Public speaking: types, features, rules, how to learn

The main component of oratory is public speech. It is an element of speech activity that appears in the course of communication between the speaker and the public.

Public speech is necessary for informational influence on the audience, suggestion and persuasion. Public speaking involves delivering text or dialogue that passively influences the audience. They contain the following features: individual text structure and logical conclusion.

Monologue and dialogue are equally necessary for constructing a laconic speech. Elements of dialogue help to break up a monotonous text and engage the listener in a conversation, which is considered a necessary condition for public speaking.

To successfully interact with people, a speaker will need the following skills:

To be self-confident;
be able to talk continuously on one topic;
briefly, concisely express thoughts, correctly and competently arrange words in a sentence;
be able to interest the audience;
artistry and charisma;
gift of persuasion.

The speaker’s text must comply with three rules: clarity, information content and expressiveness. Public speech is characterized by a changeable nature, its success depends on mutual understanding with the audience and establishing psychological contact with it.

Speakers perform in stadiums, stages, and television. Public speaking includes the pronunciation of text in front of company management, potential employers, and friends. Public speaking helps you express yourself in a professional field or other activities. The art of public speaking is not something that everyone can master, but it is easy to learn by attending public speaking training and performing special speech exercises.

Types and methods of public speaking

The following types of public speech are distinguished:

Social public speech helps to express family or community relationships. This includes congratulations on holidays, wedding toasts, and funeral speeches.
Church eloquence consists of delivering a sermon and communicating with church ministers. This type does not contain logic, arguments, professional terminology, listeners do not look for specific facts in it.
Judicial eloquence is present in judicial practice. Unlike the church one, it contains a clear style of presentation and argumentation. Judicial oral public speech consists only of facts and is divided into accusatory and defensive. These types of public speaking differ from others in their degree of responsibility, since the content of the speech affects the fate of a person.
The academic art of public activity carries specific speech filled with professional terminology or scientific expressions. This includes the following genres of public speaking: scientific reports, reviews, lectures.
Political genres of public speech represent the pronunciation of speech on topics of economics, politics, and the social sphere. Political eloquence manifests itself at rallies, propaganda and patriotic events.

In addition to the types, there are methods of eloquence that help to compose a clear and understandable text that is as close as possible to the goal. Methods of eloquence were developed many centuries ago and include certain rules of public speaking:

Eloquence lies in the use of concise texts that are understandable to the audience.
The main function of a speaker is to convey useful, reliable information to the audience. Methods or techniques of influencing listeners must not violate their rights. But the psychological characteristics of public speaking do not always correspond to the requirements of ethics.
It is not recommended to “stretch out” a speech in front of a large audience, because people’s attention is short-lived and easily scattered
Before speaking in front of an audience, you should learn to distinguish their emotional mood.
The psychology of public speaking is designed in such a way that the final result of the event depends on the structure of the prepared text, the use, and call-to-action phrases. Important information is provided only at the beginning and end of the speech. Such specificity of construction is necessary for the successful and effective delivery of material, since the public’s attention during these periods is maximum.
The speaker's speech must comply with ethical standards. The culture of public speech is observed under any condition and is considered a necessary element of speech pronunciation.

These rules are not a prerequisite for the speaker's speech. The structure of a public speech depends on the type, composition of the audience, its activities and the speaker himself. Techniques and rules for speaking are determined during speech preparation. Only constant diction training and daily exercises will help you achieve success and public recognition.

Drawing up and using a plan

People who speak often understand the importance of a well-written plan, which usually includes:

a thoughtful way to hook the audience;
an introductory part outlining a certain problem that is understandable and close to the listeners;
a short list of the main ideas of the speech;
the main part, containing no more than 3-4 key points, so as not to overload the audience with information;
a final part that draws clear and meaningful conclusions from the entire speech.

A plan is necessary at the stage of preparing a speech so that the materials are arranged in the correct logical chain. During a speech, it is also needed so that the speaker can convey everything planned to the audience.

Successful speakers understand the nature of eye contact with the audience and do not allow themselves to sight-read the entire speech. It is at this moment that a plan (preferably a thesis) comes in handy, which will not allow the speaker to wander away from the intended topic.

