Chapter 14 Delivering Presentations 409teleprompter screens as he reads his speech. That’s because he’s delivering a
speech from manuscript. When you speak from manuscript, you write your
entire speech out and then read it word for word from the written text because
your allegiance is to the words that you have prepared. Speaking from manu-
script is common for presidential speeches because they are quite long and will
likely be quoted and interpreted extensively afterwards. A mistake in the delivery
of such a speech might not merely embarrass the president but may also
affect world events. Manuscript delivery is useful in any situation where
accuracy, time constraints, or worries about misinterpretation outweigh
the need for a casual and natural delivery style.
However, manuscript delivery also has a number of downsides. First,
it’s time-consuming, involving tremendous skill and practice and count-
less rewrites to get the written message exactly right; this makes it a
better fit for a president (who has a team of speechwriters at his
disposal) than a college student. Second, the static nature of reading
from a written speech—whether from a manuscript or a teleprompter—
limits your ability to communicate nonverbally with movements, facial
expressions, gestures, eye contact, and vocal variety. As you’ll learn later
in this chapter, planning and rehearsal are crucial for overcoming these
tendencies when delivering a speech from manuscript.
Speaking from Memory
Speaking from memory is an ancient public speaking tradition referred to as
oratory. In this style of speaking, you prepare the speech in the manuscript form
as just described but then commit the words to memory.
Oratory delivery is fairly uncommon today as a form of public speaking,
as it is both time-consuming and risky. A speaker who forgets a word or phrase
can easily lose his or her place in the speech, panic, and never recover. But even
if every line is delivered perfectly, the very nature of memorization can create
a barrier between speaker and audience. Having memorized the speech and
rehearsed without an audience, the speaker tends to deliver it as if the audi-
ence wasn’t there. Such a speech can therefore end up feeling more like a per-
formance, a one-man or one-woman show, rather than a communication that
engages with the audience.
Speaking Spontaneously
Impromptu speaking refers to situations where you speak to an audience with-
out any warning or preparation. (Talk about public speaking fears!) When you
are unexpectedly called on to speak in class or in a business meeting, or you are
suddenly motivated to give a toast at a party, you must speak impromptu. The
secret to excelling at impromptu speaking is to understand that it’s never entirely
spontaneous; if you are always prepared to give a speech unexpectedly, no speech
is entirely unexpected.
One major aspect of preparation is the ability to think on your feet: when
called on to speak unexpectedly, begin by first acknowledging the person who
introduced or called on you, and then repeat or rephrase the question or issue.
This will give you a moment to focus on the topic and quickly construct a plan.
CONNECT
In an impromptu speaking
situation you should be
aware of the relational,
situational, and cultural
contexts in which you are
communicating (Chapter
1). This knowledge will
help you tailor your speech
to be appropriate and ef-
fective, whether you’re
giving a toast at a friend’s
wedding, surrounded by
her religious family mem-
bers, or at an international
meeting of a professional
association, surrounded by
colleagues.SPEAKING FROM
manuscript is a fitting method
of delivery for TV newscast-
ers such as Brian Williams,
for whom accuracy and time
constraints are critical. Bill
Greenblatt/UPI