Communication for general purposes: public speaking
Audience, purpose and occasion; speech types and delivery methods; structure, patterns, Monroe and Aristotle; voice and body; managing speech anxiety and listening well.
Why public speaking belongs in this course
Purposive Communication asks you to communicate with a purpose, for an audience, in a situation. Public speaking is that idea in its most visible form. A barangay captain explaining a flood-control project at an assembly, a student council candidate asking for votes in a campus election, a valedictorian thanking parents at graduation, a best man raising a glass at a wedding, a nephew remembering his lola at her wake: each of them stands in front of listeners who cannot interrupt, cannot scroll back, and will remember only what the speaker made clear and worth remembering.
1. Principles of public speaking
Three questions come before any outline: Who is listening? Why am I speaking? What is the occasion? Answering them is the foundation of every good speech.
Audience analysis
Audience analysis means finding out, before you write, who your listeners are. Useful facts include their age, schooling, work, language, beliefs and customs, and how much they already know about your topic. It also includes their attitude: are they friendly, neutral, curious or opposed? A talk on proper handwashing needs one treatment for Grade 2 pupils and another for a parents' meeting. The same facts about the topic may be true for both, but the words, examples and length must change.
Purpose
Every speech has a general purpose: to inform, to persuade or to entertain. It also has a specific purpose, a single sentence that says what you want the audience to know, believe or do when you finish. "To explain to Grade 10 students how the school's recycling program works" is specific. "To talk about recycling" is not. A clear specific purpose keeps you from stuffing the speech with unrelated points. A central idea (or thesis) then states the main message in one sentence.
Occasion
The occasion covers the time limit, the place, the equipment, the mood and the customs of the event. A graduation speech of three minutes in a covered court needs a big voice and short sentences. A toast at a family dinner can be spoken softly, standing up. A eulogy at a wake must be serious and respectful; a joke that works at a birthday would hurt there. Respect the time you are given.
2. Speeches by purpose
Speech to inform
An informative speech helps listeners understand or remember something: a process, an event, a concept, a person or a place. The speaker acts like a teacher, so clarity is the main goal. Define unfamiliar terms, use examples and comparisons, and limit the number of main points (usually two to four) so listeners can follow.
Speech to persuade or entertain
A persuasive speech tries to change or strengthen what the audience believes, or to move them to act. Examples: a candidate's platform speech, a speech urging classmates to join a tree-planting drive, or an argument for longer library hours. A speech to entertain aims to amuse or delight, as a funny story at a class reunion does, and still needs a point.
Special-occasion speeches
Special-occasion speeches fit a ceremony. They are usually short, and their purpose is shaped by the event. The table lists the common types.
| Type | Purpose | Typical Philippine setting | Key advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome address | Greets guests and sets the tone of an event | Opening of a school foundation day or a barangay assembly | Thank the guests, state the purpose of the event, keep it brief |
| Toast | Honors a person or couple and invites others to drink to their good health | Wedding reception, debut, retirement party | Short, warm, one anecdote, end with a clear line that invites the glass raise |
| Eulogy | Honors and remembers a person who has died; comforts the living | Wake or funeral | Be sincere and respectful, tell true stories, avoid jokes that could hurt |
| Acceptance speech | Thanks the givers of an award or office | Recognition night, student council oath-taking | Thank people sincerely, be humble, keep it short, do not read a list of dozens of names |
| Commencement address | Honors graduates and sends them off with encouragement | Graduation rites | Be inspiring, link to the graduates' experience, avoid lecturing |
| Speech of introduction | Prepares the audience to listen to another speaker | Guest speaker at a seminar | Give the speaker's name, credentials and topic; do not tell the speaker's talk for them; stay short |
3. Speeches by method of delivery
How you deliver a speech is a separate decision from what it is about. There are four methods, and each fits certain situations.
| Method | What it is | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impromptu | Delivered on the spot with little or no preparation | Natural, spontaneous, needs no notes | May ramble, miss key points, or use filler words |
| Extemporaneous | Carefully prepared and practiced, delivered from brief notes or an outline in the speaker's own words | Conversational, flexible, keeps eye contact, adapts to the audience | Requires time to prepare and rehearse; wording varies each time |
| Manuscript | Read word for word from a full text | Exact wording, precise timing, useful when every word matters | Can sound flat, weak eye contact, hard to adapt, reader tied to the page |
| Memorized | Written out and learned by heart, then recited | Free of notes, allows gestures and eye contact | Risk of forgetting, can sound mechanical, takes long to learn, cannot adapt |
Most teachers recommend the extemporaneous method for most speeches, because it blends preparation with a natural voice. A manuscript is the right choice for a formal statement such as a government announcement or a legal declaration, where precise wording matters. An impromptu speech is what you give when the emcee suddenly asks you to "say a few words" at a party.
4. Structure of a speech
Nearly every speech has three parts: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. The old advice is a good summary: tell them what you will say, say it, tell them what you said.
Introduction
The introduction has four jobs: get attention, state the topic and purpose, establish credibility, and preview the main points. The first words are the attention-getter. Good ones include a short story, a surprising fact that you can verify, a question, a vivid example, a quotation (credited accurately) or a bit of fitting humor. A weak opener is "Good morning, my topic today is ...", or an apology such as "I am not good at speaking."
Body
The body carries the main points. Choose two to four, state each clearly, and support each with evidence: examples, statistics from a named source, stories, expert testimony or comparisons. Use transitions such as "The second reason is ..." or "Now that we have seen the problem, let us look at the solution" so listeners can follow.
Conclusion
The conclusion should signal that the end is near ("In closing"), review the main points, and finish with a strong closing thought: a call to action, a return to the opening story, or a memorable line. Do not introduce a new main point in the conclusion, and do not end with "That's all, thank you" and a shrug.
5. Organizational patterns
The pattern is the logic that arranges the main points. Choose the pattern that fits the topic and the purpose.
| Pattern | Arrangement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Chronological | In time order, step by step | How a bill becomes a school policy, from proposal to approval |
| Spatial | By physical position or location | A tour of the campus from the gate to the library |
| Topical | By categories or subtopics | Three kinds of scholarships offered by the school |
| Cause-effect | Causes first, then effects (or the reverse) | Why flooding occurs in the barangay and what it does to households |
| Problem-solution | Describes a problem, then offers a solution | Garbage in the creek, followed by a proposal for segregation and collection |
6. Monroe's Motivated Sequence
Alan H. Monroe, a speech teacher at Purdue University, developed a five-step pattern for persuasive speeches based on how people decide to act. It is popular because it leads the audience from interest to action.
| Step | What the speaker does | Sample line (dengue clean-up drive) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Attention | Gets the listeners' attention and introduces the topic | "Last rainy season, three families on our street lost a child's school days to dengue." |
| 2. Need | Shows that a problem exists and that it affects the audience | "Standing water in old tires and cans lets mosquitoes breed, and it can happen to any of us." |
| 3. Satisfaction | Presents the solution that meets the need | "A weekly clean-up that empties containers and covers drums will remove their breeding places." |
| 4. Visualization | Helps the audience picture the future if the solution is adopted (or is not) | "Imagine our barangay next August: no fogging, no hospital queue, children in class." |
| 5. Action | Tells the audience exactly what to do now | "Sign up on this sheet today and join us this Saturday at 7 a.m. at the barangay hall." |
7. Aristotle's modes of persuasion
The Greek philosopher Aristotle, in his work Rhetoric, described three means of persuasion that depend on the speech itself. They are still taught as the base of persuasion.
| Mode | Appeal to | How a speaker builds it | Philippine example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethos | Credibility and character | Shows expertise, honesty, good will, fairness; cites sources; has a good record | A school nurse introduces herself as having handled health programs for ten years before urging vaccination |
| Pathos | Emotion | Uses stories, vivid language and values the audience cares about | A student tells of a classmate who dropped out for lack of fare and asks for a scholarship fund |
| Logos | Logic and reasoning | Uses facts, statistics from named sources, examples, clear reasoning | A treasurer shows the audited figures that prove the fund can cover the project |
Strong persuasion uses all three in balance. Pathos alone can become manipulative. Logos alone can bore the audience. Ethos without evidence is just "trust me."
8. Connecting with the audience
Speaking is a relationship, not a performance. To connect with listeners:
- Know them and say so. Mention something true about the group or place. "Here in Barangay San Isidro, where many of us have lived through the floods ..." shows you belong.
- Use stories and concrete examples. People remember a person's story more than a list of numbers.
- Respect culture and language. In the Philippines, a speaker may use English, Filipino or a regional language (or a mix). Use the language your listeners can follow, and do not look down on any of them.
9. Delivery: voice and body
Voice
- Pitch is how high or low the voice is. Varying the pitch avoids a monotone. A rising pitch can signal a question; a lower pitch at the end of a sentence signals finality.
- Rate is the speed. A rate that is too fast loses people; one that is too slow makes them drift. Nervous speakers often rush.
- Volume is loudness. Speak loudly enough for the person at the back of the room, with or without a microphone, and avoid shouting. Lower the volume sometimes for effect.
- Pauses give listeners time to think and add emphasis. Pause after an important point and between ideas; a silent pause is stronger than filler words like "uh," "ah" and "you know."
Body language
Stand with your feet apart, use open natural gestures, avoid fidgeting, and let your face match your message.
Eye contact
Eye contact tells listeners that you are speaking to them. Look at individuals in different parts of the room for a few seconds each, as if having a short conversation, rather than staring at the floor, the ceiling or a single person.
10. Speech anxiety
Nearly every speaker feels some nervousness. Speech anxiety (also called stage fright; the fear of public speaking is sometimes called glossophobia) can show up as a fast heartbeat, dry mouth, shaky hands, a trembling voice or a blank mind. A little nervous energy can help you sound lively. Too much can get in the way. The following steps help:
- Prepare thoroughly. Know your topic and your opening. Most fear comes from the feeling of being unprepared.
- Practise aloud, ideally before a friend or in front of a mirror, and time yourself.
- Visualize success. Imagine yourself delivering the speech calmly and the audience responding well.
- Breathe. Take slow, deep breaths before you start. Breathing from the stomach steadies the voice.
- Focus on the message and the audience, not on yourself. Remember that the audience wants to learn something and usually wants the speaker to do well.
11. Listening as an audience member
Speeches work only if someone listens. Hearing is a physical process of receiving sound; listening is the active effort to understand and remember it. Different purposes call for different listening.
- Informational listening – to learn, as in a lecture or briefing.
- Critical listening – to evaluate arguments and evidence, as in a candidate's speech.
- Appreciative listening – to enjoy, as in a humorous or inspiring talk.
Common barriers include distractions (phones, noise), prejudging the speaker, daydreaming, planning your own reply, and being tired. Good listeners put their phones away, face the speaker, take brief notes on main points, ask questions at the right time, and hold judgment until the end.
Guided speaking task (not graded)
Prepare a three-minute informative speech for your classmates on a topic you know well, such as how to apply for a school ID, how to prepare a simple adobo, or how your barangay handles garbage collection. First, write one sentence stating your specific purpose and one sentence for your central idea. Practise it aloud three times from a one-page outline (the extemporaneous method), timing yourself and checking your pitch, rate, volume, pauses and eye contact. Then deliver it to a friend or family member and ask them for one thing you did well and one thing to improve.