Table of Contents
Q.1. How will you plan for a good speech? (10)
Planning a Good Speech
Step 1: Define Your Purpose
Identify your specific purpose: What do want your audience to do as a result of hearing you speak? Be as precise as possible.
Is your purpose realistic? timely? acceptable to organization? Are you the right person to present it to this specific audience?
Why do you care about it? How deeply do you care about it? (If you don’t care, why are talking about it and how can you expect your audience to care?)
Step 2: Analyze Your Audience
Learn as much as you can about your audience.
Determine the audience’s size:
- Small—5-20
- Medium—20-100
- Large—100-500
- Very Large—500-1000
- Big League—Over 1000
Determine the audience’s composition:
- Age & Gender
- Political affiliation
- Social status
- Educational background
- Profession
Know why they’re gathering:
- Social gathering
- Educational update
- Professional development
- Decision making
- Annual convention
Find out what they know (or think they know) and feel about
- Your subject matter
- You
By this point in your preparation, you should know:
- What you want your audience to do
- Why they would want to do it
- What they need need to know and feel to do it
Step 3: Establish Your Main Claim and Supporting Material
Your claim (also called a thesis statement) is a clear and focused proposition about a more general topic.
Don’t say, “Today I’m going to talk about legislation that can have a great impact on our community.” (That’s your topic.) Say, instead, “Today I’m going to tell you why passing this school bond is necessary and financially prudent, and I’ll show you how we can make sure it wins approval.”
Limit the scope of your presentation by choosing three supporting points.
For example:
1. Explain the school bond, how much it will raise, how it will be spent, what safeguards it will put in place
2. Show why it is necessary (run-down school buildings, unsafe conditions, lack of text books) and financially prudent (improvements now will save future, more costly repairs and will provide for a better educated work force)
3. Explain what your audience can do about it (vote, talk to neighbors, volunteer to get voters to the polls on election day)
“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time — a tremendous whack.”
– Winston Churchill
Step 4: Assemble Your Evidence
You’ve made an assertion (your main claim) and several supporting assertions. Now you need to back up each assertion with evidence — material that explains or establishes the validity of your claims.
The most commonly used forms of evidence are:
- Facts and figures, statistical evidence
- Stories and descriptions
- Definitions
- History
- Examples: typical cases that illustrate point
- References to authority: quotations or informed opinions
- Visual aids: graphs, charts, tables
- Demonstrations
Cite evidence that your audience will find credible
Step 5: Choose a Simple Structure
If your audience is receptive to your ideas:
- Begin with main idea/request
- Provide necessary details
- Close with statement of desired action
If your audience is resistant to your ideas:
- Begin with evidence
- Lead up to your main idea
A commonly used — and simple — structure has three main parts:
1. Introduction (roughly 10% of presentation)
A. Gains the audience’s attention and interest
B. States your main claim
C. Orients your audience
D. Previews your main points
2. Body (roughly 80% of presentation)
A. Organizes two to five (preferably three) points which explain, clarify, or affirm your one main point.
B. Clarifies the relationship between your ideas by using as much parallelism as possible.
C. Highlights the organisation of the main ideas to help the audience remember them by:
1. Summarizing;
2. Making explicit transitions between main points;
3. Using parallel structure; and
4. Using mnemonic devices.
3. Conclusion (roughly 10% of presentation)
A. Helps the audience retain your message by:
1. Reviewing your main ideas;
2. Restating your claim; and
3. Summarising the overall point of your speech.
B. Reinforces the audience’s interest by:
1. Issuing a challenge or appeal;
2. Visualising the effects of your solution;
3. Adding another inducement to action; or
4. Offering the audience an immediate opportunity to act.
C. Provides a note of finality. End on a high point!
D. Ties the end of a speech back into the beginning, if possible.
OR Explain the communication cycle with a neat diagram. (10)
The Communication Cycle model is a communication model that provides a schematic representation of the relation between sender, message, medium/ media and recipient. It was developed by Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver.
Communication is a very complex process that happens orally, in written form as well as in non-verbal form, and in which the message that is being sent, takes place in a certain context. Both the sender and the recipient can respond to each other in this model, with the sender and recipient alternating roles. This leads to a cyclical process.
Communication Cycle: sender, message and recipient
First, there’s the sender. He has an expressive function. Through language and/or body language, he expresses something and sends it to the recipient. It can be information, an emotion, song, dance, and so on.
The thing he sends, is the message. This message is intended for the recipient(s). How the recipient handles it and interprets the message is called the appellate function. The message itself has to be carried by a medium, also called a channel.
The sender usually uses multiple media to get to the recipient. In addition to the voice for spoken words, the sender uses gestures, facial expression, posture and intonation as media. He can also use supporting media, such as a PowerPoint presentation, flip chart, music or a slide show.
Coding and decoding the message
A message is communicated in different ways; spoken and written words(language), signs such as smoke, colors and symbols (semantics) and body language (non-verbal communication).
How the message is communicated and how it is understood are two different things. On the one hand we see (en)coding and on the other decoding. A message has to be transmitted in such a way that it can be understood by both the sender and the recipient.
For this, the sender uses coding. He translates what he has in his head to understandable language, with the intention that the recipient will understand what he means. He therefore carefully chooses his words, considers the level of his recipient and tries to make clear what he means. That’s why it’s good that a sender focuses on a target group and tailors his message as much as possible to that group.
Conversely, the recipient tries to ‘crack’ the sender’s message through decoding. He interprets what he’s seeing and hearing and translates it into thoughts. Because every human being has their own and unique frame of reference, determined by background, education, how they were raised, experiences and so on, every individual will interpret a message differently.
The more clearly the sender has encoded the message, the more accurately the recipient can decode it, minimising the chance of misunderstandings.
Noise
Still, there can be interference in the Communication Cycle that leads to misunderstandings. This is then referred to as miscommunication. Within communication, that kind of interference is called noise or static.
Feedback
As soon as the recipient responds to what the sender has sent, you get feedback. When the sender then responds to the recipient’s message, this is called a response.
Most of the time, the recipient’s feedback is given consciously.
Q.2. Define communication. Explain any two types of communication in detail. (10)
Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions through speech, signals, writing, or behavior. In communication process, a sender(encoder) encodes a message and then using a medium/channel sends it to the receiver (decoder) who decodes the message and after processing information, sends back appropriate feedback/reply using a medium/channel.
Types of communication based on the communication channels used are:
1. Verbal Communication
2. Non-verbal Communication
1. Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the the form of communication in which message is transmitted verbally; communication is done by word of mouth and a piece of writing. Objective of every communication is to have people understand what we are trying to convey. In verbal communication remember the acronym KISS(keep it short and simple).
Verbal Communication is further divided into:
▪ Oral Communication
▪ Written Communication
2. Non-verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages. We can say that communication other than oral and written, such as gesture, body language, posture, tone of voice or facial expressions, is called nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is all about the body language of speaker.
Nonverbal communication helps receiver in interpreting the message received. Often, nonverbal signals reflects the situation more accurately than verbal messages. Sometimes nonverbal response contradicts verbal communication and hence affect the effectiveness of message.
Nonverbal communication have the following three elements:
Appearance: Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics
Surrounding: Room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings
Body Language: facial expressions, gestures, postures
Sounds: Voice Tone, Volume, Speech rate
Q.3. Write short note on Proxemics. (5)
Proxemics is the study of how humans use space when we’re communicating. How close we stand to someone, whether we touch them, and how comfortable we feel are all part of the study of proxemics.
In order to understand more about proxemics, we need to discuss different kinds of spaces. There are four kinds of distance that people generally use in communication. This can vary by place, and different cultures have different standards. These are known as realms of personal territory. Let’s talk about these now.
• Public Space is the space that characterizes how close we sit or stand to someone, like a public figure or public speaker. So, if you are at an event listening to a professor give a lecture, you are probably about 12 – 25 feet away.
• Social Space means we’re getting a little closer, about 4 – 12 feet away. This is the kind of space you’re probably in if you’re talking to a colleague or a customer at work.
• Personal Space is even closer. In this case, you’re probably about 1 – 4 feet away from someone. This is reserved for talking to friends or family.
• Intimate Space is for people who you are very close to. In this case, you’re probably less than a foot away and you might even be touching the other person. This is the space you’re in with a romantic partner, for example.
Q.4. Make sentences to bring out the meaning of the following: (5×1=5)
(a) Affect/Effect
Poverty can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, gender or social background.
The possible adverse effect on humans from eating chicken are not limited.
(b) Access/Excess
Would you be able to access national data bases?
It is insoluble in dilute acids, but is readily soluble in excess of potassium cyanide.
(c) Pore/Pour
Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve immediately.
He was sweating at every pore.
(d) Pray/Prey
I will pray to God for your safety.
The lion stalked its prey through the long grass.
(e) Council/Counsel
The City Council has a manifold plan to beautify the city.
Counsel after action is like rain after harvest.
Q.5. Write the meaning for any five foreign words: (5×1=5)
(a) Par Excellence
better or more than all others of the same kind.
(b) Sine die
(with reference to business or proceedings that have been adjourned) with no appointed date for resumption.
(c) Viva-voce
an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification.
