AIM1003 RHETORIC AND PUBLIC SPEAKING

Chapter Public Speaking and the

Challenge of Communication
2 “Why Speak?
• To keep a free society free.
• To settle differences by talk instead of
force.
• To alter and promote thought.
• To water and cultivate ideas, hopes,
sentiments, and enthusiasm in a way and
to a degree that cannot be done while we
are separated one from another.”
William Norwood Brigance

Chapter Focus: public speaking as a valuable activity that

influences career and community success. The basic
elements of the communication process are outlined and
defined to provide the foundation for growth and
1
William Norwood Brigance
understanding.
Student Learning Objectives:
• Students will be able to explain at least five benefits of
public speaking in his/her life
• Students will be able to describe public speaking and the
communication process
• Students will be able to identify and explain the five steps
for preparing to speak
 It is a Creative Activity

• Public speaking is also a creative activity that includes both

mental and physical aspects.
• The mental aspect involves connecting thoughts and ideas in
an original or innovative manner while centering on the
audience’s needs and interests.
 A Decision-Making Process

• Public speaking is also a decision-making process.

• While taking your public speaking class, you will have to
determine your interests, analyze your audience, decide
where to look for information, figure out the best way to
organize your information, make decisions about word
choice, and decide how to deliver your speech most
effectively.
 Public Speaking Is a Valuable Activity

• It is fair to ask what value successful public speaking has in your

life. Gaining self-confidence in front of an audience, learning
how to make the best use of the time allowed
• Being active when given an opportunity to express what you
know and how you feel are genuine benefits to be gained from
success as a public speaker.
 The Five Canons of Rhetoric

• Public speaking skills are important for success in school, career

advancement, and for increasing self-confidence.

• In the first example, a student reached her fundraising goals and the
feedback from the executives and classmates raised, or at least
reinforced, her self-confidence.
 Public Speaking Teaches Critical
Thinking Skills
• A second reason for studying public speaking is that it teaches
critical thinking the application of the principles of reasoning to
your ideas and the ideas of others.
• Generally, teachers of all subjects are concerned that students
learn to think critically. Some argue that of all the skills you will
learn in college and thereafter, none is more important than
critical thinking.
 Critical Thinking Skills

• Critical thinking skills are used in many ways every time

you prepare a speech. When choosing a topic, for
example, you may decide that, although a speech
describing how to fix a car’s transmission would be right
for a group of auto mechanics, it would be too technical
for your public speaking classmates.
• Because gas prices have risen so high, you may decide to
persuade your classmates to trade in their old cars for
newer, hybrid cars.
 Necessary to the Development

• Critical thinking is necessary to the development of an

effective speech, and it’s important in your role as
listener. A listener perceives through sensory levels and
interprets, evaluates, and responds to what he or she
hears.
• Critical thinking skills are essential as you listen to and
evaluate the messages of other speakers.
 Public Speaking Skills Influence Career
and Community Success
• A third reason to study public speaking is that your public
speaking skills may influence your success in career and
community settings. Upward movement in the corporate
hierarchy may depend on your ability to speak to groups at
business conferences and at public presentations.
• Public speaking skills are an essential part of most
professional interactions, including sales presentations,
campaigns for public office, teaching and training
programs.
 To Engage in Good Conversation
• People who can speak on their feet, are articulate in
meetings, and engage in good conversation have clear
advantages.
• People involved in business, politics, and community
activities, and members of the clergy who promote their
ideas also promote themselves and what they represent,
whether this is their intention or not. Few professionals
can avoid public speaking.
 Learn to Speak Effectively

• The only way you can ever be a leader is to learn to speak

effectively”.
• President Barack Obama emerged as an articulate
spokesperson from the U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton became
Secretary of State for the United States, Steve Jobs made Apple
Computers profitable.
 Public Speaking Skills Complement
Technology
• A fifth reason we find public speaking skills important is
that they complement technology. Through Internet
access, we can access billions of facts, but those facts may
not be as impressive without the added human element.
• Speeches are supported by computer-generated graphics,
supporting material is discovered on electronic databases,
and images can easily be projected while a speech is being
delivered.
 Public Speaking Is Part of
Our Democratic Tradition
• The sixth and important reason public speaking is valuable
is that speaking is part of our democratic tradition.
• The drive for change often begins with the spoken word.
Indeed, since the colonial period of America when the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed certain
freedoms, public speaking has served an important
purpose in our democratic processes and procedures.
 Speaking to your Classmates

