Speech

Speech Study Guide

further established via the speaker’s ability to be personable. Remarks must be adapted to an audience to establish the credibility of a speaker. If a speaker is not deemed credible, the audience will not respond well to the speech. One of the ways a speaker establishes their credibility is by demonstrating their knowledge and expertise about a topic, which can be done either directly or indirectly. A speaker directly demonstrates their expertise and knowledge about a topic by disclosing their personal experiences about a topic, including education, special study, skills, and track records. When a speaker is not in command of what they are saying, nor masterful of their speech, an audience can pick up on this and deem the speaker a non-credible source. The most effective speakers are personable. Being personable is the extent to which one can project a pleasing and agreeable personality. Audiences have more confidence in people they like; this is due to a communication concept known as impression formation and management, which is rooted in the theory of symbolic interactions. The first impression is based on what we infer about people from how they dress and how attractive they are. Although first impressions can be incorrect, they still influence how an audience perceives and receives a speaker. Even if the speech is given in a virtual setting, where neither audience nor speaker can see the other, it is still important to dress appropriately and to act professionally. Smiles can also change intonation and invoke feelings of being personable. Finally, to ultimately adapt a speech for a given audience, a speaker must adapt the speech for comprehension and retention. There are five ways to adapt a speech for this purpose: appeal to different learning styles, use transitions, choose specific and familiar language, use vivid language and examples, and compare unfamiliar ideas with familiar ideas. Learning style is a person’s preferred method or most effective way of receiving and retaining information. Every person learns in a different manner. An effective speaker should try to incorporate, when possible, as many different learning styles in their speech. John Dewey’s experimental learning theory helped lead Kolb to his cycle of learning, which conceptualizes learning preferences. Kolb has four dimensions of learning: feeling, thinking, watching, and doing. Some people learn best with one dimension versus another, or when a combination of dimensions is used. Transitions are a sentence or two which summarize one main point while introducing the following idea. If a speaker does not employee successful transitions, their organization will not be logical and it will then become difficult for an audience to comprehend. A well-organized speech will contain effective transition sentences or statements. Specific language clears up confusion caused by general words by narrowing the focus and/or definition in some way. Typically, a speaker should utilize specific language more than general language to avoid confusion. If a speaker chooses to use unfamiliar words, these words should be defined early in the speech and should be central to the goal of the speech. One of the easiest ways to adapt a speech to a specific audience is to compare unfamiliar ideas with familiar ones. By introducing a new topic or idea and equating it to an idea, topic, or value that is already familiar to the audience, a speaker is better able to connect with that particular audience. In addition, a speaker will also use culturally appropriate language for their audience.

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