Public speaking - what is it, preparation rules, basic mistakes

Specialty 08.02.01 “Construction and operation of buildings and structures”

Group II course: 1c2, 2c2, 3c2, 4c2, 5c2

Teacher Zhdanova Natalia Vladimirovna

LECTURE 10.
Public speaking.
(2 hours). Lecture outline:

1. Types and methods of public speaking.
2. Features of public speech.
3. Requirements and technologies of public speaking.
4. The main mistakes of a novice speaker.
5. The art of public speaking.

The main component of oratory is public speech. It is an element of speech activity that appears in the course of communication between the speaker and the public.

Public speech is necessary for informational influence on the audience, suggestion and persuasion. Public speaking involves delivering text or dialogue that passively influences the audience. They contain the following features: individual text structure and logical conclusion.

Monologue and dialogue are equally necessary for constructing a laconic speech. Elements of dialogue help to break up a monotonous text and engage the listener in a conversation, which is considered a necessary condition for public speaking.

To successfully interact with people, a speaker will need the following skills:

• To be self-confident;
• be able to talk continuously on one topic;
• briefly, concisely express thoughts, correctly and competently arrange words in a sentence;
• be able to interest the audience;
• artistry and charisma;
• gift of persuasion.

The speaker’s text must comply with three rules: clarity, information content and expressiveness. Public speech is characterized by a changeable nature, its success depends on mutual understanding with the audience and establishing psychological contact with it.

Speakers perform in stadiums, stages, and television. Public speaking includes the pronunciation of text in front of company management, potential employers, and friends. Public speaking helps you express yourself in a professional field or other activities. The art of public speaking is not something that everyone can master, but it is easy to learn by attending public speaking training and performing special speech exercises.

What is public speaking

Public speaking is a public event during which the speaker (speaker) conveys certain information to the audience. Features of such representations:

• the presence of a group of listeners,
• predominant monologue speech,
• thoughtful structure of the statement,
• specific goal.

Depending on the purpose and audience, the style of presentation is chosen; for greater efficiency, various electronic tools are currently used (videos, presentations, audio recordings, and others).

A public speech can be considered any monologue speech aimed at several listeners (announcing a concert to the whole class, a student’s answer at the blackboard, speaking on stage, teaching a lesson, congratulating a friend at a holiday table, and so on).

Performance styles by form

The form of the speech is determined in accordance with the format of the event. Her choice is influenced by the time allotted to the speaker for the speech and his purpose. This can be a short informational message, a long and detailed lecture, or a dialogue with the audience in the format of a live conversation. Oratory, among other things, includes the ability to correctly correlate the form of a speech with its content and purpose. When these three components harmoniously complement each other, the speaker’s speech becomes holistic, natural and organic. It is difficult to divide such speech into its component parts, since it gives the impression of an indivisible whole.

The form of the speech always corresponds to the purpose: it would be unnecessary to give a lecture on meteorology to the public if all you want is to report the weather forecast for the evening.

Let's consider the types of public speaking in form:

#1 Performance.

A prepared message on a predetermined issue. It is short and can be improvised, but always on the topic formulated for the meeting.

#2 Report.

An oral public presentation of a detailed type, which broadly reveals a specific problem on a specific topic. The duration of such performances can range from several minutes to several hours.

#3 Message.

A very short speech covering no more than one topic or issue. Pronunciation and information must be clear, specific, visual and comprehensive.

#4 Lecture.

A style of public speaking in which the presentation comes from the perspective of an expert in a given field.

#5 Conversation.

Speaking styles in this form can be more free and necessarily involve interaction with the audience through its participation in forming questions for the speaker. Thus, conversation involves a skillful combination of monologues with conversation with listeners, listening to their comments and answering their questions.

These are the typologies of public speaking according to two types: goals and form. You can learn more about all the nuances of each type of public speaking, as well as practice honing your art of eloquence in the acting studio in the “Public Speaking” course.

How to prepare for a public speaking, how to set yourself up for success, what to do if the audience is not receptive to the speaker? You can get answers to all these questions in public speaking and rhetoric lessons from the Benefis Theater School. Our teachers successfully combine theoretical presentation of information with practical exercises that will give you confidence as a speaker.

Types of public speaking

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Public speaking is not the same; according to the target load, it is divided into:

• Informing (the main task is to convey information to listeners).
• Protocol (used at official events, anniversaries, rallies).
• Entertaining (humorous TV shows, concerts, stories from interlocutors).
• Persuasive or agitating (popular with politicians or advertisers who convince listeners that they are right).

Important! Typically, speakers use not one type of presentation, but several (for example, information and entertainment).

