Advanced Note 4Caalaa591 editted
Advanced Note 4Caalaa591 editted
articulating sounds.
Public speaking is a process, an act and an art of making a speech before an audience
2. Purposes of public speaking
A public speaker must identify the purpose of the presentation by focusing on the topic and the audience.
Purpose – is the object of the speech or the outcome the speaker wishes to achieve; the response desired the
audience. Establishing a purpose for your speech will help you bring your topic under control. Once you have
your general topic, consider your purpose. Modern public speaking scholars typically use a classification
system of three general purposes: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.
1. Speaking to Inform- A speech designed to convey knowledge and understanding. It provides listeners
with new information or idea. It seeks to create understanding; you‘d clarify, enlighten, correct
misunderstandings, or demonstrate how something works.
It occurs in a wide range of every day situation. It may be grouped into four categories:
a. Speech about object - speech about anything that is visible, tangible and stable in form.
b. Speech about process- a systematic series of actions that leads to a specific result or product
c. Speech about event- anything that happens or is regarded as happening
d. Speech about concept- speech about a belief, theory, idea, notion, principles.
An informative speech conveys knowledge, a task that you‘ve engaged in throughout your life. A good
informative speech conveys accurate information to the audience in a way that is clear and that keeps the
listener interested in the topic. If information is inaccurate, incomplete, or unclear, it will be of limited
usefulness to the audience.
In order for your listeners to benefit from your speech, you must convey your ideas in a fashion that your
audience can understand. The clarity of your speech relies on logical organization and understandable word
choices. In addition to being clear, your speech should be interesting. Your listeners will benefit the most if
they can give sustained attention to the speech, and this is unlikely to happen if they are bored.
A clear and interesting speech can make use of description, causal analysis, or categories. With description,
you use words to create a picture in the minds of your audience. You can describe physical realities, social
realities, emotional experiences, sequences, consequences, or contexts.
2. Speaking to Persuade
The second general purpose people can have for speaking is to persuade. When we speak to persuade, we attempt to get
listeners to embrace/ hold a point of view or to adopt a behavior that they would not have done otherwise.
A persuasive speech can be distinguished from an informative speech by the fact that it includes a call for
action for the audience to make some change in their behavior or thinking.
It influences listeners‘ attitudes and behaviors (either strengthen existing beliefs seeks to influence attitudes or
behaviors; you‘d strengthen or change audience attitudes or inspire them to take some specification.
The reasons behind persuasive speech fall into two main categories, which are: pure persuasion and
manipulative persuasion.
Pure persuasion occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of
view because the speaker truly believes that the change is in the best interest of the audience members.
Manipulative persuasion, on the other hand, occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific
behavior or change a point of view by misleading them, often to fulfill an ulterior motive beyond the face
value of the persuasive attempt. We call this form of persuasion manipulative because the speaker is not being
honest about the real purpose for attempting to persuade the audience.
Obviously, the key question for persuasion is the speaker‘s intent. Is the speaker attempting to persuade the
audience because of a sincere belief in the benefits of a certain behavior or point of view? Or is the speaker
using all possible means—including distorting the truth—to persuade the audience because he or she will
derive personal benefits from their adopting a certain behavior or point of view?
A speaker can also attempt to persuade listeners to change some value they hold.
Value refers to an individual’s perception of the usefulness, importance, or worth of something. We can
value a university education, we can value technology, and we can value wisdom.
Lastly, a speaker can attempt to persuade people to change their personal beliefs.
Beliefs are propositions or positions that an individual holds as true or false without positive knowledge or
proof. Typically, beliefs are divided into two basic categories: core and dispositional.
Core beliefs are beliefs that people have actively engaged in and created over the course of their lives (e.g.,
belief in a higher power, belief in extraterrestrial life forms).
Dispositional beliefs, on the other hand, are beliefs that people have not actively engaged in; they are
judgments based on related subjects, which people make when they encounter a proposition.
3. Speaking to Entertain
The final general purpose people can have for public speaking is to entertain. Whereas informative and
persuasive speech making is focused on the end result of the speech process, entertainment speaking is
focused on the theme and occasion of the speech. An entertaining speech can be either informative or
persuasive at its root, but the context or theme of the speech requires speakers to think about the speech
primarily in terms of audience enjoyment.
The fundamental goal of an entertaining speech is audience enjoyment, which can come in a variety of forms.
Entertaining speeches can be funny or serious. Overall, entertaining speeches are not designed to give an
audience a deep understanding of life but instead to function as a way to divert an audience from their day-to-
day lives for a short period of time. This is not to say that an entertaining speech cannot have real content that
is highly informative or persuasive, but its goal is primarily about the entertaining aspects of the speech and
not focused on the informative or persuasive quality of the speech.
Effective public speaking involves three pillars or the three V's.Verbalization, Vocalization, Visualization
Verbalization is the choice of words you use to speak to the audience. It is what you say.
Vocalization is how you deliver the words using various pace, pitch, power, pausing, modulations, and
other vocal speaker skills.
Visualization- mental imaging in which a speaker vividly pictures himself or herself giving a successful
presentation. The key to visualization is creating a vivid mental blueprint in which you see yourself
succeeding in your speech.
It is how the audience sees you. This involves how you dress, grooming and carry yourself in front of the
audience.
They are appropriate for formal occasions where a record of the speech is desired (e.g., the keynote address at
a conference, the president’s speech at an important function).
Manuscript speech is a speech that is written out word for word and read to the audience.
It helps reading the exact repetition of original words. For example, reading a statement about
your organization‘s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact.
It‘s a permanent and accurate record of whatever you have to say.
Language gets polished as one can write and re-write until satisfied on all counts.
2. Memorized style
Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory.
In this mode of delivery the entire speech is written, and memorized then delivered from memory.
It is typical for speakers on high school and university speech and debate teams to memorize their
competitive speeches.
