72 5.2 Listening to speeches
Differences between Speech Rate and Thought
Rate
Most people talk at a rate of 125 words a minute. But you have the ability to
listen seven to ten times faster, as many as 700 to 1,200 words a minute!^7 The dif-
ference between your ability to process words and the speed at which a speaker
can produce them gives you time to ignore a speaker periodically. Eventually,
you stop listening; the extra time allows you to daydream and drift from the
message. Instead of drifting away from the speech, however, you can enhance
your listening effectiveness by mentally summarizing what the speaker is say-
ing from time to time.WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A SPEAKER Just talking faster won’t do much good.
Even if you could speak as fast as two hundred words a minute, your listen-
ers would still want you to talk about four times faster than that. Instead, you
need to build in message redundancy, use clear transitions, be well organized,
and make your major ideas clear. A well-structured message that uses appropri-
ate internal summaries helps your listeners catch your message even if they’ve
tuned out for a bit here and there.WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A LISTENER Because you have the ability to think
much faster than people speak, you can use that dazzling mental power to stay
focused on the message. Periodically making a mental summary of what the
speaker is saying can dramatically improve your ability to remember the infor-
mation. The difference between speech rate and thought rate gives you time to
sprinkle in several mental summaries when listening to a message.Counteract Prejudice
As a listener- Focus on the message rather than on the messenger. Guard against becoming so critical of a
message that you don’t listen to it or becoming so impressed that you decide too quickly that
the speaker is trustworthy.
As a speaker - Grab the audience’s attention with your opening statements. This helps to keep listeners from
making inaccurate snap judgments based on prejudice. - Be clear and specific. Avoid examples, words, or phrases that could be misinterpreted. Focus
on your particular listeners’ interests, needs, hopes, and wishes. - Use detailed arguments and credible evidence. When addressing an audience that may be
critical of or hostile toward your message, strong emotional appeals will be less successful
than will careful language, sound reasoning, and convincing evidence.
HOW TO
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