After completing this section, students should be able to:
describe the four methods of speech delivery.
use the extemporaneous style of speaking.
make effective verbal communication choices.
make appropriate nonverbal communication choices.
manage speech anxiety.
No matter how well a speech is constructed, how qualified the sources of evidence are, or how good the visual aids are, a speech is still a performance. If a speech is not delivered well, the speech is weak. A well-delivered speech with weaker content will be seen as better than a speech that is strong in content but is poorly delivered. For example, a highly intelligent, well-learned teacher may have excellent information, but if they cannot communicate in a clear, pleasant manner, students will struggle to be engaged. How we present information is as important as the quality of the content, and we need to be responsible to do the best job we can with both.
In our highly mediated culture, we are well accustomed to information being packaged for us in enjoyable ways. We expect good television shows, movies, music, and websites. If we do not like the way they are packaged, we turn the channel, flip the switch, or surf away. Since we are speaking to audiences that expect the speaker to make the speech interesting, we must take on that responsibility to make good choices for an effective presentation. If a speech is boring, it is because the speaker chose to make it that way. To understand what kinds of choices can be made, we need to consider the various methods of giving speeches, the characteristics of good verbal and nonverbal delivery, and the impact our speech anxiety can have on effective speaking.
Four Delivery Methods
Impromptu
Impromptu speaking is speaking with little or no preparation when the speaker was unaware that he/she would be speaking. It is only impromptu speaking if the speaker truly did not know they would be asked to speak. Simply failing to prepare for a known speech is not impromptu; that is irresponsibility. Impromptu speaking is the most usual form of speaking. Whether in a classroom or a business meeting, we are often called upon to state our ideas in a thoughtful organized way. We are not necessarily standing in front of a room when we do it, but even if sitting, our credibility and believability are still being judged. Realistically, anytime a person is called upon to say something intelligent, they are placed in an impromptu speaking situation.
There are three keys to speaking impromptu: organization, fluidity, and delivery. First, the speaker needs to have the information well organized so the listeners can follow the development of ideas. Second, the speaker needs to be fluid, carefully monitoring the use of vocal pauses, hesitancies, and restatements. Third, the speaker needs to have a strong, outwardly focused delivery with especially good eye contact. Since the audience realizes this is impromptu, meeting the three standards demonstrates a powerful degree of confidence and ability.
Manuscript
Manuscript speaking is speaking from a verbatim (word by word) script. The speech is written out and then is read directly to the audience. For most speakers in most situations, manuscript speaking is not the appropriate delivery method:
When writing a speech out, it is too easy to slip from an oral style of language to a written style; thus, the speech sounds very unnatural and awkward.
Manuscript speaking focuses the speaker on the flow of words, not the flow of ideas.
Manuscript speaking can be very boring and monotone, with little eye contact.
The speaker is so locked onto the manuscript, that he/she has little freedom for movement or variety in general.
Manuscript speaking virtually removes any ability to adapt the speech to the moment or at the last minute.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)
However, in a few situations, manuscript speaking may be appropriate. If the exact wording must be so precise, a manuscript is appropriate. When the President speaks, he speaks from a manuscript as a simple misstatement can have dramatic consequences. The CEO of a company speaking to stockholders will speak from a manuscript to present the issues carefully. A commencement speaker will typically speak from a manuscript. However, for most speaking situations and speakers, manuscript speaking is rarely justified.
Memorized
Memorized speaking is committing a manuscript to memory which is a very weak and dangerous method of delivering a speech. It has all the hazards of manuscript speaking with the added problems of forgetting and poor delivery. Memorized speaking usually leads to the highest levels of anxiety. Overall, unless there is some specific, extenuating circumstance, it is difficult to imagine a situation in which memorized delivery is appropriate.
Extemporaneous
Extemporaneous speaking is speaking from limited notes, but well prepared. This is the speaking style that most speakers do use and should use. It has the best parts of the impromptu, manuscript, and memorized styles. The method focuses the speaker properly on the flow of ideas instead of the flow of words. Extemporaneous speaking combines two particularly important traits of good speaking: the speaker is well-practiced and prepared, and the speaker retains flexibility in wording to adapt to the present audience.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)
To speak effectively extemporaneously:
Carefully prepare an outline of the speech, getting the flow of ideas developed to a comfortable point.
Practice the speech from the outline. There are three major benefits to this step. First, the speaker is getting comfortable with communicating the information. They start to get a sense of what the actual situation will be like. Second, what looks good on paper may not necessarily sound good when delivered. The speaker may realize a need to reorder or redo sections of the speech to have a comfortable "flow" to the presentation. Third, the speaker gets a realistic sense of the length of the speech. The only way to really know how long a speech will last is to stand up and give it, so the process is vital. The speaker may find the speech runs long, so they must edit something out, or if the speech runs short, they may be looking to add ideas and material.
Develop note cards or a speaking outline. It is important to balance having enough notes to do the job while keeping them minimal to reduce the amount of time spent focusing on them. Always remember, the more notes a speaker has, the more they look at their notes and not the audience. Try to work with minimal notes. Use words and phrases on the card to allow for glancing at the notes as a reminder of what to say next.
