Speakers assess how well they are doing by taking cues from the listeners, so supportive classmates need to stay focused.
This is a reproducible lesson plan that GATE teachers, and teachers with students prepared for the rigors of public speaking can use as an opening public speaking exercise.
When a classmate is giving a speech, it is important that the listeners send positive cues to the speaker that everything is going well. Be sure to try to empathize with the speaker because you will be up there speaking soon! To be that good and empathetic listener, however, you need to develop some of the primary characteristics of active listening. You need visually to prove to the speaker that you are focused and really listening to the speech. Here is a good golden rule for you to remember when listening to a speech. Try to think of your old Norwegian friend, LARS. LARS is of course an acronym meaning:
L -Lean forward in your seat
A -be Attentive
R -be Relaxed
S -Sit Square in your Seat
When critiquing using active listening, try to clear up any possible misunderstanding of what the speaker said. Try to reflect the speech back to him or her, which is to summarize your understanding of the speech. Try saying things like, "What I think I heard you say is..."
Remember that even simple words have different meanings to different people. Take for example "the sun came out before..." A new father would hear "son." A tanning enthusiast would, of course, hear "sun." Simple reflection can clear up all of these problems. Remember that you must actively attend and pay attention to the speech and the speaker.
Resource:
Parker, Douglas A. Basic Public Speaking, 2nd Edition - The Roadmap to Confident Communications! (ISBN: 0-7388-5619-3). 2001. Xlibris, Random House Ventures.
