How to Make Your Speaking Easier and More Effective
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
* Remember that the members of the audience are supposed to be the
beneficiaries of your communication.
* Don't make too many assumptions about your audience. But you do have
to make some.
* Figure out the basics. Who are these people?
* demographics (age, ethnicity, gender mix, etc.).
* predispositions (hopes, fears, positives/negatives, level of
interest).
* knowledge of/experience with subject/me.
* In what kind of setting will they receive this information?
* large lecture hall or small seminar room or classroom.
* lighting and sound issues.
* time of day.
* Take into account the "me, here, now."
* Picture yourself as a member of the audience and ask "How does this
message affect me, here, now?"
* Me, here, now translates into what you as a sender have to offer
your audience/receivers-what they will be able to understand, accept,
support, consider important-because it matters to them.
* Establish cognitive / behavioral objectives for your audience:
* What do I want my audience to know?
* What do I want my audience to do
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OPENINGS, AND CLOSINGS
OPENINGS. Stay away from the predictable (Good morning..., Today, I'm here
to talk about...). Instead:
* Begin with a provocative question, anecdote, or current event-and
how it relates to the content.
* Ask the audience a question
* Set up a problem-and promise that they'll have all the tools for a
solution by the end of the class.
CLOSINGS. Many speakers simply talk until the end of the time or beyond
it-and say, "I see we're out of time." Instead:
* Plan a rhythm for your speaking-plan to end with content 5 minutes
early, so you can summarize, raise questions.
* Set aside a time for questions-and structure that time.
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PREPARATION
You probably can't cover everything you want to in a talk or speech.
* Decide what is essential, what is important, and what is helpful
(what would be nice).
* Cover the first; try to cover the second; forget about the third.
* Release a little control over the material and rely on the textbook
or a list of supplementary readings for the nonessentials.
* Set objectives.
* What do you want to have accomplished at the end of the speech?
* What do you want the audience to know at the end of the speech?
* Plan a speech to cover less than the allotted period.
* It takes some time to get going.
* Questions always take up more time than you expect.
* Divide the speech/talk into discrete segments and follow the
standard speech structure.
* Divide it both in terms of time and in terms of material.
* Try for roughly equal blocks, each one on a topic.
* Unlike in a piece of writing, you should tell them what you'll say,
say it, and tell them what you've said.
* Speak from notes or an outline, rather than a complete text.
* It's too tempting to simply read, rather than lecture, from a
complete text.
* Reading also creates a barrier between speaker and audience.
* Writing up an entire speech is very time consuming.
* A written speech often becomes a fossil that never gets updated.
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DELIVERY
* Be conversational; speak naturally; be yourself (or your best self).
* That self may be formal, "laid back," understated, or hyper. Use
those traits; don't fight against them.
* Talk about the material; don't lecture about it.
* (Talking is easier if you don't read verbatim.)
* Vary your pacing and voice.
* Gauge audience reaction, and
* Repeat critical points immediately if you sense the necessity.
* Use your voice to underline and italicize the important points.
* Pause before new points.
* Use transitional statements to move to the next idea.
* Use gestures to emphasize points.
* Consider gestures to be a mirror of your voice.
* Adjust your gestures to the size of the room.
* Look at the audience.
* Try to cover all parts of the room by dividing it into four
quadrants.
* If direct eye contact makes you forget your place, try looking just
over a student's head, or between two students (They won't see the
difference).
* Use language to create pictures.
* Use metaphors, analogies, and similes.
* Observe the techniques of others.
* Try out in your own talks techniques you admire in others.
* Like any skill, delivery is not innate, but must be learned
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CREDIBILITY & COMMITMENT
Although speaking isn't theater, we do know that audience find concepts,
knowledge, skills, and ideas most accessible and credible from someone they
consider . . . well, not dull.
* Think about antecedent image-perception is often stronger than
reality.
* Credibility is enhanced by:
* Your own sense of comfort and confidence presenting material.
* Your enthusiasm and interest in teaching.
* Your research and own ideas.
* Commitment is enhanced by:
* Relating your own experience, ideas, and feelings.
* Taking the first person approach, not separating yourself from your
subject.
* Relating your "passion" for your subject.
* Delivery is tied to both commitment and credibility:
An old UCLA study of effective presentations analyzed 3 elements (verbal,
vocal, visual). Here's what it found was important in establishing
credibility/believability:
* Verbal (words you say): 7%.
* Vocal (how you sound when you say them): 38%.
* Visual (how you look when you say them): 55%.
* Your energy and intensity will move your audience-and help you
(them) reach your objectives.
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BUILDING INTERACTION
* Learning takes place best in an active, not a passive environment.
* Interaction is a continuous way to
* Assess the me, here, now.
* Determine whether or not your content is understood.
* Share the responsibility of learning more equitably and
appropriately.
* How to build interaction?
* Have questions prepared-begin with relatively easy, accessible ones.
* Work to get everyone involved, even in large groups.
* Ask the audience to consider issues with the person sitting next to
them/jot down ideas, questions, concerns.
* Discuss as a larger group.
* Move yourself!
* Don't scurry back and forth, but don't get locked into one position.
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HANDLING QUESTIONS
* Explicitly request and encourage questions.
* The audience will see that you have a genuine interest in what
they're thinking.
* Be aware of how your behavior and comments can set the tone for
questioning.
* A negative response (e.g., "We've already covered that") discourages
further questions and may make the audience think you don't really want
questions.
* Make sure everyone hears the question.
* Repeat it if necessary.
* But don't make a habit of simply repeating every question.
* Ask the audience if they heard the question; then ask the person to
repeat.
* Clarify questions.
* Say, "Do you mean that . . . ," or "I'm sorry, I don't understand
the question," rather than "Your question isn't clear."
* Answer questions as directly as possible.
* Address your answer to the whole audience.
* Ask whether you have answered the question.
* Be diplomatic when people raise tangential, overly complicated
questions, or persistently ask questions just to be asking.
* Ask them to stop by after the presentation or to contact you.
* If a someone is simply confused, say, "Let me go over this point a
bit more slowly."
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GETTING FEEDBACK
* Get regular feedback.
* Ask the audience to spend the last five minutes of class writing
down the most important thing they learned that day or one question they
have as a result of the talk.
* Or ask them to write down questions they still have.
* Use eye contact as a tool for continuous feedback.
* If you notice people with questioning looks, stop what you're doing
and ask if you need to clarify.
* If you get no response, go ahead and clarify.
Tollefson/Peterson
UC Berkeley, 2000
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