Practice with and refine the note cards. Practice the speech from the note cards, making any necessary alterations. Once the final card is developed, focus the remainder of the practice on developing a strong delivery. Be sure to practice being able to glance at the note cards, don't read from them.
When practicing, it is important to not start over every time a mistake occurs. First, by starting over repeatedly, the opening of the speech gets practiced a lot, but the same attention does not get paid to the remainder of the speech. This can lead to a noticeable decline in comfort and confidence when the speech is delivered. Second, by working through the entire speech, the speaker can practice adjusting to mistakes to be more prepared for when those slips occur in the actual presentation.
Verbal Delivery Factors
Vocal delivery includes components of speech delivery that relate to your voice. Incorporating vocal variety in terms of volume, pitch, rate, and pauses is key to being a successful speaker. Our voice is important to consider when delivering our speech for two main reasons. First, vocal delivery can help us engage and interest the audience. Second, vocal delivery helps ensure that our ideas are communicated clearly.
Volume
Volume refers to the relative softness or loudness of your voice. If you speak too softly (“too little” volume), your audience will struggle to hear and understand you and may give up trying to listen. If you speak with “too much” volume, your audience may feel that you are yelling at them, or at least feel uncomfortable with your shouting. The volume you use should fit the size of the audience and the room.
Pitch
Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of your voice, and like everything, you can have too much or too little (with regard to the variation of it). Too much pitch variation occurs when people “sing” their speeches, and their voices oscillate between very high pitched and very low pitched. While uncommon, this is sometimes attributed to nerves. More common is too little variation in pitch, which is known as being monotone. Delivering a speech in a monotone manner is usually caused by reading too much.
Rate
The rate of speaking refers to how fast or slow you speak. Too little rate (i.e. speaking too slowly) will make it sound like you may not fully know your speech or what you are talking about, and will ultimately cost you some credibility with your audience. By contrast, too much rate (i.e. speaking too fast) can be overly taxing on an audience’s ability to keep up with and digest what you are saying.
Pauses
The common misconception for public speaking students is that pausing during your speech is bad, but that isn’t necessarily true. You pause in normal conversations, so you shouldn’t be afraid of pausing while speaking. This is especially true if you are making a particularly important point or want for a statement to have a more powerful impact: you will want to give the audience a moment to digest what you have said.
Vocalized pauses
At various points during your speech, you may find yourself in need of a moment to collect your thoughts or prepare for the next section of your speech. At those moments, you will be pausing, but we don’t always like to let people know that we’re pausing. So, what many of us do to “trick” the audience is fill in those pauses with sounds so that we haven’t paused. These are known as vocalized pauses, or sometimes “fillers” or “nonfluencies.” These can be distracting to the audience and may hurt your credibility. Catching yourself and being aware of how often you use vocalized pauses will help you begin the process of reducing your dependence on them and hopefully get rid of them completely.
Vocal Variety
Overall, the lesson to take away from this section is that variety is key. Vocal variety includes changes in your rate, volume, and pitch that can make you look more prepared, seem more credible, and be able to engage your audience better. Employing vocal variety is not something that takes natural ability or advanced skills training. It is something that beginning speakers can start working on immediately and everyone can accomplish. The key is to become aware of how you use your voice when you speak.
Articulation
Articulation refers to the clarity of sounds and words we produce. If someone is articulate, they speak words clearly, and speakers should strive to speak clearly. Poor articulation results when speakers do not speak clearly. For example, a person may say dinnt instead of didn’t, gonna instead of going to, wanna instead of want to, or hunnerd instead of hundred. Unawareness and laziness are two common challenges to articulation.
Pronunciation
Unlike articulation, which focuses on the clarity of words, pronunciation refers to speaking words correctly, including the proper sounds of the letters and the proper emphasis. Mispronouncing words can damage a speaker’s credibility, especially when the correct pronunciation of a word is commonly known.
Nonverbal Delivery Factors
Many speakers are more nervous about physical delivery than vocal delivery. Putting our bodies on the line in front of an audience often makes us feel more vulnerable than putting our voices out there. Yet most audiences are not as fixated on our physical delivery as we think they are. Knowing this can help relieve some anxiety, but it doesn’t give us a free pass when it comes to physical delivery. We should still practice physical delivery that enhances our verbal message.
In addition to expanded conversation, some specific nonverbal items to consider include:
Eye Contact
Good speakers make eye contact with the audience which develops a connection between the audience and speaker and demonstrates confidence. Work to make eye contact with all parts of the audience at some point, working left-to-right and front-to-back.
Facial Expression
Good speakers use their natural expressiveness when in front of audiences to reflect the overall tone of the speech. The rule of thumb is the speaker should display what they want their audience to feel. Audiences are amazingly fast at sensing and responding to the emotional tone the speaker expresses.