Speaking from memory is a delivery style in which the speaker puts the entire speech, word for word,
into writing and then commits it to memory. For example, a wedding or a campus election speech might be
memorized.
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No flexibility or adaptability is possible.
The speaker cannot face the unexpected situation, such as audiences‘ reaction.
3. Impromptu style
Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. Impromptu speeches
often occur when someone is asked to ―say a few words‖ or give a pledge on a special occasion.
Impromptu is the shortest speech of all and mostly prepared with a notice. For example: award acceptance
speeches, introducing an event or formal welcome address, to say a few words at special meeting, social
gathering, or any other occasion, and offering thanks and so on, fall into this category.
Therefore, Impromptu speeches are those that have not been prepared ahead of the presentation— perhaps
because the speaker has been given very little notice or no notice at all. For example, at an event like a
business convention, a person may be asked to speak spontaneously as the surprise recipient of an award.
Or a person may be asked to make a few comments at a community or university meeting.
What do you do if you are asked to speak at the last minute? If possible, take a few moments to jot down
the major points you wish to make, an interesting way to introduce your topic, and some way of
concluding. Organizing your speech in this way will ensure that you make the important points. Be sure to
stop when you have made your points.
Naturally you cannot prepare for an unknown topic, but you can prepare a method of attack on surprise
offerings from your audience. One system of doing this is to have in mind various orders by which to develop
your ideas.
One order might be the time sequence in which events occur by the hour, day, month, or year, moving
forward or backward from a certain time.
Using casual order, you might discuss certain forces and then point out the results which follow
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It is speech delivery with little or no immediate preparation.
The speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As
a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.
No time to prepare, which can cause it to sound unprepared. Inexperienced impromptu
speakers tend to ramble without ever saying anything.
Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu speech
in public.
Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to make.
Thank the person for inviting you to speak.
Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering
it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
Stop talking.
4. Extraneous style
Extemporaneous speaking means speaking from an outline of ideas without memorizing an exact pattern of
words. In brief, it is a carefully prepared and rehearsed which is presented from a brief
set of notes.
Speaking extemporaneously- uttering words that form in your mind at the very moment you are speaking-
requires a great deal of preparation and thorough knowledge of the subject. The preparation is similar to
memorization except that the focus is on the ideas to be conveyed, not the exact words to be spoken.
Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a
conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous
speaker can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they understand the
speech as it progresses.
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The opportunity to assess is also an opportunity to restate more clearly any idea or concept that the audience
seems to have trouble grasping.
Eg. Of all the inventions that have come into being in modern time, which one do you think has had the
most impact on our daily lives?
It is usually delivered with keynotes for reference. Phrasing is pre-rehearsed, words are pre-chosen, and
the organization is fluid and well-constructed.
The extemporaneous style is the method most often recommended (and often required) in today‘s public
speaking courses, and is generally the best method in other settings as well. While it is not the only
method of delivering a speech, it is the most useful for presentations in other courses, in the corporate
world and in pursuing future careers.
Extemporaneous speech a speech that is written ahead of time but only in outline form
It requires a great deal of preparation for both the verbal and the nonverbal components of the speech.
Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you‘re scheduled to speak.
It can give the speaker a sense of false confidence.
You feel you have completed the speech when the outline is complete.
The most important step which of practice, is somehow forgotten. This can lead to you forgetting
important information or forgetting what your outline means.
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4. The speech communication process elements(Parts
of speech)
Components of the Speech Communication Process: The process, through which meaning is
crafted, sustained and communicated.
A first step in unraveling the complexity of interpersonal communication is to understand the basic process
by which communication occurs. Only then can we identify where possible problems can arise and explore
skills for enhancing communication and managing such breakdowns.
A more accurate way of looking at the process of communication is probably as a dynamic, circuitous
process in which elements such as non-verbal behavior and individual styles of interpreting and ascribing
meaning to events have significant influence. Strategies such as constructing a clear, unambiguous message
can encourage effective communication, but too can seeking to understand meanings imposed by the
listener via processes such as actively listening to feedback, as we shall see.
Many models have been developed to simplify and summaries the complex reality of the communication
process and to aid our understanding.
The speech communication processes are used to determine the effectiveness of the
communication.
There are seven components of the speech communication process
1. Speaker – the originator of a message sent to a listener (the source of a message that is transmitted to the listener).
In other words, the sender or communicator (the person who initiate a message).In the basic interpersonal
communication model, the sender, also known as the source, is the person who initiates the communication
process.
2. Listener – is the recipient of the message sent by the speaker.We have noted, the true test of communication is not
whether a message is delivered by the speaker, but whether it is accurately received by the listener.The listener is a
person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. In short, the person who receives or interprets the
communicated message (responsible for extracting / decoding meaning from message).
3. The message–messages are the signals and symbols that we use to convey what we want to transmit.
They can occur in various ways, including visual (non-verbal, written), auditory (verbal and sub-vocal
speech), tactile (touch, bodily contact). In other words, messages are the verbal and/or nonverbal content
that must be encoded by the sender and decoded by the receiver).
In order to send the message, it must be encoded into words, as well as tone, inflection, facial expression, and
other non-verbal language.
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Encoding process - is what a source does when creating a message, adapting it to the receiver, and
transmitting it across some source-selected channel.
Decoding process, or ―sensing (for example, hearing or seeing) - a source’s message, interpreting
the source’s message, evaluating the source’s message, and responding to the source’s message.
Decoding is relevant in the public speaking context when, as an audience member, you listen to the words of
the speech, pay attention to nonverbal behaviors of the speaker, and attend to any presentation aids that the
speaker uses. You must then interpret what the speaker is saying.
For effective communication to take place, the message must be accurately decoded and
reconstructed by person 2, from the signals received from person 1. The
meaning ascribed to the message may vary according to the person doing the interpreting, the
context in which the message
was given and the total information communicated. Developing active listening skills such as
listening to non verbal as well as verbal language, paraphrasing, using feedback, and asking
appropriate questions can help to identify possible misinterpretations of the message, as well as
check for unintended messages.
