NCJ Number
193657
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 15-19
Date Published
February 2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article addresses the fear of public speaking and ways for police personnel to overcome this problem.
Abstract
The basic process of communication consists of three simple parts. The first component, the sender of the message, can be a speaker or instructor. The last component is the receiver of the information. The central and most important part of the process is the message itself. This part of the process can easily get distorted by different interpretations of the message, preconceived ideas by a speaker about the audience, or limited vocabulary or a poor choice of words by a speaker. The simpler the information the speaker presents, the better an audience will understand it. Unpreparedness constitutes another barrier common to presenters. Effective speakers must have a solid working knowledge of the topic and must support the presentation with facts and research. Individuals in law enforcement extensively use somatic, or body language in their daily contacts with others. How speakers present themselves to an audience determines their effectiveness as a public speaker. The elements to consider when making a presentation are appearance, stance/poise, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, voice/inflection, vocabulary, and enthusiasm. Speakers must sell themselves to an audience before attempting to relay a message. The first few minutes of any program, when the audience makes its initial impression of the speaker, remain vital to a successful speech. A positive impression will make the audience more receptive to the speaker's message. Speakers should consider an effective presentation simply as a conversation with their audience. With acknowledgement and practice of certain techniques, officers or administrators easily can become better communicators. 7 endnotes