ELS 1102 BASIC STUDY & ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS

PUBLIC SPEAKING
Public speaking involves an address made by an individual speaker to a gathering. It is expected
to take place in a relatively public setting.
Preparation to deliver a speech
In preparing a speech, you need the following:
1. Identify the purpose of the speech; is it to inform, persuade, entertain, inspire or interact? When
you have identified the specific purpose, you will then need to phrase the topic of your speech
which must be reasonably captivating.
2. Identify the nature of the audience in order to package your speech adequately. E.g. the age
composition, gender, education, profession, social status, etc
3. Smartness: Your confidence may be boasted if you feel you are well dressed and presentable.
When you doubt your appearance before the audience, it may have an overall negative impact on
your delivery. Make sure that nothing on your body/dress distracts you or draws
attention/ridicule…
4. Time available
5. Occasion: is it religious, cultural, social or political? Let the speech be in line with the occasion.
6. Venue
7. Other communication aids

Delivering a speech
After preparing a speech, it means that you are now ready to deliver your speech. The following
are very crucial when delivering a speech:
 Control nervousness/stage fright: Take some deep breaths before speaking; this relaxes you.
Think positively. Be at your best physically and mentally.
 Eye contact: This enables you to receive immediate feedback. You are able to see non-verbal
reactions of your audience at your speech. This shows that you are confident, you do not fear,
you know what you are talking about, etc, etc
 Ensure that you use formal language: very respectable language of civilized people; no slang
or jargon or bad grammar. Also vary your intonation: A speech comes out better if the voice is
varied. Talking in a monotone can turn out to be boring and it may hard for you to sustain
audience attention.
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 Your delivery must be precise, i.e. avoid clumsy non-verbal messages: These include
standing awkwardly or awkward movements, unacceptable body gestures such as clenching fists
or knuckle cracking, scratching your hair or any part of your body, rubbing or touching your
nose or any part of the face, biting your lips. You can add any clumsy habit on this list. Also
avoid beating about the bush, hesitations and vocalized pauses (uh…, er…, um…) and
intermittent coughs and grunts; are you lying? Not sure? Forgotten? Nervous? And of course,
this goes for:
No use of stock phrases (you know, I mean, well, and, etc…)
 Time consciousness: do not waste time by adding a lot of redundant and unnecessary
information in your speech delivery. When you use a proverb or an idiom, it must only be used
to enhance your comprehensibility, not intimidate the audience with unique knowledge of
language.
All in all, be free. Do not pretend to be another character or imitate another person’s style of
delivery, or accent if it does not work for you. Although we do wish to imitate other speakers, we
can always emulate the many good examples around us.

HOW EXACTLY SHOULD WE STRUCTURE OUR SPEECHES?

1. Quantity of content: too much content is as undesirable as, or even more than little content. It is
usually not good to apologise you still had a lot more to say but you were short of time. Also too
much content may not easily be digested by your audience even if you had enough time for it.
Your audience must not be made to feel that, “the content was too much for us. We needed two
days to understand it.” Too much content makes you uncomfortable and less organised as you
try to go over it quickly to catch up with time. In summary, select the most important areas and
make an adequate speech.
There should be a logical flow of your ideas. The order may be of:
- Sequence of events – happening one after another.
- Order of importance – the most important ideas coming either first or last in your speech.
- Variety – your key points may be supported by a variety of allusions to history or examples in
real life. These must be brought in carefully, not to disturb the mind of the listener.
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Introduction, body and conclusion:

The introduction: this is the onset of the speech. Although it is not the core of the speech, it is
very important as it does the following:
 Creates a first impression: if your introduction is dull and unattractive, your entire speech may
be adversely affected.
 It is the initial bond between you and your audience – whether the members of the audience
know you earlier or not they will be excited to listen to you because of the introduction you give.
They will also adjust to your tone, intonation and body language.
 It arouses the interest of your listeners to your topic. It draws them from other things such as the
physical and psychological noise.
 It may lay the background of your topic: it reveals the purpose of your speech or clarify
certain terms and key approaches to your topic. The following could be some of the ways to start
your speech and make your introduction interesting:
- Use an appropriate quotation
- Use a rhetoric question –this is thought provoking or inspirational and it may be directly or
indirectly answered in your topic.
- An axiom: a common saying or a common reality e.g. ‘Prevention is, no doubt, better than cure.’,
‘Wisdom starts with the fear of God’. We should, however, be careful not to go for those
expressions that are overused ‘clichés’ in our society.
- Use an anecdote: this is a short story which is fictional or real.
- Make a statement about current events or the surrounding or use a relevant proverb.
- A non-verbal message; a picture or an illustration
- You could even go straight to the point
It is wise to write the introduction after the core speech. You must avoid dull expressions such
as:
- I am going to talk about…
- I am not sure how to start and about what to say…
- I could not prepare well…
- Avoid anything depicting lack of imagination…
The body: this part contains the key points and the supporting details. It is the core of the
speech. It is normally expected to be longer than the other parts. The ideas must be cohesively
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joined together by discourse markers such as: therefore, in view of the above, nevertheless,
interestingly, contrary to that, etc. The key points may be arranged:
- Topically: the key words highlight the beginning of each paragraph.
- Spatially: location of actions or events.
- Importantly: beginning with most important to the least important point.
The conclusion: this is the part which marks the end of the speech. The interest of the listener
must be sustained even in the conclusion if the speech is to be deemed as a success. It must seal
the bond between the speaker and the audience and it should often reveal the ultimate. It is
normally opened with a discourse marker such as: In conclusion, in summary, I would like to
conclude as follows: etc. These are some of the rewarding idea realised in the conclusion:
- Summary of the key ideas
- Reinforcing the major purpose
- Seeking the approval of audience
- Paraphrasing the introduction
Avoid saying: that is all I had to say, that is the end of my speech, etc

TYPES OF SPEECHES
i. Informative speeches – to define (a term, a system, or a theory, similar or dissimilar terms of a
system etc), describe (e.g. a process/procedure, an event, an object or person), demonstrate (how
to do/fix something or how something operates) and the speaker:
stresses main points, limits amount of information to what is relevant and useful, gives brief and
precise examples about his key points, gives opinions of unbiased experts or witnesses to
enhance his propositions, should not be too technical/abstract/obscure, and lastly may use audio-
visual aids to amplify his presentation.
ii. Commemorative speeches – paying tribute with words of inspiration so that the audience
appreciate and admire the subject
iii. Impromptu speeches – given without immediate preparation, no need to panic, have a listening
ear to earlier addresses while noting down key points, talk and make it sound like everyday
challenges and lastly should not be too long.
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iv. Acceptance speeches – to give thanks for a gift or award. Be brief, humble and
gracious/grateful, thank the people bestowing the award and recognise contributions made by
various people.
v. Speeches of presentation: when someone is receiving a gift or an award). Principally for
acknowledging achievements of the recipient; tell why he/she is getting that award or honour;
e.gs?
vi. Speeches of introduction: to introduce speaker Not make a speech yourself; therefore, be brief,
build enthusiasm and a welcoming climate to boost guest’s high esteem, confidence and
credibility in audience. Your remarks must be accurate, adapted to the audience, the occasion
and the main speaker.
vii. Persuasive speeches – lively and emotional, to convince, inspire, must be well-designed,
establish credibility, language must be persuasive, body language should be full of conviction,
target easily convinced part of audience first, support views with examples. facts, statistics, and
lastly appeal to the audience’s emotions.
viii. Extemporaneous speeches: carefully prepared and practiced in advance as almost in Vote of
Thanks, (though this is more formal). The speaker uses a set of brief notes /outline that he/she
expands each note by supplying flesh to each point in the course of delivery. Sounds more
spontaneous, conversational and fully controlled because no panic, and is not normally tied to
any script.