In both conversation and public speaking your message has a purpose. For example, in
conversation you might want to tell a friend about what happened at a recent basketball game. In
this case your purpose is to inform. Or you might want to convince a coworker to switch vacation
schedules with you. Here your purpose is to persuade. In public speaking, you also communicate
with a purpose.
Generally in conversation you don‘t give any real thought to how you‘re going to organize your
message. In public speaking, however, organization is crucial because it adds clarity to your
message and therefore makes it easier for listeners to understand and to remember what you‘re
saying.
In conversation you vary your language on the basis of the person with whom you‘re speaking, the
topic you‘re talking about, and where you are. When talking with children, for example, you might
use easier words and shorter sentences than you would with classmates. In public speaking you
also adjust your language to your audience, the topic, and the situation.
4. The Channel- the channel (the medium by which the message is delivered and received like radio, post
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office, internet, e-mail, telephone etc)
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In Clampitt‘s (2005) model, this refers to the means used to deliver messages and the related
formats. Means used to communicate can include face to face, telephone, pager,
written, radio and video communication. In face to face communication, which is most often
preferred for communication of
more important matters, communication occurs through visual, auditory and olfactory (relating to
the sense of smell) formats, while the tactile( relate to sense of touch) medium may or may not be
used. Skilled communicators will choose the channel most appropriate to the specific
goals sought at that time.
To wind up, the channel is the medium that carries the message signals from
sender to receiver. Both the auditory and the visual channels are significant in public speaking.
Through the auditory channel, you send spoken messages—your words and your sentences.
Through the visual channel—eye contact, body movement, hand and facial gestures, and
clothing—you send visual messages.
5. The Feedback –is a response from the receiver indicating whether a message has been received in its
intended form). It is the final link in the chain of the communication process.
This is important as it determines whether or not the decoder grasped the intended meaning and whether
communication was successful.
Person 2 responds to person 1, and this message is received by person 1 as feedback. Again, feedback
comprises both the verbal and non-verbal messages of others, and allows us to evaluate how the
message has been understood and the response to it.
6. CONTEXT – refers to the idea that every act of communication must happen in some sort
of surroundings.
In other words, Communication does not take place in a vacuum. The context of any communication act is
the environment surrounding it. This includes, among other things, place, time, event, and attitudes of sender
and receiver.
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It is the setting in which communication take place.
Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be physical, socio-
psychological, temporal, and cultural context.
The physical dimension of communication involves the real or touchable environment where
communication occurs. For example, you may find yourself speaking in a classroom, a corporate board
room, or a large amphitheater. Each of these real environments will influence your ability to interact with
your audience.
Larger physical spaces may require you to use a microphone and speaker system to make yourself heard or to
use projected presentation aids to convey visual material.
How the room is physically decorated or designed can also impact your interaction with your audience. If the
room is dimly lit or is decorated with interesting posters, audience members‘ minds may start wandering. If
the room is too hot, you‘ll find people becoming sleepy.
The social-psychological dimension of context refers to status relationships among participants, roles and
games that people play, norms of the society or group, and the friendliness, formality, or gravity of the
situation (DeVito, J. A, 2009).
Is it a supervisor speaking to workers or a worker speaking to supervisors?
Is it a principal addressing teachers or a parent addressing principals?
This socio-psychological context also includes the audience’s attitudes toward and knowledge of you and
your subject.
The temporal context includes, for example, the time of day and more importantly where your speech fits
into the sequence of events. For example, does your speech follow one that has taken an opposing position?
Is your speech the sixth in a series exploring the same topic?
The temporal( time based) dimension has to do not only with the time of day and moment in history but
also with where a particular message fits into the sequence of communication events
In addition to the time of day, we often face temporal dimensions related to how our speech will be
viewed in light of societal events.
The cultural context refers to the beliefs, lifestyles, values, and behaviors that the speaker and the audience
bring with them and that bear on the topic and purpose of the speech.
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When we interact with others from different cultures, misunderstandings can result from differing
cultural beliefs, norms, and practices. As public speakers engaging in a dialogue with our audience
members, we must attempt to understand the cultural makeup of our audience so that we can avoid
these misunderstandings as much as possible.
7. Noise (interference) - The term ‗noise‘ describes anything that can interfere with or distort the meaning
of a message.
Noise (Anything that interferes with the accurate expression or reception of a message) or it is anything
that disrupts or interferes with the communication process.
In other expression, the term ‘noise’ describes anything that can interfere with or distort the meaning of a
message. Dickson (1999) has identified a number of such barriers or common sources of noise, which can
affect communication accuracy and effectiveness.
• Psychological: These include the perceptual biases or stereotypes that can impact on how we interpret
a particular person‘s message. People respond to stimuli in the environment in very different ways. We
each have shortcuts that we use to organize data. Invariably, these shortcuts introduce some biases into
communication. Stereotyping is an example of such a shortcut. Environmental: This refers to a range
of factors such as size of room, layout of furniture, intrusive noise, heating and lighting etc. Each of
these can either encourage or inhibit interaction.
• Demographic: Factors such as gender and age can impact on the way in which a message is
interpreted. For example, a male listener may nod his head to indicate to the speaker I agree‘, whereas
a female listener may nod her head to communicate I am listening‘ (but not necessarily agreeing); so
sending the same visible feedback but with different actual meanings (Stewart and Logan, 1998).
• Organizational: Barriers to effective communication can be located within the organization or agency
itself. Difficulties with established lines and means of communication, different relative physical location
of staff, lack of team or supervision meetings, and under- resourced supervisors are factors that can
impact negatively on effective communication.
5. STAGE FRIGHT
If you feel nervous about speaking in public, you should know that it is normal to experience some
communication apprehension, or ―stage fright, when you deliver a speech.
Communication apprehension- is the broad term that refers to an individual‘s ―fear or anxiety associated
with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons. McCroskey, J. C. (2001).
