying, if you like, as a basis for review of the information on eye contact. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Do a takeoff on the old “Saturday Night Live” routine, “subliminal speaking.” Ask a group of three to create a one-minute speech introduction, supposedly from a student speaker who would really rather not speak. Consider lines such as these, remembering that the skit involves confident statements expressed loudly and followed by sotto voce comedic asides: “Good evening; I am so glad to be here (no I’m not). You look like a wonderful audience (like knots on a log, actually). Tonight, I want to talk to you about three important ideas. (What were they?)” You get the idea and so will your volunteers, quickly and joyfully. They’ll create a hilarious and deeply educational monologue. After, remind the audience about the importance of agreement between verbal and nonverbal messages. 2. Ask students to select one of their other courses in which to observe the nonverbal behaviors of the instructor when lecturing. Ask them to take notes and briefly report (as many reports as practicable) their observations to the class, addressing such questions as: • • •
“How did you judge the credibility and competence of that instructor, based on nonverbal cues?” “What were the predominant nonverbal behaviors of the students during the lecture period?” Did the student nonverbal cues reveal their like or dislike for the class?”
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
If you like, ask several students, impromptu, to analyze your typical nonverbal habits when lecturing! Lead a summarizing discussion of the role of nonverbal communication in speech delivery. 3. If you have access to recordings of the presidential or vice presidential debates from the 1992 election, you can offer students this guaranteed-to-please exercise. Show a segment of the recording to students without sound. Have them take notes on specific delivery elements such as body movement, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, and physical appearance. Replay the same segment, this time with sound. Have students note vocal characteristics and whether the words complement or contradict the speaker’s nonverbal communication. Finally, listen only to the segment. What kinds of emotions are evoked by the voices of Bush, Clinton, Perot, Gore, Quayle, and the retired admiral? 4. Ask six volunteers to take speaker positions up front. Tell them it’s going to be a competition to produce effective gestures. The instructor will announce a needed gesture. On the count of three, all six will attempt the required gesture and hold it. The audience will be asked to pick a “winner” for each performance. Consider these and other gesture possibilities: “On the other hand”
“I will never give up!”
“Only time will tell”
“My second point”
“We scorn them”
“I accuse you!”
5. Ask three volunteers to be seated up front (except when they are demonstrating). They are to invent and display an appropriate movement for a situation. Project the “script” for the exercise (Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”), and provide an enlarged hard copy to the volunteers. Allow them a few minutes to mark the script for movement. Tell them to share the performance of the planned movements. You emote the Address from the rear, slowly, for the “actor’s” sake. 6. Ask students to observe a favorite comedian, newscaster, or instructor, noting their use of gestures. During a subsequent roll call, ask for a quick report from each student, which hopefully includes show-and-tell. 7. Ask three volunteers to sit in a semicircle at the front of the classroom. They are to conduct a conversation on the topic “my hero.” However, they must play “The Great Stone Face”—showing no facial expressions, making no bodily movement, and maintaining vocal monotone. Only the mouths move. Expect much audience mirth. After, explore the obvious: how much nonverbal behavior contributes to our communication, especially in public speaking. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Try to find an online clip of the first presidential debates (Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy). The idea is to supplement the textbook on nonverbal behavior, speech delivery, and speaker credibility. Have students concentrate on nonverbal communication in terms of personal appearance, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, and vocal pitch, volume, and rate variety. To reinforce the importance of nonverbal communication, share with students an interesting study of audience reactions to the debates. Those who watched on TV overwhelmingly picked JFK as the “winner,” while those who 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
listened only (on the radio) picked Nixon as the winner. Ask students to account for the different audience reactions. Probe. Make them tie their ideas to chapter theory and concepts. JOURNAL PROMPTS 17.1 Eye Contact Why is maintaining eye contact during a speech so important, especially for North Americans? 17.2 Gestures How can you avoid using gestures that could potentially distract your audience? 17.3 Movement Through purposeful movement, what is one way you can establish a perception of closeness or immediacy between you and your audience? 17.4 Facial Expressions You’re taking a public speaking class online this semester, and your instructor has asked you to record and submit your speech assignments. In terms of monitoring your facial expressions, what are some things you should keep in mind when presenting a speech that will only be seen on video? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Nonverbal Communication When giving a speech, are you aware of the kind of gestures and movements you typically make? If so, what do you do with your hands? Do you move around, or do you stay in one place? Do you slouch or stand up straight? Based on the recommendations in the text, do you plan on changing any of these behaviors when you present your next speech?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 18: VERBAL COMMUNICATION LEARNING OBJECTIVES 18.1 Use effective vocal delivery when giving a speech. 18.2 Explain how to use a microphone when speaking in public. 18.3 Describe the steps to follow when rehearsing your speech. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Vocal Delivery A. Speak to be understood; consider four aspects of vocal delivery: 1. Volume: speaking loudly enough so the audience can hear you. 2. Articulation: producing speech sounds clearly and distinctly. 3. Dialect: using a consistent style of pronouncing words that is common to an ethnic group or a geographic region. 4. Pronunciation: the degree to which the sounds conform to those assigned to words in standard English. B. Speak with variety. 1. Pitch is how high or low your voice sounds. a. Inflection is when you raise or lower the pitch as you pronounce words or sounds. 2. Rate a. Most speakers average between 120 and 180 words per minute. b. The best rate depends on your speaking style and the content of your message. c. Speech anxiety often causes speakers to rush. 3. Pauses a. Effective use of pauses, also known as effective timing, can greatly enhance the impact of your message.
II. Using a Microphone A. Four kinds of microphones: built-in, lavaliere, boom, stationary 1. Built-in: the most common microphone; they are built in to most electronic devices. 2. Lavaliere: clip-on type, worn on the front of a shirt, jacket, or dress, and often used by newspeople and interviewees. 3. Boom: used by makers of movies and TV shows, hangs over the heads of the speakers, and is remote-controlled. 4. Stationary: usually attached to a lectern or can sit on a desk or stand on the floor. a. Check to make sure your microphone is multidirectional and can pick up your voice if you aren’t speaking directly into it. b. Speak clearly and crisply. c. To test a microphone, count or ask the audience whether they can hear you. Blowing on or tapping a microphone is an irritating noise to the audience. d. Speak at your normal volume. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
e. Make sure the microphone is turned off before having a personal conversation. B. Practice with the microphone you will use, if possible. III. Rehearsing Your Speech: Some Final Tips A. Finish drafting your outline at least two days before speaking. B. Rehearse aloud before preparing your speaking notes. C. Revise the speech to meet the time limits. D. Prepare your speaking notes; use whatever system works best for you. E. Rehearse your speech just as you will deliver it. F. When it is not possible or practical to rehearse your speech out loud, mentally rehearse it. G. If possible, present your speech to someone else; practice establishing eye contact, and get feedback. H. If possible, record during rehearsals; observe your vocal and physical mannerisms and make necessary changes. I. Rehearse using all your presentation aids. J. Rehearse with virtual reality (VR) technology. K. Practice good delivery skills while rehearsing. CHAPTER SUMMARY A speaker has at least two key vocal obligations to an audience: Speak to be understood, and speak with vocal variety to maintain interest. To be understood, consider four aspects of vocal delivery: volume, articulation, dialect, and pronunciation. For vocal variety, consider pitch, inflection, rate, and pauses. If using a microphone during a speech, speakers should ensure they can use it correctly and effectively. Speakers should always rehearse their speeches and continue revising their delivery as needed. KEY TERMS volume articulation dialect pronunciation pitch
inflection built-in microphone lavaliere microphone boom microphone stationary microphone
TEACHING STRATEGY 1. Demonstrate use of vocal delivery techniques. (Make appropriate changes to volume, articulation, dialect, pronunciation, pitch, inflection, rate, and pauses, telling students what you are doing, of course.) CLASS ACTIVITIES 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
1. Have students record themselves for self-analysis of vocal characteristics. Assign them to: • •
Make a recording of a short piece of prose they especially like. Ask them for narrative prose, without characters and dialogue. Make a recording of a brief, spontaneous piece on a topic chosen by the speaker.
Tell students: Try to make your reading transmit the author’s ideas; do not try to sound like you are acting. After you have recorded the prose and your own spontaneous speaking, listen to the recording several times, thinking about the vocal components explained in this chapter. Note whether your vocal delivery was better in one of the recordings than the other. If so, why do you think it was better? 2. Remind students of the importance of vocal inflection in a speaker’s toolbox for creating meaning. Use this classic example (you’ll be glad you did). Write this phrase on the whiteboard: I WOULD NOT SAY YOU LOST THE FIGHT. In turn, ask students to say the sentence placing emphasis on just one word. Begin with “I” and move through “fight.” Students will do it well, and the lesson, which may not be necessary anyway, will certainly be cast in cement. Ask students in their next speech to rehearse and then use occasional meaningful inflections. 3. Students know that such things as articulation, pronunciation, volume, pitch, and rate of speaking can detract from or enhance a message. But, they may be more able to recognize these attributes in other speakers than in themselves. If students are willing to talk about their delivery strengths and weaknesses, they can build common bonds with other class speakers, more fully realize their “pluses” as speakers, and begin to work on counteracting the “minuses” in their delivery. 4. The purpose of this activity is for students to express emotions through the use of face, voice, and body. Print out the words below on slips of paper to distribute to students. Primary emotions that humans express are marked with an asterisk. Give students time between classes to practice. In a subsequent class, using the phrase “Testing 1, 2, 3 . . .,” have students portray the emotion on their slips of paper through the voice, facial expressions, posture, gestures, and movement. To help students more readily identify the emotion a classmate conveys, display a poster or transparency containing all the words. You may need to add to this list or take only volunteers for this exercise, depending on the size of your class. anger* hatred stress fear* happiness* kindness amusement suspicion apathy sympathy excitement friendliness love impatience joy frustration pain disgust* contemplation surprise* jealousy grief tolerance self-pity thoughtfulness gratitude sadness* 5. If you have heard students speak several times, the students are quite ready and willing to discuss their delivery “problems” in small groups. Allow them to talk about their delivery difficulties in their
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
own critical categories first. Suggest several ways of looking at delivery improvements needed. Do students feel that they have some, more, or too many of these problems? • • • •
Being a “human statue,” needing work on body movement The “whispering pines” syndrome, nervousness causing a soft tone and low volume The “glazed over” facial look, interfering with good eye contact The “speed demons,” the desire to get it over with in a hurry
After, ask each group of three to brainstorm ideas for solving these delivery problems a little bit at a time. 6. Assign students a short speech on a topic of their choice. They are to prepare and make very short speaker notes. In a subsequent class, divide into groups of three in different parts of the room. Each student is to deliver a speech to the two others. The element to be concentrated on is eye contact. Ask students to carefully and deliberately exaggerate eye contact (probably to the tune of giggles). Nonetheless, they are to use their notes and deliver the planned speech. The lesson will be clear without your help; go on to even bigger and better things. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The feature film Dave has several excellent scenes involving public speaking. Kevin Kline’s character is called on to impersonate an ailing president, and the scene in which he rehearses the president’s gestures and voice inflection may be an effective supplement to the textbook’s information on body language. Another appropriate scene for use in public speaking class depicts him impersonating the president at a press conference, making a brief speech announcing a national job works program. JOURNAL PROMPTS 18.1 Improving Your Vocal Delivery Evaluate your vocal delivery. Which of the characteristics of vocal delivery (pitch, speaking rate, volume, pronunciation, articulation, pauses, and general variation of the voice) are you confident you use effectively? Which ones are most challenging for you? Which of the tips in this chapter do you plan to use to help overcome your challenges? 18.2 Using a Stationary Microphone You’re presenting a speech in support of a friend running for city council. It will be in front of a large crowd, and therefore you will need to use a stationary microphone. What precautions can you take to make sure you can be heard clearly by your audience? 18.3 Making the Most of Your Rehearsal Time How can you determine when you have rehearsed long enough that you can extemporaneously deliver your key ideas to your listeners, but not so long that you are giving a memorized speech? SHARED WRITING PROMPT 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Rehearsing Your Speech Working in groups, discuss ways you can help each other make the most of rehearsal time. How can rehearsing in front of someone else improve both the verbal and nonverbal delivery of your speech?
