Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Are you scared of speaking before a large audience or even making a few suggestions in public? This need not be. You can make effective speeches in public. Here are a few pointers. Perhaps the most important step is to be sure of what you are going to say. This sounds obvious enough, but it is amazing how many people get up to speak when, in fact, they have very little to say. After one inconsequential point, they discover they have run out of steam. So to ensure you can speak well, the more conversant you are with them the more confident you will be.
How do you present your speech? Certainly before you begin, you will be a little uneasy. Even the most experienced speaker feels the same way before beginning his speech. This is not bad; in fact, it is a good tonic for a successful speech. To overcome this, do not rush headlong into the task. Rather, it pays to breathe in and out, heavily, deeply calmly. Then begin the speech, slowly, calmly. carefully, with a clear, confident voice. This is when you are. going through the introduction. "The Chairman, Honourable Guests of Honour. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen... By the time you finish this and go through the usual ritual of stating that it gives you "great pleasure to stand before this august gathering to discuss a few points....," you would have reached a point of emotional equilibrium. You should now be sufficiently calm to go on with the speech.
Somewhere at the beginning, and at strategic points in your speech. you should introduce flavour into what you are saying. You would not want to serve tea without sugar after all. So, you should inject some humorous remarks once in a while. But this calls for skill. To start with, you cannot introduce humour indiscriminately, otherwise you might sound like a jester. Experienced speakers most often introduce humour early in their speeches, presumably to ease the tension in the hall. But these jokes must be brief. purposeful and closely related to the point.
Many speakers are scared by the countenances of the listeners. Not all their looks are friendly. However, there are bound to be a few friendly ones, and it is advisable to pick them out, look at them from time to time, and ignore the hostile ones. Looking at the friendly faces keeps you at ease.
You are advised to write out your speech in full after which you should read it several times before the day. You could 't get a willing listener to criticize your delivery. Do this several times until you can almost recite it. Notice that we are not advising you to memorize it, because you could forget vital areas due to anxiety. Writing out and practising the speech would make you much familiar with the content, indeed with every word.
Speech making is an art. While it is true that some are gifted in speech making. it is more correct that any one who doesn't suffer from speech handicaps can learn to deliver effective speeches. And you can become a master in this art.
(a) In one sentence state the intention of the writer
(b) In five sentences, one for each summarize the five steps for making a good speech and the reason for each step.
This is a guided-summary task. Marks are earned by pulling out exactly the points asked for, one idea per sentence, in your own words and in the number of sentences the rubric fixes. Answer only what each part demands and do not add opinion or extra detail.
(a) The writer's intention (one sentence)
The writer's intention is to guide and encourage nervous or inexperienced people by showing them that anyone free of a speech handicap can learn to overcome fear and deliver an effective public speech.
(b) The five steps, one sentence each, with the reason for each
The passage sets out five clear steps, each in its own stage of preparing and delivering the speech, so a full-mark answer gives five separate sentences that each pair a step with its stated reason.
- Be thoroughly sure of what you intend to say and know your material well, because the more conversant you are with your subject the more confident you will be.
- Do not rush into the task but breathe in and out deeply and calmly before you begin, because this steadies the natural uneasiness that even experienced speakers feel and turns it into a useful tonic.
- Start slowly and calmly by working through the introduction and the usual opening courtesies, because completing this ritual brings you to a point of emotional equilibrium before the main speech.
- Introduce brief, purposeful humour early and at strategic points, because a well-placed joke adds flavour and eases the tension in the hall.
- Write the speech out in full and rehearse it several times, ideally before a listener who can criticise your delivery, because repeated practice makes you familiar with every word without forcing you to memorise and risk forgetting under anxiety.
Note on picking the friendly faces: the passage also advises looking at friendly faces and ignoring hostile ones to stay at ease. This is a genuine tip in the text, but it belongs to the same idea of managing nerves; when the question asks for only five steps, the five preparation-and-delivery stages listed above are the safest complete set, since dropping the writing-and-rehearsal step (as weaker answers do) loses the most important preparation point the writer stresses.
Examination reminder: in a "five sentences, one for each" summary, count your sentences and make sure each contains one distinct point plus its reason; you gain nothing for a sixth idea and you lose a mark for every required point you leave out or merge.
This is a guided-summary task. Marks are earned by pulling out exactly the points asked for, one idea per sentence, in your own words and in the number of sentences the rubric fixes. Answer only what each part demands and do not add opinion or extra detail.
(a) The writer's intention (one sentence)
The writer's intention is to guide and encourage nervous or inexperienced people by showing them that anyone free of a speech handicap can learn to overcome fear and deliver an effective public speech.
(b) The five steps, one sentence each, with the reason for each
The passage sets out five clear steps, each in its own stage of preparing and delivering the speech, so a full-mark answer gives five separate sentences that each pair a step with its stated reason.
- Be thoroughly sure of what you intend to say and know your material well, because the more conversant you are with your subject the more confident you will be.
- Do not rush into the task but breathe in and out deeply and calmly before you begin, because this steadies the natural uneasiness that even experienced speakers feel and turns it into a useful tonic.
- Start slowly and calmly by working through the introduction and the usual opening courtesies, because completing this ritual brings you to a point of emotional equilibrium before the main speech.
- Introduce brief, purposeful humour early and at strategic points, because a well-placed joke adds flavour and eases the tension in the hall.
- Write the speech out in full and rehearse it several times, ideally before a listener who can criticise your delivery, because repeated practice makes you familiar with every word without forcing you to memorise and risk forgetting under anxiety.
Note on picking the friendly faces: the passage also advises looking at friendly faces and ignoring hostile ones to stay at ease. This is a genuine tip in the text, but it belongs to the same idea of managing nerves; when the question asks for only five steps, the five preparation-and-delivery stages listed above are the safest complete set, since dropping the writing-and-rehearsal step (as weaker answers do) loses the most important preparation point the writer stresses.
Examination reminder: in a "five sentences, one for each" summary, count your sentences and make sure each contains one distinct point plus its reason; you gain nothing for a sixth idea and you lose a mark for every required point you leave out or merge.
