Multiple Choice

1. The most important thing you can do to overcome the fear of public speaking is to _______.

a.       Prepare and practice

b.      Read the speech from exact notes

c.       Make no mistakes

d.      Don’t think about it ahead of time

2. Effective communicators express themselves _______.

a.       freely, without having to resort to notes

b.      in an orderly, logical, effective and entertaining manner

c.       without fear

d.      in free flowing and humorous manner

3. The first thing to do in analyzing your audience is to _______.

a.      Define who they are

b.      Find out what they want to hear

c.       Find out if they are eating while you are speaking

d.      Draw pictures of them to use for practice

4. When using visual aids for a presentation _______.

a.       Have enough to pass around to the audience

b.      Remember that graphs have the biggest payoff.

c.       Begin the visual aids

d.      Write your outline first, then design your visual aids

True/False

1. _______ Learning to speak effectively in front of a group takes preparation and practice.

2. _______ Outlining is an out-dated method for planning your presentation.

3. _______ The body of your presentation is 50% of your presentation, the introduction and conclusion both 25% each.

4. _______ A problem-solution orientation arranges the presentation by dramatizing a problem then presenting the solution.

5. _______ Backing up your statements with facts, evidence and other support is an important part of presentation organization.

6. _______ Do not finish the presentation too strongly or it will offend your audience.

Answers:

1.)    T

2.)    F

3.)    F

4.)    T

5.)    T

6.)    F

Summary

There will be times when you are called upon to make a report to a committee, present information to your manager, or perhaps even give a summary of a major project you have been working on to the board of directors of your organization.  People who can stand before a group—whether it be in a small conference room, a board room, on the factory floor, or in a large auditorium—and express themselves in an orderly, logical, effective, and, when appropriate, entertaining manner are truly effective communicators.

This module not only showed you how to plan, organize, and deliver a speech, but also included some tips to help you deal with any stage fright or nervousness you might have.

One of the most frequent given pieces of advice about presenting a speech is to tell you audience what you will tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.  That is, start with an outline.  Outlining is a useful method for planning your presentation before you construct it in its final form.  

You also have to be aware of to whom and where and when you will be speaking.  Analyzing your audience and adapting your message to your audience and situation is crucial in presenting your message effectively.

            The better you have prepared and practiced your speech and the more familiar you are with it, the more comfortable you will be when you present it. Preparation and practice—converting your speech from an outline to a finished product—will help you overcome any fear of speaking and allow you to make an effective presentation.

Test

1. _______ Many people feel that statistics provide some of the best support for the idea in a presentation.

2. _______ Telling your audience what they want to hear is an important speaking skill.

3. _______ When you analyze your audience you need to define who they are.

4. _______ Maintaining your energy level throughout your speech helps motivate your audience.

5. _______ Your entire speech should be written out so that you don’t have to make anything up.

6. _______ Recording yourself on audiotape or videotape will only make you more nervous.

7. _______ Pick out your visual aid s first, then write your presentation.

8. _______ Color, pictorial slides have the biggest payoff.

9. _______ Audiences don’t forgive mistakes so make sure the presentation is perfect.

10. ______ Your aim is not to get rid of the butterflies but to get them to fly in formation.

Answers:

1.)    T

2.)    F – craft your message so they will best understand and accept it

3.)    T

4.)    T

5.)    F – key words and phrases on note cards

6.)    F – good for analyzing yourself

7.)    F – outline first, then pick visual aids

8.)    T

9.)    F – audience is eager for you to succeed

10.)           T

Bibliography

Brody, Marjorie (1998).  Speaking Your Way to the Top: Making Powerful project/programme purpose Presentations, Allyn and Bacon.

Espisito, Janet (2000). In the Spotlight: Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and

Performing, Strong Books.

Walters, Lily (1993). Secrets of Successful Speakers: How You can Motivate, Captivate and Persuade, McGraw-Hill Professional.

McWhorter, John H. (2002). The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, W. H.

Freeman & Co.

Glossary

Audience analysis: involves asking a number of specific questions about your audience. How you answer those questions will influence how you frame your message to your audience.

Demographics: are the characteristics of a given part of the human population, in this case your audience. It includes age, gender, religion, occupation, race and educational background.

Homogeneous: an audience that is similar in nature or has many of the same elements.

Heterogeneous: an audience that has elements that are unrelated or not the same.

Learning Objectives

• How to plan, organize and deliver a speech based on the audience demographics and type of speech.
• Learn how to deal with nervousness or stage fright.

Q & A

1. Aren’t all speeches organized the same way no matter what the material?

There are several different organizational methods used in crafting a speech. They can be used individually or combined to present your material in the most effective way. Which one you decide on will depend upon the material to be presented.

2. Aren’t statistics just too boring to use in presentations?

They can be but they also can provide some of the best support for your idea and if presented properly, can be extremely effective. If used sparingly and with visual aids, statistics can clarify your points.

3. Isn’t memorizing the speech the best way to keep stage fright away?

The speech needs to be conversational in tone and if it is memorized, you may lose contact with your audience and the speech will fall flat. Preparation and practice are the best ways to keep nervousness at a reasonable level.

End of Module