Thursday, May 06, 2004
Well, I’m going to be honest. The experience I had in public speaking this semester wasn’t exactly what I expected. The time that I anticipated spending in front of an audience was actually quadrupled and transferred to being spent in front of a computer. However, this is not to say that I didn’t learn some very valuable things about public speaking. My experience co-producing our group speech taught me a lot about what’s important for effectively communicating with an audience. This website argues that influence on an audience is determined 7% by what we say, 38% by how we speak, and 55% by how we look and behave. I agree with this statement, and believe that my experiences this semester reiterate how true they are. Combining my experience with the insight of this website, I can offer three main pieces of advice to someone preparing a deliberative speech.
My first piece of advice deals with the 7% issue: what we say. The organization of a speech is absolutely imperative in maximizing audience response. An introduction that explains what your speech will be about in a way that grabs the audience’s attention is essential. The body of the speech then needs to be organized in manner that keeps things simple, yet interesting. There needs to be a balance between putting in too much information (making things too complex or hard to follow) and not enough (oversimplified and boring). Finally, a conclusion that wraps up the argument, summarizes what you said, and clinches it with something memorable that will resonate with the audience guarantees a positive reaction. Following this outline ensures that what you say will be comprehended and understood by any audience–failing to follow these steps means that no matter how great the argument is, it will most likely get lost in a sea of badly planned paragraphs. Wondering where to find an example of a speech that exemplifies such ingenious organization? Look no further.
Though organization is important, even the most articulately planned speech will be ineffective if presented in the wrong way. This is why 55% of effectiveness is determined by how we say it. I learned this the hard way when Dave verbally assaulted the first draft of our group speech. Apparently it was far too informative/impersonal for the type of audience we were speaking to. Though rewriting the speech was a phenomenal pain, I must admit Dave was right. Facts, statistics, and legal jargon would have been lost on the people attending a constituents’ dinner. This realization leads me to my second piece of advice: Always consider the needs and desires of your audience prior to writing and planning your speech. No matter how great your argument, even if its well-organized, saying it the wrong way to the wrong people means no sale. Or, in our case, a failing grade.
My final piece of advice is probably the most important: Sell yourself. 55% may seem like a lot of attention to pay to such a seemingly superficial matter, but the truth of it is undeniable. If you’re boring or monotone, your audience is going to lose interest. If you look weird, or have something in your teeth your audience will not be able to pay attention or focus. Be honest: would you be able to take this man seriously? I didn’t think so. Another perk of presenting yourself well is that sometimes bad organization or a poorly planned argument can be overlooked by an audience blinded by your overwhelming charisma. Need some tips on how to present your best? He’s an expert.
My experience in class this semester is a testament to how useful these pieces of advice really are. Even though I probably supported whatever it was they were arguing for, a lack of enthusiasm was a major contributor to the fact that after “listening” to several speeches, only when people started clapping at the end did I realize I had not heard a word that was said. Blame it on ADD if you like, but I truly believe that following a combination of my three pieces of advice would have allowed every group to grab and hold my full attention. In conclusion, this semester–through all of the blogging and great conversation–has taught me a lot about effective communication, which is undoubtedly the fundamental purpose of public speaking. Also, in the daily process of looking for someone to link to, I made connections I may never have otherwise. Like Kyle for example–reading his response to this question, I discovered we have a common bond because both our speeches got completely ripped apart first time through! Hopefully now millions of others can benefit from the pearls of wisdom I have learned as a result of this class. Thanks Dave, we’re gonna miss you!
My first piece of advice deals with the 7% issue: what we say. The organization of a speech is absolutely imperative in maximizing audience response. An introduction that explains what your speech will be about in a way that grabs the audience’s attention is essential. The body of the speech then needs to be organized in manner that keeps things simple, yet interesting. There needs to be a balance between putting in too much information (making things too complex or hard to follow) and not enough (oversimplified and boring). Finally, a conclusion that wraps up the argument, summarizes what you said, and clinches it with something memorable that will resonate with the audience guarantees a positive reaction. Following this outline ensures that what you say will be comprehended and understood by any audience–failing to follow these steps means that no matter how great the argument is, it will most likely get lost in a sea of badly planned paragraphs. Wondering where to find an example of a speech that exemplifies such ingenious organization? Look no further.
