Public Speaking Flashcards
This saying belongs to who? “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910) was an American humorist, journalist, and novelist best known for his treatment of life on the Mississippi River in works such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
To get accustomed to pausing in speeches, what should you do?
Count to two in between sentences while talking. With time, these pauses will become natural.
This saying belongs to who? “A talk is voyage. It must be charted. The speaker who starts nowhere usually gets there.”
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) was a pioneer in the field of public speaking and author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and Public Speaking: A Practical Course for Business Men.
Preparation is essential in any talk, no matter if it’s a small group or an audience of thousands. What key questions should you consider before talking?
1-What are my goals? 2-What are the key takeaways for listeners? 3-How do I want my audience to feel?
This saying belongs to who? “A good orator is pointed and impassioned.”
Cicero (106 BCE-43 BCE) was an ancient Roman Statesman (a politician, diplomat or another notable public figure who has had a long and respected career), who was considered the greatest orator of his day.
Whether speaking to one person or many, you need to keep your audience’s interest, but how do you do this?
1-Don’t use many words when few will suffice. 2-Make your key points and repeat them for emphasis. 3-Show passion for your subject.
What is the number one thing you should be aware of when talking?
Never to deliver your talk flat. A monotone voice will leave my audience with a negative impression, no matter how insightful the speech is.
This saying belongs to who? “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a poet, educator, and actress who explored African American experience, gender, and economics in the United States in her autobiography: I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings.
Studies have found that we listen about _____ percent of the time we are awake.
45 percent.
Studies have found that we remember about _____ percent of what we hear.
25-50 percent. The more time that passes, the fewer details we remember.
How to induce pathos to your speech, which arguably the finest strategy for public speaking?
1-Speak directly. 2-Make unique, counterintuitive points that my audience will remember. 3-Strategically use humor if the subject allows it.
This saying belongs to who? “A great speaker convinces us not by force of reasoning, but because he is visibly enjoying the beliefs he wants us to accept.”
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish writer who crafted some of the most celebrated and influential poems of the 20th century and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923.
Audience members pick up on nonverbal cues. Knowing this, how should you speak in front of people?
1-Smile. 2-Use friendly gestures. 3-Exude passion in my voice.
This saying belongs to who? “The finest language is mostly made up of simple, unimposing words.”
George Eliot (1819-90) was a Victorian English novelist who pioneered the use of psychological analysis in fiction in novels such as Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
While a strong vocabulary is essential to reading comprehension and precision in speaking and writing, using too many complex words can confuse your audience and obscure your central point. What should you do then?
Use language appropriate for the audience; don’t use jargon that might be unfamiliar.
What is rhetoric?
The art of persuasive speaking.
What is alliteration?
Alliteration involves the repetition of sounds across a phrase or group of words. This adds lyricism to you language, but it also makes your phrases more vivid and easier for an audience to grasp.
What is amplification?
Amplification occurs when a speaker arranges words or ideas in the order of increasing force or importance. Often this involves using a list or repeating key terms while building to a climax. Powerful speakers frequently use amplification to create an emotional response in their audiences.
What is analogy?
Analogies compare two things using “like” or “as”. They are often used to provide a simple explanation for a more complicated idea. Additionally, they can be used to deliver a vivid image for an audience that fully captures their imaginations. A well-timed analogy can add depth to your speech as it helps your audience understand your central points.
What is anamnesis?
Anamnesis refers to a recollection of the past. While appeals to history can sometimes involve logical fallacies, they can be used effectively to emphasise commonalities between speaker and audience and to demonstrate a speaker’s mastery of a subject. In this way, anamnesis forms a part of a larger appeal to ethos, or the character and authority of a speaker.
What is anaphora?
Anaphora occurs when the same word or phrase begins sentences or clauses that appear close to one another. It adds emphasis to the repeated idea and also creates a pleasing rhythmic effect. Often used at the beginnings and endings of speeches, anaphora makes a speech more powerful and memorable.
What are the strategies this speaker involves?
- Anaphora: McCullough repeats the phrases “if everyone” and “no longer” to critique conventional wisdom.
- Humor: McCullough employs humor to lighten his message and keep his audience engaged.
- Parallelism: McCullough uses parallel construction to illustrate his image of “the fulfilled life.”
- Antithesis: McCullough uses antithesis to contrast selfish goals with actions that benefit others.
To practice your vowel sounds, what sentence should you say 3 times?
The keen king gave the queen a pink and green ring.
The keen king gave the queen a pink and green ring.
The keen king gave the queen a pink and green ring.
To practice your P and B sounds, what sentence should you say 3 times?
