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PART FOUR
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Chapter-by-Chapter
Guide to
The Art of Public
Speaking
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54 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
he following pages contain guides for using each chapter of The Art of Public Speaking.
Each chapter guide consists of a list of chapter objectives, an outline of the chapter, discus-
sions of the Exercises for Critical Thinking and the Using Public Speaking in Your Career sce-
nario from the textbook, and additional exercises and activities for classroom use or homework
assignments. Student worksheets and surveys are also provided at the end of many of the chapter
guides.
T
Speaking in Public
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
2. Discuss the long tradition of studying public speaking.
4. Explain why a certain amount of nervousness is normal—even desirable—for a
public speaker.
6. Identify the basic elements of the speech communication process.
8. Define ethnocentrism and explain why public speakers need to avoid it when
addressing audiences of diverse racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds.
1
56 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Chapter Outline
I. Public speaking is a vital means of communication.
A. During modern times, men and women around the globe have used public speaking
to spread their ideas and influence.
B. The need for public speaking will touch almost every person at some time in her or
his life.
1. Public speaking helps people succeed in nearly all professions.
3. Public speaking is a form of empowerment.
II. Public speaking has been taught and studied around the globe for thousands of years.
A. The importance of effective public speaking has been recognized for millennia in
1. As students read this book, they should keep in mind that the principles of public
2. The more students know about those principles, the more effective they will be in
their own speeches, as well as in listening to the speeches of other people.
III. Public speaking and everyday conversation have a number of similarities and require
similar skills.
A. In both, people organize their thoughts logically.
B. In both, people tailor their message to the audience.
IV. There are three key differences between public speaking and everyday conversation.
A. Public speaking is more highly structured than ordinary conversation.
B. Public speaking requires more formal language than ordinary conversation.
CHAPTER 1⎯SPEAKING IN PUBLIC 57
V. One of the major concerns of students in any speech class is stage fright.
A. It is entirely normal to feel nervous about the prospect of giving a public speech.
B. Even experienced public speakers have stage fright before their presentations.
C. There are six major steps students can take to control their nervousness and make it a
positive force in their speeches.
1. One is to take a speech class in which they will learn about speechmaking and
gain speaking experience.
3. It is also crucial that speakers think positively about themselves and the speech
experience.
5. Most speakers are also helped by knowing that their nervousness is usually not
visible to the audience.
6. It is also important not to expect perfection when delivering a speech.
D. In addition, there are a number of specific tips that can help students deal with
nervousness.
2. Quietly tighten and relax hand or leg muscles while waiting to speak.
4. Work especially hard on your introduction.
6. Concentrate on communicating with the audience rather than on worrying about
your nervousness.
7. Use visual aids to help occupy the attention of the audience.
VI. Public speaking helps people develop critical–thinking skills.
A. Critical thinking involves a number of skills.
2. Critical thinking involves distinguishing fact from opinion.
4. Critical thinking involves assessing the quality of evidence.
5. Critical thinking involves discerning the relationships among ideas.
B. These—and other—critical–thinking skills are enriched by a public speaking class.
VII. There are seven elements of the speech communication process.
A. Speech communication begins with a speaker.
B. The message is whatever a speaker communicates to someone else.
58 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
C. The channel is the means by which a message is communicated.
D. The listener is the person who receives the communicated message.
2. Because people have different frames of reference, a public speaker must take
care to adapt the message to the particular audience being addressed.
E. Feedback consists of messages sent from the listener to the speaker.
F. Interference is anything that impedes the communication of a message.
1. Interference can be either external or internal.
2. Successful public speakers work to hold their listeners’ attention despite interfer-
ence.
G. The situation is the time and place in which speech communication occurs.
VIII. Public speakers need to be aware of and responsive to today’s multicultural world.
A. The United States has become the most diverse society on the face of the earth.
B. Cultural diversity is more than a U.S. phenomenon.
C. Diversity and multiculturalism are such basic facts of life in today’s world that they
affect many public speaking situations.
D. It is especially important for public speakers to avoid ethnocentrism.
2. Speakers can avoid ethnocentrism by respecting diverse cultural values.
3. Speakers can also take specific steps to adapt to listeners of diverse cultural, ra-
cial, and ethnic backgrounds.
E. Listeners also need to avoid ethnocentrism.
Exercises for Critical Thinking
(from text page 25)
1. Think back on an important conversation you had recently in which you wanted to achieve a
particular result. (Examples: Asking your employer to change your work schedule; explaining
to a friend how to change the oil and filter in a car; attempting to talk your spouse or partner
into buying the computer you like rather than the one he or she prefers.) Work up a brief
CHAPTER 1⎯SPEAKING IN PUBLIC 59
Discussion: This exercise can be a very effective vehicle for class discussion about the
basic elements of the speech communication process and how they interact. By stress-
2. Divide a sheet of paper into two columns. Label one column “Characteristics of an Effective
Public Speaker.” Label the other column “Characteristics of an Ineffective Public Speaker.”
In the columns, list and briefly explain what you believe to be the five most important charac-
teristics of effective and ineffective speakers. Be prepared to discuss your ideas in class.