Though organization is important, even the most articulately planned speech will be ineffective if presented in the wrong way. This is why 55% of effectiveness is determined by how we say it. I learned this the hard way when Dave verbally assaulted the first draft of our group speech. Apparently it was far too informative/impersonal for the type of audience we were speaking to. Though rewriting the speech was a phenomenal pain, I must admit Dave was right. Facts, statistics, and legal jargon would have been lost on the people attending a constituents’ dinner. This realization leads me to my second piece of advice: Always consider the needs and desires of your audience prior to writing and planning your speech. No matter how great your argument, even if its well-organized, saying it the wrong way to the wrong people means no sale. Or, in our case, a failing grade.
My final piece of advice is probably the most important: Sell yourself. 55% may seem like a lot of attention to pay to such a seemingly superficial matter, but the truth of it is undeniable. If you’re boring or monotone, your audience is going to lose interest. If you look weird, or have something in your teeth your audience will not be able to pay attention or focus. Be honest: would you be able to take this man seriously? I didn’t think so. Another perk of presenting yourself well is that sometimes bad organization or a poorly planned argument can be overlooked by an audience blinded by your overwhelming charisma. Need some tips on how to present your best? He’s an expert.
My experience in class this semester is a testament to how useful these pieces of advice really are. Even though I probably supported whatever it was they were arguing for, a lack of enthusiasm was a major contributor to the fact that after “listening” to several speeches, only when people started clapping at the end did I realize I had not heard a word that was said. Blame it on ADD if you like, but I truly believe that following a combination of my three pieces of advice would have allowed every group to grab and hold my full attention. In conclusion, this semester–through all of the blogging and great conversation–has taught me a lot about effective communication, which is undoubtedly the fundamental purpose of public speaking. Also, in the daily process of looking for someone to link to, I made connections I may never have otherwise. Like Kyle for example–reading his response to this question, I discovered we have a common bond because both our speeches got completely ripped apart first time through! Hopefully now millions of others can benefit from the pearls of wisdom I have learned as a result of this class. Thanks Dave, we’re gonna miss you!
Monday, May 03, 2004
Well it's hard to believe that this is actually the last blog of the semester. I am really proud to say I think I missed a maximum of one day. I know my blog doesn't compare to the insight and depth found in blogs like Ivan's or Scott's, but I had fun with it sometimes and it's a cool thing to have around. As far as the rest of this class went, I think our speech definitely worked itself up to A quality with a lot of help from Dave. Not to mentin Scott's bad ass performance abilities. (c'mon Dave, you want to give it an A...) In conclusion to the blog, I want to say thank you to Dave for teaching this semester--it was a really fun class, and we're all going to miss it next year. Good luck figuring out what you want to do after you leave good old Denison, I'm sure you will find something great. Well, other than our final paper, this is it!! See everyone next year!
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Hey, so does Dave's post from today mean that class is cancelled tomorrow? If the groups that were supposed to perform aren't going until Monday? Hmmm I'm not sure. Only two class periods left, that's kinda weird. This year went by so fast its scary. Anyways, hope everyone's enjoying the nice weather.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
I have to agree with Kyle that I too am getting a little nervous that I might not get an A in this class. Like Kyle, I blogged religiously every single day, defined each one of my rhetorical figures, and put several hours of work into writing the group speech. Even though I will be completing public speaking without ever speaking publicly, I really hope that my behind the scenes hard work pays off. And Dave, you're leaving after this semester anyways--could they do anything to you if you just handed everyone an A?? I say we try it...
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
So it's Tuesday, and I'm about to go to the library to try to bump our group speech up from the B- that is now to somewhere closer to an A. First of all I just want to say there is some serious favoritism being shown to Group 5 here. Our speech may not be the most eloquently written piece of work in the world, but this is a public speaking class not English. I think we should have been handed pre-written speeches and been asked to perform, but hey what Dave says goes, I'm not trying to argue.
Monday, April 26, 2004
So today is Monday, and for once I am really happy about it because the beginning of a new week means that last week--as in the most hellish week of college academic life I have ever had--is finally over. I handed in my first 20 page paper and now I never want to think about it ever again. Anyways--this weekend was great, I think --Andrea's experience at Fiji Island sums up about how mine time was as well. But as fun as it may have been, I still think its ridiculous that these guys can charge 20 dollars to put a bunch of kegs and a band in the middle of a field--however, when I complained about it to the guys selling tickets the response was: "C'mon you go to Denison." Now I'm not sure exactly what that implies, but if it means all Denison students have 20 dollars to throw around for 2 keg trucks in a field with pigs I don't think that's right.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has fallen off the blogging wagon--Brie and Ethan seem to agree. Sorry Dave, its not that I don't want to blog or don't care about it,, let's just look at the slacking as me saving every bit of blogging energy I've got for the final paper.