Stage Fright - It goes by several different terms. Fear of Public Speaking, Performance Anxiety, Communication
Apprehension, or just plain Stage Fright. By any name it is the intense and debilitating fear of being ―on‖ in front
of people.
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Reasons for Stage Fright
Here's what you need to know to start your journey to greater confidence and enjoyment of public speaking.
These are the ten biggest reasons you have this fear, and my tips on how you can overcome it and basically
get your life back!
1. Self-consciousness in front of large groups. This is the most frequently named reason for
performance anxiety. Speech coaches often hear: "I'm fine talking to small groups, but when it's a
large audience I get really anxious." Two strategies will help: (1) Remember that the people in a big
audience are the same ones you talk to individually, and (2) Concentrate on just talking to them, not
"presenting". You'll be at your best.
2. Fear of appearing nervous. Do you fear that you'll look fearful? Many speakers do. It's easy, then,
to believe that if the audience sees those nerves, they'll think you don't know your topic. But of course
the two aren't linked. When you see that a speaker is nervous, don't you sympathize, rather than
making a judgment on that person's professionalism? If anything, your audience will extend you
sympathy not resistance.
3. Concern that others are judging you. The tough-love message here is that people really don't care
about you. They're in the audience to get something out of your lecture, presentation, or speech. They
want their time to be well spent. Watching a speaker fail is embarrassing for everyone. So the audience
is actually pulling for you!
4. Past failures. Public speaking anxiety is often learned behavior. That is, at some point in the past
you failed, and the seed of self-doubt was planted. But if you know your stuff and are prepared this
time, there's no reason for things to go south like they did in the long ago. Not unless you insist that
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5. Poor or insufficient preparation. See #4 above. If you haven't done your homework (including
knowing your audience), there's no reason you should succeed. Blame nobody but yourself. Nothing
undermines public speaking confidence like being unprepared. But nothing gives you as much
confidence as being ready. Your choice.
6. Narcissism. This is the toughest love message I give to clients with stage fright. Indulging in
extreme self- consciousness while speaking is narcissistic. How can you influence others if you're
totally wrapped up in yourself? You can't. So turn that bright spotlight around and "illuminate" your
listeners. You don't matter. They do
7. Dissatisfaction with your abilities. Okay, this is a legitimate concern. But it's also one of the
easiest of my Top 10 causes to remedy. You should feel dissatisfied if your speaking skills are below
par. But dissatisfaction can be an excellent spur. Get the speech training you've been thinking about.
Just knowing you have first-rate skills can provide you with a truckload of confidence. It's also much
more likely to make you eager to speak.
8. Discomfort with your own body. Why is it that we're all at ease physically with friends, but self-
conscious and awkward in front of an audience? If that's you, read the tip above about having a
conversation with listeners. That should help you relax into your body. Also, pay attention to how you
stand, sit, gesture, and move when you're in a comfortable environment. Then recreate that natural
movement with larger audiences
9. Poor breathing habits. Unless you've been trained as an actor or singer, you're probably unaware of
how to breathe for speech. Public speaking requires more air than "vegetative breathing." Also, you need
to control your exhalation to sustain sound through the end of your idea. Diaphragmatic breathing is the
way to do all of this. It's also great for calming your galloping heart.
10. Comparing yourself to others. Don't do it! Your job is never to be an "excellent" speaker. It's to be
interesting when you discuss your topic or passion. That's it. The really good news is that no one in the
entire universe can do that as well as you, because you're the person to tell us about it. Truly, you're the
one we came to hear.
Overcoming stage fright
A). Plan your opening carefully. Nervousness is at its peak at the beginning of a presentation. A well-
prepared introduction will help calm you down and build your confidence for the rest of your speech.
B) Set an end time for your fear- by setting yourself an end time, you are actually giving yourself extra time for the
fear to diffuse itself.
C). Talk to the audience as friends - talk to that person as if they are a personal friend. This will relax you and make
the whole pace of your speech more informal.
D). Take it easy- relax! Take it easy and don't be too busy. It will fluster you more and make you
worry about preparing for the presentation.
E). Know your stuff I have always believed that if you know what you are talking about, there is no reason to be
nervous.
F). Be at the venue with enough time to spare Obviously if you arrive late and have to run onto stage, you will be
stressed. Give yourself ample time at the venue to acclimatize and get used to the auditorium
G). Mental practice - mentally practice your talk out loud and imagine yourself standing in front of the audience. You
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even imagine, and answer people questing you from the audience.
H). Use your imagination Some speakers actually imagine their audience in a funny manner when they walk onto
stage - they believe this calms them down. It could work for you too! Imagine them all dressed in funny clothing, or
without clothing! Whatever works for you and makes you smile!
I). Be comfortable with who you are If you are self-conscious about your looks, clothes or anything about you - you
will be distracted and nervous. The only solution here is, to be honest with yourself and learn to be comfortable with
whom you are. Similarly, wear clothes that are comfortable and not distracting.
J). Double check everything Do you have notes, or a laptop that you use? Check that you have them with you and that
everything works.
K). don’t rush it When you start your presentation - take it easy. Don't rush it. Make a point of starting slowly so that
you can get into a comfortable space.
L). don’t share your mistakes-You have rehearsed the presentation and feel good about it. Suddenly on stage you
realize you forgot an important point, or mixed up the order of topics as you had prepared them. The audience doesn't
know this! Only you know your talk.
M). Visit the venue If you know that you will be nervous and worried what the venue will look like, make a point of
trying to visit the place a day or two beforehand. This will give you time to think about it in your mind and become
more comfortable.
N). Love what you do- It makes a huge difference if you are passionate about the topic you are speaking on. You are
thus automatically more comfortable with it and naturally relaxed.
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Your goal is to keep your nervousness under control, so that you have just the right amount- enough to energize you,
but not enough to cripple you. How can you do this? By paying a head to the following tips for the three phases of
speechmaking- the planning stage, the period immediately before the speech, and during the speech.
