Delivering Your Speech

Impromptu Speaking
- Definition: Public remarks made with little or no preparation.
Manuscript Speaking
- Definition: Delivering a speech based on a written text.
Extemporaneous Speaking
- Definition: A blend of both manuscript and impromptu speaking styles.

Overview: Encompasses both verbal and nonverbal behaviors that demonstrate competence and assurance to listeners.
Impact: Evokes respect from the audience.

Conversational Language Style:
- Creates a sense of immediacy and closeness with the audience, resembling how people naturally converse.
- Written Language Style:
- More formal and detailed, which can create distance between speaker and audience.
Nonverbal Tools:
- Maximize emotional connection and impact through facial expressions, eye contact, vocal characteristics, gestures, posture, and spatial awareness.

Technique:
- Establish a mutual gaze with audience members for one to two seconds before shifting to another member.
Common Mistakes:
- Not making enough eye contact (over-reliance on notes)
- Focusing only on those who seem most engaged, leading to feelings of neglect among others.

Definition: Speaking in a constant, single pitch without variation.
Issues:
- Sounds inauthentic and overscripted, resulting in a less engaging speech.

Recommendation:
- Use hands and arms freely to emphasize points and add physical energy to the speech.
- Gestures should take place in visual space extending outside of shoulders.

Key Elements:
- Head should be up, shoulders back, spine neutral, and stance solid.
Pitfalls:
- Avoid “metronoming,” which is shifting weight constantly from side to side, as it suggests nervousness and can inadvertently increase anxiety.

Movement:
- Engaging the audience can be enhanced by moving to different spaces.
Common Mistakes:
- Only moving when emphasizing points or during transitions, pacing with a turned body (which distracts), and ignoring cultural norms of personal space.

Issues with Hesitant Language:
- Words may reveal uncertainty (e.g., hedging, disclaimers, intensifiers) that dilute impact.
Recommendations:
- Avoid phrases that lessen responsibility for statements and ensure clarity and assertiveness in communication.

Articulation:
- Importance of speaking clearly and understandably.
Pronunciation:
- Focus on how words are said.
Vocalized Pauses and Fillers:
- Example phrases include “um,” “uh,” “ah,” “you know,” etc.; should be minimized.

Impact on Audience:
- Appearance can either build or undermine the audience's impression.
Guidelines:
- Ensure appearance does not distract; dress appropriately for the occasion and audience, considering the speech topic as a factor in attire choice.

Techniques:
- Verify the camera is correctly adjusted and focused to capture the speaker's torso and head.
- Eliminate visual distractions and be expressive with body language and facial expressions.
- Incorporate and effectively use visual aids during delivery.

Definition:
- The nervousness experienced when speaking in public, occurring in any context of communication.
Causes:
- Fear of losing face and embarrassment can contribute to anxiety, often becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, where fear leads to behaviors that invoke anxiety.

Strategies:
- Accepting nervousness as part of any performance and not allowing it to affect confidence.
- Seek opportunities to speak in larger groups to build experience.
- Choose topics aligned with personal interest to enhance confidence in delivery.
- Conduct a situational analysis to prepare adequately for the audience and context.

Anticipate the Unexpected:
- Being prepared for surprises can help manage anxiety.
Know Your Introduction:
- Being familiar with the opening remarks boosts confidence.
Visualization Techniques:
- Using mental imagery to envision a successful delivery can reduce anxiety.
Focus on Breathing:
- Practice controlled breathing exercises to manage nervousness.
Practice:
- Continuous practice is emphasized as essential for improving delivery and reducing anxiety.