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 19: DELIVERING YOUR SPEECH LEARNING OBJECTIVES 19.1 Take steps to prepare for a successful speech delivery. 19.2 Prepare to answer questions after delivering a speech. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Successfully Deliver Your Speech A. Consider the following suggestions to help you prepare for a successful performance. 1. Get plenty of sleep before speaking. 2. Review the suggestions in Chapter 2 for becoming a confident speaker. 3. Arrive early for your speaking engagement. 4. Check your equipment and presentation aids. 5. Visualize success. B. Speech delivery is an art rather than a science; adapt tips and your delivery to reflect your personality and individual style.
II. Responding to Questions A. Tips to make the question-and-answer period less challenging: 1. Prepare. 2. Repeat or rephrase questions. 3. Stay on message. 4. Give a “double-barreled” talk. 5. Respond to the entire audience, not just the person who asked the question. 6. Ask the first question yourself. 7 Listen nonjudgmentally. 8. Neutralize hostile questions. 9. When you don’t know the answer, admit it. 10. Be brief. 11. Use organized signposts. 12. Indicate when the Q&A period is ending. CHAPTER SUMMARY Speakers should use the tips to prepare for effective delivery. Speakers should also anticipate audience questions and be prepared to successfully answer them. TEACHING STRATEGIES
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
1. Comedians call it “being on.” Actors say it’s “being in character.” It means, in the case of theater, don’t wait until you get on stage to become your character. You do that before you enter the action. So it is with delivering a speech. Alert students that movement before and after a speech can be as important as movement during a speech. As speakers rise and approach the front of the room or lectern, they should stay in control—bodily and vocally. Audiences quickly begin to assess speaker credibility, and a positive approach to speaking can lead audiences to a positive beginning evaluation. 2. Students should gather cultural advice by talking with people who are familiar with your audience’s cultural expectations. Gestures, for example, rarely have universal meaning; most meanings are culturally determined. Lead the class in a discussion of gestures that are only understood by a particular group. If you have international students, students who have traveled extensively or lived overseas, or students from various regions of the US, a lively discussion should ensue. Make sure to relate the information to a speaker’s task of being audience-centered. 3. Ask students to think of one great speaker they have heard live or seen online. Ask them to brainstorm and write down elements of that speaker’s delivery that were especially memorable. Ask students to share their notes; write on the board the textbook terms for these delivery elements. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Assign students to talk to members of different cultures (and subcultures). They are to compile a list of gestures that seem to have different meanings in different cultures. What is a speaker’s responsibility to “different strokes for different folks” when it comes to cultural differences confronting a public speaker? How far must a speaker go in pursuing the prize: effective audiencecentered speaking? 2. Ask five students to pretend to approach the lectern to speak, coming from the classroom door. They are to demonstrate confidence and control. Lead a short critical analysis. (By now, it is hoped that readers perceive that this author believes in using volunteers, giving praise, and saying thank you. Please add these responses automatically to all exercises described. Have a little fun; the next time you demonstrate or model, praise and thank yourself! Students will get a kick out of it and will appreciate the role of praise in effective learning and public speaking.) JOURNAL PROMPTS 19.1 Enhancing Your Delivery Tomorrow you have to present a speech in front of your class. You’ve spent a lot of time preparing and rehearsing your speech at home and feel comfortable presenting it. However, you’re still nervous. Aside from rehearsing, what are five ways you can enhance the final delivery of your speech? 19.2 Responding to Questions You have just finished a speech supporting a ten-cent fee on plastic and paper carryout bags in your town. You feel you have successfully argued why this fee will encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
bags to supermarkets and stores. During the question-and-answer period after your speech, one of your classmates starts aggressively attacking the fee, arguing that it’s unfair to low-income residents. What strategies could you use in this situation to use this opposition to your advantage? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Q&A Session After presenting your speech, what would you do if someone asked you a hostile question during a question-and-answer (Q&A) session?
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 20: SELECTING PRESENTATION AIDS LEARNING OBJECTIVES 20.1 Discuss five ways in which presentation aids help communicate ideas to an audience. 20.2 Describe seven types of presentation aids and how to use them effectively. 20.3 Describe how computers may be used to generate high-quality presentation aids. 20.4 Use criteria to choose presentation aids to include in a speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
The Value of Presentation Aids A. Presentation aid: any image, object, or sound that reinforces your point visually or aurally for better audience understanding B. Presentation aids can help your listeners do the following: 1. Focus: gain listeners’ attention and keep their interest when words alone may not. 2. Understand: enhance listeners’ comprehension. 3. Remember: you retain material most that you understand best. 4. Organize: listing major ideas on a computer-generated slide or presentation aid can help your audience grasp your main ideas and follow your transitions. 5. Illustrate: of the five senses, you learn more from sight than from all the others combined.
II. Types of Presentation Aids A. Images: two-dimensional images such as drawings, photographs, maps, graphs, and charts are the most common presentation aids 1. Drawings 2. Photographs 3. Maps 4. Graphs a. The four most common types of graphs are: (1) Bar graphs: consists of flat areas (bars) whose various lengths represent information. (2) Pie graphs: shows the individual shares of a whole; useful in helping your listeners to see quickly how data are distributed in a given category. (3) Line graphs: shows relationships between two or more variables, organizes statistical data to show overall trends, and can cover a greater span of time or numbers than a bar graph. (4) Picture graphs: are somewhat less formal and intimidating than other kinds of graphs; easier for the audience to read, since they need few words or labels. 5. Charts 6. Flowcharts B. Text 1. The key to using text as a presentation aid is to not overdo it. Use these principles: a. Use no more than seven lines of text per visual, especially computer-generated visuals. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
b. Use brief bullet points to designate individual items or thoughts. c. Use parallel structure in bulleted lists. d. Use the heading of each slide to summarize the visual’s key point. 2. When using a computer-generated presentation aid, make an informed choice about fonts. C. Video 1. Computers and other electronic devices: you can store video clips on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. 2. The internet: you can stream it directly from YouTube or another internet source, or you can retrieve your video or audio material from the “cloud”: computer storage in a remote location. 3. DVD player: for clips unavailable on streaming services, use a DVD player connected to a large screen or monitor. D. Audio 1. As with video, you can either create your own audio content or use prerecorded sources. E. Objects and models 1. Objects a. Make sure the object is a size that can be handled with ease and can be easily seen. b. Avoid dangerous objects. 2. Models a. If it is not possible or practical to bring the object, consider showing a model. b. It must be large enough to be seen by all audience members. F. People 1. Using people to illustrate your message can be tricky. 2. Choose someone you trust, and rehearse together. III. Using Computer-Generated Presentation Aids A. Basic principles of using computer-generated presentation aids 1. PowerPoint 2. Prezi 3. Keynote B. Tips for using computer-generated presentation aids 1. Plan your visual message. a. Insert notes into your speech outline where images can support ideas. b. A storyboard is a visual or graphic representation of your ideas. 2. Keep sights and sounds simple. a. Limit the number of words per slide. b. Use slides to present images, not just to repeat your words. c. Resist the urge to add sound effects. 3. Selectively use no image. 4. Present information in briefer chunks. 5. Repeat visual elements to unify your presentation. a. Use a similar visual style for each of your images to achieve a professional, polished look. b. Repeat key words. c. Clip art can give your presentation a professional touch. 6. Make informed decisions about using color. 7. Allow plenty of time to prepare your presentation aids. IV. Select the Right Presentation Aids 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER SUMMARY Presentation aids are beneficial to public speakers because they help listeners focus, understand, remember, organize, and illustrate their ideas. The seven types of presentation aids are images, which include drawings, photographs, maps, graphs, and charts; text; video, which includes DVD players, computers and other electronic devices, and the internet; audio; objects; models; and people. Speakers should always follow appropriate guidelines for selecting visual aids. KEY TERMS presentation aid graph bar graph pie graph
line graph picture graph charts flowchart
fonts model storyboard clip art
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Briefly explain five reasons presentation aids are invaluable to speakers. (Use section I. in the chapter outline.) 2. Are audiovisual aids really necessary in speeches? Don’t provocative ideas, strong evidence, and appropriate language convey everything a speaker needs to convey? These are questions sometimes heard from students, although most students enjoy developing and using audiovisual aids in speeches (it reduces their nervousness). Lead a class discussion about the relationship of audiovisual aids to audience-centering and the usefulness of audiovisual aids to a speaker. 3. Ask students to think of topics that involve a sequence of steps or events. How can presentation aids help demonstrate the process? Some examples are obvious, for example, repotting a plant, buying materials, switching containers, and rejuvenating the soil. Other topics are more of a challenge, for example, how a virus evolves. Diagrams or cluster charts can help illustrate the progression of this chain reaction into an epidemic. 4. Work with students, colleagues, your media center, or the local media to prepare a projection and music presentation. Without words, in a darkened classroom, use in succession (if each method is available to you) a slide projector, an overhead projector, poster on a tripod, flipchart, computerimage projection, a whiteboard production (taped over until revealed), and a drama student in costume (who is an excellent mime and who enters the room as a last stimulus). Background music is supplied from a computer or Bluetooth speaker. Any interesting or stimulating images may be employed. Suggestions: SLIDE PROJECTOR: Five photographs of atrocities in Ukraine. MUSIC: Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
OVERHEAD PROJECTOR: Color transparency of the famous “Uncle Sam Wants You” poster from World War II. MUSIC: “Over There.” POSTER (on tripod): Newspaper front-page background with specially prepared headline—“25 Service Members Killed in Action.” MUSIC: “Amazing Grace,” bagpipe rendition. (Bring up music before lighting the poster.) FLIPCHART: Statistics in this format, hand-written. MUSIC: The Beatles, “Yesterday,” Chet Atkins, guitar. The Aging of America Age Group
Year
Percent Population
0–25
1950 2020 1950 2020 1950 2020 1950 2020
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
26–50 51–75 Over 75
COMPUTER-IMAGE PROJECTION: A linked chain, forming one link at a time, ending as a circle. MUSIC: “The Blue Danube Waltz.” WHITEBOARD PRODUCTION: I. A. Richards, “Triangle of Meaning.” MUSIC: “What’s It All About, Alfie?” MIME: Drama student enters the room in appropriate costume and mimes being in a box. MUSIC: “Theme from ‘Charade.’” Debriefing: Ask students, “Were words necessary? Would words have deepened the illustrations? What is the impact of music-aided images on our attention span and ability to persuade? How important are visual aids to a speaker? Why are visual aids important to a speaker?” 5. Briefly explain all forms of presentation aids except computer-generated images. Caution students: “Never again completely believe what you see in images of any kind—pictures, movies, TV, computers.” Through technology, we have the capacity to present anything at all as “reality.” The film The Matrix makes this point agonizingly clear. Lead a short discussion: is computer-generated “reality” necessary in our lives? 6. The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to students the wide range of audiovisual aids that can be used to enhance the delivery of a message. Record or stream one nightly network news broadcast to analyze and evaluate with your class the myriad of audiovisual aids used. Any show 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
chosen will probably have a nice mix of objects, models, drawings, charts, graphs, maps, and video clips. 7. Bring personal snapshots. Demonstrate appropriate and inappropriate ways of using the shots as presentation aids. Enlarge a shot, to contrast it with using visuals too small for the audience. Not all students will know the developing technology of digital images. Talk that up a bit. 8. Maps can be good news for speeches. If you cannot find an outline map with no detailed features, an overhead transparency may be a good alternative. Transparencies are easily made, but they can be ineffective if used poorly. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Publishing companies often provide samples of student speeches with their textbooks. In many of these speeches, students use audiovisual aids. Showing speeches like these is an effective supplement to this chapter. Students can critique the speaker’s choice of aids and analyze their effective or ineffective use of them. Student speeches are available from your textbook’s publisher, as well as from internet resources. 2. Divide into groups of three. Assign each group to pick a speech topic that would involve a series of steps to be explained. Ask them to meet outside class and create a list of necessary steps. Tell them also to think of appropriate presentation aids (a variety, please) for each step. Direct them to produce a poster-type presentation aid to display to the class at a subsequent time. Essentially, posters will contain (a) statement of the topic, (b) on one side a list of the steps, and (c) on the other side a corresponding list of presentation aids. Lead the class in a brief analysis of the posters, applying criteria for construction and design. If time permits, also analyze the groups’ choices of steps. 3. Organize a review quiz game. 4. The purpose of this activity is to provide students with ideas for audiovisual aids to use in upcoming speech assignments. During the time that students are developing speeches and getting prepared to deliver them, form groups of three to brainstorm for audiovisual aid ideas. Each student shares their topic and main points with the other two classmates; then the group works to generate possibilities. For example, a group member may have just seen a movie with a scene that would be highly effective to illustrate a point in someone’s speech, a member may have read something for another class that pertains to someone’s topic, or a classmate may know someone in town who is an authority on someone’s topic. 5. Bring examples of computer-generated graphics to class that have an excess amount of sounds and images. At the end, ask students to recall everything they can from the message of the presentation. Chances are good that few will remember the actual text, but all will remember the graphics and sounds. 6. Using one presentation, have students look at each in PowerPoint’s Slide, Outline, Master, Slide Sorter, Black and White, and Notes page views to distinguish between each. 5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
7. Arrange to have class in one of the campus computer labs. Have students open Microsoft PowerPoint and then import 10 different images from Clip Art. Students should be able to assess which images could be useful and which images should not be used and why. 8. Divide the class into groups. Arrange to have class in one of the campus computer labs. Give groups an impromptu topic with an organizational pattern. Ask them to come up with a PowerPoint presentation within the class period. Allow enough time for students to present to the class. Have students discuss giving presentations without having enough time to prepare and practice. 9. Divide the class into groups. Provide each group with an outline of the same speech. Have each group prepare a PowerPoint presentation, but alternate the options each may use to create a presentation. Have one group prepare a presentation using the AutoContent Wizard, have another group prepare a presentation using the Design Template feature, and have another group prepare a presentation using the Blank Presentation option. At the end of class, have each group present its PowerPoint to the class. Allow the class to vote on which presentation they feel is the best and why. RELATED READING Numerous communication journal studies exist that document the advantages of using speaker presentation aids for audiences. A student-popular study is that of Bohn, E., and D. Jabusch (1982), “The Effect of Four Methods of Instruction on the Use of Presentation Aids in Speeches.” Western Journal of Speech Communication 46, 253–265. JOURNAL PROMPTS 20.1 Video Pitfalls You’re giving a speech on the influence of the Cold War on American films. You’d like to show your class film clips during your speech. What are some pitfalls you might encounter when showing these clips? How should you avoid them? 20.2 PowerPoint Dos and Don’ts Sophie is preparing her speech on the benefits of adopting a pet from a shelter. Her instructor has encouraged her to use PowerPoint slides, but she’s never used them before. What design guidelines should she follow when creating her slides? 20.3 Selecting the Right Presentation Aid When deciding what kind of presentation aid to use, what five things should you keep in mind? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Your Worst Presentation Aid Experience 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
What is the least effective use of presentation aids you have witnessed? Based on this chapter, what advice would you give to that speaker to help improve their use of presentation aids?
