Part 2: SPEAKER’S REFERENCE

• A lack of public speaking experience: It can be difficult to put into perspective the anxiety that often precedes new experiences.
• Feeling different: Remember, even seasoned speakers feel anxiety.
• Being the center of attention: The audience won’t notice things about you that you don’t want to reveal.

• Some people become anxious upon hearing that they must give a speech (pre-preparation anxiety).

  Don’t allow your anxiety to deter you from planning your speech.

• For some, anxiety occurs as they begin to prepare the speech (preparation anxiety).

  Beware of avoidance and procrastination.

• Some people begin to feel anxious when it is time to rehearse the speech (pre-performance anxiety).

  Practice your speech to build confidence.

• Many people experience public speaking anxiety only when they begin to deliver the speech (performance anxiety).

  Practice stress-control breathing and other relaxation techniques.

• Plan your presentation thoroughly.
• Rehearse often until you know how you want to express yourself.
• Lessen anxiety by using positive thoughts prior to delivery.

• Visualize a positive outcome.
• Consider meditation, stress-control breathing, and natural gestures.

• You have the chance to influence others.
• Use feedback from others constructively to note your strengths and discover where your speechmaking can be improved.

• Listening to speeches takes focus and skill.
• Listening scholars note different types of listening linked to different purposes: comprehensive, critical, empathic, and appreciative.
• Skill in listening is linked to leadership potential.
• Active listening is focused and purposeful.
• “Listenable language” is language written for the ear.

• Hearing is the physiological process of perceiving sound; listening is a conscious act of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and nonverbal messages.

• People pay attention to what they hold to be important.
• People pay attention to information that touches their experiences.
• People filter new information based on what they already know.

• Think about sharing ideas rather than delivering a monologue.

• Plan ahead in order to minimize the impact of external distractions such as noise, movement, light, darkness, heat or cold, and so forth.
• Try not to let internal distractions, such as daydreaming, time pressures, emotional turmoil, or fatigue, disrupt your concentration.
• Beware of listening defensively: Wait for the speaker to finish before devising your own mental arguments.
• Refrain from multitasking, such as checking cell phones.
• Be an empathetic listener and respect cultural differences.

• Focus instead on what is actually being said.

• Set listening goals that encourage action.
• Listen for main ideas and take notes.

• Evaluate the speaker’s evidence for accuracy and credibility.
• Analyze the speaker’s assumptions and biases.
• Assess the speaker’s reasoning: Look for weak arguments.
• Consider alternate perspectives.
• Summarize and assess the relevant facts and evidence before deciding how you will act on the speaker’s information or argument.

• Be honest and fair in your evaluation.
• Do not judge the message’s content on the basis of the speaker’s communication style.
• Be compassionate in your criticism: Start with something positive; be selective in your criticism; and focus on the speech, not on the speaker.

• Be morally accountable to yourself and your audience for your message.
• Accept responsibility for the stands you take.

• Display good character (ethos).
• Develop a solid grasp of your subject (competence).
• Display sound reasoning skills.
• Present information honestly and without manipulation.
• Be genuinely interested in the welfare of your listeners.

• Consider the audience’s values as you plan your speech.
• Be aware that conflicting values lie at the heart of many controversial issues.
• When your topic is controversial, consider both sides of an issue.

• Three prominent ethical theories—consequentialist ethics, rules-based ethics, and virtue ethics—propose different standards and rationales for making ethical choices.
• Analyze values using the instruments in the text.

• Advance constructive goals.
• Avoid introducing conversation stoppers into public discourse.
• Follow the rules of engagement for civil public discourse.

• As a public speaker, you face balancing your rights of free speech with the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
• The First Amendment provides protection both to truthful speakers and to speakers whose words are inflammatory and offensive.
• Be aware that certain types of speech are illegal:
  • Speech that provokes people to violence (“fighting words”)
  • Speech that can be proved to harm an individual’s reputation (slander or defamatory statements)
  • Words spoken with a reckless disregard for the truth

• Hate speech is any offensive communication directed against people’s racial, ethnic, religious, gender, or other characteristics.
• Avoid ethnocentrism and any hint of stereotyping.

• Demonstrate dignity and integrity in your own character and accord it to each audience member.
• Tell the truth, don’t distort information, and acknowledge sources.
• Show respect for audience members.
• Be accountable for what you say.
• Acknowledge alternative and opposing views.

• Orally acknowledge any source that requires credit in written form: other people’s ideas, opinions, theories, evidence, and research; direct quotations; paraphrased information; facts and statistics.
• Know how to directly quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source.

• Copyright law protects intellectual property (original authorship).
• The fair use doctrine permits limited use of copyrighted materials without permission; such material must be orally credited in your speech.