Rhetoric 10:02:24 Online Resources

Instructor: J. P. Craig

Tips for Controlling the Sources of Speech Anxiety

Develop an optimistic attitude toward speaking
Don't procrastinate preparing your speech
Set realistic goals
Realize the audience wants you to succeed
Direct your concerns at important issues. (Don't sweat the small stuff.)

Tips for Improving Delivery

Appearance
Appearance often has a disproportionately significant effect on audience perceptions, which can be measured in at least two ways. The first involves audience members' first impressions. The second involves how people perceive themselves as a result of their appearance and the impact this perception has on their self-confidence and delivery. (Research tells us that speakers who feel they look attractive report greater self-confidence than those reporting otherwise. Of course, this could simply be due to their greater self-confidence impacting their self-perceptions....) A third possible measure is the extent to which appearance impacts the audience's perception of your personal authority.

Simply said, your dress should be appropriate to the situation. Don't dress like you're going to a wedding, but also don't dress like you're cramming for finals. Realize that you're going to be in front of the class and that you'll want to look good and be comfortable.

Facial Expression
Your body is your tool. When you talk to friends, you use your face and eyes to highlight certain ideas or to downplay others. You can do the same thing during your speech. You can also make certain physical gestures--but make sure everything you do serves a purpose. Drumming on the podium or tapping your foot isn't likely to do much for you.

Voice
You can use your voice in a number of ways to enhance your speech. Much of the emotional impact of a speech is conveyed by vocal changes.

Volume: Speak loudly enough for everyone to hear you, but not so loud that you give your audience a headache. You can usually tell by your audience's body language. If they're leaning forward a lot, they're probably struggling to hear. If they're leaning back, you may be too loud. It is also useful to vary your volume during a speech, using either an increase or decrease in volume as a means of emphasis.
Pitch: Pitch refers to the degree our voices are high or low. Each of us has a habitual pitch, or level at which we speak most frequently, and an optimum pitch, or the level at which we can produce our strongest voice with minimal effort and that allows variation up and down the scale. Most people's optimum pitch is 4 or 5 notes up from the lowest note they can sing. Effective speakers use their optimum pitch as a base but vary their pitch for emphasis. Avoid a monotone (monotonous) delivery.
Rhythm: Rhythm is extremely important to your delivery. It involves the characteristic pattern of your volume and pitch. Have you ever heard someone described as having a "singsong" voice? This means that the speaker's voice is consistently going up and then down in pitch in a predictable an sometimes irritating pattern. Although variation in the rhythm of your voice is certainly to be encouraged, the exact pattern of variations shouldn't be predictable.
Tempo: This is the rate at which you produce sounds. It partly depends on geographical location; in Tennessee, we speak a little slower than Iowans. Geography aside, researchers have found that a moderate to fast pace tends to be associated with audience perceptions of increased competence. There's a ceiling to this effect. A too-quick speech conveys only nervousness. The best advice is to vary your tempo, average the speed at which you audience normally speaks, and learn to use pauses for emphasis.
Articulation & Enunciation: These two words actually have slightly different meanings, but both deal with how clearly you speak. Speak so that everyone can understand you, and use correct pronunciation.
Important as it is, your voice is but a single component of your overall performance. Not all great speakers have great voices. Most people under-utilize their voices--the question is whether you're willing to work to improve yours.

Content
Have faith in your material. Delivery can make a good speech great, but no delivery style can salvage an empty speech.

Tips for Improving Your Voice

Relax
Vocal sounds are produced by taking air and expelling it through the trachea across our vocal cords, which are contained in the larynx. Variations in the amount and speed of air expelled result in variations in sound. Muscle tension also has an effect. Nasality, shrillness or screeching, and excessive rates of speech are consequences of tension and stress.

Breathe Properly
If you breathe by raising your shoulders instead of in from your diaphragm, the muscles in your neck and throat will become tense. This can result in a harsh, strained vocal quality. Also, you probably won't take in enough air to sustain your phrasing, and it will become difficult to control the release of air. The air and sound then all come out with a rush when you drop your shoulders, leading to unfortunate oral punctuation marks when you neither want nor need them.

Stand Up
Good posture leads to good voice. Find your center of balance; usually this means standing with your feet apart at about shoulder width. Pull your shoulders back and keep your chin up and off your chest. This will improve your air flow by making your trachea straighter. It also improves the audience's perception of your confidence.

Find a Model
Listen to the tapes of your speeches. If you think you need more vocal variation (and you probably do at this level), pick out someone whose vocal characteristics you admire, then repeatedly listen to that person. Try to imitate your model's vocal variation. If you are tone deaf, have a friend help you or consider taking a voice class.

Practicing for Presentation

Practice your speech using a detailed outline.
Continue practicing, using the outline less and increasing eye-contact with your imagined audience.
Practice from a key-word outline, reading only direct quotations.
Work on integrating body language and visual aids into your verbal message.
Check the timing of your speech.
Practice in front of friends, listen to their advice, and make changes if necessary.
Practice some more until you feel comfortable and confident.

Research shows that delivery directly impacts other speech elements. It determines how well your speech is understood. It highlights important points. It makes transitions. It can create a hook and give a sense of closure. Improving your delivery, therefore, will improve your speech as a whole.

[All material stolen from Danna Prather, who stole it from Osborn & Osborn's Public Speaking (Houghton Mifflin, 3rd ed. 1994) and Brydon & Scott's Between One & Many (Mayfield, 2nd ed. 1997). ]

Online Resources