PUBLIC ADDRESS: Principles and Practice

As the number of persons increase in a speech situation: a. The speaker will have to talk louder and slower; b. The seating arrangement have to be changed; c. The situation tends to be formal; d. Audience interests become varied; Thus, speaker preparation becomes thorough. These variations in interaction take place in varying degrees, depending on the purpose. Communication arises from the desire to give and receive messages.

Preparing the Speech

A well organized speech is simple and readily intelligible to the listeners. The preparation of a speech involves six basic steps: 1. Knowing your audience. 2. Choosing the topic. 3. Determining your purpose. 4. Collecting your supporting materials. 5. Making the outline. 6. Writing the speech.

1. Knowing Your Audience.

Find out the specific details of the occasion: date and hour, attendance, place of meeting, type of meeting, type of program. Know the common traits and interests of your audience. age, sex, race, family status, economic status, educational status, community, occupation, religion, politics, memberships

Before your speech, have an adequate information about the possible attitudes toward your topic: a. Is the topic strongly or moderately favorable to the audience? b. Is the audience strongly or moderately neutral or actively conflicting in its attitude toward the topic? c. Is the audience indifferent toward, uninformed about, or simply uninterested in the topic?

You should also gauge the attitudes of the audience toward you (the speaker):
a. In what respects are you like or unlike most of your audience? b. Will the audience know about these resemblances and differences? c. What are your personal reasons for speaking here? d. Will the audience know these reasons? e. How many in the audience are personally acquainted with you? f. Will most of the audience be favorably inclined toward you personally or will be prejudiced about you?

2. Choosing Your Topic.

Most often, when one is invited to talk, he is given a topic, but there are times when he is given a general topic or none at all. In this connection, the choice of topic should consider your audience, the subject, the occasion, and its suitability to the entire speech situation.

1. You may choose a familiar topic and find out more about it. 2. Know when and where the speech will be given. 3. Choose a topic that can be presented orally.

3. Determining Your Purpose.

Your purpose should be specific and audiencecentered. Do not tell the audience at the outset what your purpose is. Let them find out your purpose as you develop your theme.

4. Collecting Supporting Materials.

Speakers study the materials before speaking about them. The supporting materials help explain and amplify your ideas to the audience (speech to inform); convince them that your arguments are logical and that your suggestions are for their best interest (for speech to persuade); or add vitality and warmth to your comments (for speech to entertain).

The major sources of materials for a speech are: a. Conversations b. Investigations c. Readings You may use descriptions (vivid, realistic appeal to the senses), anecdote (narrative example or brief story with a point), specific instance (condensed illustration), quotations (authority acceptable to audience), statistics (groups of facts scientifically collected).

5. Making the Outline.

The blueprint or framework of your speech. a. Revise or adapt your specific purpose after collecting the materials you needed. b. Divide the speech into main headings.
Time order pattern Space order pattern Topical order

c. Organize the parts so that only the essential ideas are included. d. Group your facts into few main topics, three at the most, so that the listeners can easily remember.

6. Writing the Speech.

Three parts: a. Introduction 10% of the entire speech. b. Body - Five kinds of transitions: connecting words and phrases, rhetorical questions, repetition of words or phrases, perspectives, c. Conclusion 5% of the entire speech giving a challenge, giving a summary, appealing to emotions, visualizing the future.