(d) In toto
as a whole, overall
(e) Inter alia
among other things
(f) En block
in a lump or block; as a body or whole; all together
(g) In camera
in a private or secret session; not in public
Q.6. Find the correct words from the jumbled (any five): (5×1=5)
(a) VLCEER
Clever
(b) NIETSL
Listen / Silent / Enlist
(c) SECPEH
Speech
(d) SSSRTE
Stress
(e) ARREBRI
Barrier
(f) EBNCEDIIRL
Incredible
(g) HEEPOTLEN
Telephone
Q.7. What are the Do’s and Don’t’s of Telephonic communication? (5)
The Do’s
- Do Be Clear & Direct. Say what you need to say. Whether it is spoken or written, ensure your language is clear and unambiguous and your message is directly communicated. Don’t beat around the bush; go for the throat. Check that the receiver understands the message as you intended, and avoid acronyms when there’s a chance they will be unclear.
- Do Paraphrase. When in doubt, talk it out. The goal of paraphrasing is to ensure you are clear about what has been said and let the speaker know that you care about what he or she is communicating. Both are equally important in effective communication. Use a variation on “What I hear you saying is . . .” to accomplish this.
- Do Be Respectful. This means using the other person’s name, looking them in the eye, and nodding to aid in demonstrating you understand what they are saying. If you are communicating in writing, reread before sending your message to ensure that it could not be misinterpreted or taken as disrespectful. When on the phone, don’t multitask even if you think the person on the other end of the line does not know you are.
- Do Tailor Conversation to Audience. Communicating with your boss, co-worker, customer or supplier may require a slightly different style. With your boss, be careful to pick the right time and ask for what you need and what you expect they can reasonably deliver. For a co-worker, be direct, transparent, and open-minded. And if a customer or supplier calls with a problem, listen carefully, apologize if necessary even if it wasn’t your fault, and offer a solution.
- Do Face-To-Face. Whenever you have difficult information to convey or something that could result in many questions, choose to have a direct face-to-face conversation. You will also have the huge benefit of non-verbal communication cues including tone of voice, facial expressions, and other body language.
The Don’ts
- Don’t Give More Attention To Cell Phones Than People. This practice is rude and gives your audience the message that their company is not important. In addition, constant texting, or checking your phone means you are not engaged in your current interaction.
- Don’t Overuse Abbreviations. This keeps people from practicing their spelling and from writing clear, articulate messages. It can put them at a disadvantage in getting their points across, which can be a particular liability at many jobs.
- Don’t Monopolize The Conversation. For communication to be effective, it must flow both ways. If you focus on solely getting your point across, you could miss some very important information from others involved in the conversation.
- Don’t React Or Get Upset. Many things involved in difficult discussion can and will illicit the urge for an emotional response. Remember that getting upset will not help you think clearly and will leave a bad impression on all parties involved in the interaction.
- Don’t Interrupt. Allow everyone their share of the floor. Everyone involved in a project meeting is there for a reason and has a valid need for speaking time. Don’t make someone feel slighted by dominating the entire meeting.
Q.8. Explain the difficulties of listening. What can we do to improve listening skills?(5)
Common difficulties of Listening and how to improve listening skills:-
1) Distractions
The most obvious and probably the most significant barriers to listening in today’s world are various distractions. Sadly, many of us can’t seem to be part of a conversation without constantly glancing at our phone or laptop.
When you’re having a conversation with someone, it’s best to keep these distractions away and focus on the person in front of you.
2) Noise
Trying to communicate in loud environments is highly ineffective. Even if you can manage to communicate with a large amount of background noise, you won’t be able to understand much or have a good, meaningful discourse.
The issue of background noise is especially common during telephone conversations. For example, many people think they can tackle important conversations while they’re commuting. In most cases, however, the noise levels are too high for effective communication, not to mention the fact that it can cause strain to the person on the other end as well.
3) Interruptions
The fact that nothing good comes from interrupting someone while they’re speaking is one of those cardinal rules of communication we’re all taught as children. People are so eager to be heard that sometimes they interrupt conversations to state their own opinion.
However, not only is it considered rude, but it’s also one of the biggest barriers to effective listening. To avoid making this mistake, try to wait until the other person has finished talking before saying your own ideas out loud.
4) Prejudice
Prejudice can cloud your judgement and make you turn a blind eye towards valuable information or good people. When you live and work in a multicultural environment, it’s vital to leave all your prejudices behind when you’re communicating with others.
For example, if you assume a person is unintelligent (or even less intelligent than you) because of the country of his origin, you’re blinding yourself. You need to give everyone the benefit of doubt and listen to what they have to say.
5) Lack of interest
Often times, we find ourselves trapped in a conversation that simply can’t hold our interest. In such cases, we’ll be tempted to drift off in our own thoughts or focus on something else – which, unfortunately, can be a barrier to listening.
If the discussion isn’t important, steer the conversation to a different direction. If it is important, however, try to focus on the relevant points and note them down.