Features of public speech

There are some psychological features of public speaking. They consist in communication between the speaker and the audience and arise from the dialogue between them. The relationship between the two sides of communication is objectively subjective in nature and acts as a joint activity or cooperation.

The speaker’s speech has a number of features:

Audience backlash. While delivering a speech, the speaker can see people's reactions to his words and observe the changing mood of the audience. Individual words, questions, and facial expressions of listeners help to understand their mood and desire. Thanks to the presence of feedback, it is possible to correct your speech. She transforms a monologue into a dialogue and establishes a connection with the audience.
Oral speech. The peculiarities of oral public speech lie in establishing a lively dialogue between participants. The oral form of communication has a goal in the form of a specific interlocutor and is completely dependent on him. An important point in a speech is the organization of speech for the easiest understanding and perception. Oral public speaking is very effective, since, unlike written, it absorbs up to 90% of the information.
The connection between literature and oral speech. Before speaking, the speaker prepares and thinks about his speech using scientific, fiction or journalistic literature. Already in front of the public, he transforms the prepared text into an interesting and vivid speech that anyone can understand. Only during a live performance does the speaker build sentences, taking into account the reactions of others, thereby moving from a book text to a conversational style.
Means of communication. In public speaking, various methods of influence and means of communication between participants are used. These are verbal and non-verbal means: facial expressions, gestures, intonation. The culture of public speech and adherence to ethics play an important role.

Possible mistakes

Oratory skills do not come immediately; many novice speakers make typical mistakes:

They demonstrate a lack of confidence (the speaker has little knowledge of the issue being covered or is afraid of people).
They begin to make excuses and lose the trust of the listener.
Do not illustrate the speech with examples from experience or literature.
They use excessive gestures and chaotic facial expressions (to control body language, they analyze the video recording of the performance and get rid of unnecessary movements).
They do not select words and compose sentences accurately (for example, frequent use of negative particles will lead to misunderstanding of the text).
They pay little attention to preparation.
They read the message monotonously without humorous asides and do not maintain eye contact.
Do not use pauses to maintain attention - stopping for 10 seconds will awaken the curiosity of all distracted people.
They show excessive seriousness, self-confidence and over-erudition.
They use a large number of filler words.
They fuss or, on the contrary, become tight.

Important! High-quality preparation and repeated rehearsals allow you to avoid many mistakes.

Speaker mistakes

Requirements and technology of public speaking

In order to be able to speak in different speech genres, you must first learn how to prepare texts in different styles. Different genres of public speaking involve the use of different kinds of techniques and rules to influence the audience.

General techniques and requirements for public speaking:

The beginning of the speech is carefully thought out and prepared. An unsuccessfully started dialogue can ruin the speaker’s image.
Drama. The presence of drama is important in any speech genre. It helps to interest the public through argument or conflict; it is used in life stories, descriptions of incidents, and tragedies.
Emotionality in public speech is considered a prerequisite for speaking. The audience should feel the speaker’s indifference to the topic of the speech, his attitude and experience. Monotonous dialogue without expressing emotions will not evoke the proper response from the audience.
Brief summary of thoughts. Brief, clear speech is perceived better by listeners and inspires more confidence. In order to meet the allotted time for speaking, you need to learn to speak briefly. It’s not for nothing that they say: “Brevity is the sister of talent.”
Conversational style of speech. Public speaking requirements include presentation style. It should be conversational, look like a conversation between people. A conversational style of speech makes it easier to assimilate information and draw attention to the topic. You cannot use a lot of foreign, scientific terms; incomprehensible words are replaced with understandable ones.
The end of the performance is prepared just as carefully as the beginning. The final stage of the speech must attract attention with bright and understandable phrases. The final words need to be rehearsed to establish the correct intonation of voice and tone.

The public speaking technique includes 12 sequential steps necessary to achieve the best results in public speaking. You will need it to write the correct speech and successfully interpret it.

