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| vocal/ nonverbal expression |
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| is a form of communication between two people, as in a conversation |
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| Small group communication |
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| involves a small number of people who can see and speak directly with one another |
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| occurs between a speaker and a large audience of unknown people. |
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| Differences between other communication |
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(1) opportunities for feedback,
(2) level of preparation
(3) degree of formality. |
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| The source, or sender, is the person who creates a message. The speaker transforms ideas and thoughts into messages and sends them to a receiver, or an audience. The speaker decides what messages are to be sent and how they will be sent. The process of organizing the message, choosing words and sentence structure, and verbalizing the message is called encoding. Encoding is this cumulative process of the source transforming thoughts into messages and delivering them to the audience. |
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The recipient of the source’s message is the receiver, or audience. The process of interpreting the message is called decoding. Audience members decode the meaning of the message selectively, based on their own experiences and attitudes. Feedback, the audience’s response to a message, can be conveyed both verbally and nonverbally. For example, an audience member may blurt out, “I don’t think so,” or may smile and nod. Feedback from the audience often indicates whether a speaker’s message has been understood. Note that feedback is a message sent by the receiver to the speaker. In this way, the original receiver is now in the role of source (an audience member is encoding a message) and the original source is in the role of receiver (the speaker is decoding a message). This change in roles between speaker and audience represents the interactive nature of public speaking.
Often, speakers deliver ineffective or inappropriate messages because they do not know or do not understand their audience (the receivers). Whether you are speaking to an audience of one or a hundred, always adopt an audience perspective—that is, try to determine the needs, attitudes, and values of your audience before you begin speaking. Let their relevant interests and background guide you in constructing your speech (see Chapter 6) |
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| The message is the content of the communication process: thoughts and ideas put into meaningful expressions. Content can be expressed verbally (through the sentences and points of a speech) and nonverbally (through eye contact and gestures). Miscommunication can happen when audience members misinterpret the speaker’s intended message, or when the speaker misreads audience feedback. |
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| The medium through which the speaker sends a message is the channel. If a speaker is delivering a message in front of a live audience, the channel is the air; sound waves deliver the message by traveling through the air. Other channels include telephones, televisions, and computers. If interference, or noise, occurs, the message may not be understood. Noise is any interference with the message. Although noise includes physical sounds such as a slamming door or ringing cell phone, it can also include psychological distractions, such as heated emotions, and environmental interference, such as a frigid room or the presence of unexpected people. |
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| Shared meaning is the mutual understanding of a message between speaker and audience. Shared meaning occurs in varying degrees. The lowest level of shared meaning exists when the speaker has merely caught the audience’s attention. As the message develops, depending on the method of encoding selected by the source, a higher degree of shared meaning is possible. Thus it is listener and speaker together who truly make a speech a speech—who co-create its meaning. |
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| Context and the Rhetorical Situation |
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Context includes anything that influences the speaker, the audience, or the occasion—and thus, ultimately, the message itself. In the case of classroom speeches, context would include (among other things) recent events on campus or in the outside world, the physical setting (e.g., a small classroom or large auditorium), the order and timing of speeches, and the cultural orientations of audience members. Considering context reminds us that successful communication can never be divorced from the concerns and expectations of others.
Part of the context of any speech is the situation that created the need for it in the first place. All speeches are delivered in response to a specific rhetorical situation, or circumstance, that calls for a public response.11 A funeral, for example, calls for a eulogy; a graduation calls for a commencement address. Politicians deliver speeches in response to various events, such as major policy shifts or natural disasters. Considering the rhetorical situation helps us remember the reason for the speech itself, and, closely aligned to this, the expectations of our audience. |
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| Goal setting is one of the primary tenets of most communication models. A clearly defined goal is a prerequisite for an effective speech. What is it that you want the audience to learn or do or believe as a result of your speech? How much ground do you want to cover? What do you personally want to achieve by delivering the speech? Establishing a set of goals early in the speechmaking process and writing them down in the form of concise sentences will help you proceed through speech preparation and delivery with a clear focus in mind. All the steps you take will be in concert with the clearly articulated goals that you have set. (See Chapter 7 for more on formulating the speech goal.) |
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A speech is not truly complete until its effects have been assessed and you decide whether you have accomplished what you set out to do. Usually this assessment is informal, as in listening to audience reactions. Sometimes it is more formal, as in receiving an evaluation from an instructor or from the audience itself. Constructive feedback is an invaluable tool for self-evaluation and improvement. (See Chapter 5 for further discussion and tips on giving and receiving constructive criticism.)
Elements of Communication |
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