Oral Communication

I. Type of Speech Context

A. Intrapersonal Communication
“The Self and Intrapersonal Communication Model”
By Wiseman and Barker
- it is the creating, functioning, and evaluation of symbolic
processes which operate within the originating or responding
communicator

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▪ Life orientation
- result of the sum total of social, hereditary, and personal
factors which have influenced your development as an
individual
▪ Internal Stimuli
- nerved impulses that are received by the brain; it makes the
self-communicator aware of the physiological and psychological
conditions of his/her body; it also triggers response.
▪ External Stimuli
- come from outside the body from immediate or proximate
environment
a.) Overt External Stimuli
- stimuli received at the conscious level; our sense organs
receive these and send and send them to the brain
b.) Covert External Stimuli
- stimuli received at the preconscious or subconscious level of
the brain; also refers to our schema or prior knowledge
▪ Reception
- intrapersonal communication starts when the body first
receives stimuli
a.) External Receptors
- found on or near the surface of the body; react to
physical, chemical, and mechanical stimuli
b.) Internal receptors
- nerve endings provide information about your internal
state
▪ Discrimination
- determines what stimuli are allowed to stimulate thought;
screens out the less significant or weaker stimuli; occurs below
the conscious level; allows you to attend to only those stimuli
you consider significant
▪ Regrouping
- the strongest and most important stimuli previously selected
are arranged in meaningful sequence (most significant stimulus
> medium stimulus > least significant stimulus

▪ Ideation
- stage where the messages are thought out, planned, and
organized; draws mainly on the individuals storehouse of
knowledge and experience
▪ Incubation
- process of allowing your ideas to grow and develop further;
“Jelling or hatching period; allows you the time to weigh,
evaluate, reorganize, and reflect on your messages
▪ Symbol Encoding
- symbols of thoughts are transformed into words, gestures, and
actions; last stage prior to transmittal of message
▪ Transmission
- the destination is the communicator; origin and point of
initiation is also the communicator
- message composed of words and gestures are transmitted via
light or air waves; messaged received by the self, travels from
the nervous system to the muscles
▪ Feedback
- response to a message coming from an external source,
someone other than the speaker
a.) External Self-feedback
 - self-communicators response through airwaves
b.) Internal Self-feedback
- feel through bone conduction and muscular movement

B. Interpersonal Communication

- involves the interaction of two or more people

- it refers to communication between and among people and
established personal relationship between and among them
(Solomon and Theiss, 2013)
Types of Interpersonal Context1. Dyad This category involves
the exchange of messages between two people.2. Small Group
This category refers to the interaction of people forming a small
group. The interaction is usually face-to-face and the
participants are in close proximity to each other so that everyone
in the group can participate.
C. Public Communication
- This type of communication refers to communication that
requires you to deliver or send the message before or in front of
a group. The message can be driven by informal or persuasive
purposes. - In public communication, unlike interpersonal and
small group, the channels are more exaggerated. The voice is
louder and the gestures are more expansive because the audience
is bigger (Hybels and Weaver 2012).
- This type of communication is called one-to-many
communication. It involves a large gathering of people where
most serve as listeners. This type of communication has two
characteristics: a. Unequal amount of speaking (speaker-
centered) b. Limited Verbal feedback
➢ Tips for Effective Public Communication
1. Nervousness Is Normal. Practice and Prepare!All people feel
some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and
trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense
that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some
nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also
makes you more alert and ready to give your best
performance.The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare,
prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your
notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with
the material, practice—a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend
to critique your performance.
2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not
You.Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the
message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as
you can. This will help you determine your choice of words,
level of information, organization pattern, and motivational
statement.
3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to
Attain Your Purpose.Create the framework for your speech.
Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central
idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s attention
in the first 30 seconds.
4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.Keep the focus on the
audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay
flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you lose
the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.
5. Let Your Personality Come Through.Be yourself, don’t
become a talking head—in any type of communication. You will
establish better credibility if your personality shines through,
and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see
you as a real person.
6. Use humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.Inject a
funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab
your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal
touch in a speech. A story can provide that.
7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an
Outline.Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal
connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience, you
keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can
serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.

