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14.1: Introduction

  • Page ID
    9043
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    Chapter Objectives

    After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

    1. Identify four reasons for learning to speak to global audiences.
    2. Explain three barriers to speaking effectively to diverse audiences.
    3. Utilize the concepts of high- and low-context cultures and polychronic and monochronic time to tailor your speech to diverse audiences.
    4. Explain how Hofstede’scultural dimensions can influence the preparation of speeches for diverse audiences.
    5. Elaborate on ways to make supporting materials culturally appropriate.
    6. Compare and contrast linear and holistic patterns of organizing speeches.
    7. Describe three holistic patterns of speech organization.
    8. Discuss how verbal expression can influence audiences.
    9. Explain how a speaker’snonverbal behavior can impact audiences.
    10. Discuss how visual aids can be culturally appropriate.

    On the first day of class, the lecturer, who was new to the job, walked into the lecture theatre, looked up at the class that was like a “mini United Nations” of first- and second-year undergraduates, took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach and said, “Good morning class! Welcome to the class on intercultural communication! It’s wonderful to see so many of you from diverse nations and cultures. I am sure we will have a great time sharing our experiences of intercultural communication and learning from each other. By the way, you may call me anything you are most comfortable with — Ms. Megan, Dr. Megan, Dr. Tan, Prof., Ma’am, or just Megan.”

    Megan Tan was off to a great start! She understood the importance of being audience centered, especially when the audience is drawn from diverse nationalities, as her class was. She had been extremely nervous the night before her class, but she had prepared well. She had studied the student profiles on the class website, had carefully selected topics that would be appropriate for the audience and had chosen examples with an eye on keeping them inclusive. She structured her delivery in a way that balanced textual content with visual material and deliberately used language that was non-judgmental. The students were delighted that they could address her according to the norms of their own cultures.

    We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity. ~ Desmond Tutu

    Public speaking has often been rated the number number-one stress inducer in people. When a diverse, global audience is added, public speaking can become a minefield that has to be navigated with care and sensitivity.

    Speaking effectively to a global audience requires both knowledge of speaking principles and an awareness of intercultural differences. To this end, this chapter will begin by examining the need to speak to a global audience and then the strategies that can be used to manage the process effectively. In addition to stressing the need for sensitivity and respect that underlies the basic principles of speaking to global audiences, the chapter will offer specific strategies that can be employed at each stage of the speech process, from speech planning, preparation and organization, to delivery.


    This page titled 14.1: Introduction is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ganga S. Dhanesh@National University of Singapore (Public Speaking Project) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.