Answer the following questions, using information from this week’s readings. Respond to each question in 100 to 200 words.
1. Briefly explain the seven elements of the speech communication process. How do these elements determine a speech’s success or failure?
Speaker- The person who is presenting an oral message to the listener.
Message- What a speaker communicates to someone else.
Channel- The means in which a message is communicated.
Listener- The person who receives the speaker’s message
Feedback- The messages, usually nonverbal, sent from a listener to a speaker.
Interference- Anything that impedes the communication of a message. Interference can be external or internal to listeners.
Situation-The time and place in which speech communication occurs.
These elements of the speech communication process can determine a speech’s success by: • Personal credibility • Knowledge of the subject • Preparation of the speech • Manner of speaking • Sensitivity to the audience and the occasion • Enthusiasm
By combining all these elements together and successfully delivering an accurate speech, in which, your audience is aware and interested; an individual cannot fail.
2. What is the difference between hearing and listening? What are some techniques you could employ to improve your listening skills?
Listening is paying close attention to, and making sense of, what we hear, whereas, hearing is the vibration of sound waves on the eardrums and the firing of electrochemical impulses in the brain. Basically hearing and listening are basic essentials in determining on what we have heard. Some techniques to help improve my listening skills can be:
• Resisting distractions • Being diverted by appearance or delivery • Suspending judgment • Focusing on my listening • Developing note-taking skills
By practicing and self-discipline, I can create seriousness towards becoming a better listener. Also, by giving my undivided attention to the speaker, I will be able to give an effort to understand the speaker’s point of view on a subject.
3. Compare the four methods of delivering oral presentations. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each?
|Reading verbatim from a |Reciting a memorized text |Speaking impromptu |Speaking extemporaneously |
|manuscript | | | |
|BENEFITS: |BENEFITS: |BENEFITS: |BENEFITS: |
|Having word for word to read |Remembering what is to be said |Little or no preparation |Carefully prepared and practiced with |
|to an audience | | |just a set of notes |
| | | |Spontaneity and directness |
| | | |Adaptable to many situations |
| | | |Precise control over thought and |
| | | |language |
| | | |Conversational quality |
|DRAWBACKS: |DRAWBACKS: |DRAWBACKS: |DRAWBACKS: |
|Pause in wrong place |Trying to remember word for word |No preparations to deliver |I found this is the best method of |
|Read too quickly or too |Gazing off trying to recall what was |a prepared speech |oral presentations and did not locate |
|slowly |memorized |Spur of the moment |any drawbacks. |
|Speak in a monotone | | | |
|March through the speech | | | |
|without glancing at the | | | |
|audience | | | |
|Falter over words | | | |
|Sound wooden or artificial | | | |
| | | | |
4. What are some ways to use your voice and body effectively when giving an oral presentation? In which areas do you need to improve?
• Volume- The loudness or softness of my voice • Pitch- The highness or lowness of my voice • Rate- The speed at which I speak • Pauses- A momentary break in the vocal delivery of my speech • Variety- Changes in my rate, pitch, and volume that give me the voice variety and expressiveness • Pronunciation- The accepted standard of sound and rhythm for words in my language • Articulation- The physical production of speech sounds in my voice • Dialect- A variety of a language distinguished by variations of accent, grammar, or vocabulary
Personally, I need to improve in all of them. Currently, I speak very softly and have a hard time looking people in the eyes when speaking to them. By improving all the above, I will finally create a successful speech and have confidence in public speaking.
