ORAL COMMUNICATION NOTES
2.1 SPEECHES
Speech or spoken word is very powerful, it can stir people to mutinies
and rebellions it can turn a hostile crowd to a friendly gathering.
The key to the success of many politicians, industrialists, managers,
and salesmen lies in their ability to speak.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SPEECH
- It is clear.
Your speech should convey to the audience the ideas, emotions, facts or
arguments you want to express. - It is like an informal talk
When you speak there should be a perfect rapport between you and your
audience. - It is vivid and concrete
Use concrete facts that are easy to comprehend and visualize. Instead of
saying the population of India is growing very fast, a speaker said see
how fast our population grows one Australia is added the population of
India every year and Australia’s area is
two and half times that of India. - It is brief
An audience can last up to twenty minutes. Your speech should be
tailored to that length. To achieve brevity, include only a few points
and elaborate at length - It is interesting
Quotations, anecdotes and humorous touches often make a speech
interesting. Quotations should be from acceptable authorities. They
should be familiar but not worn out. Anecdotes should be new brief and
in good taste. Humor should be topical, original spontaneous and gentle. - It is audience oriented
A good speech should be tailored to the wavelength of the audience.
Consider the following points:
- Is the audience general or specializes one? This will help you
determine the depth of the subject - How large is the audience? For a small audience the speech will be
more like a chat in a large gathering you will have to be rhetorical. - What is the age group of the listeners? Your reference and
illustrations should conform to the tastes of that particular group. - What is the social religious political and economic views and
prejudice of the listeners? What is the expected audience response?
PROFILE OF A GOOD SPEAKER
- “A good speaker is lively, interested enthusiastic and vital.” He
treats his audience as a group of living people. He is keenly interested
in the subject he is speaking about and takes pain to make the audience
equally interested in it. - “A good speaker is earnest”
- He does not speak just for the sake of speaking – in order to show
off, to impress the audience with his erudition or his authority - “A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to others on the
program” He does not take more time than what is allotted to him. - “A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to his subject” He does
not bite more than he can chew. He does not spread it thin. - “ A good speaker has a sense of leadership; he stands up tall, he
talks eye to eye , he speaks responsibly and with authority as a leader
should’ - “ A good speaker keeps his head” He is not get carried off by his
over- enthusiasm or over-confidence. - “ A good speaker tries to be balanced and sane”
- “ A good speaker keeps his sense of humour”
PREPARATION FOR A SPEECH
- Research your topic thoroughly. Identify the points for discussion
and decide what you have to say about them. - Plan your speech in three parts;
- The beginning should arouse the interest of the audience.
- The middle should be devoted to discussion
- The conclusion should summarize the main points, and if some action
is to be taken it clearly tells the audience what they are required.
- Time your speech to make sure it is neither too long nor too short.
- Look for some suitable quotations or anecdotes if possible.
- Arrange your points in such a way that strong points are kept at the
beginning. - Tailor your speech to the intellectual level and general taste of the
audience. - Make sure that your delivery is going to be good, rehearse the speech
use a tape recorder or video recorder to fine tune your tone and mannerism.
2.2. MEETINGS
Meetings are held to discuss particular issues or matters. For the
meetings to be successful the following should be done.
- Define the purpose of the meeting clearly
- Distribute the agenda among all members.
- Provide all the facts e.g. you may distribute a copy of previous
year results and some comments to the members. - Restrict the number of invitees
If you are the chairman of a meeting
To be successful as a chairman observe the following:-
- Punctuality
- Clearly define the purpose of the meeting
- Begin with a positive approach and don’t start on negatives.
- Your opening remarks should be brief. Short openings suggest the
urgency of problem. - Sight out the initial silence. After the opening remarks there’s
silence because of members general reluctance to speak. Some people may
be thinking about the probability and others not want to speak. The
chairman should assist
members to open up. - Remain impartial sometimes conflicts and personality save ups may
arise. The chairman should be able to control the situation. He should
not take sides. - Control emotional build ups sometimes during the discussion emotions
and tensions may build up. The chairman should use humour to control
tempers. - Draw contributions from all members.
- Control the meeting
- Creatively control opposing points of view.
- Clarify contributions
- Make frequent summarize of progress of the meeting to all parent.
- Point out the decisions reached.
- Point out differences.
- Point out the course of action.
- Close the meeting in time.
What To Do IF YOU ARE TO ATTEND A MEETING
- Go to the meeting well prepared.
- Study the agenda carefully, try to find out the items of your
interest and the items in which you are capable to make contributions.
Carefully read the information circulated in advance.
If you want to use any written or visual aids to make your contributions
effective prepare them in advance.
