good speech delivery should call attention to itself

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14.4 Practicing for Successful Speech Delivery

Learning objectives.

• Explain why having a strong conversational quality is important for effective public speaking.
• Explain the importance of eye contact in public speaking.
• Define vocalics and differentiate among the different factors of vocalics.
• Explain effective physical manipulation during a speech.
• Understand how to practice effectively for good speech delivery.

Christian Pierret – Speech – CC BY 2.0.

There is no foolproof recipe for good delivery. Each of us is unique, and we each embody different experiences and interests. This means each person has an approach, or a style, that is effective for her or him. This further means that anxiety can accompany even the most carefully researched and interesting message. Even when we know our messages are strong and well-articulated on paper, it is difficult to know for sure that our presentation will also be good.

We are still obligated to do our best out of respect for the audience and their needs. Fortunately, there are some tools that can be helpful to you even the very first time you present a speech. You will continue developing your skills each time you put them to use and can experiment to find out which combination of delivery elements is most effective for you.

What Is Good Delivery?

The more you care about your topic, the greater your motivation to present it well. Good delivery is a process of presenting a clear, coherent message in an interesting way. Communication scholar Stephen E. Lucas tells us:

Good delivery…conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly, interestingly, and without distracting the audience. Most audiences prefer delivery that combines a certain degree of formality with the best attributes of good conversation—directness, spontaneity, animation, vocal and facial expressiveness, and a lively sense of communication (Lucas, 2009).

Many writers on the nonverbal aspects of delivery have cited the findings of psychologist Albert Mehrabian, asserting that the bulk of an audience’s understanding of your message is based on nonverbal communication. Specifically, Mehrabian is often credited with finding that when audiences decoded a speaker’s meaning, the speaker’s face conveyed 55 percent of the information, the vocalics conveyed 38 percent, and the words conveyed just 7 percent (Mehrabian, 1972). Although numerous scholars, including Mehrabian himself, have stated that his findings are often misinterpreted (Mitchell), scholars and speech instructors do agree that nonverbal communication and speech delivery are extremely important to effective public speaking.

In this section of the chapter, we will explain six elements of good delivery: conversational style, conversational quality, eye contact, vocalics, physical manipulation, and variety. And since delivery is only as good as the practice that goes into it, we conclude with some tips for effective use of your practice time.

Conversational Style

Conversational style is a speaker’s ability to sound expressive and to be perceived by the audience as natural. It’s a style that approaches the way you normally express yourself in a much smaller group than your classroom audience. This means that you want to avoid having your presentation come across as didactic or overly exaggerated. You might not feel natural while you’re using a conversational style, but for the sake of audience preference and receptiveness, you should do your best to appear natural. It might be helpful to remember that the two most important elements of the speech are the message and the audience. You are the conduit with the important role of putting the two together in an effective way. Your audience should be thinking about the message, not the delivery.

Stephen E. Lucas defines conversational quality as the idea that “no matter how many times a speech has been rehearsed, it still sounds spontaneous” [emphasis in original] (Lucas, 2009). No one wants to hear a speech that is so well rehearsed that it sounds fake or robotic. One of the hardest parts of public speaking is rehearsing to the point where it can appear to your audience that the thoughts are magically coming to you while you’re speaking, but in reality you’ve spent a great deal of time thinking through each idea. When you can sound conversational, people pay attention.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is a speaker’s ability to have visual contact with everyone in the audience. Your audience should feel that you’re speaking to them, not simply uttering main and supporting points. If you are new to public speaking, you may find it intimidating to look audience members in the eye, but if you think about speakers you have seen who did not maintain eye contact, you’ll realize why this aspect of speech delivery is important. Without eye contact, the audience begins to feel invisible and unimportant, as if the speaker is just speaking to hear her or his own voice. Eye contact lets your audience feel that your attention is on them, not solely on the cards in front of you.

Sustained eye contact with your audience is one of the most important tools toward effective delivery. O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein note that eye contact is mandatory for speakers to establish a good relationship with an audience (O’Hair, Stewart, & Rubenstein, 2001). Whether a speaker is speaking before a group of five or five hundred, the appearance of eye contact is an important way to bring an audience into your speech.

Eye contact can be a powerful tool. It is not simply a sign of sincerity, a sign of being well prepared and knowledgeable, or a sign of confidence; it also has the power to convey meanings. Arthur Koch tells us that all facial expressions “can communicate a wide range of emotions, including sadness, compassion, concern, anger, annoyance, fear, joy, and happiness” (Koch, 2010).

If you find the gaze of your audience too intimidating, you might feel tempted to resort to “faking” eye contact with them by looking at the wall just above their heads or by sweeping your gaze around the room instead of making actual eye contact with individuals in your audience until it becomes easier to provide real contact. The problem with fake eye contact is that it tends to look mechanical. Another problem with fake attention is that you lose the opportunity to assess the audience’s understanding of your message. Still, fake eye contact is somewhat better than gripping your cards and staring at them and only occasionally glancing quickly and shallowly at the audience.

This is not to say that you may never look at your notecards. On the contrary, one of the skills in extemporaneous speaking is the ability to alternate one’s gaze between the audience and one’s notes. Rehearsing your presentation in front of a few friends should help you develop the ability to maintain eye contact with your audience while referring to your notes. When you are giving a speech that is well prepared and well rehearsed, you will only need to look at your notes occasionally. This is an ability that will develop even further with practice. Your public speaking course is your best chance to get that practice.

Effective Use of Vocalics

Vocalics , also known as paralanguage, is the subfield of nonverbal communication that examines how we use our voices to communicate orally. This means that you speak loudly enough for all audience members (even those in the back of the room) to hear you clearly, and that you enunciate clearly enough to be understood by all audience members (even those who may have a hearing impairment or who may be English-language learners). If you tend to be soft-spoken, you will need to practice using a louder volume level that may feel unnatural to you at first. For all speakers, good vocalic technique is best achieved by facing the audience with your chin up and your eyes away from your notecards and by setting your voice at a moderate speed. Effective use of vocalics also means that you make use of appropriate pitch, pauses, vocal variety, and correct pronunciation.

If you are an English-language learner and feel apprehensive about giving a speech in English, there are two things to remember: first, you can meet with a reference librarian to learn the correct pronunciations of any English words you are unsure of; and second, the fact that you have an accent means you speak more languages than most Americans, which is an accomplishment to be proud of.

If you are one of the many people with a stutter or other speech challenge, you undoubtedly already know that there are numerous techniques for reducing stuttering and improving speech fluency and that there is no one agreed-upon “cure.” The Academy Award–winning movie The King’s Speech did much to increase public awareness of what a person with a stutter goes through when it comes to public speaking. It also prompted some well-known individuals who stutter, such as television news reporter John Stossel, to go public about their stuttering (Stossel, 2011). If you have decided to study public speaking in spite of a speech challenge, we commend you for your efforts and encourage you to work with your speech instructor to make whatever adaptations work best for you.

Volume refers to the loudness or softness of a speaker’s voice. As mentioned, public speakers need to speak loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the audience. In addition, volume is often needed to overcome ambient noise, such as the hum of an air conditioner or the dull roar of traffic passing by. In addition, you can use volume strategically to emphasize the most important points in your speech. Select these points carefully; if you emphasize everything, nothing will seem important. You also want to be sure to adjust your volume to the physical setting of the presentation. If you are in a large auditorium and your audience is several yards away, you will need to speak louder. If you are in a smaller space, with the audience a few feet away, you want to avoid overwhelming your audience with shouting or speaking too loudly.

Rate is the speed at which a person speaks. To keep your speech delivery interesting, your rate should vary. If you are speaking extemporaneously, your rate will naturally fluctuate. If you’re reading, your delivery is less likely to vary. Because rate is an important tool in enhancing the meanings in your speech, you do not want to give a monotone drone or a rapid “machine-gun” style delivery. Your rate should be appropriate for your topic and your points. A rapid, lively rate can communicate such meanings as enthusiasm, urgency, or humor. A slower, moderated rate can convey respect, seriousness, or careful reasoning. By varying rapid and slower rates within a single speech, you can emphasize your main points and keep your audience interested.

Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. Some speakers have deep voices and others have high voices. As with one’s singing voice range, the pitch of one’s speaking voice is determined to a large extent by physiology (specifically, the length of one’s vocal folds, or cords, and the size of one’s vocal tract). We all have a normal speaking pitch where our voice is naturally settled, the pitch where we are most comfortable speaking, and most teachers advise speaking at the pitch that feels natural to you.

While our voices may be generally comfortable at a specific pitch level, we all have the ability to modulate, or move, our pitch up or down. In fact, we do this all the time. When we change the pitch of our voices, we are using inflections . Just as you can use volume strategically, you can also use pitch inflections to make your delivery more interesting and emphatic. If you ordinarily speak with a soprano voice, you may want to drop your voice to a slightly lower range to call attention to a particular point. How we use inflections can even change the entire meaning of what we are saying. For example, try saying the sentence “I love public speaking” with a higher pitch on one of the words—first raise the pitch on “I,” then say it again with the pitch raised on “love,” and so on. “ I love public speaking” conveys a different meaning from “I love public speaking,” doesn’t it?