Public speaking varies not only in purpose, but also in the form of presentation of the material:

1. A message is a public speech lasting up to 10 minutes, which briefly outlines the essence of the problem.
2. A report is a clearly verified and pre-prepared story on a specific topic that can last from 10 minutes to 3 hours.
3. Speech – short-term, no more than 5 minutes, presentation of information on the proposed issue. It can be improvised or prepared.
4. A lecture is a monologue presentation before an audience of a specialist who is well versed in the topic. The optimal duration is 90 minutes.
5. Conversation is a form of open speech in which the speaker’s monologue alternates with speeches from the audience.

Lecture

Content

• Features of public speaking
• Types and types of speeches by purpose
• Performance styles by form
• Rules of public speaking
• Public Speaking Techniques
• The beginning and end of a speech in front of an audience
• Possible mistakes of speakers
• The psychology of speaking in front of people

Public speaking is not just a speaker talking to one or more listeners. This is not a conversation in the square, where sometimes with one gesture you can pacify an impudent person or, conversely, with one smile you can set up an entire new campaign. There is a whole classification of public speaking, without which it is impossible to comprehend the theoretical basics of oratory. It includes types of public speaking by purpose and form.

Stages of public speaking

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Almost all performances go through 3 stages:

1. Pre-communicative (preparatory) stage.
2. Communication stage:

• establishing a relationship with listeners;
• concentrating and keeping the audience's attention on the problem;
• arguing and proving your point of view;
• summing up and concluding the speech.

1. Post-communicative (analysis of the positive and negative aspects of the event, personal conclusions of the speaker).

Important! Listeners remember best the ending of a speech, so speakers carefully think through the verbal design of this part in advance.

Completion of the report

The end is the crown of the whole thing.
At the end of the report, it’s nice to hear a cheerful conclusion (“therefore my thesis is the first step towards a doctoral dissertation”, “as you can see, the project can really bring our company an income of 493,000 rubles a year”) or a logical conclusion (“agree , every developer will be glad to use such a powerful tool as dtrace"). It’s good form to include on the penultimate slide the sources of your inspiration (list of references) and/or those books and sites that you advise listeners to read, and on the last slide - a way to contact you (in case someone in a year needs to clarify the name of that book , which you mentioned in passing on the third slide from the end). There is no need to leave your mobile phone - just an e-mail.

Public speaking requirements

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The main task of the speaker is to convey information to the audience. To do this, its verbal representation must comply with the following standards:

• A clear start. The first phrase should attract attention and interest the listeners, so it is prepared in advance and memorized accurately.
• Create and maintain light tension throughout the performance. To do this, they deliberately confront two opposing opinions or argue with an imaginary opponent.
• Dosed emotionality. Monotonous speech is not understood by the audience, but excessive temperament does not inspire confidence in the speaker. To hold attention, they do not amaze with their dramatic talent, but select facts that affect the feelings of listeners.
• Conciseness. Short speeches are better perceived and remembered.
• Dialogue with listeners. The speech must include questions for the audience (rhetorical and real); the speaker can demand answers to them.
• Ease and closeness to a conversational style of speech. Talking about important things in simple, understandable language without difficult to pronounce terms is the highest aerobatics in oratory.
• Establishing and maintaining a relationship with listeners. The speaker must monitor the reaction of the audience and, as necessary, adjust the methods of presenting information.
• Clarity of the idea of ​​the speech. The main idea is clearly formulated and repeated several times for better perception.
• Clear ending of speech. Both the initial and final phrases are formulated in advance, pronounced emotionally, clearly and meaningfully, so that the listeners understand that this is the end of the speech.

Important! Depending on the purpose and genre of the speech, some points are manifested to varying degrees: more emotionality may be allowed in entertaining speeches than in informational ones.

Speaker's emotions

Features of public speech

A number of psychological features of public speaking are known. They involve communication between the speaker and the audience and follow from the dialogue between them. The relationship between the two sides of communication is of an objective-subjective nature, which acts as a joint activity or cooperation.

The speaker’s public speech is characterized by the following features:

• back reaction of the audience - when delivering a speech, the speaker can notice the reaction of listeners to his words, observe a change in the mood of the audience of listeners. Individual words, questions and facial expressions of listeners make it possible to understand their moods and desires. Thanks to active feedback, you have the opportunity to adjust the course of your performance. She begins to transform from monologue to dialogue, establishing and establishing a connection with the audience;
• oral speech – the features of oral public speech involve establishing a lively dialogue between participants. The oral form of communication has as its goal a specific interlocutor and is completely dependent on him. A significant point in a speech is the organization of speech, suitable for easier perception and understanding by listeners. Oral public speaking demonstrates a high degree of effectiveness, as it helps to assimilate up to 90% of the information, in contrast to written communication;
• connection between literature and oral speech - before a speech, the speaker must prepare and think about his speech, using scientific, fiction or journalistic literature. Already in front of the public, the speaker transforms the prepared text of the speech into an interesting and vivid story that will be understandable to anyone. Only during a live performance can a speaker construct sentences taking into account the reactions of others, thereby switching from a book text to a conversational style;
• means of communication – in public speaking it is customary to use a variety of influence techniques and means of communication between participants. These include verbal and non-verbal means: facial expressions, gestures, intonation. An important role is assigned to the culture of public speech and adherence to ethics.

