A Study Tool
Now that you have finished reading this chapter, you canN th t h fi i h d di thiREAL REFERENCE
Identify and control your anxieties:
c Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is the nervousness
we experience when we know we have to commu-
nicate publicly to an audience (p. 404).
c Communication apprehension (CA), fear or anx-
iety associated with communication, is a common
barrier to effective delivery (p. 404).
c Common anxiety triggers include upsetting past
experiences, fear of evaluation, and distaste for
attention (pp. 404–405).
c Confidence comes from being prepared, desen-
sitizing yourself, visualizing success (particularly
through performance visualization), taking care
of yourself, and lots of practice (p. 407).Choose a delivery style best suited to you and your
speaking situation:
c Speaking from manuscript is helpful when you
need to get the details 100 percent correct but
can be static and dull (p. 408–409).
c Speaking from memory, referred to as oratory,
doesn’t invite rapport with the audience and is
rare today (p. 409).
c Speaking spontaneously—when you’re asked to
speak with no warning beforehand—is known as
impromptu speaking (pp. 409–410).
c Extemporaneous speaking makes the speech look
easy and spontaneous, but it’s actually based on an
outline of key points and practice, practice, practice
(pp. 410–411).Employ effective vocal cues:
c Use pitch to vary your sound range and avoid a
monotone (p. 412).
c Cue the audience as to what’s important by adjust-
ing your speaking rate and volume (pp. 412–413).
c Add drama to the speech by pausing for effect
(p. 413).
c Speak clearly and precisely: use proper pronun-
ciation, practice careful articulation, and avoid
mumbling (pp. 413–414).c If you have an accent, be aware of how it might
influence your audience (p. 414).Employ effective visual cues:
c Dress appropriately for the speaking occasion
(pp. 414, 416).
c Make brief eye contact with almost everyone, using
the technique known as scanning (p. 416).
c Facial expressions and gestures must match the
verbal message of your speech (p. 417).
c Maintain a steady, confident posture by positioning
your legs at a distance equal to your shoulders, with
slightly bent knees, in the stance known as planting
(p. 417).
Connect with your audience:
c Share your passion for the topic with your audience
through effective use of emotion (pp. 418–419).
c Gauge the audience response and adapt to it
(p. 419).
c Generate immediacy with your audience (p. 419).Enhance your words with effective presentation aids:
c Effective presentation aids help listeners process
and retain information, promote interest and mo-
tivation, and convey information clearly and con-
cisely (p. 422).
c Based on the needs of your presentation, you can
choose among helpful presentation aid types,
including props and models, media clips and im-
ages, graphs and charts (including bar graphs and
pie charts), posters and transparencies, flip charts
and whiteboards, handouts, and presentation
slideware (pp. 422–427).Make efficient use of your practice time:
c Make sure the key words in your speaking outline
are meaningful prompts (p. 427).
c Do a run-through with your presentation aids (par-
ticularly the electronic ones), and try to simulate
the actual speaking conditions (pp. 427–428).
c Focus on the message (p. 428).✁
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