Public Speaking Resource Guide

Newington High School

Gina L. DiBernardo, Chair

Melissa Anderson

Resource Guide Table of Contents Page

Part One:Public Speaking Resource Guide Introduction(3)

Part Two:Writing a Public Speech(6)

Part Three:Avoiding Plagiarism(11)

Part Four:Delivering a Public Speech(17)

Part Five:Rehearsal Suggestions(20)

Part Six:Public Speaking Anxiety(21)

Part Seven:Presentation Aids(22)

Part Eight:Creating Effective Visual Aids(25)

Part Nine:PowerPoint Pointers(29)

Part Ten:The Informative Speech(30)

Part Eleven:The Demonstration Speech(33)

Part Twelve:The Persuasive Speech(36)

Part Thirteen:The Impromptu Speech(40)

Part Fourteen:The Special Occasion Speech(43)

Part Fifteen:Public Speaking Glossary(46)

With contributions by: Melissa Anderson

Gina DiBernardo

Angela Naimoli

Deb St. Jean

Public Speaking Resource Guide Introduction

To The Student:

Public speaking explores the art of oral communication through a set of concepts and basic skills, which include: techniques of organization, elements of style, methods of delivery, and attention to ethos, pathos, and logos.

According to the Connecticut Common Core of Learning, by the end of grade 12, students will develop proficiency, confidence, and fluency in speaking and listening to meet the literacy demands of the 21st century. As a student at Newington High School, you will be required to acquire and demonstrate effective communication skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. Therefore, the student must meet Goal or Advanced Goal on the NHS Evaluation Rubric in public speaking as a graduation requirement. In addition, good public speaking skills will enhance your ability to communicate effectively in a business, academic, or global community.

This booklet will assist the student speaker in acquiring the essential skills and knowledge necessary to learn and develop aptitude in public speaking. Each section of the guide is written to provide familiarity with public speaking terminology focusing on specific criteria including: the introduction, speech content, organization, diction, vocal qualities, delivery, and effective visual aids.

Remember this guide is a reference source to help each student speaker successfully meet Goal. The evaluation and assessment of a student’s speech is at the discretion of the individual classroom teacher. Therefore, any specific questions about any of the material presented in this booklet should be directed to the classroom teacher.

Elements of Good Speaking

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, described three essential factors for a speaker to remember when preparing a public speech. By their Greek titles they are ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos

PathosLogos

Ethos refers to the character, quality, or integrity of a speaking. If members of an audience do not believe that a speaker deserves respect, they do not listen. An audience gives its respect to a speaker who it believes has high moral character or special knowledge about the topic addressed.

Positive ethos is called credibility. Speakers seek credibility by being well prepared, by showing respect and understanding for their audience, and by demonstrating interest in their subject.

The finest speakers not only wish to appear credible to their audience but also try to avoid the appearance of deception. They seek to understand all sides of an issue before speaking about it in public, and they are willing to learn something new from other speakers. They speak honestly and with respect to their listeners.

Sensitivity and awareness of the time and place (speech context) is another factor that contributes to ethos. Careful speakers talk in a way that is appropriate to the occasion. Speakers also win audience approval by speaking with enough volume, clarity, and expression to hold its attention.

Pathos refers to the emotions and deeply felt values of listeners - their psychological makeup. Unless a speaker analyzes their audience before speaking, few speakers can be successful. Knowing what motivates, inspires, and persuades people is part of what Aristotle meant by pathos. An effective speaker studies and considers the people who might hear a speech in order to determine what may excite their anger, arouse their pity, or provoke them to take action.

Logosis the third element of public speaking. From the Greek logos is derived the English word logic. Logos refers to the content or argument of a speech. A speech has a definable logic. If the purpose is to inform an audience of a new body of knowledge, the logos of the speech includes the completeness and clarity of the knowledge presented.

If the purpose is to persuade an audience to accept a new opinion on a matter of significance, logos refers to the logical order of the reasons a speaker marshals to support the appeal to that audience to change its opinions. If the purpose is to entertain, encourage, or inspire, logos entails beautiful, descriptive language, images, or humor to achieve the desired purpose.