Preparation rules and basic techniques

Experienced speakers follow certain rules when preparing their speech:

1. They are responsible for defining the topic: it must be specific, not imply a large amount of information, be based on experience from the storyteller’s life or on the requirements of the customer, or correspond to the thematic plan and curriculum (for teachers and professors).
2. They think over and formulate a title that accurately expresses the essence of the speech. The title uses clear words and avoids complex terms and long sentences.
3. Determine the goals of the speech for the speaker and for the listeners, which are directly or indirectly communicated to the audience. Most often, speeches are made for the purpose of:

• inform;
• form an opinion;
• change point of view;
• influence people's consciousness and motivate them to action.

1. Selects, studies and analyzes information from:

• official sources,
• scientific and popular science literature,
• reference literature,
• statistical data,
• journalism,
• Internet resources.

Important! Information is taken from several sources and carefully processed.

1. Analyze the composition of the intended audience and the general situation in the room. The text of the speech is compiled taking into account the age, social status and interests of the audience (children perceive information differently than adults).
2. Working on the content of the speech:

• make a plan
• select material
• choose a speaking style,
• arrange parts of the speech compositionally and logically,
• are working on writing the full text,
• write down the abstracts and summary of the message (some speakers use loose or card notes).

Preparing for the performance

Checking equipment before the report

At any decent conference, speakers are asked in advance (on the day of the talk or even the previous day) to check that their flash drive, laptop, and other equipment they need is compatible with the equipment provided by the conference organizers.
In the case of defending a thesis, this will be a banal check that the cathedral projector connects normally to your laptop and displays the picture in the resolution that you need. Be sure to check that all programs that you will use during the report (xterm, exceed, Adobe Reader, OpenOffice Impress, etc.) show what you need, in the required resolution and without shifts on the screen. Even experienced presenters get confused when the most interesting part of the window is off the screen.

Make sure the computer you are using to show your slides can read what you have them on.

These rules seem obvious, but dozens of people (including myself) have regularly felt uncomfortable in front of listeners over such little things.

Drawing up and using a plan

People who speak often understand the importance of a well-written plan, which usually includes:

• a thoughtful way to hook the audience;
• an introductory part outlining a certain problem that is understandable and close to the listeners;
• a short list of the main ideas of the speech;
• the main part, containing no more than 3-4 key points, so as not to overload the audience with information;
• a final part that draws clear and meaningful conclusions from the entire speech.

A plan is necessary at the stage of preparing a speech so that the materials are arranged in the correct logical chain. During a speech, it is also needed so that the speaker can convey everything planned to the audience.

Successful speakers understand the nature of eye contact with the audience and do not allow themselves to sight-read the entire speech. It is at this moment that a plan (preferably a thesis) comes in handy, which will not allow the speaker to wander away from the intended topic.

Beginning of the report

The fourth rule: involve listeners in communication.
What to do if the interests of the people in the room are unknown? First: try to find out who should come from those who organize your speech or the conference in general. Second: at the beginning of the report, ask those who came what interests them.

Asking those present at your thesis defense what they are interested in from your work is arrogant. There it is customary to tell what the leader advised. However, at a meeting with colleagues or in front of clients, this is quite natural: for example, in the courses on UNIX, which I have been teaching since 1993, before the start of the course I always ask each student what he (or she) personally expects from course, and how he plans to apply the acquired knowledge.

Whatever the listeners answer, there is no need to change the course or report radically, but taking into account interests and talking about one topic more than another, if asked, is good form. This is not necessary, and you should do this only if you know more about the topic being discussed than you are going to tell. Otherwise, stick to the chosen line in the report and avoid unplanned retreats.

If you are asked questions that you cannot answer, avoid them by telling the facts you know about the topic, and if you cannot avoid the question, try to think out loud, involving your listeners in the process of finding an answer: “is it possible to print from Linux?” on HP LaserJet 1100? Let's think together. Modern GNU/Linux uses CUPS as a printing subsystem, right? If it is CUPS, then to configure the printer you will need a .ppd file, and therefore you need to look for this file on the HP website or simply on the Internet. If the file is found, we will be able to print on the HP LJ 1100 from Linux.”

As a last resort, take the listener’s e-mail and promise to respond as soon as you find out the answer to the question. The speaker is not required to know everything, but showing goodwill and a desire to help is useful.

