Steve Boyd on line Newsletter
Winter - 2002

In this issue:

SPEAKING FOR THE EAR

William Norwood Brigance, speech professor, once wrote, "A speech is not an essay on its hind legs." We often write out our speeches as though they were essays, and we are not successful in communicating to the audience. Some speakers can put us to sleep primarily because the content of the speech was for the eye, not the ear. To be effective in front of an audience, you must prepare for the ear, not the eye. Words we speak are different from the words we write. Increase your presentation skills by developing oral style.

Here are some suggestions on how to develop an engaging oral style:

Try to think of ideas, not words, as you prepare your speech. If you write the speech out word for word, you will tend to sound "read-y" as you speak, and you may also be temped to memorize the presentation. Preparing the speech by concentrating on ideas and not words will encourage you to be more spontaneous as you speak.

Use shorter sentences when you speak. This is easier on the ears and gives you the speaker more opportunity to pause and add emphasis to key words and thoughts. Short sentences give you more control over the nonverbal parts of the presentation. As Earl Nightingale stated, "Keep your sentences short in a speech so you can breathe in the right places." I would add that it will also give the audience more time to assimilate each thought.

Don't be afraid to use contractions. "I can't understand the policy" is more direct and personal than "I cannot understand the policy." Contractions give the speaker more opportunity for directness, a personal trait that is appealing to most listeners.

Anchor the ideas in the minds of the listeners with repetition. Your audience only has one chance to get the ideas you speak. Thus repeat your ideas to help your audience remember. Use internal summary, for example: "Now that we have discussed contractions, let us move on to repetition." Preview your main ideas. Summarize at the end as well. Repeat key points. Probably one of the most familiar speech titles is Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream." One of the reasons it was so effective was his repeating "I have a dream...." as the beginning of each key point.

Make your speech instantly clear. Use language the audience will understand. A listener doesn't have a dictionary to find meanings as you speak. Thus immediately after speaking an idea, support it with an example or illustration. Illustration literally means to "make bright." That is what it will do to the idea it is supporting. Connect the unknown to the known with a comparison. To a high school class, the speaker might portray a commuter college environment: "Going to class is like having a job. You have to get to your class on time no matter what the traffic problems may be, and you have to produce while you are in class by involving yourself in class discussions."

If you can be appealing to the ear, you can often avoid the problem of closed eyes and minds. Develop in your speech an oral quality to help insure the success of your presentation.

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book review: public speaking for dummies

The "Dummy" series is usually for the absolute novice in any area. However, I recommend to a speaker at any level of expertise Public Speaking For Dummies by Malcolm Kushner. The book is full of ideas and resources to help the speaker. One of the best parts is the list of specific websites useful for the speaker in finding any relevant material. In addition there is also excellent information on visual aid resources on the web. The volume provides more than just the basics in giving a speech, as you might expect with "Dummy" as part of the title. In addition, it contains many stories and examples that not only illustrate presented principles, but also are appropriate for the speaker to use in speeches.

There is an exceptional section on rhetorical strategies in the use of oral style in speaking. Because I think preparation and practice are essential to the speaker, I especially liked the detailed suggestions on how to prepare effectively in getting ready to speak. The cartoons scattered through the book were funny and insightful to the art of speaking.

The clever way of handling chapter titles was humorous and made you want to keep reading. For example the chapter on audience feedback was "How to Handle the Audience (without leaving fingerprints)." The chapters on using humor were well worth the price of the book. Public Speaking for Dummies should be a part of every speaker's library.

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One of the most common questions I receive is "How should I stand and look as I am speaking to an audience?" Even more specifically, I am sometimes asked, "What do I do with my hands?" or "Where do I look?" or "Where do I put my feet?" Let me give you some tips on how not only to look comfortable, but also to use your presence as power to enhance your message as you speak.

Remember what speaking publicly means. Public speaking is simply enlarged conversation. In speaking to a group, you do the same things as you do in one-on-one conversation except that you adjust to the size of the group you might be speaking to. For example, in conversing with another person, it is natural to gesture and use facial expression as you talk. In fact, it would be very strange to watch someone talk without moving arms and facial features. Yet many people become almost robotic as they speak. Every movement seems forced and mechanical--if there is movement. Use your conversational style in public speaking--just adapt it so that as you speak fifty people can hear you instead of five, and you can make eye contact with the group instead of with one person.

Balance your weight. To make sure you have good posture and look like you are in charge, balance the weight of your body on the balls of your feet as you speak. This will give you optimum height and a steady, confident demeanor as you stand before the group. When you do not balance weight in that fashion, you may start to sway back and forth, shift all your weight on one foot, or even stand on one foot.

Develop the "ready" position for gestures. The uncertainty about what to do with hands can often be seen in how people will rub their hands together or continually put hands in and out of pockets as they begin to speak. Consider the old western movies where the good guy met the villain on Main Street. As he ponders reaching for his gun, the hands go into the "ready" position. Visualize that pose as you think of where to place hands in the opening part of your speech. That will force you to use a gesture early instead of fumbling with hands. In addition, making yourself say something that needs a gesture will also help you use the hands and arms to reinforce your message. You might describe how large, or tall, or wide something is as you develop a story or illustration. This will also keep you from unnecessarily touching your hair.

Gesture toward your audience instead of away from them. Keep your gestures below your face so they don't interfere with facial expressions. With a large audience, gesture from the shoulder out and in a small audience with low ceilings, gesture from the elbow out.

Eyes and face should look pleasant. Smile before you start to speak and continue to look pleasant as you develop your ideas. Look at your audience as you start and pick out the "friendly faces" to make eye contact with first. Making that initial contact with the audience will help relax you and make you less self-conscious as you use your presence to deliver your ideas. Continue to look directly at your audience in small "clumps" as you speak. Avoid looking away from the audience, such as at the back wall or ceiling.

Following these simple ideas will make your presence a powerful tool in helping your message become more understandable and persuasive.

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When speaking, you may feel like your voice is not as strong or melodious as you would like for it to be. There are, however, some actions you can take to enhance the use of your voice and use it as a powerful tool in your public speaking. Here are some practical tips on using your voice well as a public speaker.

First, speak from the diaphragm. That is the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal region. If you don’t, then your voice will not have the power or the richness it could have otherwise. You want to use as much capacity from inhaling as possible. Finding power for speaking is like using bellows in a fireplace. If you open the bellows wide and push together, you get lots of force and can really get the flame of the fire burning brightly. If you open the bellows just a little and push together, you get much less force to nourish the flame. So it is with speaking. If you breathe in deeply you will have much more force with which to project and vary your speaking voice.

Second, learn to pause and punch your words as you speak. When you pause, you get more power for the next word or phrase and you will punch them out. Seek to do this with proper nouns, statistics, and key words in the presentation. This way you are not constantly straining your voice. The pauses and rhythm allow your voice to rest during the presentation. If your voice is constantly under stress you will be inclined to have hoarseness and even laryngitis

Gesture as you speak. I find that when you gesture as you speak, you get more variety and range out of your voice. For example, when hit the lectern as you make a point, your voice is louder and increases in impact.

Do some warm-ups before you speak publicly. This can simply be talking one-on-one with some of the audience members. You might practice one of your stories aloud as you drive to your presentation, or count to 20 from soft to loud and with enthusiasm.

Finally, practice articulating distinctly so you will not run words together or give the impression that you are mumbling. Find a paragraph that contains many of the vowel and consonants and speak it. An old-fashioned tongue-twister such as "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" can give good articulation practice. This is important to you if you get feedback from audience members that you speak too fast or that they have trouble understanding certain words you speak.

The voice is something all speakers have as a powerful part of their delivery, but using it well and effectively takes much practice and care.