2015-09-06
702
Whatever the characteristics of your voice, you can be sure it is unique. Because no two people are exactly the same physically, no two people have identical voices. Some of the most famous speakers in history had undistinguished voices. Abraham Lincoln had a harsh and penetrating voice; Winston Churchill suffered from a slight lisp and awkward stammer.
A. The volume of a speaker's voice is basic to effective delivery.
1. If a speaker talks too softly, he or she will not be heard.
2. If a speaker talks too loudly, he or she will be thought boorish.
3. Whether speaking with or without a microphone, a speaker must adjust her or his volume to the acoustics of the room and the size of the audience.
B. The pitch of a speaker's voice has an impact on delivery.
1. Pitch is the highness or lowness of a speaker's voice.
2. Speakers who do not change their pitch speak in a monotone, which makes their voice flat and lifeless.
3. Effective speakers vary their pitch to generate interest and to convey meaning and emotion. It is the inflection of your voice that reveals whether you are asking a question or making a statement; whether you are being sincere or sarcastic.
C. The rate of a speaker's voice will affect the outcome of a speech.
1. Rate refers to the speed at which a person speaks.
2. The most appropriate rate depends on the speaker's voice, the mood the speaker is trying to create, the audience, and the occasion.
4. Two obvious faults to avoid are speaking so slowly that listeners get bored or so fast that they lose track of the message.
Franklin Roosevelt spoke at roughly 110 words a minute, John Kennedy at 180. Martin Luther King opened his “I have a dream” speech at a pace of 92 words per minute and finished at 145. A fast rate helps to create feelings of happiness, fear, anger, and surprise while a slow rate is better for expressing sadness or disgust. A slower tempo is called for when you explain complex information, a faster tempo when the information is already familiar to the audience. Finally, the research suggests that in most situations listeners will find a speaker with a somewhat faster rate than normal to be more competent and more persuasive than a speaker with a slower rate.
|
|
|
D. Effective pauses can contribute greatly to a speaker's impact.
1. Pauses can be used to signal the end of a thought unit, to give an idea time to sink in, or to lend dramatic impact to a statement.
2. Novice speakers can develop their use of pauses by practice and by observing experienced speakers.
3. Above all, a speaker should avoid vocalized pauses.
a. Vocalized pauses include statements such as "like," "er," "uh," or "urn."
b. Research shows that too many vocalized pauses reduce a speaker's credibility and persuasiveness. “The right word,” Mark Twain noted, “may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
E. Pronunciation is another vocal feature that influences the outcome of a speech.
1. Errors in pronunciation can reduce a speaker's credibility.
2. If a speaker has doubts about how to pronounce a word, she or he should check the pronunciation in a dictionary or with another person.
F. Articulation also has an impact on how a speech is received.
1. Articulation refers to how crisply and distinctly we form particular speech sounds.
2. Most errors in articulation are caused by laziness – by failing to produce speech sounds clearly and precisely.
3. Articulation errors caused by physical problems often require the aid of a certified speech therapist.
5. Articulation errors caused by laziness can be remedied by diagnosing the errors and working to correct them.
IV. Effective speakers learn to use nonverbal communication to enhance the impact of their message .
A. Nonverbal communication can play a major role in the outcome of a speech.
1. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of messages are conveyed through bodily movement.
2. Studies show that in some situations nonverbal communication accounts for much of the meaning communicated by a speaker.
B. Four aspects of nonverbal communication are especially important for public speakers.
1. The first aspect is personal appearance.
a. Listeners always see a speaker before they hear the speaker. (Imagine the president of the USA dressed like Madonna when addressing the nation).
b. Just as speakers adapt to the audience and occasion in other respects, so should they take care to dress and groom appropriately.
2. The second aspect is bodily action.
a. Public speakers need to avoid distracting bodily actions such as fidgeting with notes, leaning on the lectern, and shifting weight from one foot to the other.
|
|
|
b. Effective speakers learn to control these actions so as to keep attention focused on the message of the speech.
c. Effective speakers are also aware of their actions before and after the speech as well as during it.
d. Before the speech, they walk confidently to the lectern, establish eye contact with the audience, and look poised and confident regardless of how nervous they may be.
e. After the speech, they give their closing line a few moments to sink in, calmly gather up their notes, and maintain their confident behaviour while returning to their seat.
3. The third aspect is gestures.
a. Some accomplished speakers gesture a great deal; others hardly at all.
b. The cardinal rule is that whatever gestures a speaker does, they should not draw attention to themselves or distract from the message of the speech.
c. Gestures should appear natural and spontaneous, clarify or reinforce the speaker's ideas, and be appropriate to the audience and occasion.
4. The fourth aspect is eye contact.
a. Audiences often look at a speaker's eyes for clues about the speaker's truthfulness, intelligence, and feelings.
b. Although customs of eye contact in interpersonal communication vary from culture to culture, there is fairly wide agreement across cultures on the importance of eye contact in public speaking.
c. Research shows that in the United States speakers who fail to establish eye contact are perceived as ill at ease and often as insincere or dishonest. No wonder that teachers urge students to look at the audience 80 or 90% of the time they are talking. When addressing a small group you can usually look briefly from one person to another. When presenting to a large group, eye contact is made by “sweeping” the room with the eyes. Picture that people in the audience are seated on the face of a clock. Periodically focus on different points of the clock: to 12 (the back of the room), 3 (the side of the room to your right), 9 (the side of the room to your left), 6 (the front of the room nearest you). Move your glance to the center of the clock, and then sweep the room again. To avoid following a pattern that becomes predictable to the audience, alter the direction in which your eyes sweep the room.
d. Establishing eye contact is one of the quickest ways to establish a communicative bond with an audience. Eye contact helps capture an audience's attention, establish the speaker's credibility, see and respond to feedback.
V. Speakers can improve their speech delivery by following a five-step method .
1. First, the speaker should go over her or his preparation outline aloud.
This allows the speaker to judge how the written outline translates into spoken discourse. It also gives the speaker a chance to clarify and revise the speech as necessary.
2. Second, the speaker should prepare a speaking outline.
Preparing a speaking outline increases the speaker's familiarity with the speech.
3. Third, the speaker should practice the speech aloud several times using only the speaking outline.
At this stage, the speaker should not worry about getting everything in the speech just right. The aim is to gain control of the ideas and structure of the speech, not to learn it word by word.
4. Fourth, the speaker should polish and refine the delivery.
Practicing in front of a mirror is one way to check on nonverbal communication such as gestures and eye contact. Tape recording the speech is an excellent way to evaluate such things as rate, pauses, articulation, and vocal variety. A few practice sessions in front of other people – friends, family, roommates, etc. – can be especially valuable.
5. Fifth, the speaker should give the speech a dress rehearsal under conditions as close as possible as those he or she will face during the actual speech. It is important that the dress rehearsal incorporate every aspect of the speech, including visual aids.
In order for this method to be effective, speakers must start early. A single practice session – no matter how long – is rarely enough. Student speakers should give themselves at least a couple of days, preferably more, to gain command of the speech and its presentation.