Discussion: When this exercise is discussed in class, it provides the basis for generating
3. On the basis of the lists you developed for Exercise 2, candidly evaluate your own strengths
and weaknesses as a speaker. Identify the three primary aspects of speechmaking you most
want to improve.
Discussion: This exercise encourages students to set specific goals for improving their
public speaking. At various times in the term, you and the student can weigh her or his
Using Public Speaking in Your Career
(from text page 17)
It’s been three years since you graduated from college, and one year since you and your friends
launched a mobile app development company. The app, a note-taking and collaboration tool for
college students, has taken a while to create, but now you’re ready to unveil it at a regional technol-
ogy conference. Although you have given a few brief talks since your speech class in college, the
conference will be your first major presentation to a large audience.
The closer you get to the day of the speech, the harder it is to control the butterflies in your
stomach. There will be approximately 200 people in your audience, including potential investors,
60 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Discussion: Like the other Using Public Speaking in Your Career scenarios throughout the
book, this one is intended to challenge students to apply their critical–thinking skills to a
wide range of practical, career–oriented situations. Some of the scenarios have definite
correct answers; others, like this one, allow for a wide range of responses and are de-
Additional Exercises and Activities
1. Show students Malala Yousafzai’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, delivered
July 12, 2013. Video of the speech is available on YouTube (http://youtu.be/3rNhZu3ttIU).
Use the speech to illustrate the importance of public speaking, cultural diversity in the modern
world, and the speech communication process.
Discussion: As soon as it was over, Malala Yousafzai’s speech to the United Nations
General Assembly was deemed a classic—a remarkable example of how public speaking
can empower even the most marginalized. Blogs and newspapers across the world re-
ported that a new, eloquent voice for justice had arrived on the global stage. More im-
pressive was the fact that Yousafzai was only sixteen years old.
2. On the first day of class, have students fill out and return the questionnaire on page 65 of this
manual. This will give you a pretty clear early picture of the background and needs of the
students enrolled in your class.
3. Distribute “How to Succeed in Your Public Speaking Class” (page 66 of this manual) to stu-
dents during the first week of class.
Discussion: “How to Succeed in Your Public Speaking Class” contains a set of useful tips
for getting students off on the right foot early in the semester. Because many students
4. Distribute “Tips for Dealing with Speech Anxiety” (page 67 of this manual) to students during
the first week of class.
Discussion: Like “How to Succeed in Your Public Speaking Class,” “Tips for Dealing with
5. If your class has a fair number of international students, conduct a class discussion in which
the international students compare and contrast common nonverbal signals in their countries
with those in the United States.
Discussion: Depending on the composition of your class, this can be an excellent way to
generate discussion of the nonverbal dimension of intercultural communication. The exer-
6. Give students the following assignment: Think of a situation in which you sought to under-
stand the message of, or to convey your own message to, someone from a different culture.
The situation might have involved interpersonal communication, public speaking, or a media
message such as a film, television program, or online video. Write a brief analysis in which
you explain (a) the participants in the communication situation, (b) the message that was
meant to be communicated, (c) the difficulty you had communicating—or understanding—
the message, (d) the outcome of the situation, and (e) what the situation reveals about the
complexity of communicating with people of different cultural backgrounds. Be prepared to
present your analysis in class.
62 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Discussion: This exercise works best in classes in which a fair proportion of students
have had personal communication with people from different cultures. It can provide an
7. Over the years a number of metaphors have been used to describe the mix of cultures in the
United States. Best known is the melting pot metaphor, which originated in 1908 with The
Melting–Pot, a play by Israel Zangwill, an English writer of Russian–Jewish heritage. Accord-
ing to this metaphor, the United States is like the kind of huge container used to melt and mix
steel and other metals. As immigrants come to the United States, they blend together into one
assimilated culture that is stronger than the individual cultures of which it is composed.
A second metaphor compares the U.S. to a set of streams or rivers, each of which is com-
posed of many people from different cultures. The streams or rivers flow separately, main-
taining their unique identity until at some point they come together to form a mighty
watershed in which the individual streams and rivers are combined into one.
A fourth metaphor likens the U.S. to a giant quilt or tapestry in which people of different
cultural backgrounds, like the individual threads and patterns of a tapestry, are woven to-
gether to produce the overall design. Like the salad metaphor, in which the various ingredi-
ents retain their own texture and flavor, the tapestry metaphor stresses the uniqueness and
importance of the individual threads, patterns, and colors out of which the whole fabric is
constructed.
After presenting these metaphors to the class, conduct a class discussion in which stu-
dents consider the strengths and weaknesses of each metaphor for describing the cultural di-
versity of life in the United States.
Discussion: This exercise can be conducted in small groups or with the class as a whole.
In either case, it is an excellent vehicle for prompting reflection about cultural diversity in
the United States. Here are some issues to consider:
CHAPTER 1⎯SPEAKING IN PUBLIC 63
Third, in both the salad and tapestry metaphors, individual elements of the whole re-
tain their identity and uniqueness even as they are combined to create a larger entity.
