Page 57 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

24 Part 1 Foundations

Try to imagine how diffi cult it would be to learn a skill for the fi rst time by only
reading about it or only seeing someone else do it; for example, mastering the
intricacies of driving a car with a 6-speed manual transmission or modeling the
fret work of your favorite band’s lead guitarist. Then imagine how much more
diffi cult this would be if you seldom practiced the skill in the course of your ev-
eryday life? Wouldn’t you agree it would be tough, if not impossible?
Well, imagine you are in a class where the subject and corresponding skill
mimic this scenario to a tee. You have read about the subject and skill and seen
others practice the skill with varying degrees of success, but have had little op-
portunity to practice it yourself.
For many beginning public speakers, the preceding scenario is more fact than
fi ction. The art and science of public speaking are things they have only read
about or seen others practice. This is not to say that they have never attempted
to speak publicly—only that these attempts have been based on scant knowledge
and little or no practice.
We often ask our students how many of them have given at least 100 public
speeches in their lives. Rarely is even a single hand raised. What strikes many of
them as a lot, however, is very little when compared to the knowledge and rep-
etition necessary to drive a car with a manual transmission, play a lead guitar, or
master a new computer game.
The reality is that in order to become a competent public speaker, you will
need to get on your feet and speak to your classmates early and often. That’s
why we assign an early speech in our classes, often the second or third class
meeting. These speeches are usually based on personal experience. Not only
does this get students speaking early, it also helps classmates learn about each
other, which will be important to them later as they match their speech topics to
their audience.
This chapter takes a general look at the individual steps you need to master
in the process of developing and delivering your fi rst speech. This is not a sub-
stitute for the content to follow in later chapters but a detailed preview of it. It’s
designed to assist you in developing an overall sense of what effective public
speaking involves, starting with choosing the right topic and ending with iden-
tifying a style of delivery that best suits the situation. The steps we discuss are
(1) analyzing the rhetorical situation which you face, including your audience;
(2) deciding on a purpose; (3) choosing a topic that is suitable to both the situ-
ation and chosen purpose; (4) constructing a specifi c purpose and developing a
clear thesis statement for your speech; (5) preparing the substance of your speech;
(6) organizing your speech; and (7) presenting your speech effectively.

First Things First

Analyzing the Rhetorical
Situation, Including the Audience

One of your fi rst speech assignments may be to introduce a classmate or your-
self, to share a brief story with the class, to prove a controversial point, or to
illustrate your pet peeve. Whatever the assignment, you need to understand com-