Ch. 7 Summary

Designing Oral Presentations

Ch. 7 is about oral presentations and how to go about them. Most people experience communication apprehension so that is very normal. The best way to relieve CA is to be prepared and know your speech very well. If you become very familiar with the material and your speech, it will reduce CA. There are four speech goals. Informative speeches, persuasive speeches, requesting speeches and entertainment/special occasion speeches. When doing an oral presentation, you should know who your audience is. This will help customize your speech to their specific needs. Also, using the right language is very important. This means speeches shouldn’t be too impersonal and dry. You should use personal pronouns and not be too formal. Contractions are good and sentences should be to the point and be idea focused. Your speech should begin with an introduction. This is a brief opening where you go over your main topic idea and give a good first impression. The main part of your speech is the body, which explains your main ideas, and gives supporting details. The conclusion should summarize your main point and close in way that your audience will connect with. Using electronic presentation software, like Powerpoint, can be helpful because they serve as visual aids that make the audience remember your speech better. There are four different speech delivery types. Impromptu, which is on the cuff. A manuscript speech where the speech is written word for word and read off. Extemporaneous speaking is planned but not memorized or written down. Only key ideas are outlined. And finally, a memorized speech is written and memorized fully so there is no manuscript in front of you. I found the strategies at the end of the chapter helpful for me personally. Like most, I get CA and the strategies seem like they would reduce my stress and tension before an oral presentation.