e-cwip interactive apostolic ministry training

Class 105 – Public Speaking Session 2 Notes – Introduction to Public Speaking

Review: What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric is the technical term for the art of public speaking and writing. It is the study

of the principles by which we please and persuade people with public speaking.

Classical rhetoric, combined with biblical values and priorities, helped create modern

homiletics, which is the art and science of biblical preaching. We could say that

homiletics is a branch of rhetoric. We also mentioned a number of “rhetorical forms,”

each of which has its own recognizable rules, conventions, and audience expectations.

Review: why study rhetoric or public speaking?

1. To become properly aware of our audience.

2. To become properly sensitive to our audience.

3. To learn to attract our listeners and hold their attention.

4. To learn to avoid distracting our listeners.

5. To become more poised in public.

A simple rhyme will help you remember the three areas of presentation in which we can

all improve: attraction, distraction, and social interaction.

Attraction: is your delivery attractive to your audience? How well will you hold their

interest?

Distraction: what could divert people’s attention onto undesirable mannerisms?

Social interaction: what kind of connection are you making?

Let’s look at these in turn, but first take a moment to explore some realities of body

language.

Body language and appearance: what are you saying… and displaying?

Much communication is intuitive rather than informational. Technological advances

have not erased our biological and spiritual “hard-wiring” or how we are “acculturated”

and therefore we often “hear” more from a person’s non-verbal communication than his

verbal communication. It’s been said that 65% of communication is non-verbal. Some

people have a disability in which they cannot read these cues, which renders life quite

difficult. Think of how often we say things like “you know what I mean!”

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And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he

would have gone further. (Luke 24:28, KJV)

Again, these are things which we understand but don’t typically study. Body language

cues and displays can be more biological than cultural and so may not vary too much

from one culture to another. Examples?

• Turning red with shame

• Turning red with anger

• Sweating when nervous

• Stomach growling when nervous

• Semi-vocal reactions such as gasping with shock or fear

There are a number of behavioral responses which take place in us as a result of visual

stimulation. Studies have shown that we find mammals cute and cuddly if their faces are

round and have disproportionately large eyes. Babies in mammalian species commonly

have these features. This obviously applies to human infants as well. Is this evolution

pushing us to take care of our offspring, or did God just like puppies? You decide.

Other reactions are more purely cultural –and vary widely from one culture to another.

Outsiders coming in to a culture must not only learn the verbal language but also the

unwritten rules and subtleties of verbal and nonverbal communication, such as the

following (give your own examples):

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 • Titles

• Seating arrangements

• Who speaks first

• Who speaks last

• Special clothing

• Facial gestures

• Greetings: touching/bowing

• Extent of embraces

• Touching the opposite sex

• Touching children

• Behavior in front of authority figures

• Non-verbal (inarticulated) sounds

• Hand gestures while speaking

• Obscene gestures

Give me an example of an expression and/or a posture that says:

• I am angry at you.

• I don’t want to hear what you have to say.

• Give me a break.

• How would you stand in you were in charge of a room full of defiant people?

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Can you provide a concrete example of a gesture or behavior that could be

misunderstood from one culture to another?

Attraction

To be well understood and to avoid offense in our own culture, we need to learn how to

cooperate with these realities as best we can, not fight them. Here are a few pointers:

1. Personal warmth. Don’t merely appear to be warm, be warm. People can easily

detect forced friendliness and despise it. Genuine friendliness is important. As

Christians we should have an advantage in this department. The love and life of God in

your inner being should radiate out of you. Decide that you like the people you are

speaking to and that will make all the difference. People can overcompensate to show

warmth, sometimes out of anxiety, sometimes out of a desire to ingratiate themselves to

you. What behaviors would we see in this case? Exaggerated smile, loud speech,

excessive embracing, overly vigorous hand-shaking, etc.

2. Smile. The Bible makes much of a man’s countenance and for good reason. The

Lord is said to be the light of our countenance. From the time of infancy our eyes and

brains are taught to read faces and expressions and react to people accordingly. People

instinctively recoil from those with stern, nervous or depressed countenances. People

instinctively feel more safe or at ease with friendly faces.

(Q: How does a warm person act or respond to others? What are his behaviors as

opposed to someone who is standoffish?)

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3. Good posture. As we’ve discussed, you do not need to be “ramrod straight,” as that

would appear forced to people (unless you are a U.S. Marine). However, good posture

all the way through the neck is important.

4. A relaxed overall demeanor. More on this when we talk about distraction, but

it’s a good exercise to look at your resting position in a full-length mirror and see if you

look like you are waiting for an injection.

5. Humor. The use of appropriate humor releases tension and makes you more

likeable. What makes for a good joke… in public?

6. Voice. Adopt a conversational tone. Centuries and even decades ago, people

adopted an elevated tone for speechmaking. Tone and other dynamics were also

exaggerated by our standards – perhaps to avoid monotony, as speeches were longer.

This included what we might today consider as exaggerated pronunciations, such as a

trilled “r” or a clearer vowel “u” (assume vs. assoom). This is out of favor today.

7. Diction. Good diction means clarity in speech. Be sure that whatever you say can

be understood and that you are not slurred words together. Practice listening to singers

and see if you can make out what they are actually singing. Help your diction by

practicing reading the Bible or a newspaper aloud. Listen to others speak and see how

much is sloppy.

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8. Appropriate use of gestures. Attractive, natural gestures can enhance your

presentation. And, to be natural, gestures must meaningfully correspond to what is

happening verbally. Also, let gestures be smooth, not harsh or jerky.