Public speaking technology:

Determine the purpose of the speech.
We study the composition of the audience.
We create an image for the performance.
We determine the role for the performance (idol, master, patron, good, evil).
We are writing a speech.
We check it according to the rules for writing public text and compliance with moral requirements.
We build speech according to the rules of visual, kinetic, and auditory perception.
If necessary, we prepare the performance venue.
We are preparing for a successful outcome of the performance.
The performance itself.
We listen to criticism.
We monitor the public's reaction and analyze the impression made.

Having spoken in front of the public, we do not stop at the result obtained, we analyze the speech. The technique of public speaking includes the following necessary analysis of speech: structure of the text, tone of pronunciation, intonation, structure of speech, public interest in the speaker.

Analysis is necessary to further correct speech or behavioral errors, as well as to hone skills.

Preparation rules and basic techniques

Experienced speakers follow certain rules when preparing their speech:

They are responsible for defining the topic: it must be specific, not imply a large amount of information, be based on experience from the storyteller’s life or on the requirements of the customer, or correspond to the thematic plan and curriculum (for teachers and professors).
They think over and formulate a title that accurately expresses the essence of the speech. The title uses clear words and avoids complex terms and long sentences.
Determine the goals of the speech for the speaker and for the listeners, which are directly or indirectly communicated to the audience. Most often, speeches are made for the purpose of:

inform;
form an opinion;
change point of view;
influence people's consciousness and motivate them to action.

Selects, studies and analyzes information from:

official sources,
scientific and popular science literature,
reference literature,
statistical data,
journalism,
Internet resources.

Important! Information is taken from several sources and carefully processed.

Analyze the composition of the intended audience and the general situation in the room. The text of the speech is compiled taking into account the age, social status and interests of the audience (children perceive information differently than adults).
Working on the content of the speech:

make a plan
select material
choose a speaking style,
arrange parts of the speech compositionally and logically,
are working on writing the full text,
write down the abstracts and summary of the message (some speakers use loose or card notes).

Preparing for the performance

The psychology of speaking in front of people

In order to attract people's attention, psychologists advise:

Pay enough attention to your appearance (dress comfortably and respectably).
Take a short pause before starting and look around the audience, making eye contact.
Start your performance at a slow pace.
For public speaking, it is recommended to lower the timbre of your voice by 2 tones (this will help protect your vocal cords; a low voice is perceived by people better than a high one) and develop the skill of using various voice techniques.
Repeat the most important thoughts 3 times.
Do not exceed the speaking limits, even if the audience’s attention has not weakened.

Successful performance

Thus, if you prepare diligently, then everyone will be able to perform well in front of the public.

Difficulties

Difficulties in public speaking can be divided into 5 categories.

Firstly, the lack of ability to plan the time of a speech in such a way as to retain the attention of listeners as much as possible. The audience should not get tired of the information and its presentation.

Secondly, you need to be able to get rid of nervousness. Listeners should under no circumstances feel it. Most often it is transmitted by trembling of the voice during speech and confusion of speech

We’ll look at how to speak in front of an audience without anxiety below.

Thirdly, from nervousness during a public speech, you can easily fail it. You may get a “dry throat” or just want to run away. Fourthly, the success of the speech depends only on the lecturer himself, who has no one to count on but himself.

Fifthly, the difficulty is understanding the audience's attitude towards the speech. You need to clearly understand the needs and inclinations of your listeners in order to impress them.

At the very beginning of the performance

The first impression is created in the first 5-7 seconds, so you need to overcome your fear of the audience and start right away. Smile. Create empathy, a situation of mutual trust and acceptance. Sometimes when the smile is very, very wide and the teeth are perfect, the interlocutor experiences some kind of unpleasant feeling. And this is not without reason. Ecologists have found that a smile in the unconscious language is perceived as a demonstration of a magnificent set of tools for killing - teeth. When animals meet, they bare their teeth and growl, which means they are armed and very dangerous. In a person, this transformed into a smile. And the wider the smile, the more pleasant the person is perceived. Our subconscious says that it is better not to mess with such a person.

And a smile on you, even if it’s not sincere, has a calming effect. The brain perceives it as the absence of danger and begins to calm down. And the feeling of joy and emotional uplift actually comes. In addition, you need to smile because a person rarely encounters a sincere friendly attitude in life, but this is what you want, because there is a child in each of us.

