Page 320 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 11 Delivery: Engaging Your Audience 287

Exhibit 11.1
Mode of Delivery Advantages Disadvantages
Advantages and Dis-
Manuscript Accuracy Loss of eye contact advantages of Delivery
Precision Written rather than oral style Mode
May be quoted Easy to lose place

Memorized Keeps eye contact with audience Easy to forget
Freedom of movement Appears “canned”
Extensive preparation required
Lack of spontaneity

Impromptu Spontaneous Lack of time to prepare
Maintains eye contact with Can be anxiety arousing
audience
Can be embarrassing if speaker
Adaptable to situation fails to anticipate possible
questions

Extemporaneous Combines preparation and Excessive use of note cards can
spontaneity inhibit spontaneity
Can maintain eye contact Poor use of note cards can limit
ability to gesture
Adaptable
Allows for accuracy in wording
where necessary

something entirely different to another. For example, consider how three differ-
ent audiences might respond to the same speech. As we speak, a North Ameri-
can audience returns our eye contact and nods in agreement with us. A Brit-
ish audience also returns our eye contact, but heads remain motionless. And
a West African audience avoids making direct eye contact with us altogether.
What should we make of their feedback in each situation? Before you decide,
perhaps it would help to know this: When the British agree with a speaker, they
sometimes blink rather than nod their head. Further, the more direct the eye
contact of West Africans, the less they respect the person to whom it is directed.
Knowing the typical patterns of nonverbal behavior in a given culture is es-
sential if we are to accurately interpret the nonverbal behaviors of our audience
members.
Another example of differences among culturally diverse audiences con-
cerns voice. Almost from birth, the norm for the North American culture is
“to speak up and let yourself be heard.” What is normative here, however, may
be loud in Japan or among the upper class in Great Britain. And much as we
may want to be heard, we don’t want to be perceived as loudmouths in these
cultures.
In contrast to the norm in these two cultures, African American audiences
sometimes are verbal participants in the speech transaction. When audience
members agree with the speaker, they may let the speaker know with audible
feedback. When they disagree, they may also let the speaker know. Rather than
being a sign of disrespect to the speaker, this kind of audience participation is
an outgrowth of a rich “call-and-response” tradition with roots in the African
American church.