about what to do and not do in front of an audience based on their experience. Many, if not all
students have experience observing public speaking, be it listening to teachers, politicians, or
clergy. They likely know what appeals to them and what does not. Some may have had public
speaking classes in high school or even been in speech and debate in high school. Do not assume
everyone in the class is a novice speaker.
Allow the person who offered the point to explain, and then ask if the class has more to add. At
that point, add anything they didn’t mention.
Students will usually bring up the following guidelines:
Eye contact: In Western culture, we use eye contact to indicate where our speech is directed, so
one reason we need to make eye contact while speaking is to indicate we’re talking to the
audience (and not ourselves!). We must also make eye contact to gather nonverbal feedback. If
we take refuge in our notes, never looking up, or if we look at the floor, the wall, or one friendly
face (or worse yet, only at the instructor), we may miss that people look puzzled or bored or are
falling asleep or texting, among many other things. We can’t adapt our content or delivery if we
don’t see these very important feedback cues.
Students must know they cannot get around this important requirement. There is no way to fake
eye contact in a way the audience will believe. Make a conscious attempt to look eye-to-eye with
every member of the audience at some point in your speech. Don’t stare at anyone, don’t favor
one side of the room, and don’t give your speech while looking only at your instructor.
Posture: Our posture affects audience perception of our self-confidence, our credibility, and how
seriously we are taking the occasion. Even though a brief classroom speech is not a formal
occasion, students should pay attention to their posture. Make these points about posture:
Stand up straight with your weight distributed evenly. Don’t lean or cock your body in
any way.
Don’t cross your feet over one another or rock on the sides of your feet. Keep your feet
flat on the floor. Any movement of your feet and legs can be distracting.
Don’t lean on the podium or lectern.
Hands/gestures: Most students are unsure what to do with their hands. Some people naturally
“talk with their hands,” and they should use them naturally as they speak. Natural gestures are
expressive and enhance speeches. They become issues only when they become repetitive or
otherwise distracting. (This is rare, and instructors should tell students they will let them know if
this is an issue.)
Other people do not naturally talk with their hands, and those people should be careful not to
force gestures. As these people progress through the course, the instructor may want to
encourage them to loosen up their hands a bit, but it is usually obvious when someone is forcing
gestures.
Certain guidelines for hands apply to both the “hand-talkers” and those who don’t naturally use
their hands:
Don’t fidget or play with your presentation aids or hand-held presenter. Don’t fiddle with
jewelry or clothing, and try not to touch your face and hair. Don’t take a pen or pencil to
the front of the room with you. Take off bangle bracelets, and be careful not to create any
distracting sounds with other jewelry (rings, watches), especially if your lectern is metal.
Don’t put your hands behind your back, in your back pockets, on your hips, or in your
front pockets. Don’t clasp them, especially below the waist. This is called the “fig leaf
position,” in honor of Adam and Eve. It is very effective (and entertaining) to
demonstrate each of these “don’ts” as you talk about them.
Facial expressions: Students should be told their facial expressions should be consistent with the
tone of what they’re saying – serious when they’re talking about something serious, light when
they’re talking about something light, and generally pleasant.
Volume: Students need to speak loudly enough for everyone to hear them. The size of the room,
the size of the group, and the furnishings of the room make a difference. People and some
furnishings absorb sound and require you to speak up. The instructor may want to make a point
of sitting in the back of the room for speeches and holding a cupped hand behind an ear to
indicate when a student needs to speak up.
Word choice: General word choice should not be overly informal or formal and should be
appropriate for a college audience. Even in a relatively informal classroom setting, coarse slang
and profanity should be strictly avoided.
Vocal fillers: This is a good time to introduce the many vocal fillers some speakers use to avoid
silence. Make the point here that silence is fine, pauses are natural and even powerful, and fillers
such as “uh,” “um,” “like,” and “you know” should be rare. One or two here or there is nothing
to be concerned with; however, students need to be told the instructor will alert them if they need
to eliminate a particular vocal filler. (In other words, no news is good news; unless the instructor
mentions to them they are repeating a vocal filler, they are fine in this regard.) In very severe
cases, ask another student in the class to keep track of how many times a student uses a particular
vocal filler. If students are recording their speeches, ask students with this challenge to count
their own vocal fillers when they play their speeches back.
Beginning the speech: Some students have a habit of starting speeches with “OK, “all right,” or
“so.”
