3. Mode of Delivery

Public Speakers have four choices when it comes to the manner in which they deliver their material. Generally speaking, the extemporaneous mode (speaking conversationally from prepared notes) is the most appropriate for classroom speaking. For the sake of comparison, all four modes are described below.

Impromptu: spontaneous, unrehearsed manner of speaking.

Advantages for the speaker include a natural and spontaneous feel, a large degree of eye contact with the audience, and the opportunity to respond to audience feedback.

Disadvantages include a lack of organization, increased anxiety, insertion of verbal fillers such as "um," "you know," and the inability to include prepared visual aids such as graphs and charts.

Manuscript: the speech is written out completely and read aloud to the audience.

Two advantages to this mode are that the language may be planned carefully and the speaker has an exact record of the speech.

The disadvantages: however, the speaker is afforded limited eye contact with the audience and is not likely to be aware of audience feedback. The speech may sound stilted and monotonous due to the written style of the speech. We often write in lengthy, complex sentences that do not translate well into oral style.

Memorized: the speech is written out and committed to memory.

Two advantages to this method of delivery are that it allows the speaker to have full eye contact with the audience and the wording of the speech can be carefully planned.

The disadvantages are many: forgetting one idea can lead to forgetting the rest of the speech; the speaker cannot adapt to feedback from the audience; it requires a large investment of time; and it is likely to sound "memorized" and stilted.

Extemporaneous: speaking from prepared notes in a conversational manner.

By far the best choice for most academic and professional presentations, this mode allows the speaker ample time to prepare. He or she can include stats, quotes, graphs, and other audiovisual aids in the presentation. The presence of a key word outline provides security, yet allows flexibility in the presentation. The speaker may establish eye contact with the audience and therefore has the opportunity to respond to audience feedback. One drawback is that if the speaker is not adequately rehearsed, he or she may falter in the presentation. Rehearsal is essential.

Ex. 17. Read the second part of the text and find answers to the following questions.

1. What forms can an informative speech have?

2. What is the main purpose of a persuasive speech?

3. On what occasions are goodwill speeches given?

4. Why can an informative speech include persuasive components?

Types of Public Speeches

There are three main types of public speeches. They are classified according to their primary purpose.

1. Informative speeches

Their main purpose is to inform, to present new information to an audience. An informative speech may explain a concept, instruct an audience, demonstrate a process, or describe an event.

The informative speech may take many different forms:

1. Individual or Group Report

2. Oral Briefing

3. Oral Exams

4. Panel Discussion

5. Oral Critique