Uncontrolled copy not subject to amendment
ACP 40
HEADQUARTERS AIR CADETS
NCO SELECTION COURSE
CADETS
Revision 1.00
Uncontrolled copy not subject to amendment
ACP 40
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE-Notes on Public Speaking
CHAPTER TWO-Notes on Instructional Technique
CHAPTER THREE-An Introduction to Functional Leadership
CHAPTER FOUR-The Conduct of Practical Leadership Exercises
INTRODUCTION
1.This book contains information essential to the successful completion of the NCO Selection Course by all air cadets.
2.The NCO Selection Course is designed to assist in the development of those personal qualities, such as self-confidence and powers of expression, which will be of value to cadets during the remainder of their service.
3.The course also enables officers to assess the suitability of cadets for promotion to NCO rank and to other positions of responsibility.
1
Revision 1.00
Uncontrolled copy not subject to amendment
ACP 40
CHAPTER 1
PUBLIC SPEAKING
1.The ability to speak well in public is a great asset in any walk of life. It is a desirable accomplishment of an officer and an essential attribute of a successful manager. Public speaking is an art in which proficiency can be achieved only by practice. These notes do not attempt to provide expert tuition but are designed to give general constructive advice and encouragement, thus offering an opportunity for practice in public speaking.
2.The student must remember that there is a distinct difference between a talk and a lesson. The talk is informative and the lecture is instructive. Hence the aim of a talk should be to inform the audience without necessarily adopting techniques which are specific to classroom instruction. Students must therefore refer to their Instructional Technique notes when preparing classroom lessons.
3.During the NCO Selection Course, students will be given the opportunity of talking to their fellow student on a subject of their own choice. The purpose of these notes it to give advice on the preparation and delivery of such a talk, with particular reference to the 10minute talk which students will be required to give during the course.
4.Following the presentation of his 10 minute talk, each student should be debriefed. The debrief should include such general items as the structure of the talk, voice, and the effectiveness of the talk as a whole. Sub-divisions under which comment should also be made are the Introdution and Aim, the Discussion (or “development” section of the talk) and the Conclusion.
PREPARATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF A TALK
5.If a talk is to be effective, it must be carefully prepared. Without preparation, the speaker will almost certainly produce a talk which is either disjointed or rambling, lacking in force or interest, and probably containing many “ums” and “ers”. Such a talk is apt to be embarrassing to the speaker and boring to the audience. On the other hand, the smooth, interesting and entertaining talk which seems to flow so well has almost certainly been very well prepared. One of the most effective speakers in recent history, Sir Winston Churchill, rehearsed all his important speeches as part of his preparation.
6.The first essential in the preparation of a talk is to know the subject. The talk will not sound very convincing otherwise. In choosing the subject, or a particular aspect of it, the type of audience must be considered. For example, it would be foolish to hold forth to an audience of schoolboys on the art of knitting dolls clothes.
7.When the subject has been chosen, the purpose of the talk and its title must be decided. The talk should then be planned to ensure that it is well-shaped, balanced, and easy for the audience to follow.
8.Firstly, all the points to be included should be listed and an estimate made as to whether they can all be covered in the allotted time. If they cannot, it must be decided which aspects of the subject can be discarded without detriment to the aim, remembering that an overall balance must be maintained.
9.Next, a framework should be constructed around which a verbatim script can be written. The following paragraphs suggest how a talk can be constructed to fit the accepted pattern. They are not exhaustive but are intended to assist those who have had little experience in this field.
10.The construction of a talk should consist of an INTRODUTION, an AIM, a DISCUSSION, and a CONCLUSION. This structure does not apply in every case but, in the Introduction, the audience should be told what the talk is about. One then goes ahead and talks about it in the Discussion and, finally, a summary of what has been said forms the Conclusion.
11.In terms of time, the Introduction and the Aim should take up approximately 10% of the total time of the talk. Therefore, in the case of the 10 minute talk, about one minute should be enough. The Discussion should be planned to last about 80% of the time allotted, or 8 minutes of the 10 minute talk. Finally, the Conclusion should take up the last 10% of the time, or one minute of the 10 minute talk.
INTRODUCTION TO A TALK
12.The purpose of an Introduction is to grasp the attention of the audience and to arouse and motivate their interest. It should also reveal the Aim and Scope of the talk.
