In the speech, the speaker, a communication professor, discusses the common fear of public speaking and offers strategies to overcome it. The professor emphasizes the importance of approach, audience awareness, context, and structure in effective communication. He shares personal anecdotes to illustrate these points and encourages embracing communication opportunities with openness and confidence. The goal is to help listeners become comfortable and articulate speakers, capable of thinking fast and talking smart.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker is a communication professor.
2. 85% of people say they fear speaking in public.
3. The speaker's goal is to share tips and techniques to help people be more comfortable and confident when speaking.
4. The speaker will discuss four steps to effective communication: approach, audience, context, and structure.
5. The speaker's wife suggested they approach their bathroom brawls as opportunities to learn and collaborate.
6. The speaker has been married for 15 years and no longer fights with his wife over toothpaste.
7. The speaker believes that approaching communication in an open way is the first step to effective communication.
8. The speaker suggests that thinking about what the audience needs to hear is more important than thinking about what you want to say.
9. The speaker identifies three things to ask about the audience: knowledge, expectations, and attitudes.
10. The speaker believes that violating expectations can be an effective way to communicate.
11. The speaker suggests that context involves time, emotion, and physical location.
12. The speaker believes that structure helps people understand and remember information better.
13. The speaker mentions three structures: chronological, problem-solution-benefits, and what-so what-now what.
14. The speaker believes that structure sets expectations and keeps the audience together.
15. The speaker uses the example of Silk Soy Milk to illustrate the importance of approach, audience, context, and structure in effective communication.