Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of

people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform,

influence, or entertain the listeners. It is closely allied to
"presenting", although the latter has more of a commercial
advertisement connotation.
In public speaking, as in any form of communication, there are
five basic elements, often expressed as “who is saying what
to whom using what medium with what effects?” The
purpose of public speaking can range from simply
transmitting information, to motivating people to act, to
simply telling a story.
A presentation is any opportunity to communicate your point
of view or ideas to an audience. This can be informal or
formal, impromptu or prepared, individual or group.
Interpersonal communication and public speaking have several
components that embrace such things as motivational speaking,
leadership/personal development, business, customer service,
large group communication, and mass communication. Public
speaking can be a powerful tool to use for purposes such as
motivation, influence, persuasion, informing, translation, or
simply ethos.
Public speaking and oration are sometimes considered some of the
most importantly valued skills that an individual can possess.
This skill can be used for almost anything. Most great speakers
have a natural ability to display the skills and effectiveness that
can help to engage and move an audience for whatever purpose.
Language and rhetoric use are among two of the most important
aspects of public speaking and interpersonal communication.
Having knowledge and understanding of the use and purpose of
communication can help to make a more effective speaker
communicate their message in an effectual way.
Although we may not address the media or large
groups of people, in business we may make
presentations to our:
• bosses
• new employees
• customers
• colleagues
• suppliers
Also, let’s not forget that in a social setting, almost
everyone may be required to make a speech at a
party, a social gathering, a wedding, or at a party.
Planning
 Get to know your listeners
 Analyze the circumstances around your talk
 The location and the size of the audience
Writing
 Brainstorm the topic
 Get the hard information
 Write a draft and read it aloud
 Use visual aids
 Beyond the rough draft
Completing
 Practice, practice, practice
 It’s natural to feel nervous
Deliver the presentation
 Delivery of your speech
 Handling questions
Steps for Preparing Effective Oral Presentation
 Determine the purpose
To inform or to instruct/ to persuade/ to entertain/ to share knowledge /
to motivate/ to inspire/ to eulogize/ to criticize
 Analyze the audience and occasion
Message must be adapted to the audience
When speaking to outside group, seek out information such as the size of
the group, age range, interests, goals, occupations, etc.
More technical expressions and illustrations can be used if the audience
has same occupation.
 Select the main ideas for the message
Brainstorming
Your first list of core ideas may be disorganized and haphazard
Abstracting
 Research the topic
Collect information, facts, and data
New facts and new views can constantly appear
 Write the rough draft
 Organize the data and write the final draft
Force some order on your information
 Introduction
Porch-your opening remarks
Aim-your purpose
Layout-division of your remarks
 Body
Discussion, evidence for the central theme, supporting details, examples,
 Summary/conclusion
Summary-reminds of the main ideas covered in the body
Conclusion-draws inferences from the data
 Create visual aids
 Rehearse the talk
You’ll become comfortable with your material
You can still revise where necessary
How many times should you rehearse?
Kinds of Oral Presentations
Difference on the basis of purpose-informative speaking,
persuasive public speaking, etc.
Long and Short talks
Short talks may range from 1 to 10 minutes
Long talks may range from 10 minutes to 1 hour or even more
Ways of Delivering Oral Messages
 Extemporaneous
Allows speakers to use notes or an outline; 3 by 5 inch cards or a full
sheet of paper
Allows more eye contact with the audience and enables the speaker to
move with ease
 Reading
Major political figures and others who do not want to make a mistake,
read a manuscript
Speakers on television often read from a teleprompter
Some speakers use a page style similar to a TV script, leaving a left
margin of about one-third of the page for pronunciation aids or
suggestions as to where or when to look at the audience
 Memorization
Some speakers the whole text/presentation
Often the first few words of a statement can be memorized but the time
needed to recall a long speech is prohibited
 Impromptu
Speaking “off the cough”, without preparation, without a forewarning
Strategies for an Effective Oral Delivery
Your voice is your trademark: it is that part of yourself that adds
the human element to your words. Writing does not have that
immediacy because the words are static on a page.
Pitch-the highness and lowness of your voice
Monotone-the speaker has little or no variation in pitch
High or low voice-voice that rarely rise out of a lower register; an
excited speaker frequents the upper range
Same word value-intonation
Rate-number of words spoken per minute
Normal range of public speakers: 80-160 words per minute
Range in casual conversation: 80-250 words per minute
Fast and slow speakers
Pause-oral white space: pauses between major thought groups
Lets the receiver reflect on the message and helps break the flow of
thought
Lets the speaker collect his thoughts , rest his voice or take time to move
to a visual
Volume-the loudness and softness of your voice
Adapt your volume level to the size of the audience and room
Contrast in emphasis-using a louder or softer volume on certain words,
certain ideas, certain parts of the talk, and even certain syllables
Controlled breathing
Vocal quality-husky, loud, deep, vibrant, weak, strong, gentle, squeaky,
shrill, etc.
Pronunciation
Varied regional accents
Added or omitted sounds-assimilation, elision, short forms
Jargons
Strategies for an Effective Non-verbal Delivery
How much do you communicate about yourself non-verbally when
speaking?
How close do you stand to someone in polite conversations?
How important is your attire when speaking?
