Public Speaking: Choices and Responsibility, Fourth Edition
By William M. Keith and Christian O. Lundberg
Contents:
Preface ix
Part 1 Fundamentals of Good Speaking 1
1 Public Speaking 2
Introduction: Why Learn Public Speaking? 3
Speech Is Powerful 4
The Power of Public Speaking to Change the World 4
The Power of Speeches to Change Your World 4
Speaking Connects You to Others:
The Democracy in Everyday Life 5
The Conversational Framework 6
Public Speaking Across Cultures 8
The Communication Process 9
The Public in Public Speaking 10
Speakers Make Choices 12
Preparation 13
Informing 14
Persuading 14
The Speaking Process: Preparing
and Performing 16
Thinking Through Your Choices 17
Your Responsibilities
(Chapter 2) 17
Your Audience
(Chapters 3, 4) 17
Your Goals (Chapter 5) 19
Creating Your First
Speech 19
Informing and Arguing (Chapters 11, 12) 19
Research (Chapter 6) 20
Organizing (Chapter 7) 20
Finding the Words (Chapter 8) 21
Giving Your First Speech 22
Delivering the Speech (Chapters 9 and 10) 22
Overcoming Anxiety (Chapter 9) 22
Presentation Aids (Chapter 10) 23
Making Responsible Choices 23
Good Speeches Are the Result of Choices 23
Taking Responsibility Means Respecting the Audience 24
2
Speaking for the Common Good:
The Ethics of the Responsible Speaker 26
Introduction: Why Civility Matters
in Public Speaking 27
Civility Breakdowns in Public Speaking 29
Deceptive Speech 31
Coercive Speech 31
Inappropriately Biased Speech 32
Poorly Reasoned Speech 33
Fake News? 34
Seven Principles of Civil Public Speaking 35
Be Honest 35
Be Transparent 36
Be Generous 36
Be Balanced 36
Represent Evidence Responsibly 37
Take Appropriate Risks 37
Choose Engagement 38
How to Avoid
Plagiarism 38
How to Create a Civil and
Ethical Speech 40
Respect Your Audience 40
Respect Your Topic 42
Respect Other Views and Treat Them Fairly 43
Avoiding Fallacies and Prejudicial Appeals 44
Name Calling 45
Glittering Generalities 45
Inappropriate Testimonials 45
Plain-Folks Appeals 45
Card Stacking 46
Bandwagoning 46
3 Understanding Audiences and Publics 48
Introduction: Those People Sitting in Front
of You 49
Audience Analysis 50
The Literal Audience 51
Problems with the Demographic Approach 52
The Rhetorical Audience 53
The “As” Test 53
From “Me” to “Us” 55
Types of Rhetorical Audiences 56
Adapting Your Speech to Your
Audience 57
Identify Common Interests 57
Make the Most of Shared Experience 57
Work from Common
Premises 57
Be Directive 57
Two Views of the Audience:
Marketing vs.
Engagement 59
Marketing 60
Engagement 60
The Audience and the Public 61
Advancing the Public Conversation 62
Your Ethical Responsibilities to Your
Audience 62
4 Becoming a Skilled Listener 66
Introduction: Public Hearing and Listening 67
Types of Listening 68
Passive Listening 68
Active Listening 68
Critical Listening 71
The Ethics of Listening 73
Obstacles to Good Listening 75
Distractions 75
Your Mental Zone 76
Taking Good Notes 77
Giving Constructive and
Useful Feedback 79
Criticize Speeches, Not
People 81
Be Specific 81
Focus on What Can Be
Changed 81
Be Communication-Sensitive 81
Part 2 Creating a Great Speech 85
5 Topic and Purpose 86
Introduction: Picking a Topic and Defining
Your Purpose 87
A Strategy for Picking a Topic 87
What Interests You? 89
What Will Interest Your Audience? 89
What Is the Occasion? 90
What Is Your Purpose? 91
What Is Your Thesis? 92
Finding a Topic Among Your Interests 92
What Do You Already Know or Care About? 92
What Do You Want to Know More About? 93
Brainstorming 94
Choosing One of Your Topic Ideas 95
How to Focus Your Topic
for Your Audience 96
Geography or Location 96
Past, Present, or Future 97
Typical Audience
Interests 97
Speaking Purposes and
Speaking Situations 97
General Purposes of Speeches 98
Types of Speaking Situations 98
Time Constraints 100
The Thesis Statement: Putting Your Topic
and Purpose into Words 101
6 Research 105
Introduction: Becoming an Expert 106
Researching Responsibly 107
The Research Process 108
Figuring Out What You Already Know 108
Designing a Research Strategy 109
Deciding Where to Go 110
Making a Methodical Search 111
How to Conduct an Online Search 112
Creating Search Terms 112
Focusing Your Search 114
Gathering Your Materials 115
Reading Your Materials and Taking Notes 116
Evaluating Sources 118
Blogs and Vlogs 119
News Articles 120
Opinion or Advocacy
