Administrative and business communication

CHAPTER THREE

SPEECH

Introduction

Speech is the process of establishing a common understanding among people within a

business environment by means of spoken language. The widely applied means of oral
communication in face- to- face business situations are listening short talks and
presentations, conducting interview and meetings. Speech is one of the media of
communication that we use to deliver message or information for many people’s at once.

3.1. TYPES OF SPEECH

Although there are many different types of oral presentations, they can be divided into three
general categories: Presentation to inform, persuade and to entertain. Since entertainment
is rarely the purpose of speeches by entry level employees and supervisors, we will discuss
only informative and persuasive presentations.

INFORMATIVE PRESENTATIONS

Informative presentations occur continually in business and professional organizations.

Although there is some overlap between informative and persuasive presentations,
informative presentations are intended to increase understanding, not to change an attitude.
The majority of informative presentations are informal in nature, most employees are
expected to organize and present informal briefings and reports to colleagues and supervisors
as a normal part of their jobs.

Types of Informative Presentations

The basic purpose of an informative presentation is to promote understanding of ideas.

Many types of informative presentation are used in business situation. Although, the names
given of various informative presentations differ greatly from company to company here we
will discuss some of them. Examples of informative presentations are:

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 Oral briefing
 Oral report
 Instruction
 Community good will

Oral Briefing

Oral briefing is designed to present a summary of fact’s in a short period of time (usually
fifteen minutes or less). A briefing may be given to an individual (such as an employee,
supervisor, of client). Many briefings are informal; when an employee or supervisor
informally presents information to colleagues at a weekly meeting other briefings are more
formal, such as a briefing on the status of a particular project given to an entire department.
Since briefings last only a short time, few visuals are required.

It is impossible to supervisors to observe all events or situations themselves. Consequently,

informative briefings and reports presented by their employees are the only way supervisors
can stay up to date on the tremendous amount of information they need to make sound
decisions.

Oral Report

Oral report is designed to present complete details and requires a longer period of time
(usually more than fifteen minutes). A report may be a research report on the feasibility of
producing a new item, an analytical report examining various ingredients such as those used
to strengthen a type of plastic, a demonstrative report explaining how to use a new machine or
company product, or an investigative report examining a problem area. Often decision making
groups are required to prepare both written and oral reports on a problem and their
recommendations for solving it. Like the briefings reports may be informal or formal but tend
to be more formal than the most briefings.

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If the report includes recommendations, the recommendations should be presented in an

informative (not persuasive) manner and include both advantages and disadvantages. The
detailed information presented in a report can be simplified by the use of visual aids.

Supervisors use briefings and reports to communicate company policies and operational
procedures down ward to employees. Employees use briefings and reports to:

1. Communicate ideas and proposals upward to supervisors and horizontally to

fellow workers and
2. To present information or demonstrate product use to clients.

Instructions

This is aimed at making clear a process or policy or even the philosophy of a company mostly
to younger (newly coming) employees. It requires listeners to follow the explanation, learn
from the instructions and then apply it within the organization.

Community good will

These are made by organizations that realize the value of remaining in contact with the
community. Sensitive organizations spend considerable time and money to support their
public relation offices that are meant to after and leave a positive company image in the minds
of the community.

Persuasive Presentations

The basic purpose of a persuasive presentation is to influence choices. Persuasion

(specifically, selling ideas) was listed earlier as one of the most often used communication
skills by people in entry level jobs, it may very well be one of the least effectively used.
Business people view persuasion as coercion. They feel that the only way to get people to do
what they want is by force or trickery. Neither of these methods is effective and neither is
really persuasion.

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“Persuasion is communication intended to influence choice” but it is not the same as

coercion. To coerce is to eliminate or exclude options. To inform is to increase the number of
person’s options or choices (the more you know, the more choices you have). To persuade
is to limit the options that are perceived as acceptable”

There is no force or trickery in persuasion. The receivers of the persuasive message must
weigh the logic and evidence and make their own decision. Once that decision has been
made, they alone are responsible for it, although the sender helped influence the decision.

In business your ability to achieve the company’s goals depends on your ability to persuade
others. If you cannot use force or trickery or cannot expect listeners to be persuaded by
information alone, how do you persuade them?

3.2. Parts Of Speech

Speech has three main parts:

1. Introduction
2. Body and
3. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Introduction is to take place at the first few minutes of our speech. The introduction of an
oral presentation should:

(1) capture the attention of your listeners

(2) Motivate them to listen by showing the importance or benefit your presentation
will have for them
(3) Convince them that you are qualified to speak on the subject, and
(4) Explain the purpose of your presentation.

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Capture the attention of your listeners

As you begin your presentation, listeners’ attention may be focused on many personal
things. So in this introductory part you are expected to direct the attention from individual
concerns and thoughts to your presentation. Same common techniques for gaining attention
are:

 Reveal one or more starling facts

 Tell joke or humorous story relating directly to the topic
 Briefly cite two or three specific incidents or examples that relate to the topic.
 Quote or paraphrase a well-known publication or expert.
 Briefly demonstrate the item or skill you will be discussing in your
presentation.

Convince the audience of the benefit to them

Capturing the initial attention of your listeners does not guarantee that they will listen to the
remainder of your presentation. To keep their attention you must convince them that the
presentation will benefit them in same way- that is, will help them satisfy personal or job-
related needs.

Assure the audience that you are qualified to speak on the subject

The speaker is expected to demonstrate his qualification to speak on the topic by referring to
his personal experience, the detailed research he has done on the topic, the interview he has
conducted with knowledgeable peoples or the articles and books he has read that were written
by experts. By doing so the speaker should have to convince the audiences as he has the
knowledge on the topic.

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Explain the purpose of your presentation

Here the speaker is expected to state the purpose and a summary of the main points to be
covered. The average listener finds it much easier to follow and remember the ideas contained
in the presentation when the introduction lists the key points that will be covered.

Body

In the main body of the speech the main points that are summarized in the introduction part
needs to be discussed in detail. Most speakers cover, two, three or four main points in their
presentation.

Researchers have found that people are “capable of accurately receiving and remembering
only seven facts, ideas or “bits” of information at a time”. Therefore, organize the
information into seven or fewer key ideas or main point.

The number of main points that should be included depends on (1) how many points are
needed to adequately develop the topic (2) the time limit and (3) the knowledge and
interest of the audience.

The main points can be organized in a variety of methods. The arrangements that seem to
be most relevant to business and professional situations are:

Topical arrangement

This arrangement is used to break a topic into clusters, divisions, or parts. No spatial,
chronological, or casual relationship exists between the main points in a topical
arrangement; each is merely one of several topics pertaining to the same subject. It is
probably the easiest, and therefore, the most popular method of arrangement. It is most
effective when arranged in one of the following ways:

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a) From the most to the least popular

b) From the most to the least impressive
c) From the known to the unknown
d) From the familiar to the unfamiliar

Spatial or geographical arrangement

This arrangement organizes main points according to their spatial location, such as front to
rear, north to south, bottom to top, left to right. The lay out of a manufacturing plant could
be described by its left, center and right wings.

Chronological or time arrangement

This arrangement is used to present events in the order (or by the date) of their occurrence and
to present steps in the order in which they occur or in the order in which they should be
followed.

Problem- Solution arrangement

This arrangement divides the speech in to two basic categories: The analysis of the problem
and the explanation of one of several solutions.

The Conclusion

The conclusion normally contains two parts: a summary and a closing thought or statement.
The summary can be general (referring to the overall topic of the presentation) or specific
(listing the main points covered). The intent of the summary is to clarify for the listeners any
contusions about the purpose and main points of your presentation.

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The closing thought or statement serves as a final attention getter. Its purpose is to give the
audience a thought or challenge that will keep them thinking about your presentation long
after it is completed.

3.3. Characteristics of a Good Speaker

Every good speech requires careful preparation. The speaker must be ready to cover the
subject thoroughly and must carefully organize the presentation. Here below are the
guidelines of being a good speaker:

1. Know the subject

2. Know the audience
3. Be well organized

The oral presentation must be well organized logically starting from the planning process. If
you have the following points, it will be easier:
i. Decide on the order that will be followed
ii. Set down the basic ideas you want to express (and consider
different ways of arranging them). Thus organize the
information in a form of introduction, body and conclusion.
iii. State what you want to discuss clearly (problem? process?
project?)
4. Involve your listener
i. Tell a real story
ii. Tell a hypothetical story
iii. Present statistics
iv. Use of quotation
v. Tell a joke
5. Plan your conclusion

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3.4. Guidelines for an Effective Delivery of Speech

As we have seen speech is series of thoughts in the mind. There are about seven guidelines
for speech:

a) Look at your audience

b) Speak clearly
c) Use appropriate gestures
d) Check your postures and appearance
e) Make clear transition
f) Vary your volume and speed
g) Watch and listen for feedback

A. Look At Your Audience

Do not get frightened to look at the audience. The easiest way to do this is to look at the
audience. This does not mean a periodical quick look at the group. Rather it means talking with
them and looking at them. Do not look podium platform or over the heads. Be alert for the
audience’s feedback and make the necessary adjustment. Make good eye contact (it helps to
build a link between you and the audience). All these will permit you to relate your information
to them not at them. Look at these in the middle section, then those to the right, and then
those to the left. Let your eyes rest on different sections of the audience and a mass of faces.
For the effectiveness of your delivery of speech you need to have a clear eye contact with your
audience and you need to make sure that whether your audiences are following you or not.

