Public speaking and presentations a critical review: The caring speaker

• Autor(a) principal: Ballotta, Danilo
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/2068
• topic: Business administration; Personal management; International business administration; Training; Gestão de empresa; Gestão pessoal; Gestão internacional de empresa; Formação

Aims. It is assumed that the vast majority of the presentations we attend in our daily work leave much to be desired, due to the lack of a structural, methodological and professional approach. This thesis examines whether it is possible to improve individual performances in public speaking through a gradual, incremental, self-training approach. Methods. Over 100 sources (articles, books, papers, websites, video and audio material) have been reviewed to establish best practice in public speaking. A qualitative insight into how professionals (non-professional speakers) approach public speaking has been conducted. Finally a practical approach and tools for the improvement of nonprofessional speakers skills have been developed. Findings. Overall, the literature on public speaking fails to make the link between oratory performances and the personality and the context in which non-professional speakers operate. Objectives and salaries of non-professional speakers are rarely linked to their proficiency at the podium, with consequently very little time and opportunity for training or even preparation. Conclusion. Merging the good practice that emerge from the review of the literature, with the experience from the interviews with non-professional speakers, may have allowed us to find a practical approach to turn non-professional speaker into caring speakers.