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NOTES on BODY LANGUAGE AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

body language movements of our hands and arms, walk around, make eye contact, and change facial expressions.

Samples gestures clenched fists show power or angerif they want to urge their audience to take action in fighting for something. Opening their palms indicates generosity and caring. forefinger pointed toward the ceiling means people should pay attention to what they are saying. Clasping their hands together in front of their chest conveys unity. Making a circle with the thumb and forefinger indicates approval. Shrugging the shoulders shows ignorance, perplexity, or irony. nodding head up and down signifies agreement, among other gestures. Some also show: 1) Size, weight, shape, direction, and location.these physical characteristics call for hand movements. For example, they may point out the direction as they dramatically exclaim: They went that way! 2) Importance or urgency.they may show their audience how important their point is. For instance, they may hit their fist into their open palm. 3) Comparison and contrast.they may move both their hands in unison to show similarities or move them in opposition to show differences. Despite the vast number of movements that qualify as gestures, all gestures can be grouped into one of the following: 1) Descriptiveare used to clarify or enhance a verbal message. They help the audience understand comparison/ contrast and visualize the size, shape, movement, location, function, or number of objects. 2) Emphaticare used to underscore whats being said. They indicate earnestness and conviction. 3) Suggestiveare symbols of ideas and emotions. They help the speaker create a desired mood or express a particular thought. 4) Promptingare used to help evoke a desired response from the audience. For example, if they want their listeners to raise their hands, applaud, or perform some specific action, theyll enhance the response by doing it themselves as an example.

If our physical actions are distracting or suggest meanings that dont agree with our verbal message, our body can defeat their words.

The posture/stance that they assume while standing still is important because it indicates their confidence and comfort level. 1. slouch shoulders and fix their eyes on the floor - shy and weak. 2. repeatedly shift weight from one foot to another, - appear uncomfortable
and nervous, and their audience may be distracted by their movement. 3. stand straightfeet slightly apart and their weight evenly distributed on each footand look directly at their listeners - convey confidence and poise. body movement during a speech provides variety for the audience. walk from one place to another, to attract the listeners attention and get them involved as their eyes and heads follow them. In some instances, they can use movement to illustrate/ dramatize a point. For example, if they are describing a physical action such as throwing a ball or shivering from the cold, they may act out their description by moving their body appropriately to help the audience visualize what they are saying. However, the movement should take place slightly before the verbal point it reinforces. As for changing your speaking position during a speech, never to cross one foot over the other when they begin a movement. For instance, if theyre going to step to their left, they should always lead with their left foot or else they might trip and fall over. gestures can mean many things and these may vary from culture to culture/country to country, so they should be sensitive to your audience. Sign language has made it possible for deaf/mute people to communicate efficiently without speaking.

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gestures reflect each speakers individual personalitywhats right for one speaker probably wont work for all of them. three parts of gestures : the approach, the stroke, and the return. approach - body begins to move in anticipation of the gesture. Stroke - is the gesture itself, and the Return - brings their body back to a balanced speaking posture/stance a deadpan expression - a face with no expression and not giving any clue on how one feelsbut to a speaker its a barrier to effective communication. facial expression must be consistent with the feelings or information they are communicating. no rules govern the use of specific facial expressions. relax your inhibitions and allow yourself to respond naturally to your thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, their facial expressions will be appropriate and will project sincerity, conviction, and credibility. one sure way to break the communication bond between a speaker and his/her audience is to fail to look at them and establish eye contact. sense a personal connection with the speaker. public speaking is amplified conversation. most cultures/countries, the act of looking someone directly in the eye is a symbol of sincerity. Failure to meet another persons gaze when speaking implies disinterest, lack of confidence, insincerity, or shiftiness. - make immediate adjustments to their presentation. Are you performing well? Does the audience understand what they are saying? Are they holding their listeners attention? Is their message being accepted? We cant change our age, nor height or facial features, but we can enhance our appearance through proper attire, grooming, and physical conditioning to make a good first impression to our audience. should mingle with the audience and project the same friendly, confident attitude that will make their speech a success. During the first few seconds of their speech, the audience will be making critical judgments about you.

