Poets are born, speakers become.
Cicero.

It is much more difficult to convince a large number of listeners than one interlocutor. This is due, firstly, to the psychological differences between people. Thus, an argument that is persuasive to one listener may not be persuasive to another. According to one, the speaker is a pleasant interlocutor, he is impressed by his appearance, manners, while the other, on the contrary, is annoyed by all this. Secondly, the difficulty of persuading the audience is related to the lack of feedback: in the process of public speaking, the speaker does not receive an answer to his words, the faces of the majority of those present are not visible. In addition, there may be such undesirable phenomena as “slamming”, shouting, indignant noise.

So, being a persuasive speaker is not easy. Is it really worth striving to master the art of public speaking? Let's start with the fact that in some professions, for example, in the activities of a leader, a politician, success cannot be achieved without this. It is impossible to make a career without being able to clearly and clearly express your thoughts. The politician of the Roman Empire Cicero wrote: “There are two arts that can elevate a person to the highest level of honor: one is the art of a good commander, the other is the art of a good orator.”

Are the words of Cicero true in our time? Yes, an example of this is the rapid rise of many politicians, to whom they owe, first of all, the ability to speak well in front of a large audience. Perhaps their oratorical talent is innate? This is not true. You have certainly heard of the famous ancient Greek orator Demosthenes. His speeches were initially unsuccessful. Demosthenes had an indistinct, lisping accent. In order to make the diction clear and his voice strong and strong, he took pebbles in his mouth and, without throwing them away, read excerpts from the works of poets as a keepsake. Demosthenes practiced pronouncing words, phrases, even while running or climbing a steep mountain. The Greeks said that the speeches of Demosthenes were saturated with the oil of the night lamp, by the light of which he prepared them. Yes, and Demosthenes himself did not deny that his speeches were not impromptu - he thought them over and learned them. It is worth agreeing with Cicero, who considers the gift of an orator not innate, but acquired in the process of purposeful exercises.

For a speech to be persuasive, it must meet two conditions:
- the level of professionalism of the persuasive must be high enough;
- The speaker should be well prepared for the speech.

How long does it take to get ready? The less time allotted for the presentation, the more time should be devoted to preparation. Each minute of a performance requires an average of 20-25 minutes of preparation. A famous statesman remarked: “If I have to speak for 10 minutes, then it takes me a week to prepare; if I have 1 hour at my disposal, then I need two days; if the time of my speech is not limited, I am ready to start even now.
The speaker should know about the subject of his speech 2-3 times more than the audience. For this reason, preparation for a speech requires more time for beginners than for experienced speakers.

The question arises: where to get the time? Heed Lincoln's advice: "Don't try to sit down and prepare a speech in 30 minutes. You can't bake a speech to order like a pie. The speech must come out. Think about it in your free time, bear it, do not forget about it day or night. Discuss it with your friends. Make it the subject of conversation. Ask yourself all sorts of questions on this topic. Write down on scraps of paper all the thoughts and examples that come to your mind, and keep looking. Ideas, considerations, examples will come to you at various times - when you take a bath or go on business.

As you prepare your speech, pay attention to the following essential points.

1. Determining the goals of speech. The more specifically the goal is formulated, the greater the certainty in the next steps.

2. Analysis of the audience and situation. The content of the speech and the manner of presenting the material are influenced by such characteristics of the audience as age, level of education, interest, level of intelligence. For example, for young people, a fast pace of speech is more suitable, for the older generation, a measured one. The higher the level of intelligence, the interest of those present, the higher the requirements for a logical presentation. The lower the interest of the audience, the more interesting facts matter.
3. Selection and limitation of the subject of speech. At this stage, it is important to adhere to the rule: "Do not spread your thoughts along the tree." What is the topic of your presentation? What exactly do you want to say?

4. Collection of material. Here the rule is suitable: "With the world on a string." It is unlikely that you will be able to find a source in which "everything will be." You need to be prepared for painstaking work with literature.

5. Creating a speech plan. They say that when one pilot was asked how he could remember all the bends of the coast, all the shoals and reefs throughout the long journey, he replied: “I don’t care about them, I go along the fairway.” So for the speaker, the plan should be the fairway, the basis of the speech. The most interesting, exciting speeches are, first of all, the result of a well-thought-out speech plan. You can also plan possible questions and answers to them.

6. Selection of words for speech. The question arises: should the text be written for speech? Yes, but not in order to then read it from the sheet. On paper, it is easier to build a more convincing logical chain, to throw out the superfluous, to see what is missing. Weaknesses are most visible the next day.

How can I learn to concisely express my thoughts? Reread the text of your speech, imagining in advance that you are going to an appointment with an impatient leader who does not like being explained to him for a long time. Throw away words that you can do without. Now see if you can say the same thing using not two sentences, but one. This will create a more compelling and concise copy.

An alternative to the full text of the speech is the preparation of abstracts. Here you need to fix the keywords. Their use often reduces, and most importantly, improves the presentation. One can cite the opinion of the well-known judicial orator P.S. Porokhovshchikova: “The fewer separate theses, the better. To build a cube, only three lines are needed, and the cube is a figure perfect in form and content. The more statements, the easier it is for listeners to forget some of them. But each of them must be supported by a lot of evidence.

They rehearse the speech because they don't want to read it. Listeners do not perceive sight reading well, since there is no live contact between the speaker and the audience, the emotional side of perception is ignored. Nobel Prize-winning physicist W. Breg notes: “I believe that gathering listeners and then reading the written material to them is the same as inviting a friend for a walk, asking if he minds walking, and going along with him in car."

However, notes are indispensable if careful choice of words is required (an example is a scientific report). In this case, it is required to practice reading in order to achieve liveliness and variety of presentation.

You have to memorize speech if you need to be precise in the wording, but the situation does not allow reading (an example is a greeting at a gala event, at a banquet with business partners, with an allegedly impromptu speech). In this case, it is necessary to fix in memory the key points (marking the text with markers helps) and the core idea. The core idea sets a certain tone for the performance: major, humorous, playful, angry, gloomy, solemn, warning or pleading. For example, talks on science and technology topics can be delivered with an angry, reproachful intonation (implying: “If you don’t do this, you will regret it”).

Structure and content of public speech

A speech usually includes three main parts:

1. Entry (10-15%).
2. The main part (60-65%).
3. Conclusion (20-30%).

The introduction usually emphasizes the relevance of the topic, its significance for a given audience, formulates the purpose of the speech, and briefly outlines the history of the issue. The main psychological task of the introduction is to set up the audience for the perception of the speech. The success of a public speech largely depends on how successfully the speaker begins to speak, whether he will be able to interest the audience. Horace wrote about the importance of a good beginning of a speech: “He who started well can consider his work half done.”

You can start with a bright quote, an unusual sentence; references to a literary work known to most listeners, a film or television premiere, from a story from one's own life, a rhetorical question, an entertaining episode. The reception of paradoxical quoting is interesting.

For example, I will offer you quotes, and you determine what time they belong to:

“Our young people love luxury, they are ill-bred, they mock the authorities and have no respect for the elderly”
“Our world has reached a critical stage. Children no longer listen to their parents. It looks like the end of the world is not far off.”
“These youth are corrupt to the core. Young people are vicious and negligent. They will never be like the youth of old. The younger generation of today will not be able to preserve our culture.”

So, what time do you think these statements belong to?

The first quote is a statement from Socrates (470-399 BC), the second is the words of an Egyptian priest (2000 BC), the third is an inscription on a Babylonian pot, 3000 BC. So, we see that the problem of fathers and children, so relevant in our time, is eternal.
At the beginning of the speech, one should not apologize (“Sorry that I did not have time to prepare”, “I am not a speaker”); use jokes, anecdotes that are not related to the topic of the speech. The introduction should be short (one or two sentences).

In the main part, everything should "revolve" around the core idea; it is necessary to consider its various aspects that contribute to a better understanding.

The following presentation methods are possible:
- inductive (presentation of the material from the particular to the general; the speaker begins his speech with a particular case, and then brings the listeners to generalizations and conclusions);
- deductive (presentation of the material from the general to the particular; the speaker at the beginning of the speech puts forward any provisions, and then explains their meaning with specific examples and facts);
- analogy (comparison of various phenomena, events, facts; usually a parallel is drawn with what is well known to listeners);
- concentric (arrangement of material around the main problem raised by the speaker);
- stepwise (sequential presentation of one issue after another; having considered any problem, the speaker no longer returns to it);
- historical (presentation of the material in chronological order; description and analysis of changes that have occurred over time).

You should carefully consider the combination of logical and psychological arguments that affect the audience. Logical arguments are addressed to the mind of the listeners, psychological - to their feelings.
The basic scheme of persuasion is as follows: attract attention (using special means, unusual presentation)  arouse interest (showing the listeners the way to satisfy their needs)  the emergence of a desire (provided that the goal is achievable)  action (if there is a hint how to realize the desire ).

The conclusion is the most strategically important element that is remembered the longest, contributing to a good impression of the performance as a whole. Here it makes sense to repeat the core idea and again (in brief) return to those moments of the main part that aroused the interest of the listeners. You can end the speech with a decisive statement summing up the speech. Other ending options: challenge, conclusion, quote, call to action, a brief summary of the statements made. You can compliment the audience, cause laughter, create a climax.

A.F. Koni wrote: "The end of a speech is the resolution of one's speech ... the end should be such that the listeners feel (and not only in the tone of the lecturer, it is necessary that there is nothing more to say." The end of the speech should "round it", that is, connect it with the beginning.

Self-presentation in the process of public speaking

Why does an educated person often change for the worse as soon as he starts speaking in front of an audience: he becomes inexpressive, loses the thread of his judgments, gesticulates randomly? The reasons are as follows. Firstly, the role changes: the position of the speaker assumes responsibility for the speech, in any case, you cannot interrupt the conversation; secondly, there is no feedback; thirdly, anxiety increases. In this situation, not many are able to think about how the audience perceives them.

Meanwhile, the speaker can and should actively influence his own perception. Lord Morley remarked: “Three things matter in speech: who says it, how he says it, and what he says. Of these three things, the third is the least important.

The ability to interfere in the process of forming one's image with a partner is called self-presentation (self-presentation). Self-feeding is the ability to direct the perception of a partner along a certain path. To do this, you need to draw attention to certain features of your appearance or behavior. In other words, self-feeding consists in managing the attention of communication partners. When we talk about public speaking, three types of self-presentation are important: attractiveness, superiority, and attitude towards the audience.

Self-presentation of attractiveness is based mainly on the manner of dressing. At the same time, it is not the clothing itself that makes us attractive, but the work that has been spent on bringing it into line with our external data. In other words, it is important that the clothes suit you, even if they are not super fashionable. Pretentiousness, excessive use of cosmetics - all this reduces the status of the speaker, distracts from the speech. Moderation, restraint in clothing, on the contrary, testifies to aesthetic taste, high culture.

The superiority of the speaker in relation to the audience, his high status is also demonstrated through clothing - its cost, silhouette (close to an elongated rectangle: a suit for men, a business suit with a long skirt or trousers for women) and color (black, white, gray, blue) .

Another objective sign of superiority is an independent and confident demeanor. The higher the professionalism and social status of a person, the more restrained he is in facial expressions and gestures. The best and most perfect gesture is the one that is not noticed by listeners who are carried away by the content of the speaker's speech. In facial expressions and gestures, extremes are unacceptable. Stiffness, lack of gestures or the predominance of gestures below the level of the belt indicate self-doubt, do not allow you to establish contact with the audience. However, excessive “mimic virtuosity” also evokes a sense of irony or cheerful laughter in listeners (remember the very expressive gestures of the host of the program “Guess the Melody” V. Pelsh)
You should not walk around the audience, cling to the podium, shuffle your feet or stomp around it. The best posture is one in which the weight of the body is evenly distributed on the two feet, the body is slightly tilted forward to ensure free breathing and a good sounding of the voice.

Self-feeding attitude to the audience begins from the first minutes of the appearance of the speaker. To establish contact with the audience before the start of the performance, a psychological pause (15-20 s) is necessary. Then a greeting is required. If the audience is familiar to you, you need to say about the favorable impressions of the previous meeting, thank you for your interest. In the future, express approval, say compliments, smile.

The proximity of the speaker to the audience contributes to the emergence of psychological proximity between them. People love to be approached personally, as partners. For this purpose, it is necessary to select several people (groups) in the audience and alternately maintain visual contact with them. At the same time, each listener gets the impression that you are addressing him personally.

Listeners are repulsed by both the speaker's uncertainty ("I don't think I'll have anything interesting to say about this issue...") or being too right ("I'm 100% sure of it"). There is no need to get carried away by demonstrating your superiority over the audience, otherwise the latter will strive to increase its significance by finding flaws in the lecturer. It's better to say "You certainly know..." than "You certainly don't know...". A confidential tone is preferred, without moralizing and edification.

The logic of speech and the technique of discussion

The effectiveness of public speaking largely depends on its consistency and evidence. The more convincing the speaker's speech, the more effective the perception of listeners, the more confidence they have in the reliability of the information they hear. It is known who thinks logically and speaks logically clearly. Therefore, it is very important for the speaker to think over the logic of his speech, the argumentation of his conclusions and generalizations.

The scheme of the proof consists of three elements.

1. The thesis is the starting position, the truth of which the speaker seeks to prove. If the truth of the thesis is doubtful for the speaker, then it is unlikely to be convincing for others. The thesis should be clear and precise, not contain contradictions.

2. Argument - a logical argument, the truth of which has been proven by practice. This is a necessary part of the proof. Homer's rule states the following order of argumentation: strong arguments, then medium ones, and finally one strongest one. Weak arguments should not be used.

Which arguments are strong and which are weak? Strong arguments do not provoke criticism, they cannot be refuted. These are precisely established facts and the judgments that follow from them; laws, charters, governing documents; experimentally verified conclusions; expert opinions; quotations from public statements and books of authoritative people; testimonies of eyewitnesses of events; professionally processed statistical information. Weak arguments are questionable. Such are the conclusions based on isolated facts; tricks and judgments based on alogisms (for example, "Water? I drank it once. It does not quench my thirst"); links to little-known authors; arguments of a personal nature; arguments based on conjectures, assumptions, sensations; conclusions from incomplete statistics.

3. Proof by way of reasoning can be direct and indirect. When relying on a direct method of proof, the arguments directly substantiate the truth of the thesis. With an indirect method of proving the truth, it is necessary to substantiate the falsity of the contradictory position (“from the contrary”).

In the process of public speaking, logical argumentation can be deployed in three ways: inductively, deductively, and in combination, i.e. inductively and deductively at the same time. With the inductive nature of the evidence, the speaker relies on individual facts and pre-selected examples, which should be understandable to the audience and lead them to the conclusions necessary for the speaker. With the deductive nature of the evidence, it is necessary that the original theoretical position, law or principle be generally accepted or so convincing that it does not cause doubts among the audience. The transition of reasoning from the general position to the particular should be accompanied by the most vivid and memorable examples. With inductive-deductive proof, the above recommendations should be taken into account at the same time.

The report can smoothly turn into a discussion, so you need to be ready to respond to objections and answer questions.

If you object:
- skip the replica "past the ears",
- ask a counter question;
- delay the reaction: "Thank you for the objection, I will return to this later";
- neutralize the cries from the audience: “I assumed that I would hear such an objection, but I think it is still more interesting for other listeners to listen to my report further”;
- stick to the tactics of "yes ... but";
- use the interruption tactic: long pause, then ask if you can continue.

If you are answering the questions:
- do not rush to answer, make sure that you understand the question correctly;
- have reference material on hand;
- do not show your irritation if the question is asked a second time;
- do not give ill-conceived, unreasonable and dubious answers.
Sometimes listeners ask "innocent" questions, the purpose of which is to confuse the speaker and make a statement that could hurt him. You can respond to them in this way: “Sorry, but I am not authorized to make such statements”, “I cannot answer this question now, I will answer next time.”

Techniques for maintaining attention and maintaining interest

During the performance, the attention of the audience is subject to fluctuations in its stability. The reasons for the decline in attention are as follows:
1) the gap between the speed of thinking (400 words per minute) and the speed of speech (125 words per minute), as a result of which extraneous, distracting thoughts appear in the process of listening;
2) limited amount of human attention;
3) external conditions, natural fatigue, the quality of the performance itself.

The following tips can help you avoid distraction. The speech should be meaningful, accessible, contain visibility, encourage the creative possibilities of listeners, be compositionally and logically organized (conclusions are not given in finished form, listeners are led to them); fit the theme, time, place, audience. Facts and ideas should be stated in opposition, in comparison of all pros and cons. It is necessary to focus on the main points by repetition, but each time in a new original form: "First tell the public what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell what you have already told."

Attention retention techniques include:
- imposing a rhythm (faster and louder, suddenly - quieter and slower);
- the use of various types of argumentation, the order of argumentation;
- questions to the audience;
- using the "default" effect (do not reveal all the "cards" at once).

Maintaining interest in the performance is facilitated by:
- direct appeal to the audience, dialogue to it;
- use of new, unexpected information;
- provocation (disagreement with the initial information in order to prepare the listener for constructive conclusions);
- forecasting ("appetite stimulation": paint a bleak picture of the future, then show how to avoid it);
- use of humor, contrast, paradox;
- creating the effect of presence (“imagine…”);
- soft speech.

So, public speech should be a hidden form of dialogue, pre-planned and organized, but finally corrected and formalized at the beginning of the speech, problematic, developed less than written, but more than oral; built according to the laws of oral speech, simple in construction of phrases, intelligible, figurative and emotional. Considering all this, becoming Demosthenes is not difficult ... if you have the desire.

§ 77. Before starting a speech, the speaker should take a short pause (5-10 seconds) to allow the audience to see themselves and focus on the upcoming speech. The speaker needs a pause in order to calm down, relieve excessive excitement. Here is how the hero of the novel “Insomnia” by A. Kron, Professor Yudin, who came out to give a speech at the international symposium, explains the need for this action: “I had a short pause. than to start listening, they like to look at a new person and even exchange critical remarks with a neighbor about his appearance and costume.

Then we circle the audience with a calm, benevolent look, as if inviting them to a conversation, smile affably and ... Do we start talking? Not! The second and undoubtedly the most important thing for a speaker during direct communication is to compare the audience sitting in the hall (specific) with the one that was supposed during the preparation of the speech (real). And what should we do if we realize that we are not in front of the audience for which the performance was intended, and even with impeccable preparation, thoughts are confused and the throat is dry? You can, of course, apologizing, leave the podium. But at all times people admired courage. And the courage of a speaker is to stay and complete his work with dignity. Therefore, he can honestly explain himself to the audience, find out their expectations from communication and lead him in a new direction. But for these actions you need to overcome a lot in yourself. Of course, one should not abandon one's position and intention, but one can transform way their presentation and implementation. Thus, taking into account the audience at the stage of Pronunciation means, if it does not coincide with the intended one, while retaining the concept and intent, change the tactical means of achieving the goal (the system of arguments, composition, linguistic means, tonality) and achieve the planned impact already in new circumstances.

The most important element of speaker-audience interaction is eye contact. For the speaker, looking at the audience is important, first of all, because this is the only opportunity to establish feedback with the audience. "Feedback, - writes L.A. Petrovskaya, - can be understood as information coming from the object of influence, perceived by the carrier of influence and carrying a characteristic of the results of this influence." If the speaker looks out the window, at the ceiling, or just into space, then he deprives himself of the opportunity to have feedback. After all, the eyes, faces of the listeners are the device that allows the speaker to determine how interesting his material is, how new, how well the idea is realized, how well the composition is chosen. Therefore, those who recommend choosing a kind person in the fifteenth row and telling everything to him are not entirely right. Let's see how the already mentioned hero of A. Kron, Professor Yudin, solves this problem: “I looked around the hall. From the experience of the lecturer, I knew that I needed to find several attentive and pretty faces in the forefront and look at them from time to time. colleagues from Eastern Europe, my dear Blazevic looked at me in a friendly and encouraging way, but I immediately realized that this time I should look for a more accurate control device. Before me was a typical Parisian audience, sympathetic and capricious, spoiled from time immemorial by eloquence of all shades. the audience will forgive me neither boredom nor awkwardness, it must be immediately taken by the horns. Therefore, one must look not at Blazevic, but at Denis's colleague, who is watching me with cheerful curiosity. His nostrils are slightly inflated, his half-open mouth is ready to both laugh and yawn delicately Or that sour-faced, lemon-haired lady in gold square-glass glasses with a thin wire of a hearing aid trailing from her ear, looking like an Englishwoman or a Scandinavian. She is deaf and French is not her native language - enough to stop listening if the beginning does not interest her. "In real practice, the most successful option is when the speaker evenly looks from one face to another, trying to establish eye contact with each of them, covers the entire audience.

Oratory

Public (oratorical) speech is delivered with the aim of informing listeners, exerting the desired impact on them, through persuasion and suggestion. It is a monologue designed for passive perception and does not involve a verbal response.

The speaker always strives to overcome the passivity of the addressee's perception and draw him into active mental activity. Ideally, oratory is a two-way process (dialogue at the level of thinking).

Features of oratory:

• The presence of "feedback". The speaker must observe the behavior of the audience, capture its mood by the reaction to his words, correct his own speech, that is, establish contact with the listener;
• Oral form of communication. Public speech is realized in the oral form of the literary language. It is important for the speaker to build a public speech in such a way that the content of his speech is understandable to the audience. Scientists have proven that when perceiving written speech, only 50% of the information received is assimilated, and when perceiving oral speech - 90%;
• · The complex relationship between book speech and its oral embodiment. Oratory is carefully prepared. A prepared speech is essentially a book speech. Nevertheless, speaking from the podium, the speaker must not only mechanically read the text, but pronounce it. Then, in the process of improvisation, elements of colloquial speech appear. The more experienced the speaker, the more skillfully he moves from the book-written form of speech to the living one;
• · Use of various means of communication (linguistic and paralinguistic).

An orator is often called a person who has the gift of eloquence. The word orator appeared in Russian in the 18th century. It comes from the Latin verb orare `to speak'.

An example of a master of oratory is Mark Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) - a Roman politician and writer, a supporter of the republican system.

In modern literature on oratory, two types of speakers are distinguished. For representatives of the first type, the main means of oratory is the logic of reasoning, representatives of the second type affect the listeners emotionally.

The speech of each speaker should be logical and emotional. This is an inseparable unity. The speaker must evoke good feelings and intentions in the audience, be a highly moral person, erudite, well versed in the socio-political situation, literature, and art. However, there are exceptions. So, for example, Hitler was an outstanding orator who possessed a magical gift to attract the attention of an audience, but at the same time completely immoral.

The speaker must have certain skills and abilities: when preparing his speeches, choose the right literature, draw up a plan, write a text. Throughout the speech, the speaker, in any case, should maintain self-control in front of the audience, navigate in time, appropriately use technical means and visual aids. speaker speech skill performance

The main task of the speaker is to establish contact with the audience and achieve the desired effect of influencing it.

In ancient times, the audience was called the audience listening to the speech of the orator or who came to the theater.

Psychologists have identified three groups of motives that encourage people to listen to speakers' lectures: intellectual and cognitive motives; moral motives (must be present); emotional and aesthetic motives (like the speaker).

The speaker needs to identify the main motive that unites this audience, and build his speech accordingly.

The speaker must constantly improve his skills and abilities, that is, engage in systematic rhetorical self-education.

He should create his own archive of illustrative material (examples, facts, figures).

The speaker also needs to master the technique of speech, which involves proper breathing during speaking, a well-placed voice, clear diction (distinct pronunciation of sounds), and impeccable pronunciation. All this allows the speaker to attract the attention of the audience, to influence the consciousness, imagination, and will of the listeners.

The speaker must constantly improve the culture of written and oral speech, speak more often, participate in discussions, write letters, articles. You need to be able to critically analyze the speeches of others.

Preparing a speaker for a speech involves serious preliminary reflections on his composition.

The speaker must formulate the topic, determine the list of questions and the degree of their importance for the disclosure of the topic, think over the beginning (introduction) and end (conclusion) of the speech, highlight the rheme that supports the substantiation of the topic, check theses and arguments, choose oratory techniques that can decorate the speech. At the same time, 10% of the regulations are allocated for the introduction and conclusion.

The preparation of a public speech must be preceded by writing a plan. There are several types of speech plans: preliminary; worker (after the necessary literature has been studied, factual material has been collected); basic.

An important role in the perception of speech is played by its composition. The principles of the logical-compositional construction of oratorical speech can be formulated as follows: the principle of sequence - each newly expressed thought should follow from the previous one; the principle of amplification - the significance and persuasiveness of the arguments should gradually increase, the strongest arguments are reserved by the end of the speech; the principle of economy - the goal should be achieved in the simplest rational ways with minimal effort, time and speech means.

A public speech must have an introduction - a kind of prelude, the purpose of which is to attract the attention of the audience. Experienced speakers recommend starting with an interesting example, proverb, saying, catchphrase, humorous remark. You can use a quote in the introduction.

You should not start your speech directly from the essence of the issue, because it takes the audience a few minutes to get used to, to adapt to the appearance of the speaker, the timbre of his voice, and demeanor. It is for this reason that seasoned speakers spend their first few minutes thanking the chair for announcing their speech. However, at the beginning of the speech, one should not apologize for not being ready, for not being competent enough, for taking the floor at all.

It takes a lot of work to find the original beginning of a speech..

There are various methods of presenting the material: the inductive method - from the particular to the general. The speaker begins the speech with a specific case, and then brings the listener to generalizations and conclusions. This method is often used in campaign speeches; deductive method - from the general to the particular. The speaker first puts forward a position, then explains its meaning with specific examples (this method is used in propaganda speeches); analogy method - comparison of various phenomena, facts, events with what is well known to the listener; concentric method - the arrangement of the material around the main problem raised by the speaker (in his speech there is a central problem and a range of more specific problems that are considered in connection with the central one); stepwise method - a consistent presentation of one issue after another, without returning to the previous one; historical method - the presentation of the material in chronological order.

It is known that when perceiving oral speech, what is best remembered is what is given at the beginning and at the end of the message.

The conclusion is an important compositional part of the speech (the end is the crown). At the end, it is recommended to repeat the main thoughts, summarize the most important provisions and draw brief conclusions. A convincing and vivid conclusion is always remembered by the audience. Speech interruption due to violation of the rules is unacceptable. It is bad if the speaker ends his speech in a self-deprecating style. The end should be such that the listeners feel that there is nothing more to say. The last words of the speaker are intended to mobilize listeners, inspire or call for vigorous activity. In ancient Rome, there was a phrase with which the orator ended his speech: Dixi! (`I said everything').

In general, we can say that the composition of an oral public speech is similar to the composition of a musical work, which is subject to the laws of harmony. It is no coincidence that many speakers compared public speech with a piece of music. Anatoly Fedorovich Koni (1844-1927) - a lawyer, a member of the State Council, an outstanding speaker, advised lecturers: "Whoever has a musical flair can always say, without knowing the piece, judging only by the chord, that it has ended."

The Roman orator Mark Fabius Quintilian (lived c. 35-96), the theorist of oratory (his main work is “On the Education of the Orator”), argued that only with the help of writing can one achieve ease of speech.

Some try to memorize the speech (this is justified if the speech is written for a rally), others speak based on the text. In this case, it is important to highlight, number, emphasize the most significant points of the text.

The dream of many speakers is improvisation. This is the pinnacle of public speaking. An excellent improviser was Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (1874-1933), a writer and public figure, People's Commissar of Education, and the Plenipotentiary of the USSR in Spain since 1933. Once, when asked how he managed to speak so easily, he replied: “I have been preparing for this all my life.” Thus, it should be learned that a successful impromptu is a reward for many years of work.

The art of verbal improvisation is achieved with great practice. Many speakers deliberately stutter and make mistakes to make their presentation sound more natural and relaxed. Someone who speaks very confidently sometimes runs the risk of losing the favor of the audience. Obviously, this is due to the fact that each listener mentally puts himself in the place of the speaker and painfully experiences his own awkwardness and confusion, which could arise under such circumstances. This is why an overly self-assured and glib start to a speech often elicits hostility from the audience.

To establish contact with the audience requires intellectual and emotional empathy. Contact with the audience is influenced by the relevance of the issue under discussion, the personality of the speaker and his reputation. Outwardly, contact is manifested in the behavior of the audience (silence, reaction to jokes, remarks).

There is a certain communicative technique of public speaking. The main audience management techniques include: direct demand for attention; dealing with an unexpected question; humor, pun; reception of empathy, complicity; an appeal to the speech and personality of the previous speaker; links to authoritative sources; examples from fiction, folklore, phraseological expressions; successful appeal to the audience; voice techniques (lowering and raising the tone, speeding up and slowing down the tempo), as well as a sustained pause.

It should be remembered that speech is especially inexpressive, replete with traditional hackneyed clichés: The topic of my speech ..., With a feeling of deep satisfaction ..., And in conclusion, I would like to note, etc. The more natural the speaker's voice sounds, the simpler his language and demeanor, the more confidence in him from the audience.

When preparing for a public speech, one should not forget that many people do not perceive information well by ear, which is why the same thought must be repeated several times in different formulations, and also try to use every opportunity to illustrate the speech: with the help of drawings, graphs, slides, films.

Thus, oratory is the art of constructing a public speech in order to have the desired impact on the audience.

The founder of Moscow University, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, was an excellent orator, constantly working to improve his skills and in 1747 he created a "Short Guide to Eloquence", or "Rhetoric". Lomonosov noted that "eloquence is the art of speaking eloquently about any given matter and thereby incline others to one's own opinion about it." He dreamed of teaching readers "to speak and write eloquently about any proposed matter."

M.V. Lomonosov planned to write a trilogy: "Rhetoric", "Oratorium" and "Poetry", but wrote only "The doctrine of eloquence in general, since it concerns poetry and prose."

The founder of Russian rhetoric, according to A.S. Pushkin, “our first university”, Lomonosov believed that five conditions are required to acquire eloquence: natural talents; scientific knowledge; imitation of classical authors; speech writing exercises; knowledge of other sciences.

According to M.V. Lomonosov, the main advantages of the orator are "consideration" and "wit". The speaker must take into account the characteristics of the audience: age, gender, upbringing and education - and behave in front of the audience in an appropriate way. The author noted that among “trained” people “it is necessary to arouse passions with moderate vivacity”, and “among simpletons ... they must use the full force of swift and distressing passions”, since gentle passions for them are like “a lute for a bear”.

History shows that the most important condition for the emergence and development of oratory is the active participation of citizens in the political life of the country. It is no coincidence that oratory is called the "spiritual brainchild of democracy."

The greatest activity in this area is observed in critical eras in the life of society. The heyday of oratory was noted in the Renaissance, during periods of social revolutions, the struggle for power.

The following types of eloquence are distinguished: socio-political; academic; judicial; social and domestic; spiritual.

The speaker always strives to convince the audience of something.

The situation of persuasion includes three components, these are: the speaker (speaker) - an external factor of persuasion; public speech and its content - an internal factor of persuasion; the listener (audience) is an external persuasion factor.

The persuasiveness of the speaker's communication with the audience depends, first of all, on the internal factor (that is, on the content of the speech).

In general, oratory is the art of using external factors of persuasion.

Cicero at one time came up with a formula: logic + rhetoric + ethics, which clearly reflects the speaker's qualifications. Cicero wrote that "an orator is one who will state any question with knowledge of the matter, harmoniously and gracefully, with dignity in execution."

In the 30-40s of the last century, books by the talented popularizer of oratory Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) devoted to the factors of persuasion appeared - "How to Win Friends", "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", which have not lost their relevance and this day.

Traits of eloquence: wit; literary taste; possession of the techniques of oratory; the ability to use samples of folk wisdom; own rhetorical style.

"Flowers of eloquence" are called paths and figures.

A figure is a figure of speech, unusual in syntax. The main figures of speech are: anaphora - the coincidence of the initial syllables or words: Diamonds in the moonlight, Diamonds in the sky, Diamonds on the trees, Diamonds in the snow. (A.A. Fet); gradation - strengthening of an action or sign: I do not regret, I do not call, I do not cry (S.A. Yesenin); inversion - reverse word order: I won’t go to school today - I got sick; parcellation - a break in a statement with a specific stylistic goal: I came. Saw. Won; antithesis - opposition: Know where the light is - you will understand where the darkness is (A.A. Blok); ellipsis - a significant absence of language units: In the first grade they were friends, in the second they fought; epiphora - the coincidence of final syllables, rhyme He loved students to fall asleep He, apparently, because they loved to fall asleep At his lectures. (S.Ya. Marshak); rhetorical question - a question that does not require an answer: Do you know the Ukrainian night? (N.V. Gogol); rhetorical appeal - an underlined appeal to someone / something, not so much for the purpose of naming the addressee, but for the purpose of expressing one's attitude towards him: Hush, speakers! Your word, Comrade Mauser! (V.V. Mayakovsky); syntactic parallelism: The young are everywhere dear to us, The old people are everywhere honored by us. (V.I. Lebedev-Kumach)

Every member of the language-intensive profession should work on their public speaking skills by following these helpful tips:

• Practice persistently - only practice can get rid of the fear of the audience;
• Preparing for a speech, you need to know your subject well;
• the beginning of the speech should be very energetic and show that you are striving to achieve your goal;
• Speech should have a clear composition (clear beginning and ending). It happens that the beginning is immoderately prolonged, and the finale is convulsive additions to the main part. When delivering a speech, the speaker must go straight, like a train on rails, without returning, without stopping, without stepping aside;
• There should be freshness and individuality in speech. Often the most important thing is not what you say, but how you say it;
• Speech should not be read from a piece of paper and it is not necessary to memorize it. The speaker should be able to improvise based on his own text;
• It is very important to establish contact with the audience, trying to keep their attention to the end;
• It is impossible to speak without enthusiasm, that is, indifferently. The emotional intensity of the speaker should "infect" the audience, make them empathize;
• · You should not demonstrate that you have been specially trained in oratory, but you should also not forget about tropes, figures, quoting, wordplay, etc.

Main types of speeches: informational; persuasive; inspiring; call to action; entertaining; speeches on a special occasion (greeting, mourning).

The speaker must follow certain rules of conduct in front of the audience. Ethical norms of oratory include: politeness (friendliness, goodwill, respect for the audience); tact (delicacy, endurance); commitment (punctuality, accuracy); modesty (restraint, not boastfulness); dignity (preservation of one's own face and the face of listeners).

Fundamentals of Public Speaking

The speaker and his audience

For the success of a public speech, the speaker must first of all capture the attention of the audience, make him listen to himself. However, managing the attention of listeners is not easy, and success depends not only on the speaker himself (his abilities, professionalism, preparedness), but also on objective factors that the speaker cannot influence.

In a democratic society, the speaker has the opportunity to speak freely and to fully develop his gift of eloquence and the ability to attract the attention of the audience. Under a totalitarian regime, the main reason for the lack of contact between the speaker and the audience is in the social structure of society. The speaker turns into a reasoner who voices the directives of higher authorities, and the listeners into a passive crowd, doomed to unquestioningly follow the instructions ...

Speech and power is a problem that has been considered in rhetoric since the time of Ancient Rome. The forms of speech accepted in society directly depend on the forms of power: a totalitarian state imposes a monologue (Greek. monos- one, logos- speech) as a form of speech that corresponds to its own structure. In the book “Fundamentals of Rhetoric”, A.K. Mikhalskaya writes: “A monologue in speech is not only a manifestation of the power of the speaker over the listener, the possession of the addressee as a thing, as an object of influence. It is also a claim to the possession of truth, the desire to master the truth alone. Such were the monologues of the people who came to power, such were their speeches, in the forms of which power was reflected.

The rhetoric of power generates categorical, authoritarian statements that do not allow objections and are binding on everyone. The rhetoric of power does not need an explanation of its postulates, they must be accepted unconditionally. The general obligatory nature of the judgments expressed by the speaker is designed for their dogmatic perception by the audience, which excludes intellectual and emotional empathy. Live communication with the audience becomes unrealistic for the speaker, he must speak according to a text prepared in advance and approved by the relevant authorities, deviations from which are unacceptable. This depersonalizes the speaker, or rather the reader, the “speaker”, who is deprived of the possibility of self-expression, of any manifestation of uncontrolled free-thinking.

Relationships between the speaker and the audience are different in a democratic society that guarantees freedom of speech and provides the speaker with the opportunity to be creative in preparing his speech, think about how to make it interesting for listeners, how to win their attention.

Public speaking composition

In order for the audience to be able to closely follow the speaker's speech, his speech must be harmonious, its structure and purpose must be clear not only to the speaker himself, but also to the audience. The composition of speech - that is, the consistent arrangement of all its parts in accordance with the content and intent of the speaker - must be transparent.

To attract the attention of listeners, the beginning of the speech is of particular importance, it should intrigue the listeners, arouse their increased interest in the further course of the speaker's thoughts. The well-known Russian speaker, lawyer A.F. Koni, emphasized that at the beginning of a speech it is important to “catch the attention” of the audience. There are many ways to achieve this: you can recall some episode from life that will interest everyone, because many have experienced something similar; you can ask an unexpected question or surprise listeners with a paradox, some kind of oddity, as if not related to the topic, but in fact connected with the whole speech.

For example, at a party dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the dissident writer Boris Antonenko-Davidovich, his biographer began his speech like this:

- The writer did not like his birthdays, moreover, each of his jubilees was a difficult test for Boris Dmitrievich, threatening new inevitable blows of fate ...
Such a beginning cannot but surprise the listeners, and they are waiting for clarification. With it, the speaker will begin the introduction to the speech:
- With the approach of each "round date", the writer was waiting for the arrival of "uninvited guests" (KGBists) and the following new repressions: they searched him, took away the manuscripts of the "Siberian novels", "arrested" even a typewriter and discredited the author's name by publishing libels and anonymous statements of hired hacks.
Such an introduction supported the interest of the listeners, who now want to learn more about the persecuted writer and are ready to empathize with him, indignant at the arbitrariness of power structures. And the speaker proceeds to the main part of his speech, its content should not muffle the interest of the audience.
- But the more brazenly the authorities expressed their disrespect for Boris Antonenko-Davidovich, the more interested his work was among readers, the more friends and admirers rallied around the writer and the more invulnerable he became to punitive authorities. They could no longer ignore the fact that his anniversaries are solemnly celebrated all over the world, they send him greetings from America and Australia, from Germany and England, where his works are known in translations. The writer was accepted into the PEN Club, and he was offered to become a member of the Helsinki group of human rights activists... But "there is no prophet in his own country", his name is hushed up in his homeland... A man who survived imprisonment in solitary confinement, Gulag and exile, rehabilitation only after 23 years and again persecuted, he finds in himself the spiritual strength not to bow his head before the repressive authorities and work for future generations.

Everything that he wrote, he wrote "on the table", without the slightest hope of seeing it published during his lifetime; he knew that he would not live to see the triumph of his ideals, and on the folder bequeathed to new generations, he wrote with bitter irony: “When I die, read it” ...

The speaker managed to capture the attention of the audience and, having devoted the content of his speech to the fate of the fighter writer and the analysis of his "Siberian short stories", he achieved the goal: he familiarized the listeners with the life and work of Boris Antonenko-Davidovich and aroused interest in his works 23 .

If the speech had been structured differently (if the speaker had begun by mentioning the date and place of birth of the writer, and then successively began to talk about his difficult biography and at the end turned to an analysis of his works), the speech would hardly have been successful: the speaker could not to keep the attention of the audience, his speech would seem "boring".

Centuries-old rhetorical practice has proven that it is difficult to hold the attention of the audience for more than 45 minutes (that is why the duration of an academic hour and a school lesson is such). Therefore, you should not delay the speech, and if the amount of information that you want to convey to the audience is too large, then it is better to choose one of the most important questions from the set and cover it comprehensively, and only name others, linking them to the subject of discussion.

At the end of your speech, you need to clearly highlight the conclusion. It is impossible to cut off the speech in mid-sentence. By activating the attention of the audience, you can appeal to it with an appeal (for example: - Read writers unknown to you, whose names were hushed up until recently; Study the work of authors who have a lot to learn from and who wrote for future generations, for us!). An indirect result of the speech can be summed up by quoting an important statement for understanding speech or by drawing an artistic image that reflects the main idea of ​​your speech. One should not only return to what was said (even if there is time left), one cannot “say goodbye many times”.

The conclusion must be optimistic. Regardless of the content of the speech, which may have many sad motives, at the end the speaker must set the audience in an optimistic mood. The last chord of the performance should be life-affirming. For example, after describing the tragic life of a writer, his biographer might say at the end:
- He always believed in the victory of good, he foresaw the historical course of events and had no doubt that a humane, just society would replace tyranny. Executioners, stranglers of freedom will leave the scene, and new generations will appreciate their prophets and will not forget the names of those who brought the triumph of justice closer.
At the end of the presentation (if time permits), you can invite the audience to ask questions. This will spark new interest in the presentation and increase the speaker's contact with the audience.

Techniques for presenting and explaining the content of speech

To make the speech understandable and easily perceived by the audience, the speaker uses a variety of methods of presentation and explanation. He can illustrate his speech by showing tables, diagrams, graphs, drawings, transparencies, photographs, etc. In the above example of a speech at the 100th anniversary of a dissident writer, his biographer showed a series of photographs of Boris Antonenko-Davidovich. In the first pictures, he is in the center of a literary group of prose writers, subsequently crushed and excluded from the literary process; further - a photograph of famous writers in the apartment of the hero of the day, who is again in the center of the circle; his portrait from the Literary Encyclopedia of the early 1920s; finally, prison shots: full face and profile of a haggard, tormented "goal" and the last photographs of a gray-haired, but cheerful and purposeful old man, ready for new blows of fate.

The speaker can use various forms of presentation, among which the most important are analysis and synthesis. Analysis (gr. analysis- decomposition, dismemberment, analysis) allows, by dismembering a concept, a phenomenon, to penetrate deeper into its essence. For example, explaining what repressive measures against a writer are, one can say about his silence, refusal to publish his works, dismissal from work without good reason, finally, about arrest, unfounded accusation, exile, and so on.

Synthesis is a mental connection into one whole of the parts of an object, phenomenon or their features obtained as a result of analysis. So, having told about the repressive measures against the objectionable writer, his biographer can conclude that the authorities pursued the goal of excluding this creative person from the literary process.

Repression is aimed at destroying the recalcitrant. This conclusion is a consequence of induction - the logical method, which consists in generalizing particular, isolated cases, in obtaining a general conclusion made on the basis of the study of individual facts.

Another logical method opposite to the one above is deduction. This is a logical conclusion from the general to the particular, from general judgments to particular conclusions. For example: In a totalitarian state, a person is not protected from unfounded accusations and persecution, so every free-thinking citizen is threatened with repression.

The speaker chooses an inductive or deductive method of explanation, depending on the composition of the audience. A prepared and benevolent audience enables the speaker to immediately proceed to the main thesis in his speech and then, using the deductive method, move from the general to the particular. If the speaker is faced with the task of winning the trust of the audience, overcoming the atmosphere of prejudice, he will resort to the inductive method. For example, a lawyer delivers a lecture “On the fight against crime” in a factory club, and the audience remembers a recent criminal murder committed in their microdistrict. Of course, the speaker should begin his speech with an analysis of a tragic incident, well known to the audience. The listeners, at first not inclined to favorably accept the speaker, will listen attentively to his judgments about what happened, and he will gradually lead them to the main thesis of his speech, which he wants to defend. The inductive method of persuasion in this case is most justified.

To clarify this or that position, the speaker can also use a very common method of presentation - an analogy (from the Greek. analogia- similar, corresponding) - an inference about belonging to an object, a phenomenon of certain features based on the similarity in the essential features of these objects, phenomena with others. So, talking about a tragic incident known to listeners in the factory club, the speaker will recall a number of other similar episodes, which will allow him to draw a conclusion by analogy: criminal murders are not uncommon in our time, so the investigation of such crimes is especially important.

Argumentation in oratory

The speaker should try to convince the audience of the validity of the statements put forward by him, giving undeniable arguments, arguing his statements. Argument - a logical argument that serves as the basis of evidence. The truth of the arguments has been tested and proven by practice, therefore, argumentation - bringing such arguments in favor of a particular statement - convinces listeners of the truth of the statements made by the speaker.

Arguments are different, in rhetoric the following types are considered:

I. Arguments to the merits of the case. Such arguments are facts obtained as a result of observation, as well as documents, statistical and digital material, etc.

II. Arguments to a person, they are designed to influence listeners emotionally and in oratory practice are used no less than arguments to the merits of the case. Arguments to a person are diverse, to name just a few of them: 1) an argument to authority (in this case, the speaker refers to the opinions of prominent figures, scientists, writers, whose position coincides with the position of the speaker); 2) an argument to the public (the speaker tries to attract listeners to his side and resist opponents in such a way, which often happens at rallies, in court); 3) an argument to the individual (replacing the subject of discussion, the speaker tries to set the audience against opponents, exposing them in a negative light); 4) an argument for vanity (praise to opponents in order to soften their confrontation); 5) an argument for pity (the desire to arouse in opponents a feeling of pity, compassion and thereby win them over to their side).

As you can see, arguments to a person are far from always correct, so we will not recommend modern speakers to use them. The only exception is the argument for authority, often used in scientific reports, academic speeches. However, even in this case, it should be borne in mind that not all statements of authoritative people can be unconditionally recognized as true. Appealing to them, the speaker must be very careful.

Monologue and dialogue in public speaking

Depending on whether one speaker makes a speech or two (several persons) participate in a conversation (discussion), we are talking about a monologue (a speech by one) and a dialogue (Greek. dialogos- a conversation between two or more people). The term polylogue is also known (Greek. poly- many), which is used when they want to emphasize that many people are taking part in a conversation.

In rhetoric, a monologue is defined as a special form of oral speech, which is a detailed statement of one person, completed in a semantic and compositional sense, where all linguistic means are subordinate to the expression of the main idea, the achievement of the main goal of the speaker. The monologue is characterized by unidirectionality, as the speaker addresses the audience, speaks for her. All public speaking is monologue in nature. These include: 1) academic speech (university lecture, scientific report, review, scientific report, popular science lecture); 2) court speech (prosecutor's, lawyer's); 3) socio-political speech (speeches by public figures at congresses, summits, conferences, meetings; parliamentary, rally and diplomatic speeches, political review and political commentary); 4) social and everyday speech (anniversary, greeting, feast, funeral) and 5) spiritual speech (official, church, sermon) 24 .

All types of public speaking are distinguished by the specifics of an oratory monologue. The speaker not only addresses the audience, he seems to be talking to them. And they can mentally agree with the speaker or object to him. The speaker feels this reaction of the public and draws conclusions for himself. There is a semblance of a dialogue, only the second party does not say his lines aloud, but this does not interfere with two-way communication. All this gives grounds to call the oratorical monologue special, addressed to the audience and calculated on their lively reaction. In this sense, one speaks of the dialogic nature of oratorical speeches.

Disputes, discussions, various conversations have always been and remain truly dialogical. Rhetoric offers such a classification: 1) a casual conversation with well-known, close people; 2) the first conversation when meeting; 3) a business conversation, which is represented by different types: a) a conversation of equal partners, b) a conversation between a boss and a subordinate; c) a conversation about the cooperation of two (several) representatives of different parties; 4) table conversation (of varying degrees of formality, often with a host).

The typology of public speaking and conversations allows you to get a clear idea of ​​their content and predict the speech behavior of speakers. This is the focus of the rhetoric textbooks we have referred to. We have to dwell on more important issues that make up the foundations of oratory.

Communication between the speaker and the audience

Each speaker seeks to "win the audience" - to attract their attention and keep it throughout the speech. However, how can this be achieved? If you read a speech “on a piece of paper”, only occasionally looking into the audience, it is impossible to achieve a lively reaction from the audience. It is very difficult to follow such a speech, no matter how informative it may be. Between the "speaker", or rather the one who voices the pre-written text, and the audience there is an invisible wall, and contact with the audience is impossible.

The feeling of the audience, or communicativeness, arises only when the speaker manages to create a “communication effect” in the audience by talking to the audience in the same way as they usually speak to close, familiar people who have something to say and who will listen to you willingly. It is very difficult for a novice speaker to achieve communicativeness, to get the so-called effect of a live audience reaction. However, this needs to be learned.

Known rhetorical techniques that help the speaker to achieve the effect of communication with the audience. The speaker tries to make his speech "colloquial" using various methods for this: direct appeal to the audience; emotionality, expressiveness of statements; special colloquial syntax - questions, exclamations, incomplete sentences, introductory words and phrases, plug-in, connecting constructions, direct speech, short, mostly one-part sentences ...

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that the speaker should "switch to the colloquial style of speech", but this cannot be accepted. In public speaking, there are no conditions that determine the appeal to the colloquial style (informality of the situation, the "equality" of the speaker and the interlocutor, the unpreparedness of the speech, its genuine dialogism). When applied to oratorical speech, they speak only of a "hidden form of dialogue", or rather, various methods of dialogizing speech in order to arouse the empathy of listeners. The stylistic devices used by the speaker, which give speech a special expressiveness, the vocabulary and phraseology of the speech, and finally its content itself do not fit into the conversational style. But the art of public speaking lies in the fact that the speaker imitates colloquialism, giving the audience the impression of live communication. To do this, he addresses the audience, asks questions (to which he himself answers), pushing opinions, showing the inconsistency of his opponents, etc.

Experienced speakers advise beginners in the absence of communication skills (especially if they have to speak in an atmosphere of distrust) to find at least one benevolent face in the crowd and address him without attaching importance to unkind looks. You need to speak calmly and confidently, convincing you that you are right, drawing vivid emotional pictures. And then the situation can be reversed and capture the attention of the audience.

An important means of achieving sociability is eye contact with the audience. The correct gaze of the speaker is an indispensable condition for achieving the feeling of the audience, therefore, during a speech, it is necessary to learn to control your gaze so as not to look at the ceiling, or into space with an “unseeing look”, or even at one of those present in the hall, without making it your own. interlocutor. “It is recommended otherwise,” writes A.K. Michalskaya. - Try to look into the eyes of the audience, looking from one to the other, but so that it does not seem that the eyes “run”: you need to hold your gaze so that you feel eye contact with the one you are looking at, his reciprocal look. Read his reaction from his eyes, make sure not to look only in one direction of the audience (left or right) for too long. Such a tactic will help to achieve the effect of communication, to give each of the listeners the impression that they are talking to him” 25 .

Voice contact will also come to the aid of the speaker, which complements eye contact: the speaker's voice is directed along with his gaze to one of the listeners, and he gets the impression that you are talking to him and for him. However, the speaker shifts his gaze and at the same time changes the direction of his voice, covering an increasing number of listeners, achieving a lively reaction from the audience.

Having established contact with the audience, an experienced speaker makes sure not to lose it, controls the reaction of the audience: are there any signs of fatigue, weakening of the listeners' attention. Noticing this, a self-confident speaker can make a remark to someone in the room. For example, according to the memoirs of fans of oratory, P.F. Lesgaft, who gathered a large audience for his popular lectures, he carefully peered into the faces of the audience and, noticing someone's absent look, could afford to directly address him with the words: “What, dear sir, are you absent? Don't you think about it? .."

However, such remarks can only be made by a speaker who enjoys the recognition and love of listeners with whom he meets not for the first time. A more proven and reliable way to return the attention of listeners is emotional release. The speaker recalls some funny incident from life, a paradox, an aphorism, a proverb, "pulling" them to the development of the topic; makes a "lyrical digression" designed to sharpen the attention of the audience; tells a funny anecdote, causing laughter in the audience ... All this helps to maintain the communicativeness that was dying out and continue the speech.

How to prepare for a speech

Experienced speakers sometimes give brilliant speeches without preparation, but these are usually short speeches (greetings, toasts, etc.). A lecture, a report, a political review, a parliamentary speech, that is, speeches of large, serious genres, require careful preparation.

First, it is necessary to define and precisely formulate the topic, it must be relevant and interesting for this audience. When choosing a topic, one should also consider the title of the lecture (report, message), it should not only reflect the content of the speech, but also attract the attention of future listeners, affect their interests. Titles must be specific. For example, from two variants of titles - "Fighting Corruption" and “Who takes bribes and how to deal with it?”- preferably the second. Headlines can be inviting ("Let's rally against the mafia!"), advertising (“How to lose weight without diet and pills?”), but many topics receive individual titles that accurately orient potential listeners (“Entrance examinations to the Moscow State University of Printing Arts”, “Preparation of a new reform of Russian spelling and punctuation”).

The speaker must clearly define for himself the purpose of the upcoming speech: he not only informs the audience by talking about certain events, facts, but also tries to form certain ideas and beliefs in them, which should determine their future behavior. Any speech should pursue educational goals, and the speaker is obliged, unnoticed by the audience, to introduce them to his moral ideals.

Of great importance is a preliminary acquaintance with the composition of the audience. When preparing for a speech, the lecturer should find out who will come to listen to him (adults or children, young or old, educated or not, the direction of their education is humanitarian or technical; predominantly female or male composition of the audience, its national and religious characteristics). This is very important for determining not only the content side of the speech, but also its style, the degree of popularity of the presentation, the choice of lexical and phraseological means and oratory methods of influencing listeners.

The main component of preparing for a performance is the search and selection of material. Even if the speaker knows the topic of the upcoming speech well, he still prepares for it: he looks through special literature and periodicals in order to connect the topic with the present, to find out fresh facts related to the content of the speech. Depending on the theoretical preparedness of the speaker, he chooses the forms of studying the material (selective or in-depth reading, a cursory review of articles, reviews). In this case, you can refer to various reference books for statistical data, to textbooks, encyclopedic dictionaries, tables, maps. When studying specific material, it is necessary to make extracts and compose a summary of what has been read, prepare slides and photographs for display in the audience.

Having studied the material well, they usually write either the full text of the speech, or its summary, or abstracts or plan, which is better to be detailed, extremely complete. Some experienced speakers refuse to take the written text of the speech with them, but they hold in their hands a “cheat sheet” in which you can find the necessary reference material (numbers, quotes, examples, arguments). The audience will forgive you if you peek into such a cheat sheet, but will immediately dislike the speaker, who will read his speech from the beginning to the end “on a piece of paper”.

On a sheet for such a “cheat sheet”, you can select large fields and write down key words on them that will help you remember one or another thesis of the speech; here you can also “suggest” yourself aphorisms, paradoxes, proverbs, anecdotes that may be useful to maintain the interest of the audience if the attention of listeners weakens.

In the process of preparing for a performance, it is recommended to rehearse it, look at yourself in the mirror, paying attention to your usual involuntary movements that accompany speech (mannerisms: discarding hair from the forehead, scratching the back of the head, swaying, moving the shoulders, gesticulating, etc.). How seriously the speaker should take facial expressions and gestures can be judged by the fact that even Peter I in the "Spiritual Regulations" (1721) emphasized: “There is no need for a preacher to stagger around like a boat rowing with an oar. There is no need to clasp your hands, rest against your sides, jump, laugh, but you don’t even need to sob. Mastering the "language of movement" is an effective way to keep the audience's attention. Complete immobility (numbness) of the speaker during speech is unacceptable, but excessive gestures, grimaces adversely affect the performance, distracting the audience.

Posture, gestures, facial expressions of the speaker should enhance the emotionality of his speech and have their own meaning. There is a whole science of the symbolic meaning of gestures, and we have practically mastered the meaning of one or another hand movement (greeting, call for attention, agreement, denial, rejection, threat, farewell, etc.), head turns, etc. Gestures and facial expressions of the speaker should be natural and varied, and most importantly, they should be motivated by the content of the speech.

At the final stage of preparing for a speech, you need to analyze it again and again, take into account the strengths and weaknesses of the speech, and already in the audience rely on the positive.

Public speaking skills come with experience. And yet you need to know the main "secrets" of oratory and learn how to apply them in the audience.

Do you want to become a successful person and reach great heights in business? Then learn to communicate with people! On the way to the top of the career ladder, you will often have to give a speech in front of a large audience of listeners. In order for such an event to be as successful as possible for you, you must first study the features of public speaking.

To get rid of unnecessary fears and self-doubt, prepare your speech very carefully, take into account even the smallest, at first glance, insignificant nuances.

The organization of a public speech, as a rule, begins with the preparation of the text of the speech. Regardless of your specialization, the speech should be clearly formulated and correctly composed.

Sometimes speaking in public takes a very long time and it is not possible to memorize a long text. Masters of oratory say that this is not necessary. For the correct construction of a public speech, write down your text on paper, and then briefly form a plan. This will help you understand how logical and consistent your speech is.

To speak in front of a large audience without fear and doubt, you need to thoroughly understand the topic of your lecture. If you are sure that you know the subject of the discussion well, then you can talk about it using only a simple speech plan.

To make your task easier, take the advice of experienced speakers when preparing your speech.

1. The beginning of any speech is one of the most important parts of public speaking. From the first minutes you have to make a good impression on people, to interest them with your words. As a bright introduction, you can use any famous quote or aphorism. Promise your audience to tell you a very important “secret” as you speak, and they will listen to you very carefully. Avoid common phrases, inappropriate humor, never apologize for any of your shortcomings or forgetfulness.
2. The psychological features of public speaking include the use of special techniques in the text of speech to attract the attention of listeners. Your report or lecture will be considered successful only if you manage to keep the attention of the audience from the beginning to the very end of the speech. If you "play" with the emotions of the audience, you can be sure that they will definitely remember you, understand the meaning of what you said. You don’t need to “yak” often and focus on your own achievements. The ideal speaker should be humble, with dignity.
3. Highlight a few important keywords in your speech, and repeat them from time to time. Then the main idea of ​​the speech will be deposited in the memory of the audience.
4. The end of a speech is no less important than the introduction. In the last part of your speech, you can actively use quotes, aphorisms, good jokes. Don't forget to thank your audience for listening carefully to your speech.
5. So that the end of your report does not seem blurry and uncertain to the audience of listeners, in no case show your tiredness to others. It will be ideal if you read the last block by heart.

The speaker should not only read the report, but also actively interact with the audience. Be sure to consider the reaction of the public to your words. Prepare several options for the final in advance, and use one or another block, depending on the mood of the listeners.

Psychological features

Even a perfectly prepared speech will not bring results if you yourself do not believe in what you are talking about. During the preparation process, be sure to take into account the psychological characteristics of public speaking. Famous speakers claim that it is not what you say that affects the listeners, but how you say it. Always remember that many eyes are on you. Public speaking is not an ordinary conversation between people in an informal setting. To learn how to behave properly on stage, use the following helpful tips.

• The topic of your report should be interesting and close to you. If you feel for yourself the importance of what you want to convey to the audience, you can make your speech emotional and interesting. Try to find the most current topic of discussion that affects every listener in the audience.
• Keep in mind that the audience can at any time ask you a very unexpected and difficult question about the topic of the lecture. In order not to get confused and not to fall into a stupor, you need to thoroughly study the subject, read the thematic literature. Don't use terms you don't know the meaning of.
• The ideal speaker should be extremely attentive and confident in his own knowledge. In order for the performance to go “with a bang”, you must calm down and relax as much as possible. Proper clothing, a wealth of knowledge and practical experience - all this will help the speaker achieve the desired goal.
• You can convey your idea to the listener not only with the help of words, but also using non-verbal methods - gestures, intonation, facial expressions.
• Every public speaking should have a specific purpose. If it is relevant and you want to achieve it, then you can do everything to make your speech convincing and memorable.

The psychology of public speaking is actually not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. To achieve success, it is enough for a speaker to learn speech well, to stay on the stage freely, to speak loudly, clearly, correctly placing accents.

Remember that not a single viewer wants to look at a notorious, insecure person who mumbles something indistinctly under his breath. This is clearly not the image of a successful person who wants to imitate.

Judicial speech has several important differences from any other speech in public. Features of a public speech of a lawyer can be considered:

• High professionalism;
• brevity;
• Confirmation of assumptions with facts (procedural reasoning).

When making a speech in court, the lawyer addresses the judge, as well as all those present in the hall. Consider the main nuances of such an event.

• Regardless of which side you are on - the prosecution or the defense, your speech should be aimed at finding an objective and truthful conclusion, substantiated by facts, reasoned.
• The main purpose of the speech of a lawyer in court is to form a complete conviction among the panel of judges and the jury of the guilt or innocence of the defendant.
• During the speech, the lawyer should ask as many provocative questions as possible, and analyze the answers to them.

In order to achieve the set goal with the help of public speaking in court, a lawyer must first do a lot of work - to collect as much information about the case as possible, to find witnesses to the crime, to interview witnesses, etc.

Much can be understood from the facial expressions and gestures of the speaker during the speech. You must take into account the fact that the movements of your body can tell even more than your words. If you want to perform perfectly, think through everything to the smallest detail, try to make only verified and conscious gestures.

The movements of the human body can be conditional and non-conditional. The second option is most often used by professional speakers. During a speech, you can use the following hand gestures:

• Pointing. They will help draw the attention of the audience to additional illustrative examples - slides, charts, tables, etc.
• Emphasizing. With the help of such gestures, you can draw the attention of the audience to an important thesis. To achieve the desired effect, such a movement must be supplemented with a change in intonation.
• Rhythmic - expressed by facial expressions and hand movements. They allow the public to convey the mood of the speaker.
• Transmitters. With simple hand movements, you can show the size of an object or its shape. It is not recommended to use too often, as the audience may decide that you do not have enough vocabulary to express the idea to the end.

When a speaker speaks, the audience mostly perceives his speech by ear. If you also want to activate people's visual perception, use your voice and gestures to the fullest. This way you can cheer up your listeners and grab their attention. If you don’t know how to do it right, do some simple exercises at home while preparing for your speech.

1. Stand in front of a mirror and say a phrase without moving. Then try to repeat the same words, accompanied by emotional coloring and gestures - a request, harshness, disappointment.
2. Learn at least 5 different gestures and imagine how they would look in the context of your presentation. Give your speech in front of a mirror. Your body movements complement the words with emotion. Such a performance will not go unnoticed, and will be remembered by everyone.

Remember that in order to achieve the desired goal, you need to work hard and hard. You may not succeed the first time. This is not a reason to get upset and give up. If your unsuccessful performance was filmed, watch it in the recording. Analyze all the mistakes in order to avoid offensive mistakes in the future.