UNIT FUNDAMENTALS OF ORAL COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES By the end of this unit you should be able to: * demonstrate an understanding of the elements associated with oral communication process © describe the criteria that make a good public speaker THE ORAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS In any oral communication there has to be at least one speaker and one listener (see Figure 1). The speaker is someone who sends a message (thus known as the sender) while the listener is the one who receives the message (also known as the receipient). As communication situation varies so does the number of speaker and listener. We could have a speaker speaking to a small group of listeners such as in a group discussion or a speakerEBB | rowarps EFFECTIVE ORAL COMMUNICATION communicating to a large audience as in a lecture. In other situations we could have more than one speaker addressing a group of audience such as in a forum or panel discussion. Message Channel : x _ Speaker Listene peaker no: tp istener Feedback Figure 1: The Speech Communication Process However, as in most cases, it is not only the speaker who does the talking. The listeners too, can convey messages to the speaker and to other listeners. This is termed as feedback. Feedback can be verbal or non-verbal. Just like messages, verbal feedback is given through the oral mode, and non-verbal feedback through other modes. Examples of non-verbal feedback are clapping of hands, laughing, yawning, and shuffling of papers. Message is communicated by means of channel. Messages can be transmitted face-to-face or through a medium such as telephone, radio or computer. There are two other elements in any oral communication process. One is interference, which is anything that hampers the delivery of a message (See Figure 2). Examples include noise coming from an air conditioning unit, vehicles passing by, thunder and rain, and people talking. The other element is situation which describes the context, time and place of the communication activity.UNIT 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF ORAL COMMUNICATION | [Ei Interference Speaker Situation Figure 2: Interference in Speech Communication Process SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A GOOD PUBLIC SPEAKER In order to become a good public speaker you should have the skill to gather information, to organize information, to use appropriate language to convey information, and to deliver information. All four skills are described below: 1. Gathering information The skill of gathering information is the first skill. In order to speak well you need to have all the necessary pieces of information. Information can be in the form of statistics, historical records, opinions, and ideas. There are a number of ways in which information can be gathered. Some common methods of gathering information are reading, surfing the Internet, observation and discussion.| TOWARDS EFFECTIVE ORAL COMMUNICATION 2. Organizing information The skill of organizing information is the second important skill. Before you could deliver a speech you have to organize the information you have gathered. The basic way to organize your information is to prepare an outline which contains the Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Introduction The introduction should first of all attract the attention of the audience. This could be done using different approaches. One approach could be by telling an anecdote which can get the audience to pay attention to what you are saying. Another way is by providing some startling statistics or powerful statements. You can also start off your speech by asking a series of rhetorical questions or by reading out a quotation. And if you know of a good joke you can certainly share it with the audience, but make sure that you can relate the joke well; otherwise the audience will laugh at you instead of with you. Another part of the introduction is where you preview the main points to be covered in your speech. This can be conveyed in a statement or two at the end of the introduction just before you go into the first main point. Some examples are: * This morning I will discuss three factors that determine the success of a candidate in a job interview. They are communication skills, self confidence and personality. * In today’s talk I will first share some of my experience in treating ICU patients and later I will demonstrate how this could be used in handling other similar cases. Body The second section is the Body. It is the main part of a speech which contains the key points to be delivered. Each key point needs to be supported using relevant information. There are a number of ways in which you can arrange the main points to be delivered. One is using the chronological or sequential order. This arrangement is useful when you want to explain the history of your subject. The second way is using the spatial order where you describe the main features of your subject. Another way is using the categorical or topical order. This is used when you want to describe the main topics of your subject. Other forms of arrangement of key points are the cause-effect or problem-solution order.UNIT 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF ORAL COMMUNICATION | [El When delivering key points you should expand each point so that it is clear to the audience. You could use examples to illustrate the point or you could use testimony of an authoritative figure. Another way is by comparison and contrast. Yet another way is using statistics to back your points. Whatever you use bear in mind that you should not have too many points in a speech as the audience will not be able to follow it. For example, in a 20-minute speech the maximum number of points that you could cover is three. Conclusion In concluding a speech you should first summarize the points covered and then end the speech by either making a call for action or relating it back to the introduction. You could also end a speech by providing a well-known quotation or saying relevant to the topic of the talk. Below is an example of a typical outline of a speech. For a complete outline with specific topic please refer to Unit 6. I Introduction Il Main Point 1 A. Subpoint 1 B. Subpoint 2 1, Sub-subpoint 1 2. Sub-subpoint 2 a. Sub-sub-subpoint 1 b. Sub-sub-subpoint 2 Ill Main Point 2 A. Subpoint 1 1. Sub-subpoint 1 2. Sub-subpoint 2 B. Subpoint 2 IV ConclusionEEG [ rowakbs EFFECTIVE ORAL COMMUNICATION 3. Using appropriate language to convey information Have you heard of this saying: “The best speaker speaks the language of his audience”? What do you think this means? It means that before you speak to your audience you need to know them - their background knowledge on the topic, their interests, purpose of listening, etc. So, the third skill to acquire if you want to be a good speaker is the skill of using appropriate language to convey information. Speaking to a group of primary school children is not the same as speaking to a group of engineers. A good speaker would adapt his style, content and language according to his audience. Also, a complex issue would appear simple if it is conveyed in a language understood by the audience but a simple issue would appear complicated if it is relayed in a language not understood by the audience. 4. Delivering information Have you ever attended a session whereby the speaker read out his speech word by word from a prepared text? What was your reaction and feelings towards the speaker? It must have been a boring session or you might have actually dozed off listening to the speaker. To prevent such a thing from happening, you need to develop the skill of delivering information. This includes controlling your voice projection, knowing how and when to use hand gestures, using appropriate facial expressions, understanding verbal and non-verbal signals from the audience, and maintaining eye contact with the audience. And any form of speech should be relayed to the audience in spoken language not written language. Good speakers are not born; they are made. Through training and practice anyone can develop the skill of a good speaker.UNIT 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF ORAL COMMUNICATION | [i Activity 1: Pair Work Information can be gathered from a number of sources. Discuss what information you can obtain from observation and group discussion. Activity 2: Group Work Discuss how you would adapt the language use in delivering a talk on the dangers of smoking to: (a) primary school pupils (b) second year undergraduates Activity 3: Individual Work {Deliver a three-minute impromptu speech on a topic given by your teacher.