9. Appropriate use of motion. A little motion goes a long way, and a lot is too much.

Try not to pace, rock or sway too much. Move around the room casually, and not too

quickly as you have your “conversation.” People associate rapid hand or body motions

with emotional states, not verbal content.

10. Engage people with meaningful eye contact. We instinctively feel that a person

who does not look at us in the eye is “somewhere else” at the moment or has something

to hide. You should make eye contact with some of your listeners, but without staring.

How is the modern trend toward texting and being continually online affecting

attention and expectations of courtesy? What about the trend toward the “topless”

meeting – no laptops or other devices allowed?

Thought Question: Is friendliness deceptive? In other words, shouldn’t people just

listen to what we say and deal with it as information?

Distraction

In this era of sound bites and short speeches, it’s essential not to lose your audience.

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 • The easiest way to lose an audience is to forget that human beings have incredible

senses. Create a visual or auditory diversion and you may never get some people

back.

• You may also have verbal habits that make people dislike you or create tension.

Here’s my short list of distractions:

1. What’s that smell? Avoid hygiene problems at all costs. Of course, please smell

clean and fresh, but don’t overpower us with the latest fragrance either. What about

other smells such as food preparation smells or environmental smells?

2. What’s in his mouth? Hopefully nothing except tongue and teeth! Let’s leave it

to liquids, and make it quiet while we’re at it!

3. What’s that sound? Excessive throat-clearing, sniffing, etc. should be handled

elsewhere.

4. Tell me she didn’t wear that here! Is your clothing:

• un-ironed

• stained

• worn

• threadbare?

Are you immodest? To be blunt, how much leg is too much leg?

And is your bling-bling too showy or tinkling too much?

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5. I wish he would stop playing with that. Learn once and for all that when you

are speaking, it turns out that people (some of them, anyway) are actually watching you.

For this reason you need to stop: scratching your head, rubbing your nose, brushing

your hair off your face, licking your lips, playing with the change in your pockets,

fingering a piece of jewelry, pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose, playing

with the car keys, having your cell phone go off, or pulling up your pants. (Q: what

else?)

6. Did he really say that? A Top Ten list to avoid:

• Never use impolite or vulgar speech. It is probably best to avoid their

euphemisms, too.

• Avoid jokes which are off-color or demeaning in any way.

• Do not boast, recite your accomplishments or attempt to pass yourself off as

something you’re not.

• Don’t drop names.

• Avoid the TMI problem – don’t reveal too many of your private matters nor those

of others.

• Do not speak ill of other individuals.

• Don’t speak ill of any group, even if your audience would support the sentiment.

• Avoid slander and libel. Slander, broadly defined, is something which harms

another person’s reputation. It may subject you to legal action unless it is true.

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 Some statements are slanderous because they impute a crime or a condition to

the person (he is a thief; she is a prostitute).

• You should avoid political speech – unless you are making a political speech.

• Avoid sarcasm.

• Avoid expressions that are too slangy, especially ethnic slang if you’re not a

member of that ethnic group.

That was 11. Were you counting?  By the way, if you want to look professional, don’t

ever type smilies or other emoticons onto a paper.

7. Don’t inoculate people against your speech before you get rolling. Never

tell us how nervous you are, that this is your first time, or that you are really going to be

terrible. We will believe you if you do!

8. Good grammar shouldn’t, like, end with grammar school. Despite the best

efforts of teenagers everywhere, ain’t still ain’t a word. Never be embarrassed to ask

someone if you are saying something correctly – just don’t do it in in your speech. Learn

a few things on purpose, such as when to say “you and I” and when to say “you and me.”

Learn what words exist and which don’t.

9. Dear Lord, make her stop. Human beings tire very quickly of listening to voices

that are:

• Too fast

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 • Too whiny

• Too sing-song

• Too monotonous

• Too shrill

• Too angry

10. Umm, could you, like, please, kinda, you know, ahh, hurry it up, like?

Stop thinking out loud. Train yourself to avoid space-fillers like the above. We create

space-fillers

• Out of laziness

• Out of anxiety

• Out of a wrong perception that we have left too much “dead air.”

Social Interaction

1. Be on your best behavior when you are invited to speak somewhere.

Greet those whom you should greet with the social courtesies appropriate to the setting.

(If you need help in this area, ask your mom or dad.) Express due appreciation.

Continue to be on your best behavior after the speech, whether it be a more structured Q

and A time or a relaxed coffee. Remember, the people you irritated before the speech

will be there after you leave to talk people out of how good you were.

2. Time. Be respectful of the start time, the time allotted to you, and any other

parameters which apply.

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3. Determine your style of dress. Remember that the occasion will determine the

formality of dress: casual, business casual, business attire, or formal.

4. Determine your style. Remember that the occasion will determine the choice of

vocabulary: basic or technical; casual, formal, or elevated.

5. Determine the spirit of the address. Remember that the occasion will

determine the degree of levity or solemnity: solemn, conversational, light-hearted, or

comic.

Conclusion

As painful as it may be, try watching yourself on video and in mirrors. Listen to yourself

on tapes. No one enjoys this and indeed most people find the sound of their own voices

somewhat shocking and disturbing. (We find it hard to believe it’s really us!) However,

this practice will have real benefits to you and you will find your skills improving.

Honesty is the best policy, and the realm of public speaking is no exception. Be honest

about your current level of proficiency and then take the steps you need to take to

improve!

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