B. Speak Clearly
The speech is related to accent. Accent is pronounced noticeably. Pronunciation means saying
words correctly, while enunciation means saying words distinctly. Both are necessary if you are
to be understood and wish to make a good impression on others. Your accent of words phrases

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and sentences needs to be in line with the accent of your audiences and it should be easily
understandable.

C. Use Appropriate Gesture

Gesture adds to the message you communicate. Although, gestures have vague meanings,
gestures are strong. They are natural aid to speaking. It should be clear that you could use
bodily movements to help your speaking. Which movement you should use, however, is hard to
say. They are related to personality, physical make up, and the size and the nature of the
audience. A speaker appearing before a formal group generally should use relatively few body
actions. A speaker appearing before an informal audience should use more what you should
use on a given occasion is a matter for your best judgment. Your body movement while you are
on presentation has a significant impact on the effective delivery of your speech so need to
consider these things in your presentation.

D. Check Your Posture and Appearance

Obviously, speaker will dress and stand in a manner appropriate for the presentation .Do not let
your appearance, posture, or destructing gestures over ride your message. It is important for
you to dress properly, stand correctly and bring the focus of the audience for your message and
not to destructions, have others tell you whether your posture needs improvement. Another is
to practice speaking before a mirror or with video type equipment. In your efforts to improve
your posture, keep in mind what must go on with your body in order for good posture.

E. Make Clear Transition

It is possible to cover topics faster so that the audience may not follow them properly.
Therefore, it is vital that you watch your transitions .At the end of a major point, slow down or
pause for a moment. Then, instead of abruptly starting the next idea, tell the audience that you
are now moving from your expiations of ‘communication goals’ to communication skills.
Statements like these are called transitions and they tell the audience to switch gears and

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prepare for the next item in the speech. Transitions provide a rest for listeners and also give a
clear signal about where you were and where you are going now .Some common transitions
that might be used are:

 ‘Now let’s turn to another point…’

 However, there is another aspect that we should look at today…..’
 ‘now with our understanding of…we can discuss …’

Thus, when the transition is stated slowly, you look at the audience and incorporate gesture
with the transition. The audience will understand what is being said and will know what will be
said.

F. Vary Your Volume and Speed

A boring speech may put your audience to sleep .Some ideas need to be started forcefully;
others need to be noted softly, respectfully. Look a good piece of look that is fast ,slow ,high,
low, loud or soft ,so should a speech reflect changes that match with the content of the idea .A
speech could be as boring and monotonous as a piece of music that proceeds at one volume
level and speed only .As a general rule ,you should present the easy parts of the message at a
fairly quick rate and hard to understand information at a lower ( slower pace ). The reason for
varying the speed of the presentation should be apparent .Easy information presented slowly is
irritating, hard information presented rapidly may be difficult to understand. By observing your
audiences condition in the presentation you should vary your volume and speed of voice to
hold their attention.

G. Watch And Listen Feedback

You can and should train yourself to watch the audience as you speak and to be sensitive to its
changing moods .The alert speak will be on the look out for a feed back. If the audience looks
confused on a particular point you can assist by interjecting a statement like ‘let me repeat

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that…or perhaps I can state this concept in another way …’ Besides helping the audience to
understand the message , such statements indicate that the alter speaker is paying attention to
the audience .Also if the audience laugh’s longer than expected at a humorous comment ,the
speaker pauses and permits the audience and to catch up .By looking at the people in the
audience and interpreting their feed back ,you can keep the message on target .Successful
interaction with the audience is ,to a large extent the element that makes your audiences glad
for coming to hear you .

Thus, to deliver the speech, check your volume, keep your head up, use conversational tone,
and hide your nervousness. Stand as ease, avoid mannerisms, use the time allotted. Observe
audience reaction carefully select the closing words .Conversational tone refers to the usage of
simple language to the audience, where as mannerism is articulation of word not clearly and
over usage of ah, uh etc.

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