4. Prepare yourself thoroughly – start your preparation far in advance of the speech date, so that you have
plenty of time to gather ideas, create an outline, and prepare speaking notes. Practice before you deliver it
(several times if possible
5. Never memorize speech- your audience will sense that you are speaking from memory and not from your
heart, and they will question your sincerity.
6. Devote extra practice to the introduction- because you are likely to suffer the greatest anxiety at the
beginning of your speech, you should spend a lot of time practicing your introduction.
Immediately before the speech
Here are a few tips for the hours preceding your speech.
A). verify equipment and materials. On the day of your speech, arrive early and inspect every detail of the
arrangement you have made. Is the needed equipment in place and in working order?
B) Get acclimated/ familiarized to Audience and setting. If you arrive at least one hour early, you can get
familiarized to the setting and chat with people as they come into the room.
C) Familiarize yourself with the presentation setting and context
D) Develop a strong opening that can help increase your confidence
During the speech
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- take several deep breaths before starting
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- view the audience as your friends
- work on making good eye contact, as it helps you become more confident.
-If standing, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other. This will help your
balance and discourage a nervous rocking.
-If your legs are trembling, lean onto the lectern or move around a bit.
-Keep breathing deeply! Don‘t be afraid to pause and collect your thoughts
6. Preparing a Speech
Topic – the subject area of the speech. Choose a topic that is exciting to you and choose your
topic
as a head of your speech date as possible because you will need spend a great deal of time and
energy on other important tasks, such as researching, outlining, and practicing.
Here are some important points to bear in mind as you look for a topic.
Choose a topic you care about- it should be something you care about and
something you are eager to communicate to others. Therefore, enthusiasm is
contagious/ communicable, if you are excited; some of your excitement will speared will
spread to your listeners.
Choose a topic you can master – make things easy for yourself. Speak on something
with which you are already thoroughly familiar – or about which you can learn through
research.
Choose a topic that will interest the Audience – to engage your audience,
choose a topic that is timely, worthwhile and interesting.
Narrow the topic – narrowing a topic helps you control your material and it fits the
situation . It prevents you from wondering in a huge territory; you are able to focus on
one small piece of ground.
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Generally, topics should also be appropriate to both you as the speaker and to your
audience. Try not to select a topic just because it will fulfill the requirements of an
assignment.
Instead, select a topic about which you know something and would like to learn more. Topics
should also be culturally sensitive. Culture plays an extremely important role in determining
what people consider appropriate or worthwhile.
2. Know your audience. Whether you are presenting a paper or giving a speech, you need to analyze your
audience first and foremost. It is easy to alienate an audience by not examining the characteristics of the
group, what they know and what they want to know. Be aware of the audience‘s attitudes and beliefs in
general, toward you and the topic. Consider age, socioeconomic status, and educational level. For example, if
you are addressing a veteran group of administrators on a management topic, covering the basics of
management would undoubtedly be boring and possibly insulting. There are numerous other factors crucial to
analyzing an audience, but the time spent on this background check is necessary for the success of your presentation.
3. Know the occasion. As you scrutinize the audience, think carefully about the occasion. Are you a keynote speaker?
Presenting a paper? Introducing a speaker or chairing a panel? Each situation is different and requires preparation
tailored to the occasion. Occasion analysis includes looking at room size (i.e., whether there are enough chairs for
everyone affects the comfort level of the group which in turn affects its response to your message), the arrangement of
space (can everyone see you?), and the acoustics (there‘s nothing more exasperating than having to strain to hear a
speaker). Be conscientious about time limits too—if you are allotted 15 minutes, then prepare your speech or
presentation accordingly. Also, make sure your message matches the occasion. It would be inappropriate, for example,
to speak about a serious topic at a happy event.
4. Select a purpose. For this step, deter- mine the general purpose of your speech or presentation. Are you informing,
presenting, or entertaining? Beyond the general purpose, decide on a specific purpose, what you want your audience to
specifically think or do (e.g., I want my audience to under- stand the three benefits of holding a faculty workshop on
preparing library assignments). It is helpful at this stage to write down the central idea or thesis statement of your talk as
well (e.g., library censorship is increasing).
5. Gather potential content. If you are presenting a paper, you have already done this step. If not, this is the
research phase where you gather information through printed sources, interviews, discussion with others, and
your own expertise.
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6. Gather more content than actually used. Sort through your material choosing only the strongest and best
material for your talk. This step allows you the luxury of editing and, if need be, recognizing any information
gaps that need to be filled.
7. Organize content. The importance of this step cannot be stressed enough, for both speeches and paper
presentations. Many presenters do not realize that presenting a paper does not mean the paper is read, word for word, at
breakneck speed. Rather, the ―information has to be recast for the new medium. Don‘t be bound by the flow of
your paper.‖2 This means organize your ideas based on the audience, occasion, and purpose of your presentation.
8. Phrase the speech. The previous steps involved preparing the message; now you are ready to work on
delivering the message. Usually, a type of delivery most appropriate is the extemporaneous delivery. With
extemporaneous speaking, you are thoroughly prepared and practiced, but the exact wording of the speech
is determined at the time you actually speak the words. You want to avoid memorizing your talk; instead,
know your key ideas and translate them into words as you speak. This means you have to think about
what you are saying as you are speaking. Each time you practice, you may say your speech a little bit
differently, but this allows flexibility and the chance to adapt to your audience if needed. Speaking
extemporaneously can be difficult to achieve at first, but this style of delivery creates spontaneity, which
can affect the receptivity of your audience to you and your ideas.
9. Prepare visual aids. Visual aids, if appropriate for your speech or presentation, can help your audience
remember your points and clarify information. Speech textbooks usually emphasize the following when
covering visual aids: make sure the audience can see the visual aid; show the visual aid only when you are
referring to it; and talk to the audience, not to the visual aid. Also, practice with the visual aid; using
visual aids can add to the length of a talk and can cause you to become flustered if you run into
difficulties. Additionally, if you have audience handouts, distribute them at the end of your talk if
possible. An audience‘s attention can shift easily to a handout instead of staying focused on you.
