Chapter 14

Adapting Verbally and Visually

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Relevance: adapting the information in the

speech so that audience members view it as important to them. Establish timeliness: show how information is

useful now. Establish proximity: show a relationship to

personal space Demonstrate personal impact.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Information Comprehension

Orient the audience: present an overview of information.

Define key terms. Illustrate new concepts with vivid examples; helps

understanding and memory. Personalize information: present information

within a frame of reference that is familiar to the audience.

Compare unknown ideas with familiar ones. Use multiple methods for developing criteria.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Common ground: the background, knowledge,

attitudes, experiences, and philosophies shared by audience members and the speaker. Use personal pronouns: (you, us, we, our) Ask rhetorical questions: phrase questions to

stimulate a mental response rather than an actual response spoken response from the audience.

Share common experiences: present personal experiences, examples and illustrations that exhibit what you and the audience have in common.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Speaker Credibility: the confidence an

audience places in the truthfulness of what a speaker says. Build audience perceptions of your knowledge and

expertise. How prepare you seem. How well know and convey the material. How you are directly involved with the topic.

Build audience perception of your trustworthiness. Based on moral and ethical traits. Based on apparent motives.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Speaker Credibility (cont.)

Build audience perception of your personality. Depends upon if the audience sees the speaker as “one

of them”. Depends upon appropriate grooming and dress. Depends upon your ability to smile and use a pleasant

tone.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Initial Audience Attitudes: predispositions for

or against a topic, often expressed as an opinion. Use audience analysis to determine attitudes. Adapt to attitudes accordingly. An important skill for informative speeches as well

as persuasive speeches.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Language and cultural differences.

Overcome linguistic problems that result from that audience having difficulty understanding you because you are speaking in a second language. Overcome self-consciousness. Speak slowly and articulate carefully. Practice in front of trial audience.

Choose culturally sensitive materials that help you overcome a limited common experience on which to establish common ground.

Adapting to Audiences Visually Visual Aids: forms of speech development that

enables the audience to see as well as hear information.

Types of visual aids: Objects: 3D representation of an idea you are

communicating. Models: useful when an object is too large or too small

to be seen. Still photographs. Slides. Film and video clips. Simple drawings. Maps. Charts. Graphs.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Methods for displaying visual aids

Computer-mediated presentations. Overhead transparencies. Flip-charts. Poster board. Chalkboards. Handouts.

Adapting to Your Audience Verbally Criteria for choosing visual aids.

What are the most important ideas? Would he concept be more easily understood

visually? How many visual aids are appropriate? How large is the audience? Is the necessary equipment readily available? Is the time involved in making the visual aid cost

effective?

Designing Effective Visual Aids Use a print or type size that is easily readable. Include only information that you include in

your speech. Lay out information in an aesthetically

pleasing way.