• As you speak to your classmates, keep in mind that your

speeches are rhetorical opportunities to show your
understanding of and commitment to an idea and your
ability to communicate your thoughts and feelings to
others.
• If you use your public speaking class as a training ground to
develop and refine your skills as a communicator, these
learning experiences will serve you well throughout your
life.
 Activity (SALAM)

say Hi Ask 3 Question Praise find Similarity

 Public Speaking and the
Communication Process
• Communication is the creation of shared meaning
through symbolic processes. You communicate your
thoughts and feelings to your audience with the intent of
generating knowledge and influencing values, beliefs,
attitudes, and actions.
• Often, your purpose is to reach mutual understanding. As
you speak in public, you use the shared symbols of
communication to achieve a specific purpose.
 The Three General Categories
• The speeches you deliver fall into three general categories: to
inform, to persuade, and to entertain. Sometimes you may
want to share information and create a clear understanding with
an audience.
• Other times you may want your audience to change their
attitude and/or follow a different course of action.
 On Special Occasions

• On special occasions, your task may be to entertain, inspire, or

celebrate. Each of these three categories is treated in separate
chapters to explain fully what is required for success.
• No matter what type of speech you deliver, your speaking
objective is to elicit a response from your audience by sharing
meaning with them.
 Get to know your audience

• Demographics
• Psychographic
 Get to know your audience
1. Size
2. Heterogeneity (diversity)
3. Voluntary vs captive
4. Composition
5. Culture
6. Self-interest
7. Personal interest
8. Beliefs and values
9. Prior understanding
10. Common knowledge and experience
11. Roles and reference groups
12. Cultural diversity
 Eight Elements of the Communication
Process
The communication process involves at least eight elements:
1. Sender
2. Receiver
3. Message
4. Channel
5. Feedback
6. Noise
7. Occasion
8. Cultural context
 1. Sender/Receiver

• Each speaker brings something unique to the occasion. As the

speaker, you may have an interesting perception of an issue
because of static and dynamic variables.
• Static variables are those things that remain stable from
speaking situation to speaking situation. These include
biological aspects such as Communication The creation of
shared meaning through symbolic processes.
Communication Model
(Ideal)
Communication Model
(Actual)
 Experience and Knowledge
• Experience and knowledge are also considered static, because
one does not change experience, knowledge, health, and
personality based on the speaking situation. Dynamic variables
are variables that are subject to change.
• They include decisions you make about a particular speech,
word choice, the structure you choose to support your points,
and aspects of appearance that are easily changed (clothing,
hair, accessories).
 Your Role as a Speaker

• In your role as a speaker, remember two things:

a) Your image makes a statement. Keep this in mind. The image your
audience has of you will be shaped with each comment you make.

b) The speaker and the audience both have needs. The speech is about
you and your audience. Through the communication exchange,
speakers seek from their audience a response that can satisfy certain
needs.
 2. Receiver/Sender
• In the communication process, the receiver is the
target of the message. In public speaking, the receiver
is the collection of individuals gathered to hear the
speaker.
• We underscore the primary importance of the receiver
or audience in public speaking situations. An effective
speaker focuses on having some meaningful impact on
our receivers.
 Listening to the Speaker

• Listening to the speaker and interpreting the speaker’s

message is the receiver’s primary role in the
communication process.
• However, receivers also send messages nonverbally
while the speaker presents his/her message. They clap,
laugh, yawn, talk to each other, text, frown, and smile.
 3. Message

• The message is what is communicated by the speaker and

perceived by the audience. Public speaking is a meaning-
centered process.
• Theorists have long recognized that the essence of the
message lies not only in what the speaker intends, but also in
the meaning ascribed to the message by the listeners.
 Identical Experiences

• Though one hundred people may listen to the same speech,

each will come away with his or her own interpretation of what
the speaker said.
• While we may share the same language, we do not share
identical experiences.
 4. Channel

• The channel is the medium through which the message is sent.