8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous

Gestures.Nonverbal communication carries most of the message.
Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead
conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction.
9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic
End.Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going
to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a
startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation.
Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement
that your audience is sure to remember.
9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic
End.Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going
to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a
startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation.
Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement
that your audience is sure to remember.
“Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you
to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare
will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to
shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.”
II. TYPES OF SPEECH STYLES
1) Frozen style
2) Formal style
3) Consultative style
4) Casual style
5) Intimate style

1) FROZEN STYLE - Also known as fixed speech. It is most

the most formal communicative style that is often used in
respectful situation or formal ceremony. As most highly formal
style, it uses the complex grammatical sentence structure and
vocabulary known only to experts in a particular field. It invites
the reader to enter into a personal experience of creative
discovery such as literary texts like poetry. The writing reflects
the efforts of revision.

2) FORMAL STYLE – It uses formal words and expressions

Example:
Formal “Toyota’s sales bounced back in March as substantial
discounts helped to win back customers who had been shaken by
the firm’s mass safety recalls.”

Casual/ Informal expressed counterpart: “Did you see Toyota’s

sales figures? Looks like the discounts have actually worked.”
- Most often seen in writing than in speaking. This speech style
is expected to be presented in complete sentences with specific
word usage. Its usually elaborate complex sentences and noun
phrases are well structured, logically sequenced, and strongly
coherent. It does not allow ellipsis (like omissions),
contractions, qualifying modal adverbials (like probably,
possibly, evidently, surely, certainly and subjectively markers )

3) CONSULTATIVE STYLE – Known as the Third Level of

language. It is unplanned speech. This speech style uses listener
participation and feedback; Less appropriate for writing.
The two defining features of this style are:
(a) the speaker supplies background information
(b)the listener participates continuously

4) CASUAL OR INFORMAL STYLE – This style is used in

conversations between friends and insiders who have something
to share and have shared background information. There is free
and easy participation of both speaker and listener. It is marked
by various degrees of implicitness because of intimacy between
speaker and listener. The use of language is general.

It is appropriate to use casual language in situations where

speech is improvised and not prepared ahead of time, or when
the writer is writing quickly without editing. You also use casual
language when you want to get to know someone on a more
personal level, or you want the person to feel at ease.
A simple greeting with those you know well might probably be
the causal: – “Hi” – “Hey” – “What’s up?” – “How is it going?”
– “How do you do?” – “Nice to meet you, Mr./Mrs./Ms., Dr.,
Rev.” –
“ Will you please excuse me for a moment?” – “Excuse me”

Casual or informal style have ellipsis, allows the use of slang,

profanity, and unconventional English words – The diction or
vocabulary is informal (colloquial). Some of the vocabulary
used only in casual situations are:
– “dude” (a person)
– “freaking out” (getting scared)
– “nope” (no)

Its casual language uses words or phrases that are shortened like:
– “I’m doin’ it my way” (doing)
– “Lemme go!” (let me go)
– “Watcha gonna do?” (What are you going to do?)
– “Whassup?” (What’s up?)

5) INTIMATE STYLE – This style is used in conversations

between people who are very close and know each other quite
well because having a maximum of shared background
information. It is characterized by an

economy of words, with a high incidence of significant

nonverbal communication, such as gesture, facial expression,
eye contact and so on. There is free and easy participation of
both the speaker and listener, and is far more elliptical.
III. Types of Speech Acts
J.L Austin (1962)A philosopher of language and the developer
of the speech act theory.
Speech Acts - are the speaker's utterances which convey
meaning and make the listeners do specific things- when saying
a performative utterance, a speaker is simultaneously doing
something
Three Types of Acts:
Locutionary Illocutionary Perlocutionary
▪ Locutionary act - Actual act of uttering
- occurs when the speaker performs an utterance (locution),
which has a meaning in the traditional sense - happens with the
utterance of a sound, a word, or even a phrase as a natural unit
of speech- has sense, and has the same meaning to both the
speaker and the listener
▪ Illocutionary act - Social function of what is said.
- it is not just saying something itself, but the act of saying
something with the intention of: stating an opinion, confirming,
or denying somethingmaking a prediction, a promise, a request,
order, or a decision, giving an advice, or permissionEx: “There's
too much homework in this subject.(opinion) “I'll do my
homework later.”(promise) “Go! Do your
homework.”(Order)
▪ Perlocutionary act - Resulting act of what is said.
- this effect is based on the particular context in which the
speech act was mentioned- effect is sought from either the
speaker, the listener, or both- the response may not necessarily
be physical or verbal and elicited by: Inspiring or
insulting Persuading or convincing
Deterring or scaring
❖ Classification of Speech Acts
John Searle (1976) - A professor from the University of
California, Berkeley.
Classified illocutionary acts into five distinct categories:
• Assertive
• Directive
• Commissive
• Expressive
• Declaration

Assertive - a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker

expresses belief about the truth of a proposition.
Examples:suggesting, putting forward, swearing, boasting,
concluding
Directive - a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker tries
to make the addressee perform an action.Examples:
asking, ordering, requesting, inviting, advising,
beggingCommissive - a type of illocutionary act which commits
the speaker to doing something in the
futureExamples:promising, planning, vowing, betting
Expressive - a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker
expresses his/her feelings or emotional
reactions.Examples:thanking, apologizing, welcoming,
deploring
Declaration - a type of illocutionary act in which brings a
change in the external situationExamples:blessing, firing,
baptizing, biddingIV. Types of Communicative Strategies
Topic Nomination- Act of putting forward or suggesting a topic
for conversation. Topic Restriction - Act of limiting what will be
said about the topic.
Turn-taking- The manner in which people engaged in a
conversation manage their turns to speak.
Topic Control- Ability to maintain the focus of the conversation
on the current topic.
Topic Shifting- This is a movement from one topic to a related
topic.

Repair- A correction of an utterance after it has been said in the

conversation.
Termination- The conclusion of the old topic and transition to
the new one.
V. Types of Speeches

A. Speeches According to Purpose

Informative Speech This speech serves to provide interesting
and useful information to your audience.
Main Elements in Writing an Informative Speech- Knowledge,
Key Points, Interest1. Knowledge - establish credibility by
demonstrating expertise and knowledge of the subject -
conveying information, presenting ideas, facts and statistics to
adequately inform the audience about the subject
2. Key Points - repeat all the Key points to ensure maximum
knowledge retention3. Interest - conveying the subject with
enthusiasm and including unusual facts or anecdotes about the
subject The Structure and Outline a.) Opener - the opening, ice-
breaker or attention grabber b.) Introduction - tell them what the
speech is about and what your main points will bec.)
Confirmation - confirm and repeat the key points d.) Conclusion
- try to end with a memorable punch line or positive statement
Purpose of an Informative Writing- The main purpose of writing
an informativeessay is to provide reliable information to your
reader on any subject matter.
Demonstrative Speech - A Demonstrative speech is written to
explain and show people how to do something. This might
involve using various types of visual aids, or handout to ensure
the effectiveness of the instructions.
Main Elements in Writing a Demonstration Speech
InstructionsTask Breakdown Key Points
Instructions
- providing clear and concise instructions on how to
complete a task Task Breakdown - the task must be broken
down in a logical format, step by stepKey Points - key
points must be emphasized including any safety
issuesThe Structure and Outline a.) Opener - the opening, ice-
breaker or attention grabber b.) Introduction - tell them what the
speech is about, what your objective is and what the audience
will be able to do following your demonstration speechc.)
Benefits - why the audience will benefit from learning how to
complete the task
d.) Task Breakdown - the task must be broken down in a logical
format, step by step - do not leave out any crucial points
Persuasive Speech- A persuasive speech is written to persuade,
or convince the listeners, of the validity of the speaker's
argument. This might involve persuading someone to change
their opinion or at the very least take into account some
elements that have not really been considered before.
Main Elements in Writing a Demonstration Speech1. Credibility
- establish credibility by demonstrating expertise,
evidence and knowledge of the subject - presenting facts,
statistics or quotes together with any personal experiences
to make the audience believe in what you are saying2.
Passion - conveying the subject with enthusiasm, passion and
conviction to appeal to the emotions of the audience
The Structure and Outline
• Opener
• Introduction
• Credibility
• Confirmation
• Conclusion

Entertaining Speech- An entertaining speech is one whose sole

purpose is to have the audience enjoy the presentation.Purpose
of an Entertaining speech -The main purpose of writing an
entertaining speech is not to educate, inform or inspire
… it is to make the audience smile, relax, enjoy and maybe even
laugh their heads off.

How do you make a speech entertaining?

