From the prominence of oral communication dating back 500,000 BCE, where our ancestors would tell stories through songs (McIntosh, 2020), to the use of coins as a means of business communication and commerce in the Middle East, to the emergence of print in East Asia, specifically China (Hoh, 2021), to the creation of the telegraph (Morse code, 2019), and eventually the internet. Verbal and non-verbal communication is indeed an integral part of our society. It touches us from the most personal portions of our lives to our most professional ones.
For any person who is looking for a successful career, they must be able to effectively communicate through oral and written means (Ellis, 2009). For any professional, it is the norm to create reports, go through interviews, present, hold meetings, and deal with email correspondences and phone calls.
This module will give you an overview of speech purpose and delivery.
OBJECTIVES
Learning Outcome/s In-Focus:
1. convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and or web-based presentations for
different target audiences in local and global settings by using appropriate registers; 2. create clear, coherent, and effective communication materials; 3. present ideas persuasively by using appropriate language registers, tone, facial expressions, and gestures; and 4. adopt an awareness of the audience and context in presenting ideas.
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
5. familiarize yourselves with the types of speeches according to purpose; and
6. recognize the principles and tools of speech delivery.
Different Types of Speech According to Purpose
1. Informative Speech – An informative speech is aimed at disseminating information regarding
a certain topic to an audience (Mapes, 2019). Furthermore, this type of speech should provide the audience with beneficial information regarding the subject of the speech. The parts of this speech are the introduction, body, and conclusion. An example of this speech is Marie Curie’s speech regarding the discovery of radium. The following is an excerpt from the speech (Curie, 2020): "I could tell you many things about radium and radioactivity, and it would take a long time. But as we cannot do that, I shall only give you a short account of my early work about radium. Radium is no longer a baby; it is more than twenty years old, but the conditions of the discovery were somewhat peculiar, and so it is always of interest to remember them and to explain them. We must go back to the year 1897. Professor Curie and I worked at that time in the laboratory of the School of Physics and Chemistry, where Professor Curie held his lectures. I was engaged in some work on uranium rays, which had been discovered two years before by Professor Becquerel.***I spent some time studying the way of making good measurements of the uranium rays, and then I wanted to know if there were other elements, giving out rays of the same kind. So, I took up a work about all known elements and their compounds and found that uranium compounds are active and also all thorium compounds, but other elements were not found active, nor were their compounds. As for the uranium and thorium compounds, I found that they were active in proportion to their uranium or thorium content."
2. Persuasive Speech – Persuasion is defined as an attempt to influence another person’s
attitudes, beliefs, or behavior (Cherry, 2022). In a persuasive speech, the speaker’s goal is to persuade their audience and convince or influence them in some way (O’Hair, D., & Stewart, R., 1999). The speaker may convince the audience to move or act for a certain cause or adopt the opinion or belief of the speaker. An example of this speech comes from Martin Luther King Jr. The following is an excerpt from "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr. (U.S. Mission Korea, 2017):
“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.”
Principles of Speech Delivery
According to Lucas (2012), good speech delivery should convey the speaker's ideas interestingly and clearly without leaving the audience distracted. Furthermore, the audience "prefers delivery that combines a certain degree of formality with the best attributes of good conversation—directness, spontaneity, animation, vocal and facial expressiveness, and a lively sense of communication" (Lucas, 2012, p.240).
1. Articulation refers to the speaker's ability to have clear diction, the proper pronunciation of words, and effectively convey their message. 2. Modulation refers to the ability “to adjust or manipulate the resonance and timbre of the vocal tone”. 3. Stage Presence refers to the ability of the speaker to control the stage, fill the stage, and show their personality to their audience. 4. Facial Expression, Gestures, Movement, Audience Rapport
Facial expression helps the speaker connect to the audience. It
can show the speaker’s sincerity, credibility, and emotions. Gestures can help the speaker emphasize, express their emotions, and interact with their audience. Movements can make your speech dramatic and prevent it from being monotonous. Audience Rapport can help you connect to your audience. Tools for Effective Delivery To be effective in your delivery, watch prominent people deliver their speeches in public. While observing, the following are four points to take note of:
1. How they approach their audience – Are they formal or informal? Is their speech style personal, conversational, or casual? 2. How they connect with their audience – Are they using eye contact, body movements, gestures, and facial expressions? 3. How they present themselves – Are they confident to stand on the stage? How do they look? How do they stand, walk, and use nonverbal cues on and off the stage? 4. How they use their voice in terms of the following:
a. Volume – loudness or softness of voice
b. Pitch – highness or lowness of voice c. Rate or speed – fastness or slowness of speech d. Pauses to show emphasis and improve the clarity of the message e. Vocal variety – effective changes in volume, pitch, rate, and pauses f. Pronunciation – correct enunciation of words
Three essential questions to ask before an oral presentation:
1. Type of presentation you are going to do or the types of speech according to a
purpose. Why am I doing this presentation? Am I going to explain, argue, persuade, or inform? 2. Target audience. To whom am I presenting? Who will be the people to listen to me or read my work? If you know your audience, then you will have an idea of what to include in your speech because you have to give them information that will help or influence them. 3. The overall goal for the presentation. You must know your goal for the presentation because your speech, preparation, and materials all depend on it. What is my intended outcome upon the completion of my presentation? For the performance rubrics, the major points are content, organization, clarity of report, delivery, presentation aids, time management, and audience impact. This rubric describes the three levels, such as developing, standard, and exemplary, of which the perfect point for each criterion is 10 points, with a total of 60 points.
