2. How to prepare your presentation

The stage of speech planning includes the following steps:

• the study of the audience;

• the study of the speech situation;

• setting the communication goals with regard for the audience and speech situation;

• finding appropriate topics and ideas and researching your topic.

Knowing your audience

Communication is a two-sided process. It is vitally important for the speaker to be able to give others a good reason to listen to him. The utilitarian principle of effective communication is that everyone involved in it must gain.

The golden rule of public speaking is always to keep your audience in mind. Every speech should be tailored to suit the needs, interests and level of the listeners. Obviously, the speaker is expected to know his audience. The public presentation is sometimes known as an address which means that it has to be addressed to someone. The first question you should ask yourself “Who am I trying to reach?” And the question that follows is “How do I get to know my audience?”

To answer these questions it is necessary to master the techniques of audience analysis.

The first step is to acquire the following information about your audience: how many people will listen to you and who they are:

1. Their age, gender, ethnicity (racial, religious background), social status.

2. Their educational background, professional background, expertise.

3. Their interest in the proceedings.

4. Are they attending on a voluntary or involuntary basis?

This analysis will you give you a very general idea of your audience. However, the people you will address might have different backgrounds. So you should also take into account the factor of audience diversity.

The next step is to consider how all these characteristics of your audience will affect the way you shape your message. Decide how your talk will meet the needs of this particular audience. Ask yourself the following questions: why should they spend time listening to me when they could be doing something else? How can they benefit by listening to me?

It is also necessary to consider the rights of listeners. Speakers sometimes make an erroneous assumption that listeners will automatically comply with their motives and objectives. It actual fact listeners have many motives, few of which can be understood by the speaker in advance. In this respect, the outcome of every speech situation is relatively unpredictable. The speaker should be aware that there exist the following possible outcomes:

• listeners influenced as the speaker intends;

• listeners alienated by the speaker;

• listeners influenced in unexpected ways.

An experienced speaker should be prepared to adapt to both expected and unexpected outcomes and changes in the audience behaviour, accepting the facts that audiences are diverse and people are very complicated. Instead of feeling frustrated by an unexpected outcome, the speaker should demonstrate to the audience that he or she is knowledgeable, prepared, interesting and concerned about the listeners.

At this stage the speaker is expected to consider the particular speech situation: location, occasion, time. If you know what brought your audience together, where and at what time of day the speech is to be delivered, how long you are expected to speak, you will be able to shape your presentation with regard to all these parameters.

The final stage of the audience analysis consists in comparing the needs, level, motives of the audience and the speaker’s objectives to see if they correspond.

Admittedly, audience centered approach is not to be restricted to the speech planning stage, it a guiding factor to be considered in the whole process of speech making. The speaker is expected to discover the needs and motives of the audience and to keep them in mind. The speaker adjusts the objectives of the speech to the needs of the audience and monitors the response of the listeners throughout the presentation.

Setting communication goals

Every speech has a clear function. Before speaking you should identify what can be accomplished by your speech. Identifying goals and objectives is the starting point for any speaker. The process of speech making is often compared to a train journey. In this analogy the speech itself is the itinerary, the audience – the speaker’s fellow-passengers, while the goal is the destination.

The goal of the speech is its desired outcome.

Persuasion is generally considered to be the ultimate goal of any rhetorical discourse. To put it in a different perspective, any rhetorical discourse is aimed at persuasion. Persuasion can be achieved in various ways and take different forms. Among the possible objectives of public speaking they normally distinguish the following:

• to inspire and to motivate;

• to inform, to teach, to explore and debate ideas;

• to entertain;

• to inspire.

Most of the typologies of public speeches are based on the following three functions: information, persuasion, inspiration:

Informative speeches (lectures, reports, workshops) are designed to instruct, explain, clarify, demonstrate, teach.

Persuasive speeches (political discourse, legal discourse, sermons, debate, sales presentations) are meant to convince, influence, motivate, stimulate action, sell products.

Evocative speeches entertain, inspire or help listeners to celebrate, bond or commemorate.

In most public presentations there are normally several objectives. It is always possible, however, to single out a primary objective and secondary objectives. In a lecture, for example, the primary objective is to instruct, while entertaining and exploring ideas are secondary objectives. Specifying objectives is essential both in terms of what the speaker wants to achieve and of how he wants to achieve it. A well-formulated statement of objectives will give a clue to the type of presentation which will be best for implementing the objectives.

At the final stage of the goal-setting process the speaker should ask himself if it is possible to achieve the goal, and if the answer is positive, he should identify the required result with regard for the objectives of the audience. The next thing to do is to make the objectives possible by preparing the speech.

Formulating the topic

After determining the purpose of the speech and the type of speech and studying the occasion, the location and the audience it is necessary to choose your topic. It is generally acknowledged that the central argument is the most important thing in writing the process of public speaking.

The main argument (or the topic as Cicero called it) is the fundamental aspect of the speech. To develop it you should ask yourself “What is my speech essentially about?” Try to answer in a single sentence. If you can’t do it, you are not ready to continue.

The significance of getting the main argument right is generally acknowledged. It is sometimes called the main thesis (statement) of the speech or the residual message. It’s the message that you should get across to your listeners. This statement should be expressed in one single declarative sentence which will express the essence of the speech and stick in the memory of the audience.

The work on the topic will take a lot of time. Until you know what your message is you can not do research because you don’t know what information is relevant.

Researching your topic

Good research is the foundation of a good speech. Ultimately, the listeners are bound to appreciate a well-informed knowledgeable speaker. There are some general recommendations to consider regardless of the type of speech:

1. It is vital to check and double check the facts and statistics and to quote the sources when using them.

2. Plagiarism should be avoided.

3. Slander should be avoided.

The most commonly used sources for speech material are:

1. Print media such as fiction and non-fiction books, reference books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, abstracts.

2. Electronic media such as databases, computer networks, video or television, radio.

3. Personal interviews with experts in the field.

Remember to write down: the author’s name, title of the book or article, the specific quotation. Citing your sources will give you credibility as a speaker.

After all the information is filed, the speaker should sift it with regard for the subject matter and the objectives of the speech. Speech writing is a process of simplification rather than elaboration, so it is important to select from your materials only the truly relevant information.

It will help if you give yourself time for your ideas to ferment. The next step is to organize your material into a definite structure.

Remember another rule of public speaking: If you want to make a good speech, make it simple, make it short; if you want to make a great speech, make it simpler, make it shorter.

Summing up let’s list the strategies of the speaker at the stage of Preparation (Invention):

• Think about your audience and what you want them to get out of your presentation;

• Identify your objectives (primary and secondary) and adjust them to the expectations of your audience;

• Find out when and where you are to present your speech;

• Formulate the topic (main argument) of your speech;

• Gather the necessary information and sift it with regard for your objectives.

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