Instruct students to begin with the speech with the first word of the
first sentence. This
sounds like an odd piece
of advice, but once the instructor has mentioned it, students will catch
themselves doing it and catch others doing it. Even if the instructor cautions students against it, it
will happen. Breaking this habit takes time for some students.
Ending the speech: In these brief introductory speeches, the conclusion will be as simple as
saying something such as, “So again, this is our new friend Joe” or “Welcome Lori to the class,
everyone.” Students should never tell the audience the speech is over (“That’s all.”). The
audience should know by what is said and how it is said that the speaker is done talking. Instruct
students not to start walking away until the speech is over. Other delivery aspects will be
addressed in the chapter on delivery and on an ongoing basis throughout the course, but these are
the most important ones to mention before the first speeches—even the most informal.
Mini-Speeches
Purpose: To get students in front of the class more frequently; to help students realize that public
speaking can be fun. This approach distributes brief and/or impromptu speeches throughout the
course, taking a few minutes out of each class day.
Instructions: At the beginning of each class period three to four students should present a one-
minute speech. Instructors can select students at random or allow them to sign up for specific
days. Each mini-speech should require little to no preparation time. These speeches are designed
to get students used to thinking on their feet in front of an audience. Allow students to choose
from the following types of mini-speeches:
Prepared mini-speeches (students should have these ready in case they are selected or on the
days they
are assigned to present):
A speech over a funny, motivational, or interesting quote
A “why _____ is better than ____” speech
A “you should” speech
A speech retelling a
funny
story or joke
Impromptu speeches (students will have to answer on the spot):
Students may opt to request an impromptu speech topic. (The instructor should keep a list on
hand, announce the topic, and mark off those that have been selected. The topics can also be
available on slips of paper or note cards and drawn.)
Impromptu Speech Day
Purpose: To introduce students to the logical format for impromptu speaking, which is simply
an abbreviated version of the format for all types of speaking; to give students a low-stake
opportunity to get in front of the class. This approach to impromptu speaking will require 2-3
minutes per student. Depending on the length of the class period and the size of the class, it may
take part of a class, all of a class, or more than one class. Allow time to talk about impromptu
speaking and show brief examples before you begin.
Materials: Impromptu questions, either on slips or cards or on a list, for the instructor’s use.
Instructions:
To introduce this exercise: Define impromptu speeches as those for which we have little or no
time to prepare. It is worth mentioning that, in effect, every conversation is a series of impromptu
speeches. In this context, however, we are talking about situations in which the speaker is the
center of attention, being put “on the spot,” and speaking “off the cuff.”
Ask students to name some situations in the “real world” in which we are called upon to speak
this way. Some examples are job interviews (and interviews of all kinds, really), being called on
in class, or being asked a question in a meeting. Students may come up with other examples.
If you have time, show the following speeches: Conduct a web search using the search phrase
“Miss Teen South Carolina.” Be sure to choose the video that includes the introduction, as it
helps to explain why this may have been such a terrifying impromptu speaking situation for
this contestant.
Conduct a web search using the search phrase “Travis Birkenstock speech.” This scene from
Clueless is amusing because even though Travis is known to be a “slacker,” he gives a
perfect impromptu speech:
Call to students’ attention that Travis used a very logical format to accept his “most tardies”
award: He states a thesis (“Tardiness is not something you can do all on your own”), he gives
support for his thesis (three groups of people who should get credit for his tardiness – a nice,
round number), and he summarizes the thesis again, leaving the audience with no doubt his
speech is over.
The age-old speech teacher’s adage is, “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them,
and then tell them what you told them.” In a longer prepared speech this will be more
involved, but in these brief speeches, this should be the format (write the boldfaced text
below on the board):
1) Listen to the question.
2) Answer the question. (Do not repeat it. Answer it, incorporating some of the wording to
make clear you understand it. This is the “tell what you’re going to tell them” part.)
3) Give 2 to 3 reasons you answered this way. (Imagine someone asking, “Why do you
say that?” This is the “tell them” part.)
4) Reiterate your original answer (NOT your reasons). This is the “tell them what you told
them” part. It will usually begin with something like “So again, X” or “In conclusion, X”
or “that is why I say X.”
If students would like an example, instructors can come up with their own or use this one:
Question: “Is it a good idea to dress your dog up for Halloween?”
(Answer the question) “Yes, it’s a great idea to dress your dog up for Halloween.”
