Page 164 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

In Their Own Words

Carolyn McCarthy’s Journey

December 7th, 1993—that was the day of the Long Island politics wasn’t anything I ever wanted to do. But this journey
Railroad massacre. My life and the lives of many others will make a difference when our neighborhoods pull together,
changed forever. . . . On that day I started a journey, a jour- when government listens to us again. When all of us, Demo-
ney against gun violence in this nation. Today I am here as a crats and Republicans, come together to solve our prob-
nurse, as a mother, as a person who isn’t afraid to speak up lems, not just fi ght about them.
on what is going on in this country. . . . The journey I began Source: Reprinted by permission of the author.
in 1993 wasn’t one that I had planned. Getting involved in

Although we sincerely hope you are never
compelled to speak out as a result of the kind
of misfortune that visited Carolyn McCarthy
and Mary Fisher, as was the case with Con-
gressman Murphy, you may at some point in
your life feel compelled to speak out on a topic
about which you simply cannot remain silent.
Whether you succeed in moving people in
your desired direction will depend fi rst on how
well you match your public speaking skills to
your audience, the context in which you speak,
and the inevitable constraints you face.
This chapter is meant to help you prepare
not only for unforeseen circumstances in the
future, which will motivate you to speak, but
also for the one in which you fi nd yourself right
now: your speech class. In the pages that fol-
low we focus on a variety of topics, all of which
are related to the task of analyzing and adapt-
ing to your audience. These topics include the
following:

• How public speeches emerge as a
response to a rhetorical situation
• The importance of thinking about the
purpose and goals of your speech relative
to your audience
• How your purpose and goals are medi-
ated by audience diversity
Carolyn McCarthy, a homemaker and nurse, never ex-
• How best to adapt your speech to diverse pected that one day her personal tragedy would lead her to
audiences address the 1996 Democratic National Convention about
gun violence.
• The importance of identifying and adapt-
ing to your potential audience and to the
situational constraints you may encounter
• How to gather information about your audience to help you analyze it. 131