In the previous example, the message was sent from speaker to
audience through face-to-face communication.
• Students could respond nonverbally, displaying disagreement or
agreement and understanding or confusion through their facial
expressions and body movement.
 Our Wired and Wireless Society
• In our wired and wireless society, ma speaker’s message can be
sent by a variety of channels, including a public address system,
radio, TV, the Internet, recordings, the use of cell phones, and
text messages.
• Despite the improved quality of video, we maintain the richest
channel for communication is still face-to-face.
 5. Feedback

• In the public speaking transaction, feedback refers to the

messages the audience sends back to the speaker. Feedback
may be immediate or delayed.
• Immediate feedback may range from applause, yawns, laughter, verbal
comments, and even boos. A speaker may choose to ignore the
feedback or he may change his message in response to the feedback.
• Delayed feedback may come in the form of letters, emails, phone calls,
formal evaluation, or votes.
 6. Noise

• In an ideal world, noise would not exist. However, the potential

for multiple sources of noise exists within every communication
transaction.
• Speakers should not ignore it. Noise is defined as anything that
interferes with the communication process. Noise can be
physical, physiological, psychological, or semantic in nature.
 Physical Noise

• Physical noise includes anything in the environment that

distracts the speaker or listeners.
• Examples include cell phones going off, the microphone not
working well, people talking in class, students kicking chairs or
clicking pens, people talking outside the classroom, thunder,
noisy cars, heating that kicks on and off, and lights that make
buzzing sounds.
 Physiological Noise

• Physiological noise occurs when our senses fail us in some way.

If we have hearing loss or poor vision, for example, we might
become frustrated when we cannot hear or see adequately.
• Likewise, a speaker may grapple with physiological challenges
of stuttering, lisping, or tics beyond their control.
 Psychological Noise

• Psychological noise exists in the individual’s mind. The speaker

could be having a bad day and is not happy to be there or it may
be near lunch time and the listeners are thinking about how
hungry they are.
• One listener may be thinking about a fight she just had with her
boyfriend, and another Immediate feedback Audience response
as the speech is performed. Delayed feedback Audience
response after the speech is performed.
 Semantic Noise

• Semantic noise refers to a disconnect between the speaker’s

words and the listener’s interpretation.
• This disconnect may result from the use of inappropriate or
offensive words, misunderstanding or misinterpretation, or
disagreement on the meaning of words. Your professor may use
words you do not know, or you may experience cultural
differences.
 7. Occasion

• The situation for public speaking is often referred to as the

occasion and is composed of the time, place, event, and
traditions that define the moment.
• Before a speech begins, an audience already has an expectation
of what they would like to hear from you. At a recent college
commencement ceremony, the usual speakers gave their
speeches in the five- to seven-minute range.
 Physical Surroundings

• Physical surroundings help define the speaking occasion. As a

speaker, you should know in advance whether you are speaking
to five people or several hundred and whether you will be
speaking from an elevated platform
• or from an easy chair surrounded by an audience of listeners
also seated in easy chairs. Be aware of the order of your speech
in the day’s events. Are you the first or last speaker?
 8. Cultural Context

• Every speaking occasion operates within a broader cultural

context that affects the entire experience. Culture is defined in
terms of norms, the rules people follow in their relationships
with one another; values.
• The feelings people share about what is right or wrong, good or
bad, desirable or undesirable; customs accepted by the
community of institutional practices and expressions;
institutions; and language.
 Cultural Differences Exist

• As a speaker, one should recognize that cultural differences

exist between audiences.
• In sum, as speakers, we need to be aware of those aspects of
communication we have some influence over, and those we do
not. Also, it is in the speaker’s best interest to address the issue
of noise.
 Ethics

• Respect for your listeners/ audience

• Respect for your topic
• Responsibility for your statements
• Concern for the consequences of your speech
 Respect for your listeners

• Meet listeners where they are

• Don’t insult listener’s intelligence or judgment
• Make sure your message merits the audience’s time
• Respect listener’s ability to assess your message
• Respect the cultural diversity of your audience
 Respect for your topic

• A topic that matters to you, and you have something important

to say
• Credibility is important
 Respect for your statements

• Accuracy and integrity

 Concern for the consequences of your
speech

• Your speech will affect others

• Make sure it is positive