- tell jokes
- tell funny stories
- dramatize an anecdote
- tell a scary story
Guidelines in creating an Entertaining speech1. Chose an
appropriate topic - you do not want the topic to be too dense,
complicated or heavy. Remember, you are not trying to give
your audience a greater understanding of anything. You are there
to help them have a good time.
2. Enjoy yourself ! - Believe it or not, it is hard for an audience
to enjoy your presentation if it looks like you are not enjoying
presenting it!
3. Keep it simple - Your presentation should be easy to follow.
Do not make it hard for your audience to keep up with you
mentally … or in any other way.
4. Say it like a roller coaster - Add unexpected twists and turns
to your presentation. When you surprise your audience with
where your story is going, that adds to the entertainment factor.
B. Speech According to Delivery

Delivering a Memorized Speech -memorized speeches are

favorable for certain reasons.1. There is a definite for you to go.
You may have written the speech or you may have been handed
the piece. Either way, the points of your speech has been clearly
determined. As long as you remember what you will say, you
will not get lost.
2. You have time to prepare. Whether it is a matter of days,
weeks, or even months, you have the opportunity to analyze the
speech carefully. You can plan how you will deliver the parts
appropriately, and you certainly have the time to memorize (as
you are expected to do).
On the other hand, memorized speech can also turn unfavorable
because of the following reasons:
a.) There is tremendous pressure on your ability to recall your
speech. If you forget the words when you speak, your
performance will suffer.
b.) There are also high expectations on your delivery. Because
you have been given much time to prepare, you are expected to
do justice to your piece.

Delivering Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speeches

- An impromptu speech is delivered without any preparations.
The speaker may have been given a question on the spot and
tasked to speak immediately.On the other hand, in
extemporaneous speech, the speaker may be given just a few
minutes to prepare before delivery.

If you are assigned to deliver an extemporaneous or impromptu

speech, the following points serve as advantages.1. You will be
speaking in a natural way. Most of the time, we do not converse
as though we have prepared speeches in mind. We build and
develop a train of thought as we do in a conversation.
2. You have unlimited topics to choose from. When you deliver
a memorized speech, you have to stick to the given piece. But
when you deliver an extemporaneous or impromptu speech, you
have virtually no limits to what you can say. As long as you stay
within the topic, you can explore idea after idea.
On the other hand, the following may prove unfavorable.1. You
run the risk of having no direction. This time your path is not so
clear-cut. Aside from coming up with things to say, you have to
make sure that you do not veer away from your topic at hand.
2. If you have memorized speech, you have at least some words
that you can fall back on when you forget the next part. But if
you black out during an extemporaneous or impromptu speech,
it’s harder to recover because you had no planned speech to
begin with. C. Principles of Speech Writing

Components of speech writing process

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1. Audience Analysis – entails looking into the profile of your
target audience. The profile includes the following
information:a.) Demography (age, range, male-female ratio,
educational background and affiliations or degree program
taken, nationality, economic status, academic or corporate
designations).
b.) Situations (time, venue, occasion and size)
c.) Psychology (values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, cultural
and racial ideologies and needs.

The purpose for writing and delivering the speech can be

classified into three—to inform, to entertain, or to persuade.
➢ An informative speech provides the audience with a clear
understanding of the concept or idea presented by the speaker.
➢ An entertainment speech provides the audience with well-
argued ideas that can influence their own beliefs and decisions.
➢ A persuasive speech provides the audience with well-argued
ideas that can influence their own beliefs and decisions.

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The purpose can be general or specific. Study the following
examples to see the difference.
The topic is your main point, which can be determined once you
have decided on your purpose. If you are free to decide on a
topic, choose one that really interests you. There are a variety of
strategies used in selecting a topic, such as using your personal
experiences, discussing with your family members or friends,
free writing, listing, asking questions, or semantic webbing.
Narrowing down a topic means making your main idea more
specific and focused. The strategies in selecting a topic can also
be used when you narrow down a topic.
In the example below, “Defining and developing effective
money management skills of Grade 11 students” is the specific
topic out of a general one, which is “Effective money
management”.
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Data gathering is the stage where you collect ideas, information,

sources, and references relevant or related to your specific topic.
This can be done by visiting the library, browsing the web,
observing a certain phenomenon or event related to your topic,
or conducting an interview or survey. The data you will gather
will be very useful in making your speech informative,
entertaining, or persuasive.

