As for your final task for this lesson, you will need to prepare and deliver a speech on a familiar issue. You are free to decide on what issue to discuss, but your speech should only range two (2) to three (3) minutes only. You will also have to employ the different techniques in public speaking cited in this lesson.
Learning Task 6: As your final task for this lesson, you will need to prepare and
deliver a speech on a familiar issue. You are free to decide on what issue to
discuss, but your speech should only range from two (2) to three (3) minutes. You
will also have to employ the different techniques in public speaking cited in this
lesson. Choose from among the specific options provided below on how you may
possibly be able to accomplish this task. Paste a copy of your speech in your
notebook.
A. If you have a gadget that you can use, you may ask for the help of a family member or
use an improvised tripod in recording or filming your speech delivery. The final copy of
the clip will be shown to your teacher through possible means.
to the Internet, you may ask for a schedule
Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech in public.
Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to make.
Thank the person for inviting you to speak.
Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
Stop talking.
How we deliver a speech is just as important, if not more so, than the basic message we are trying to convey to an audience. But if you have worked hard on preparing the verbal part of your speech, you may feel that delivery is just an “extra” that should not require much time or effort. After all, your speech is carefully planned, researched, and polished. It is committed safely to paper and hard drive. It’s a carefully constructed, logically crafted, ethical message. The words alone should engage your audience’s attention and interest—right?
After all the work of building such a message, you might wish that you could simply read it to the audience. However, this is the case in only a few kinds of circumstances: when the message is highly technical, complex, and extremely important (as in a new medical discovery); when international protocols and etiquette are crucially important and the world is listening; or when the speaker is representing a high-ranking person, such as a president or a king, who is unable to be present. For the purposes of your public speaking class, you will not be encouraged to read your speech. Instead, you will be asked to give an extemporaneous presentation. We will examine what that means.
The nonverbal part of your speech is a presentation of yourself as well as your message. Through the use of eye contact, vocal expression, body posture, gestures, and facial display, you enhance your message and invite your audience to give their serious attention to it, and to you. Your credibility, your sincerity, and your knowledge of your speech become apparent through your nonverbal behaviors.
The interplay between the verbal and nonverbal components of your speech can either bring the message vividly to life or confuse or bore the audience. Therefore, it is best that you neither overdramatize your speech delivery behaviors nor downplay them. This is a balance achieved through rehearsal, trial and error, and experience.
In this chapter, we are going to examine effective strategies for delivering a speech. To help you enhance your delivery, we will begin by exploring the four basic methods of speech delivery. Second, we will discuss how to prepare your delivery for different environments. Third, we will talk about how to effectively use notes to enhance your delivery. Finally, we will examine characteristics of good delivery and give some strategies for practicing effectively for the day when you will deliver your speech.
Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. Impromptu speeches often occur when someone is asked to “say a few words” or give a toast on a special occasion. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the documentary?”
The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow
