PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Second Semester 2023 - 2024

MRS. MARIA FE B. DOONG
Subject Teacher

LESSON 5: FACTORS THAT MAKE UP EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING

Objectives:
1. Determine the factors that make up effective public speaking
2. Understand the significant function/s of each factor
3. Value the importance of delivery and its aspects

Speech does not exist in isolation but exists between speaker and audience bound by a common desire to
exchange ideas, consequently, the necessary requirements in a speech act are:

 Speaker
 Audience
 Occasion

A. THE SPEAKER – The sender and source of ideas. It is said that the measure of a speaker will be the
measure of his speech. For this reason, it is necessary to know the characteristics of an effective speaker.

1) Personality

It is impossible to make interesting speakers out of uninteresting people. For this reason, personality is
one factor we cannot overlook in the training of a person as a public speaker for his personality
determines his speech. Personality is the sum total of all our physical, mental, and emotional traits. It is
not a matter of height, color, shape, etc., but a development of all the traits of an individual.

Through speech, we express our individual personality, our total self. As we talk, others see, hear, sense,
and feel our personality. What we say bears the imprint of our sympathies, prejudices, passions, fears, and
aspirations as it is filtered through our inner selves on the way to expression.

Factors essential in the cultivation of the necessary characteristics or traits of a successful

speaker:

a) Personal Grooming. The speaker’s appearance has much to do with how well he will be received
by his audience. External appearance affects your listeners. Consider the following:
 Are you dress appropriately to the occasion?
 Do you wear attire that will establish connectivity to your audience so that you make them
feel at ease and comfortable with you?
 Are your clothes well –pressed, your shoes well – shined?
 Are your hands and fingernails clean, your hair properly and neatly combed? If a woman,
is your hairdo becoming to you and appropriate to the occasion?
 Are you sloppy in appearance, careless or untidy?
 Are your choice of accessories harmonize with your chosen clothes?
 Do you take effort to look your best in public appearances?

b) Attitudes. These are important in public speaking for they greatly affect linkage in communication.
The variety of attitudes that a speaker assumes during speech delivery oftentimes creates serious
problems in effective communication. As a speaker, you start making impressions on your audience
as soon as you are seen. Consider the following pointers:
 Do you show poise and confidence through good posture while sitting or standing?
 What facial expressions show, alert and attentive?
 Do you make your audience feel the magnetism of your smile?
 Do you communicate a feeling of pleasantness because you assume a friendly and an
amiable attitude towards your audience?
  Or are you ostentatiously confident, arrogant, supercilious, haughty, brusque, aloof,
belligerent, or hostile?
 Do you appear indifferent, apathetic, subservient, lazy, timid, or shy?
 Do you display a rigid, tense, too formal facial expression as to make your audience
uncomfortable and nervous during the process of communication?
NOTE:
BE NATURAL SO AS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR AUDIENCE TO GET AS CLOSE TO YOU AS
POSSIBLE.

2) Intelligence
No matter how much self-confidence or self-assurance a speaker has, if he does not have some measure
of intelligence, his public appearance as a speaker will be completely brief and a failure. For this reason,
we should consider the intelligence of a speaker as consisting of the following:
a) Common Sense – it is the ability of the speaker to size up situations, to meet emergencies and to act
accordingly. Common sense is also manifested in the speaker’s demonstration of good judgment to
select and discuss topics according to the needs of the occasion and the demands of the audience.
b) Tact – is closely associated with common sense. This quality of a speaker is dependent upon his
imagination and discernment. With imagination, a speaker can put himself in the shoes of his fellow
being and realize how he would feel if some unkind remark were made about him. This is empathy
at work.
Tact and prudence at work help the speaker win his audience by careful observation of attitudes,
moods, behaviors, and situations. A tactful person will never push for a decision when it appears to
be against him. His discernment will tell him when to speak and when NOT to. Tact will help the
speaker to handle delicate topics dealing with sex, politics, and religion in group discussions.
c) Good Taste – is another manifestation of the intelligence of an effective public speaker. Since many
of our choices are dictated by good taste, this quality is quite valuable to a speaker in many ways.
Examples: the kind of clothes you wear, the choice of subject appropriate to the needs of the
audience, the appropriate words to utter in accordance to your audience – these require good taste.
d) Wide Interest. This quality is revealed in the speaker’s profound knowledge of people, things, or
situations. To be an attractive and interesting speaker, you must be a man of ideas. You must be a
wide reader, and if possible, a well – traveled person. You must also be a keen observer of people,
things, or events. You must grasp all the possible opportunities to improve your knowledge.

e) Self – criticism. This manifestation of speaker’s intelligence is revealed in the ability of the speaker
to hold himself at arm’s length occasionally and to evaluate himself in the light of his public
performance as a communicator of ideas. The ability to accept criticisms gracefully is indicative of a
mature personality.

3) Integrity or Virtue

The acceptability of a public speaker to his audience is dependent upon his integrity as indicated by his
moral virtues. Cato defined an orator as “a good man skilled in speaking.” Undoubtedly, people will
believe in a good man more quickly than a man whose motives are questionable.

Sincerity and integrity are qualities that will endear a speaker to his audience and will make him
influential to them. For this reason, a speaker must adhere to truth and must not be afraid to communicate
facts that are actual and true. People will readily believe a speaker whose name and reputation are without
stain and are above moral reproach, whose motives are unselfish, unquestionable, free from personal gains,
and altruistic.
 As Albert J. Beveridge says: “Never under any circumstance or for any reward tell an audience
what you yourself do not believe in or are even indifferent about. To do so is immoral and worse - - it is
to be a public liar.”

4) Training

This consists of a speech program intended to develop in the speaker skills and techniques to
communicate ideas effectively. To communicate effectively, a speaker must not only say something but he
must also say it well. Hence, the need for training.

The value of training is five – fold:

a) Training tells the speaker what to say. Speech training develops thinking. Through
training, a would – be speaker learns the process of selection of a subject, organization of materials,
arrangement of ideas, and most important of all, development of grammatical structure and usage,
and the use of specific and concrete illustrations to interest the listeners.

b) Training teaches the speaker how to say the speech. It is through speech practices in the class that
you acquire communication skills of audibility, eye contact, and articulation.

c) Training develops the speaker’s confidence in his ability to communicate effectively. The important
value to accrue from speech training is a well – developed communicability reflecting maturity – a
maturity that shows self – respect, cooperativeness, and the willingness and capability to contribute
to society. Correcting individual speech difficulties may change the youth from social liability to an
accepted, responsible citizen.

d) Training develops creative but critical thinking rather than a mechanical one. Through participation
in oral discussions, informal arguments, informative talks, lively conversations, political rallies, etc.,
the speaker learns to create ideas on the spot and he says them with tone of authority and
confidence.

e) Training aids the speaker to achieve the main objective of effective communication - - to create a
particular effect on a particular audience.

5) Technique

In order to increase his accuracy and power of expression, the speaker must not only learn the techniques
of effective speaking but he must also master them. Therefore, the need to cultivate a highly individual
technique.

In public speaking, techniques consist of the elements of speech and action which orally and visually
represent the speaker’s thought and communicate it to the audience. These elements of technique are:

a. Voice – the sound produced by the vibration of the vocal cords

b. Voice Pitch – the highness or lowness of tone
c. Voice Volume – the loudness or carrying power of voice
d. Voice Quality – that which distinguishes one voice from another
e. Speech Rate and Pause – consists of a number of words uttered per minute and the cessation of
speaking within or between sentences.
f. Enunciation and pronunciation – the formation of voice into words and the manner of utterance
of words
g. Gestures – involve the movements of arms, shoulders, hands, or head in the physical expression
of thought
h. Posture – the position and bearing of the body
i. Facial Expression – the aspect and general appearance of the face
j. Organization of thought – the logical arrangement of ideas
 k. Composition – manner of formulating ideas into effective sentences
l. Phrasing – the grouping of words into small units of thoughts
m. Audience Contact – establishing mental contact with the audience by talking to its members
n. Motivation – the use of appeals and subject matter which are important to the audience and
induce audience action

Ignorance on the part of the speaker of the techniques of good effective communication of ideas will
surely handicap him in achieving his objective to create the desired idea in the listeners.

Since speech is the principal medium of exchanging knowledge and opinions among people in their
multi-varied activities, public speaking is now a MUST for all would – be professionals. For speaking is
a powerful influence, a molding of minds, a changing of group thought through spoken, social
intercourse.

DELIVERY AS AN EFFECTIVE MEDIUM OF PUTTING WORDS INTO ACTION

What is Delivery?

As an effective medium of putting words into action, delivery consists of words, voice, pauses, facial
expressions, gestures, posture, and movements united in a single pattern of expression. The elements of
delivery are unified and controlled by the central idea in the speaker’s mind at any instant and by his desire
to communicate this idea.

Since delivery is the determinant of the success or failure of a speech, it is essential to understand the
different aspects of it.

1. Delivery is the physical medium through which the speaker’s mind makes contact with
the audience’s mind. The speaker’s sounds and visible stimuli are the only known means of generating
the specific ideas, with their shades and subtleties of meaning, which the speaker wishes to arouse in his
audience. If the delivery is good, the speech will be impressive, sincere, convincing. If the delivery is
poor, the speech will be obscure, insignificant, and dull.

2. Delivery is inseparable from word meaning. In fact, the manner of speaking a word is part of the
word, since the manner applies a definite meaning to that particular word. In short, it is how you say a
word that it acquires a specific meaning.

Example: Uttering “YES” in different tones or pitches and in different ways, you communicate
different meanings.
YES with rising pitch may turn it into question – What do you wish?
YES with normal pitch connotes a definite or final affirmation to something.

3. Delivery is highly individual. No two people have the same delivery and speech patterns for not two
people place the same or identical values on their thoughts. Therefore, it is necessary that every speaker
must cultivate his own individual style of speaking most expressive of his personality and most suited
to the needs of the audience and the speaking situation.

To be individualistic and unique in the style of delivery, a speaker should think and feel what he says
when he speaks to an audience.

4. Delivery is behavior. It is the speaker’s reaction to a specific situation involving people, problems,
solutions, and desires. It is the speaker’s mental reaction to his own thoughts, judgments, conclusions,
and attitudes during the moment of delivery and his external reaction to oral expressed opinions of
others and to audience’s facial expressions in the moment of exchange of ideas and information. In
other words, the behavior of the speaker toward his subject and his audiences is clearly manifested in
the delivery of his ideas during the moment of communication.
The Value of Delivery to a Speaker

Though delivery is a valuable tool in shaping the thinking of the audience, there is one important fact about
delivery that potential speakers must understand - - at the moment of delivering his ideas, a speaker is not
aware of all that he expresses because he cannot see and hear himself objectively as others see and hear him.

Therefore, the speaker must bear in mind that delivery is more important than the words themselves for these
reasons:

1. Delivery provides more dependable cues to the speaker’s sincerity than do words. The manner in
which a speaker answers questions or makes statements may support or belie the word meanings.
2. Delivery is also the means by which a speaker reveals his belief in, and attitude toward his
subject. If the speaker’s belief in his subject is overcast with doubt, it will be reflected in his voice and
physical expression.
3. Delivery shows the speaker’s attitude toward his audience. His smile which is genuine and the tone
of his voice which connotes straightforwardness and geniality will signify his relationship with his
audience. Hence, it is through delivery that the audience form their opinion of the speaker as a person.
4. Through delivery, the speaker reveals the speed of his thinking, i.e., his pace of creating ideas and
evolving conclusions, demonstrates fine points of discrimination between one idea and another and
expresses the mental and emotional force of his speech.

Aspects of Delivery

A. The Physical Aspect and its factors

1. Posture – it is the stance or shape and bearing of the body caused by the relative positions of
muscular tones in the chest, head, arms, hips, and other bodily agents. Posture is essential to good and
effective delivery of speech. To achieve good posture, one must remember these pointers:

a) Slightly raise your chin, poise your chest and balance centrally the upper part of your body over
the hips and the arches of the feet. In this way, you can maintain a stable stance that will permit
you to slightly lean forward, or to step to one side and to return to the original position, thereby
giving a good impression to your audience and force to your ideas.
b) Practice standing with the feet firmly planted on the ground in a V – formation so that you do not
only distribute all the weight of your body equally but you also feel comfortable and secure even
in moments of bodily movements.
c) Practice standing with the right foot forward or the left foot forward so as to give the effect of an
arrested walk. In this posture, you develop ease and naturalness of gestures either with the right
or left side of your body, aside from the fact that you give the impression of stability and
gracefulness of bodily movements.
d) Avoid slouching, i.e., putting the weight only on one leg or assuming an awkward body position,
as this destroys the impression of confidence and vitality of speech delivery and leads to poor
gestural patterns.

2. Walking – your manner of walking is the first thing noticed by your audience. For this reason,
practice walking gracefully without any of the awkwardness which frequently accompanies self –
consciousness. Take note of the following pointers:

a) In stepping forward, raise the body weight slightly on the ball of one foot while the other leg
swings forward.
b) Do not approach your audience on tip – toe as this manner of walking will surely put your
audience on guard and will signal speaker’s feeling of fear, tension, nervousness, insecurity,
etc., thereby creating unfavorable reactions from the audience.
3. The shoulders – are important to delivery because they connote a variety of attitudes of the speaker.
By drawing your shoulders together, you express pain; by shrugging them you indicate incredulity, by
 rotating them, you indicate impatience, by moving them, you show eagerness, and, by nudging the
object with them, you demonstrate familiarity with it.
4. Arms and Hands – are parts of the body that one must consider in the delivery of speech.
 Arms and hands rest at the sides in a neutral position from which may move later in gestures
that are graceful and purposive.
 Avoid putting hands in the pockets, or placing them behind in a clasp
5. Eyes – during delivery, the speaker must look directly into the eyes of his audience in order to
establish mental union with them. The eyes must be directed toward the audience for closer and
effective thought communication.
6. Sitting on the platform – this should also be given consideration. Pay attention to these pointers:

 Sit with your back resting against the back of the chair, your arms resting naturally and your
legs uncrossed in order to look comfortable.
 Do not sit too stiffly in the chair nor slide down too lazily into it.

B. The Psychological Aspect and its factors

1. Development of Poise – that state of equanimity and balance which conserves mental, emotional,
and physical energy. This is clearly shown by the speaker’s calm overview of the whole speaking
situation.
Poise is best achieved by the speaker when his mind is free from tension and fear and when
unavoidable distractions are minimized. Strong concentration on your points of the topic will reduce
nervousness and will lead to proper coordination of thought and bodily movements, resulting to
increase poise.

2. Confidence of self and sincerity of expression – these factors contribute to establishing good
relationship with audience, creating goodwill among them, and winning audience’s respect for the
ability of the speaker to communicate ideas successfully.
3. Respect for the listening group – this is a MUST for every speaker who desires to win the
audience’s appreciation of his abilities and potentialities. A speaker who shows respect for his
audience will easily put them in a state of relaxation and will create a friendly atmosphere conducive
to the development of a conversational exchange of ideas and information.
4. Alertness and Spontaneity – conversation and good public speaking require alertness in reacting to
others. The speaker should be vigilant to the audience’s reactions/ facial expressions and must adjust
his speech to meet the condition sensed in his audience.
Spontaneity in speech may be created by thinking vividly and intensely at the moment of delivery.
A demonstration of creative thinking will not only lead to spontaneity of expression but will also
enhance and enrich thought expression. Demonstrate emotional sincerity during the moment of
delivery.

Since audience understanding of the speaker’s ideas is a vital requisite of effective public speaking, only through
a harmonious coordination of all the elements and factors of good delivery will the speaker be able to produce a
most balanced and effective style and manner of thought expression.

to be continued…