Concern for ethos alerts speakers and listeners to how a speech reveals the character and credibility of the person who presents it. Sensitivity to pathos shows how a speaker identifies with the values and emotions of an audience. Awareness of logos helps a speaker to present an argument in a fair and logical way and helps a listener to understand better a speaker's purpose.

Speaker / Ethos

Audience / Pathos Message / Logos

Writing a Public Speech

Step 1: The Introduction

The introduction is perhaps, the most important part of a speech. A good introduction will engage and connect to the audience. It is in the introduction that the speaker must establish his/her credibility and connection to the speech topic.

A good introduction should:

Get the attention of the audience in an interesting way
Relate or connect the topic to the audience
Offer a clear purpose or thesis
Have a clear transition to the body of the speech

Gaining Audience Attention

There are various ways to gain your audience’s attention during the introduction. The following list illustrates a few methods.

Incorporate a Quote

One way to grab the audience’s attention is to include a famous or recognizable quote from literature, film, television, or historical resource that directly relates to the speech topic or speech content. An interesting or timely quote can make a strong impression or connection to your audience.

Ask a Rhetorical Question

Another way to grab the audience’s attention is by asking a rhetorical question. These thought-provoking questions are not meant to generate a verbal response, but to get the audience actively engaged in the speech content by making a direct connection to the speech topic.

Tell an Anecdote or Describe a Scenario

A third way to engage and connect to the audience is to tell a story or describe a person, place, or event in such a way that it creates a vivid image in the minds of the audience. In order to effectively draw in the audience, your description must include descriptive words, detailed adjectives, and sensory language that appeal to the five senses. It should be brief but offer a vibrant, clear image that directly relates to the topic of your speech.

Startling Fact or Dramatic Statement

State a problem or startling statistic to grab the attention of your audience. Use an unusual analogy or statistic to help you maximize your speech’s effect on your audience.

Audience Poll Question

You may ask a specific question and poll the audience for their response. This strategy helps establish a direct connection to the audience and generates curiosity and interest.

Remember to use meaningful, specific information and appropriate attention-getting techniques to interest and engage the audience. Once you have the audience’s attention and have attracted their interest, you can preview your speech’s content and transition into the body of your speech.

Step 2: The Body

Just as the introduction has a specific job or purpose within a speech, the speech body or speech content has a specific function. The job of the body of a speech is to support the main idea, purpose, or thesis of your speech, and to develop thoughts and ideas that were stated in the introduction.

The Speech content should:

Be well-organized, with appropriate relationships between main points
Use appropriate reasoning
Include evidence that supports each point
Demonstrate how each resource is effective, reliable, and appropriate
Use appropriate diction
Continue to connect to the audience
Make clear arguments
Demonstrate a depth of knowledge and use of language
Include appropriate and logical transitions

The first step in writing a speech is to organize the information. The method of organization depends on the topic and type of speech. Common patterns of organization taught in writing apply to speech writing.

1. Supporting Evidence

Supporting evidence is any information that proves your main idea or strengthens your argument. Supporting evidence can appear in the form of statistics, quotes, expert testimony, facts, data or personal experience (your own or someone you know). Including strong and reliable supporting evidence is absolutely necessary to convince your audience that you are a credible speaker (ethos) and to validate your message.

2. Transitions and Language

In order to hold that attention of the audience, your speech must demonstrate a logical order of ideas, effective transitions, appropriate word choice, appropriate tone, and follow the conventions of the English language. The following is a list of some transition words that could be used when starting a new idea within your speech.

FirstMoreoverFor exampleAs a result

NextThenFor instanceEven though

Last In additionAlsoRegardless

So ThereforeAlthoughStill

ButHoweverUltimatelyFinally

When writing a speech, you must choose your words carefully and make every word count. You must choose language that is clear, concise, and appropriate to the tone and topic of the speech. Although you do want to be thorough, detailed, and descriptive in your writing, you also want to avoid rambling. A disorganized or long-winded speech will only be confusing to your audience.

