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Personal Care/Style :: Self-Improvement

How To Make Your Speaking Easier And More Effective

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

* Remember that the members of the audience are supposed to be the beneficiaries of your communication.
* Don't make too many assumptions about your audience. But you do have to make some.
* Figure out the basics. Who are these people?
o demographics (age, ethnicity, gender mix, etc.).
o predispositions (hopes, fears, positives/negatives, level of interest).
o knowledge of/experience with subject/me.
* In what kind of setting will they receive this information?
o large lecture hall or small seminar room or classroom.
o lighting and sound issues.
o time of day.
* Take into account the "me, here, now."
o Picture yourself as a member of the audience and ask "How does this message affect me, here, now?"
o Me, here, now translates into what you as a sender have to offer your audience/receivers—what they will be able to understand, accept, support, consider important—because it matters to them.
* Establish cognitive / behavioral objectives for your audience:
o What do I want my audience to know?
o What do I want my audience to do

OPENINGS, AND CLOSINGS

OPENINGS. Stay away from the predictable (Good morning..., Today, I'm here to talk about...). Instead:

* Begin with a provocative question, anecdote, or current event—and how it relates to the content.
* Ask the audience a question
* Set up a problem—and promise that they'll have all the tools for a solution by the end of the class.

CLOSINGS. Many speakers simply talk until the end of the time or beyond it—and say, "I see we're out of time." Instead:

* Plan a rhythm for your speaking—plan to end with content 5 minutes early, so you can summarize, raise questions.
* Set aside a time for questions—and structure that time.

PREPARATION

You probably can't cover everything you want to in a talk or speech.

* Decide what is essential, what is important, and what is helpful (what would be nice).
o Cover the first; try to cover the second; forget about the third.
o Release a little control over the material and rely on the textbook or a list of supplementary readings for the nonessentials.
* Set objectives.
o What do you want to have accomplished at the end of the speech?
o What do you want the audience to know at the end of the speech?
* Plan a speech to cover less than the allotted period.
o It takes some time to get going.
o Questions always take up more time than you expect.
* Divide the speech/talk into discrete segments and follow the standard speech structure.
o Divide it both in terms of time and in terms of material.
o Try for roughly equal blocks, each one on a topic.
o Unlike in a piece of writing, you should tell them what you'll say, say it, and tell them what you've said.
* Speak from notes or an outline, rather than a complete text.
o It's too tempting to simply read, rather than lecture, from a complete text.
o Reading also creates a barrier between speaker and audience.
o Writing up an entire speech is very time consuming.
o A written speech often becomes a fossil that never gets updated.

DELIVERY

* Be conversational; speak naturally; be yourself (or your best self).
o That self may be formal, "laid back," understated, or hyper. Use those traits; don't fight against them.
o Talk about the material; don't lecture about it.
o (Talking is easier if you don't read verbatim.)
* Vary your pacing and voice.
o Gauge audience reaction, and
o Repeat critical points immediately if you sense the necessity.
o Use your voice to underline and italicize the important points.
o Pause before new points.
o Use transitional statements to move to the next idea.
* Use gestures to emphasize points.
o Consider gestures to be a mirror of your voice.
o Adjust your gestures to the size of the room.
* Look at the audience.
o Try to cover all parts of the room by dividing it into four quadrants.
o If direct eye contact makes you forget your place, try looking just ov

01r a student's head, or between two students (They won't see the difference).
* Use language to create pictures.
o Use metaphors, analogies, and similes.
* Observe the techniques of others.
o Try out in your own talks techniques you admire in others.
o Like any skill, delivery is not innate, but must be learned

CREDIBILITY & COMMITMENT

Although speaking isn't theater, we do know that audience find concepts, knowledge, skills, and ideas most accessible and credible from someone they consider . . . well, not dull.

* Think about antecedent image—perception is often stronger than reality.
* Credibility is enhanced by:
o Your own sense of comfort and confidence presenting material.
o Your enthusiasm and interest in teaching.
o Your research and own ideas.
* Commitment is enhanced by:
o Relating your own experience, ideas, and feelings.
o Taking the first person approach, not separating yourself from your subject.
o Relating your "passion" for your subject.
* Delivery is tied to both commitment and credibility:
An old UCLA study of effective presentations analyzed 3 elements (verbal, vocal, visual). Here's what it found was important in establishing credibility/believability:
o Verbal (words you say): 7%.
o Vocal (how you sound when you say them): 38%.
o Visual (how you look when you say them): 55%.
* Your energy and intensity will move your audience—and help you (them) reach your objectives.

BUILDING INTERACTION

* Learning takes place best in an active, not a passive environment.
* Interaction is a continuous way to
o Assess the me, here, now.
o Determine whether or not your content is understood.
o Share the responsibility of learning more equitably and appropriately.
* How to build interaction?
o Have questions prepared—begin with relatively easy, accessible ones.
o Work to get everyone involved, even in large groups.
* Ask the audience to consider issues with the person sitting next to them/jot down ideas, questions, concerns.
* Discuss as a larger group.
* Move yourself!
o Don't scurry back and forth, but don't get locked into one position.

HANDLING QUESTIONS

* Explicitly request and encourage questions.
o The audience will see that you have a genuine interest in what they're thinking.

* Be aware of how your behavior and comments can set the tone for questioning.
o A negative response (e.g., "We've already covered that") discourages further questions and may make the audience think you don't really want questions.
* Make sure everyone hears the question.
o Repeat it if necessary.
o But don't make a habit of simply repeating every question.
o Ask the audience if they heard the question; then ask the person to repeat.
* Clarify questions.
o Say, "Do you mean that . . . ," or "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question," rather than "Your question isn't clear."
* Answer questions as directly as possible.
o Address your answer to the whole audience.
o Ask whether you have answered the question.
* Be diplomatic when people raise tangential, overly complicated questions, or persistently ask questions just to be asking.
o Ask them to stop by after the presentation or to contact you.
o If a someone is simply confused, say, "Let me go over this point a bit more slowly."

GETTING FEEDBACK

* Get regular feedback.
o Ask the audience to spend the last five minutes of class writing down the most important thing they learned that day or one question they have as a result of the talk.
o Or ask them to write down questions they still have.
* Use eye contact as a tool for continuous feedback.
o If you notice people with questioning looks, stop what you're doing and ask if you need to clarify.
o If you get no response, go ahead and clarify.

Tollefson/Peterson
UC Berkeley

Article Source: www.activehowto.com

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