There are some speakers who don’t change their pitch at all while speaking, which is called monotone . While very few people are completely monotone, some speakers slip into monotone patterns because of nerves. One way to ascertain whether you sound monotone is to record your voice and see how you sound. If you notice that your voice doesn’t fluctuate very much, you will need to be intentional in altering your pitch to ensure that the emphasis of your speech isn’t completely lost on your audience.

Finally, resist the habit of pitching your voice “up” at the ends of sentences. It makes them sound like questions instead of statements. This habit can be disorienting and distracting, interfering with the audience’s ability to focus entirely on the message. The speaker sounds uncertain or sounds as though he or she is seeking the understanding or approval of the listener. It hurts the speaker’s credibility and it needs to be avoided.

The effective use of pitch is one of the keys to an interesting delivery that will hold your audience’s attention.

Pauses are brief breaks in a speaker’s delivery that can show emphasis and enhance the clarity of a message. In terms of timing, the effective use of pauses is one of the most important skills to develop. Some speakers become uncomfortable very quickly with the “dead air” that the pause causes. And if the speaker is uncomfortable, the discomfort can transmit itself to the audience. That doesn’t mean you should avoid using pauses; your ability to use them confidently will increase with practice. Some of the best comedians use the well-timed pause to powerful and hilarious effect. Although your speech will not be a comedy routine, pauses are still useful for emphasis, especially when combined with a lowered pitch and rate to emphasize the important point you do not want your audience to miss.

Vocal Variety

Vocal variety has to do with changes in the vocalics we have just discussed: volume, pitch, rate, and pauses. No one wants to hear the same volume, pitch, rate, or use of pauses over and over again in a speech. Your audience should never be able to detect that you’re about to slow down or your voice is going to get deeper because you’re making an important point. When you think about how you sound in a normal conversation, your use of volume, pitch, rate, and pauses are all done spontaneously. If you try to overrehearse your vocalics, your speech will end up sounding artificial. Vocal variety should flow naturally from your wish to speak with expression. In that way, it will animate your speech and invite your listeners to understand your topic the way you do.

Pronunciation

The last major category related to vocalics is pronunciation , or the conventional patterns of speech used to form a word. Word pronunciation is important for two reasons: first, mispronouncing a word your audience is familiar with will harm your credibility as a speaker; and second, mispronouncing a word they are unfamiliar with can confuse and even misinform them. If there is any possibility at all that you don’t know the correct pronunciation of a word, find out. Many online dictionaries, such as the Wiktionary ( http://wiktionary.org ), provide free sound files illustrating the pronunciation of words.

Many have commented on the mispronunciation of words such as “nuclear” and “cavalry” by highly educated public speakers, including US presidents. There have been classroom examples as well. For instance, a student giving a speech on the Greek philosopher Socrates mispronounced his name at least eight times during her speech. This mispronunciation created a situation of great awkwardness and anxiety for the audience. Everyone felt embarrassed and the teacher, opting not to humiliate the student in front of the class, could not say anything out loud, instead providing a private written comment at the end of class.

One important aspect of pronunciation is articulation , or the ability to clearly pronounce each of a succession of syllables used to make up a word. Some people have difficulty articulating because of physiological problems that can be treated by trained speech therapists, but other people have articulation problems because they come from a cultural milieu where a dialect other than standard American English is the norm. Speech therapists, who generally guide their clients toward standard American English, use the acronym SODA when helping people learn how to more effectively articulate: substitutions , omissions , distortions , and additions .

• Substitutions occur when a speaker replaces one consonant or vowel with another consonant ( water becomes wudda ; ask becomes ax ; mouth becomes mouf ).
• Omissions occur when a speaker drops a consonant or vowel within a word ( Internet becomes Innet ; mesmerized becomes memerized ; probably becomes prolly ).
• Distortions occur when a speaker articulates a word with nasal or slurring sounds ( pencil sounds like mencil ; precipitation sounds like persination ; second sounds like slecond ).
• Additions occur when a speaker adds consonants or vowels to words that are not there ( anyway becomes anyways ; athletic becomes athaletic ; black becomes buhlack ; interpret becomes interpretate ).

Another aspect of pronunciation in public speaking is avoiding the use of verbal surrogates or “filler” words used as placeholders for actual words (like er , um , uh , etc.). You might be able to get away with saying “um” as many as two or three times in your speech before it becomes distracting, but the same cannot be said of “like.” We know of a student who trained herself to avoid saying “like.” As soon as the first speech was assigned, she began wearing a rubber band on her left wrist. Each time she caught herself saying “like,” she snapped herself with the rubber band. It hurt. Very quickly, she found that she could stop inflicting the snap on herself, and she had successfully confronted an unprofessional verbal habit.

Effective Physical Manipulation

In addition to using our voices effectively, a key to effective public speaking is physical manipulation , or the use of the body to emphasize meanings or convey meanings during a speech. While we will not attempt to give an entire discourse on nonverbal communication, we will discuss a few basic aspects of physical manipulation: posture, body movement, facial expressions, and dress. These aspects add up to the overall physical dimension of your speech, which we call self-presentation.

“Stand up tall!” I’m sure we’ve all heard this statement from a parent or a teacher at some point in our lives. The fact is, posture is actually quite important. When you stand up straight, you communicate to your audience, without saying a word, that you hold a position of power and take your position seriously. If however, you are slouching, hunched over, or leaning on something, you could be perceived as ill prepared, anxious, lacking in credibility, or not serious about your responsibilities as a speaker. While speakers often assume more casual posture as a presentation continues (especially if it is a long one, such as a ninety-minute class lecture), it is always wise to start by standing up straight and putting your best foot forward. Remember, you only get one shot at making a first impression, and your body’s orientation is one of the first pieces of information audiences use to make that impression.

Body Movement

Unless you are stuck behind a podium because of the need to use a nonmovable microphone, you should never stand in one place during a speech. However, movement during a speech should also not resemble pacing. One of our authors once saw a speaker who would walk around a small table where her speaking notes were located. She would walk around the table once, toss her chalk twice, and then repeat the process. Instead of listening to what the speaker was saying, everyone became transfixed by her walk-and-chalk-toss pattern. As speakers, we must be mindful of how we go about moving while speaking. One common method for easily integrating some movement into your speech is to take a few steps any time you transition from one idea to the next. By only moving at transition points, not only do you help focus your audience’s attention on the transition from one idea to the next, but you also are able to increase your nonverbal immediacy by getting closer to different segments of your audience.

Body movement also includes gestures. These should be neither overdramatic nor subdued. At one extreme, arm-waving and fist-pounding will distract from your message and reduce your credibility. At the other extreme, refraining from the use of gestures is the waste of an opportunity to suggest emphasis, enthusiasm, or other personal connection with your topic.

There are many ways to use gestures. The most obvious are hand gestures, which should be used in moderation at carefully selected times in the speech. If you overuse gestures, they lose meaning. Many late-night comedy parodies of political leaders include patterned, overused gestures or other delivery habits associated with a particular speaker. However, the well-placed use of simple, natural gestures to indicate emphasis, direction, size is usually effective. Normally, a gesture with one hand is enough. Rather than trying to have a gesture for every sentence, use just a few well-planned gestures. It is often more effective to make a gesture and hold it for a few moments than to begin waving your hands and arms around in a series of gestures.

Finally, just as you should avoid pacing, you will also want to avoid other distracting movements when you are speaking. Many speakers have unconscious mannerisms such as twirling their hair, putting their hands in and out of their pockets, jingling their keys, licking their lips, or clicking a pen while speaking. As with other aspects of speech delivery, practicing in front of others will help you become conscious of such distractions and plan ways to avoid doing them.

Facial Expressions

Faces are amazing things and convey so much information. As speakers, we must be acutely aware of what our face looks like while speaking. While many of us do not look forward to seeing ourselves on videotape, often the only way you can critically evaluate what your face is doing while you are speaking is to watch a recording of your speech. If video is not available, you can practice speaking in front of a mirror.

There are two extremes you want to avoid: no facial expression and overanimated facial expressions. First, you do not want to have a completely blank face while speaking. Some people just do not show much emotion with their faces naturally, but this blankness is often increased when the speaker is nervous. Audiences will react negatively to the message of such a speaker because they will sense that something is amiss. If a speaker is talking about the joys of Disney World and his face doesn’t show any excitement, the audience is going to be turned off to the speaker and his message. On the other extreme end is the speaker whose face looks like that of an exaggerated cartoon character. Instead, your goal is to show a variety of appropriate facial expressions while speaking.

Like vocalics and gestures, facial expression can be used strategically to enhance meaning. A smile or pleasant facial expression is generally appropriate at the beginning of a speech to indicate your wish for a good transaction with your audience. However, you should not smile throughout a speech on drug addiction, poverty, or the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. An inappropriate smile creates confusion about your meaning and may make your audience feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, a serious scowl might look hostile or threatening to audience members and become a distraction from the message. If you keep the meaning of your speech foremost in your mind, you will more readily find the balance in facial expression.