At the beginning of the speech there is a greeting. They usually greet with the words “Dear colleagues”, or “Dear listeners”, etc., even if they are not such, in the greeting and in the text, some flattery and excess of status are allowed, but never belittling it, for example, during introductory exams they say “Dear future applicants.” In addition, the speech itself usually begins with a joke, or with a statement of fact that will interest the majority of the public. And the performance itself should not be monotonous. You can diversify your speech, make it different from others. You can ask yourself a question, for example, you ask me why this is so, and answer it yourself. Try to gradually raise and lower the pitch of your voice, slow down and speed up the pace of speech, highlight important places not only with pauses, which must be done, but also with intonation, pay attention to punctuation marks, in short, work on your speech. There is a whole science about pauses - pausology, probably for good reason. Speech delivered at a speed of approximately 120 words per minute is perceived normally.

How to choose a topic for yourself?

A topic can become the basis of a successful speech only if it meets five requirements:

relevance. No one is interested in hearing about outdated things that have no impact on the current (or at least future) situation;
perspective. If the proposed ideas do not solve problems, they are meaningless;
knowledge. Without proper awareness of the topic, it is impossible to make logical judgments, much less explain them to other people;
speaker's interest. The passion and inspiration of the narrator is transmitted to the listeners. The more passionate the author is about the topic, the easier it is for the audience to adopt this passion;
public interest. It is important to determine the target audience in advance. The report “Features of disassembling and cleaning a machine gun” is unlikely to appeal to humanities scholars.

Fulfilling these conditions will help you choose a good topic and ensure the success of your speech.

Tips for speakers

Techniques for successful public speaking include more than just tricks for effective speech. Please also consider the following:

Stylish, bright appearance can attract attention. Problems with taste? It's better to consult a specialist.
The beginning is not in words. Start with a pause. Gather attention and greet the audience in complete silence.
When greeting and introducing yourself, lower your intonation at the end of words.
Do a diaphragmatic breathing exercise 3 minutes before your performance - this will lower the timbre and give significance to your voice.

How to present information to different audiences

People perceive information differently. For example, in the morning it is better to give more logic than emotional arguments, and vice versa. There are more women, children, and elderly people in the room—focus on emotions. When speaking in front of representative people, try to minimize emotions and speak to the point.

Secrets of famous speakers

Napoleon began each speech with a long pause. You already know why he did it. George Washington made a bet on how he looked. Dale Carnegie was a master storyteller. Everyone loves stories. Start practicing and you will have your own “tricks” in public speaking.

Six tips for starting a speech

Give a specific example

Many novice speakers believe that they need to lay out the general points first. At a time when examples are easier to understand and more understandable to the audience

So why not start with them? Start your speech with an example, grab the attention and interest of the audience, and then begin to give general comments about your example. And this will be a good start

Use some thing or object to attract the audience's attention

It can be held in both hands, in one hand, in the palm of your hand, above your head, at waist level. This is not very important

However, it is important that your subject is related to the topic of your speech. Watch Steve Jobs speak

He almost always holds some kind of gadget in his hands at his presentations.

Start with shocking facts

For example, “Russia has the highest crime rate in the world.” Is not a fact. But it is clear that such a beginning will have an effect.

Start with a Powerful Quote

The statements of a famous person invariably have an attractive force. Therefore, the right saying is one of the most successful ways to start a public speaking speech. How do you rate the following opening of a speech on personal success: “No failure is fatal, no success is final, all that matters is the courage to continue!” (W. Churchill)

This start has two positive aspects. First, the quote is interesting. Second, the quote brings you and your audience straight to the point.

Ask questions

This is not only an opportunity to establish contact with the audience through interactivity. The question will help you find the key to the minds of the listeners, because it makes them think with the speaker and cooperate with him.

Arouse curiosity

This is important for capturing the attention of the audience. To do this, you can use from one phrase to several paragraphs

I know the story of one hunter who tied himself with a sheet and began to crawl back and forth, thus arousing the curiosity of the animals and attracting them, his prey.