Put the peanut butter on the bread before placing it in the paper bag.
Put the peanut butter on the bread before placing it in the paper bag.
Put the peanut butter on the bread before placing it in the paper bag.
To practice your T and D sounds, what sentence should you say 3 times?
The tiny two-toed tree toad descended down the tree trunk to catch dinner.
The tiny two-toed tree toad descended down the tree trunk to catch dinner.
The tiny two-toed tree toad descended down the tree trunk to catch dinner.
To practice your G sounds, what sentence should you say 3 times?
Gwen grew green grapes and glorious guava in her grand garden.
Gwen grew green grapes and glorious guava in her grand garden.
Gwen grew green grapes and glorious guava in her grand garden.
To practice your S and SH sounds, what sentence should you say 3 times?
The sun was shining on Sharon Street, where I saw Shane and Sarah sitting near the shoe shop.
The sun was shining on Sharon Street, where I saw Shane and Sarah sitting near the shoe shop.
The sun was shining on Sharon Street, where I saw Shane and Sarah sitting near the shoe shop.
Listen and point out the strategies John F. Kennedy employs in his speech on the Nation’s space efforts, September 1962.
1-Inclusive Language: Kennedy makes a strong appeal to his audience by praising the city of Houston and using inclusive language such as “we”.
2-Alliteration: Kennedy uses alliteration by repeating “un” sounds in the words “unknown,” “unanswered,” and “unfinished” and “c” sounds in the phrase “collective comprehension.”
3-Extended Metaphor: Kennedy begins an extended metaphor that condenses all of human history into the span of just 50 years.
4-Asyndeton: Kennedy makes use of asyndeton by omitting “and” in the list “new ignorance, new problems, new dangers,” which adds a dramatic effect to his view of the future.
What is antithesis?
Antithesis occurs when two ideas are placed in opposition to one another. It uses a parallel structure to create contrast. Because ideas are often easier to grasp when we understand their opposites, the antithesis is a useful rhetorical device for conveying arguments so they are approachable and easy to remember.
What does it mean to appeal to ethos?
Derived from ancient Greek, ethos means character. In rhetoric, an appeal to ethos is an appeal to the authority and trustworthiness of a speaker. Ethos can be established prior to a speech by a speaker’s reputation, or it can be established by demonstrating knowledge about a subject. An audience needs to trust and respect a speaker if a speech is to be effective, and appeals to ethos are the central means of accomplishing this.
What does it mean to appeal to pathos?
Derived from ancient Greek, pathos means “experience” or “suffering.” In rhetoric, an appeal to pathos is an appeal to an audience’s emotions and imaginations. The aim of an appeal to pathos is to help the audience understand and share in the speaker’s own viewpoint. Appeals to pathos work best when they emphasise a shared value between the speaker and the audience and when paired with logical arguments.
What is asyndeton?
Asyndeton is the intentional omission of a conjunction, such as leaving out “and” from a list. Leaving out these conjunctions while maintaining the usual grammatical form of the sentence can result in a sentence that feels more immediate and dramatic. It is a powerful tool to add emphasis at crucial points of a speech.
Why use humor in a speech?
Effective speakers use humor in a variety of ways: to keep an audience engaged, to appear more personable, or to make an unpopular idea more acceptable. If used inappropriately or too frequently, humor can be damaging to a speech. However, when used sparingly and at the right moments, humor makes speeches significantly more memorable.
Showing that you identify with the audience members and have their interests in mind is important to appear more trustworthy to the audience. Give one effective way in order to do this.
By using inclusive language such as “we” and “our”, speakers can develop a good rapport with an audience.
If you have a difficult idea or argument, what can you do to make it easier?
Use Metaphors.
If you want to create a strong emotional response in an audience, what should you use?
Use metaphors.
To suggest a rich and engaging comparison between two things what should you use?
Metaphors. They can be short and focused or long and complex.
What is Parallelism?
Parallelism occurs when a speaker uses a similar grammatical structure within a sentence or across multiple sentences. By repeating a central element, parallelism adds clarity to a speech and makes it easier for the audience to grasp a central idea.
How to make your speech more powerful and memorable?
1- By adding rhythm to a speech, using the technique of parallelism.
2- Using repetition can also add rhythm and consequently give emphasizes to a single idea.
3- Using the rule of three can add a dramatic effect.
Your audience cannot pause or return to what you have said. Therefore, (___________________).
repetition is speeches is important
It is easier for an audience to grasp and remember items that appear in groups of (____).
Three.
Use the (_____) to make sure you focus on your most important points and to avoid overwhelming audience with superflusous information.
The rule of three.
