Chapter 13 Delivering Your Speech Delivering Your Speech

Chapter 13 Delivering Your Speech

Delivering Your Speech: Introduction • Delivery: Combination of verbal and nonverbal communication skills used to present a speech – Even if the content and organization of your speech are excellent, if your delivery is off, your presentation will suffer. – How you deliver your speech is as important as what you say.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery • • Reading from a manuscript Memorizing from a manuscript Speaking from an outline Impromptu speaking

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) • Reading from a manuscript – A script is a typed or handwritten document containing the entire text of your speech. – Reading from a teleprompter is a modern form of reading from a manuscript. • This technology is not available in most public speaking situations.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) – Reading from a manuscript is appropriate in circumstances in which speakers need to choose their words very carefully. • Press conference

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) – Disadvantages: • • Script becomes a prop Can limit your eye contact with the audience Tends to result in a monotone delivery Audience may consider the presentation dull or condescending

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) • Memorizing from a manuscript – A form of performance – Advisable only when you are called on to deliver a precise message, and you are already trained to memorize a great deal of text and deliver it flawlessly

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) – Advantages: • You can maintain eye contact with your listeners. • Gestures and use of visual aids are more natural. • You can control your word choice. – Disadvantages: • Presentation may come off as “canned. ” • Listeners may view the speech as a stale performance and take offense or lose interest. • Memorizing is very challenging. • The speech can grind to a halt if you forget a single word or sentence.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) • Speaking from an outline – You deliver your speech by referring to a brief outline you prepared in advance. – Preferred mode in most speech situations – With practice, you can glance at the outline and instantly remember what you want to say. – Allows you to maintain eye contact with the audience – Allows you to speak extemporaneously

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) – With the outline at hand, you don’t have to worry about forgetting your place. – Delivery becomes more conversational. – Allows you to choose your words flexibly, so you can adapt your message as needed to the audience at hand – Practice is key.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) • Impromptu speaking – Impromptu delivery means generating your speech content in the moment, without time to prepare in advance. – Very challenging for inexperienced speakers – You may be called on to speak at the last minute at a meeting, in class, at a wedding or party, or while fielding questions after a presentation.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. ) – Draft a brief mental outline to organize your thoughts, considering: • What is the question or topic? • What is my answer or view? • How do I support my position? – A direct introduction will generally suffice. – Your conclusion only needs to summarize your points and restate your position.

Selecting the Right Mode of Delivery (cont. )

Using Vocal Delivery Skills • Volume: How loud or soft your voice is as you deliver a speech – Be loud enough so everyone can hear you, but not so loud as to drive away the listeners positioned closest to you. – Consider: • The volume of your natural speaking voice • The audience and your speaking forum • Visual cues from your audience during delivery

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. )

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Tone: Derives from pitch (the highs and lows in your voice)

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Use enough tonal variety to add warmth, intensity, and enthusiasm to your voice, but not so much variety that you sound like an adolescent whose voice is cracking. – Consider using inflection (raising or lowering your pitch) to emphasize certain words or expressions.

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Rate of delivery: How quickly or slowly you speak during a presentation – Speaking too slowly or too quickly can hurt your delivery.

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Speak fast enough to keep your presentation lively and interesting, but not so fast that you become inarticulate. – If a speech is too long, instead of speeding up your delivery, shorten the content.

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Projection: “Booming” your voice across a speaking forum to reach all members of the audience – To project your voice: • Use the air you exhale to carry the sound of your voice across the room • Maintain good posture • Exhale from your diaphragm

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Articulation: The crispness of your spoken words – Don't round off the ends of words or sentences. – Don’t lower your voice at the ends of sentences.

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Pronunciation: How correctly you say words – If you pronounce terms incorrectly, listeners may: • Have difficulty understanding you • Question your credibility – If you’re not sure how to pronounce a word or name, find out how to say it before you deliver your presentation.

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. )

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Pausing: Leaving gaps between words or sentences in a speech – Enables you to collect your thoughts – Reinforces the seriousness of your subject – Helps create a sense of importance

Using Vocal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Use pausing judiciously. – Fill pauses with silence rather than: • Verbal fillers (you know, like, etc. ) • Verbal tics (um, ah, etc. ) • The best way to avoid overusing tics and fillers is by learning to be more aware of when you do use them.

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills • Eye contact: Looking directly into your listeners’ eyes as they look directly into yours – Benefits: • Enables you to gauge audience interest so you can adapt your delivery if needed • Helps you to interact with the audience • Helps you compel your audience’s attention • Improves your credibility with the audience

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Panning: Moving your eyes slowly from one side of the audience to the other, using extended eye contact to give the sense that you’re looking at each listener

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Gestures – Hand, head, and face movements that: • • Emphasize a point Pantomime Demonstrate Call attention to something – Using gestures appropriately can add flair to your speech delivery.

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Guidelines for using gestures: • Use gestures deliberately to emphasize or illustrate points in your speech. • Remain aware that not all audience members may interpret your gestures in the same way. • Make sure your gestures reinforce your spoken message. • Avoid nervous, distracting gestures.

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Physical movement: Describes how much or how little you move around while delivering a speech – Too much movement can be distracting. – Too little movement can bore the audience.

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Strive to incorporate a reasonable amount and variety of physical movement during your presentation. – Combine moderate movement with the panning approach to eye contact. – When using a lectern: • Come out from behind the lectern at least part of the time if possible • Avoid gripping the sides or top tightly

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Proxemics: Use of space and distance between yourself and your audience – Helps you control how closely you stand to the audience – Moving toward the audience: • Helps listeners see and hear you more easily • Helps communicate intimacy

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Avoid getting too close. • Can be seen as a violation of personal space, or even as a threat – Culture can influence a person’s response to a speaker’s proximity. – Consider: • Audience’s background • Size and setup of your forum • Your ability to move around the forum

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) • Personal appearance: Impression you make on your audience through your clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, grooming, and other elements influencing how you look – Many people in your audience will form their initial impression of you before you speak. – The initial impression based on appearance can be long-lasting and very significant.

Using Nonverbal Delivery Skills (cont. ) – Do what is appropriate for the audience you are addressing, given the occasion and the forum. – Always strive to look presentable through good grooming and an overall tidy appearance.