Public Speaking Issues - Coursework Example

Public Speaking Public speaking has become an art that needs to be planned and delivered appropriately in a communication process to a demanding audience. Being an art it means that a number of factors have to be considered and others eliminated so that the whole process is successful. Before one is regarded a good public speaker he/she needs to be identified and come out of certain pitfalls. One major pitfall that faces individuals and persons when they appear in public speaking is lack of adequate preparation, this means that people need to take most of their time to research about the audiences; their age, likes, features, level of education and also carry out a research on the topics given to discuss that are relevant to the audience. Any speech delivered by an individual who is not well prepared may not interest his audience and he/she may end up giving a boring speech. If what one has spoken about has no value the audience will be bored and lose attention thus demotivate the speaker. In cases where one has been given an impromptu public speaking invitation, and they know that they are not good at public speaking and there is no adequate time for preparation, it is advisable to turn down the offer rather than delivering non value content to the audience (Hanna pp.163). The second major speaking pitfall is one focusing more on process as opposed to content, the main question people may ask how the speaker manages to cover all expected topics during presentation without making common and obvious errors. Many speakers spend most of the allocated time speaking about aspects that do not contribute to the content of the topic at hand. In most cases, the public speaker aims at achieving the mechanics of performing well rather than focusing on capitalizing on audience experience. It is better for one to give the audience what will make them feel better after you have finished speaking than when you started on. There are some words that speakers may use all the time like ‘em’ and ‘ Mmm’ these words can add value to the speech and the speaker should not look at them as being valueless and unnecessary. The third pitfall that a public speaker needs to avoid is presenting oneself in front of the audience then word to word you continue reading the speech, content that you wanted to articulate to the audience. This shows that the person who is speaking is ill prepared or not confident to face the audience, the audience needs to feel the person through face to face, expressions as well as the emotions. This enables the speaker to capture the audience’s attention and emotions. If one reads a speech even if it is well researched or crafted directly they lose the chance to directly engage with the respective audiences and the result is that they will end up whispering and daydreaming and in the end it becomes a boring presentation from the speaker (Hanna pp.164). There are a number of skills that if utilized well can lead to a well presented, good and polished speech. A good speaker needs to research on a given topic and only carry out contents that they are well familiar with. In the process they need to only focus on the main ideas and if they need to add other stylistic devices as humor they only have to limit themselves to the core ideas to be presented to the audience. A simple pre plan is necessary in arranging or organizing ideas logically, they need to flow so as not to confuse the audiences or create a scenario that needs much time to further explain on the ideas. A topic that is more theoretical and lacks facts, quotations and statistics are too blunt to the audience and does not provide an interesting environment to the audience (Hanna pp.163). While speaking one needs to apply some of the language and literature stylistic devices that will add value to what is spoken about, example is the use of humor, short stories, variation of vocal pace, tones and volumes, using gestures to stress particular punctuated words or terms, and start strong and end strong. When such things are incorporated they can easily capture the attention and memory of the audience and they will keep remembering the exact message that the speaker communicated to them, in addition to having tones of praise for the speaker. While the speaker is presenting he or she needs to analyze the audience fully and decide on the content that the speakers want to hear and then continue capitalizing on them. The mood of the audience also needs to be put into consideration, a tired, hungry or emotional audience may hinder a performance even though one may have prepared to provide a wonderful speech to the audience. A number of issues that a speaker can control or will not be able to control can directly influence the confidence of a public speaker. A confident speaker needs to mitigate such factors in a smooth process. Some things can be done directly by the speaker whereas a speaker may lack control of other factors. First of all the speaker needs to connect with the audience, this is through eye to eye contact, this boost the confidence of the speaker towards the audience. During your presentation interact with the audience by having a question and answer session, presentations, dialogues or sometimes soliciting the audience to volunteer in presenting a point that need to be acted upon. The question and answer session builds confidence that you are more than a speaker, but an expert. There is need to have an powerful introduction which can be achieved by crafting a good beginning that will give you more confidence to continue with the entire public speaking. While speaking there is need to exhibit poise and small breath intervals since this helps to build more confidence in you, and captures the attention of the audience which if not adhered to, the audiences can easily sense. It is also important to be confident by expecting anything and one needs to handle unexpected issues smoothly without any panic, be ready to answer any impromptu questions raised. It is also appropriate to listen carefully what other speakers before you are speaking as this will help build your confidence. Lastly one need to act and speak ethically as this gives him/her confidence that the message or content presented is not harmful or illegal or is liable to certain extent thus encouraging confidence of the speaker (Hanna pp.164). Conclusively, public speaking is an art that needs to be nurtured and if one is well prepared to do it can be a wonderful experience worth reliving. Work cited Mark Hanna. Good public relations require good public speakers, The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 48, No.3, 1948 pp.163-164. Read More