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 21: DEVELOPING AND USING PRESENTATION AIDS LEARNING OBJECTIVES 21.1 Follow three guidelines for developing effective presentation aids. 21.2 Identify guidelines for effectively using presentation aids. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Guidelines for Developing Presentation Aids A. Make them easy to see. B. Keep them simple. C. Keep them safe.
II. Using Presentation Aids A. Rehearse with your presentation aids. B. Make eye contact with your audience, not with your presentation aids. C. Explain your presentation aids. D. Do not pass objects among members of your audience. E. Use animals with caution. F. Use handouts effectively. G. Time the use of visuals to control your audience’s attention. 1. Use a remote control to advance computer-generated slides. 2. Remove presentation aids from view when not being discussed. 3. Consider asking someone to help you. H. Use technology effectively. I. Remember Murphy’s Law 1. Murphy’s Law: If something can go wrong, it will. 2. Bring backup supplies and have an alternative plan in case your original plans go awry. CHAPTER SUMMARY Developing effective presentation aids is an important part of public speaking. When preparing visual aids, speakers should be careful to keep them easy to see, simple, and safe. When using presentation aids, speakers should follow certain guidelines to achieve maximum audience impact. They should rehearse with their presentation aids, make eye contact with the audience, explain the aids, avoid passing objects among the audience, use animals with caution, use handouts effectively, time the use of visuals appropriately, use technology effectively, and remember Murphy’s Law: “If something can go wrong, it will.” KEY TERM visual rhetoric 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Make students aware of campus regulations regarding animals, alcohol, firearms, and controlled substances. Having any of them on campus without permission is probably a violation of college policy. 2. The purpose of this activity is to provide a creative approach to the discussion of dos and don’ts regarding the use of audiovisual aids in a speech. A “Top Ten List” like the one below can be an interesting, creative way to help students understand some basic principles related to audiovisual aids. Here’s a humorous introduction to the list: “Attention, all. From the home office in Boston, Massachusetts [home of Pearson Education, Inc.], the top ten things to remember about using audiovisual aids in a speech are …” TOP TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT USING AUDIOVISUAL AIDS IN A SPEECH 10. Procrastinate, so you can prepare your audiovisual aids in the 2:00 a.m. quiet of your home. 9. Flipcharts might be useful, but audiences don’t flip over them. 8. Your speech will be more entertaining if you don’t practice with your audiovisual aids. That way there’s no telling what interesting things might happen. 7. Don’t allow your buddy to throw you when you demonstrate the wrestling hold that made you a champ. 6. A photograph circulating around the room may be more fun for the audience than your speech is. 5. Pie graphs are not available at your local bakery. 4. In a boring round of speeches, the suspense of waiting for a poster to fall off the easel can stimulate an audience. 3. Darken the room for videos and slide shows so your classmates can take a much-needed nap. 2. Distribute handouts so the audience will have paper for doodling and spitball ammunition during your speech. 1. AND the number one most important thing to remember about using audiovisual aids in a speech is... (drumroll, please...) Cows will walk up stairs, but not down stairs. 3. Take examples of images that have intricate details or a lot of people in them. Show an image to the students, and ask them why the image is distracting and what they would use instead. Some examples of detailed images may include the following: 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
• • • •
Sky angle of a college football game for a speech on your university Topical geographic map for a speech on environmental conservation Photo of more than five people for a speech about campus involvement Intricate diagram of the human heart for a speech about heart disease
4. Break students into groups of three, and give them topics with a specific organizational pattern. Have students prepare graphic slides for each of their points and present them to the class. Have the other students in the class try to follow the speech without hearing the text of the speech. If the audience gets confused, have the speaker explain the flow of the speech. Students should get feedback on visual aids that have too much or too little detail. 5. Show students examples of graphics that have consistent themes—all of the symbols and font styles are consistent. Then, show students examples of graphics that have inconsistent themes. Have students discuss the differences between the two presentation aids. 6. Bring to class examples of graphics that use more than two font styles and sizes, and have the class critique the visual aids. Use both uppercase and lowercase text in the same slide. Ask the class why the text is harder to read and how they would fix it. 7. Ask the class to design contrasting color schemes for graphic presentations. Have students bring their presentation to the next class, and have the other class members critique their color schemes. This should give each student ideas about good and bad color schemes. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Have students prepare a presentation in which they are not allowed to use color. Have them design creative ways to emphasize their main points using white space and black text. 2. Divide the class into groups of three, and provide each with a topic and an organizational pattern. Rather than having students create an outline, have them create a storyboard on which they sketch each main point. JOURNAL PROMPTS 21.1 Developing Effective Presentation Aids Identify three criteria for effectively developing presentation aids for a speech. 21.2 Objects and Handouts as Presentation Aids Why is it not a good idea to pass objects or handouts among members of your audience during your speech? SHARED WRITING PROMPT
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Murphy’s Law Have you ever had something go wrong with a presentation aid during a speech—or witnessed something go wrong during someone else’s speech? If so, what happened? How did you (or the speaker) respond?
4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 22: INFORMATIVE SPEAKING LEARNING OBJECTIVES 22.1 Describe three goals and five different types of informative speeches. 22.2 Effectively and appropriately use three strategies to enhance audience understanding. 22.3 Effectively and appropriately use three strategies to maintain audience interest. 22.4 Effectively and appropriately use four strategies to enhance audience recall of information presented in an informative speech. 22.5 Develop an audience-centered informative speech
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Goals and Types of Informative Speeches A. A speech to inform shares information to enhance an audience’s knowledge or understanding. B. Informative speaking should achieve three goals: 1. Speak to enhance understanding. 2. Speak to maintain interest. 3. Speak to be remembered.
II. Strategies to Enhance Audience Understanding A. Speak with clarity. 1. Clarity: to express ideas so that the listener understands the intended message accurately. 2. Here are several research-based strategies to enhance message clarity: a. Preview your main ideas in your introduction. b. Tell your listeners how new information relates to a previous point. c. Provide reasons the audience needs to listen to your message. d. Frequently summarize key ideas. e. Use effective transitions and signposts; enumerate your major ideas. f. Provide a visual outline to help listeners follow your ideas. g. Provide a handout prior to your talk with the major points outlined; leave space so that listeners can jot down key ideas. h. Once you announce your topic and outline, stay on message. i. Provide clear examples. j. Tell your listeners what your point is, and then offer an example. B. Use principles and techniques of adult learning. 1. Andragogy: the art and science of teaching adults. 2. Use adult-learning principles. C. Clarify unfamiliar ideas or complex processes. 1. Use a comparison.
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
a. Analogy: may compare two things that are similar (a literal analogy) or dramatically different (figurative analogy). b. Simile: a comparison that uses the word like or as. c. Metaphor: makes an implied comparison between two things without using the words like or as. 2. Use a vivid, descriptive word picture: a. Describing something provides more detail than just defining it. b. Word picture: a lively description that helps your listeners form a mental image by appealing to their senses of sight, taste, smell, sound, and touch. c. Onomatopoeic words resemble the sounds they name, such as buzz, snort, crackle. 3. The more vividly and accurately you can describe emotion, the more intimately involved in your description the audience will become. III. Strategies to Maintain Audience Interest A. Motivate your audience to listen to you. B. Tell a story. 1. A good story incorporates: a. Conflict b. Action c. Suspense d. Humor C. Present information that relates to your listeners. D. Use the unexpected. IV. Strategies to Enhance Audience Recall A. Build in redundancy. B. Make your key ideas short and simple. C. Pace your information flow. D. Reinforce key ideas. 1. Reinforce ideas verbally. 2. Reinforce ideas nonverbally. V. Developing an Audience-Centered Informative Speech A. Consider your audience. 1. There are three general questions about audience analysis when preparing an informative talk: a. To whom are you speaking? b. What are their interests, attitudes, beliefs, and values? c. What do they expect from you? CHAPTER SUMMARY Informative speeches share a speaker’s information and knowledge with an audience, and they should enhance an audience’s knowledge and understanding, maintain interest, and be memorable. Speakers can enhance audience understanding by speaking with clarity and by using comparisons and vivid, descriptive word pictures to help audience members form a mental image of their topic. Speakers should always motivate the audience to listen by providing them with information that is relevant to 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
them. Building redundancy into the speech and pacing information flow will make the audience more likely to remember a speaker’s message. KEY TERMS speech to inform andragogy analogy
simile metaphor word picture
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Students often struggle with the difference between informing and persuading. You will likely need to clarify for students that the main difference rests in the desired response from the audience. Also stress the importance of learning to present “just the facts” (informative speaking) versus offering one’s evaluation of those facts (persuasive speaking). Share sample speech topics with the class, and have students discuss how each topic could be used for an informative speech and then turned into a persuasive speech. 2. As an interest-promoting device, emphasize the importance of demonstrating to an audience how they will personally benefit from the speech in some way. Ask students how they could directly relate the following topics to an audience of college students: (1) The bleak future of Social Security—part-time and full-time workers pay into Social Security but may not receive benefits when they reach retirement age (practical); cuts in Social Security benefits cause problems for older people (economic). (2) The origin of rap music (curiosity, entertainment, cultural awareness). 3. Ask students, “How many of you are planning to be teachers?” Students will interpret the question as “credentialed teachers,” and just a few will raise their hands. Call it what you will, but inform them they are all likely to play the role of teachers in our rapidly changing society: teacher, trainer, coach, and mentor. Of all things teachers are called upon to do, speaking to inform is the most common and most valued. To teach is to promote and facilitate learning, and learning comes from information taken in, absorbed, and integrated. All must plan to inform and to teach within families, workplaces, communities, and the organizations to which they belong. It is no accident that public speaking teachers and past students call “speaking to inform” the most important skill to be learned in such classes. Learn and profit from this unit, speaking to inform. 4. During a roll call, ask three students in turn to list one of the three goals of speaking to inform. Follow up with this class question: “Are all three goals always looked for?” Lead a discussion of the interrelationships of the goals. Ask students, “Think about my lectures; which goal do I pursue most vigorously?” Don’t let students off the hook easily on this one. The resulting discussion may be the clincher for getting students to remember the three goals. 5. Recall with students this old saw: “Sometimes you think you don’t know, but that’s because you don’t know you know.” Let that one sink in a bit, and be prepared to repeat it several times. Your point is that students do know what analogy is and use it both consciously and unconsciously. However, in writing and speech classes, for whatever reason, it is sometimes like pulling teeth to get students to produce analogies on demand. To promote free and easier student production of 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
analogies, share analogies like those below as a way of priming this particular pump. Do tell students that you are going through an outline of the chapter, main point by main point, using analogies. •
Speaking to inform is like exploring an unknown territory but with a workable map.
