BASICS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Describe the four basic characteristics that distinguish public speaking from other forms of communication.
1. Public speaking features communication between a speaker and an audience.
2. Public speaking is audience centered.
3. Public speaking emphasizes the spoken word.
4. Public speaking is usually a prepared presentation
a type of communication anxiety (or nervousness), is the level of fear you experience when anticipating or actually speaking to an audience
public speaking apprehension
What is public speaking known as?
Extended conversations
Mass media is the most interactive sphere of communication today.
FALSE. This is the least interactive sphere of communication. Nonetheless, mainstream media still occupy an enormous amount of our time as we search for information and entertainment.
Posture
the way one holds one's body; a pose or position
Name and explain three ways in which becoming a competent public speaker can have a positive impact on your life and career.
1. Use public speaking as a student.
2. Use public speaking in your career.
3. Use public speaking in your community.
seeing public speaking as a situation in which a speaker must impress an audience with knowledge and delivery, and seeing audience members as hypercritical judges who will notice and judge even minor mistakes
performance orientation
What is communication?
Process where sources use verbal and nonverbal symbols to transport message to receivers in a way that is understood by everyone
Most Americans never use the skills learned in a public speaking class outside of a classroom setting.
FALSE. A public speaking course gives you a chance to develop communication skills that you can use inside and outside the classroom.
movement
An act of changing physical position.
How is new technology changing the nature of public speaking?
added channels and mediums of communication
seeing a speech situation as an opportunity to talk with a number of people about a topic that is important to the speaker and to them
communication orientation
Process
Series of stages in which something undergoes transformation at each step
The "five arts of public speaking" identified by Cicero are not relevant to public speaking in a digital age.
FALSE. The Roman statesman Cicero categorized the elements of public communication into five "arts of public speaking," or canons of rhetoric, that still apply today.
use of eyebrows, eyes and mouth to communicate thoughts, emotions, and attitudes
facial expression
Name and define each of the five classical canons of rhetoric.
1. Invention - generation of ideas for a speech, whether from own thoughts or research.
2. Arrangement - structuring ideas to convey them effectively to audience
3. Style - choice of language that will best express ideas to audience
4. Memory - (preparation) practice and work speakers do to maintain command of material when they present a speech.
5. Delivery - use of voice and body during presentation of a speech
a method to reduce apprehension by developing mental picture of yourself giving a masterful speech
visualization
Encoding
The entire process of the source sending their message
Even good speakers may experience speech anxiety.
TRUE. Nearly everyone gets nervous when speaking in public.
use of a speaker's hands or arms during a speech to emphasize points
gestures
What is a thesis statement?
Single sentence that sums up the speech's main message and reflects the narrowed topic and rhetorical purpose.
a method to reduce apprehension by gradually visualizing increasingly more frightening speaking events
systematic desensitization
Receiver
One who sees/hears messages and transforms then into its own meanings
Public speaking is a unique form of communication unlike everyday speaking contexts such as those in the classroom or workplace.
FALSE. You often may be required to give presentations in other classes, and this course helps prepare you for that. Effective speaking skills give you tremendous advantage at work, too. Overall, public speaking ability helps you become a more active member of your community, allows you to participate more fully in organizations you belong to, and boosts your self-confidence in both your personal and professional life.
To maintain connection with members of an audience by looking individuals in the eye while delivering a speech
eye contact