Public Speaking Chapter Four Listening to Speeches

Public SpeakingChapter Four

Listening to Speeches

ListeningO to select a sound is to single out a

message from several competing messagesO a listener has many competing messages

to sort through, including personal thoughts

O your job as a public speaker is to motivate your listeners to focus on your message

O to attend to a sound is to focus on itO most people’s average attention span while

listening to someone speak is 8 secondsO your choice of supporting material is often

the key to gaining and maintaining attention

ListeningO to understand something, people

assign meaning to the information that comes their wayO it is known that people understand

what they hear by relating it to something that they have already seen or heard

O as a speaker, you should clearly explain your ideas in terms and images that your listeners understand

ListeningO to remember is to recall ideas and

informationO typically, the best way to determine if

an audience has been listening it to determine what they can remember

Your goal as a public speaker is to develop and deliver a speech that audience members will listen and respond to.

Barriers to Effective Listening

O Information OverloadO Everyone has the potential to become

an effective listener.O The problem is that we listen so much

that instead of getting better at it, we are getting better at “tuning things out” because we are tired of listening to so many things.


O What you can do as a speaker:O make sure your speech has a good balance

between new information and supporting materialO a speech that has too many facts,

definitions, or ideas makes listening difficultO pace the flow of new ideas and information

O 30% of your speaking time should be presenting new ideas

O 70% of your speaking time should be spend supporting these ideas with examples and stories (interesting ones!)


O what you can do as a listener:O the key to being a good listener is to

recognize when you are NOT being a good listener and adjustO make a special effort to concentrate on

the information that you are hearingO look at the speakerO sit up straightO remain focused on the message

Personal ConcernsO Your own thoughts are the biggest

competitors for your attention when you are a member of an audienceO what you can do as a speaker:

O use “wake up” messages (such as “Now listen…”)

O use good eye contactO use appropriate volume and vocal

variationO speak with appropriate gestures for

emphasis

Personal ConcernsO What you can do as a listener:

O stop the mental conversation that you are having with yourself about ideas that are not related to the speaker’s message

O be aware of thoughts, worries, and daydreams that are competing for your attention

O once you are aware that you are off task, return your attention to what the speaker is saying

Outside DistractionsO What you can do as a speaker:

O be aware of anything that might distract your listeners’ attentionO how are the chairs arranged? (does the

arrangement allow for a clear view of you and your materials?)

O is there distracting or irrelevant information on the whiteboard?

O check out the room ahead of time (if possible)O look where your audience will be seated and look for

possible distractionsO then, reduce or eliminate them

O while speaking, politely discourage whispering or talking

Outside DistractionsO What you can do as a listener:

O be on the lookout for potential distractionsO move your seat, if necessaryO if you need to, close the blinds, turn off

the lights, etc. (anything that might help the speaker and prevent distractions)

PrejudiceO Prejudice is preconceived opinions, attitudes,

and beliefs about a person, place, thing, or message

O When you prejudge a message, your ability to understand it decreasesO Ways to prejudge a message:

O a Democrat, while listening to a Republican speaker, may listen differently to the message because of political differences

O making snap judgments based on a speaker’s appearance

O too readily accepting what a speaker says because of the way he or she looks, sounds, or dresses

PrejudgeO What you can do as a speaker:

O do your best to get your audience’s attention at the beginning of your message

O make sure you are not using examples, words, or phrases that could be misinterpreted

O when you are speaking to a group that might be critical or hostile of your message, be sure to use careful language, sound reasoning, detailed arguments, detailed and convincing evidenceO strong emotional appeals will not work in these

types of situations

PrejudiceO What you can do as a listener:

O be aware of your preconceived notions

O try to avoid becoming so critical of a message that you don’t listen to it or are so impressed that you decide too quickly that the speaker is trustworthy without examining the evidence

Differences Between Speech Rate and Thought Rate

O Most people talk at a rate of 125 words a minute, but have the ability to listen to up to 700 words a minute O some studies claim people can listen

to up to 1,200 words a minuteO the problem that this presents is that

this gives audience members time to ignore a speaker periodically – and eventually stop listening


O What you can do as a speaker:O build in message redundancy / have

appropriate internal summaries in speech

O use clear transitionsO be well organizedO make your major ideas clear


O What you can do as a listener:O use your mental power to stay

focused on the messageO periodically make a mental summary

of what a speaker is saying to increase your ability to remember the information

Receiver ApprehensionO Receiver apprehension is the fear of

misunderstanding or misinterpreting the spoken messages of others.O If you experience receiver /listener

apprehension, you may have difficulty understanding all that you hear because your fear creates “noise” that may interfere how much information you comprehend

Receiver ApprehensionO What you can do as a speaker:

O be more redundantO offer clear preview statementsO include appropriate summaries when

making transitionsO summarize key points at the end of

your speechO use visual presentation aids

Receiver ApprehensionO What you can do as a listener:

O work harder to try to comprehend a message

O use a tape recorder to record a lectureO (BUT ASK PERMISSION FIRST)

O summarize mentally what you hearO take accurate notes

How to Become a Better Listener

O Listen with your eyes as well as your earsO nonverbal cues play a major role in

communicating a message – some have even estimated that 93% of the emotional context of a speech is conveyed through nonverbal cues

O Accurately interpret nonverbal messagesO a speaker’s facial expressions will help you

identify the emotions being communicatedO posture and gestures reinforce the intensity of

an emotionO get a good view to increase nonverbal cue

understanding


O consider nonverbal cues in contextO look for clusters of cuesO look for cues that communicate liking,

power, and responsivenessO Adapt to the speaker’s delivery

O to be a good listener, you must adapt to a speaker’s idiosyncrasies

O do not mentally criticize a speaker, focus on the message


O at the same time, just because a speaker is polished and sounds good, does not mean that his or her message is credible

O Listen mindfullyO be conscious of whether or not you are actually

paying attention to a speakerO Monitor your emotional reaction to a message

O if you become angry at a word or phrase that s speaker uses, your listening comprehension decreases

O don’t let a speaker’s message close down your mind


O Avoid jumping to conclusionsO give a speaker time to develop and

support his or her main point before you decide whether or not the message has any value

O Be a selfish listenerO find a way to benefit from the

information that you are listening toO ask yourself “What’s in it for me?” and

“How can I use this information?”


O Listen skillfullyO identify your listening goalO listen for major ideasO practice good listening methodsO adapt to listening styles as necessaryO be an active listener


O Identify your listening goalO there are at least four major listening goals:

O listening for pleasureO you listen to something just for the fun of it

O to empathizeO make an attempt to feel what the speaker is

feeling (stop, look, listen, imagine, check for understanding)

O to evaluateO making a judgment about the content

O to gain informationO to learn something


O Listen for major ideasO facts are useful only when you can

connect them to a principle or conceptO in speeches, facts and examples are

used to support major ideasO try to summarize the major ideas that

the specific facts support

O Practice ListeningO listening skills do not develop

automatically – you need to practice


O Understanding your listening styleO listening styles are preferred ways of

making sense out of spoken messagesO people-oriented listeners are comfortable

listening to others express feelings and emotions

O action-oriented listeners prefer information that is well organized, brief, and accurate

O content-oriented listeners prefer messages that are supported with facts and details

O time-oriented listeners like short and succinct messages


O Become and active listenerO an active listener is one who remains alert

and mentally re-sorts, rephrases, and repeats key information when listening to a speech.O re-sort – seek ways to rearrange the speaker’s

information into a new, more logical patternO rephrase – summarize key points or information

that you want to remember into your own words – you will remember the information better

O repeat – repeat key points that you want to remember

O go back to essential ideas and restate them to yourself

Improving Your Note-taking Skills

O It is difficult to remember the details of a long speech unless you have taken notes. O When you couple note taking with

good listening skills, your ability to remember information is greatly increased.

O To improve your note-takings skills:O prepare – come prepared to take

notes, even if you aren’t sure that you will need to

O determine whether you need to take notes

Improving Your Note-taking Skills

O decide on the type of notes you need to take – this will depend on what you will need to do with the information after the speech

O make your notes meaningful –O beware of taking too many notesO leave a blank area in your margin to

use while reviewing your notes – this can help to sort through / retain pertinent information

Listening and Critical Thinking

O Critical listening is the process of listening to evaluate the quality, appropriateness, value, or importance of the information you hear.

O Critical listening is a mental process of making judgments about the conclusions presented in what you see, hear, and read.O the goal of being a critical listener or a

critical thinker is to evaluate information and to make a choice – to assess the quality of information and the validity of the conclusions presented


O Separate facts from inferencesO Facts are based on something that has

been proven by direct observation.O An inference is a conclusion based on

partial information or an evaluation that has not been directly observed.