10. Practicing - Practicing your presentation or speech contributes directly to your success as a speaker. As
you practice, consider both your verbal and nonverbal delivery. Vocal delivery includes volume, rate,
pitch. Strive for vocal variety which is the variation of these elements - loudness/softness (volume),
fastness/slowness (rate), highness/lowness (pitch). An expressive voice will engage an audience; a
monotonous, flat voice will lose one.
Also, remember that nonverbal delivery carries as much weight as verbal. Eye contact with your audience is
crucial, and this means actually looking at audience members. Hamilton Gregory says to look at the audience
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95 percent of the time in a friendly, sincere way, using the other five percent of the time to look at your
notes.5 As for posture, don‘t slouch, and avoid shifting your weight from foot to foot.
While we often think of delivery as happening at the moment of the speech, the fact is that the
foundations of effective delivery
7. Key should
Issues be laid out well
in Effective before you step up to the podium/ stage.
Speech
Let‘s look at some ofDelivery
these key issues.
1. Overcoming Anxiety
If you feel nervous about speaking in public, you should know that it is normal to experience some
communication apprehension, or ―stage fright, when you deliver a speech.
As a speaker, your goal is not to eliminate feelings of apprehension, but to use them to invigorate your
presentation. Having some apprehension can motivate you to prepare carefully; it can give you the energy
and alertness that make your presentation lively and interesting.
2. Preparing Carefully
Experts have discovered that it is not the amount of time you spend preparing, but how you prepare.
People who are extremely anxious about giving a speech tend to spend most of their time preparing notes.
If you look serious and tense, you will set a different sort of tone—one of anxiety and discomfort.
Remember: You set the tone for your speech long before you begin speaking—in fact, the tone can be set as
soon as the audience sees you.
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Although your tone will run throughout your speech, it can vary as you proceed. For example, you might
start out with a serious tone as you point out a problem of some kind, such as cruelty to animals, but you
might end with a much more positive tone in moving your audience to address the problem. You may end
with a very uplifting tone that invites your audience to envision a future without cruelty to animals and to
help make that vision become a reality.
As a speaker, the language you use to give your speech will shape the style of your speech.
Style refers to the type of language and phrasing a speaker uses, and the effect it creates.
The two main elements of style are clarity and appropriateness. Your speech style has the element of
clarity
if listeners are able to grasp the message you intended to communicate.
Using precise language increases clarity. In everyday conversation, speakers often use words and
phrases without much attention to precision. For example, if someone says, ―Bob‘s totally gross,‖ we
learn little
about Bob; we only know that the speaker has some objection to him or dislikes him for some reason that we
do not know. But if the speaker says, ―I don‘t like Bob because he uses vulgar language and ridicules his
friends,‖ then we know more specifically how the speaker perceives Bob.
In the interest of clarity, speakers should use their words in precise ways. For example, in describing how
someone died, you have many words to choose from: killed, murdered, terminated, exterminated, or
assassinated. Consider the different messages each one conveys. If someone was killed, it sounds less
intentional than if someone was murdered. To say that someone was terminated sounds very casual and
flippant, like a character in a science fiction or action movie, while exterminated communicates a far more
sinister death. After all, we call an exterminator if we have a bug infestation, but to exterminate people
sounds more closely related to
genocide or mass murders.
If someone is assassinated, it communicates political reasons for this murder. Think carefully about
the words you use and what they communicate.
Clarity - the use of language to increase precision and reduce ambiguity
precise language- the use of language to give more specificity and exactness in communicating
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In addition to focusing on the clarity of your language, you also need to consider its appropriateness, which
generally refers to how formal or informal it should be or how well adapted the language is to the
audience‘s sensitivity and expectations. In general, speakers tend to strive for a more formal style when they
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are speaking to a larger audience and a less formal style with smaller audiences. Speakers are also apt to
use a more formal style during a more formal occasion, such as a big public wedding or funeral, and a less
formal style for more casual events, such as a family holiday dinner. Though we can‘t offer a strict formula
for levels of formality or appropriateness, a good rule of thumb is to strive to match your style of
presentation to the type of clothing you might wear to the speaking event
Appropriateness - following the relevant rules, norms and expectations for specific relationships and situations
As a student in elementary school, you may have used visual aids in ―show and tell‖ speeches. In these
speeches, the visual aid—perhaps a favorite toy, gift, or souvenir—was the central focus of your speech.
Visual aids are any audiovisual materials that help you reach your speech goals. Some of the most common
kinds are video clips, photographs, models, DVD segments, and PowerPoint slides.
To introduce your visual aid during your presentation, follow these general three steps:
1. Introduce the visual aid to your audience by explaining what they will see.
2. Point to the parts of the visual aid that you want them to focus on.
3.Reaffirm the major point of the visual aid, thus pointing the audience to the conclusion you want them to
draw.
Visual aids audiovisual materials that help a speaker reach intended speech goals
Knowing how long to speak is an important aspect of the art of public speaking. The length of any speech
should be guided not only by audience expectations and context, but by your content as well.
In some instances, the guidelines are rather loose—such as speeches at weddings and retirement celebrations,
for example. In other cases, the time limits are very strict, and you may be cut off/ stop before you finish. For
example, a citizen advocating a position in city council meetings often faces strict time limits. In this case,
you should be respectful and adhere/ stick to those time guidelines.
On the one hand, if your speech is significantly longer than expected, your audience may become restless,
impatient, and even hostile. On the other hand, if your speech is significantly shorter than the time
expected, your audience may leave feeling disappointed or shortchanged. After all, they may have made a
significant
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effort to be at your presentation, with expectations that remain unfulfilled. Also, your speech may be part of
a larger program, and the planners may be depending on you to fill a particular time slot.