Gestures
Good speakers realize we normally use our hands when we talk, so using hand gestures is important. Comfortable gestures demonstrate confidence, open the speaker's posture, and help push the speaker's message out to the audience. They should, however, be used in the upper area of the body, and they should not be used in distracting ways. For example, avoid fidgeting with note cards, wringing hands, or playing with jewelry. Ideally, do what comes naturally, but avoid putting hands in the pockets, crossing arms, or clasping hands behind the back. if you have nothing else to do with your hands, such as meaningful gestures, the default position for them is to be resting gently on the sides of the lectern (see Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\)).
Body Movement
Good speakers, unless forced to stay at a microphone, will move around to some degree. The movement should not appear to be a sign of anxiety. Instead, movement can add visual variety, aid in the transitions between points, and help the speaker work out some anxiety. Just like your hands, a lot of nervous energy is going to try to work its way out of your body through your feet. The default position for your feet, then, is to have them shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly bent (see Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\).
Personal Appearance
Looking like a credible and prepared public speaker will make you feel more like one and will make your audience more likely to perceive you as such. This applies to all speaking contexts: academic, professional, and personal. Although the standards for appropriate personal appearance vary between contexts, meeting them is key.
The overall rule for effective delivery is "Once a delivery factor is noticed, it has hurt the speaker." A good speaker's delivery blends into the content as one, unified experience. If the audience is focusing on something such as gesturing, body movement, or eye contact, they are not focusing on the message of the speech.
Speech Anxiety
Glossophobia is the irrational fear of public speaking, far beyond normal speech anxiety. A glossophobic person would avoid a speech class completely. Anyone who has ever experienced an intense, phobic reaction to something like heights, water, snakes, or spiders, knows the anxiety is irrational and highly magnified beyond what the situation warrants. A person with this degree of public speaking fear needs to be assisted by a mental health professional.
To be able to deliver an effective presentation, speakers must understand, appreciate, and cope with speech anxiety. Speech anxiety is a perfectly normal, natural, and healthy reaction to a speaking situation. Everyone who is healthy and understands the dynamics of the speaking situation will experience some degree of speech anxiety. The difference between novice and experienced speakers is experienced speakers do not fear their anxiety and they know how to work with it instead of working against it. Speech anxiety does not go away; it can fade and become a secondary issue, but it is always there, at least for mentally healthy speakers. We do not address "getting rid" of anxiety; rather, we address understanding and coping with it, not fighting it.
Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\)
Managing Anxiety
When managing anxiety, focus on three key areas: preparation, expectation, and practice.
Preparation
Preparation addresses two areas: preparing the speech and preparing the speaker. First, being confident in the amount and quality of preparation will help moderate anxiety. If the speaker believes they are prepared and have done what is necessary to get ready, this can help moderate anxiety.
Some other suggestions include:
Dress comfortably. While it is important to dress appropriately for the occasion, be sure to wear comfortable clothes that enhance confidence. Since anxiety tends to make speakers feel warm, wear "cooler" clothes to avoid overheating. Wear comfortable shoes.
Avoid too much caffeine. Since the noradrenaline is already providing additional energy, adding caffeine may create an uncomfortable, shaky situation.
Even though anxiety can cause stomach upset, it is better to eat something than to leave the stomach empty. Bland food, such as toast or a bagel, can ward off nausea.
Avoid drugs or alcohol. While it may seem tempting to use things to relax, drugs or alcohol can reduce the speaker’s focus, mental acuity, and overall ability to manage the event. If an audience perceives the speaker as intoxicated or under the influence, the speaker’s credibility may be ruined. The chances of doing or saying something embarrassing run high, so it is best to not use alcohol. Of course, if a physician has prescribed medications for anxiety, follow the doctor’s directions.
Avoid inflating the anxiety. A scene far too common in a public speaking class is students, already anxious for the speech, inflating their anxiety. Sharing how they feel, how nervous they are, and engaging in a lot of anxious movement tends to magnify anxiety. Sitting quietly, breathing deeply, and visualizing a successful speech are far more beneficial.
Expectations
Carefully think through what is likely to happen during the speaking event to have reasonable expectations. Avoid the extremely positive or negative expectations and anticipate the event as realistically as possible. Most audiences will be quiet, attentive, and respectful. As a speaker, the chances of really “bombing” are extremely low, assuming adequate preparation and practice. Speakers using an extemporaneous, conversational style will have a few vocal pauses, may misstate a word, or must check their notes to remind them of what to say. These minor slips are non-issues if the speaker does not call attention to them. The audience determines how to respond to a speaker’s mistakes based on the speaker’s reaction. If the speaker simply moves past them or quickly corrects themselves, the audience will pay little attention to them.
Practice
Finally, and most importantly, engage in active practice. Active practice means giving the speech as realistically as possible, not just thinking, or mumbling through it. Speakers have a lot to do, and just as with any complex activity, practice is necessary to train themselves to do the best job. Through active practice, the speaker gets more comfortable with the physical process of standing, moving, and gesturing, all while speaking a well-organized, coherent message. If visual aids are being used, they become comfortable with when to reveal and when to remove them, and with how to manage them the most effectively. The ideal situation, if possible, is to practice in the actual space in which the speech will be given. By using good, active practice, the speaker is reducing the unknowns, so there is less to be anxious about.
Key Concepts
The terms and concepts students should be familiar with from this section include:
