328 15.4 speaKinG to inForM
• Visual learners. Barraged daily with images from TV and the Internet, many
people have grown to depend on more than words alone to help them
remember ideas and information. They are visual learners, who learn best
with words and images.
• Kinesthetic learners. Kinesthetic learners learn best by moving while learn-
ing. They would rather try something than hear it, watch it, or read about it.
These learners like active learning methods such as writing while listening
or, better yet, participating in group activities.
As you develop your speech and your supporting materials, consider how
you can appeal to a variety of learning styles at the same time. Since you’ll be
giving a speech, your auditory learners will like that. Visual learners like and
expect an informative talk to be illustrated with PowerPoint™ images. They
will appreciate seeing pictures or having statistics summarized using bar or line
graphs or pie charts. Kinesthetic learners will appreciate movement, even small
movements such as raising their hands in response to questions. Visual print
learners will appreciate handouts, which you could distribute after your talk.Quick Check
Enhancing Audience Understanding
• Keep your message clear.
• apply adult-learning principles.
• provide information that is applicable to listeners’ lives.
• actively involve listeners in the learning process.
• Connect listeners’ experiences with new information.
• Make information relevant to listeners.
• help listeners solve problems.
• Clarify the unfamiliar or complex with analogies and vivid word pictures.
• plan for many different learning styles.Strategies to Maintain Audience
Interest
15.4 effectively and appropriately use three strategies to maintain audience
interest.
No matter how carefully crafted your definitions, how skillfully delivered your
description, or how visually reinforcing your presentation aid, if your listeners
aren’t paying attention, you won’t achieve your goal of informing them. Strate-
gies for gaining and holding interest are vital in achieving your speaking goal.15.4