Your posture, movement, gestures, facial expressions, and attire
convey non-verbal cues.
Posture-the way you sit or stand
One can sense the poise, self-control, and confidence of the speaker
if he delivers the speech standing erect, straight and unbending,
balancing weight on both feet
The speaker draped over a podium with his shoulders sagging,
gives the feeling of depression and lack of self-control and
interest
Posture may be adapted to the audience
Movement-taking a few steps during a presntation helps to:
Hold attention
Get rid of nervousness
Suggest transition
Increase emphasis
Gestures-any movement of hands, arms, head, shoulders
Kinesics: the science of body movements, of which gestures are a
part.
Gestures are used to emphasize, to point, to reject, and to describe.
Vary gestures
Avoid continuous use of gestures
Adapt gestures
Watch timing
Facial expressions-a smile suggests that your topic interests you, a
frown or glare may convey that you are worried, angry or ill at
ease.
Facial expressions also include eye contact
Appearance-Personal appearance and appearance of surrounding
How you look and what you wear affects listeners
Dress code
Stage Fright
Being at ease or simply giving the impression of being at ease is
difficult for most people. Few people can approach an audience
without some feeling of discomfort. In traditional ranking,
speaking before an audience is ranked the most fearful thing
some people do.
Signs of discomfort-the heart rate increases, blood pressure and
body temperature rises, mouth feels dry, voice trembles, palms
get sweaty, etc.
All are internal, none are visible to the audience. You may be
aware of these things, but they are not obvious to the listeners,
unless you make them.
Strategies for Decreasing Stage Fright
Confidence; feeling that you know the subject better than anyone
else, the feeling that you are in charge
Rehearse your talk several times
Pre-check any equipment you will need
Take an object with you-a pen, notes, a marker, etc.
Breath deeply and slowly before speaking
Move during the presentation
Every public speaker should be able to: 
Research a topic–Good speakers stick to what they know. Great
speakers research what they need to convey.
Focus–Help your audience grasp your message by focusing on your
message.
Organize ideas logically–A well-organized presentation can be
absorbed with minimal mental strain. Bridging is key.
Employ quotations, facts, and statistics–Don’t include these for the
sake of including them, but do use them appropriately to complement
your ideas.
Master metaphors–Metaphors enhance the understandability of the
message in a way that direct language often can not.
Tell a story–Everyone loves a story. Points wrapped up in a story are
more memorable, too!
Start strong and close stronger–The body of your presentation
should be strong too, but your audience will remember your first and
last words (if, indeed, they remember anything at all).
Incorporate humor–Knowing when to use humor is essential. So is
developing the comedic timing to deliver it with greatest effect.
• Vary vocal pace, tone, and volume–A monotone voice
is like fingernails on the chalkboard.
Punctuate words with gestures–Gestures should
complement your words in harmony.
Complement words with visual aids–Visual aids
should aid the message; they should not be the message.
Analyze the audience–Deliver the message they want
(or need) to listen.
Connect with the audience–Eye contact is only the
first step.
Interact with the audience–Ask questions (and care
about the answers). Solicit volunteers.
Conduct a Q&A session–Not every speaking
opportunity affords a Q&A session, but understand how
to lead one productively.
Lead a discussion–Again, not every speaking opportunity affords time for a
discussion but know how to engage the audience productively.
Obey time constraints–Maybe you have 2 minutes. Maybe you have 45.
Either way, customize your presentation to fit the time allowed, and respect
your audience by not going over time.
Craft an introduction–Set the context and make sure the audience is ready
to go, whether the introduction is for you or for someone else.
Exhibit confidence and poise–These qualities are sometimes difficult for a
speaker to attain, but easy for an audience to sense.
Handle unexpected issues smoothly–Maybe the lights will go out. Maybe
the projector is dead. Have a plan to handle every situation.
Be coherent when speaking off the cuff–Impromptu speaking (before, after,
or during a presentation) leaves a lasting impression too. Doing it well tells
the audience that you are personable, and that you are an expert who knows
their stuff beyond the slides and prepared speech.
Seek and utilize feedback–Understand that no presentation or presenter is
perfect. Aim for continuous improvement, and understand that the best way
to improve is to solicit candid feedback from as many people as you can.
Listen critically and analyze other speakers–Study the strengths and
weakness of other speakers.
Act and speak ethically.
 THE APPEAL OF VISUAL PRESENTATION
Visual presentation of information is having an increasing impact
on our lives. You only need turn on the television set or open any
newspaper to appreciate the widespread use and effectiveness of
such presentation. Visual presentation is beneficial for many
reasons:
• Complex facts and figures can be much more easily absorbed.
• Visual presentation adds impact to the information.
• It enables quicker understanding due to its simplified format.
• It enables comparisons to be made and recognized easily.
• The audience is more likely to be interested in a chart or diagram
than a long explanation or lots of words.
• Charts or diagrams can easily be transferred onto overhead
transparencies for presentation to large groups.
To ensure the effectiveness of the presentation, it is important to
select the most appropriate method. There are many ways in
which information can be presented:
• tabulated data
• line graphs
• bar charts
• pie charts
• pictograms
• maps and diagrams
• flowcharts
• visual planning boards
• computer graphics