Basic Guide to Public Speaking

Public speaking is an art and not a science. I won't go so far as to say there are NO rules—but close. There is no public speaking textbook or guidebook that I am aware of that captures the myriad ways that speeches are written and delivered by highly successful people in academia, public office, on the street, or in business.

That said, this guide represents thirty years of my experience teaching students and consulting with speakers in business, law, politics, and government. Even if there are no rules, per se, there is advice and there are some basic template-like techniques to teach the beginner how to construct and deliver a speech. Providing that advice and the templates is my goal in this part of this project in my Fall 2008 honors course in speech communication.

Tom Jewell
Associate Professor, Communication
Bergen Community College

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