3. Methods of Organization

In order to effectively communicate your main idea and/or purpose to your audience, your speech must be organized. There are various ways in which to organize a speech, depending on the type of speech and topic. Remember, to make sure that you are consistent, and use one organizational method throughout the entire speech. The following is a list or organizational methods:

Chronological order
Describing events or process steps in a numbered order
Order of importance
Describing events, actions, or problems by the beginning with the least important aspect and moving to the most important aspect, or vice versa
Topical
Describing a concept by grouping into its logical or relevant parts
Cause / Effect
Describing events, actions, or problems by beginning with the cause and moving to the effect, or vice versa
Spatial order
Describing an object or geographical location in a logical sequence, from top to bottom, left to right, up to down, or near to far
Problem / Solution
Describing a concept by explaining the causes or issues and moving to the potential resolutions or results
Comparison / Contrast
Describing elements by explaining how they are alike and different

Step 3: The Conclusion

Just like the introduction causes the audience to form either a positive or negative first impression of your speech, the conclusion causes the audience to form a positive or negative lastimpression of your speech. The conclusion is the last thing that the audience hears, and therefore, should be brief and memorable.

When writing the conclusion, your must remember to never, ever, ever introduce a new topic in your conclusion. Please refrain from saying, “In conclusion”! Your conclusion should naturally wrap up your message without stating the obvious for the audience. Use other cue words like, “finally”, or “lastly” when ending your message. The conclusion should:

Include a clear summary of the main idea or thesis
Tie the speech together
Offer the audience at least one important thought to remember
Include a memorable closing statement that leaves the audience with a clear message

Techniques to Conclude

Summarize your thesis and main supporting points by telling listeners what you’ve told them
Remind the audience of the importance of the issue by repeating one of your most telling statistics
Use an attention device mentioned earlier such as a dramatic statement or relevant quote to re-emphasize your purpose
Urge your audience to take action
Warn your audience about the importance or timeliness of your issue or topic
Make a prediction based on the information that your have given
Use a “clincher” such as an anecdote as a lasting thought
If appropriate, conduct a question-and-answer period to involve the audience

And finally…

It is always a good idea to proofread and practice your speech before the final presentation to establish a familiarity with the speech contents and boost your confidence as a speaker.

Avoiding Plagiarism

As you are aware, plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s ideas as your own.

In preparing a public speech, you are expected to cite your sources as you would in any sort of written work. This includes handing in a properly formatted References section including any written works, pictures, graphs, statistics, etc. that you’ve incorporated into your speech or visual aid.

Incorporating Research

Like a formal research paper, formal speech presentations should include cited research. Properly citing sources is the responsibility of a credible speaker. Parenthetical citations provide a practical way to properly acknowledge source material.

During your speech, a verbal cue or transition can make a source’s stance clear and the quotation valid to your point. Using a verbal cue provides a smooth transition.

Verbal Cues

according toconfirmsnotes

acknowledgescontendsobserves

addsdeclarespoints out

admitsdeniesreasons

agreesdisputesrefutes

arguesemphasizesrejects

assertsendorsesreports

believesgrantsresponds

claimsillustratessuggests

commentsimpliesthinks

comparesinsistswrites

APA Style

APA stands for American Psychological Association, and is the preferred format used in public speeches.

Visuals: Visuals, such as tables and figures, include graphs, charts, drawings, and photographs. Try to keep the visuals as simple as possible. Clearly label each visual (ex: Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and include the title of the visual. The label and the title should appear on separate lines above the table, flush left. Below the table, provide the source.

List of References: Create your list of references on its own page after the last page of your manuscript or outline. Center the title References one inch from the top of the page. Double space and Alphabetize the list of references by the last name of the authors. If the work has no author or editor, alphabetize the work by the first word of the title (excluding A, An, or The).

In Text Citations: When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, E.g., (Jones, 2004), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Incorporating Quotations

Short Quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

According to Jones (2004), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (2004) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 2004, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long Quotations

For long quotations the speaker should provide an introduction of the source or expert to the audience.

Jones's (2004) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or Paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work into your speech, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the page number (although it is not required.)

According to Jones (2004), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 2004, p. 199).

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in the parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use "&" in the parentheses.

Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) showed...

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized or underlined; titles of articles and chapters are in quotation marks.

A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using APA," 2001).

Note: In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.