Download Communications - KMS Classroom Connection

Communications
The background of and why to study how to communicate
Why Study Public Speaking?
 Asset to anyone who wants to take an active role in the
 Classroom
 Workplace
 Community
 Gain Real Life Skills
 Gives you an edge
 Leads to greater confidence
 More satisfaction
Professional Goals
 Vital in career development
 A person who communicates clearly is seen as someone who thinks clearly.
 Oral and written skills are both job securing and job holding skills.
 “Soft” skills of communication (oral & written) are one of the top skills recruiters
look for
 For employers, oral communication is ranked 1st among critical areas, along with
teamwork, work ethic, & analytical skills
 1. oral communication
 2. work ethic
 3. teamwork
 4. analytical skills
 5. initiative
Student life
 Prepping for a speech calls skills that are also applied to other areas of your
education:
 Research
 Writing & outlining
 Listening
 Reasoning & critical analysis
Course Goals
 Understand the history of communication & rhetoric
 Utilizing visual aids
 Identifying target audiences
 Selecting appropriate modes of delivery
 Etc.
Become an Engaged
Citizen
Why?
 We generally leave decisions to “experts”
 Not including presidential elections, approximately 35% of U.S. citizens
voted.
 Only 22% of these were 18-22 year olds
 When citizens speak up in sufficient numbers, change happens
 Not being engaged results in special interest groups having more influence.
These group may not have your best interest in mind.
What you learn…
 How to address topics that are important to you
 Consider alternative points of view
 Choose a course of action (if appropriate)
 How to distinguish between argument that advances constructive goals vs.
uncivilized speech that serves to inflame & demean others
 Rules of Engagement
Classical Roots of Speech
Rhetoric
 AKA oratory
 Making effective speeches, particularly those of a persuasive nature
Athens, Greece
 Governed by approximately 40,000 free, property-holding males
who established the Western world’s first system of direct
democracy.
 Neither women nor slaves had the rights of citizens
 Citizens
 Met in the public square (agora)
 Regularly spoke with great skills on issues of public policy
 Believed citizenship demanded active participation in public affairs
Roman Rise to Power
 Greece fell, giving rise to Rome
 Roman Republic was the Western world’s first known representative
democracy
 Citizens
 Plied their public speaking skills in a forum
 Today, “public forum” refers to a variety of venues for discussion of public
interest issues
Classical Terms & the Canons of
Rhetoric
Greeks
 Oratory was a means to
 Settle civil disputes
 Determine public policy
 Establish laws
 Try major crimes
 Jury included 500 members
 People served as their own advocates, so their chances of persuading jurors
to vote in their favor depended on the quality of their speaking skills
Types of Oratory
 Forensic Oratory
 Legal speech
 Deliberative Oratory
 Speech given in legislative
 Epideictic Oratory
 Speech delivered in special ceremonies (funerals, graduations, etc.)
Aristotle
 5 parts of prepping a speech
 Invention
 Arrangement
 Style
 Memory
 Delivery
Canons of Rhetoric
 Invention (Inventio)
 Adapting speech information to the audience in order to make your
case
 Arrangement (Disposition)
 Organizing the speech in ways that are best suited to the topic &
audience
 Style (Elocutio)
 The way the speaker uses language to express ideas
 Memory (Memoria)
 The practice of the speech until it can artfully delivered
 Delivery (Pronuntiatio)
 The vocal & non-verbal behavior you use when speaking
Forms of Public Speaking
 Dyadic communication
 Happens between 2 people (conversation)
 Small group communication
 Involves a small number of people who can hear & speak directly with
each other
 Mass communication
 Occurs between a speaker & a large audience of (typically) unknown
people
 Receivers are not always present or are part of such a large group that the
speaker is unable to interact with the speaker
Similarities Between Public Spkg &
Other Forms of Comm.
 Requires you to address a group of people focused on you &
expect you to clearly discuss issues that are relevant to the
topic/occasion
 Requires you to understand & appeal to the audience members’
interests, attitudes, & values
 Requires that you attempt to make yourself understood, involved &
respond to your conversational partners, & take responsibility for
what you say
 Requires you to be sensitive to the listener
 Requires you to be knowledgeable & unbiased about your topic &
clearly express your ideas
Differences
 Feedback is generally delayed
 Must be more prepared – you cannot shift the responsibility onto the
listener
 Generally more formal (tone & setting)
An Interactive Process
 Source (sender) – person who creates the message
 Receiver (audience) – the person/people who hears the message
 Encoding – converting thoughts into words
 Decoding – the process of interpreting the message based on personal
experience
 Feedback – the audience’s response to the message (verbal &
nonverbal)
 Message – the content of the communication process: thoughts & ideas
put into meaningful expressions. Can be verbal or nonverbal
 Miscommunication happens when the audience or the speaker misreads or
misinterprets the message or feedback
 Channel – the medium through which the spkr sends the msg
 Noise – any interference with the msg
 Shared meaning – mutual understanding of a msg between the spkr
& audience
 Lowest level – catching the audience’s attn
 Highest level – audience & spkr co-create the msg
 Rhetorical situation – the circumstance calling for a public response
 Audience-centered approach – keep the needs, values, attitudes,
& wants of your listeners firmly in focus
 Speech purpose – a clearly defined goal for why you are giving the
speech
The Last Lecture
 The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch