Principles of Speech Delivery

What Is Good Delivery?
• Good delivery…conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly, interestingly, and without

distracting the audience.
•Professor Albert Mehrabian, a professor and psychologist known for his work on
verbal and nonverbal communication claimed that majority of our communication
is nonverbal. To be specific, 7% is verbal and 93% is nonverbal, which in turn is
made up of 38% tone of voice and 55% body language. This therefore underlines
the necessity of learning the principles of effective speech delivery.
•Delivery in public speaking refers to how the message is
presented or communicated with the use of voice and body
language. An effective speech delivery maximizes the use of
these two components.
 VOICE
 BODY LANGUAGE
VOICE
• As all of you are already aware of, voice is the sound
you make or produce with the use of your vocal organs
(e.g. tongue, lips, teeth, larynx) whenever you speak or
sing. In public speaking, you need to consider the
following aspects to ensure an effective and efficient
use of voice.
Articulation
• Articulation is concerned with the use of your vocal organs not
just to produce sounds but to produce intelligible sounds. This
means that the words you utter should be understandable and
comprehensible to your listeners. Whenever you speak, you
need to ask yourself if you can pronounce your words
correctly and you enunciate them clearly.
Modulation
• Modulation has something to do with pitch (high or low) volume (loud or soft) and
rate (fast or slow). Voice modulation allows you to change your stress or tone of
voice to make it sound more interesting and arresting. To a certain degree,
modulation is similar to vocal expression. You achieve this whenever you change
your pitch, volume, rate or pace to clarify the emotional aspect of your message. If
you lack vocal expression, your delivery would sound monotone or robotic which
would certainly bore your listeners and put them to sleep. On the other hand, proper
vocal expression allows your audience to better understand your message.
BODY LANGUAGE
• You get and command your listener’s attention not
only with what you say or how you say it, but also
with how you appear. In public speaking, your
audience do not only hear you but also see you. How
you use your body language contributes to how your
message will be received and accepted.
Appearance
• Appearance refers to how you look to others. The
clothes and accessories you choose to wear should be
neat and appropriate to the time, place, and occasion of
your speech. Your credibility as a speaker is often judged
right away with how you look, so it’s important that your
appearance complements your speech content and goal.
Eye Contact
•Eye contact is said to be the most important body language. With your
eyes, you can communicate your confidence and commitment. Hence,
you need to make sure that your eye contact covers your audience
fairly in all parts of the room (left, right, center, front, middle, back).
Establishing and maintaining eye contact with your audience
throughout your speech is vital in keeping your connection with them.
Facial Expressions
• Facial expressions refer to your eye and mouth movements. They
are used to communicate emotions. In public speaking, you are
expected to display various facial expressions depending on your
emotions with regard to what you’re talking about. It is important
that your facial expressions complement what you say in order to
not only sound but also look sincere, trustworthy, and relatable.
Gestures
•Gestures are the movements that you do with your hands, arms, and fingers. If used
effectively, they help clarify and illustrate your verbal message as your listeners don’t
only hear you say the words, they also “see” your words. Some speakers who experience
anxiety while speaking in public tend to fidget with anything that is available in their
hands (e.g. notes, pen), bury their hands in their pockets or hide them in their backs,
repeatedly fix their hair or adjust their clothing. Such gestures should be avoided as they
distract your audience from your message and send a signal of your anxiety and
uneasiness.
Movement
•Movement is what you do when you change your body position. This is necessary
particularly when speaking to a large audience. You can move closer to the
audience when you want to emphasize a certain idea or walk to the left or right to
fairly address your listeners seated at the periphery. Moving encourages your
listeners to stay alert throughout your speech, but you still need to ensure that your
movements appear as natural and smooth as possible and that you avoid ever
turning your back at your audience.
Posture
• Posture is how you position and hold your body while speaking
in front of your audience. As a speaker, it is important to have a
good posture. To achieve this, you need to stand straight but at
the same time appear relaxed and not stiff. Slouching, on the
other hand, would make you look unsure and apprehensive. The
way you hold your body conveys how confident you are in your
role as a speaker.
CRITERIA FOR GRADING

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What Is Good Delivery?

• Good delivery…conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly, interestingly, and without

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