In classroom speech situations, you are often told how long to speak—say, for five minutes. In this
situation, your audience expects you to speak for only five minutes—and your instructor expects you to
speak for no less than five minutes. One way to make sure you comply is to time yourself when you practice
your speech.
Choosing the appropriate delivery format for a presentation can affect a presenter‘s connection with the
audience. The format you choose to deliver a presentation is directly connected to the credibility of any
claims you may make about collaboration, customer interaction, and teamwork. Speakers have several
methods for delivering a message.
8. Projecting a Persona
Your persona, which includes your personality, is the image you want to convey. As you create your
public persona, consider a few factors that influence others‘ perceptions of you. First, the speed at which
you speak is one aspect of your persona. There is no single, ideal speaking rate. (Speaking rate
refers to the speed which someone speaks) Rather, your speaking rate should vary to fit your message.
For
example, speaking slowly and deliberately can be very effective if you are speaking about the way someone
was killed and you want to highlight the gravity of the situation. At other times, you may wish to speak
more quickly—particularly for a lighter, more humorous presentation. You may also vary your speed as
you move from point to point, to emphasize one item in particular.
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8. Characteristics of good
presentation
There are some aspects of vocal delivery a speaker utilizes that influence an audience‘s interpretation of the speaker‘s
message. These are:
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Appearance and Body Language/ Nonverbal Aspects of Delivery
Personal Appearance - The first impression your audience will get of you as a speaker is through your appearance.
Make sure you find out what clothing is appropriate for the occasion. If you speak in a classroom situation, dress a
little more formally than usual. This will communicate that your audience and speech is important to you.
Gestures - refers to the movement of hands and arms during the speech as means of emphasis. Many speakers are
especially self- conscious about their hands and what to do with them while they speak.
Facial Expressions- Appropriate facial expressions can connect with your audience and reinforce the
content of your speech.
Eye Contact–one aspect of facial expression. It deserves special attention. Another important point is that
eye contact lets you how the audience is responding to the speech; it provides feedback. Therefore, asan
effective speaker makes sure you maintain constant eye contact with the audience.
Body posture and movement. A powerful speaker‘s shows confidence through body posture and
movement. There are some occasions where a speaker may sit while delivering a speech (e.g., during a
business meeting); in most cases, however, standing will be more effective.
The best presentations are planned, prepared, practiced and delivered with skill. Therefore, Oral presentations
typically involve four important steps: 1) planning, 2) preparing 3) practicing, and 4) presenting. Knowledge,
experience and talent, together with preparation, lead to a successful presentation – ―failing to
prepare is preparing to fail.” There is nothing worse than sitting through a boring, poorly structured
presentation. To avoid this, follow a few principles listed below:
1. Planning your presentation
Oral presentations require a good deal of planning. So, an effective presentation ―happens as a consequence
of four related activities, the ―Four P‘s of effective presentations. First, you must plan, prepare and practice
your presentation. Then you must present it
Before you write your speech you should think about the purpose of your talk, your audience, and the resources you
will have available for your talk. Planning your presentation means thinking ahead about important aspects of it.
The purpose of your speech should be to communicate your ideas to your audience. To do this, your speech
must be organized so that the audience can understand what you are telling them. A speech is usually outlined
into three major parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion.
1. The INTRODUCTION – the opening part of your presentation where you state your core message.
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Introduction draws together what the speaker has said and indicates what the audience should believe or do in
response to the speech.
It captures the attention of the audience.
It introduces the central thought of the speech and appeals to the interests of the audience.
The introduction to a speech powerfully affects the audience‘s first impression of the speaker.
It gives the audience clues about the speaker‘s personality, intentions, style and overall perspective.
These first impressions shape how the audience will perceive the entire speech.
The introduction also prepares the audience for the speech by giving clues about will follow.
It established the context for the speaker‘s idea, thus putting listeners in the right frame of mind to attend to those ideas.
The overall purpose of using your introduction to prepare the audience can be broken down into four specific goals.
Therefore, the introduction is crucial because it must grasp their attention and establish your credibility.
2. The BODY- presents the major points through discussion and examples. This is the longest section of the
speech. The body of the presentation is the guts of your argument, the battleground on which you will seek to
establish and prove your messages and make the audience care about them enough to achieve your desired
outcomes. After getting the audience‘s attention and revealing your topic, you are ready to move into the body of
your speech.
Main points should be organized in a logical, easy – to – follow patterns. Five of the most popular patterns used by the
speakers are chronological, spatial, causal, problem solution, and topical.
3. The CONCLUSION restates the central thought and summarizes the major highlights of the speech. This is
the ―final thought, the high point and the last chance to impress the audience. Conclusions carry the power of
the flipside of the primacy/ dominance effect is that the information that audiences hear last is also very likely
to be remembered. The conclusion also provides logical and psychological closure, and ties all the threads
together with a sense of completeness. Just like the introduction, it needs to be planned precisely, almost to
the point of memorization. The important aspects of your presentation include the following:
Objectives -What is the purpose of the presentation? Decide what the primary purpose of the speech is. Do
you wish to:
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(a) instruct and inform
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(b) convince, persuade, influence or motivate, or
(c) amuse and entertain
Audience - Aside from knowing your subject matter nothing is more important than knowing your audience.
Understanding your audience, where you will present and the occasion completes only half the planning required.
You must define what you want to say. It seems obvious that you should know the focus of your presentation.
However, most speakers fail to define their core purpose in simple, concrete language before spending time writing
the presentation. Differentiate what from why. What is the content. Why is the message.
The content is the topic, idea or information. The message is the meaning of the content. The message explains
how the information ties together, how the audience can use the content or what the content means. Technical
presentations tend to be heavy on content; as a result, the message gets lost in the data.
What = Content Why = Message
Delivery- Here is where you think about things like the following:
The pace of the presentation
Its organization
Points of emphasis
Time frames and allocations
Portions that can be cut if
necessary
The roles of the presenters if more than one presenter is involved
Provisions for practice
3. Preparing
Preparation is crucial for delivering a great presentation. Many of the best natural presenters appear relaxed and
spontaneous precisely because of how much effort they put in beforehand. Even with material and situations with which
you are very confident, neglecting the planning stage is always risky.
Psychologists and presentation experts identify three phases of preparation:
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1. Incubation - involves drawing together all of the information, ideas, basic facts and figures for a presentation and
chewing them over mentally – leaving them to stew for a while. This can begin with a brainstorming process, a first
stab at generating key messages and a vague structure for the presentation, but without imposing too much order.
Gradual development: the slow development of something, especially through thought and planning
2. Illumination- is the arrival of inspiration after a period of incubation. The final presentation does not spring forth
fully formed, of course, but often you will arrive at a moment of realization when the foundations of a presentation fall
naturally into place: an order of concepts, ideas for how to get them across in ways that can be easily identified and
remembered.
3.clarification
Refinementofissomething:
the formalthe
process byofwhich
process this
making framework
something is transformed
easier to understandinto a presentation, practiced and prepared
for delivery.
improvement: an addition or alteration that improves something by making it more sophisticated or effective
3. Practicing
In your practice sessions, you will focus on wording and delivery so that you will sound and look professional,
conversational, intelligible, animated, and confident when you give your speech. First, you need to choose your
wording carefully. If you have not practiced various ways of phrasing your key ideas, you run the risk of missing
a major opportunity for communicating them effectively. In practice sessions work on clear, vivid, inclusive, colorful,
and non-offensive language.
Practicing your presentation is essential. It is at this stage of the process that you figure out word and phrase emphasis
and the timing of your sections and overall presentation.
Record your presentation and review it in order to know how you sound and appear to your audience. You may notice
that you are pausing awkwardly, talking too fast, or using distracting gestures. Remember that the more you practice,
the more comfortable you will become with the material. As a result of repeated practice, you will appear far more
polished and professional while delivering your presentation.
4. Presenting
As the person in charge of the situation when presenting, it is your job to make your audience feel
comfortable and engaged with both you and the material of the presentation.
Effective delivery however is conversational, in that your audience feels you are talking with them, not at them.
When actually making your presentation, there are many factors of which you must be aware, some of which are
mastered only as a result of practice. These include the following:
Facial expression
Pace
Voice (intonation, inflection, pronunciation)
Body movements (posture, gestures, moving about)
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To wind up, you can see the diagram which indicates effective presentation ―happens‖ as a consequence of four
related
Prepare
Plan Practice
Present
In order for your speech to be as effective as possible, it needs to be organized into logical patterns. Information will
need to be presented in a way your audience can understand. This is especially true if you already know a great deal
about your topic. You will need to take careful steps to include pertinent information your audience might not know and
to explain relationships that might not be evident to them. Using a standard outline format, you can make decisions
about your main points, the specific information you will use to support those points, and the language you will use.
Without an outline, your message is liable to lose logical integrity.
It might even deteriorate into a list of bullet points with no apparent connection to each other except the topic, leaving
your audience relieved when your speech is finally over.
A speaking outline (also called delivery or keyword outline) is a brief outline used to jog a speaker's memory during the
presentation. The speaking outline should aid in extemporaneous delivery.
In other words, It is a sentence representation of the hierarchical and sequential relationships between the ideas you
present in your speech. It is a common sense way of arranging information in a logical pattern.
Select important words and phrases from your preparation outline to create a keyword outline.
Try to use as few words as possible on the speaking outline to keep you from reading your speech.
Make sure that your speaking outline fits on a half sheet of paper or 3 index cards.
Use large font so you can see the words easily.
Consider including delivery cues, which are brief reminders about important information related to the delivery of
your speech. For example, a student who has a tendency to speak with low volume might write, ―louder!‖
Consider including difficult-to-remember information and oral citations. For example, a speaker might include some
of the following details to aid in stating an oral citation: ―Sheila Dinn, author of Hearts of Gold: A
Celebration of Special Olympics and Its Heroes, published in 1996,mentions that more than 1.3 million athletes
compete in Special Olympics around the world.‖
Practice your speech using the speaking outline.
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The outline provides a detailed plan to help the speaker organize thoughts into a logical sequence and to make sure
nothing important is left out.
1. Outlines help maintain the speech‘s focus on the thesis by allowing the speaker to test the scope of
content, assess logical relationships between ideas, and evaluate the relevance of supporting ideas.
2. Outlines help organize a message that the audience can understand by visually showing the balance and
proportion of a speech.
3. Outlines can help you deliver clear meanings by serving as the foundation for speaking notes you will use
during your presentation.
A working outline is an outline you use for developing your speech. It undergoes many changes on its way to
completion. This is the outline where you lay out the basic structure of your speech. You must have a general and
specific purpose; an introduction, including a grabber; and a concrete, specific thesis statement and preview. You also
need three main points, a conclusion, and a list of references.
There are some important factors to consider when creating a logical and coherent outline: singularity, consistency,
adequacy, uniformity, and parallelism.
Types of Outlines
Working outline- Working outlines help you with speech logic, development, and planning.
A working outline is an outline you use for developing your speech. This is the outline where you lay out the basic
structure of your speech.
Full-sentence outline - the full-sentence outline develops the full detail of the message. Your full-sentence outline
should contain full sentences only. Your full-sentence outline prepares you to present a clear and well-organized
message
Speaking outline – The speaking outline helps you stay organized in front of the audience without reading to them.
Your speaking outline will include far less detail. Whenever possible, you will use key words and phrases, but in some
instances, an extended quotation will need to be fully written on your speaking outline.
The preparation outline is just what is its name implies- an outline help you prepare the speech. Writing a preparation
outline means putting your speech together- deciding what you will say in the introduction, how you will organize the
main points and supporting materials in the body, and what you will say in the conclusion.
A detailed outline developed during the process of speech preparation that includes the title, specific purpose, central
idea, introduction, main point, sub point, and conclusion.
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