•
Effective speaking to inform is like playing basketball; there is a goal, and the object is to hit it.
•
Just as there are different types of exercise, there are different types of speeches to inform.
•
A coach always has a game plan with the goal to win, as does a smart speaker with the goal to inform.
•
New ideas can be like bad-tasting medicine: easy to refuse.
•
Explaining complex procedures to audiences can be like running a maze—where do you go next?
•
A speaker’s attempt to relate to an audience can be like asking for a date: you risk rejection.
•
An audience’s motivation to listen is sometimes as fragile as crystal.
•
Speaker redundancy compares to a baseball runner tagging the stolen base twice, just to be sure.
•
A simple idea is to a complex idea as playing hopscotch is to playing chess.
•
Verbal reinforcement is to nonverbal reinforcement as a conjoined twin is to the other.
•
A babbling brook flows evenly but sparklingly, as should information in an informative speech.
•
Older information is to newer information as a midwife is to birth.
•
Memorable visual aids strike us like lightning illuminating a dark cloud.
6. The purpose of this activity is to challenge students to make potentially boring informative speech topics interesting through the application of information in the text chapter. Come up with a list of the most boring, un-audience-centered informative speech topics you can think of (or maybe that you’ve heard!). As you reveal them to your class, ask students to generate angles on each topic and identify techniques or strategies to make each topic more engaging. Here are some potentially boring sample informative topics: “The Evolution of the Tsetse Fly,” “Little-Known Facts about Ingrown Toenails,” “My Last Trip to the Dentist,” “Calculating the Density of a Rock.” 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Divide students into groups of three. Assign each group to exhaustively define the verb “to inform,” concentrating on uses associated with writing and speaking. Require a dictionary and thesaurus. Without being specific, ask students to use as many defining methods as they know how. Collect papers and scan them into projections. Share in a subsequent class. Allow the class to vote on a “winning” group. Call attention to the astounding number of synonyms for “inform” (note, as a rule perhaps new to you, that the more important a word, or the more common the behavior signified by the word, the more synonyms that word will have). Check it out! 2. The purpose of this activity is for students to practice creating different kinds of informative purpose statements. Below are several topics. Have students independently or in small groups narrow each topic and write specific-purpose statements for a speech to inform. Architecture Arkansas Astronomy Caring for pets Donations to Favorite Charities Fish Oppression of Others Personal Spirituality Poet Maya Angelou
Polish Culture Sports Starving People around the World Streets Stress Reduction Technology Teeth Theater Weather
3. Ask students to design audience motivation statements to stimulate listener interest for these topics: (1) effects of tourism on the preservation of national parks, (2) health risks related to highcholesterol intake, (3) environmental racism, (4) regular nursing/retirement home inspections. 4. Pair students and ask each to suggest to the other an informative topic they would like to know more about. Ask students to research topics briefly. In a subsequent class, have a member of each pair explain for a minute or two why the other pair member should want to hear about their topic (“Giving the Audience a Reason to Listen”). Review with all students the three goals of informative speaking. How well do they feel that they, themselves, provided partners with listening motivation? How well did their partners do? Retain pairs from above. Have each pair devise the generalpurpose and specific-purpose statement for their two “speeches.” Call for quick oral reports to the entire class. 5. Review operational definitions of the five types of informative speeches: objects, procedures, people, events, ideas. Ask particular students to give one or more operational definitions for each speech type. The exercise also gives students practice in impromptu retrieval of speech topics. Extend the exercise to other students as time permits. 6. For a list of sample speech topics, ask students to generate main points or subpoints by using informative speech strategies, as the text explains. For example, how could definitions (word 5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
definitions, definitions by examples, and operational definitions) be used as points in a speech about changes in professional football due to the institution of the salary cap? How could an analogy, a description, or a word picture improve an informative speech about skin cancer? What are some common misconceptions about how US government functions? 7. Divide students into pairs to play a mild game of “One Up.” The object of the game is simply to stay ahead of your partner in using good examples. In turn, one student offers a specific topic or possible happening, and the other student must offer an example pertinent to the suggested topic, the more vivid the better. Vivid examples, of course, are recommended by the Beebes as a strategy for “explaining new ideas.” 8. Instruct students, for the next class period, to think of two things: (1) what is one of their very favorite things or activities, and (2) what are some of the wild beliefs (misconceptions) that people have about their favorite thing or activity? In a subsequent class, divide students into groups of three, asking each group to do two things: (1) thoroughly share with each other the misconceptions people have about their favorite thing or activity, and (2) discuss how the group thinks these misconceptions could be addressed. 9. Pair students who do not yet know each other very well. Direct them to question each other. The questions should yield answers that each, if they were a speaker and the other were in the audience, could use for both preplanning and delivery to “relate” to the audience. Example: “What is your most important personal value? May I ask what other values are important to you?” 10. As a class, view and critique several video-recorded student informative speeches (either from a publisher or from past classes). Encourage positive comments by asking what worked well, what they liked, or what the speaker’s strengths were. In pairs, students should practice an upcoming informative speech in a class workshop. The role of a student’s partner is to provide positive feedback and constructive suggestions for improvement. After, the speaker can discuss things they are not satisfied with and solicit suggestions and guidance from the partner. JOURNAL PROMPTS 22.1 Informative Speech Topics Which type of informative speech have you heard most often? Which type do you think you are most likely to give? 22.2 Word Pictures Think about something you have seen or experienced recently. Draft a word picture that describes the sight or experience. 22.3 Memorable Speeches What strategies has your public speaking teacher used in class to make information memorable? 22.4 Redundancy Why is it important to build redundancy into your speech? What are some ways you can make your message redundant without insulting your listeners’ intelligence? 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
22.5 Audience Analysis In terms of audience analysis, what three general questions should you consider when giving an informative speech? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Informative Speeches Think about an informative speech you recently heard. What was the speech about? How did the speaker succeed (or fail) at maintaining your attention?
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 23: UNDERSTANDING PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASIVE SPEAKING LEARNING OBJECTIVES 23.1 Describe the goals of persuasive messages. 23.2 Explain classical and contemporary theories of how persuasion occurs. 23.3 Describe four ways to motivate listeners to respond to a persuasive message. 23.4 Prepare and present an audience-centered persuasive speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
The Goals of Persuasion A. Persuasion: the process of changing or reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors B. Attitudes 1. Attitude: a learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward something C. Beliefs 1. Belief: what you understand to be true or false D. Values 1. Value: an enduring conception of right or wrong, good or bad E. Behaviors
II. How Persuasion Works A. Aristotle’s traditional approach: using ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade. 1. Ethos: an effective communicator must be credible. 2. Logos: literally means “the word” and refers to rational, logical arguments. 3. Pathos: the use of appeals to emotion in persuasion. B. ELM’s contemporary approach: using a direct or indirect path to persuade 1. The Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion explains how you are persuaded to do or think about something. 2. Elaborate: the listener critically evaluates what they hear by paying special attention to the speaker’s arguments and evidence. 3. The theory suggests that there are two ways you can be persuaded: a. A direct persuasion route that you follow when you elaborate on, consciously think about, or critically evaluate a message. b. An indirect persuasion route, in which you don’t elaborate and are persuaded by peripheral factors. III. How to Motivate Listeners A. Motivation: the underlying desire to think, feel, or behave in a certain way. B. Use cognitive dissonance. 1. Dissonance theory: when you are presented with information inconsistent with your attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior, you experience a kind of discomfort called cognitive dissonance. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
2. Listeners can react in several ways to your use of dissonance, only one of which serves your purpose. a. Listeners may discredit the source (you). b. Listeners may reinterpret the message. c. Listeners may seek new information. d. Listeners may stop listening. e. Listeners may change their attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior—as the speaker wishes them to do. C. Use listeners’ needs. 1. Need is one of the best motivators. 2. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs: we must meet basic physiological needs before we can be motivated to respond to higher-level needs. 3. Although we can be motivated by several needs at the same time, Maslow’s hierarchy provides a useful checklist of potential listener motivations. a. Physiological needs: our most basic needs of air, water, and food; unless these needs are met, it will be difficult to motivate a listener to satisfy other needs. b. Safety needs: when physiological needs are met, audiences are concerned about safety, security, and protection for themselves and loved ones. c. Social needs: with safety needs met, we all need to feel loved and valued. We need contact with others and reassurance that they care about us (a fraternity, a religious organization, a circle of friends). d. Self-esteem needs: our desire to think well of ourselves. e. Self-actualization needs: the highest level of need in which we need to fully realize our highest potential. Maslow suggested we could address self-actualization needs only after we have satisfied our needs at the other four levels. D. Use positive motivation. E. Use negative motivation. 1. Negative motivation, also known as a fear appeal, takes the form of an “if–then” statement. An important need will go unmet unless the desired behavior or attitude change occurs. IV. Developing Your Persuasive Speech A. Consider the audience. B. Select and narrow your persuasive topic. C. Determine your persuasive purpose. 1. Social judgment theory suggests that listeners confronted with a persuasive message will fall into one of three categories: a. They generally agree with you. b. They disagree with you. c. They are not yet committed. D. Develop your central idea and main ideas. 1. Proposition: a statement with which you want your audience to agree. 2. There are three categories of propositions: a. Proposition of fact: focuses on whether something is true or false or on whether it did or did not happen, such as “Low-carbohydrate diets are safe and effective.” b. Proposition of value: calls for the listener to judge the worth or importance of something, such as, “It is wrong to turn away immigrants who want to come to the United States.” 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
c. Proposition of policy: advocates a specific action—changing a policy, procedure, or behavior—and usually includes the word should. “Public schools should encourage more physical activity.” E. Gather supporting material. F. Organize your speech. G. Rehearse and deliver your speech. CHAPTER SUMMARY Persuasion is an everyday occurrence both speakers and audiences are exposed to. Therefore, it is important for speakers to be familiar with psychological principles of persuasion. Persuasion is an extension of informative speaking because it targets an audience’s specific values, beliefs, and attitudes. Explanations about how persuasion works have been offered by the Greek rhetorician Aristotle and by the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion. Audiences are often motivated to listen to persuasive speakers who are able to create cognitive dissonance. The theory indicates that speakers attempt to create a psychological imbalance or dissonance in the audience’s mind, and most people seek to avoid feelings of dissonance. Listeners are also motivated by their own innate needs, and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a useful checklist of potential listener motivations that a persuasive speaker can activate. Speakers who use positive motivation review audience values to look for the most effective persuasive strategy. Negative motivation, also known as a fear appeal, uses a threat to change someone’s attitude or behavior and is one of the most effective approaches. When developing a persuasive speech, speakers have to consider the audience, select and narrow their persuasive topic, determine their persuasive purpose, develop their central idea and main ideas, gather supporting material, organize their speech, and rehearse and deliver their speech. KEY TERMS persuasion attitude belief value ethos logos pathos
elaboration likelihood model elaborate direct persuasion route indirect persuasion route motivation cognitive dissonance self-actualization
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
fear appeal social judgment theory proposition proposition of fact proposition of value proposition of policy
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. “Persuasive speaking may be the most used and abused of all the forms of oral communication. It is an important part of our lives as both an assertive and defensive human activity. “Effective persuasion requires knowledge of and respect for valid evidence, along with effective use of logical reasoning in its many forms and types. Valid evidence and logical reasoning establish a framework for ethical persuasion. When the framework is supplemented by appropriate ‘motive appeals,’ we have the complete (and beautiful) process. “We use persuasion assertively to promote worthy ideals and causes, and to gain acceptance of our beliefs. We defend ourselves against the persuasion of others, ethical and nonethical. We must be good listeners capable of analyzing and evaluating the forces of evidence, reasoning, and motive appeals which constantly confront us and our society. “Yes, we are persuaders, and we are persuaded almost daily. A study of persuasion will assist in establishing ethical standards for ourselves and for those whom we instruct. The ultimate result will be our own positive influence on the twenty-first century.” Lawrence E. Norton, PhD Professor Emeritus, Speech, Bradley University 2. Lead the class in a discussion on the role of persuasive speaking in a democratic society. You can begin this session by reading the First Amendment to the Constitution and asking students to interpret it. Which events in our nation’s history have occurred as a result of persuasive rhetoric? Which persuasive speeches have motivated action? 3. Remind students that speakers must try to find out important things about audiences. How shall those “things” be classified? For a long time, theorists in persuasion have used the textbook terms of classification: attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors. Review these terms, perhaps taking a somewhat different slant, to understand the advantages of repetition and rephrasing. 4. ATTITUDES. Not only do we have individual attitudes, but, according to theory, we have attitudes that cluster or form groups of related forces. For example, researchers suggest that positive attitudes on the following topics are “close together in there” and reinforce one another: capital punishment, anti-choice, respect for police, conservative voting, and support for strong classroom discipline. Theory, of course, is a beautiful game, and games are both won and lost. If theory is reasonably accurate, in this case it means that sampling an audience attitude or two may go a long way. If we tap into a cluster or two, we can gain excellent operational audience information. With attitudes defined as “tendencies to respond favorably or unfavorably,” a speaker looking for action needs much information quickly. BELIEFS. Our beliefs keep us motivated. Beliefs can be very strongly held. Have you heard the expression “Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind is made up”? To deliberately run counter to an audience’s basic beliefs is probably to court disaster as a persuasive speaker. What will cause a listener to consciously entertain questions about a basic belief? Shall we try pessimism first? For a long time this author has posed this question to his public speaking classes and other students: Do most people automatically give positive or negative responses (when responses are sought)? 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
