LBIL 1103: EFFECTIVE SPEAKING

EFFECTIVE SPEAKING

Why: Deciding the objectives
The first thing the participant must decide is the purpose of the presentation. Is it to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to convince, and call to action or a combination of these?
To inform: speaking to give information on certain issues, objects etc.
To persuade: the process of creating, reinforcing or changing people’s beliefs or actions.

The purpose is important for developing the presentation material, deciding on the use of visual equipment, use of humor and nearly every aspect of presentation development.

Who: Researching the audience
Audience analysis. There are two ways in analyzing the audience.
i) Demographic audience analysis
a) Age
b) Gender
c) Religious orientation
d) Sexual orientation
e) Racial, ethnic
f) Cultural background

ii) Situational audience analysis
a) size of an audience
b) physical setting – room temperature, size
c) disposition towards the topic – interest, knowledge, attitude
d) disposition towards the speaker
e) disposition towards the occasion

Getting information about the audience can be done by many ways. For instance, conducting interview and questionnaires.

Where: Preparing the environment
“Where” is primarily facility related. As noted to the participant, it is not always easy to change. That doesn’t mean specifying certain arrangements in advance or trying to correct a bad situation should not be done.

When: Timing
“When” is one the participants have minimal control over but being aware of the situational elements will help them prepare. As part of this question response you might ask the participant what he/she would do differently in situations such as right after lunch, or right after a cocktail hour.