When you need to deliver a written message you have a variety of methods at your disposal such as snail mail,
email, chat, greeting cards, and so on and you can adapt and deliver your message to fit the audience and the
occasion. When it comes time to deliver your oral presentation or a speech you must do the
same thing you need to consider the various methods and how you design your message to be delivered for
the audience and the occasion via the various delivery methods and that's what this short video will focus on a
few basics of delivery style starting with the similarities and differences between public speaking and
conversation the four basic methods of delivery and a very brief reminder of some of the characteristics of
speech delivery. One way to think about public speaking in most of today's world is as in large
conversation, we tend to prefer a conversational style over a stilted more dramatic style which is what most
people visualize when thinking about public speaking we prefer to be talked with rather than talked at a public
speech then can be thought of as a conversation between a speaker and an audience however there are
three key differences between public speaking and conversation.The first being that unlike most
conversations public speaking is planned, you must prepare, organized, in many cases research, as well as
practice and you rarely put as much planning into a conversation. A second difference is that public
speaking is more formal than conversation in terms of language choice, posture, eye contact, and even a tire
there are more rules to follow in public speaking than in conversation and finally when applying the elements of
the basic communication model the roles of senders and receivers or in the case of public speaking
the speaker and the audience are more clearly defined. When you're delivering a speech you are primarily
playing the role of a sender for an extended period of time, while the audience is primarily playing the role of
receivers, in conversation however the roles of senders and receivers switch back and forth often very rapidly.
Which are next to the four basic methods of delivery which you will find in virtually every public speaking from
textbook speaking a manuscript, speaking entirely from memory with no notes, speaking with little or no
preparation, or impromptu speaking which is often referred to as off-the-cuff implying that you weren't
prepared to speak and you had to hurriedly write your notes on your sleeve cuff before you step to the
podium, and speaking extemporaneously when you are speaking conversationally off brief notes you have
prepared and usually practice your presentation but unlike a memorized delivery the exact wording is
selected at the time you are presenting. Now there's a time and a place for all of these delivery styles a
manuscript speech is appropriate when it is important that you get the wording exactly right for example at a
press conference, however it's really hard to make it sound like you are speaking and not just reading, a
memorized delivery might be the best method for a short speech, however even if you can memorize well
many of us aren't very good at that you often sound memorized and that can be very off-putting.
And if you are at an event where you are not expected to be prepared impromptu might be appropriate,
but impromptu often comes off disjointed and well unprepared to deliver a good impromptu speech you
should be knowledgeable about the subject, able to organize quickly, and be an experienced speaker.
Extemporaneous has been called the most natural of all methods of prepared delivery is the most like the
enlarged conversation that we just discussed the extemporaneous delivery style is the preferred speaking
style in business, as well as for most audiences, and most situations. In school most of us prefer
instructors who know their material and can speak well off their notes it's obvious that they are prepared but
they're not reading to us, and as is often the case with memorizing manuscript speeches they are not reading
at us they sound natural they are talking with us. Many people confuse the impromptu, and extemporaneous
delivery styles now what's the difference impromptu means that you've had no two very little preparation you
had no idea that you were going to speak and didn't have the time to prepare in fact no one would have expected
you to have been prepared some call it speaking off the top of your head an idiom defined by the free dictionary
as without careful thought our investigation. Extemporaneous means that you are very well prepared
but you haven't memorized your word order you are thoroughly familiar with the organization and content of
your speech and just need a few glimpses at your notes to keep you on track. That brings us to our last topic
which is a very brief reminder of the characteristics of speech delivery the nonverbal aspect of what we see and
hear during the speech reflecting on what differentiates public speaking from conversation you'll recall that
public speaking is more formal and more planned and as such you'll need to pay attention to aspects of your
speaking style in public speaking that you might take for granted in conversation. We'll start with what some
consider to be the most important vocal delivery, your voice can be a very powerful instrument it must be loud
enough to be heard by everyone in your audience without straining, yet not so loud that overpowers or
intimidates, we have to be able to understand you, and that relates to articulation or annunciation.
Pronunciation and dialect or accent you need to have vocal variety so you need to vary your pitch which is
the highness your lowness of your voice and your rate or the speed at which you talk and you need to pay
attention to your tone so that you sound sincere, friendly, and knowledgeable lack of vocal variety or a monotone
will lose your audience's attention or put them to sleep. Vocal delivery also include your fluency are you choppy ?
do you have what some called vocalized pauses or vocal disfluencies, fillers, those annoying umm, oz, and hers if
you use words to fill in you know, now, or like some call them verbal disfluencies now remember verbal
means words or what my father used to call word whiskers and I call filler phrases.
While the use of these may be very common in conversation in a formal oral presentation they are at
best annoying and can interfere with our ability to process your message and perhaps even worse can cast
doubt on your credibility as a speaker. Another important characteristic of delivery particularly in Western culture is
eye contact you need to look at us, all of us, in a nice direct trustworthy fashion body movement is another
characteristic how do you move your body including moving for emphasis projecting confidence and
enthusiasm with your posture and your gestures and your facial expressions are also part of body movement
you need to show your confidence and enthusiasm in your face as well as your voice and while it may not
involve your physical behavior you also need to pay attention to your personal appearance as that
contributes to your audience's perception of your delivery style.
Processing time which of the delivery methods do you prefer as an audience member? or as a speaker? and are
they the same or different and which of the characteristics of speech delivery do you find to be the
most important? with this basic discussion of delivery you should be able to approach your next public
speaking opportunity knowing what delivery method is most appropriate and the nonverbal aspects that you
should pay attention to.