Real Communication An Introduction

450 Part 4  Public Speaking

considering the approaches we discussed earlier (definition, description, demon-

stration, and explanation).

Emphasize Important Points

Another way to make it easier for your audience to follow and absorb your

speech is to clarify what the important parts are. As you learned in Chapter 13,

one of the best means to achieve this is by using a preview device and a con-

cluding summary. The preview device tells the audience what you are going to

cover (“First, I will discuss X, second, Y, and third, Z”). A concluding summary

reviews what the audience heard during the speech (“Today, I talked about X,

then showed you Y, and, finally, discussed Z”).

Careful and deliberate use of phrases like “The key issue here is.. .” and “I

have three main points regarding this piece of legislation” can also signal to your

audience that you’re about to say something important. In some cases, you might

actually highlight what is important by saying so, even telling the audience

directly when you’re discussing something you want them to remember. This not

only supports the organization of your speech but also gives people useful tools

for organizing the information as they listen. It’s important to make certain,

however, that you don’t contradict yourself. If you say, “I have one key point to

make,” and you then list four points of equal importance, you will likely confuse

(and annoy) your audience.

Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience

Have you ever sat through a lecture or a presentation in which the speaker

seemed to give far too much information? Ironically, too many points can make

a speech seem pointless, and an overabundance of facts and statistics can make

it difficult to follow and impossible to retain. Research shows that receivers’

attention and interest levels drop significantly due to information overload.

Simply put, too much information overwhelms the audience (Van Zandt, 2004;

Wecker, 2012).

Your goal, then, is to keep your presentation as simple as possible so that

audiences will find it easy to follow. As you review and rehearse your speech,

critically evaluate each and every fact, point, and example—indeed, every

IF YOUR SPEECH is on
punk rock, you might organize
it chronologically, moving
from the Ramones to Green
Day. (left) Sire Records/Getty Images;
(right) Kevin Winter/Getty Images