(Reason #1) First of all, dogs love attention, and they are sure to get lots of it dressed up as a
little goblin or bumblebee.
(Reason #2) You also may not have kids, but you would like to trick-or-treat, so taking your dog
out in a costume is a guaranteed way to score some candy.
(Reason #3) Finally, I think we would all agree it’s adorable.
(Reiterate) So yes, I think it’s a great idea to dress your dog up for Halloween.
To conduct this exercise, instructors will need a set of questions. Ideally, each student will
answer more than one question. Instructors may have their own questions, or they may want to
search online for impromptu topics (also called icebreaker questions). In Toastmasters, these are
called table topics.
Instructors may choose one of these two basic ways of conducting impromptu speeches:
1. Draw a topic. Provide slips of paper or notecards with these topics on them and have
students draw them. Instead of having students read the slip or card and answer the
question they themselves have just read, have them pass the card to the person who
will read the question (usually the instructor). This keeps cards in good condition
(nervous students tend to mangle these, even if they are asked not to) and feels much
more natural than answering one’s own question.
2. Choose a number. Print out one copy of a numbered list of select questions for each
class, and follow this format:
o
Number from 1 to the number of questions you have available (for example,
1-60) on the board. Six rows of 10 numbers works well for 60 questions.
o
Determine based on the number of students and the amount of time allotted to
this exercise how many impromptu speeches each student will give. This
number may vary by class, and that is to be expected. The more questions the
student answers, the more valuable the exercise will be. Instructors need to be
sure to have enough questions to go around.
o
Ask students to erase the number(s) of questions they are being asked to
answer. For example, if each student will be answering two questions, ask
each speaker to erase two numbers before speaking.
o
The student should stand in front of the room, and then the instructor should
ask the first question (determined a number chosen by the student). The
student should answer the question according to the prescribed format. If
students are answering more than one question, the class should be instructed
to hold their applause until the student has answered all of the questions.
o
The process would be as follows: Student’s name is called student erases a
number or numbers (as instructed) student takes position to give the speech
instructor asks first question student responds in the format specified
instructor asks second question student responds in the format specified
class applauds after the student’s last impromptu speech.
One more tip for impromptu speeches: Instructors may want to have students present
these speeches in alphabetical order. Asking for volunteers eats up class time. Ideally,
have students present one set of impromptu speeches early in the class schedule and
another set at the end, using a different set of questions. If they present a second set at
the end of the course, use reverse alphabetical order to be fair (and to mix things up).
Have students record both the first and second set, and ask them to compare their
skill level, nervousness, and self-confidence the first versus the second time.
IV. GROUP ACTIVITIES
Walk Through the Speechmaking Process
Purpose: To help students visualize the 9-step speechmaking process using a concrete topic; to
decrease potential speech anxiety associated with the first speech.
Instructions: Have students form small groups. Ask group members to identify a possible
informative speech topic that would be appropriate and interesting for their class and work
together and go through the steps of speech preparation discussed in this chapter. Talk to each
group about its strategies for preparing the speech.
Tips Are Welcome
Purpose: To help students think about their own future speeches; to help students begin to think
about their audience; to encourage students to visualize a successful public speaking experience.
Instructions: Place students in small groups and ask members to prepare a list of suggestions
and advice for first-time speakers. After groups have completed their lists, ask representatives to
read them out loud to the class. If time permits, consider compiling a handout of student
suggestions and distributing them during the next class period or in an e-mail.
V. ONLINE ACTIVITIES
Classmate Introductions for Online Students
Purpose: To help students enrolled in online courses get to know their classmates prior to the
first speech; to help online students with preliminary
audience analysis.
Instructions: Before the first speech, cover the material above on delivery.
This may be done in
an online lecture by the instructor, or it can be done in an online discussion preceding the first
speech.
Ask students to post a short video of themselves (probably
one or two minutes) discussing their
interests, hobbies, and extracurricular
activities. Make sure
you indicate that students will not be
graded on organization or structure for these videos. Rather, the video should be very
conversational and impromptu in nature. Ask students to watch the videos of their classmates to
get an idea of the shared interests, values, and behaviors of their speech audience. Then, ask
students to answer the following questions in a discussion board:
What did you learn about your audience by watching these introductory videos?
What interests, hobbies, and values seem to be shared by your audience?
How can you use this knowledge to conduct an audience analysis prior to your first
speech?
Based on what you learned, which speech topics seem to be appropriate and relevant for
your audience?