A POCKET

GUIDE TO
PUBLIC
SPEAKING
4TH EDITION

Chapter 1
Becoming a Public Speaker
 Gain a Vital Life Skill

Skill in public speaking

Gives you an unmistakable edge;
Leads to greater confidence and satisfaction;
Is a potent weapon in career development.
 Enhance Your Career as a
Student

Skills used when preparing speeches:

Researching topics
Analyzing audiences
Outlining and organizing ideas
Supporting claims

These skills apply to other courses.

 Find New Opportunities for
Civic Engagement

Studying public speaking allows you to

Research topics meaningful to you;
Consider alternate viewpoints;
Choose a course of action;
Distinguish between arguments and uncivil
speech.
 The Classical Roots of Public
Speaking

Ancient Greece
Developed rhetoric (making effective speeches
also called oratory)
Used rhetoric to persuade public policy
Practiced public speaking in forums
 The Classical Roots of Public
Speaking (cont.)

Aristotle developed the canons of rhetoric:

Invention
Arrangement
Style
Memory
Delivery
 Learning to Speak in Public

Public speaking:
Acquired skill
Improves with practice
Similar to speaking and writing
Utilizes skills you already have
Draw on Conversational Skills

Skills you commonly use in conversation:

Checking to ensure you are understood
Adjusting your meaning as necessary
Discussing issues appropriate to the
circumstances
Uncovering the audiences interests and attitudes
Draw on Skills in Composition

Skills used in writing:

Having a sense of the audience
Researching a topic
Offering credible evidence
Employing effective transitions
Devising persuasive appeals
Draw on Skills in Composition
(cont.)

Similar components of speeches and essays:

Compelling introduction
Clear thesis statement
Supporting ideas
Thoughtful conclusion
 Develop an Effective Oral
Style

Practices of successful speakers:

Using familiar words
Using easy-to-follow sentences
Using transitional words and phrases
Repeating key words and phrases
 Develop an Effective Oral
Style (cont.)

Relate your message to the audience.

Specific references to yourself, audience

Use clear, recognizable, and organized

speech.

Offer the audience something of value.

Become an Inclusive Speaker

Address diverse audiences with sensitivity.

Cultivate your cultural intelligence.

Strive for inclusion.

Adopt an audience-centered perspective.

Public Speaking as a Form of
Communication

Four categories of human communication:

Dyadic communication
Between two people

Small group communication

Small number of people
See, speak directly with one another
Public Speaking as a Form of
Communication (cont.)

Mass communication
Speaker and large audience (usually not present)

Public speaking
Speaker delivers message with specific purpose
Audience is present during speech
Public Speaking as a Form of
Communication (cont.)

Public speaking always includes

A speaker with a reason for speaking;
An audience that gives its attention;
A message meant to accomplish a purpose.
Public Speaking as an Interactive
Communication Process

Elements of communication:
Source (creates a message)
Receiver (receives the message)
Message (content of the communication process)
Channel (medium of the message)
Shared meaning (mutual understanding)
Public Speaking as an Interactive
Communication Process (cont.)
Public Speaking as an Interactive
Communication Process (cont.)

Context
Influences the speaker, audience, or occasion
May include:
Recent events
Physical setting
Cultural orientation of audience members
Public Speaking as an Interactive
Communication Process (cont.)

Rhetorical situation
Circumstance calling for a public response

Speech purpose or goal

What the audience should learn or do