Another common problem some new speakers have is showing only one expression. One of our coauthors competed in speech in college. After one of his speeches (about how people die on amusement park rides), one of his judges pulled him aside and informed him that his speech was “creepy.” Apparently, while speaking about death, our coauthor smiled the entire time. The incongruity between the speech on death and dying and the coauthor’s smile just left the judge a little creeped out. If you are excited in a part of your speech, you should show excitement on your face. On the other hand, if you are at a serious part of your speech, your facial expressions should be serious.

While there are no clear-cut guidelines for how you should dress for every speech you’ll give, dress is still a very important part of how others will perceive you (again, it’s all about the first impression). If you want to be taken seriously, you must present yourself seriously. While we do not advocate dressing up in a suit every time you give a speech, there are definitely times when wearing a suit is appropriate.

One general rule you can use for determining dress is the “step-above rule,” which states that you should dress one step above your audience. If your audience is going to be dressed casually in shorts and jeans, then wear nice casual clothing such as a pair of neatly pressed slacks and a collared shirt or blouse. If, however, your audience is going to be wearing “business casual” attire, then you should probably wear a sport coat, a dress, or a suit. The goal of the step-above rule is to establish yourself as someone to be taken seriously. On the other hand, if you dress two steps above your audience, you may put too much distance between yourself and your audience, coming across as overly formal or even arrogant.

Another general rule for dressing is to avoid distractions in your appearance. Overly tight or revealing garments, over-the-top hairstyles or makeup, jangling jewelry, or a display of tattoos and piercings can serve to draw your audience’s attention away from your speech. Remembering that your message is the most important aspect of your speech, keep that message in mind when you choose your clothing and accessories.

Self-Presentation

When you present your speech, you are also presenting yourself. Self-presentation, sometimes also referred to as poise or stage presence, is determined by how you look, how you stand, how you walk to the lectern, and how you use your voice and gestures. Your self-presentation can either enhance your message or detract from it. Worse, a poor self-presentation can turn a good, well-prepared speech into a forgettable waste of time. You want your self-presentation to support your credibility and improve the likelihood that the audience will listen with interest.

Your personal appearance should reflect the careful preparation of your speech. Your personal appearance is the first thing your audience will see, and from it, they will make inferences about the speech you’re about to present.

One of the biggest mistakes novice public speakers make is to use the same gesture over and over again during a speech. While you don’t want your gestures to look fake, you should be careful to include a variety of different nonverbal components while speaking. You should make sure that your face, body, and words are all working in conjunction with each other to support your message.

Practice Effectively

You might get away with presenting a hastily practiced speech, but the speech will not be as good as it could be. In order to develop your best speech delivery, you need to practice—and use your practice time effectively. Practicing does not mean reading over your notes, mentally running through your speech, or even speaking your speech aloud over and over. Instead, you need to practice with the goal of identifying the weaknesses in your delivery, improving upon them, and building good speech delivery habits.

When you practice your speech, place both your feet in full, firm contact with the floor to keep your body from swaying side to side. Some new public speakers find that they don’t know what to do with their hands during the speech. Your practice sessions should help you get comfortable. When you’re not gesturing, you can rest your free hand lightly on a lectern or simply allow it to hang at your side. Since this is not a familiar posture for most people, it might feel awkward, but in your practice sessions, you can begin getting used to it.

Seek Input from Others

Because we can’t see ourselves as others see us, one of the best ways to improve your delivery is to seek constructive criticism from others. This, of course, is an aspect of your public speaking course, as you will receive evaluations from your instructor and possibly from your fellow students. However, by practicing in front of others before it is time to present your speech, you can anticipate and correct problems so that you can receive a better evaluation when you give the speech “for real.”

Ask your practice observers to be honest about the aspects of your delivery that could be better. Sometimes students create study groups just for this purpose. When you create a study group of classroom peers, everyone has an understanding of the entire creative process, and their feedback will thus be more useful to you than the feedback you might get from someone who has never taken the course or given a speech.

If your practice observers seem reluctant to offer useful criticisms, ask questions. How was your eye contact? Could they hear you? Was your voice well modulated? Did you mispronounce any words? How was your posture? Were your gestures effective? Did you have any mannerisms that you should learn to avoid? Because peers are sometimes reluctant to say things that could sound critical, direct questions are often a useful way to help them speak up.

If you learn from these practice sessions that your voice tends to drop at the ends of sentences, make a conscious effort to support your voice as you conclude each main point. If you learn that you have a habit of clicking a pen, make sure you don’t have a pen with you when you speak or that you keep it in your pocket. If your practice observers mention that you tend to hide your hands in the sleeves of your shirt or jacket, next time wear short sleeves or roll your sleeves up before beginning your speech. If you learn through practice that you tend to sway or rock while you speak, you can consciously practice and build the habit of not swaying.

When it is your turn to give feedback to others in your group, assume that they are as interested in doing well as you are. Give feedback in the spirit of helping their speeches be as good as possible.

Use Audio and/or Video to Record Yourself

Technology has made it easier than ever to record yourself and others using the proliferation of electronic devices people are likely to own. Video, of course, allows you the advantage of being able to see yourself as others see you, while audio allows you to concentrate on the audible aspects of your delivery. As we mentioned earlier in the chapter, if neither video nor audio is available, you can always observe yourself by practicing your delivery in front of a mirror.

After you have recorded yourself, it may seem obvious that you should watch and listen to the recording. This can be intimidating, as you may fear that your performance anxiety will be so obvious that everyone will notice it in the recording. But students are often pleasantly surprised when they watch and listen to their recordings, as even students with very high anxiety may find out that they “come across” in a speech much better than they expected.

A recording can also be a very effective diagnostic device. Sometimes students believe they are making strong contact with their audiences, but their cards contain so many notes that they succumb to the temptation of reading. By finding out from the video that you misjudged your eye contact, you can be motivated to rewrite your notecards in a way that doesn’t provide the opportunity to do so much reading.

It is most likely that in viewing your recording, you will benefit from discovering your strengths and finding weak areas you can strengthen.

Good Delivery Is a Habit

Luckily, public speaking is an activity that, when done conscientiously, strengthens with practice. As you become aware of the areas where your delivery has room for improvement, you will begin developing a keen sense of what “works” and what audiences respond to.

It is advisable to practice out loud in front of other people several times, spreading your rehearsals out over several days. To do this kind of practice, of course, you need to have your speech be finalized well ahead of the date when you are going to give it. During these practice sessions, you can time your speech to make sure it lasts the appropriate length of time. A friend of ours was the second student on the program in an event where each student’s presentation was to last thirty to forty-five minutes. After the first student had been speaking for seventy-five minutes, the professor in charge asked, “Can we speed this up?” The student said yes, and proceeded to continue speaking for another seventy-five minutes before finally concluding his portion of the program. Although we might fault the professor for not “pulling the plug,” clearly the student had not timed his speech in advance.

Your practice sessions will also enable you to make adjustments to your notecards to make them more effective in supporting your contact with your audience. This kind of practice is not just a strategy for beginners; it is practiced by many highly placed public figures with extensive experience in public speaking.

Your public speaking course is one of the best opportunities you will have to manage your performance anxiety, build your confidence in speaking extemporaneously, develop your vocal skills, and become adept at self-presentation. The habits you can develop through targeted practice are to build continuously on your strengths and to challenge yourself to find new areas for improving your delivery. By taking advantage of these opportunities, you will gain the ability to present a speech effectively whenever you may be called upon to speak publicly.

Key Takeaways

• Conversational style is a speaker’s ability to sound expressive while being perceived by the audience as natural. Conversational quality is a speaker’s ability to prepare a speech and rehearse a speech but still sound spontaneous when delivering it.
• Eye contact helps capture and maintain an audience’s interest while contributing to the speaker’s credibility.
• Vocalics are the nonverbal components of the verbal message. There are six important vocalic components for a speaker to be aware of: volume (loudness or softness), pitch (highness or lowness), rate (fastness or slowness), pauses (use of breaks to add emphasis), vocal variety (use of a range of vocalic strategies), and pronunciation (using conventional patterns of speech formation).
• Physical manipulation is the use of one’s body to add meaning and emphasis to a speech. As such, excessive or nonexistent physical manipulation can detract from a speaker’s speech.
• Good delivery is a habit that is built through effective practice.
• Find a speech online and examine the speaker’s overall presentation. How good was the speaker’s delivery? Make a list of the aspects of delivery in this chapter and evaluate the speaker according to the list. In what areas might the speaker improve?
• Record a practice session of your speech. Write a self-critique, answering the following questions: What surprised you the most? What is an area of strength upon which you can build? What is one area for improvement?

Koch, A. (2010). Speaking with a purpose (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 233.

Lucas, S. E. (2009). The art of public speaking (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, p. 244.

