REFLECTING ON QUALITIES THAT MAKE FOR CREDIBILITY

Assignment 2: REFLECTING ON QUALITIES THAT MAKE FOR CREDIBILITY

Someone has said, “A speech is a thousand little things done well.” I take that to mean that there are many ways to make our speeches more or less successful. If we have distracting mannerisms, we need to work to remove them. If we have a swaying motion when we speak, we need to learn better body control. If we tend to look at the ceiling of the room rather than at the audience, we need to get our eyes down and on them.

Read over the following list. Place a check mark beside the ones that you believe hinder the audience when it comes to enjoying and learning from a speaker.

_____ 1. The speaker makes numerous grammatical mistakes such as using singular subjects with plural verbs.

_____ 2. The speaker rambles at times, making it hard for the audience to follow his/her line of thinking.

_____ 3. The speaker looks around at the entire audience, making sure to let all of them know he/she is aware of them.

_____ 4. The speaker chats directly with a person in the front row while he/she is delivering the presentation.

_____ 5. The speaker is chewing gum.

_____ 6. The speaker closes his/her hands tightly when making key points.

_____ 7. The speaker projects his/her voice well, making sure to communicate clearly with those in the back of the room.

_____ 8. The speaker appears to be distracted at times, making the audience wonder what else must be going on in his/her mind.

_____ 9. The speaker searches through his/her notes on the podium in order to find what he/she really wants to say.

_____ 10. The speaker explains terms that might not be familiar to the audience. For example, when referring to the CIA, the speaker briefly notes that the acronym stands for Central Intelligence Agency, a group that searches for key information concerning national security.

_____ 11. The speaker has a cold, but does not refer to it and uses a handkerchief to keep from spreading germs.

_____ 12. The speaker asks several questions but immediately moves on, leaving it to the audience to come up with answers for them.