His students have nearly unanimously replied, “Negative” and looked more than a little cross-eyed at the occasional student who went the other way. “Why?” asks their instructor (who is positive first and reluctantly negative about life in general), “Why?” Well, say the students, it’s just easier to be negative. “Is that so?” retorts the instructor. “Or are you showing the results of a lifetime conditioning to be negative?” (parents, peers, teachers). Fascinating. What is the point? Beliefs are probably established on a negative motivational basis. Good grades are based on good study habits, and without good grades you will not succeed in life. Eat well if you want physical health. A persuasive speaker, at best, should plan on gradual modification of beliefs, as the textbook makes clear. We are told that “he who lives by the sword will die by the sword.” VALUES. The textbook definition of values is quite workable: concepts of intrinsic (built-in) good and bad, right and wrong. This is good; that is bad. These are right; those are wrong. Shall we go out on a limb? Values for an individual person do not change until a vast number of persons with the values change them. A persuasive speaker, for all intents and purposes, should concede that our values probably come with us from the womb. Is that strong enough for you? One close-tohome example should suffice. Do students value student honesty in the classroom? Will they, today, cheat on classroom exams? Will students inform on cheating peers? (Now might be the time to lead a good discussion of class ethics, but you probably already have.) Persuasive speakers: discover (or admit) the pertinent values of your listeners, and adapt your message to those values. Adapting means working within the framework of those values. 5. For persuasive speeches, students tend to select topics that influence audience members’ attitudes and beliefs. To make students more comfortable with persuading by appealing to values, ask students to discuss situations in which they have heard persuasive messages based on values. Patriotic speeches, inspirational speeches that rouse the spirits of the audience, and speeches that advocate one approach or plan of action over another are all examples of persuasive speeches based on values. 6. Think of an example in which you experienced cognitive dissonance. It could be an example related to a difficult decision, a decision you agonized over. Explain the personal example to your class, and ask them to think of similar experiences in their own lives. Which of the ways to restore cognitive balance, described in the textbook, did you use in your situation? Which ones did students use? 7. Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” is taught in various disciplines. Your students may have been exposed to Maslow’s Motivation and Personality in sociology, psychology, economics, marketing, or other business courses. It is always a good idea to review this information because even if students have learned about it in other courses, they may not know how basic needs relate to persuasive speaking. Discuss each level of need and how each relates to the individual. Discuss why Maslow states that we generally move upward in the hierarchy and that lower-level needs must be satisfied before we can be motivated to achieve upper-level needs. 8. Lead students in a laughing repartee over these questions: How high is up? How long is long? How hot is hot? How smart is smart? How needy is need? The latter question, of course, pinpoints the 5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
lesson of the day, the persuasive strategy called “meeting audience needs” (in exchange for their adoption of your proposition). Project (or write on the whiteboard) this idea: MOTIVATION + NEED = CHANGE (or reinforcement, or modification). 9. The purpose of this exercise is to assist students in their selection of persuasive speech topics. Lead the class in a brainstorming activity. Ask students what topics they would like or not like to hear in the upcoming round of persuasive speeches. These topics could range from highly controversial topics to those that reinforce an existing belief. On the board, list suggested topics on which almost everyone agrees. Ask students if anyone is already considering speaking on one of the topics. If so, encourage other students to take the opposing viewpoint on the topic. If someone’s possible topic is one that classmates suggested they did not want to hear, ask dissenting students to explain their reactions. This approach could make for an engaging class discussion, as well as for an exciting round of speeches. 10. Select a video-recorded sample speech to show students and generate class discussion. Which attitudes, beliefs, and values are referred to overtly in the speech? Which attitudes, beliefs, and values are implied? Did the speaker create cognitive dissonance? How? Did the speaker appeal to basic needs? Which needs? CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. This exercise helps students to distinguish among persuasive messages based on attitudes, beliefs, and values. Select opposing viewpoints about current topics from a website like ThePerspective.com. As a class, analyze each and determine what the authors' underlying attitudes, beliefs, and values are. Hint: Beliefs are often characterized by forms of the verb “to be.” Value statements are often characterized by the words should or ought or by such judgmental terms as terrible, repugnant, good, or essential. 2. Place students in groups of three, and give them three persuasive speech topics. Ask groups to determine what audience attitudes a speaker should know in advance of speech preparation on the topics. A sample topic and some potential audience attitudes are as follows: To persuade an audience to donate blood for a community blood drive. Potential audience attitudes: A. Apathy unless a friend or close relative needs blood B. Misconception that donating blood runs the risk of HIV infection C. General apathy or negativity about community involvement 3. In a class after students have read this chapter, perhaps during roll call, ask them in sequence for the five ways listeners may try to reduce their cognitive dissonance. Persist until all five are identified. This exercise more than any other will illuminate the concept and prepare students for speaker use of cognitive dissonance. 4. Ask each student to bring in one print or digital advertisement that attempts to create cognitive dissonance in the minds of consumers. Public service campaigns frequently use this technique to engender awareness of the seriousness of a problem. A few examples of dissonance-creating 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
messages include antismoking campaigns, weight control clinic advertisements, and speeches opposed to cuts in Social Security funds (presented to listeners who fear they may never see Social Security benefits). 5. The purpose of this activity is to give students practice in formulating specific-purpose statements for persuasive topics geared toward behavioral changes. Using the following list of topics that could be used in persuasive speaking, students should generate specific objectives for each topic. For example, a persuasive speech on the Air Force might include such specific-purpose statements as the following: “At the end of my speech, listeners will be able to explain three reasons why they should join the Air Force”; “At the end of my speech, the audience will be persuaded to write letters to congresspersons requesting the closure of several Air Force bases in the country”; “At the end of my speech, listeners will be motivated to seek out and thank members of the US Air Force for their excellent aerial bombardment in the Kosovo NATO actions.” JOURNAL PROMPTS 23.1 Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values State an attitude, a belief, and a value that you hold related to the topic of transportation. 23.2 Aristotle’s Traditional Approach Name and explain the three general methods of persuasion identified by Aristotle. 23.3 Cognitive Dissonance Describe a time when you experienced cognitive dissonance, whether as a result of persuasive communication or not, and explain how you resolved the feeling. 23.4 Preparing a Persuasive Speech Consider the controversial topic of gun control. Now develop a proposition of fact, a proposition of value, and a proposition of policy that could each be a central idea for a persuasive speech on this topic. SHARED WRITING PROMPT Fear Appeals Have you ever been persuaded by a fear appeal? If so, what were the circumstances?
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
SPECIFIC-PURPOSE STATEMENTS FOR PERSUASION AIMED AT BEHAVIORS Instructions: Write an objective or specific-purpose statement for each of the following potential speech topics; Air Force
Insurance
Animals
Intelligence
Asbestos
Latin America
Asia
Libraries
Cajun Culture
Lightning
Canada
Milk
Chinese Food
Mississippi River
Houston
Opioids
8 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 24: USING PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES LEARNING OBJECTIVES 24.1 Identify strategies to improve your initial, derived, and terminal credibility. 24.2 Use principles of effective reasoning to develop a persuasive message. 24.3 Employ effective techniques of using emotional appeal in a persuasive speech. 24.4 Use strategies for effectively organizing a persuasive speech. 24.5 Adapt your persuasive message to receptive, neutral, and unreceptive audiences.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Enhancing Your Credibility A. Credibility: the audience’s perception of a speaker’s competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism 1. Competence 2. Trustworthiness 3. Dynamism (charisma) B. Initial credibility C. Derived credibility D. Terminal credibility E. These strategies can improve your credibility: 1. Make a good first impression by dressing appropriately and establishing eye contact before beginning to speak. 2. Establish common ground with the audience by indicating in your opening remarks that you share their values and concerns. 3. Support your arguments and conclusions with evidence. 4. Present a logically organized, well-delivered message. 5. Use strategies to gain and maintain attention. 6. End with a good impression.
II. Using Reasoning Effectively A. Logic: a formal system of rules for making inferences B. Evidence: facts, examples, statistics, and expert opinions that you use to support and prove your points C. Reasoning: the process of drawing a conclusion from evidence D. Proof: consists of the evidence plus the conclusion you draw from it E. A model of reasoning: Toulmin Model of Argument 1. Data 2. Claim 3. Warrant F. Understanding types of reasoning
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
1. Inductive reasoning: you reach a general conclusion based on specific examples, facts, statistics, and opinions. 2. Reasoning by analogy (or comparison): a special type of inductive reasoning. 3. Reasoning by sign: another special type of inductive reasoning that occurs when two things are so closely related that the existence of one thing means the other thing will happen. 4. Deductive reasoning: you reason from a general statement or principle to reach a specific conclusion. a. Deductive reasoning can be structured in the form of a syllogism, which includes three elements: (1) Major premise: a general statement. (2) Minor premise: a more specific statement about an example linked to the major premise. (3) Conclusion: based on the major premise and the minor premise. 5. Causal reasoning: relates two or more events in such a way as to conclude that one or more of the events caused the others. a. Reasoning from cause to effect: you move from a known fact to a predicted result, or from something that has occurred to something that has not yet occurred. b. Reasoning from effect to cause: you move from a known effect to an unknown cause. G. Adapt reasoning for a culturally diverse audience. H. Using types of evidence. 1. Fact: something that has been directly observed to be true or can be proven to be true. 2. Inference: a conclusion based on available evidence or partial information. 3. Examples: illustrations that are used to dramatize or clarify a fact. 4. Opinions: can serve as evidence if made by an expert. 5. Statistic: a number used to summarize several facts or samples. 6. Use evidence effectively following these strategies: a. Use credible evidence. 1. Reluctant testimony b. Use new evidence. c. Use specific evidence d. Use evidence to tell a story. e. Use evidence appropriate to a diverse audience. I. Avoid faulty reasoning. 1. Persuasive speakers must avoid the following types of faulty reasoning (fallacies) to be better and more ethical speakers: a. Causal fallacy: making a causal connection without enough evidence to support the cause-and-effect conclusion. b. Bandwagon fallacy: arguing that “everybody thinks it’s a good idea, so you should too.” c. Either–or fallacy: oversimplifying complex issues, arguing that there are only two approaches to a problem. d. Hasty generalization: reaching conclusions from insufficient evidence. e. Ad hominem fallacy: attacking irrelevant personal characteristics of the person proposing an idea, rather than attacking the idea itself. f. Red herring fallacy: attacking an issue by using irrelevant facts or arguments as distractions. g. Appeal to misplaced authority: using popular people who are well-known and respected in their own fields as “experts” to endorse a product or idea. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
h. Non sequitur: attempting to support conclusions with other unrelated conclusions or evidence. i. Slippery slope fallacy: claiming that an initial action or proposal is the first step toward disastrous consequences. III. Using Emotion to Persuade A. Listeners are often persuaded by emotion, as well as logic. B. Reference a shared myth. C. Culture influences how receptive listeners are to emotional expressions and appeals. D. Use emotional appeals ethically. IV. Organizing Persuasive Messages A. Problem–Solution: the most basic organizational pattern for a persuasive speech. B. Refutation: identify objections to your position and then refute or overcome those objections with arguments and evidence. C. Cause and Effect: the goal is to convince listeners that one event causes another. D. Motivated Sequence: a five-step organizational plan using the cognitive dissonance approach. a. Attention: Grab their attention during the introduction of your speech. b. Need: You arouse dissonance. Convince listeners there is a need for change and that the need affects them directly. c. Satisfaction: After presenting the problem, identify the solution. d. Visualization: (1) Positive visualization: paints a verbal picture of a wonderful future if your solution is adopted. (2) Negative visualization: helps listeners see how awful things will be if your solution is not adopted. e. Action: tell your audience the specific, easy-to-follow steps they can take to implement your solution. V. Adapting Ideas to People and People to Ideas A. Persuading the receptive audience. 1. Identify with your audience and emphasize your similarities. 2. Clearly state your speaking objective. 3. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do. 4. Ask listeners for an immediate show of support. 5. Use emotional appeals effectively. 6. Make it easy for your listeners to act. B. Persuading the neutral audience. 1. Capture listeners’ attention early in the speech. 2. Refer to beliefs that many listeners share. 3. Relate your topic to listeners as well as their families, friends, and loved ones. 4. Be realistic in what you can accomplish. C. Persuading the unreceptive audience. 1. Don’t immediately announce that you plan to change their minds. 2. Begin by noting areas of agreement before you discuss areas of disagreement. 3. Be realistic; don’t expect a major change in attitude from a hostile audience. 4. Acknowledge the opposing points of view. 5. Establish your credibility. 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
D. To enhance accurate understanding or correct a misconception, experienced speakers use a fourpart strategy: 1. Summarize the common misconceptions about the issue or idea you are discussing. 2. State why these misconceptions may seem reasonable. 3. Dismiss the misconceptions by providing evidence to support your point. 4. State the accurate information that you want your audience to remember.
