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TEXT 1
| Exercise 1. Scan the words and memorize them. |
| relevant, adj | релевантный (об информации); соответствующий, имеющий отношение (к данному вопросу) |
| concise, adj | краткий; сжатый; лаконичный, немногословный (о речи, стиле письма) |
| pace, n | скорость, темп |
| impact, n | сильное воздействие; влияние |
| convince, v | убеждать, уверять (в чем-л.), доводить до чьего-л. сознания |
| outline, n | 1) общее построение 2) схема, план, конспект |
| coherent, adj | связный, логически последовательный |
| wander (of), v | заблудиться, сбиться (с) |
| persuasive, adj | убедительный |
| evidence, n | ясность, наглядность, очевидность |
| laborious, adj | трудный, тяжелый, напряженный, утомительный |
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| Exercise 2. Translate the following words and word combinations without the dictionary: |
audience, colleagues, to impress, to focus, to define, to affect, the opposite opinion, terminology, to create, pausing, intonation, equals, individuals, specific reasons, indifferent, persuasive speech, to persuade, clear and concise.
| Exercise 3. Skim the text and find out the principles of the successful speech. |
Analyzing your Audience
You should start preparing for your speech by looking at your future audience. Your job is to get as much information about your audience as you can. This information will help you to prepare a speech which is relevant and interesting to your listeners. Thinking about your audience is the key to good public speaking. If you are preparing a presentation, start with the question: Who are these people? It's the key to success. Whether they are strangers or colleagues, they have one thing in common: they expect you to impress them for the next 15–20 minutes. And the best way to do so is to focus on their favourite subject – themselves. So begin by defining who these people are and what they expect. Here are ten questions to ask yourself.
1. What kind of language do these people use?
If your audience is from a particular industry, what terminology does it understand best? The audience dictates your choice of words, but remember, you should always make your language clear and concise, especially if the language is not your mother tongue.
2. Why were you invited to make this presentation?
Your knowledge of their problems is probably why you were invited to speak. They expect new insights, a different point of view, and ideas that they can take away and use so that they feel their time was well spent listening to you.
3. Can people hear you?
Speak loudly enough to make your voice carry to the furthest listener. No one wants to listen to someone who mumbles and who does not speak with conviction. As a presenter, the ability to pace your speech and use your voice to create impact is the most important skill you need. You will be more effective if you are in control of your voice by your use of stress, pausing, intonation, volume, and silence.
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4. How should you look at the audience?
Make direct eye contact. Try convince your audience you are talking to them personally. It also makes you feel that you have made contact with them
as individuals. Never talk down (or up) your audience. Treat them as equals,
no matter who they are.
5. Should you use notes?
Yes, make an outline, perhaps on small cards, and consult them as you speak. This forces you to organize your presentation in a logical, coherent way and not wander of the points.
6. Are they friends, colleagues, customers or total strangers?
Define who these people are. Define their essential features and motivations. What work do they do, what is their level of education, what kind of language do they use, what problems and opportunities might they have? Address their goals, their needs, their concerns.
7. Does the audience appreciate humour?
Don't make a special effort to be funny. If you make a joke, don't stop and wait for laughs. What is funny in one culture may not be in another. The subject of your presentation is probably serious and for some people, humour may be out of place. A light touch here and there is all right but humour cannot replace good ideas.
8. Should you use any visual aids?
If they make your speech easier to understand, yes. But make them clear and simple. Don't laboriously read out aloud what is written on your visuals. Make sure that everyone can see them, even from the back of the room.
9. How long should the presentation be?
The best thing is to take only as much time as is necessary. The only thing worse than being long and boring is being too short and not fully understood.
10. What are the audience's feelings and opinions toward the topic of your speech?
For the purpose of persuasive speaking it will be necessary to learn
as much as possible about how they feel and why they feel that way in order to do a good job preparing your persuasive speech. You can expect your listeners to feel one of three ways about the topic you choose for your persuasive speech:
a) They Might Agree Completely.
If this is the case, you must choose a different topic for your persuasive speech.
b) They Might Be Indifferent.
Your audience may have the attitude "Who cares?" If this is the case, you must find out why they are indifferent or uninterested in the topic. If your audience are indifferent, they are indifferent because (circle the reasons):
1. they don't think your topic is important;
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2. they don't feel your topic affects them;
3. they have never heard of your topic.
In your speech you will need to convince them:
1. to be interested in the opinion you are presenting;
2. that it is important to consider;
3. that they should adopt your opinion.
c) They Might Disagree Completely.
They have the opposite opinion from yours or one which is completely different. If this is the case, you must find out their specific reasons for disagreeing with your opinion. In your speech, you will need to convince them that their specific reasons for disagreeing with the claim you are making are not good reasons.
You must use the results of your Audience Analysis while preparing
the main body of your speech. You must present support and evidence which will convince them to agree with you.
In order to persuade listeners with the "who cares" attitude, you must get them interested in your topic. You must prove that your topic is important to think about, or that it directly affects them in some way.
| Exercise 4. Match the words and their definitions. |
| 1. stranger | a) clear understanding of something complicated |
| 2. concise | b) speak in a way that is not loud enough |
| 3. insight | c) clear and sensible |
| 4. mumble | d) talk to someone as if they were stupid when in fact they are not |
| 5. talk down | e) someone whom you don't know |
| 6. coherent | f) move a way |
| 7. wander off | g) expressed clearly using only a few words |
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| Exercise 5. Scan the text and find out the specific information to answer the questions. |
1. Why should you get as much information about your audience as you can?
2. What is the real key to success?
3. What is the best way to impress the audience?
4. What is one of the most important skills you need making speech?
5. What is necessary to make your speech persuasive?
6. What must you use preparing the main body of your speech?
7. What will make your speech easier to understand?
TEXT 2