Mehrabian, A. (1972). Nonverbal communication . Chicago, IL: Aldine-Atherton.

Mitchell, O. (n.d.). Mehrabian and nonverbal communication [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/presentation-myths/mehrabian-nonverbal-communication-research

O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., & Rubenstein, H. (2001). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Stossel, J. (2011, March 2). An Academy Award–winning movie, stuttering and me [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42081

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

Few are immune to the fear of public speaking. Marjorie North offers 10 tips for speakers to calm the nerves and deliverable memorable orations.

Marjorie North

Snakes? Fine. Flying? No problem. Public speaking? Yikes! Just thinking about public speaking — routinely described as one of the greatest (and most common) fears — can make your palms sweat. But there are many ways to tackle this anxiety and learn to deliver a memorable speech.

In part one of this series,  Mastering the Basics of Communication , I shared strategies to improve how you communicate. In part two, How to Communicate More Effectively in the Workplace , I examined how to apply these techniques as you interact with colleagues and supervisors in the workplace. For the third and final part of this series, I’m providing you with public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve your performance.

Here Are My 10 Tips for Public Speaking:

1. nervousness is normal. practice and prepare.

All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.

The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice — a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance.

Communication Strategies: Presenting with Impact

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2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You.

Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement.

3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to Attain Your Purpose.

Create the framework for your speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds.

4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.

Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you lose the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.

5. Let Your Personality Come Through.

Be yourself, don’t become a talking head — in any type of communication. You will establish better credibility if your personality shines through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real person.

6. Use Humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.

Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal touch in a speech. A story can provide that.

7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an Outline.

Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience, you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.

8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous Gestures.

Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction.

9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End.

Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience is sure to remember.

10. Use Audiovisual Aids Wisely.

Too many can break the direct connection to the audience, so use them sparingly. They should enhance or clarify your content, or capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.

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About the Author

North is a consultant for political candidates, physicians, and lawyers, and runs a private practice specializing in public speaking, and executive communication skills. Previously, she was the clinical director in the department of speech and language pathology and audiology at Northeastern University.

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12 Delivery: A Recipe for Great Speaking

Megan orcholski, university of wisconsin-milwaukee, learning objectives.

• Understand the importance of delivery and its impact on public speaking.
• Learn what tools create delivery and have a basic understanding of how to use them.
• Be better prepared to deliver a speech!

Imagine you go to a restaurant and order a dish that sounds delicious.  When they bring you the food, it is cooked without care, unseasoned, and slopped onto your plate. It doesn’t look or taste very good. You’re hungry, so you eat it. It still has nutritional value, but you don’t enjoy it. You probably won’t remember this meal, and if you do, you will probably only remember how bad it was. When food is cooked, there is a lot of thought that goes into how the person eating the food (the audience) will feel when they eat it. Delivery is similar, as it is the vehicle for how an audience consumes a speech. The audience will get the speech whether it’s perfectly seasoned or thrown together without care. You have the opportunity as a speaker to make your content and performance appetizing to your audience!

Delivery can be thought of as the “icing on the cake,” but let’s break that down. Can you eat cake without icing? Sure. But icing is intended to complement the cake, make it look pretty, and taste better. Similarly, bad delivery can call attention to itself or make the cake worse. As a good friend of mine says, excellent delivery can enhance the content and make it taste sweeter.

Delivery is not always valued as an essential part of presentations by speakers. For example, have you ever had a teacher who was incredibly boring, didn’t look at you, or stumbled through their lectures? You, as the audience, probably wished they had practiced their delivery. To an audience, delivery is important. It can be the difference between an audience tolerating what you are saying and an audience really understanding, enjoying, and remembering your content.

Often, speakers in my class treat delivery like a magical talent that some people are lucky enough to have and others don’t. However, delivery skills can be learned by practice. Imagine speaking to someone who says, “I’m bad at downhill skiing.” You may reply, “Do you ski a lot?” or “Have you taken any lessons?” If someone does not practice and learn basic skills, they cannot expect to do well at a skill like skiing. Speaking is also a skill. It is something which you can practice, train, and improve. Yes, there are certainly some individuals for whom strong delivery seems to come naturally, but anyone can be an effective presenter if they are willing to practice. You do not have to like public speaking to be good at it. So get ready to get great at gifting your messages to audiences!

How to Effectively Use Your Voice

Vocalics also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words. Have you heard the proverb, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it?” Vocalics is referring to the “how.” There are five distinct vocalics: volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation. The first three (volume, pitch, and rate)  are nonverbal components that are present in both oral and verbal communication. Oral, referring to the mouth, can be any sound or noise. Let’s say your blowing air out of your lips, making a loud sigh or humming, you are still using volume, pitch, and rate even though you aren’t saying words. Volume, pitch, and rate work nonverbally or in connection with the words to create meaning. The final two vocalics, articulation and pronunciation, are only present in verbal communication, as they address how words are formed and emphasized.

Vocalics , also known as paralanguage, refers to the pieces of oral communication which convey meaning beyond the words.

Think of vocalics as the basic ingredients of delivery. By learning how to utilize them, you can make unlimited types of delivery dishes. Having an understanding of how vocalics work and the main things they communicate will allow you to have more control over how you are communicating with your audience.

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is. This is probably a pretty familiar concept, but you may not have thought deeply about how volume functions as a communication tool. Volume is associated with power and control. When a person gets louder, it is often because they want to be heard. Imagine a child who is trying to get the attention of busy adults or a customer trying to get the attention of a server at a crowded restaurant. Increasing volume is a way for a speaker to direct focus to themselves. However, the relationship between volume and power is more complicated. Being louder does not necessarily translate to more power. Instead, volume can work in complex ways to create meaning. Sure, getting louder or yelling can communicate importance or control, but so too can a drop in volume. For example, when parents are trying to get children to do something, the indication of it getting serious is often when they go from yelling to talking in a soft, controlled, serious manner. I knew as a child that it was when my parents got very quiet was when I was actually in big trouble!

Try It: Talk to Grandma

For a lot of people, an appropriate volume is a huge problem. Even when they think they are loud enough, it can still be a struggle to hear them well enough to easily understand what they are saying. If you have seen the movie Sister Act , think about the scene where Whoopi Goldberg’s character uses visualization to get the young singer to be loud enough and find her voice. Visualization may work for you too. Start by visualizing an older relative or friend who doesn’t hear very well. Imagine they are coming to see you speak. They will want to be able to hear you. In your head, place them behind the last row of the audience. If you are always making sure they can hear you from behind the last person, your volume should be adequate for the size of the audience and space.

When using volume as a tool of communication, speakers must consider projection. When you are speaking for an audience, you want to be loud enough to be heard. This volume often requires speakers to adjust how they project sound and focus their sound towards a target. [i] If you have had any music or theater training, you probably already understand the basics of focusing and directing your sound. You will want to have strong breath support to properly project. This breath support can be achieved by making sure you are not breathing shallowly with your shoulders, but rather pulling air all the way down to your diaphragm or about two inches below your belly button.

To get louder, people often use the throat and increase how hard the vocal cords are working, but this can strain the voice and also produce a stressed sound. A better way to achieve increased projection is to pull in a lot of air using your diaphragm so that more air can flow over your vocal cords. Your breath support will help you be able to control your volume.

Finally, you will want to focus your projection or have motivation in your volume. We do this all the time, like when we are at a sporting event and cheering your favorite player or when you are at a loud party and want to have a conversation with one person. [ii] You will adjust your volume to match your speaking situation. In these cases, the direction of your projection helps aid your volume in communicating intention and meaning. Use changes in volume meaningfully and deliberately to focus communication, emphasize ideas, or make yourself heard.

Try It: Using your Diaphragm

Breath support is crucial for projecting your voice without straining your vocal cords.  To make sure you are breathing deeply enough, place your hand below your belly button.  When you fill yourself with air, your hand should rise.  To start, try laying down.  This technique can help you to breathe deeply and relax.  You can also see your hand move!  If you find that your shoulders or chest are moving, you are probably not breathing deeply enough.  To help, visualize that you are pulling from your toes.  Your toes are not part of the breathing process, but thinking about drawing from your whole body can help deepen your breath.

Pitch deals with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale. If you start humming, a musician would be able to match the tone of your hum on their musical instrument. All of us have a pitch we naturally tend to. Our pitch is based on both the make-up of our body, specifically the length of one’s vocal folds and size of the vocal tract, and our socialization. Pitch is determined by how much your vocal folds are vibrating.  Vibrating fast at a high cycle produces a higher pitch, whereas fewer vibrations create a lower pitch. [i]  While our biology determines our abilities and range, a person may also vary or control their pitch based on cultural and social roles.   Pitch is often used to communicate gender, as the physiological makeup is connected to sex. Female voices are, on average, about an octave higher than male voices. This claim is a generalization and can vary based on the individual. But this idea was demonstrated on a daily basis before everyone had a cell phone and the main phone used was a house phone. If a person unfamiliar with the house called, they had to rely solely on a person’s pitch to determine gender and age. Many of us, who grew up with a house phone, have a story of being mistaken for someone else in the household or being labeled with a gender we don’t identify with. Though our bodies may limit our pitch, we do have the ability to utilize pitch variation to give meaning to our words.

As with the other vocalics, pitch gets more interesting when it changes. Intonation  refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety. When pitch rises, the voice communicates uncertainty or indecisiveness. This can be seen when we ask questions. However, some people tend to go up at the end of their sentences even when it is not a question. [ii] For example, imagine saying the phrase “I like your shirt” to a friend. Try it right now with your tone going up at the end. Now say it with your tone staying the same or coming down. Your intonation drastically changes the meaning.

Intonation refers to how your pitch rises and falls, creating vocal variety.

As a speaker, you want to be careful you are not communicating hesitancy or uncertainty when you intend to communicate confidence. Similarly, the dropping of pitch communicates certainty or finality. An example of this is in the Wizard of Oz when the Winkie guards are marching outside of the Wicked Witch’s castle. You can hear them sing, “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” [iii] Not only can you hear them change their intonation throughout the song, but their pitch lowers at the end of the phrase, creating finality to what may otherwise be meaningless sounds.

Try It: Play Around

Speakers do not tend to use as much vocal variety as they are capable of because they are not aware of how much variation they could have. One way to explore pitch is to specifically practice trying different tonal changes when you are speaking. First, to warm up, make noise all the way up and down the tonal scale. Start by making a high pitch and then falling to as low as you can comfortably go. Then go back up. (If you have a piano, you can plunk out notes or do scales). Once you’ve established your range, then pick a line or two in your speech, use the Pledge of Allegiance, or anything else you know very well. Try to speak those sentences in at least ten different ways. Each time, change your tone to play with how you could say the line or phrase. Pay attention to how your tone will impact the audience’s understanding of what you are saying. Focusing on your impact can be especially important on the last line of an argument or the end of the speech. Working to bring your pitch up in the middle of the sentence and dropping it at the end for finality can help you finish strong.

At its most basic, rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken. This speed not only deals with the sounds within a word, but also the spaces between words. The speed at which words are spoken is connected to perceptions of emotional control. A fast rate is associated with uncontrolled or extreme emotion, whereas a slow rate is associated with controlled emotion. Think of an excited child trying to tell you a story. Their quick pace may sound frantic or frenzied. Now contrast that with how President Obama spoke during his public speeches. He typically has a very deliberate pace that communicated his command of the situation. You will want to pay attention to your rate in general, but you are also able to vary your rate to communicate meaning. For example, when you have something that is very important, slowing down the rate can help the point come across as important to the audience.

Speaking too quickly is a common problem, but you can train yourself to speak slower. Unfortunately, trying to “be slower!” doesn’t usually help. One tip is to think of putting little tiny spacers between your words. This way, it is easier to be understood, even at a fast pace. It’s like a friendship bracelet–if you put all of the beautiful, glamorous beads together, it looks gaudy. So, you separate them by clear or white spacer beads, making the beauty easier to look at and more fluid. By giving your words tiny spaces around them, your articulation will be stronger, and your words will be easier to understand. Some students also benefit from simply writing “pause” or “breath” on their note cards. These words can remind you to slow your rate, even if you are nervous during your speech.

Pacing can be an effective way of creating meaning and allowing your audience to absorb those meanings. A well-placed pause or giving more time to an explanation can help your audience understand and retain the information you are telling them. Your speaking rate is especially important because your audience is trying to mentally digest what you are saying. They cannot control the speed with which they receive the information, but you can help your audience have time to absorb and process information by being conscious of your rate.

Speakers often throw out information without much thought to the speed or pacing. Think about spoon-feeding a baby. Baby’s don’t have much control over how fast they receive their food. If you feed them too fast, they will cough and choke, and baby food will potentially come out their nose! When you feed a baby, you adjust your speech based on how long it takes the baby to taste, swallow, and enjoy the food. You want to do the same thing with your audience. Pay attention to how they are reacting and how they are absorbing the information. Observation is especially important during transitions of points or topics. Have you ever fed a baby a bite of peas and then a bite of bananas? It’s hilarious. The baby makes weird funny faces because their expectations were violated—they were expecting peas and got bananas instead. When you switch food, you often take a pause, maybe give the baby a sip of water. You want them to know you are moving to a different food. Similarly, a speaker should utilize their delivery to lead the audience from one point to the next. By paying attention to your pacing, your audience will be able to retain and remember more of your information.

Try It: Object Toss

One way to help you with your pacing is to picture your words as tangible objects going toward your audience. To practice this, get a bowl of cotton balls, pennies, scarves, or other lightweight objects. While you are practicing your speech, toss the objects toward a pretend audience (a blanket works great for this). However, you have to toss and speak at the same pace! This action shows a speaker very quickly how fast they are going. Now, one potential risk of this exercise is that you may start to find a rhythm with your tossing that may lull you into an unnatural speaking rhythm. You want your rate to sound natural and conversational, so once you get the pace under control, stop physically tossing and work to speak at that comfortable pace.

Articulation and Pronunciation

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped. Pronunciation is articulation combined with cultural influences to create ways of saying words that are identifiable to specific regions or groups of people. While two separate concepts, they often work in tandem when we are dealing with language. As a speaker, you want to make sure the audience can understand you. Paying attention to how you form your words can help you avoid mumbling or slurring your words together.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context. A dialect, which refers to how a person or group specifically forms their words and arranges their grammar, may impact how you are communicating with your audience. You may want to be aware if the audience has a similar or different dialect than you. For example, if you grew up in the Midwest, you may refer to Pepsi as “pop” with the o sounding more like an a. Whereas, those in the south would refer to it as a “coke” with a long o sound. And then there is the rest of the nation who say “soda.”  People often forget they have a dialect and will sometimes view other dialects as inferior. But everyone has a dialect that delineates from ethnic heritage as well as regional locations. Being aware of dialect is important in public speaking because parts of your dialect may not be familiar to a group who uses a different one. You may end up using a term common to you, but unfamiliar to your audience. You may also pronounce a word in a way that the audience wouldn’t understand. By being aware of these issues, you can address them in your presentation if necessary.

Try It: All it Takes is a Pencil

If you are struggling with articulation or worried you are mumbling, a pencil can help your mouth realize how it’s forming words. Put the pencil in your mouth horizontally, and bite down on it. Say your speech with the pencil in your mouth until your words can be completely understood. Once you are understandable, pull the pencil out of your mouth WHILE YOU ARE TALKING. You should be able to feel the difference. This exercise can help train the muscles how to properly enunciate.

Vocal Variety

While there are different vocalics, they function together to create meaning and vocal variety . Be aware of how volume, pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation are working together in your speech to communicate to the audience. What does it do to a sentence when you get quieter, slow down, and drop your pitch all at the same time? How about getting louder, speeding up, and raising your pitch all while over articulating? These tools are excellent for helping to craft meaning beyond your words. Being aware of how they interact with each other can increase your ability to utilize them for making meaning when you are speaking.

Types of Vocalics

Volume has to do with how loud, or soft, something is.

Pitch deals  with where your voice is resonating on the musical scale.

Rate deals with speed, specifically how quickly or how slowly the words are spoken.

Articulation deals with how the words come out of your mouth, specifically how the words are shaped.

Pronunciation is grounded in culture and expectations can vary depending on your audience and specific speaking context.

Vocal variety is when there are different vocalics being used, and they function together to create meaning.

How to Effectively Use your Body

To develop strong delivery skills, speakers need to realize the extent of the body’s power. Your body is an incredibly complex tool that is continuously making meaning. To start to understand this, do some people watching. What can you determine about a person based on the way they stand or how they move? Do you know how they are feeling based on their facial expressions? Beginning speakers are often quick to take their body for granted and not consciously employ choices of movement or expression. To better understand the tools of physical delivery, we will discuss kinesics and the multiple parts of nonverbal communication. Then, we will discuss proxemics or your body in relation to other objects, before ending with a discussion of appearance.

Similar to the vocalics, your body movements add to the words you are saying.  Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own. Think about how often you move your body and what those movements signal to those around you. From popping your hip and crossing your arms to communicate impatience to a late friend, waving at a neighbor as you pass by, or even initiating a hug to a loved one, the movement of our bodies transmits meaning to those observing us. The significance of kinesics is heightened in a public speaking context because of the specific nature and focus of the presentation.

Kinesics refers to how the body is interpreted as nonverbal communication and how physical movements are able to communicate on their own.

Most of us have a basic understanding of posture , even if just from being told to “stand up straight” as a kid. However, posture is more than just standing up straight. It deals with the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area is allowed to do its job to its best ability. Good posture allows your body to support and control its structure without unnecessary tension in your frame or strain in the muscles. [i]

To think about your posture as a speaker, it’s helpful to think of the ranges in which your body could arrange itself. The first range is contraction to expansion. How broad are you letting your shoulders expand? How much space are you allowing your arms to take up? The amount of space you take up communicates to the audience. The next range is withdrawal and approach.  Are you leaning forward or sinking back as you speak? When you move in your speech, is it toward or away from the audience? While this happens while walking, withdrawal and approach can also be communicated while standing. Think of how a lean forward communicates advancement whereas leaning back tends to communicate moving away.

