Unit 2 Conclusion

In Unit 2, we explored the notion that public speaking, like all communication, is focused on the other – the audience or listeners that receive our message. The more we know and understand the people that we will speak to, the better we can prepare messages that will be valuable for them. Understanding their needs and expectations will allow us to tailor our speech to the audience. Presumably, this will make our speeches more interesting to an audience that is attending to our message. Attending to a message is another way of describing the intellectual process of active listening. We examined the stages of listening (receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding) and how breakdowns in any stage can lead to distorted messages and miscommunication. As speakers and as audience members, we need to practice our listening skills to become better communicators. Now that we understand the two major elements of the communication process (senders and receivers), we can move on to the process of preparing the message.