Speech

Front 1

In what ways is public speaking likely to make a difference in your life?

Back 1

Helps you develop critical thinking: Focused, organized thinking about such things as the logical relationships among ideas, the soundness of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion.

The skills you learn in your speech class can help you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways. As you work on expressing your ideas in clear, accurate language, you will enhance your ability to think clearly and accurately. As you study the role of evidence and reasoning in speechmaking, you will see how they can be used in other forms of communication as well. As you learn to listen critically to speeches in class, you will be better able to assess the ideas of speakers (and writers) in a variety of situations.

you will be able to enhance your skills as a critical thinker in many circumstances.

Front 2

How is public speaking similar to everyday conversation?

Back 2

1. You organize your ideas to present them in the most persuasive manner

2. You tailor your message to your audience

3. You tell your story for maximum impact

4. You adapt to listener feedback

Front 3

How is public speaking different from everyday conversation?

Back 3

1. Public speaking is more highly structured.

2. Public speaking requires more formal language

3. Public speaking requires a different method of delivery

Front 4

Why is it normal—even desirable—to be nervous at the start of a speech?

Back 4

Most people tend to be anxious before doing something important in public. Nervousness is a healthy sign that you are getting “psyched up” for a good effort. Your body is responding as it would to any stressful situation—by producing extra adrenaline.

" Novelist and lecturer I. A. R. Wylie once said: “After many years of practice I am, I suppose, really a ‘practiced speaker.’ But I rarely rise to my feet without a throat constricted with terror and a furiously thumping heart. When, for some reason, I am cool and self-assured, the speech is always a failure.” "

Front 5

How can you control your nervousness and make it work for you in your speeches?

Back 5

6 ways to turn your nervousness from a negative force into a positive one

1. Acquire Speaking Experience

2. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

3. Think Positively

4. Use the Power of Visualization

5. Know That Most Nervousness Is Not Visible

6. Don't Expect Perfection

- Be at your best physically and mentally. It's not a good idea to stay up until 3:00 a.m. partying with friends or cramming for an exam the night before your speech. A good night's sleep will serve you better.

-As you are waiting to speak, quietly tighten and relax your leg muscles, or squeeze your hands together and then release them. Such actions help reduce tension by providing an outlet for your extra adrenaline.

-Take a couple slow, deep breaths before you start to speak. When they are tense, most people take short, shallow breaths, which only reinforces their anxiety. Deep breathing breaks this cycle of tension and helps calm your nerves.

-Work especially hard on your introduction. Research has shown that a speaker's anxiety level begins to drop significantly after the first 30 to 60 seconds of a presentation. Once you get through the introduction, you should find smoother sailing the rest of the way.

-Make eye contact with members of your audience. Remember that they are individual people, not a blur of faces. And they are your friends.

-Concentrate on communicating with your audience rather than on worrying about your stage fright. If you get caught up in your speech, your audience will too.

-Use visual aids. They create interest, draw attention away from you, and make you feel less self-conscious.

Front 6

What are the seven elements of the speech communication process? How do they interact to determine the success or failure of a speech?

Back 6

1. speaker: The person who is presenting an oral message to a listener.

2. message: Whatever a speaker communicates to someone else.

3. channel: The means by which a message is communicated.

4. listener: The person who receives the speaker's message. Has a frame of reference: The sum of a person's knowledge, experience, goals, values, and attitudes. No two people can have exactly the same frame of reference.

5. feedback: The messages, usually nonverbal, sent from a listener to a speaker.

6. interference: Anything that impedes the communication of a message. Interference can be external or internal to listeners.

7. situation: The time and place in which speech communication occurs.

Front 7

What is ethnocentrism? Why do public speakers need to avoid ethnocentrism when addressing audiences with diverse cultural, racial, or ethnic backgrounds?

Back 7

Ethnocentrism: The belief that one's own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures.

- it can also lead to prejudice and hostility toward different racial, ethnic, religious, or cultural groups.

- must show respect for the cultures of the people they address. They need to adapt their messages to the values and expectations of their listeners.

- Once you know about any cultural factors that might affect your listeners' response, try to put yourself in their place and to hear your message through their ears. If there is a language difference, avoid words or phrases that might cause misunderstanding. When researching the speech, keep an eye out for visual aids and other materials that will relate to a wide range of listeners. When delivering the speech, be alert to feedback that might indicate the audience is having trouble grasping your ideas.