Finally, general body orientation, or where all of your parts are in relationship to each other, is important. A neutral body posture is when both feet are flat on the floor, weight is balanced, arms hang gently, and muscles are relaxed. A neutral body posture is not the way most people tend to stand. Many people pop their hip or cross their legs. These stances do not provide a strong foundation to pull breath and initiate movement. As with all of the other components of delivery, there is not an ultimate right or wrong way to stand. Rather, thinking about your stance in relation to your message and audience is the most important consideration.

Try It: Roll it Up and Pull the String

Walk around a mall for a bit and you will be amazed by the popped hips, crossed legs, leaning, and general disregard for a balanced and strong posture. However, when you’re giving a speech, you want your body to look powerful and confident. Instead of forcing your body into an unnatural position, help your body find perfect posture on its own. Stand up straight and find balance with your weight equally distributed between both legs. Picture your spine as building blocks and, starting at your head, roll your spine down block by block until you are comfortably doubled over (do not stretch beyond your capabilities). Here, breathe deeply a few times. As you breathe, feel your back rise and fall with the inhale and exhale. Then slowly, block by block, roll back up until your head is gently floating on tip of your neck. Picture a string connected to your spine that comes out of the top of your head. By gently “pulling” that string at the end, your body should naturally lift into the correct posture. You don’t want to be tense. It may help to think “Bones up, Muscles down.”

While all of the pieces of our body are important for communicating, our arms and hands are arguably the most moveable and versatile. They can help enhance the emotional impact of your verbal message. Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols. Two of the most well-known categories are emblems and illustrators. Understanding emblems and illustrators can help you know more about how your gestures are communicating. An emblem happens when the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase. For example, holding your index finger and your middle finger into a “V” with the other fingers closed can be interpreted as the peace sign or the number 2. To be an emblem, Steven R. Brydon and Michael D. Scott argue a gesture must do three things: [i]

• It must have specific meaning for the audience members.
• It must be used intentionally by the speaker to purposely generate meaning.
• It must be easily translated into a few words.

Emblems are very specific to the context. For example, signaling to a train or truck driver by making a fist with a bent elbow and pumping it up and down means “honk your horn.” But that same gesture after scoring a goal in a soccer game can mean “YES!”

Emblems are also very connected to culture. Because of this, you will want to be aware of what meaning you are communicating with your emblem. For example, most of us know that connecting your thumb and index finger into a circle with your other fingers flared up means okay in the United States. However, if you did the same gesture in Japan it means “money” and in France, it means “zero” or “worthless.”

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings. For example, you can describe how big or small an object is, but it is even more effective to also show with your hands. The visualization is aided because of how your motions connect to what you are saying. To demonstrate the importance of illustrators, attempt to give directions or describe something specific without using your hands. It’s very difficult to do!

Types of Gestures

An emblem happens when  the body creates something which can be interpreted as a verbal word or phrase.

Illustrators are similar to emblems, but instead of being directly translated, they aid the verbal messages and are more generalized meanings.

Facial Expressions

Faces are fantastic places for expression and communication.  Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate. The face is often completely forgotten as a communicative space. Speakers should be very aware of their face to both increase their communication and prevent sending unintentional messages to the audience. When thinking about facial expressions, it’s important to avoid a blank or unexpressive face. You also don’t want to rely on one facial expression the whole time. Like your vocal tone, your face helps convey meaning. You want it to match your topic and change with the specific information in your speech.  Smiling, for example, is incredibly underused. Many speakers get nervous about speaking and forget the elemental power of a smile. Obviously, there are times and topics for which a smile would not be the appropriate facial expression. But just as we do in conversations with our friends, do not be afraid to use your face to help communicate.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is important for establishing a connection and communicating with the audience.  Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes. The first step to utilizing eye contact is to know your information well enough to be able to speak while making eye contact. This step may seem like common sense, but it can be incredibly difficult to do. Most beginning speakers rely very heavily on their notes or manuscript. I have often told students that I’m jealous of the podium or notecard because it gets all their attention! It may seem scary to look up at the audience, but sustained eye contact has the power to make you feel both physically and emotionally closer to each other. [i] In Western culture, eye contact works to establish a connection, communicate confidence, and affirm credibility.

Once you’re able to look up at the audience, it is important to practice looking directly in the eyes of the audience members. You cannot fake eye contact! If you can see your audience, they will know whether you are actually looking at them or if you are looking over the top of their heads. [ii]  Direct eye contact is especially important if it is a smaller audience. If it is a larger audience or if you are on a lighted stage and can’t see the individuals in the audience, you will still want to direct your energy at specific spots to make it feel personal.  There is no set time for how long to hold eye contact, as it is another variable which changes with the situation and circumstances.  However, most speakers think they are holding their eye contact for longer than they are.  Audiences gain a tremendous amount of energy and connection through eye contact, so making sure you are holding your eye contact for a significant amount of time is important.

Try It: Holding Eye Contact

One of my favorite mentors from college does this activity in class to show how really effective eye contact should make you feel. He will look at someone and say “Hi! You are my favorite. You are the only person I care about in this room. All these other people don’t mean anything to me. I have to look over there for a minute, but I’ll be right back…don’t forget you’re my favorite!” Then he looks to the next person and says, “Hi! You’re my favorite. You’re the only person I care about in this room…” After three or four people you understand how eye contact can make you feel like you are important and being spoken to at the individual level.[1]  To practice eye contact, rehearse in front of objects with eyes. Obviously, a practice audience is the best. But if you don’t have one, you can use stuffed animals, pictures, posters, or anything that has eyes you can connect with. Set a few up around the room and practice playing connect the dots with your eyes while you speak. This will help you practice moving your attention from person to person instead of glancing at the wall, the clock, the floor on your way from one individual to another.

Make your Movement Matter

To make choices about your movement, you first need to be conscious of your body while speaking. I once watched a student twirl the lanyard from the keys in his pocket for most of his speech. When he saw the video, he was shocked because he had no memory of what his hands were doing during the speech. The brain is complicated and tricky. You need to train your brain to recognize and control what your body is doing while you speak. This training is comparable to a basketball player doing layups over and over or a baseball player practicing their swing. You want to know the movements so well that your muscle memory takes over while you are speaking. Many people will either not move at all or move for no particular reason.

Remember, movement helps aid in the communication process. In the same way, you are carefully selecting your words, you also want to choose your movements. If you don’t have a justified reason to move, you do not need to move. Save your energy for when the movement aids your message. One visualization that helps me is picturing my body as full of energy. That energy has to be used for certain things, such as making a sound to say the words, thinking about what comes next, and moving my head to have good eye contact. Sometimes the body does things that waste energy. Many people have ineffective habits, such as crossing legs, leaning on the podium, or pacing. Personally, I sway. If left to my own devices, I would sway the entire time I teach a course. Which would be incredibly distracting and unnecessary, not to mention tiring. So, I employ body consciousness to focus that energy into my words instead of wasting it swaying. This consciousness can take a lot of practice and mental energy. However, by employing body control and making conscious movements, you can increase your audience connection and enhance your topic.

Parts of Kinesics 

Posture is the arrangement of your bones and muscles so that each area of the body is allowed to do its job to its best ability.

Gestures are when our arms and hands use their different types of movements to create emphasis, meaning, and symbols.

Facial expressions are when a speaker uses their face to communicate.

Eye contact is when the speaker meaningfully connects to the audience with their eyes.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other. There is certainly a physical aspect to how bodies move together in spaces.  There is also a cultural connection to proxemics. Think about how you are around certain people. You probably have a specific comfortable distance you usually stand away from people, and that distance most likely varies based on who the other person is. You may also have that one friend who has no personal space and will talk very close to you.

Proxemics deals with space and location, specifically with how close humans are to each other.

Proxemics is important in public speaking. If a podium or table is in the room, you will need to make a choice whether to stand behind, in front, or move the object out of the way. You do not want to be too far away from our audience, as a connection with the audience is important. However, you also don’t want to be too close, potentially making your audience uncomfortable or cutting off eye contact to parts of your audience. If you choose to move during your speech, pay attention when you are moving away and when you are moving toward them. Increasing or decreasing your distance during specific parts of your speech can enhance your message.

How you look matters, but I often find my students oversimplify this idea. There isn’t one way to look or appear. My students frequently ask if they have to “dress up” for their speeches. I point out that appearance doesn’t appear anywhere in my grading rubric, but appearance impacts a speaker’s ethos. It is more important that you are thinking critically about your speaking appearance than relying on one way to always look.