Balance your body as they assume your speaking posture, and achieve
an immediate connection with the audience by combining direct eye contact with a warm smile and facial expression. keep your body movements and gestures to a minimum during these first few moments, allowing your listeners to get accustomed to you. look natural and unrehearsed.

NERVOUSENESS . A speakers mental/psychological and emotional fears can be conquered by self-confidencea product of adequate preparation and stage experience.

As for the physical manifestations of nervousness, they can be best

controlled through conscious use of gestures and body movements. public speaking activates the adrenal glands and the hormone adrenaline, creating active energy in our bodythe primitive fight or flight syndrome, which is really a natural state. Thus, our heartbeat quickens, our breathing becomes shallow and rapid, we sweat and feel nauseous, our muscles tense, and Unless this tension is somehow dissipated, we will be visibly nervous to our audience. To overcome the symptoms of nervousness while speaking, do the ff 1) Nervesarrive early and get familiar with the room in which you will be presenting, as well as the podium/lectern, microphone, audio-visual equipment if any, and seating arrangement. Shake hands and chat with people before the program/speech begins, for familiarity breeds comfort.

Try to exercise before you speak: go off to an empty room and swing their arms quickly, do a few jumping jacks, run in place, stretch, or close your eyes and take several deep slow breaths.

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2) Trembling handsuse small index cards and dont hold it, Instead, place it on the lectern or table and slide each card to one side after its been used. Wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it every time they find themselves trembling, thinking negatively, or getting lost in their speech. 3) Tongue-twisted speechslow down and pause between words and sentences. Remind yourself that no one in the audience has an appointment to catch. 4) Shortness of breathbreathe from your diaphragm (stomach) and through your nose. Dont breath through your mouth. 5) Fear of audiencelook right above your heads. Later, seek out friendly faces and eye-connect with them during your talk. Or make eye contact with empty chairs. If need be, bring some friends we can use as focal points. 6) Serious sweatingignore it. No one will know unless a pool forms on the floor beside themand that wont happen. 7) Cold handsrub your hands together under the lectern. 8) Squeaky voiceif you squeak during a speech, pause, take a breath, try to bring your voice down, then continue. 9) Dry mouthspeak slowly. Wear a light coating of petroleum jelly/lip gloss on your lips. If you must, put a glass of water without ice on the lectern, pause, and sip from it. Keep this to a minimum thoughno guzzling. 10) Tense musclesvary your body language and movements. 11) Upset stomachtry to ignore it and it will probably go away. Eat and drink properly before their presentation, but stay away from heavy meals and caffeine. 12) A desire to boltresist it. The best defense is a great offense. Have a super speech prepared and be sure to practice it a lot. 13) Foolish feelingdress well. If you look your best, youll Feel your best. if something does go wrongas in Murphys Laws whatever can go wrong willjust laugh it off and move on with their speech. You must not take it personally. never ever mention your nervousness nor apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, for you may be calling the audiences attention to something they hadnt noticed in the first place. like any good story, the students speech needs a clear beginning. create an interesting opening sentence that will capture their audiences attention.

A memorized beginning will enable you to start and finish your talk with
confidence and ease. avoid the following weak openings. 1) An apologetic statement 2) A story or joke that does not relate to your topic 3) A commonplace observation delivered in a commonplace manner 4) A long or slow-moving statement or story 5) A trite question such as: Did you ever stop to think/ever wonder why?

one way to write an effective speech, as well as an effective essay is to begin with a picture in their mind: an old-fashioned keyhole. The keyhole shows the relationship of their opening/introduction (funnel shape on the top) which announces your main point, the body of their speech (round center) which develops it, and your ending/conclusion (the inverted funnel shape on the bottom) which drives it home. .the body is the main part of their speech and consists of the facts and ideas they want to present select a few main pointsthree or four at the mostand emphasize them. Too much information may overwhelm their audience. in elaborating your main points, your sub-points or supporting material may emphasize or prove your main ideas through:

--------------Say that the first step in creating their speech is to decide what they want to talk about. The world is full of possible speech topics so students must not find this difficult. Their challenge, however, is to select the best one for them and their audience. ORGANIZING A PREPARED SPEECH

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B. Body C. Ending/Conclusion Similarly, speech template for logical elements is to: 1) Tell them (your audience) what youre going to say. 2) Tell them. 3) Tell them what youve said. Putting the above together, revise the basic outline so that you will now have a generic speech template before proceeding to the more detailed sample on the slide:

1) StatisticsThese are numerical ways of conveying information about incidents, data or events. 2) TestimonyThese are quotes or opinions from people with expertise on the matter. 3) Examples, stories or anecdotesThese usually relate an event that happened to them or someone they know or read about. 4) Visual aidsThese could be diagrams, charts, pictures, models or other objects. 5) FactsThese are verifiable information.

