Interpersonal Skills Essay

1217 Words5 Pages
Interpersonal communication skills, particularly public speaking, are present within all aspects of life and are vital in effectively conveying a message or persuading a group of people. Public speaking is the act of speaking and presenting information to an audience with the intention to inform, influence or entertain. Public speaking skills are vital within the field of creative writing, as authors are required to seek representation, market their writing and demonstrate the presenter’s understanding. Possessing the ability to evaluate and analyse the audience is a required skill when giving presentations as it gives the speaker the knowledge of what to prepare for and how the audience might react. The effective and controlled use of paralinguistics and body language ensures that the desired message is expressed effectively and assists in the audience’s interpretation of the presentation. These skills will alleviate the speaker’s anxiety and enhance the audience’s attention. Public speaking is used to convey a message to the listener/s and the process can be amended by discovering information about the audience, allowing the speaker to create a bond with the audience. (Seiler and Beall 2011: 178) refer to audience analysis as ‘the collection and interpretation of data about characteristics, attitudes, values, and beliefs of an audience’. An inquiry of the audience can be made through direct observation, making an inference from the observation or data collection. The speaker must first consider the audience that will be addressed and take their every requirement into account (Lewis 1989:125). By taking into account the factors of the audiences situation, whether they want to attend or not, and their interests and knowledge on the presentation will allow the speaker to identify the audience’s predisposition to listen to the information and ensures that the
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