When you have to speak in public, consider the details of the situation. Is there anything specific you should wear to the occasion? How will your clothing communicate? Will it interact with your meaning? In an advanced public speaking course I taught, an experienced public speaker who showed up to every speech day in a full suit and pantyhose. This student was a self-proclaimed nerd and a huge Trekkie, so for a humorous speech assignment, she chose the topic of Star Trek. In the feedback session, a classmate said, “it’s too bad you don’t have a Star Trek uniform. That would have really added to your speech.” The student’s face fell—of course she owned a uniform! But, it had never occurred to her to wear it because she was so used to dressing up for speeches. For her final speech, she wore her Star Trek uniform and noted how it was the first public speech she’d ever given in anything other than a suit, citing that as part of her growth. As long as you are critically thinking about your appearance during a speech, you will be able to make conscious choices about what to wear.

Types of Preparation and Delivery

There are four styles of delivery that tend to be most useful for public speaking: manuscript, memory, impromptu, and extemporaneous.

Speaking from a Manuscript

In my experience, speaking from a manuscript is the type of delivery people tend to want to try. I have had students say it makes them feel more safe and comfortable to have every word planned out. That is an advantage of speaking from a manuscript. Manuscript speaking should be used in cases where getting the exact words correct are very important. In cases of intense or emotional speaking, a manuscript can also be the best delivery method. I had the opportunity to give my father’s eulogy when I was 21. This was an instance when I choose to use a manuscript in order to have a very well-constructed speech in an emotional time. There may be formal contexts where a manuscript would be preferred or follows the norms of the occasion. Former President Obama is an excellent example of someone who employs manuscript speaking in emotional times like after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. A manuscript allowed the president to be comforting even in the face of tragedy.

If you plan to speak from a manuscript, you need to be aware of the challenges this type of speaking creates.  Effectively speaking from a manuscript is harder than most people anticipate. Remember, the words are only part of the issue. As we have seen in this chapter, there are so many other components that go into delivery. Reading from a manuscript often causes speakers to talk very fast and not look up enough to connect with the audience. Because of this, manuscript speaking often leads to an uninteresting or disconnected performance. But, this does not mean manuscript delivery can’t be done well. Delivery from a manuscript can be effective with a significant amount of time and practice.

Speaking from Memory

There are some instances that may benefit from a memorized speech . For example, you may find yourself in a situation where memorization is required, such a speaking contest. You may find times you don’t want to use notes, such as at a wedding giving a toast. Memorization can be very beneficial, especially if the speech is short or the material is very familiar to you.  First, memorization is the method that allows for the most audience connection. Since you don’t notes or a script to look at, you can engage your body, face, and eyes with the audience the entire time. Practicing your material thoroughly can put the speaker at ease.

But, like manuscript speaking, people greatly underestimate how much work it takes to speak from memory effectively. Different people have varying abilities when it comes to memorizing, but it almost always takes longer to memorize than people anticipate. You can’t just memorize the words, but rather you must know the material deeply in order to confidently speak from memory. Additionally, while the payoff can be great, so is the risk. Even with a lot of practice, speaking from memory may increase nerves and there is always a chance of a forgetting the material.  Even if a speaker is well rehearsed, blanking in the moment is possible. You will want to practice blanking and know how to handle it if it happens. Finally, you will need to work hard to speak in the moment. While this method does allow you the most freedom with your voice and body in the moment, it is common to sound over-rehearsed or on autopilot. Make sure you are staying in the moment by really talking to your audience instead of at them.

Try It: Tips for Memorizing

• The more you can do to help your brain remember, the easier it will be to learn your speech. One way to help is to color-code your script by point. If your intro is one color, your first point is a different color and so on, it will help your brain remember the pieces of your speech. Another way to help is to stand in the places you plan to give each point. If you plan to move, placing your color-coded part in that place to help you associate the words with the space can be very effective. This process mimics how Greek orators memorized long stories and passages. They would walk, associating the ideas with where they were.
• Combine content memorization with word for word memorization. Use your outline to memorize the flow of ideas, the main points and where they go. Then, if you mess up or forget the individual words in a spot, you will be able to default to talking about the main ideas or jumping to the next part you remember.
• Practice in multiple contexts. Moving contexts will help your brain recall in many different circumstances. If you only ever practice in the car, your body will not be used to standing to deliver. Practicing in multiple spaces and for actual people can help increase the trustworthiness of the memory recall.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking happens when a person has little or no time to prepare for the speaking situation. You may be thinking that this mode of delivery sounds terrifying, but you actually already practice impromptu speaking quite often. Anytime someone asks you for a short introduction about yourself, you speak to a group about yourself for a few minutes; or, when someone asks what you thought of the movie you just saw and you give a detailed answer, you are employing impromptu speaking. This method is not one that should be chosen for a speech you have time to or are required to prepare. Instead, think of this more as a skill or a recognition of circumstance to improve your speaking in these moments.

One key to impromptu speaking is to practice active listening. If you are in a meeting or a class where you know you may be called on to share your thoughts, intensely listening to what is happening and mentally engaging in the ideas will help you formulate your answer if someone asks you to talk. Anticipating impromptu opportunities can always be helpful in mentally preparing. I have been to several funerals and memorials where they open up the floor for people to share memories or say a few words. In these cases, I start thinking about what I want to say in advance by going over the order of my brief message in my head. In some cases, you may even want to jot down a few quick notes to help you stay focused.

Extemporaneous Speaking

The definition of extemporaneous speaking is to speak from limited notes. Extemporaneous speaking often gets confused with impromptu or off-the-cuff speaking, with people assuming you don’t have to prepare much before the speech. But, extemporaneous speaking is actually an engaged process that forces you to do a lot of research, organizing, and writing before you actively practice your delivery. There are several advantages of extemporaneous speaking. First, you are prepared but flexible in the moment. This level of preparation can prevent you from sounding robotic and encourage you to react to your specific audience in the speaking moment. Second, this type of speaking allows you opportunities to connect with the audience while not having to rely on your memory recall to know every word. Finally, you can adapt to your audience and the situation. If the audience laughs or reacts really well to something, you can mention it or add a reaction. If you are running out of time, you can make adjustments quickly to make sure you get out the most important information with the remaining speaking time.

The main disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is that most people are not familiar with this process and it takes some getting used to. Beginning speakers, even if they are attempting extemporaneous speaking, will often make outlines with too many details and not practice enough which usually turns into reading a script. The process for practicing a strong extemporaneous speech can feel very different than other types of speaking methods. Instead of spending the majority of the time crafting each word, you need to practice talking. This practice can feel non-intuitive to writers or people who want their speech to sound perfect. Instead of writing every word, you want to craft a strong outline to use while you speak. Then, you want to stand up and practice it. I will say that again so you really believe me—stand up and try it!! Do not wait until you think you have everything perfect. You will run out of time, as it will never be perfect. And, practicing will help you make your outline stronger. Strengthening your outline with help you speak better in the moment. Go back and forth until you think you have a strong grasp on the concepts and can speak from your notes in the strong way you practiced.

This type of delivery is often the most effective and the one you will probably utilize the most beyond speaking classes. I highly encourage you to learn this skill and to practice it.  You want to have a grasp of all of the styles of delivery. If you are in a class, that is a great place to practice extemporaneous speaking and get better at it. That way you understand and can use the multiple methods of delivering speeches. Extemporaneous speaking is often the most employed style in prepared speeches. It is what you will likely use in your job or at events you’ve been asked to speak. Learning how to do it well will be incredibly useful.

Remember, the most important thing is to choose the method that fits you and the situation best. You may also want to consider your strengthens and weaknesses as a speaker. The more you are critically thinking about the speech and it’s circumstances, the better qualified you are to make choices about how to best get your message to the audience.

Delivery and Audience Connection

You are not a tv.

Many speakers suffer from what I have termed “the TV effect.” Have you ever noticed your TV doesn’t care about you? If you are watching it and you have to leave to get a snack, the TV just keeps on playing. It doesn’t wait, and it doesn’t pause. Or, you laugh out loud at something in a show. The TV doesn’t pause for your laughter or even recognize you have laughed. At times, speakers act this way. They are nervous and just want to get the speech done. So, they get up and go! However, the brilliance of performance is how we can adjust in the moment and react to what is happening in our current situation. Your speaking is enhanced by the audiences’ reactions, the space you are speaking in, and how you are performing in the moment. Keep working to utilize the tools in this chapter to enhance your delivery during live performances.

You are not a train

The fear of doing something “wrong” often prevents speakers from achieving an audience connection. They are afraid they will mess up. I’ve even seen speakers ask to “start over” as if I am in control of them. Speakers often act like they are a train on train tracks. When it’s time to go, they go! They are chugging along, not looking up, not pausing, not paying attention to the audience, because they are afraid they will mess up and fall off the tracks. If a train is disturbed in its route, it doesn’t have a lot of options. It can go forward, backward, or just fall over. You are not on train tracks. Rather, you are in a field on a fairly trampled path. You have crafted the way to go but may veer off for one reason or another. If that happens, pick some berries, and find a way back to the path. Your audience may think that’s part of the journey or might be pleasantly surprised by the detour.