➢
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Writing patterns, in general, are structures that will help you
organize the ideas related to your topic. Examples are
biographical, categorical/topical, causal, chronological,
comparison/contrast, problem-solution, and spatial.

❖ Different writing patterns from which you can select the one
that best suits your topic and/or purpose:

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➢ An outline is hierarchical list that shows the relationship of
your ideas. Experts in public speaking states that once your
outline is ready, two-thirds of your speech writing is finished. A
good outline helps you see that all the ideas are in line with your
main idea or message.
The elements of an outline include introduction, body, and
conclusion. Write your outline based on how you want your
ideas to develop.Below are some of the suggested formats:

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➢ The body of the speech provides an explanation, examples, or

any details that can help you deliver your purpose and explain
the main idea of your speech.One major consideration in
developing the body of your speech is the focus or central idea.
The body of your speech should only have one central idea.
The following are some strategies to highlight your main idea.
• Present real-life or practical examples
• Show statistics
• Present comparisons
• Share ideas from the experts or practitioners
The introduction is the foundation of your speech. Here, your
primary goal is to get the attention of your audience and present
the subject or main idea of your speech. Your first few words
should do so.The following are some strategies:- Use real-life
experience and connect that experience to your subject.- Use
practical examples and explain their connection to your subject.-
Start with a familiar or strong quote and then explain what it
means.- Use facts or statistics and highlight their importance to
your subject.- Tell a person story to illustrate your point.
The conclusion restates the main idea of your speech.
Furthermore, it provides a summary, emphasizes the message,
and calls for action. While the primary goal of the introduction
is to get the attention of your audience, the conclusion aims to
leave the audience with memorable statement.The following are
some strategies:1. Begin your conclusion with a restatement of
your message.2. Use positive examples, encouraging words, or
memorable lines from songs or stories familiar to your audience.

3. Ask a question or series of questions that can make your

audience reflect or ponder.
▪ Editing/Revising your written speech involves correcting
errors in mechanics, such as grammar, punctuation,
capitalization, unity, coherence, and others. Andrew Dlugan
(20013), an award-winning public speaker, lists six power
principles for speech editing.
1. Edit for focus “so, what’s the point? What’s the message of
the message of the speech?”Ensure that everything you have
written, from introduction to conclusion, is related to your
central message.
2. Edit for clarity “I don’t understand the message because the
examples or supporting details were confusing.”Making all ideas
in your speech clear by arranging them in logical order (e.g.,
main idea first then support/examples, or support/examples first
then the main idea).
3. Edit for concision “The speech was all over the place; the
speaker kept on talking endlessly as if no one was listening to
him/her”.Keep your speech short, simple, and clear by
eliminating unrelated stories and sentences and by using simple
words.
4. Edit for continuity “The speech was too difficult to follow; I
was lost in the middle”.Keep the flow of your presentation
smooth by adding transition words and phrases.
5. Edit for variety “I didn’t enjoy the speech because it was
boring”.Add spice to your speech by shifting tone and style from
formal to conversational and vice-versa, moving around the
stage, or adding humor.
6. Edit for impact beauty “There’s nothing really special about
the speech”.Make your speech memorable by using these
strategies: surprise the audience, use vivid descriptive images,
write well-crafted and memorable lines, and use figures of
speech.

Rehearsing gives you an opportunity to identify what works and

what does not work fro you and for your target audience. Some
strategies include reading your speech aloud, recording for your
won analysis or for your peers or coaches to give feedback on
your delivery. The best thing to remember at this stage is:
“constant practice makes perfect”.
Some Guidelines in Speech Writing1. Keep your words short
and simple. Your speech is meant to be heard by your audience,
not read.
2. Avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical words because they can
confuse your audience.
3. Make your speech more personal. Use the personal pronoun
“I,” but take care not to overuse it. When you need to emphasize
collectiveness with your audience, use the personal pronoun
“we.”
4. Use active verbs and contractions because they add to the
personal and conversational tone of your speech.
5.Be sensitive to your audience. Be very careful with your
language, jokes, and nonverbal cues.

6. Use metaphors and other figures of speech to effectively

convey your point.
7. Manage your time well; make sure that the speech falls under
the time limit.

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