Study Guide I
Note:  This guide is not holistic, meaning it is a guide and does NOT contain all material that is covered on the Exam
Chapter One – Speaking in Public


Origins of Public Speaking

From the time people could speak, there has been public speaking.  More than 2500 years ago, Greek leader Pericles observed
something that remains true today:  “One who forms a judgment on any point but cannot explain” it clearly “might as well never have
thought at all on the subject”. 

Why take a basic speech or human communication course? 

Why is speech communication beneficial for most majors?


Public Speaking Tradition

Pericles’ was not the first to comment on public speaking.  Public speaking has been studied for thousands of years.  Sometimes,
public speakers are referred to as orators, which led to oratorical communication.  We also know it as rhetoric, or rhetorical
communication.  The first know handbook on speech was written on papyrus in Egypt about 4500 years ago. 

Other Communication Disciplines

In addition to public speaking, other major areas of communication are interpersonal, group, rhetorical, mass, and other forms
of communication. 

Similarities between public speaking and conversation

Certainly, there are some commonalities between public speaking and conversation.  You have developed a number of skills that you
use when talking with people, such as: 

Organizing your thoughts.  You want to present your ideas in the most informative or persuasive
manner, i.e. organized. 

    Tailoring your message to your audience.  You want to relate to the person who is listening.     
    Telling a story.  You use maximum impact, which is gained from support of what you say. 

    Adapting to listener feedback.  Be aware of, and adjust to, the listener’s verbal, facial, and physical
    reactions. 

Differences between public speaking and conversation

Public speaking is more highly structured, with strict time limitations on the speaker.  The audience isn’t allowed to
interrupt to ask questions or comment.  However, the speaker must anticipate and try to answer those questions or
comments in the speech. 

Public speaking requires more formal language, because it is a more formal situation.  Speakers
must elevate and polish their language when addressing an audience. 

Public speaking requires a different method of delivery.  You must be heard clearly by the entire
audience, assume a more erect posture, and avoid distracting mannerisms and verbal habits. 

Dealing with nervousness

Don’t try to get rid of your anxiety, but try to channel it into positive nervousness.  Here are some
ways to do it: 

Acquire Speaking Experience. 

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. 

Think Positively. 

Use the Power of Visualization. 

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:  This occurs when you make a prediction that comes true because you act on it as if it were true.  It occurs when you act on what you believe as if it were true and in so doing make it true. 

Know that Most Nervousness Is Not Visible. 

Don’t Expect Perfection:  The main reason people fear public speaking is that they are afraid to fail. 

(a)     Few are afraid of success. 
(b)     If one knew that he or she was going to make a perfect speech with no mistakes, he wouldn’t be afraid.


The Communicative Act

Human, or interpersonal, communication serves vital functions for us at both social and individual levels.

intrapersonal communication
interpersonal communication

                        INTERPERSONAL MODEL

                                        message
sender/speaker/source ---------------> receiver/listener/respondent (individual or mass audience)
                                        channel

                     <--------- feedback ------<

Interference

Situation

Frame of reference

Mass Communication model has similarities and differences

Harold Lasswell Model

Who
Says What
In Which Channel
To Whom
With What Effect?”

 
Lasswell also suggested communication has four vital functions in society:

(1)     to survey the environment
   
(2)     to correlate responses
   
(3)     to aid in the socialization and culturalization process
   
(4)     to entertain ourselves

Chapter Two – Ethics and Public Speaking


The Importance of Ethics

Greek philosopher Plato noted that in an ideal world all public speakers would be truthful and devoted to the good of society. 

Guidelines for Ethical Speaking

Make sure your goals are ethically sound. 

    Be fully prepared for each speech. 

    Be honest in what you say. 

    Avoid name-calling and other forms of abusive language. 

                Name-calling and free speech:  Although we have free speech, we cannot say just anything (p. 40). 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism comes from plagiarius, the Latin word for kidnapper. 

Global plagiarism
   
Patchwork plagiarism

Incremental plagiarism

        Quotations or paraphrases must cite the source

Plagiarism and the Internet

You need to identify Internet sources when you present the speech.  You need to specify the
author and website as you do for print sources.  In your bibliography, you will need the title of the Internet
document, the author or organization responsible for the document, the date on which the document was
last updated, the website address, and the date you accessed the site. 

Guidelines for Ethical Listening

Be courteous and attentive. 

Avoid prejudging the speaker. 

Maintain the free and open expression of ideas. 

Chapter Four – Selecting a Topic and a Purpose


Your success in informing, entertaining, or persuading must always be measured in terms of the response your receiver gives to our message.  Beginning speakers often fail because they pay too little attention to purpose and audience response when planning their speeches. 

Choosing a Topic

Topics you know a lot about. 

Brainstorming for topics. 

Personal Inventory: 

Clustering. 

Reference Search. 

Internet Search. 



Determining the General Purpose

To inform. 

To persuade.  There are three types of persuasion:

a.    To convince
b.    To reinforce
c.    To actuate

Determining the Specific Purpose

    The specific purpose focuses on one aspect of a topic.  It should be stated in a single infinitive phrase: 
        To inform my audience about . . .
        To persuade my audience to . . .

 Tips for formulating the specific purpose statement

    Write the purpose statement as a full infinitive phrase, not as a fragment. 

    Express your purpose as a statement, not as a question. 

   Avoid figurative language in your purpose statement. 

   Limit you purpose statement to one distinct idea. 

   Make sure your specific purpose is not too vague. 

 
Phrasing the Central Idea

    The specific purpose of the speech is what you hope to accomplish.  The central idea is a concise statement
of what you expect to say.  The central idea may be thought of as the thesis, the key statement, or the controlling idea of the speech. 

Guidelines for the central idea

1.    The central idea should be a complete sentence. 

2.    The central idea should not be in the form of a question. 

3.    The central idea should avoid figurative language. 

4.    The central idea should not be vague or overly general. 

Chapter Five – Analyzing the Audience


Good public speakers are audience-centered, which means keeping the audience in mind every step of the way during speech
preparation and presentation: 

To whom am I speaking? 
What do I want them to know, believe, or do as a result of my speech? 
What is the most effective way of composing and presenting my speech to accomplish that aim? 

The Psychology of Audiences

Effective public speakers, or communicators, try to create a bond with their listeners (audience) by focusing on common values, goals, and experiences.  The process is that of identification. 

All the while, the speaker needs to understand what we discussed back in the communication model in Chapter 1 – frame of reference.  Every speech contains two messages.  There is the one sent by the speaker and the one received by the listener. 

Demographic Audience Analysis

Demographics

Situational Audience Analysis. 

Getting information about the audience

You know what to learn about the audience, so how do you find out? 

        Interviewing
        Questionnaires

Chapter Six – Gathering Materials


You can gather information for your speech in a number of ways: 

Using your own knowledge and experience. 

Doing library research. 

Librarians. 

The Catalogue. 

Periodical Databases. 

Newspapers. 

Reference Works. 
       
Searching the Internet:  Be careful with the Internet, as there is a lot of inaccurate material. 

Internet

Search Engine

Metasearch Engine. 

Interviewing. 

Take notes efficiently. 

Chapter Seven – Supporting Your Ideas


It doesn’t matter what you say if you can’t back it up with support. 

1.    Examples. 

2.    Explanation

3.    Statistics:  Benjamin Disraeli said:  “There are three kinds of lies:  lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  Statistics can be manipulated to support almost any assertion. 

Tips for using statistics: 

Use statistics to quantify your ideas. 
Use statistics sparingly. 
Identify the sources of your statistics. 
Explain your statistics
Round off complicated statistics. 
Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends. 

    Mean:  average

    Mode:  most prevalent score

    Median:  half are above and half are below  

4.    Testimony. 

5.    Comparison/Contrast

6.    Visual Aids (We’ll return to a more in-depth look at visual aids in Chapter 13.)

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