Day Two: Overview of the Speechmaking Process by Yana Cornish Hamilton College

Agenda: Discuss homework assignment – description of the web site; Improving your confidence as a speaker; Preparing your first speech: an overview of the speechmaking process.

Improving your Confidence: Understanding your nervousness “The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you are born and never stops… until you get up to speak in public”. “Given a choice, at a funeral most of us would rather be the one in the coffin than the one giving the eulogy”.

Improving your Confidence: It’s normal to be nervous! More than 80% of population feel anxious when they speak to an audience. You usually feel more nervous than you look; Almost every speaker experiences some degree of nervousness; Anxiety can be useful!

Why Are You Nervous? Fear of Humiliation Personal Insecurity Inexperience Fear of Failure Fear of Unknown (>practice) Fear of the Spotlight Fear of Breaking the Rules Fear of Fear

What to do? Build your confidence: Know your audience and focus on it; Be prepared and well organized; Select appropriate topic (you are interested in or know something about); Practice! Re-create the speech; environment when you practice; Know your introduction and your conclusion; Think happy thoughts! Visualize your success!

Building your confidence (cont.): Use deep-breathing techniques (reee-laaax); Focus on your message rather than on your fear; Give yourself a mental pep talk; Channel your nervous energy; Seek speaking opportunities! Volunteer!

Summary of Anxiety Reduction Keep your mind on your presentation rather than on yourself or fear; Don’t talk about your nervousness during your presentation; Don’t memorize your speech; it’s too easy to forget! Approach the podium with the appearance of confidence; Begin and end with a well-prepared introduction and conclusion;

Summary (cont.) Look directly at your audience while you are speaking, make individual eye contacts; Turn your nervous energy into a positive force; Practice, practice, practice!!!

Tips for Managing Your Communication Apprehension: Assess Your Level of Nervousness Learn Relaxation Techniques Look for Audience Support Don’t Procrastinate

Questions to consider: What can I do when I start to feel nervous even when I just start thinking about delivering a speech? What can I do to help manage anxiety on the day that I present my speech? What can I do moments before I speak to help me feel more confident? What can I do while I'm delivering the speech to help me stay calm and focused on connecting to my audience?

Preparing your speech: Consider your audience Select and narrow your topic Determine your purpose Develop your central idea Generate main ideas

Preparing your speech: 6. Gather verbal and visual supporting materials 7. Organize your speech 8. Rehearse your speech 9. Deliver your speech

Who is your audience? How will you adapt to your audience? What age group is it? What language do they speak? What are they interested in? Why are they here? What is their level of education?

Select and narrow your topic Who is your audience? What is the occasion? What are your interests, talents, and experiences?

Determine your purpose: Why are you speaking? General Purpose: To inform To persuade To entertain Specific Purpose

General Purposes: To Inform – to share information by defining, describing, or explaining To Persuade – to change or reinforce an attitude, beliefs, values, or behavior To Entertain – to amuse through humor, stories, or other illustrations

Activity Given: audience – our class; Choose: three topics, one for each of the general purposes your speech will try to achieve. Formulate three specific purposes (one for each speech: “At the end of my speech, the audience will be able to ..." Then, supply a verb such as "explain, describe, list, or write" that specifies what your audience will be able to do after.

Activity: Use precise language; Limit the specific purpose to a single idea; Be sure that your specific purpose meets the interests, expectations, and levels of knowledge of your audience.

Develop your central idea What in general do you want to focus on in regards to your purpose? Example: Topic: DVD players General Purpose: to inform Specific Purpose: at the end of the speech, audience will be able to identify key reasons DVDs offer better quality video. Idea: DVDs produce higher quality video because they read information digitally.

Generate main ideas Does central idea have logical divisions or a natural order? Can you think of several reasons the central idea is true? Can you support the central idea with a series of steps?

Gather supporting materials: Verbal Facts, Examples, Definitions, Quotations. Visual An object, A chart, A graph, A poster, A model, A map, A person (for demonstration).

Organize your speech Introduction – captures attention, serves as an overview of the speech, provides audience with reasons to listen; Credibility – Are you believable? Body – presents the main content of your speech; Conclusion – summarizes the main ideas. Let’s look at the examples in the book.

Rehearse your speech The best rule for talking is the one that carpenters use: Measure twice, saw once. When you practice: Seek eye contact with your audience; Speak loudly enough; Control your hands; Focus on your message; Rethink your speaking style (vocabulary used)

Tips for Practicing: Review your notes, but practice out loud; Schedule several practice sessions rather than one long rehearsal; Schedule at least 3, but no more than 5 complete run-through sessions; Practice sections of your presentation separately and repeatedly; Don’t practice in front of a mirror if you find doing so distracting or unnatural; Take frequent breaks to refresh your voice and mind.

Deliver your speech – How should you present? Before your present: Look at the audience; Try to appear calm; Establish eye contact; Smile naturally; Start your speech with an attention getting sentence; Concentrate on your message; Speak loudly enough.

Remember: These steps cannot produce a successful presentation – only YOU can!!! These steps are a roadmap to guide you and help you avoid mistakes.

Home Assignment due next class session: Read Chapter 2 (possible quiz) Do Chapter 2 Suggested activities p. 39: 1 (written), 2 (written), & 3 (written);

Questions?