If you are not an experienced speaker its advisable to write down points. - Study other members who are attending the meeting. Their
characteristics, like and dislikes, story and weak points, the way they
speak and how they react to different ideas and note their areas of
specialization. - Speak at the end most appropriate time if you have good ideas. Ideas
that you have keen to get accepted, present them early enough so that
other members can start thinking along the lines of those ideas. - If the discussion is moving along desirable lines, you can wait and
present your ideas towards the end of the meeting. This will happen if
you are giving an air of finality to the discussion and other members
may agree with you and the meeting is closed.
2.3. DISCUSSION
Discussion – it’s a co-operative, critical exchange of opinions,
information and ideas about one general subject. Its guided by a leader
for the purpose of seeking appropriate, acceptable answers to a question.
Can be conducted before a audience or it can be held in a closed session.
An ideal one involves a force exchange and evaluation of information by
open minded participants.
PURPOSES OF GROUP DISCUSSION
- The most important purpose is to solve complex problems. When one or
two people are incapable of solving a problem, they often call experts
from a variety of areas collective wisdom assists in solving complex
problems. - To publish existing problems
- To give individuals experience in becoming leaders and discussants by
participating in group deliberations. - To collect information from many different people in widely separated
Geographical, occupational or social-economic sections of society.
FACTORS INFLUENCING DISCUSSION
- Amount of research
The amount of research done by participants before the discussion may
affect both the quality of discussions and the quality of the results. - Underlying motives or secret interests
May also affect discussion quality and results e.g people who are not
honest and open because they stand to lose something (friends,
positions, status etc) may sway a discussion to protect their secret
interests. - Nonverbal, vocal & verbal messages
Disgusted expressions, stressed words, or technical terms may suggest
attitudes and emotions of the people involved. - Sensitivity of the participants to each other and to themselves. If
participants are unaware that others are tense, shy, frustrated or bored
they’ll probably not be able to draw them into the discussion and
benefit from their judgments and
opinions.
Other factors may be:
- Time of day i.e. when the discussion is conducted
- Place where the discussion occurs
- Size of the group discussing
- Time limit for completing a task
Types of Discussion Questions
There are 3 general types of questions.
- Question of fact
To answer this is the discussants try to find which aspects of a
particular problem are true, probable or false. These kind of
discussions are called “Fact – finding” sessions. - Questions of value:
These questions evaluate different ideas to see which one is best.
Discussants compare and contrast the worth or value of one thing with
another to make judgments.22 - Questions of policy
These attempts to discover if something should or should not be done.
Discussion questions should deal with subjects that are:
Significant, important and worth discussion
ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR AN ORDERLY DISCUSSION.
It should follow a logical, sequential pattern; the following is the
modified plan for discussion.
- Locate and define the problem
They need to state the problem clearly so that everyone understand and
it may require some terms to be explained from the very beginning, to
eliminate confusion once the discussion gets under way. - Establish criteria for a workplace solution
After recognition, what the question involves the group must decide on the:
Standards of criteria that must be met if a solution is to be accepted
by the entire group. - Analyze the problem
It’s a step of exploring the problem, looking for its causes, current
status, historical background, probable future and the reason a solution
or answer is necessary. - Suggest and evaluate possible solutions
The fourth step is to place as many solutions or answers to the problem
before the group as possible. Discussants need to be sure each solution
meets the standards agreed upon in the second step. - Evaluate all solutions and select the best one
In this, they compare and contrast all the alternatives, solutions or
answers. The advantages and disadvantages of each one should be weighed
in an attempt to discover the one that would best solve the problem. - Suggest ways for testing or conveying out the solution.
This step may not be included if the discussion purpose is only to solve
problem. However it becomes the last step if the group discusses ways
and means of carrying out a solution.
METHODS OF EVALUATION
There are two methods of evaluation namely:
- interaction and participation diagrams
- discussion critique
Types of Discussion
The type of discussion held depends on such factors as number of
participants the subject
to be discussed and the time allowed for the discussion.
- Panel Discussion – Involves four – eight members. There are no
prepared speeches , instead discussions are expected to follow specific
lines to find an answer to question. No set pattern for participation. - Symposium
This requires individual discussants either to deal with one assigned
area of a discussion question or to present their unique viewpoints on
the subject. - Round table discussion
This doesn’t include audience participation although observers may be
present. It usually begins with a statement of the problem. This is
followed by a series of brief reports or observations by several
specialists then discussants spontaneously
interact. - Lecture Discussion
It includes periods of formal, structured presentations or lectures by
the discussion leader. Members of discussion group may be given advance
assignments to prepare for
the lectures. The leader normally designates specific individuals to
respond to certain questions, information or statements. The discussants
are allowed to interrupt the leader with questions. - Progressive Discussion
It involves several small groups which discuss various, assigned aspects
of the same question at the same time. Before the end of discussion
period, each leader reports the findings and decisions made by his/her
group to the entire session.
2.4. INTERVIEWS
DEFINITION
Interview means view between. It means two people meeting for the
purpose of getting to view each other or knowing each other. The
interviewer is interested to know whether or not the candidate can fit
in the open position. On the other hand, the interviewees will asses the
organization to decide whether or not to join it.
INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES
They include;
- Screening
This refers to the preliminary interview which is done when there are
many applicants for a given post. The aim of screen interview is to
eliminate unqualified applicants and prepare a short list of qualified
applicants. - Random appearance
This method is used when physical appearance is the essential
requirement for a given post, such as for bouncers, Air hostesses,
policemen and others. - Tests
Written or oral tests can be used to test the intelligence, proficiency
and general knowledge of the applicants - Under stress interview
In this method the candidate is provoked to test his poise and how he
will acquit himself from difficult situations. The candidate may be
asked embarrassing questions or asked to demonstrate how he can carry
out a given task such as
selling items to panelists.
INTERVIEWER’S PREPARATION
You should;
- Have a thorough knowledge of the company, its profile, operations
and employment policies. - Know the nature and profile of the job to be filled.
- Know the type of personality, character or temperament required for
the job. - Send all inter view messages on time to candidates.
- Make proper seating arrangements for candidates in the waiting room.
- Make the interview room conducive for the interview that is with no
interruptions. - Supply each member of the committee with a copy of the candidate’s
bio-data. - Decide before hand who is going to initiate the interview
HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW
- Welcome the candidate in a friendly way,
Offer warm smile to the candidate, talk to him in a friendly tone of
voice, hold a small talk with him in an area he is familiar. - After the candidate has been made comfortable the you should start
talking to him on the subject you want to know about. You will want to
know the candidate’s qualifications (ability to do the job),
aspiration(willingness to do the job), social
effectiveness and emotional balance (relationship with others) character
(trustworthiness), physical vigour and energy, spouse ‘s attitude
towards the job, financial stability, willingness to travel and
willingness to make permanent move. - Make notes a bout the candidate and discuss the notes with other
panelists when the candidate has left. - give the candidate time to ask questions
- If a decision is to be made immediately let the candidate know
shortly after the discussion. - Thank the candidate for his time and tell him by when he should
expect a response from you.
How to PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW*
- Make sure you know everything there is to know about yourself, such
as academic qualifications, ambitions, hobbies, work experience. - Gather as much information about the company as possible e.g. their
operations, services, personnel remunerations. - Carry with you all your certificates to the interview room.
- Prepare a list of questions you predict the interviewers may ask.
- Prepare appropriate answers for your predicted questions.
- Prepare questions that you could like to ask during the interview.
- Dress appropriately; example for men a black or navy blue suit and a
plain light coloured shirt may be winning colours - Arrive for the interview on time, arrival time is ten – fifteen
minutes before
the time of the interview.
HOW TO CONDUCT YOURSELF DURING THE INTERVIEW
- Walk carefully into the interview
room, do not wear a scowl or a stupid smile when entering the interview room. - Greet the interviewers politely avoid shaking hands unless the
interviewers stretch their hands to you. - Do not sit down until you have been asked to do so, adopt a natural
and upright composed posture when seated. - Pay attention to what is being said and do not interrupt the interviewer.
- When responding give relevant answers only and be audible enough for
all the panelists to hear you. - Do not boast of your capabilities or qualifications.
- If there is something you don’t know admit it straight a way.
- If you are being interviewed by someone who does not possess as many
degrees as yourself do not put on airs. Give the interviewers your
co-operation and respect. - Be calm throughout the interview do not loose your temper or argue
with the panelists these may not work your way. - Adopt a positive approach throughout the interview; express your
enthusiasm for the job and the company. If you give an impression that
you are not interested you may realize that the interviewer is also not
interested in hiring you. - Avoid shifting in your seat, chewing fingers, smoothing your hair,
adjusting the knot of your tie or playing with the pen or paper. All
these are signs of nervousness. Nervousness is your worst enemy in
interview. - When you are asked about your previous employer, be frank but do not
criticize your former employer. Mention only positive aspects of your
former employer. - Ask questions where full information has not been provided by the
interviewer. - When the interview is over do not forget to thank the interviewer.
You can ask tactfully when the results will be made known to you.