13.Never begin by saying “The subject of my talk is …..”. It is preferable to work from the general to the particular, narrowing down the field until one arrives at the subject of the talk. For example, a talk about “Model Aircraft” could be introduced as follows
“This is a Do-It-Yourself age, in which more people than ever are interested in doing things for themselves. Some build their own furniture or decorate their own homes to keep down the costs. Others find similar occupations from which they derive great satisfaction from using their hands at creative work. These include the model builders who delight in constructing accurate and incredibly detailed working models of machinery, cars, ships and aeroplanes. Today, I am going to talk on an aspect of this, namely The Construction of Model Aircraft”.
14.Having introduced the title of the talk, the Aim should be stated, ie, the declared objective in giving the talk. For example:
“My object is to convince you that anyone capable of exercising a little patience will find the construction of model aircraft interesting, instructive and rewarding”.
15.The Aim should then be followed by an outline of the “scope” of the talk, ie, the boundaries within which it is the intention to confine oneself. The audience will then know what is going to be talked about and not be left to wonder why, during the course of the talk, certain aspects have been omitted which could have been included. Thus the listener should not get lost and should be able to concentrate his attention on what is being said.
16.The Scope of the lecture on model aircraft could be expressed in the following words:
“I am going to confine my talk to a consideration of gliders only, because they are simple and can be built of easily worked materials. I shall discus size, cost, materials, tools, and some methods of construction which should be adopted by the beginner”.
17.It is suggested, as a guide, that the Introduction should take about one tenth of the time available for the whole talk.
18.The Introduction has set the stage. The next step is the development of the subject - the Discussion section of the talk.
DISCUSSION
19.The major points to be considered when constructing the Discussion section of the talk are as follows:
a.Only those aspects mentioned in the “scope” should be presented.
b.The material should be so arranged that the development is logical.
20.There is no set form for the development of the discussion section of the talk because the treatment will depend upon the subject matter. An example of how it might be tackled is as follows:
a.Background. Give the background of the subject if appropriate, and bring the audience up to date.
b.Types or Branches. Then expand on various types, branches or aspects of the subject, but remember not to go beyond your “scope”.
c.Future. Round off with a suggestion of future possibilities.
21.Arguments. Should it be necessary to present arguments, firstly give those points “against”, so that they can either be demolished, or to show the audience that you are aware of them. Then produce the arguments “for” to strengthen the case and to support the views expressed. Build up the argument “for” so that the most pertinent points come last. The argument will thus be concluded on a strong note. One must not be timid about this. After all, if the argument was not valid the case would not be presented.
CONCLUSION
22.A talk must never simply tail-off but its tempo must rise to a climax in its concluding phase. There are several ways of concluding a talk but, above all, it must be remembered that nothing new should be introduced at this stage. The conclusion may take any one of the following forms:
a.A straight summing-up with the object of leaving the audience with the main points of the talk printed indelibly on their minds.
b.An appeal to the audience, eg “I ask you all to…..” (to give - learn - support - oppose, whatever it is).
c.An expression of conviction, eg “I firmly believe - I am sure - I am convinced that, once you have used Band x, you will never again buy any other kind of washing powder”.
There may be occasions when it would be possible or desirable to use a combination of the above.
23.Following the conclusion, the talk should be rounded off so that the audience is not left hanging in the air. Make it quite clear that the talk is finished. Only one suitable sentence is required.
24.To continue with the example of a talk on the construction of model aircraft, the conclusion might be as follows:
“Well gentlemen, I have shown you that building a glider is a good introduction to the hobby of constructing a model aircraft. It is a matter of personal preference, but, as I have indicated, the beginner would be advised to tackle a model with a wing span of about 3 or 4 feet. A glider of this size would cost something in the region of £20. It can be built of balsa wood and ply, both of which can be easily worked, and may then be covered with tissue and doped. The only tools required are, the razor blade, a fret saw, a pair of pliers, a pair of scissors, some fine sandpaper and a small, soft brush. For your first attempt, avoid complex methods of construction such as those needed for building elliptical wings and streamlined fuselages. Stick to simple shapes and the simple structure which I have recommended and you will avoid disappointment. As your experience develops, you can attempt more ambitious projects such as the exhibit which I showed you earlier. I hope I have managed to convince you that anyone present could, with the exercise of a little patience, construct a simple glider. I am certain that if you make the effort you will find this a most absorbing hobby and will consider your time and money well spent”.
As will be seen, this conclusion is a compound of paras 20a and c.
