I.

PREPARING TO SPEAK

A person should carefully prepare and conquer their fear.

A. Communication Apprehension
Communication apprehension is also known as stage fright, speaker
apprehension, and having butterflies in your stomach.
Ways to combat communication apprehension:
1.
2.
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5.

Learn how to relax yourself.

Admit to yourself youre nervous.
Think about what youre gonna say.
Act confident.
Start strong, end strong.

B. Supporting Materials
Supporting materials should be accurate, specific, clear, and relevant.
1. Factual Materials
a. Facts units of information
b. Definition an explanation of the meaning of a word, phrase, etc.
i. Denotative literal meaning
ii. Connotative emotional response
c. Statistics deals with numbers, quantitative comparisons, etc.
2. Examples piece of info presented; someone or something that is
mentioned to help explain what you are saying or to show that a general
statement is true
a. Specific instances brief examples, clear, short
b. Illustrations an extended example told in narrative form
i. Anecdotes more humorous and entertaining
1. Personal
2. 3rd Person
3. Fictional
3. Testimony proof or evidence that something exists or true; something
that someone says to tell the truth
a. The most common type of testimony is expert testimony. It is useful
in persuasive speeches. It is more credible.
b. Direct quotes are exact words from a person and should be credited to
its source.
C. Organizing Your Speech Presentation
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Patterns and cues will increase apprehension.

There are two ways of organizing your speech presentation: identify
main ideas and make an outline.
In speeches, there are usually 2-5 main ideas. You should be
selective.
The strongest idea should either be in the beginning or end. The
weaker ideas should be in the middle.

There

are three ways to organize, namely:

Chronological Organization according to passage of time
Topical Organization ideas arranged by topics
Cause/Effect identifies the cause and reveal the effects (and
vice versa)
Outlines consist of the intro, body, and conclusion.
In outlining the body (I), the main points are in capital letters (A,
B, C), and the supporting materials are numbered (1, 2, 3).
The supporting materials should be the same in every main
point. For example, if the supporting materials used in the first
main point are examples and anecdotes, the rest of the main
points should also be used with examples and anecdotes.
INTRODUCTION
1. Attention Getter (e.g. rhetorical question, comparison,
claim/statistics, reference to the situation)
2. Statement of Purpose (thesis)
3. Statement of Relevance
4. Preview of the Body
CONCLUSION (draws everything together)
1.
2.
3.
4.

Summarize your main points

Restate your purpose
Call to action
Rounding off (e.g. quotation, challenging the audience, utopian
vision [when the speakers challenge is met])

OUTLINE FOR PERSUASION (MONROES MOTIVATED SEQUENCE)

1. Attention (the most important step; you should make the audience
pay attention)
2. Need (supporting material)
3. Satisfaction (answer or solution of Need)
4. Visualization (intensify feelings or beliefs)
5. Action (home stretch, what to do)
TRANSITIONS

The bridge between two parts of speech

Examples are in addition to, however, furthermore

SIGN POSTS

Verbal cues (e.g. first, second, third)

Pauses
Changes in rate, pitch, or volume

II. DELIVERING THE SPEECH

A. Style pattern of choices that distinguishes
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Clarity (more concrete words, limit jargon)

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Dont be too wordy

Active Voice (who does what)
Passive Voice (what has done)
Rhythm sense of movement in a speech
Repetition (enhance key points)
Antithesis (pairing of opposites)
Parallel wording (word pattern thats easy to anticipate)
Imagery (makes a speech vivid)
Onomatopoeia (words that sounds like what they denote)

B. Delivery the presentation of speech using voice and body

An effective delivery is:
Does not call attention
Audience is able to listen, understand, etc.
Has sense of empathy
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Physical Aspects changes in bodily placements
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Attire the speaker must wear slightly formally than the audience
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Posture
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Body Placement
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Gestures movement of hands and arms to emphasize
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Facial expressions must be appropriate to the subject
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Eye contact is essential; the speaker can mentally divide the
audience to three or four parts and give eye contact to them one at a time
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Vocal Variation
Volume (loudness of the voice)
Pitch (varying tone, placement of voice; can be controlled by
controlled breathing, yawning, and swallowing)
Rate (the speed of the way a person speaks)
The average rate is 125-150 words per minute
Slow rate implies sadness, seriousness, or calmness;
fast rate implies anger
Enunciation (precision and distinctness)
Pronunciation (the way of speaking words which is generally
accepted)
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