Public Speaking Basics
Listeners and Speakers
Listening Concepts
You must wear two hats as a publicspeaker:
Speaker
Listener
Why?
Because successful speakers adjusttheir message based on theirlisteners reaction and vice versa.
Listening
Feedback Loop –
The continual flow or circularresponse between speaker andlistener.
Listening
Why is it important?
Studies show that we spend 40% of ourtime listening and 35% speaking.
Executives spend upwards of 50% of theirtime listening.
Studies also show that we only retain ½of what we hear immediately whileretaining 35% of what they hear after 24hours.
Listening
Listening –
The conscious act of recognizing,understanding and accuratelyinterpreting the messagescommunicated by others. Listeningis a proactive and discriminatingprocess.
Listening
Small Group discussion:
Think of a time when you weresharing a reaction with a friendabout a lecture, movie or otherevent.
You attended the same event butyour impressions were verydifferent, why?
Listening
Because of Selective Perception –
People pay attention selectively to certainmessages while ignoring others.
Several factors contribute to this:
1. We pay attention to what we hold to beimportant.
2. We pay attention to information thattouches our experiences and backgrounds
3. We sort and filter new information on thebasis of what we already know.
Listening Barriers
Listening Distraction –
Anything that competes forattention that you are trying to giveto something else.
External Distractions –
External noises, bad lighting, peoplewalking in and out of a meeting,excessively warm or cold. (NOISE)
Listening Barriers
Internal Distractions –
Thoughts, feelings (both positiveand negative), daydreaming,anxiety due to time pressures,distress over an argument, or anykind of a strong emotion. (NOISE)
Listening Barriers
Defensive Listening –
A listener that decides that theywon’t like what the speaker is goingto say or that they know better.This usually happens when thelisteners sense that their attitudesor opinions are being challenged.
Listening Barriers
Lazy or Overconfident Listeners
Expecting too little from thespeaker, ignore importantinformation or display an arrogantattitude because we think wealready know or don’t need to knowthe speakers message.
Listening Barriers
Cultural Barriers –
Differences in dialects or accents,nonverbal cues, word choice and evenphysical appearance.
For example, in the U.S. a “thumbs-up”gesture usually means “good job.” InAustralia and Nigeria, the same gesture isconsidered rude.
In the U.S. we encourage eye contact, insome Eastern cultures it is disrespectfulor even intolerable.
Listening Tips
No one has perfect retention, hereare some tips for better retention –
Listen for the speaker’s organizationalpattern
Listen for introductions, transitions andconclusions to alert you to the mainpoints
Watch for a more direct eye gaze
Take notes on the speaker’s mainpoints