CHAPTER SUMMARY Using persuasive strategies in public speaking dates back to ancient Greece, when the ancient philosopher Aristotle outlined necessary methods for effective persuasion. Credibility is established through an audience’s perception of a speaker’s competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism. Speakers are able to build credibility among audience members in three phases. The first of these phases is initial credibility, followed by derived credibility, which leads to terminal credibility. To be an effective persuader, speakers need to utilize logic and evidence. Speakers can use three types of reasoning: inductive, deductive, and causal. Evidence can include facts, examples, opinions, and statistics, all of which need to be used properly and practically. There are several persuasive fallacies that speakers must avoid. Causal fallacies, bandwagon fallacies, either–or fallacies, hasty generalizations, ad hominem fallacies, red herring fallacies, appeals to misplaced authority, non sequiturs, and slippery slope fallacies can all damage persuasive arguments if used in speeches. To be an effective persuader, speakers should not only rely on logic, reasoning, and evidence but also incorporate emotional appeals. Follow appropriate criteria when using emotional appeals, particularly ethical appeals. Speakers should organize their persuasive speeches using four basic strategies: problem–solution, refutation, cause and effect, and the motivated sequence. Speakers have to deal with three possible audiences: receptive, neutral, and unreceptive.
KEY TERMS credibility competence trustworthiness dynamism charisma initial credibility derived credibility terminal credibility logic evidence reasoning Toulmin Model of Argument data claim
warrant inductive reasoning generalization deductive reasoning syllogism major premise minor premise conclusion causal reasoning fact inference examples opinions statistic 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
reluctant testimony fallacy causal fallacy bandwagon fallacy either–or fallacy hasty generalization ad hominem fallacy red herring fallacy appeal to misplaced authority non sequitur slippery slope fallacy myth
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. By now, your students will have had multiple interactions—as speakers and audiences, as smallgroup-exercise participants, as before-and-after-class chatters, and perhaps even in newly formed social relationships. They are ripe for a good discussion about speaker credibility. In fact, they probably have good estimates of one another’s credibility within the class. Begin your discussion with Aristotle’s famous dictum that speakers must “find all the available means of persuasion.” Drop on students that the classical trio of persuasion means, using a bit more modern language, ethos—the audience-perceived competency, trustworthiness, and dynamism of a speaker; logos— how the audience perceives the speaker’s skill in using argument, logic, and evidence; and pathos—how effectively the listeners feel the speaker has aroused their emotions. Tell them they evaluated, before each classmate spoke, the initial credibility of that classmate; that they have now listened several times to each classmate and formed ideas about their derived credibility; and that they now have an impression about each classmate—an actual comparative estimate of their terminal credibility. Just to be on the safe side, conduct a bit of review. Ask students, in turn, to explain speaker credibility. Persist until you feel everybody is with it. Ask more students, in turn, to explain the ideas of initial, derived, and terminal credibility. Again, keep it up until everybody is a happy camper on speaker credibility. Now for the fun part. Ask students to look at the student on their left (some can’t, of course). Monitor them. Be firm. They are to look. Next, ask them to look at the student on their right. Insist. Next, ask them to look at the student in front of them and then the student behind them. Ignore the titters and groans. When students have finished observing their neighbors, say to them in all seriousness, “You are not to answer my next question out loud. Please close your eyes and think a moment. Which of the students you looked at has in your mind the greatest class speaker credibility? Think about it. Why?” 2. Lead a discussion of political figures and speaker credibility. What are student perceptions of President Obama? Ask students to comment on perceptions of the president’s competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism. 3. Define reasoning. Explain it as a process of reaching a conclusion in a way that listeners can accept and approve. For example, cause-and-effect reasoning is in everybody’s bag of tricks, and audiences will buy at least the way you are thinking. If you assert, “Students with poor study habits will probably get poor grades,” your students can dig that, probably both the reasoning type and the conclusion. Tell them you’re going to give examples of all three types of reasoning. Please feel free to either improve on the samples below or use them as is. Do tell students that something is seriously wrong with each example and that they can really impress you by nailing the errors in reasoning. Inductive Reasoning (reasoning from specifics to the general): A teacher examined demographic data from students and noted that the first eight of twenty-four students reported that they were married. The instructor concluded: all students in this class are married.
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Deductive Reasoning (the opposite of inductive reasoning—reasoning from the general to the specific): I have had ten super teachers in college. The eleventh will be just as great. As an addition, ask students to digest and criticize the “syllogism” below (use by name two agreeable and previously alerted students). Major Premise: All good students flatter their instructors. Minor Premise: ________ and ________ are good students. Conclusion:
________ and ________ flatter their instructor.
Causal Reasoning (relating two or more events to conclude that one more of the events caused the others): Smoking leads to lung disease. 4. After discussing analogy as a form of inductive reasoning, ask the class what problems exist, if any, with the assertions below. 1. Canada has the most efficient, cost-effective system of health care in the world; therefore, the United States should adopt the Canadian system. 2. My sibling lost twenty pounds in three weeks using diet pills; therefore, I am going on the same diet for three weeks. 3. Funding social programs in New York has led to a significant decrease in violent crime; therefore, other states should follow suit. 5. Demonstrate three patterns of persuasive speech organization by showing differences in central ideas for each pattern, given the same persuasive purpose. Persuasive Purpose: I want my audience to take a second course in public speaking. Organizational Pattern
Central Idea
Problem–Solution
A second course in public speaking adds needed skills not possible to achieve in a single course.
Refutation
Opponents of a second public speaking course offer irrelevant reasons.
Cause and Effect
A second course in public speaking will lead to highly marketable skills.
CLASS ACTIVITIES 6 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
1. The purpose of this activity is to develop students’ ability to judge a person’s credibility as a speaker. Recall television personalities who are perceived as having moderate to high credibility. Show clips of the shows to the class, and then have students identify the methods and strategies the communicators use to establish their credibility. 2. Ask each student to procure a “letter to the editor” from a local newspaper. The letter is to be chosen because the writer used “inductive reasoning” in supporting claims. In a subsequent class, have students share their letters to critique the writer’s use of inductive reasoning. Guide the fledgling critics with these questions: Are sufficient examples given or implied? Are the examples typical of the alleged problem? Are examples recent? 3. Ask students to bring digital, newspaper, or magazine advertisements that employ emotional appeals. In a subsequent class, match the examples to the tips for using emotion to persuade in this chapter. Ask a few students to argue why their advertisement is the class’s best example of the use of emotional appeals. 4. Hand out the scenarios below. Ask each student to write a short but emotional paragraph about one of the scenarios, using powerful words and vivid imagery. • • • • •
The scene of a domestic dispute being mediated by police officers. (Writer is volunteering at a women’s shelter.) The scene of a head-on collision killing three teenagers and injuring others. (Alcohol is involved.) The side of a hill covered with war refugees, including many orphans. (The writer contributes to relief funds.) The awards assembly for a Special Olympics track-and-field competition. (Writer is impressed by the contestants.) A funeral procession for an officer killed in the line of duty. (Argue for gun control legislation.)
5. Pair students and ask them to pick one topic from the topics below. It must be a topic on which they are opposed to one another. If that doesn’t happen with the provided topics, ask them to come up with their own. Allow at least one class to intervene. Students should think and prepare enough to allow (with one little old note card) 1- to 2-minute speeches. The exercise is intended to permit practice in approaching hostile audiences. Remind students to review and try to build into their speeches five textbook suggestions for handling unreceptive audiences. • • • •
Increasing their school’s tuition and fees in order to renovate campus facilities. Mandatory military draft for women and men during peacetime. Legalization of currently illegal drugs. All first- and second-year college students must live in dormitories.
6. In small groups, role-play working at an advertising agency. Each group has 15 minutes to create and present a 2- to 5-minute skit commercial selling a product or service. Catch: the presentation must be organized by the “motivated sequence” organizational plan. Have the students critically
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
analyze the use of the motivated sequence method. The class should pick a “winner” and briefly justify the choice. 7. Ask students to respond to the following situation by using the items below to structure written essays: You have problems “beyond your control” and are unable to get to your public speaking class to make a presentation. When you argue that the instructor should make an exception to rules about absences and make-up work, the instructor responds, “Ethically, to show fairness to all students, I cannot change my policy this late in the semester. I recommend you withdraw from the course to avoid an ‘F.’” When you continue to argue your case, the response is “No, I will not change my policy, but I will allow you to present your case to the entire class. If the majority of students agree with your argument, I’ll go along. But you must convince them for me to be satisfied with the fairness of the situation.” (1) Identify strategies to improve your initial, derived, and terminal credibility in this instance. (2) Use principles of effective reasoning to develop a persuasive message. (3) Describe effective techniques of using emotional appeals in this situation. (4) Adapt your persuasive message to the receptivity of this particular audience. (5) Identify strategies for effectively organizing this persuasive speech. Allow time for writing the essay between class periods. In a subsequent class, divide students into groups of three. Each student will read their essay to the other two. Each group will vote which essay the entire class should hear. If groups do not vote for one essay, they will not be heard. Remind students that the authors discuss using supporting materials as evidence in Chapter 17. A speaker’s evidence should support conclusions, contentions, and claims. Review the various types of evidence with students. Lead a discussion about the essays presented to the class. Compliment and thank all for writing. 8. The purpose of this activity is for students to practice creating effective persuasive strategies they can later incorporate into their speeches. Ask students to imagine that they are listening to persuasive speeches on the topics that follow. Students should identify two persuasive strategies that could help speakers change the attitudes or behaviors of their audiences. Students should be prepared to discuss their responses with the class during the next session. • • • • •
Taking a polygraph (lie detector) test before starting a new job Signing a petition to remove Native American burial remains from museums and return them to their homeland Antiterrorist legislation Changing to a vegetarian diet Joining an abortion rights protest
JOURNAL PROMPTS 24.1 Establishing Your Credibility You’re attending a political event and one of the candidates scheduled to speak has shown up late and is 8 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
wearing shorts and flip-flops. What advice would you give this speaker to improve their initial credibility? 24.2 Inductive, Deductive, and Causal Reasoning Explain the differences between inductive, deductive, and causal reasoning. 24.3 Emotional Appeals You are giving a speech on the dangers of texting while driving. What are some ways you can ethically and effectively use emotional appeals to make your point? 24.4 The Motivated Sequence You want your listeners to support a local ordinance that will restrict noise after 11:00 PM in your community. Using the motivated sequence, identify a way to get their attention, establish a need, identify a solution, visualize the benefits of this proposal, and present a specific action step they could take to help the ordinance pass. 24.5 Persuading an Audience You want to persuade members of your communication class to buy snacks from the campus World Environment Club, whose members donate profits to save rainforests in South America. Most of your classmates do not even know or care much about rainforests half a world away, and some have stereotyped members of the World Environment Club as a bunch of out-of-touch hippies. What persuasive speaking strategies would be helpful in achieving your goal?
SHARED WRITING PROMPT Appealing to Emotions You plan to convince your audience that they should donate to a drought-relief organization to help farmers cope with the effects that climate change has had on agriculture in your state. What emotional appeals would be both ethical and effective to support your position?
9 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 25: SPEAKING ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS LEARNING OBJECTIVES 25.1 Describe guidelines for effective public-relations speaking. 25.2 Identify occasions and best practices for ceremonial speeches. 25.3 List and explain strategies for creating humor in a speech.
CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Public-Relations Speaking A. Public-relations speeches are designed to inform the public and improve relations with them. B. Use the following guidelines to make a public-relations speech: 1. First, discuss the need or problem. 2. Explain how the company or organization is working to meet the need or solve the problem, or why it feels there is no problem. 3. Anticipate criticism from all or part of the audience; do not become unpleasantly defensive. 4. Acknowledge and counter potential problems or objections. 5. Emphasize positive aspects of the policy or program.
II. Ceremonial Speaking (epideictic speeches) A. Make introductions. 1. A speech of introduction is much like an informative speech, as the speaker provides the audience with information about the main speaker. a. Be brief. The audience came to hear the main speaker. b. Be accurate. Make sure the information with which you are supplied is accurate; know how to pronounce the speaker’s name. B. Make toasts. 1. A toast is a brief salute to a momentous occasion, such as a wedding, a birth, a reunion, or a successful business venture. C. Present awards.. 1. First, refer to the occasion. Is it an anniversary or high achievement in some field? 2. Next, explain the history and significance of the award. This will add to its meaning for the person who receives it. 3. Finally, name the person. The longest part of the award presentation is a glowing description of the accomplishments of the person being awarded. D. Nominate candidates. 1. Nomination speeches are similar to award presentations. E. Accept awards. 1. First, thank the person making the presentation and the organization that the person represents. 2. Next, comment on the meaning or significance of the award to you. 3. Finally, try to find some meaning the award may have for the audience. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
F. Present keynote addresses. 1. Usually presented at or near the beginning of a meeting or conference, emphasizing the importance of the topic or the purpose of the meeting. G. Present commencement addresses. 1. They fulfill two important functions: a. First, praise the graduating class. b. Second, turn graduates toward the future, suggesting new goals and inspiring them to reach for those goals. H. Honor with commemorative addresses. 1. Present facts about the event commemorated and/or the people receiving tribute. I. Pay tribute with eulogies. 1. Eulogy: a speech delivered when someone has died. III. After-Dinner Speaking: Using Humor Effectively A. The primary purpose of the after-dinner speech is to entertain, to make people laugh. B. Tell humorous stories. C. Employ humorous verbal strategies. 1. Play on words a. Puns rely on double meanings to create humor. b. Spoonerisms: “sublic peaking” instead of “public speaking.” c. Malapropism: the mistaken use of a word that sounds much like the intended word, for example “statue” and “statute.” “There’s no statue of limitation on murder.” 2. Hyperbole: or exaggeration, is often funny. 3. Understatement: involves downplaying a fact or event. 4. Verbal irony: a speaker who employs verbal irony says just the opposite of what they really mean. 5. Wit: one of the most frequently used strategies for achieving humor—relating an incident that takes an unexpected turn at the end. D. Use humorous nonverbal strategies. 1. After-dinner speakers often create humor through nonverbal cues such as posture, gesture, and voice. CHAPTER SUMMARY Public-relations speaking is one form of special-occasion speaking. Another form of special-occasion speaking is giving ceremonial speeches. There are various types of ceremonial speeches. Introductory speeches present a main speaker by providing information about their qualifications as well as the topic on which they will speak. A toast is a brief salute to a person or people. Presenting awards is another type of special-occasion speech that requires the speaker to provide information on the significance of the award. Nomination speeches explain clearly what a nominee’s skills and qualifications are. Acceptance speeches require that speakers be sincere and brief with their comments. Keynote speeches, on the other hand, may be longer and are more motivational in nature. Commencement addresses praise the graduating class and then offer advice for the graduates’ future. Commemorative addresses pay tribute to a person or past event. Finally, eulogies are speeches delivered when someone has died. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
After-dinner speeches may attempt to persuade or inform audiences, but their primary purpose is to entertain. Humor is the challenge for an after-dinner speaker. KEY TERMS public-relations speeches ceremonial speeches epideictic speeches speech of introduction toast award presentation nomination speeches
acceptance speech keynote address commencement address commemorative address eulogy after-dinner speeches puns
spoonerisms malapropism hyperbole understatement verbal irony wit
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. From section I of the outline, share rudimentary information about workplace reports and publicrelations speeches. If time permits, follow with a verbatim presentation of the Beebe textbook explication and examples of reports and public-relations speaking. 2. Ask your class, “If I were to speak at an occasion next week, and I wanted one of you to introduce me, who would the class select to do it?” Ask a volunteer to give a speech of introduction about you. 3. Review the rules for award presentation and acceptance speaking (outline, section II). As reinforcement, share selected clips from an unbeatable lecture visual aid, the video recording Oscar’s Greatest Moments: 1971–1991 (often available on YouTube). The recording contains some of the most memorable moments of the annual Academy Awards ceremony. In, at times, excruciating detail, clips show students what to do and what not to do in presenting and accepting awards. If unable to access this film, believe this author: use any clip of the ceremony. Expect the best in award presentation and acceptance speaking—you’ll get it; expect the worst in awards and acceptance speaking—you’ll get that, too. 4. Review textbook suggestions for three of the remaining ceremonial speeches: nomination speeches, keynote addresses, and commencement addresses. Call for students to share their own personal experience as either a speaker or a member of the audience in each of the three previous speech situations. Probe strongly about students’ experiences with commencement addresses. Encourage students to share the good, bad, and ugly about those experiences; some of these students may give commencement addresses—save their future audiences now! 5. Ask students this hypothetical question: “If you could go to a convention and hear any keynote speaker in the world, living or dead, who would you like to hear, and why?” 6. Ask students to imagine they have been selected to keynote a student government association conference. What topic would they choose? Will they choose to inform or to persuade? How would they attempt to maximize initial credibility and derived credibility? Will humor play an important role? 3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
7. Access former Texas governor Ann Richards’s keynote address to the 1992 Democratic national nominating convention. Discuss her refrain of issues, followed by the rhetorical question “And where was George [Bush]?” 8. Although after-dinner speeches do not require the services of a professional comedian, humor is the sine qua non of these speeches. And, the actual “shticks” of many professionals take the form of after-dinner speaking. Examples coming to mind include Seth MacFarlane, Jimmy Kimmel, or Jimmy Fallon. Find a recording of a stand-up comedian of your choice, in a segment where a serious subject is being treated with light, but constant, humor. Show the segment to your classes (indeed, teaching can be fun), directing them to look for these elements in an effective after-dinner speech: timing, facial expressions, humorous transitions, double takes, slow burns, and the beat goes on. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. Ask students if they viewed the initial film in the series generally referred to as Planet of the Apes. Review Beebe and Beebe’s suggestions for eulogy speaking—in this case, eulogies for the dead (a) list and linger on the unique achievements of the person eulogized; (b) include personal, even humorous recollections of the departed; and finally (c) turn to the living, encouraging them to transcend their sense of loss and give thanks for this person’s sojourn among the living. From the film, show the right-on funeral eulogy Charlton Heston interrupts as he escapes from the apes. Each Beebe principle is exemplified in just brief moments of the eulogy by a dominant ape for a departed outstanding ape citizen. You might choose to project the three “rules” for eulogies as you show the film clip. The purpose of this activity is to expand students’ thinking on the purposes of eulogies, as well as to provide practice in this important kind of special-occasion speaking. It may sound irreverent to you, but there are many uses of eulogies other than paying tribute to dead persons. When you assign this activity, explore those other uses with students. For example, a speech can eulogize one’s lost youth, the ending of a long and intense project (like completing a college degree), a relationship that has dissolved, or a car that has been totaled in a car wreck. Ask students to prepare brief (two-minute) eulogies on these topics or others. Make sure students understand that this activity is designed in no way to ridicule or make light of the primary purpose of eulogies. JOURNAL PROMPTS 25.1 Making an Acceptance Speech You have just been nominated team volleyball captain, and you’ve been asked to give a brief acceptance speech. What should you say? 25.2 Using Humor You’d like to include some humor in a speech you’re giving about the worst summer job you ever held. What are five humorous verbal strategies you could use? 4 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
SHARED WRITING PROMPT Making a Toast It’s the end of the semester, and you are toasting your classmates for successfully completing this public speaking course. What will you say? Keep in mind that most toasts are quite short—only a few sentences at most.
5 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 26: SPEAKING IN SMALL GROUPS LEARNING OBJECTIVES 26.1 Identify and describe the five steps for solving problems in groups and teams. 26.2 Identify appropriate leadership roles and styles for small groups. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
Solving Problems in Groups and Teams A. Problem solving is a central purpose of many groups. B. John Dewey’s reflective thinking is a method of problem solving with a series of five steps: 1. Identify and define the problem. a. To reach a clear definition, the group should consider the following questions: (1) What is the specific problem that concerns us? (2) What terms, concepts, or ideas do we need to understand to solve the problem? (3) Who is harmed by the problem? (4) When do the harmful effects occur? 2. Analyze the problem. a. Analysis: a process of examining the causes, effects, symptoms, history, and other background information to reach a solution. b. When analyzing a problem, a group should consider the following questions: (1) What is the history of the problem? (2) How extensive is the problem? (3) What are the causes, effects, and symptoms of the problem? (4) Can the problem be subdivided for further definition and analysis? (5) What methods do we already have for solving the problem, and what are the limitations of those methods? (6) What obstacles might prevent a solution? c. Criteria: the standards used for identifying an acceptable solution; a group should determine the criteria as part of the problem analysis process. 3. Generate possible solutions. a. Once the group has identified, defined, and analyzed the problem, generate possible solutions. 4. Select the best solution. a. Consider the following when evaluating a solution: (1) Which of the suggested solutions deals best with the obstacles? (2) Is the solution effective in both the short and the long term? (3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested solution? (4) Does the solution meet the established criteria? (5) Should the group revise its criteria? (6) What is required to implement the solution? (7) When can the group implement the solution? (8) What result will indicate success? d. Consensus: all members supporting the final decision. 1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
5. Test and implement the solution. II. Leading Small Groups A. Leadership responsibilities B. Leadership styles 1. Authoritarian leaders: assume positions of superiority, give orders, and assume control of the group’s activity. 2. Democratic leaders: involve group members in the decision-making process, rather than dictating what should be done; focus on guiding discussion. 3. Laissez-faire leaders: allow group members complete freedom in all aspects of the decision-making process, and do little to help achieve group goals. This “nonleadership” often leaves group members frustrated because they lack guidance. 4. Transformational leaders: good communicators who influence others by building a shared vision of the future, inspiring others to achieve, and developing high-quality individual relationships with others. CHAPTER SUMMARY Learning how to interact in group settings is an important skill for students, as they will be members of many different types of groups throughout their lives. When solving problems in groups, Beebe and Beebe suggest students follow Dewey’s problem-solving suggestions: identify and define the problem, analyze the problem, generate possible solutions, select the best solution, and, finally, test and implement the solution. Leaders in small groups usually take one of four forms: authoritative, democratic, laissez-faire, or transformational. KEY TERMS small group communication reflective thinking analysis criteria consensus TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Consider a group problem-solving discussion as the last major performance of the semester. Students will be asked to work together on their project both in and out of class. Students report that this kind of group presentation is not uncommon in other classes and workplaces. Hence, the exercise would seem to be excellent practice for your class, other classes, and the students’ welfare in the “real world.” Assign students to groups, or post topics on the whiteboard to see if students will group themselves satisfactorily by topic. Aim for six-person groups. If necessary, review the steps in reflective thinking, encouraging students to use this process and organization in their discussions. The assignment is for groups to plan, research, organize, and present a group panel discussion. In their presentations, they are to propose a policy and course of action pertinent to a significant school, community, or national issue/problem. Allow as many weeks as possible for groups to meet and plan their presentations. On presentation days, groups should turn in typed outlines and bibliographies of sources. After each presentation, discuss group 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
process, use of reflective thinking, trouble spots in either planning or presenting, and individual participant positive highlights. 2. By way of opening discussion of problem solving through reflective thinking, share with students common problems among those untrained in group interaction and problem-solving: • • • • • • •
Severity of problems tends to be assumed, since “everybody’s talking about it.” Many participants want to begin talking about solutions much too soon in the reflective process. Participants are often unaware of the necessary roles and patterns of interaction required for effective group problem solving. Untrained participants often lack research and support for conclusions. Few have been trained in formal and informal leadership skills. Few understand the importance of establishing guiding and evaluative criteria, especially for developing and implementing solutions. Few have received guided practice in managing small group conflict.
Inform students that businesses, institutions, and organizations pay well to find people with good training in group process and interaction, especially with group leadership skills. You might wish to tell students that the emphasis on experiential learning in your class has side benefits—informal but profitable group process training. 3. Discuss some leaders throughout history, as well as current leaders. This list of names might include Indira Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ann Richards, John F. Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, or the president of your college or university. Ask students what makes or made these individuals effective or ineffective leaders. What leadership qualities did or do these people possess? Do students think these leaders were “born” or “made”? CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. To increase student awareness of group membership pervasiveness, lead a discussion centering on student memberships in small groups. Students often do not remember to mention their families or partners in current living arrangements. Share that families are a primary group, often exerting influence on other group memberships and activities. Ask students to think of informal as well as formal group memberships, such as committees and staffs, friendship circles, and athletic teams. Give this example of a college student’s membership in small groups:
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
recreational sports team department workforce team on a part-time job study group in a class friendship circle college newspaper staff college social, political, or ethnic organization political candidate campaign staff volunteer Considering that group memberships can be very real to students, with short- and long-term implications, students will profit from greater knowledge of small group processes and communication theory. 2. Instruct students between classes to list small groups to which they belong. Remind them to include both formal and informal group memberships. In a subsequent class, divide into small groups and have each student report on their memberships. After, reinforce the obvious conclusions: in our society, small group memberships are common for all, and it behooves us to learn about small group processes and communication. 3. Review the classic styles of leadership: authoritarian, democratic, laissez faire, and transformational. Although oversimplified, these conclusions from 1940s research still make sense to students: Authoritarian Leaders:
Groups tend to be more accurate and swifter in task completion than with other leadership types; group members may report low satisfaction with group process and leader.
Democratic Leaders:
Groups are slower in task completion than with authoritarian leaders; group members usually report much higher satisfaction with tasks and leadership.
Laissez-Faire Leaders:
Groups show general dissatisfaction with leadership, disorganized approach to tasks, and low group morale.
Transformational Leaders:
They inspire and encourage others through positive feedback to group members.
4. Direct students to prepare a hypothetical agenda for a short meeting with one of their more formal groups. In a subsequent class, divide into groups of three and share pertinent information: What kind of group? What kind of meetings usually? Is an agenda typically prepared? Your typical responsibilities in the group? Students should speculate how they, as leaders, would keep their group focused on the supposed agenda. 5. The purpose of this activity (Group Snoop?) is to provide students with the experience of observing problem-solving groups in action. Have students observe a small group meeting, such as a weekly staff meeting, officers’ planning session, or committee gathering. Ask students to specifically look for member behaviors that can be categorized as task roles and maintenance roles. They may have to take notes quickly because the interaction may speed past them. What were the primary group decisions? If there were no decisions, explain why. What was the process used for decision making? Did it resemble Dewey’s reflective thinking process? How did the leader(s) of the group function? What task roles did the 7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Test Bank
leader assume? Was the leadership effective or lacking? Also ask students to rate the overall quality and effectiveness of the group members. Students should justify their ratings. 6. The purpose of this activity is to teach students to identify steps within the problem-solving process. Stage a group problem-solving session using four student volunteers from your class. Set up the exercise and give preparation time outside of class. Group members are executives in a major corporation; the group has come together for its monthly meeting. The main task for this meeting is to decide how to spend the budget surplus before the end of the quarter. Assign student volunteers the following roles: •
Dominant Dave: Corporate Vice President. Dave is a successful vice president but is overbearing in his leadership and communicator style. He dominates meetings and openly communicates the fact that he is the immediate supervisor of the other three people in the group. People do not generally “warm” to Dave.
•
Efficient Emily: National Director of Marketing and Research. Emily is well-organized and comes prepared to make reports and offer suggestions at meetings. However, while Emily is efficient, she is reserved and nonassertive in her communication with colleagues.
•
Brown-Nose Bob: National Director of Corporate Expansion. Bob is the perpetual “yes” man to the boss; he is talkative, pleasant, and friendly but lacks discipline and is averse to hard work. He likes to bluff his way through meetings. His style makes him fairly likable but not trustworthy.
•
Radical Rita: Corporate Director of Human Resources. Rita voices opinions assertively but often without tact or consideration for the listener. She is a valued employee, recognized for her accomplishments, but is generally viewed as “pushy” and as having a “chip on her shoulder.”
As this role-played group meeting ensues, have other class members view the meeting. Did the group’s problem-solving discussion stay on track, following Dewey’s process of reflective thinking? If it did not, what or who caused it to stray? Did the group successfully solve its problem or merely table it until another meeting? JOURNAL PROMPTS 26.1 Solving Problems List the five steps John Dewey recommended for solving problems. 26.2 Your Boss’s Leadership Style Think about your boss or supervisor at a previous job. What kind of leadership style did your boss have? Was it effective? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Small Groups Have you ever had to lead a small group? What leadership style did you use? What went well and what didn’t?
8 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER 27: MEDIATED PUBLIC SPEAKING LEARNING OBJECTIVES 27.1 Describe the basic principles of mediated public speaking. 27.2 Discuss how to effectively rehearse for an online presentation. 27.3 Explain how to effectively deliver an online presentation. 27.4 Describe the qualities of a good digital citizen. CHAPTER OUTLINE I.
An Introduction to Mediated Communication A. Mediated public speaking occurs when you prepare and present a speech to share with an audience who is not physically present. B. Types of Online Presentations 1. Synchronous presentations take place in real time (screencasting). 2. Asynchronous presentations are prerecorded (podcasts, vodcasts). 3. Hybrid presentations combine elements of live and prerecorded presentations. C. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediated Public Speaking 1. Advantages a. Greater flexibility and time and space efficiency b. More cost effective c. May be able to get immediate audience feedback (synchronous) d. Easier communication across time zones and language barriers 2. Disadvantages a. Limited (or no) sensory cues from the audience b. Possibility of noise and technology failures c. Can’t see or hear your audience (asynchronous) D. Considering Your Audience 1. Target Audience a. Primary audience is the live audience or the group a speaker would most like to reach. b. Secondary audience consists of others who view the speech. 2. Amorphous audience: one without a specific size and without specific demographics. 3. Public versus private audience: business presentations are often private, but recorded videos may reach a public audience. E. Preparing for Your Online Presentation 1. Selecting the type of presentation: synchronous or asynchronous? Audio and video? Presentation aids? 2. Selecting technology: use high-quality audio, video, and presentation technology. 3. Setting the stage a. Choose a place with a neat background, minimal background noise, and good lighting. b. Choose appropriate clothing and camera positioning.
1 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
II. Rehearsing Your Online Presentation A. Rehearsing the Presentation 1. Imagine you are speaking to a live audience rather than to a camera. 2. Use a rate of delivery that is not too fast or too slow. 3. Avoid hand gestures that are too big or are out of the camera’s view. 4. Use a voice volume that is similar to what you would use if you were speaking in a conference room. 5. Keep the practice session as close as possible to the actual speaking situation. B. Rehearsing a Q&A session 1. Practice answering questions. 2. Predict possible questions. 3. Ask friends to watch your presentation and ask questions. III. Delivering or Recording Your Online Presentation A. Tips to ensure the recording of your presentation goes smoothly: 1. Learn how to use your equipment properly. 2. Understand how to use the software. 3. Give yourself time for multiple takes and for editing the presentation. 4. Ask for help if needed. 5. Eliminate any distractions before transmitting or recording. IV. Online Etiquette: Digital Citizenship A. Speaker 1. Make sure content is appropriate for all audiences. 2. Keep language and visual aids “clean.” 3. Do not depict illegal behavior. 4. Include a warning about any graphic content. B. Audience 1. Ask intelligent, applicable questions. 2. Do not make fun of the speaker or start an argument. 3. Do not attempt to discredit or make the speaker appear foolish. CHAPTER SUMMARY Mediated communication occurs when a speaker uses technology to connect with an audience. Mediated public speaking occurs when a speaker prepares and presents a speech to share with an audience who is not physically present. Synchronous presentations take place in real time (screencasts), and asynchronous presentations are prerecorded (podcasts and vodcasts). Hybrid presentations combine elements of both. Advantages of mediated public speaking include greater flexibility, cost effectiveness, and ease of communicating with others in different time zones and who speak other languages. Disadvantages include limited (or no) sensory cues from the audience and the possibility of noise and technology failures. Speakers must consider the target audience they want to reach (whether primary or secondary), their amorphous audience, and whether their audience is public or private. Preparing for a mediated speech requires some additional considerations, including selecting the type of presentation, selecting technology, and setting the stage: selecting a quiet space with good lighting and choosing appropriate clothing and camera positioning. 2 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
A practice session should be as close as possible to the actual event. Speakers should use natural speaking and gestures, wear the same clothes, and use the same equipment. Speakers should practice answering some questions prior to a Q&A session. To ensure recording of the presentation goes smoothly, speakers should know how to use their equipment and software, give themselves time for several takes and editing, ask for help if needed, and eliminate distractions before recording. To be a good digital citizen, speakers should make sure the content is appropriate for all audiences and give warnings for any graphic images that must be included. Audience members should ask intelligent questions that relate to the topic and should not aim to discredit or make the speaker look foolish. KEY TERMS mediated communication mediated public speaking synchronous presentation asynchronous presentation
screencasting podcasts vodcasts hybrid presentations
primary audience secondary audience amorphous audience digital citizen
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1. Most students will have been involved in a presentation (as speakers or audience members) that had technical difficulties. What suggestions does the textbook offer that might have helped that presentation go more smoothly? 2. By way of opening a discussion on digital citizenship, ask students to consider how much of their lives take place through a mediated channel (texting, social media posts, commenting on videos, online classes, etc.). How many of those interactions feel anonymous to students? Now that so many formal and casual interactions are possible through mediated communication, how can students make sure to be good digital citizens regardless of the situation? CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. To increase student awareness of strategies to capture audience attention, ask them who their favorite mediated public speakers are. (These can be social media influencers, politicians, late-night talk show hosts, etc.) If possible, ask several students to share a clip (with appropriate content) of their favorite speaker with the class, and have the class evaluate the strategies that speaker uses to capture audience attention. They will likely include some of the following:
3 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Concise Public Speaking Handbook, 6e Instructor’s Manual
Emphasizing common ground Asking rhetorical questions Maintaining focus Highlighting takeaways Using variety Using images You can ask students to send you the clips as homework ahead of this lesson so that you can prescreen them and select the best examples. 2. The purpose of this activity is to give students experience with developing online presentations. Divide students into groups of three. Tell them that they must develop a concept for an online presentation and decide if it will be asynchronous, synchronous, or hybrid and if it will be a vodcast or podcast. They should determine who their primary audience is and decide if they will use features such as file sharing, screencasting, or other visual aids. Allow them to have fun sketching out their concepts, and then have each group pitch their podcast or vodcast to the rest of the class. JOURNAL PROMPTS 27.1 Mediated Communication When giving an online presentation, it may be difficult to engage your audience. What are some of the strategies you can use to capture their attention? 27.2 Rehearsing Your Online Presentation Rehearsing your delivery before presenting your speech is an important step. What are four rehearsal tips for making your presentation more enjoyable for the audience? 27.3 Delivering or Recording Your Online Presentation How familiar are you with the technology and software required for mediated public speaking? What are some ways you can ensure your delivery goes smoothly? 27.4 Being a Digital Citizen When a presentation is recorded, it could be viewed by nearly anyone. As a speaker, how can you be sure your content is appropriate for all audiences? SHARED WRITING PROMPT Small Groups Have you ever had to make a speech online, either live or recorded? What went well and what didn’t?
7 Copyright © 2024, 2018, 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.