Preparation Outline 1: Persuasive SpeechbyLuis Medina
Specific Purpose: I want the audience to understand the modes of delivery.Thesis Sentence: There are four modes of delivery.IntroductionYou have been given an assignment to deliver a speech to a group of people. You want to do well in this speech, but how do you approach this particular audience? I’m Julie Smith. I’ve taught Speech courses for over 10 years, and I can help you with this decision. Which style or mode of delivery should you use in your speech? Let’s talk about that.BodyYou could decide to do an impromptu speech.An impromptu speech is one delivered without any preparation or rehearsal.Most people are not very effective without significant preparation and rehearsal for a particular public speech.(Sample transition: However, it’s also possible to be ineffective even if you are very prepared.)You could decide to deliver a speech which you read from a manuscript.A read-from-manuscript speech is one in which the speaker writes out the speech word-for-word and then simply reads the manuscript to the audience.There are two problems with a read-from-manuscript speech.If the speaker has done extensive rehearsals, then the speaker is likely to look as if he or she has just seen the manuscript for the first time when reading it to the audience.The speaker is likely to look at the manuscript most of the time, instead of looking at the audience about 85% of the time, which is what speakers should be doing when delivering public speeches.There are very few occasions in which a read-from-manuscript speech is appropriate.A public speech delivered by the President of the United States, when his or her words could motivate other nations to take strong economic, military, or political actions contrary to the national interests of the United States.An address by the leader of one of the great world religions, such as a speech by the Pope, also known as the Bishop of Rome.(Sample transition: Knowing this, you might be tempted to simply memorize your speech.)You could decide to deliver the speech totally from memory.Like the read-from-manuscript mode of delivery, the memorized speech is written out word-for-word, but is delivered totally from memory.The fact that both the read-from-manuscript mode of delivery and the memorized mode of delivery are based upon a document that is written out word-for-word presents a real problem for public speakers.Effective public speakers are expected to adapt to the needs of the audience during the speech.In order to adapt to the needs of the audience during the speech, the speaker needs to be able to read feedback from the audience.The speaker needs to looking at the audience about 85% of the time in order to read feedback effectively, which most manuscript speakers don’t do and which many speakers speaking from memory do ineffectively.Then the speaker needs to be able to change the ideas, examples, and words used in order to adapt to the needs of the audience.But both the read-from-manuscript and memorized modes of delivery do not allow speakers to deviate from the words that were written before beginning to speak.Some speakers delivering a speech from memory forget what they want to say part way through the speech, having no good way to effectively complete the speech.(Sample transition: All of these methods of speech delivery are ineffective in some way. So how should you do it?)Almost all speech communication professors recommend that speakers use an extemporaneous style of delivery.In the extemporaneous style of delivery, the speaker selects and narrows his or her topic and specific purpose; gathers, organizes, and outlines ideas and other supporting materials; and rehearses the speech several times per day for a period of 7-10 days before the speech is delivered in public.Unlike the impromptu speech, the extemporaneous speech is delivered after extensive preparation and rehearsal.Unlike the read-from-manuscript and memorized speeches, the speaker is not locked in to a particular set of words he or she must use to communicate with the audience.ConclusionWell, you have been given an assignment to deliver a public speech. You want to do a good job with this speech. Now, you know that delivering the speech off-the cuff is not a good idea. And reading the speech from manuscript or delivering the speech from memory is not such a great idea either. If you use the suggestions I have provided for delivering a speech extemporaneously, you will probably be much more effective than if you use one of the other modes of delivery.BibliographyBeebe, S. A. and Beebe, S. J. (2003). Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach (5th edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.Gregory, H. (2002). Public Speaking for Colleges and Career. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a Division of the McGraw-Hill Companies.Jaffe, C. (2001). Public Speaking: Concepts and Skills for a Diverse Society (3rd edition). Wadsworth, a Division of Thomson Learning.Lucas, S. E. (2004). The Art of Public Speaking (8th edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Osborn, M. and Osborn, S. (2003). Public Speaking (6th edition). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.Verderber, R. F. (2000). The Challenge of Effective Speaking (11th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, a Division of Thomson Learning.