A CASE STUDY: MIA

Let’s check back with Mia and see what adjustments she made for her delivery.

Mia knew that she had a bad speaking habit: her tone of voice often rose at the end of a sentence as though she was asking a question instead of making a declarative statement. This made Mia sound as if she was constantly asking the audience if she was right instead of telling them what she really thought or believed. When she mentioned this to her teacher, her instructor advised her to “be confident in her own voice” by being more assertive and ending her sentences by lowering her tone. Mia also knew that anxiety made her lower her voice, which in turn made it difficult for people to hear her.

To work on her tone, Mia asked a friend to be her audience. At this point, Mia had already practiced the speech using her speaking outline, knew the material and the structure very well, and only occasionally had to glance at the outline for reference. When giving the speech to her friend, Mia focused on using an extemporaneous delivery style. Because she knew the speech, she also could engage with her audience with sweeping (panning) eye contact (even though for this practice run, she had only one audience member). Afterward, her friend congratulated her on her interesting speech and warm, natural delivery, boosting her confidence.

Look for the and throughout the chapter for adaptive quizzing and online video activities.

A CASE STUDY: JACOB

Let’s see what decisions Jacob made for delivering his speech.

Two days before he was to deliver his speech, Jacob felt a twinge of fear. Was he as fully prepared as he thought he was? At that moment, Jacob decided that the best way for him to give this speech would be to read the text to the audience. That way, he could be sure that nothing was left out. The notion of reading his speech text calmed him down greatly.

The next morning, he stopped in an empty classroom to practice his speech. He picked up his five-page speech text and held it directly before his face. As Jacob read, he realized he was blocking his face from his (imaginary) audience. Even though he lowered the paper, he wasn’t able to make eye contact because he had to focus on the words on his papers. He also felt stuck in one place. Maybe he should move, but that would require walking and reading at the same time!

Jacob noticed something else: his voice was coming out at a flat volume and tone. He’d imagined himself chatting conversationally with the class as he gave his speech, but this was not going as he’d planned. After his practice run, Jacob decided that perhaps he should practice his speech a little more so that he could give it without staring at his notes. After all, he was passionate about his topic, and he wanted to be able to convince his classmates of his topic—that student athletes should be paid.

Look for the and throughout the chapter for adaptive quizzing and online video activities.