Oral Communication and Public Speaking

Verbal Communication

• Excellent for short messages, but can be challenging for long speeches.
• Can be challenging to maintain naturalness, and speakers may forget lines.

Language

• The ability to communicate through the use of words.

Oral Communication

• Communication through the mouth, such as conversing, speeches, presentations, and discussions.
• Forms of oral communication include:
  • Face to face communication
  • Interviews
  • Telephone conversations
  • Grapevine
  • Negotiations
  • Meetings
  • Lecture/speech presentation
  • Conferences/seminars/workshops

Public Speaking

• A structured and deliberate manner of speaking to inform, influence, or entertain an audience.

Speech

• Spoken expressions of information and ideas.
• Modes of delivery:
  • Reading from a manuscript
  • Memorized delivery
  • Extemporaneous delivery
  • Impromptu delivery

Reading from a Manuscript

• Appropriate for long speeches with complex details.
• Can diminish naturalness and eye contact.

Memorized Delivery

• Excellent for short messages but can be challenging for long speeches.
• May diminish naturalness, and speakers may forget lines.

Extemporaneous Speaking

• Usually involves some preparation and an outline.
• Speakers must formulate sentences while speaking.
• Must be spontaneous.

Impromptu Speaking

• No or minimal preparation.
• Speakers may not deliver their best thoughts, but it helps bring out natural ideas.

Written Communication

• Communication done through the written word, such as letters, emails, and manuals.
• Required for public relations, advertising, and technology.

Forms of Written Communication

• Email
• Website
• Memorandums
• Letters
• Reports
• Notices
• Minutes
• Circulars
• Manuals
• Handbooks
• Orders
• Enquiries
• Complaints
• Quotations

Memorandum

• A note or document used to issue directives, execute policies, present information reports, make suggestions, provide instructions, propose projects, convey information, rebuke errors, give warnings, solve problems, and make requests.

Types of Memorandums

• Directive Memo: Policies or procedures given from higher-ups to subordinates.
• Report Memo: From subordinates to higher-ups.
• Response Memo: Provides information to an audience regarding inquiries made.
• Confirmation Memo: Confirms in black and white what has been previously agreed upon verbally.
• Ideas and Suggestions Memo: Conveys ideas or suggestions, usually from lower ranks to higher-ups.

Interview

• A two-party interaction with a specific, serious purpose.
• Usually involves asking and answering questions.

Characteristics of an Interview

• Involves at least two parties.
• Has a purposeful nature.
• Focuses on asking and answering questions.

Planning an Interview

• Define the goal of the interview.
• Identify and analyze the other party/respondent.
• Prepare a list of topics to discuss.
• Choose the best interview structure.
• Consider possible questions.
• Arrange the setting.

Conducting an Interview

• Open with a greeting and orientation.
• Perform tasks during the question-and-answer phase of the discussion.
• Close with a satisfactory conclusion.

Guidelines for Interviewers and Interviewees:

• Formally announce the interview.
• Be punctual.
• Dress appropriately.
• Start with a strong handshake.
• Be kind with words.
• Avoid unnecessary stories.
• Maintain eye contact.
• Use longer, more complex sentences.
• Use the word "Thank you."

Informal Language Register

• Conversational and appropriate for writing to friends and people you know well.
• Examples:
  • Personal emails
  • Phone texts
  • Short notes
  • Friendly letters
  • Most bogs
  • Diaries and journals

Formal Language Register

• More appropriate for professional writing and letters to bosses or strangers.
• Impersonal.

Examples of Formal Writing

• Business letters
• Letters of complaint

Rules in Formal Writing

• Do not use contractions.
• Spell out numbers that are less than one hundred.
• Write in the third person point of view.
• Avoid using passive verbs too often.
• Avoid using slang, idioms, exaggerations (hyperboles), and clichés.
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms.
• Do not start sentences with words like, and, so, but, also.
• Always write in complete sentences.

Listening

• The most important communication skill.
• Requires practice.
• Actively listening is a process that includes:
  • Hearing
  • Filtering
  • Comprehending
  • Remembering
  • Responding

Types of Listening

• Discriminative Listening: Identifying the difference between various sounds.
• Comprehension Listening: Attaching meaning to what is being listened to.
• Evaluative Listening: Evaluating and analyzing the message being received.