Page 49 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

16 Part 1 Foundations

speaker’s message as encoded depends on many factors, including but not lim-
ited to:

• Language
• Culture
• Age
• Gender

Using idioms such as “cool” to describe a car when speaking in front of an audi-
ence of non-native English speakers could prove puzzling to them. This problem
would also occur with a sentence in which you described the lifestyle of Sean
Coombs or Marshall Holmes as “large” or “phat.”

Channels

A channel is the physical medium through which communication occurs.
channel
The transmission of the light and sound waves that make up the picture you
The physical medium
see on your TV set requires a channel through which they can be signaled and
through which communi-
received. Picture and audio are encoded into electronic impulses, which must be
cation occurs.
decoded by your television receiver. In human communication, we primarily use
our senses as channels for the messages we send and receive. We use our voice,
eyes, and body, for example, to channel our speeches, conversations, and group
discussions. On occasion, we also use our sense of touch, sense of smell, and even
our sense of taste as channels of communication.
In the case of public speaking, we can also use supplementary channels of
communication to augment the fi ve senses. We can electronically amplify our
voice so that it can be better heard or use visual aids such as poster boards, over-
head transparencies, and PowerPoint™ slides.

Perceptions

The transactional system we’ve been describing demands that we both under-
stand and appreciate the role of perception in public speaking. Perception is
perception
the pro cess by which we give meaning to our experiences. This process begins
The process by which
when we decide to attend to some stimulus that our senses have picked up on:
we give meaning to our
for example, the driver of the oncoming car whose bright lights are blinding you
experiences.
to the road ahead. Based on your past experiences you instantly organize a mes-
sage—you fl ash your bright lights, signaling the other driver to dim his.
Communication unfolds in much the same way. Our senses pick up a smiling
face as we walk from one class to the next. When we hear the words, “What’s
up,” also coming from the smiling face, this is what usually happens. First, we
organize the facial expression and audible sound into a whole. Second, we give
meaning to this whole. Third, we organize a response, smiling back and saying,
“Nothing much.” Such transactions not only take place in microseconds but also
require little to no conscious thought.
On one hand, the instantaneous way we make sense of and respond to the
messages we attend to is essential to our survival. On the other, it also can make
us overconfi dent and prone to making mistakes about what we sense, how we
perceive what we sense, and how we respond to it.