Noting that stagefright has been the subject of intensive analysis and subjected to almost every conceivable test or measurement without revealing either its "cause" or its "cure," this paper presents vocal exercises to help combat the performance malady. After listing four principles concerning the nature of stagefright (it is…

Focusing on public speaking as a major instructional tool for teachers, this paper contains suggestions for more effective lecturing. In the introduction, classroom communication is analyzed according to four moves: structuring, soliciting, responding, and reacting. The paper then discusses four problems in studying learning from meaningful verbal…

A statistical report. (CH)

The case for teaching speech for radio and television broadcasting. (CH)

Gives hints on developing the pupil's ability in conversation involving initiative: asking questions and counter-questions, contradiction, wishes, demands, etc. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Theoretically, as one's ability to communicate improves, so does his self-concept as a communicator. Students enrolled in a basic speech course or an advanced interviewing course were administered a Platz Q-Sort to measure communicator self-concept. Results imply a communication course does significantly change communicator self-concept. (Author)

The teacher-coach involved in a contemporary speech tournament rarely, if ever, hears eloquent speeches. The forensic vigor of oratory may be restored through a form of address called the speech to stimulate or the epideictic oratory. Such speeches may include declamatory speeches, speeches of praise (or blame), or speeches for special occasions.…

Thirty-two speech anxious college students participated in a study that examined whether four treatments that have been effective when applied separately would be equally effective when applied in combination. The treatments were (1) systemic desensitization (SD), (2) speech skills training (SST), (3) SST combined with coping skills training (CST)…

Types and amount of private speech (aloud talking which is not addressed to another person) were assessed during the free play of 16 hyperactive and 16 non-hyperactive boys (6-10 years old). Verbalizations were coded into nine categories which denoted the boys' level of use of verbal control of their own behavior. Differences in amount and type of…

Speeches and compositions often become mere word lists, obscuring the message's true meaning with too many words. This paper shows that the words "use,""of," and "it" can be eliminated from writing and speech, making communications shorter, more understandable, and more efficient. Examples are provided. (RL)

Public speaking texts urge speakers to organize their message in order to increase their audience's comprehension of it. Tests were run to determine if listeners understand better when three message organization variables are employed in a speech: explicit statement of the central idea, explicit statement of the main points, and transitions before…

Three different experiments on the effects of linguistic development or proficiency on temporal aspects of reading aloud and speaking assessed the frequency, length, and location of unfilled pauses, speech rate, and phrase length. (Editor)

Presents a measurement instrument for evaluating a second language learner's oral skills, which is based on a mathematical theory of communication, and which relies on native speaker judgment. (AM)

An "organization of repair" operates in conversation, addressed to recurrent problems in speaking, hearing, and understanding. Several features of that organization are introduced to explicate the mechanism producing a skewing in which self-repair predominates over other-repair, and to show the operation of a preference for self-repair.…

Interplay between visual feedback and lip-positioning skill was studied among 10 normal hearing and 10 hearing impaired children (aged 5 to 14 years). In general, findings showed that, given visually displayed lip-position targets and feedback from positioning actions, children could perform accurately regardless of hearing status or prior…