O Facts are in the realm of certainty, whereas inferences are in the realm of probability and opinion O This is where most arguments in public

speaking are!


O Evaluate the Quality of EvidenceO Evidence consists of the facts,

examples, opinions, and statistics that a speaker uses to support a conclusion.O without credible supporting evidence,

you should not agree with a speaker’s conclusions

O some speakers use examplesO if the examples are not typical or if only

one examples out of many is offered, you should question the conclusion


O speakers might also use opinionsO the best opinions come from reliable,

credible sources (people who have experience, credentials to make a statement about the topic)

O a statistic is a number that summarizes a collection of examplesO think about if the statistics are reliable,

unbiased, recent, representative, and valid before believing the speaker’s conclusion


O Evaluate the underlying logic and reasoningO an effective critical thinker listens not only for

evidence, but also for the overall structure of the logic that the speaker uses to reach a conclusion.O Logic is a formal system of rules applied to

reach a conclusion.O reasoning is the process of drawing conclusion

from evidence within the logical framework of arguments

O when a speaker is trying to change your behavior, listen carefully to the logical or structure of the argument


O a study of communication principles and skills not only helps you to become a better public speaker, but also a better consumer of messagesO this is a benefit that you will use for

the rest of your life – in various situations

Analyzing and Evaluating Speeches

O Your critical thinking and listening skills will help you evaluate not only the speeches of others, but also your own speeches.

O To make a judgment about the value of something, it is important to use criteria for what is and what is not effective or appropriate.O Rhetorical criticism is the process of using a

method or standards to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of messages.


O Rhetoric is the process of using symbols to create meaning to achieve a goal. O as a public speaker, you use symbols

to create meaning in the minds of your listeners and to achieve a goal (to inform, to entertain, to persuade)


O Understanding Criteria for Evaluating SpeechesO Your public speaking teacher will

undoubtedly have a rubric or evaluation form for speeches, but there are two fundamental goals for what constitutes a “good” speech:O it is effectiveO it is ethical


O The message should be effective:O to be effective, the message of a speech should be

understandable to listeners and should achieve its purposeO if listeners fail to comprehend the speaker’s ideas, the

speech failsO as you listen to speeches, a fundamental piece to look

at in determining the success of a speech is whether or not you understood the message

O another way to evaluate the effectiveness of a message is to assess whether it achieved its intended goalO this an only truly happen if the goal of the speech is

clear (which, unfortunately, is not always the case)


O The message should be ethicalO if a speaker’s message is clearly

understood by the audience and also gets the reaction the speaker desired, but the speaker has used unethical means to achieve the goal, the message might be effective, but it was not appropriate

O an ethical public speaker focuses not only on achieving the goal of the message, but also doing so in an ethical way (while being sensitive and responsive to listeners)


O Identifying and analyzing rhetorical strategies:O symbols are words, images, and behaviors

that create meaning for othersO public speakers use symbols to achieve their

goalsO rhetorical strategies are methods and

techniques that speaker use to achieve their speaking goalsO in order to enhance your listening skills, you

should be more aware of how message influence your behavior (i.e. – rhetorical strategies)


O some speakers use unethical strategies to achieve their goals, such as misusing evidence, relying too heavily on emotion to persuade, or fabricating information

O the more clearly you can identify and analyze the speaker’s methods, the more effectively you can assess whether the message and the messenger are worthy of your support


O Giving Feedback to OthersO to criticize a speech is to discuss the

speech – identifying both strengths and aspects that could be improved.

O to give effective feedback:O be descriptive – in a neutral way,

describe what you sawO be specific – make sure your

descriptions are precise enough to give the speaker a clear iamge


O be positive – begin and end your feedback with positive comments

O be constructive – give the speaker suggestions or alternatives for improvements

O be sensitive – use “I” statements rather than “you” statements

O be realistic – provide usable information


O Giving feedback to yourself:O you are the most important critic of

your speechesO look for and reinforce your skills and

speaking abilities – try to recognize your strengths and skills as a public speaker

O evaluate your effectiveness based on your specific speaking situation – be flexible and adapt principles and practices to specific speech situations


O identify one or two areas for improvement – after each speaking opportunity, identify what you did right and then a suggestion or two about ways to improve

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Public Speaking Chapter Four Listening to Speeches