SCRIPTS AND NOTES
25.Having decided on the material and framework for the talk, it should be written out in full. It is then necessary to:
a.Ensure that the spoken and not the written word has been used. A talk delivered in the written style will sound like an extract from a book.
b.Time the reading of the script aloud. It will usually be found that a time based on the script alone will be exceeded when the talk is actually given. Therefore, for a 10-minute talk, the script should take no longer than about 8 minutes to read aloud.
c.Commit the sequence of the script to memory. For some it is a good idea to learn the introduction by heart since a fluent beginning is a good confidence builder.
d.Reduce the script either to headings, notes or key words which will readily connect the various stages of the talk for the speaker.
26.When this stage is reached in the preparation of the talk, it will usually be found that all that is now needed are a few notes as an aide memoire and that, when the talk is given, frequent reference to the script will not be necessary. The script should only be used for reference in an emergency. Its obvious and frequent use distracts an audience and detracts from the talk.
DELIVERY OF A TALK
27.The aim of public speaking is to convey a speaker’s thoughts and knowledge on a subject to his audience. Anyone who can speak coherently can learn to speak effectively in public. To do this, it is necessary to understand the various aspects of speech delivery which are discussed below.
28.Volume. The first essential in delivering a talk is that the speaker’s voice should be heard. Sufficient volume should be used to enable those in the back row to hear comfortably. However, beware of shouting because this tends to antagonize an audience. The speaker should adopt an upright but relaxed posture and avoid becoming hunched over his table or lectern.
29.Pitch. The voice should be pitched in the middle or lower middle of the speaker’s voice range, thus allowing maximum flexibility for varying pitch.
30.Inflection. Variation in pitch is known as inflection and , without this, voices are monotonous. However, a speaker should guard against each sentence or phrase flowing in a set inflectional pattern since this in itself can become very wearing to an audience.
31.Articulation. Articulation is a form of gymnastics between the tongue, teeth and lips. It is the uttering of words so that they are distinguishable. Articulation should not be over precise since this can result in artificially stilted speech.
FLUENCY
32.Fluency in speech is the flow of words. It also concerns the scope of the speaker’s vocabulary. Frequent use of the same words should be avoided, and those that are used should flow smoothly.
EMPHASIS AND PAUSING
33.A slight pause before a word serves to emphasis it. Heavy emphasis can be obtained by pausing before and after the word, thus making the word stand on its own. Emphasis can also be achieved by stressing a word.
PERSONLITY AND ENTHUSIASM
34.It is essential that a speaker endeavours to project his personality, enthusiam and sincerity to his audience. He must mean every word he says or, failing that, he must at least give his audience the firm impression that he does. He should avoid appearing underconfident, should never adopt an apologetic approach but should speak with an air of authority. If a speaker can do this, his talk will “get across”.
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT
35.However well a talk may be prepared, a speaker will lose sympathy if his audience should feel that he is speaking at them rather than to them. He should identify himself with his audience by using “we” and “us” and avoid the use of “you”. In addition, he should let his glance rove over the whole audience so that each person will feel involved. The listeners in the corners should not be forgotten and the speaker should cast occasional glances in their direction. The front corners are usually most neglected since they are outside the speaker’s peripheral vision. However, care must be taken to avoid fixing a particular member of the audience with a prolonged stare since this will embarrass him.
DISTRACTIONS
36.A speaker who possesses the natural ability to capture the attention of the whole of his audience throughout his talk can afford the luxury of distracting mannerisms. However, most of us are rather less gifted and any mannerisms we display are likely to attract more attention than our subject. Some examples of the things to avoid are:
a.A sloppy or rigid stance.
b.An untidy appearance.
c.Playing with chalk, keys, etc.
d.Jingling money in the pocket.
e.Moving about excessively.
f.Brandishing the pointer
g.Reading the talk.
h.Frequent repetition of certain words or phrases.
i.A halting delivery.
j.A theatrical delivery.
VISUAL AIDS
37.A successful talk very often depends on the formation of mental images. Appeal should therefore be made to the visual sense whenever it may be advantageous to do so.
CONCLUSION
38.Public Speaking is an art which can be acquired by anyone who can speak coherently. To achieve effectiveness, it is necessary to:
a.Know the subject and, in choosing one, take the composition of the audience into account.
b.Prepare the material thoroughly (under Introduction, Discussion and Conclusion) and write out the talk in full, reducing it subsequently to headings, notes or key words.
c.Use a simple, unaffected delivery and avoid distracting mannerisms.
d.Rehearse the delivery to project your personality, enthusiasm and sincerity. This will also help to ensure that you do not exceed your allotted time.
e.Use visual aids whenever effectiveness would be increased in doing so.
39.The foregoing advice is simple. The difficulty is not so much in remembering but in practicing it. Effective public speakers are rarely born - they are made.