The conclusion is the final opportunity to convey your message in a

manner that will make the audience remember them. If you were informing your listeners, you could conclude with a summary of the ideas presented in the body of your speech. If you were persuading or motivating your audience to take a stand, you could suggest a course of action your listeners could take. Then, you could finish off with a final remark such as a challenge, a question, an anecdote, or a quotation. introducing new material in the closing of their speech may confuse your audience. Do not to apologize for anything you may or may not have done or said during your talk. You must finish forcefully and confidently writing an outline is, unfortunately, a step that many speakers skip. The most common excuse is simply no time. l an outline is a blueprint for your presentation, An outline is necessary to ensure that your speech is coherent, focused, and: 1) Highlights the key logical elements. (What points are being made to logically support their core message?) 2) Features the key structural elements. (Introduction, body, and conclusion) 3) Links the elements together in a sequence, perhaps allocating rough timing. 4) Maps out the transitions between elements. (Although this may be deferred to a later stage of speech preparation.)

include only one idea per line, because running multiple ideas
together defeats the very purpose of the outline to separate and differentiate ideas. Category Transition words Addition also, again, as well as, besides, coupled with, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, similarly Consequence accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, so then, subsequently, therefore, thus, thereupon, wherefore Generalizing as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, ordinarily, usually Exemplifying chiefly, especially, for instance, in particular, markedly, namely, particularly, including, specifically, such as Illustration for example, for instance, for one thing, as an illustration, illustrated with, as an example, in this case Emphasis above all, chiefly, with attention to, especially, particularly, singularly Similarity comparatively, coupled with, correspondingly, identically, likewise, similar, moreover, together with Exception aside from, barring, besides, except, excepting, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside of, save Restatement in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, in short, in brief, to put it differently

Write the basic outline for structural elements on the board as: A. Opening/Introduction

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ice breaker speech has three aims: 1) To introduce themselves.their speech topic is you: something about Your life hobbies, unique interests, family/friends, special someone/ significant other, or any combination of these. 2) Begin to conquer their fear of speaking in front of a group.it is nervewracking when speaking in front of a group. 3) Provide a base line of their current strengths and weaknesses.as students, many of us may have no public speaking experience, while some may just have some years of classroom presentations behind you. No matter where you fit, your goal is to improve from this starting point. the power of three. repetition helps a speaker tie his/her ideas together and creates clarity for the listener. when a particular message gets repeated in multiple ways, it becomes sticky, which means that the audience remembers better. Hence, Julius Caesars famous I came, I saw, I conquered. the power of three is the same technique it is the same method employed by US presidential candidate Barrack Obama when he started his speech with a set of three: (1) They said this day would never come. (2) They said our sights were set too high. (3) They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned, and too indifferent to ever come together around a common purpose - INTERESTING TRAIT OF YOU - UNIQUE PERSONALITY / HOBBY OF YOU 2) Draft your first speech project using a five-paragraph format essayone for the introduction, three for the bodys three main points, and one for the conclusion. 3) Create a strong opening and ending which they may find helpful to memorize. They should not memorize the whole speech though, but they may write a brief outline on note cards later. 4) Write the body of your speech, making sure that the whole speech, when delivered, will not exceed two minutes (or three at the most) 5) Edit your draft using transitional words, phrases, or statements as you move from one idea to another. conversational in tone (not formal or businesslike)with the main points, subpoints, and supporting details contributing to that message. 6) Break your finished written speech into parts, with a key word for each part, and write just the key words on note cards.

ASSIGNMENT: AUGUST, 25 31, 2011 1) Select an outline (chronological, spatial, causal, comparative, topical, problem-solution, or a combination of these) that is appropriate for your speech topic self-introduction. / - A SUBMERGE PERSONALITY