2. DEFINITION
• Public speaking is a way of making your ideas
public–of sharing them with other people and of
influencing other people.
• Public speaking is the process or act of performing a
speech to a live audience.
• This type of speech is deliberately structured with
three general purposes: to inform, to persuade and
to entertain.
• Public speaking is commonly understood as formal,
face-to-face speaking of a single person to a group
of listeners.
• Public speaking can be governed by different rules
and structures.
3. THE POWER OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Public speaking is a vital means of civic engagement. It is a way to express your ideas
and to have an impact in issues that matter in society. As a form of empowerment, it
can–and often does–make a difference in things people care about very much. The
key phrase here is “make a difference”. This is what most of us want to do in life–to
make a difference, to change the world in some small way. Public speaking offers you
an opportunity to make a difference in something you care about very much
4. SIMILIARITIES BETWEEN PUBLIC SPEAKING AND CONVERSATION
When you are talking to people, you already employ a wide
range of skills, like:
1. Organizing your thoughts logically.
2. Tailoring your message to your audience.
3. Telling a story for maximum impact.
4. Adapting to listener feedback.
In many ways, public speaking requires the same skills used in
ordinary conversation. Most people who communicate well in
daily talk can learn to communicate just as well in public
speaking. By the same token, training in public speaking can
make you a more adept communicator in a variety of
situations, such as conversation, classroom discussions,
business meetings, and inteviews.
5. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUBLIC SPEAKING
AND CONVERSATION
1. Public speaking is more highly structured.
2. Public speaking requires more formal language.
3. Public speaking requires a different method of
delivery.
With study and practice, you will be able to master
these differences and expand your conversational
skills into speechmaking. Your speech class will
provide the opportunity for the study and practice.
6. DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE: YOUR SPEECH
CLASS
1. Nervousness is Normal
If you feel nevous about giving a speech, you are in very
good company. Actually, most people tend to be anxious
before doing something important in public. In other words,
it is perfectly normal–even desirable–to be nervous at the
start of speech. The question is: How can you control your
nervousness and make it work for you rather than against
you?
7. DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE: YOUR SPEECH
CLASS
2. Dealing with Nervousness
Here are six time-tested ways you can turn your
nervousness from a negative force into a positive one.
a. Acquire speaking experience
b. Prepare, prepare, prepare
c. Think postively
d. Use the power of visualization
e. Know that most nevousness is not visible
f. Don’t expect perfection
8. PUBLIC SPEAKING AND CRITICAL
THINKING
• Critical thinking is focused, organised thinking about such
thing as the logical relationship among ideas, the soundness
of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion.
• Organizing a speech is not just a matter of arranging the
ideas you already have. Rather, it is an important part of
shaping the ideas themselves.
• What is true of organization is true of many aspects of public
speaking. The skills you learn in your speech class can help
you become a more effective thinker in a number of ways.
• If you take full advantage of your speech class, you will be
able to enhance your skill as a critical thinker in many
circumstance.
9. THE SPEECH COMMUNICATION PROCESS
There are seven elements of speech communication
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 recieves the speaker’s message;
5. Feedback, the messages, usually noverbal, sent from a
listener to a speaker;
6. Interference, anything that impedes the communication of a
message.
listeners;
7. Situation,
Interference can be external or internal to
the time and place in which speech
communication occurs.