Comparing the U.S. to a tapestry, however, suggests that at some point U.S. culture as a
8. Assign a two–minute speech of self–introduction in which students explain a significant as-
pect of their cultural background and how it has made a difference in their lives. Possible top-
ics might include social customs, family traditions, holidays, clothing, food, religious
traditions, sporting activities, and the like. Encourage students to be creative in preparing
their speeches and in finding ways to illustrate how the aspect of their culture they choose to
explain relates to their personal lives.
Discussion: This assignment accomplishes three goals at once. First, it fulfills the need for
an introductory, ungraded speech in which students can begin the process of feeling
9. Assign a two–minute speech in which students introduce one of their classmates to the rest of the
class. The speech should focus on some aspect of the cultural background of the person being in-
troduced⎯social customs, family traditions, holidays, clothing, food, religious traditions, sport-
ing activities, and the like. Encourage students to be creative in preparing their speeches and in
talking about their classmates.
Discussion: This assignment offers an alternative to Additional Exercise/Activity 8 above
and accomplishes the same objectives. In preparation for the speech, have students pair
off and interview one another. If there is great cultural diversity in your class, arrange the
10. Assign an informative speech of five to six minutes in which students explain a significant
aspect of a culture different from their own—social customs, family traditions, holidays,
clothing, religious traditions, music, sporting activities, educational systems, etc. Research is
required for this speech. If students have had direct contact with a foreign culture, they should
be encouraged to supplement their research with their personal experience, but the speech is
not to be a travelogue or a presentation on “My Summer in Europe” or “My Year as an Ex-
change Student in Brazil.” However, a speech on how Europeans spend their summer vaca-
tions, or on the educational system of Brazil, would be fine.
Discussion: Unlike Additional Exercises/Activities 8 and 9, this assignment involves a full–
length, graded speech. The objectives with respect to cultural diversity, however, are
much the same. Because students are some
times
resistant when they are required to
speak on a different culture, it can be helpful to present this as the “World Travel Agency”
speech. If you take this approach, tell students that the class is going to travel around the
world via their speeches. They will “visit” as many different countries as there are students
in the class.
Student Introduction Questionnaire
Name _____________________________________________ Year ___________________
Major _____________________________________________
What reason(s) do you have for taking this class?
Do you have any specific goals for improving your speaking? What are they? (What would you
like to learn how to do? What particular problems would you like to overcome?)
What classes in speech and related fields (such as journalism or English composition) have you
had here or at other schools?
What kinds of speaking experiences have you had in your classes, jobs, religious organizations,
extracurricular activities, etc.?
When did you give your last speech? What was the topic?
What are your career plans? Will public speaking be important to your career? How so?
How to Succeed in Your Public Speaking Class
1. Strive for Perfect Attendance. Every class session is designed to help you learn and master
the skills of public speaking. Some days will be devoted to lecture, others to class discussion or
2. Do the Assigned Readings Before Class. When you read the assigned material ahead of time,
3. Learn the Language of Public Speaking. Every area of study has its own specialized language.
4. Participate in Class. In addition to helping you learn the material better, class participation
5. Ask Questions. If you have no questions about the textbook, your speeches, or the class in
6. Spend Lots of Time Working on Your Speeches. To get a sense of the time commitment
required for this class, think of each major speech assignment as the equivalent of writing a pa-
per in a composition class. The process of preparing a speech includes choosing a topic, nar-
7. Begin Working on Your Speeches Well in Advance. Because it takes a lot of time to prepare
an effective speech, it is vital that you begin working on your speeches as soon as they are as-
8. Get Feedback on Your Speeches. Most instructors are willing to look at several drafts of a
speech and make suggestions for improvement. You can also get feedback from family, friends,
roommates, and classmates. They may not be able to give as much advice as your instructor,
but they can tell you if you are saying “um” or looking down at your notes too often. Whatever
Tips for Dealing with Speech Anxiety
As your textbook explains, most people are nervous when faced with the prospect of giving a
speech. Your aim is not to get rid of your nerves, but to manage them so they will work for you
rather than against you. Learning to do so takes practice—just as it takes practice to improve
other aspects of speechmaking. You can begin by following the suggestions for dealing with
nervousness explained on pages 8–16 of your textbook. In addition, try the tips listed below.
Over the years, many students have found them to be extremely helpful.
1. Get to know the people in your class and find out how they feel about giving speeches. Many
2. Don’t worry that people in the audience will see your nervousness. In most cases, students
who are certain the audience can see their shaky hands and legs are told by their classmates,
3. Be prepared. Some students put off working on their speeches because they are nervous about
4. Don’t get flustered by the faces of audience members as you speak. Although public speakers
need to be alert to audience feedback, it’s important for beginning speakers to know that, de-
5. Visualize family members and friends in the audience. Pick out three chairs—one on each
side of the room and one in the middle. Now visualize a supportive family member or friend
6. Don’t worry that a single mistake will ruin your speech. Some students worry that they will
look like a fool if their hands shake or their voice trembles. Or they think their whole speech
is ruined if they forget what they are going to say for a moment. But one mistake does not de-