Chapter 18: Review

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.