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On: 22 July 2014, At: 10:11
Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
To cite this article: Ronald C. Scherer & Melissa Volk (2011) Research on Public Speaking, Voice and Speech Review, 7:1,
287-291, DOI: 10.1080/23268263.2011.10739554
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2011.10739554
Introduction
To address the importance of public speaking training and
skills, the Voice Foundation Symposium in 2009 included
a session entitled The Speaking Voice: What You Need to
Know About Speaking in Public organized by Nancy Pearl
Solomon. It featured Diane DiResta, Deborah Rosen, and
Susan MillerFN1, whose professions deal with public speaking training and concerns, and panelists Donna Snow, John
RubinFN2, and myself (RS). I was asked to present the final
short talk to emphasize what research there was on public
speaking and suggest directions for the future. One of our
masters students interested in voice research, Melissa Volk,
the co-author here, was currently a teaching assistant in a
section of our universitys public speaking course, a requirement of most students at BGSU, so I invited her to join
me in this task. It was obvious to me that we would find
research on many topics about how to give good speeches
and be a proficient public speaker, including, of course, appropriate voice and speech production, per se. How wrong
I was about the latter!
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This same approach can be used with the more typical categories of known interest in public speaking.
A World of Voice
Voice & Speech Review
For example, one could vary (parameterize) the speakers
message content in specific ways for the listeners rating of
understanding. Indications of the speakers expertise (credentials, knowledge, competence, warmth, honesty, enthusiasm, appearance, confidence) could be parameterized in
specific (logical) steps for the listeners rating of credibility
(trustworthiness, believability, acceptance) (Figure 3).
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
Figure 3. General research design. The speaker variables on the left would be parameterized,
and the audience reactions on the right would be ratings or judgements.
Conclusion
There is a dearth of research in voice and speech production for public speaking. This is surprising given the
economic and cultural importance of professional public
speaking around the world. This short essay highlights a
simple research structure and approach that relates voice
and speech production for public speaking to a variety of
listener response categories. The structure encourages
choosing relevant variables that can be parameterized for
the speaker and evaluated by the listener for levels and
types of effects and influence. It presupposes that inadequate voice and speech production elements are detrimental to the impact and effectiveness of a talk, and that the
study of these factors will bring about better pedagogies
for public speaking training and more satisfying, effective,
and healthy professional and avocational communication
experiences for both the speaker and the audience.
It is recommended that voice and speech trainers and
coaches collaborate with those in the communication
sciences and with voice and speech scientists to carry out
viable and useful research projects that enhance the science
and the art of public speaking.
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APPENDIX B (continued)
The authors would like to thank Lucille Rubin for a generous early
communication on this topic and Nancy Solomon for helpful suggestions on the manuscript.
Footnotes
FN1:
a. Nancy Pearl Solomon, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Research Speech Pathologist, Army Audiology & Speech Center, Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, Washington, DC
b. Diane DiResta, founder of DiResta Communications, Inc., NYC
c. Deborah Rosen, Ph.D., Director of Healthcare Outreach, Temple
University Health Care System
Journal of Voice
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research
Speech Communication
Cognition & Emotion
Voice and Speech Review (VASTA)
Communication Education
Communication Quarterly
Communication Research Reports
System
Journal of Language & Social Psychology
Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica
Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology
The Volta Review
Sprache-Stimme-Gehor
American Journal of Speech Language Pathology
Language and Speech
Journal of Phonetics
Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology
Acta Acustica united with Acustica
290
Preparation
Feedback
Instructional methods
Attitude change
Arousal styles
Visual aids
Gender and competence
Impact on audience
Presentation skills for different professions
Eloquence
Performance visualization
Media use
Use of humor
Persuasive speaking
Confidence
Retention of information
Listener rate preference
Effects of dialects and accents
Physiological change in speaker
Linguistic stress/variety
Group speech
Content & Delivery
Posture & Speaker Credibility
Stereotypes
Pedagogy on Public Speaking
Audience attention
Audience characteristics
Cultural effects on speaking style
Clear speech
speaking rate; speaking mode; intelligibility; visual; coarticula-
tion; perception; phonetic; invariance; in noise; bilingual; articu-
lation & vowels; language & timing
Voice Quality
sarcasm; adduction and trained subjects; emotion/mood/attitude
Speakers Formant/Actors Formant
Technology
Resonant Voice & therapy
Vocal expression of emotion & depression
Voice source
Expressive speech
Voice disorders
Vocal hygiene
Effects of voice training
Pulmonary function
Production & perception
Vocal warm up
Different professions voices: broadcasters; radio professionals;
voice-over; physicians; nurses; aerobic instructor; actors
Teachers & voice; various measures & conditions; vocal health;
voice training
Perceived voice robustness
Effect of humming
Speech & stress conditions
Speaking style
Speech melody
A World of Voice
Voice & Speech Review
APPENDIX C (continued):
Speakers ring
Voice range profile
Prosody & training for successful communication
Vocal fatigue/ endurance
Voice therapy
Perception of talker characteristics
Speaker size related to voice
Therapy outcomes for professional voice users
Influence of room acoustics
Vocal loading/ Dosimetry
Phonatory effort
Phonation threshold pressure
Occupational voice
Stress & anxiety
Medical Problems
Dehydration
Axe-Houghton Foundation
American Society for Theatre Research
National Humanities Alliance-NEH funding
Voice Foundation
American Council of Learned Societies
National Speakers Association
Dispute Resolution Research Center Postdoctoral Fellow
ship
Kellogg Team and Group Research Center Postdoctoral Fellowship
Metcalf Institute Diversity Fellowships in Environmental
Reporting
Multi-Arts Production Fund Grants
White House Fellows Leadership & Public Service Fellowship
Educational Foundation of America Grants
Freedom of Expression Foundation (Institusjonen Fritt
Ord) Grants
Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State College of Communications Page and Johnson
Legacy Scholar Grants
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Greenhouse Fund
Grants
Council for Advancement and Support of Education Alice
L. Beeman Research Awards
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarships
National Science Foundation Perception, Action and Cognition Grants
National Science Foundation Linguistic Grants
National Education Association Foundation Learning and
Leadership Grants
National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on AgingArchiving and Development of
Socialbehavioral Datasets in Aging Related Studies
New York Community Trust Grants
Stanford University John S. Knight Fellowships
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