PUBLIC COMMUNICATION

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION

Public communication is a process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence or entertain the listeners. It is done on certain occasions in the presence of several people, invited or not, as the audience. Some speech settings are in private form, which means they are intented only for a particular group of people.
Significance of Public Speaking
The following are some reasons why public speaking is significant:
It helps make us more comfortable around other people, including strangers
- Once we are capable of greeting and addressing an entire room full of strangers, it will be much easier for us to smile and shake hands and meet new individuals in more personal and less threatening circumstances.

2. It will help enhance our everyday verbal and nonverbal communication skills
- This is especially true for people who spend a great time working with the written word, and have forgotten how to properly vocalize best their messages to get their point across.

3. At some point in life, we will required to speak in public
4. To have proficiency in communication skills and to be able to speak in public with ease and confidence will give a competitive edge in all fields of endeavor.
5. Being a good public speaker will make us more appealing and convincing.
-We can move others to action and bridge gaps in understanding and cooperation.

Characteristics of Public Communication:
1. It is audience centered - being audience centered means that you should adjust your message to the level of thinking of your audience. You should also consider demographic factors such as age, sex and educational attainment. You should also consider types of listeners:
 a. friendly audience - good listeners who are willing to listen to your speech.
b. passive audience - listeners who do not care about your topic.
c. hostile audience - listeners who opposed everything you say.
2. It envokes and implores critical thinking. - it envolves determining the meaning and significance of what is observed or expressed concerning a given inference or argument and deciding if there is an adequate justification to accept the conclusion as true. In general one must figure on out what to believe.
3. It requires ethics. - Ethics is set of moral principles held to differenciate right from wrong. You as a speaker are expected to behave ethically because you are responsible for what you say.
a. ethical speakers are truthful - speakers should not exaggerate or rely on personal beliefs but on facts.
 b. ethical speakers should credit their sources - presenting sources makes the speech credible.
4. It is an empowering activity - when the speakers develop the ability to think critically and take stand on any controversy, they are empowered. Sometimes you can also change the perception of others by democratic means.

Hanny Grace Nambayan
Princess Mae de Luna