418 Part 4 Public Speaking
felt unrehearsed and sincere. Let’s now take a look at the way our words converge
with our vocal and visual delivery to establish such a connection with the audi-
ence. We’ll also consider the ways we can adapt our delivery to suit the audience’s
needs and expectations.Expressing Emotion
If you do not feel passion for what you are talking about, you can be sure
that your audience will not feel it either. One of your responsibilities is to
ensure that, throughout your speech, the audience feels the same emotions
that you do for your subject matter. Many Americans, regardless of their
political affiliation, felt an intimate connection to President Obama when
he addressed the media in the immediate aftermath of the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shootings in December 2012. While remaining authori-THINK
ABOUT
THIS❶ Is it ethical to share
your concerns with
Evelyn? Or is it more
appropriate to keep quiet
in this situation?
❷ Would you feel differ-
ently offering Evelyn criti-
cal feedback in an online
peer assessment situa-
tion? Why or why not?
❸ Imagine instead that
Evelyn is not a native
speaker of English and
you find her accent dif-
ficult to understand. Is it
ethical to address these
concerns when judging
her speech?
❹ If you have been
reading this scenario
under the assumption that
you don’t have any physi-
cal challenges, imagine
you have a speech chal-
lenge or suffer from a
chronic illness. Does this
influence your critique of
Evelyn’s speech?Judging Speeches
At the beginning of this chapter, you read about the struggles that people
with physical challenges (such as King George VI) face when delivering
speeches. But how do culture and ethics collide when it comes time actually
to judge or assign a grade to a presentation?
Imagine that your speech class is engaging in peer evaluation. In groups
of six, you practice delivering your speech before the final presentation to the
entire class. You will evaluate your group members’ speeches twice—and
a portion of your grades will be determined by the improvement they make
between the first two practice speeches and then between the final rehearsal
and the delivery before the entire class.
One woman in your group, Evelyn, has cerebral palsy, a neurological
disorder that permanently affects body movements and muscle coordination.
It can have a diverse number of symptoms, but Evelyn struggles most with
slurred speech, balance, and exaggerated reflexes. Evelyn is quite comfort-
able talking about her disability and appears to be a confident speaker. Yet as
she talks, you find it somewhat difficult to understand her speech. Because
many of her words are slurred, you feel like you’re missing a few main points.
And as much as you try not to, you find the fact that she sways when she
speaks and that she must grip the back of her chair for balance somewhat
distracting.
You feel bad making these comments to Evelyn on her first evaluation,
and so you focus your remarks on improvements she can make on the out-
line. But you’re worried about how the rest of the class will react to Evelyn
and even what sort of grade she might get from your professor. You’re now
facing your second round of evaluations for Evelyn.EVALUATINGCOMMUNICATIONETHICS