The beginning and end of a speech in front of an audience

The beginning and ending are the most powerful parts of a speech. It has been proven that the initial opinion about the speaker is formed during the first 5-30 seconds of communication. Therefore, the speaker tries from the very beginning to create an appropriate psychological mood with a greeting, demonstration of a video or photo, communication of an interesting fact, description of the problem or possible prospects after solving it.

After the connection with the listeners is established, the rhetorician moves on to the main part, not forgetting that people's attention span weakens after 10-20 minutes.

It is important to end the speech correctly. This part of the message consolidates the initial impression of the speaker and the topic of the story, enhances the emotional impact on the audience, sums up everything that has been said, once again emphasizes the idea of ​​the text, and calls for specific actions. Competent speakers compose a speech in such a way that all parts flow logically from one another, are sufficiently saturated with emotions and arguments, and include practical recommendations and compliments to listeners.

Thinking through the beginning and end of the speech

Report time

Usually the speaker is not free to choose how long to speak.
The thesis defense takes 15-20 minutes, the dissertation takes 20-30, and the most convenient format at conferences is 20 minutes. A good speaker always stays within the allotted time: by doing this, he will show that he respects the organizers, the audience, and other speakers. For reference: one full A4 sheet, printed in 12-point size - approximately 5-7 minutes of presentation (if you speak without pauses). One slide - at least a minute (if you have a slide that you show for five seconds, remove it, no one will study it in its entirety anyway).

Possible mistakes

Oratory skills do not come immediately; many novice speakers make typical mistakes:

1. They demonstrate a lack of confidence (the speaker has little knowledge of the issue being covered or is afraid of people).
2. They begin to make excuses and lose the trust of the listener.
3. Do not illustrate the speech with examples from experience or literature.
4. They use excessive gestures and chaotic facial expressions (to control body language, they analyze the video recording of the performance and get rid of unnecessary movements).
5. They do not select words and compose sentences accurately (for example, frequent use of negative particles will lead to misunderstanding of the text).
6. They pay little attention to preparation.
7. They read the message monotonously without humorous asides and do not maintain eye contact.
8. Do not use pauses to maintain attention - stopping for 10 seconds will awaken the curiosity of all distracted people.
9. They show excessive seriousness, self-confidence and over-erudition.
10. They use a large number of filler words.
11. They fuss or, on the contrary, become tight.

Important! High-quality preparation and repeated rehearsals allow you to avoid many mistakes.

Speaker mistakes

The psychology of speaking in front of people

In order to attract people's attention, psychologists advise:

1. Pay enough attention to your appearance (dress comfortably and respectably).
2. Take a short pause before starting and look around the audience, making eye contact.
3. Start your performance at a slow pace.
4. For public speaking, it is recommended to lower the timbre of your voice by 2 tones (this will help protect your vocal cords; a low voice is perceived by people better than a high one) and develop the skill of using various voice techniques.
5. Repeat the most important thoughts 3 times.
6. Do not exceed the speaking limits, even if the audience’s attention has not weakened.

Successful performance

Thus, if you prepare diligently, then everyone will be able to perform well in front of the public.

The report itself

Fifth rule: speak briefly, give specific examples from life.
The report should be as short as possible: avoid “water” in what you tell. People like concrete examples: when I talk about how the UNIX way is many programs, each of which does only one thing, and does it well, I immediately explain why this is convenient: for example, the grep program is equally good at analyzing log -files and to search for a file with the desired piece of code in the src/

.

The report should have room for light improvisation or jokes. If you know what kind of audience will listen to you, try to prepare examples that are close to them. For example, when speaking to employees of a building materials sales office, you can safely joke about yesterday’s hangover. For clergymen and female students of the philology department, other jokes will probably be suitable.

Rule Six: Be Emotional

The people listening to you should not fall asleep. You cannot speak monotonously and sadly, you must speak with expression, like reading poetry at school. Are you talking about how to set up MS Exchange Server? Do you think it’s incredibly cool to set up a corporate email system by clicking three “Next” buttons (there should be a tag here)? Tell everyone how wonderful it is! Smile, raise your hands to the sky, raise your voice, ask your listeners: “Isn’t this so great?!”

Emotionality is not hysteria; emotions should be a seasoning for the content of the report. Definitely, there should be something in the report that you like: talk about a subject that disgusts you only to those whom you want to dislike the subject (or to you, if you hate cats, babies, young girls or what something else everyone loves).

Dilute your report with jokes: one joke per five to ten minutes of report is a good proportion. Jokes can be prepared in advance, or you can come up with them on the fly if you remember bash.org

by heart and you can remember something to the point. If the report didn’t go exactly as you planned, and the prepared joke is no longer appropriate, leave it for next time: inappropriate humor looks forced and increases pity for the speaker.