Chapter 18: Review
Chapter Review
Below is a short summary of the key takeaways for each section of this chapter.
Key Takeaways
Public speaking training builds transferable skills that are useful in your college classes, career, personal relationships, and civic life.
- The general and specific purposes of your speech/presentation are based on the speaking occasion and include the objective you would like to accomplish by the end of your speech/presentation.
- Brainstorm to identify topics that fit within your interests, and then narrow your topic based on audience analysis and the guidelines provided.
- A thesis statement summarizes the central idea of your speech/presentation and will be explained or defended using supporting material.
- Library resources like databases and reference librarians are more suitable for college-level research than general search engines.
- Research sources include periodicals, newspapers and books, reference tools, interviews, and websites.
- Speakers should include a variety of supporting material from their research sources in their speeches/presentations.
- Visual aids help a speaker reinforce the content visually and have many potential benefits. Visual aids can also detract from a speech/presentation if not used properly.
- The speech/presentation consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
- Determine your main points based on your research and supporting materials.
- The organizational patterns that can help arrange the main points are topical, chronological, spatial, problem-solution, cause-effect, and Monroe’s Motivated Sequence.
- Incorporating supporting material helps fill in the main points by creating subpoints.
- Organizing signposts help connect the introduction, body, and conclusion.
- The formal outline is a full-sentence outline that helps you prepare for your speech/presentation and includes the introduction and conclusion, the main content of the body, citation information written into the sentences of the outline, and a references page.
- Coordinate points in an outline are on the same level of importance in relation to the thesis of the speech or the central idea of a main point.
- Write your speech/presentation in a manner conducive to speaking. Use contractions, familiar words, and phrases that are easy for you to articulate.
- Public speaking anxiety is a form of communication apprehension (CA) that is commonly experienced by many people and can be effectively managed using a variety of strategies.
- Systematic desensitization helps lessen public speaking anxiety through repeated exposure to real or imagined public speaking scenarios.
- Cognitive restructuring addresses public speaking anxiety by replacing negative thoughts with more positive thoughts.
- Physical relaxation exercises like deep breathing and stretching allow us to voluntarily use our bodies to address involuntary bodily reactions to anxiety.
- The four methods of delivering a speech are impromptu, manuscript, memorized, and extemporaneous delivery.
- Practicing your speech/presentation should occur in three phases. First, practice as you are drafting the outline to help you process through your speech ideas. Second, practice for someone and get feedback; also do a recording for self-evaluation. Third, put the finishing touches on the speech/presentation: make needed adjustments to the content to meet time limits, become familiar with your speaking outline, and create the conditions of your speech/presentation day for your final few practice sessions.
- Speakers should use vocal variety, i.e., changes in rate, volume, and pitch, to make their delivery more engaging.
- Speakers should use proper articulation and pronunciation to make their message clear.
- Facial expressions help communicate emotions and enthusiasm while speaking.
- Eye contact helps establish credibility and keep your audience’s attention while you’re speaking.
- Posture should be comfortable and appropriate for the speaking occasion.
- Emphatic and descriptive gestures enhance the verbal content of our speech/presentation.
- Movements from the waist down should be purposefully used to emphasize a point or as a transition.
- Visual aids can add to your delivery but can also interfere with your delivery and negatively affect your credibility if not used effectively.