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105 9 Effective Presentation You must speak straight so your words may go as sunlight to our hearts. —Cochise, Chiricahua Apache leader (1805–1874) The essential idea to remember about debate style and debate delivery is a simple one: debate, as the art of formal oral controversy, is a type of public speaking. Although The Debater’s Guide cannot pretend to replace a course in public speaking, it might be useful to call attention to some fundamental principles that are common to debate and to other types of public speaking as well. Verbal and Nonverbal Factors As a type of public speaking, debate is an oral means of presenting ideas to an audience in an organized manner. Two thousand years ago, the Roman orator Cicero laid down three duties for a speaker that are just as true today for the debater: to be clear, so the audience can understand what is said; to be interesting, so the audience will want to listen; and to be persuasive, so the audience will agree. To accomplish these goals, language and actual physical delivery —use of voice and body to communicate verbally and nonverbally —are the chief factors to consider after the speeches are organized . And both are the means by which the debate speech is actually brought to the audience. Verbal factors include your choice of words, use of oral presentation elements, rate, volume, pitch, and tone. Avoid phrases that are over-worn, such as those found in Table 7.1. Select words for precision and economy, as you must be clear and must function within exact time boundaries. Watch falling into too much jargon—shorthand phrases or use of initials—that only a limited audience will understand without first providing a definition. You can say, “We will empower the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—the NRC—to 106 Effective Presentation administer our plan.” And thereafter you can just use the initials “NRC” because you took time at the first use to define the term. This advice is true for debate terminology. When you are the negative speaker, rather than starting out with, “I’ll begin with several PMNs, then move to DAs,” instead help your audience know what and where you are by beginning with, “I’ll begin with several planmeet -need arguments and then move to our four disadvantages.” An interesting delivery includes appropriate variations in the vocal elements of rate, volume, pitch, and timbre. Because debate speeches are often delivered at a faster rate than normal conversation , it is important to employ variation in the vocal elements to achieve both emphasis and clarity. For example, a pause or a reduction of either rate or volume may serve to achieve emphasis. Certainly you must be loud enough to be heard but with consideration for the size of the room and the audience. Nonverbal factors include posture, movement, gestures, facial expression, and eye contact, among others. Standing straight while speaking creates a professional look and enhances your credibility. It is certainly permissible to take a few steps or to emphasize ideas with appropriate gestures, just as you would in conversation. Make sure your facial expressions, which research shows to be your most powerful element of nonverbal communication, are also appropriate to your meaning. Frowning during an opponent’s presentation will be noted by your judges as disrespectful and hurt your credibility. Eye contact may be difficult when you are focused on your flowchart notes or are reading extended material you are quoting. However, you gain valuable feedback from your judges by observing how they react to your arguments, so practice your presentation and be familiar with your evidence so that you can spend significant time out of your notes and looking at your audience. The Audience Effective language (style) and delivery are impossible without careful consideration of the audience’s character and size. Who are the listeners and watchers? What are their ages, their professions, and their backgrounds? What are their prejudices, their predispositions? A set of phrases useful for a student audience might not create a favorable impression among an audience of bank managers. And 107 Effective Presentation the loud, gesture-punctuated speech that serves for an audience of a thousand people might seem awkward when delivered in a small room to only a few people. In general, the character of the audience affects the language to be used. For maximum effectiveness, a speaker must use language that is intelligible to the listeners, so adapt language to fit the age, education, or profession...

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