Public Speaking
There are three parts to any talk
1. Introduction Here you tell people what you are going to talk about
2. Body Here you tell people what you want them to hear
3. Conclusion Here you tell them what you have just told them
Principle One
The greater degree of participation the receiver has the more likely your message will pass on to that person. Communication requires that you create an environment in which the listener connects to the information that you are presenting.
Introduction- Principle Two
Assume your audience is totally disinterested in what you have to say. It is up to you to:
- know your audience
- hook your audience
There is the story of Nathan the prophet and the parable he spoke to David who was his king:
There were two men who lived in the same town, one was very rich and the other was very poor. The rich man owned many sheep and cattle more than he could count. But the poor man had nothing except one very young lamb he had bought. He raised it, fed it from a bottle and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and even slept in his arms. It was like another precious child to him.
One day a traveller visited the rich man. The rich man refused to use one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveller. Instead he took the lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for his visitor. (II Samuel 12:1-4)
This man’s life depended on him getting his point across. If he had started out by saying to his king you are a bad man because you have had an affair with a married woman and then you killed her husband. What would have been his response?
Nathan hooked David with a story and by doing it this way was able to convey the truth effectively. His goal was to get David to recognise his mistake and his use of effective communication achieved that end.
David’s response was quick and to the point. The man that committed such a horrendous crime should die. That was the punishment that was equal to the crime. It was at this Nathan was able to bring his truth home, You are the man.(vs 7) It was then that David was able to realise the full implications of his wrong behaviour.
Hook your audience with:
- A question
- A startling fact: for example the newspaper or the evening news.
- A Story
- An interesting exhibit (The celebrant with a spanner)
- A startling statistic
Never start with an apology:
Most people don’t realise most of the mistakes that you make so by saying something about it you only draw attention to a fact that most people arent aware of.
An apology suggests to people that the job has not been done as well as it should be. The only person who benefits from giving this information is you.
Warning: Be careful of trying to start with a joke. If the joke falls flat then it sets the tone for the whole presentation from the square one. It may be very difficult to create a positive atmosphere or be taken seriously from there on.
Be positive: Your face is capable of creating about 250 000 expressions and a lot of communication is not just through what we say but how we say it. IF you are trying to communicate something make sure you believe in what you are saying.
- Check your fly before you get up in front of an audience
- Take any keys or change from your pocket to avoid distracting jingling. If you are nervous you may do without realizing
- Watch excessive or obtrusive hand movements
- Be conscious of nervous habits that may develop without you being aware of them. Get someone to give you feedback about any annoying repetitious movements you may have.
Body
The body of your speech contains the information that you want to present
Principle Three
Keep it simple. Try to make sure that you keep it as simple as possible remember that most people will forget most of what you say.
Coping with Nervousness
Know your stuff IF you are familiar with your material then you will be more confident when it comes to standing if front of your audience.
- Prepare
- Practice
- Pactice
- Practice
Eye Contact
Look at everyone. When you practice, scan your imaginary audience. Don’t move your eyes too fast, as this will be distracting. Don’t do it too slowly otherwise it will be interpreted as a stare and may intimidate the listener to the point they don’t hear what you are saying.
Warning: Never use sarcasm to try to rescue a situation. Sarcasm can end up in a person feeling put down and humiliation should never be our goal when giving a talk.
Gestures
If you make a gesture make it definite timid gestures can be irritating. Be careful about repeating the one particular gesture as this may distract your congregation. Make sure gestures are natural. Practice you gestures beforehand but don’t force them when you are in front of the congregation.
Vocal Delivery
1. Pitch
This is the movement of the voice up and down. Changes in pitch are called melody. Monotone will put people to sleep.
2. Punch
Dropping the voice to a near whisper can be just as effective in emphasizing a point as raising the volume.
3. Progress Timing
Pacing out words can be used to emphasise a point.
In this situation the child is in no doubt that they are to pay special attention to what their parent is saying and will say next.
4. Pause
Rudyard Kipling said, “by your silence you shall speak.” A funny story gives its punch line away by the pause before its delivery.
Repetition
Winston Churchill is famous for is words to the boys at Eton.
Never give up, Never give up Never give up
Martin Luther King is always remembered for his “I have a dream speech”. Over and over he made his point by using this statement repeatedly. These orators used repetition to bring their point home. They effectively used this to communicate to their listeners their main point.
Rephrasing
Say the same thing but say it in a different way. Or using different words to say the same thing or express the same idea but use a different method.
We must remember that people will put your information through their own filters and that different words will trigger responses. Rephrasing can help communicate to more people.
Dealing with Difficulties
- Disruptions If people come late unless it is absolutely necessary do not address them this will only further serve to distract the people around them from the thread of your argument
Conclusion
Leave the audience with something to remember and an action to take. In summing up:
- Repeat the main points
- Prescribe an action
Principle Three
A good conclusion is rarely thought up on the spur of the moment. Plan ahead on how you expect to finish
| You can read and listen to these impressive speeches by going to American Rhetoric, at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/. Under the “Most Requested†heading, click on “I Have a Dream.†orThe History Channel’s site at http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/archive.html has a wealth of speech material. At left, under the “Browse†heading, click on “Great Speeches.“ and/orTo study speeches by women around the world, go to http://www.giftsofspeech.org. Browse by last name or by year. Also offered are lists of Nobel Lectures and the Top 100 American Speeches in the 20th Century. |
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