The Structure of Public Speaking

Abstract

The objective of this research was to study the structure of public speaking The results of this study showed that there were 56 traits in varying degrees of importance which had an effect on public speaking. The study showed the five most important traits regarding the speaker were : 1) Introduction to the chairman and to the audience 2) Impression to the audience 3) Degree of self confidence 4) Complete understanding of the subject matter 5) Ability to communicate with the audience. The study showed the secondary traits in degree of importance regarding the speaker were : 1) Good appearance 2) Warm smile 3) No fear of the audience 4) Good personality & manner 5) Proper dress 6) Enthusiasm 7) Lively attitude 8) Politeness 9) Ability to make eye contact with the whole audience 10) Good posture while speaking 11) Flexible movements 12) Facial expressions 13) Graceful gestures 14) Priority to the subject matter 15) Sequence of presentation of subject matter 16) Presentation of the objectives of the subject matter 17) Presentation of the details of the subject matter 18) Ability to move from point to point clearly 19) Ability to work up to conclusion 20) Conclusion 21) Good pronunciation 22) proper pronunciation of consonants & vowels 23) Choice of language regarding cultural and educational background 24) Speech composition 25) Manner of politeness 26) Quality of voice 27) Attitude in conversation 28) Rapid speaking 29) Tonal concentration 30) Manner of intonation 31) Boring word “er” “ar” 32) Ability to analyze the audience 33) The quality of the subject matter presented 34) Ability to hold audience interest 35) Topic preparation 36) Presentation with specific, clear sentences 37) Description in detail 38) Use of examples 39) Speech regarding only a sense of humor o4) Speech regarding a sense of ethics. The study also showed six traits of lesser importance which usually depended on the speaker. 1) Impromptu talk 2) Use of difficult words 3) Formal speech 4) Use of quickly & slowly spoken words 5) Use of slow speech 6) Speech to add fun & pleasure to the subject. Finally the study showed five traits which were undesirable. 1) Speaking too long of time 2) Too much use of repeated word 3) The use of too much slang word 4) Too much use of slow speech 5) The use of dirty jokes with the speech.