Pieces 120
Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed
Articles 120
Wikis 120
Websites and Web Pages 121
Revising Your Claims 121
Organizing Your Research Information 121
Choosing the Sources for Your Speech 122
Citing Your Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism 123
Getting Help from a Research Expert 124
7 Organization 126
Introduction: Getting Organized 127
The Basic Three-Part Structure 128
The Introduction 129
Functions of an Effective Introduction 129
Elements of the Introduction 130
Inverted Pyramid Example 130
Sunday Feature Example 131
Sunday Feature Example 2 131
The Body 132
Functions of the Body 133
The Conclusion 135
Functions of the Conclusion 136
Elements of the Conclusion 136
Patterns of Organization 137
Chronological 138
Spatial 139
Cause and Effect 140
Problem–Solution 141
Topical 143
Monroe’s Motivated
Sequence 143
Attention 144
Need 144
Satisfaction 145
Visualization 145
Action 145
Combination Patterns 146
Choosing the Order of Points: Primacy vs. Recency 147
Arranging Your Supporting Materials 147
Outlining 148
Outline Structure 149
Preparation and Delivery Outlines 150
Part 3 Presenting a Great Speech 153
8 Verbal Style 154
Introduction: What Is Verbal Style,
and Why Does It Matter? 155
Characteristics of Effective Style 155
Concrete and Lively Language 156
Respectful Language 157
Classifying Verbal Style: Figures and
Tropes 158
Figures 159
Figures of Repetition 159
Figures of Contrast 161
Tropes 164
Tropes of Comparison:
Metaphor and Simile 164
The Trope of Substitution:
Metonymy 166
Tropes of Exaggeration: Overstatement
and Understatement 166
The Trope of Voice: Personification 167
Matching the Style to the Topic and the
Occasion 167
9 Delivery 170
Introduction: Deliver the Goods 171
Speaking or Talking? 172
Creating Focus and Energy from Your
Anxiety 172
Types of Preparation and Delivery 175
Speaking from Memory 175
Speaking from Manuscript 175
Extemporaneous Speaking 175
Impromptu Speaking 176
Staying on Time 176
Types of Speaking Aids 177
Using Your Voice Effectively 178
Volume 178
Speed 180
Articulation 180
Inflection 180
Using Your Body Effectively 181
Presenting Yourself 182
Moving 182
Using Gestures 183
Language and
Discrimination 184
How to Practice Delivering
Your Speech 184
Practice, All the Way
Through, at Least Four
Times 185
Practice in Front of an
Audience 185
Practice Making Mistakes 185
Breathe, Breathe, Breathe 186
Answering Questions from the Audience 186
Anticipating Questions 186
Interpreting the Questions 187
Giving Your Answers 187
Group Presentations 188
Cooperation 189
Coordination 190
Delivering the Group Presentation 191
Rehearsing the Group Presentation 192
10 Using Technology for Presentations 194
Introduction: Technology for Presenting
Yourself and Your Ideas 195
Comparing Online and In-Person
Presentations 196
What’s Different Virtually? 196
What’s Not Different Virtually? 197
Technology Considerations
for Online Presentations 197
Setup 197
Platform 198
Close Up or Far Delivery 198
Preparing Your Screen Environment 198
Lighting 198
Framing 200
Background 200
Preparing to Present Online 200
Know Your Technology 201
Optimize Your Tools 201
Choose Framing and Lighting 201
Choose Your Speaking Configuration 203
Practice Realistically 203
Why Use Presentation
Aids? 204
Principles for Integrating
Presentation Aids 205
Visual Elements 208
Pictures and Photos 208
Charts and Graphs 210
Maps and Diagrams 213
Text 215
Paper Media 215
Handouts—What Are Your Choices? 216
Useful Handouts 217
Posters and Flip Charts 217
Presentation Software 218
Delivering Your Speech with Presentation
Aids 221
Preparing to Use Digital Media 222
Developing a Backup Plan for Digital Media 222
Tropes of Exaggeration: Overstatement
and Understatement 166
The Trope of Voice: Personification 167
Matching the Style to the Topic and the
Occasion 167
9 Delivery 170
Introduction: Deliver the Goods 171
Speaking or Talking? 172
Creating Focus and Energy from Your
Anxiety 172
Types of Preparation and Delivery 175
Speaking from Memory 175
Speaking from Manuscript 175
Extemporaneous Speaking 175
Impromptu Speaking 176
Staying on Time 176
Types of Speaking Aids 177
Using Your Voice Effectively 178
Volume 178
Speed 180
Articulation 180
Inflection 180
Using Your Body Effectively 181
Presenting Yourself 182
Moving 182
