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Distinctive Features of Public Speaking (Response)

The response to a speech is what happens during and as a result of the speech. Of course you hope that your speeches are well received and that they will affect the lives of your listeners favorably. But whether they achieve that result depends a great deal on what happens during the speech. One of the things that make public speaking dynamic is its interactive quality. While you are speaking, listeners are responding. As they respond, so should you. This makes a speech an interaction in which listeners and speakers constantly adjust to each other. These on-the-spot adjustments lend an unpredictable quality to public speaking that can make it an interesting and exciting form of communication. Note the adjustment that one of our speakers made during a speech on the dangers of global warming; Some of you are frowning, and I can hardly blame you. This is really hard to believe. But let me quote to you the words of Time magazine in a recent survey of all these scientific disc

Distinctive Features of Public Speaking (Interference)

Interference can enter at any point in the process to disrupt the effectiveness of communication. Interference, which we discuss further in Chapter 3, can range from physical noise that impedes the hearing of a speech, such as a plane flying over the building, to psychological “noise” within speakers and listeners that prevents them from connecting. Three forms of interference are especially troubling. The first is speaker apprehension. Fear is an understandable reaction to public speaking experiences. The situation may seem strange, and speakers may feel exposed and vulnerable. Listeners may seem distant, unfriendly, or threatening. Beginning speakers will learn to control their fears and to convert them into positive energy that adds sparkle and power to a speech. But at the outset, these feelings can interfere with effective communication. A second form of interference is listener distraction, which imposes a barrier between an audience and a message. Listene

Distinctive Features of Public Speaking (Consequences)

Successful speeches obviously have impact. As a result of them, listeners learn, decide to change their minds or to take action, or join in celebrating the meaning of exemplary lives. Moreover, if we could see the communication process at work in a speech, we might also see the identities of speakers and listeners coming into or out of focus of communication or show those same people growing larger or smaller. These effects would all represent the consequences of public speaking, especially the ethical impact of public speaking as transactional and transformational communication. Transactional communication suggests that successful communication goes beyond personal achievement and the sharing of vital information, ideas, and advice. It implies the sharing and sharing of sieves. In the introduction to Bridges Nor Walls, John Stewart, an interpersonal communication scholar, notes: “Every time persons communicate, they are continually offering definitions of themselve

Supporting Materials and Critical Thinking

The materials used to support a speaker’s ideas. The skillful use of Supporting Materials often makes the difference between a poor speech and a good one. It is also closely related to Critical Thinking. Using supporting materials is not a matter of haphazardly tossing facts and figures into your speech. You must decide which ideas need to be supported, give your audience, topics and specific purpose. You must to research to find materials that will being your ideas across clearly and creatively. And you must evaluate your supporting materials to make sure they really do back up your ideas. As you put your speeches together, you will need to make sure your supporting materials are accurate, relevant, and reliable. You will find yourself asking questions such as “Are my example representative?” “Am I using statistical measures correctly?” “Am I quoting reputable, qualified sources?” Assessing the supporting materials in your speech – as well as in your speech of your classmates—is

Supporting Materials (Example)

A specific case used to illustrate or represent a group of people, ideas, conditions, experiences, or the like. Across from a small, grassy park dedicated to Greek and Irish immigrants, Joe Cogliano, whose grandparents were Italian, sells mangoes to Hispanic customers from the back of his truck. Children play tag while chattering in Spanish on O’Brien Terrace, part of the housing project built in 1939 for Irish laborers. The pungent odor of Vietnamese fish sauce fills a Southeast Asia restaurant where Giavis’ Greek Grocery once thrived for more than 70 years. These were the opening lines of an article in Time Magazine about the interaction of cultures in Lowell , Massachusetts . It illustrates a device well known to magazine writes – and speech makers: get the audience involved. See how skillfully this example accomplishes the goal.It begins by focusing attention on a particular person (Joe Cogliano). It then provides details of time and place that set the scene vivi

Supporting Materials (Brief Examples)

A specific case referred to in passing to illustrate a point. Brief examples-also called specific instances-may be referred to in passing to illustrate a point. The following excerpt uses a brief example to illustrate the miraculous nature of recent advances in creati9ng artificial limbs for accident victims: Changes in technology have made it possible for doctors to work wonders that once seemed impossible. Roger Charter, for example, lost both his feet when they were crushed in a truck accident. Now he has new feet – made of a spring plastic alloy that duplicates a normal arch. Not only can Roger walk normally, but he can run and play sports again! A brief example may also be used to introduce a topic.