Using Gestures 183
Language and
Discrimination 184
How to Practice Delivering
Your Speech 184
Practice, All the Way
Through, at Least Four
Times 185
Practice in Front of an
Audience 185
Practice Making Mistakes 185
Breathe, Breathe, Breathe 186
Answering Questions from the Audience 186
Anticipating Questions 186
Interpreting the Questions 187
Giving Your Answers 187
Group Presentations 188
Cooperation 189
Coordination 190
Delivering the Group Presentation 191
Rehearsing the Group Presentation 192
10 Using Technology for Presentations 194
Introduction: Technology for Presenting
Yourself and Your Ideas 195
Comparing Online and In-Person
Presentations 196
What’s Different Virtually? 196
What’s Not Different Virtually? 197
Technology Considerations
for Online Presentations 197
Setup 197
Platform 198
Close Up or Far Delivery 198
Preparing Your Screen Environment 198
Lighting 198
Framing 200
Background 200
Preparing to Present Online 200
Know Your Technology 201
Optimize Your Tools 201
Choose Framing and Lighting 201
Choose Your Speaking Configuration 203
Practice Realistically 203
Why Use Presentation
Aids? 204
Principles for Integrating
Presentation Aids 205
Visual Elements 208
Pictures and Photos 208
Charts and Graphs 210
Maps and Diagrams 213
Text 215
Paper Media 215
Handouts—What Are Your Choices? 216
Useful Handouts 217
Posters and Flip Charts 217
Presentation Software 218
Delivering Your Speech with Presentation
Aids 221
Preparing to Use Digital Media 222
Developing a Backup Plan for Digital Media 222
Part 4 Kinds of Speeches 225
11 Informative Speaking 226
Introduction: Telling It Like It Is 227
Approaches to Informative Speaking 228
Present New Information 229
Reframing 230
Generate Positive or Negative Feelings 231
How to Choose an Informative Goal 232
Responsibilities of the Informative Speaker 233
Topics for Informative Speeches 235
Objects 236
Events 237
People 237
Processes 238
Ideas 238
Techniques of Informative
Speaking 239
Defining 241
Describing 242
Explaining 243
Choices That Make
Information Effective 244
Keep It Simple 244
Make Supporting Material
Effective 245
Connect Your Topic to Your Audience 246
Organize to Inform—and Captivate 246
Choose Effective Language 247
12 Being Persuasive 249
Introduction: Giving the Audience Proofs 250
Ethos: Why Audiences Should Believe You 252
Classical Dimensions of Ethos 253
Why Are You Speaking on This Topic? 254
Pathos: The Framework of Feelings 254
Appeals to Positive Emotions 255
Fear and Other Negative Appeals 256
Framing 257
Logos: Who Needs an Argument? 258
Making Connections: The Process of
Reasoning 260
Types of Arguments 261
Arguments from Examples (Inductive Reasoning) 261
Formal Arguments (Deductive Reasoning) 262
Causal Arguments 263
Arguments from
Analogy 264
Arguments from Signs 265
Arguments from
Authority 265
When Reasons Go
Bad 266
Fallacies of Appeal 266
Fallacies of Causation 268
Inductive Fallacies 269
Begging the Question: The Fallacy
of Circular Reasoning 271
What About the Other Side? Dealing
with Counterarguments 272
Why Addressing Counterarguments Is Persuasive 272
Tips for Dealing with Counterarguments 272
13
Special Types of Speeches
and Presentations 276
Introduction: Adapting Your Skills to
New Challenges 277
Speeches at Life Transitions 277
Toasts 278
Eulogy 280
Graduation 282
Speeches at Ceremonies 285
Introducing a Speaker 285
After-Dinner Speaking 286
Presenting an Award 287
Expanding Your Speaking
Opportunities 288
Lightning Talks 288
Story Slam/Poetry Slam 291
Appendix 1: Sample Speeches 295
Informative Speech 295
Why Laughter Is the Best Medicine 295
Persuasive Speech 297
Statement to the Iowa House Judiciary Committee 297
Special Occasion Speech 298
“I Am an African.” (Statement on Behalf of the African
National Congress, on the Occasion of the Adoption by the
Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of South Africa
Constitution Bill) 298
Appendix 2: Sample Outlines 302
Informative Speech Outline 302
Why Laughter Is the Best Medicine 302
Persuasive Speech Outline 304
Statement to the Iowa House Judiciary Committee 304
Special Occasion Speech Outline 306
Statement on Behalf of the African National Congress, on the
Occasion of the Adoption by the Constitutional Assembly of
the Republic of South Africa Constitution Bill 1996 306
Endnotes 309
Glossary 315
Index 319