You are a tour guide!

Remember, your speech is a new destination where your audience has never been, and you are their tour guide. If you throw them onto the bus, hit the gas at 100 miles an hour, and never point out the sights, they are not going to enjoy the tour. You have the power to make it enjoyable for them. Help them onto the bus. Make sure they are comfortable. Connect with them. Go at a decent pace for them, so they don’t feel like you’re going to “crash.” Remember, that pace might be different than you want to go as the driver. Have you ever ridden with someone who is driving just a little too fast? They know they are in control because they are driving. But, the passenger does not necessarily feel comfortable. Adjust your pace with the audience in mind. Point out the important parts of your speech using emphasis. Make sure they can hear you. By being a good tour guide, your audience will definitely enjoy the trip!

Being yourself

When learning how to speak, speakers often fall into a few delivery traps when they are trying to deliver the speech “correctly.” They rely on reading or ignore their audience. Even when they conquer some of these basic delivery strategies, they still revert back and sound like a generic speaker. They fall into vocal patterns and don’t choose the pacing for their material or audience. They sound fine on the surface, but they don’t sound like themselves. In an attempt to do the speech “right,” speakers end up not actually being effective because they are not making conscious choices with themselves and the audience in mind.

Even if you are nervous, keep working to channel the verbal and physical qualities that are unique to you. Audiences want personality. Do not be afraid to let yours come through. You do not need to sound scripted or robotic to be an effective speaker. In fact, most people prefer someone who they can tell is a person beyond the confines of the speaking moment. One thing that can help you relax into being your engaging self is to think of yourself as an audience member. What do you enjoy? How do you want to be talked to? If you don’t enjoy monotone speaking (and few do), then work to have vocal variety. If you don’t want to work to hear and understand the words, work to be loud enough.  If you prefer someone who is smiling, connected and engaging you, then work to be that person! You have the power to be entertaining! It takes practice, but you are capable of engaging the audience as yourself.

Audience participation

It is tempting to think of a speech as a speaker standing in front of an audience dumping information on them. But, as we have learned in this chapter, delivering a speech is an interactive performance that involves both the speaker and the audience. The level of audience participation may vary based on the speech and situation. For example, there may be times you ask questions to the audience that you actually want them to answer. Make sure you are patient and give them enough time to answer, as they may be used to answering a speaker’s questions.

Regulators ,  or gestures that control the flow of interaction can be used here. This may involve head nodding or moving your arms in a way to encourage your audience to participate. You may even find yourself in situations where there is a question and answer session as part of your speaking opportunity. The more you know about your topic, the more at ease you will be during this period. It is common to fear that an audience member might ask a question and you don’t know the answer. If this happens, there is no need to fake your way through an answer. Just explain how you don’t have that specific information and potentially discuss where they could find it.

Regulators  are gestures that control the flow of interaction.

Actively listening to the question posed will help you formulate an answer. Don’t be afraid to be short and sweet. Often by that time, the audience has sat through your whole speech. While there are certainly times and occasions for drawn-out answers and discussions, be aware of how long you take to answer. They may be looking for a short supplement to what you already covered.

You have the power!

In the end, remember you are in charge of your vocal and physical choices as a speaker. It doesn’t always feel that way, but with practice and exercises, you will gain more awareness of what your voice and body are doing during a speech. Then, you will be able to make conscious choices to control them in order to make your speech more impactful. By working on delivery alongside the construction of your speech, you ensure your audience with be engaged and listening to you. Your practicing will help get your audience interested in your topic, retain what you are saying, and think deeply about your concepts.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2017 by Josh Miller; Marnie Lawler-Mcdonough; Megan Orcholski; Kristin Woodward; Lisa Roth; and Emily Mueller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Mastering Effective Speech Delivery: From Practice to Performance

Start this journey! Dive into the amazing world of effective speech delivery. Find out the secrets of how to engage an audience. Transform practice into incredible performances!

Connect with the audience from the start. Get their attention with interesting opening lines and stories. This sets the stage for a remarkable speech.

Understand body language and vocal projection. Use facial expressions, gestures, and tone to emphasize your message. Show confidence and be authoritative.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is a shining example of great communication. King inspired millions with his passion and words. It’s proof of the potential of effective speech.

To be a masterful speaker, practice storytelling, connecting with an audience, and using body language. Draw inspiration from great orators. Embrace your inner orator! Make a lasting impact with your words.

Importance of Effective Speech Delivery

Delivering a speech effectively is essential for capturing the audience’s attention and getting your message across. Here are 4 key reasons why:

• Engagement: Deliver your speech in an engaging way and your listeners will stay hooked until the end. This ensures that your message resonates with them.
• Clarity: Delivery makes your speech clearer. This helps people understand your words and the main points of your message.
• Persuasion: Good delivery has a persuasive effect. Use the right tone, gestures, and body language to establish a connection with the audience and sway them towards your viewpoint.
• Rapport-building: Effective delivery builds a rapport between you and the audience. Your confident demeanor builds trust and engagement.

It is also important to remember that delivery requires practice and preparation. Pay attention to vocal variety, pacing, enunciation, body posture, and gestures.

Take Tony Robbins as an example – he once gave an inspiring speech that changed the lives of many. His passion filled every word and the crowd was entranced. By delivering the speech with such passion and conviction, Tony Robbins inspired and empowered the audience, leaving a lasting impact on their lives.

Preparing for Speech Delivery

Maximize potential as a speaker and successfully convey your message with this 6-step guide on prepared speech delivery . Follow these steps:

• Determine the purpose and select the topic .
• Research for relevant information and supportive evidence .
• Create an outline, using headings and subheadings .
• Craft an attention-grabbing intro and clearly state the purpose .
• Follow with a coherent presentation of main points and examples .
• Incorporate visuals like slides or props to enhance understanding .
• Lastly, practice delivery techniques like pacing, modulation, body language, and eye contact . Get feedback from others to refine further.

Don’t forget to refine language for the target audience. Look to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for inspiration – a powerful, passionate, and compelling speech that captivated the audience and started a movement.

Practicing Speech Delivery

Learn the art of speech delivery with this 6-step guide !

• Prep : Research & gather info. Organize thoughts and make an outline.
• Warm-up : Do vocal exercises like breathing, tongue twisters & scales.
• Memorize : Get key points down. Practice without notes or prompts.
• Body Language : Check your facial expressions, gestures & posture in a mirror.
• Rehearse : Keep increasing the speed & emphasize important words.
• Feedback : Get constructive criticism from trusted people. Join a club to practice.

Remember, each individual has a unique style. Embrace it & stay open to learning opportunities.

True History: Winston Churchill was a master of speech delivery . His powerful speeches during WWII motivated & inspired the UK. He was meticulous in his prep & used rhetorical devices to great effect. His speech delivery had a major impact on history.

Techniques for Effective Speech Delivery

Speech delivery is key to captivating your audience and getting your message across. To master the skill, here are three techniques to enhance it:

• Body Language: Move and gesture purposefully to engage the audience. Use hand and facial expressions to emphasize points and convey emotions. Stand tall and keep an open posture.
• Vocal Range and Tone: Vary your pitch, volume, and tone. Pause for emphasis and modulate your voice for a dynamic flow.
• Eye Contact: Establish eye contact with your audience to build trust. Look at individuals or small groups. Make your speech personal and persuasive.

Remember, successful speech delivery goes beyond words. To perfect it, rehearse in front of a mirror or record yourself. Practice makes perfect!

Also Read: Find Your Passion: A Path to Self-Discovery and Fulfillment

Overcoming Nervousness

Nerves can trip up even the most eloquent speakers, but with a few effective strategies, you can conquer them. Preparing is key. Invest time in practicing your speech and knowing it backwards and forwards. This will build confidence and reduce nervousness.

Visualize success too. Imagine you’re delivering an awesome speech to a captivated audience. This exercise helps create positive thoughts and boosts your assurance.

Controlled breathing is invaluable for fighting nerves. Slow, deep breaths can soothe the mind and relax the body. Taking care of yourself – like getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising – also helps reduce anxiety.

Let me share an inspiring story. A young executive was set to give a presentation to lots of industry experts. Despite feeling jittery beforehand, she practiced and rehearsed her speech. On the day, she focused on visualizing success and took deep breaths for inner calmness. As she spoke confidently and connected with the audience, her nerves vanished. By using these strategies, she conquered her nerves and gave an outstanding performance.

As this tale shows, conquering nervousness isn’t impossible. With dedication, visualization exercises, controlled breathing and self-care – anyone can beat their anxiety and speak confidently. Remember everyone gets nervous sometimes – how we manage it makes us stand out as confident speakers.

Tips for Captivating the Audience

To captivate your listeners , you need effective speech delivery! Here are some tips to try:

• Be personal: Relate to the audience with anecdotes or experiences.
• Use body language: Use gestures, facial expressions, and posture to make your message more impactful.
• Tell stories: Storytelling adds emotion and helps the audience understand your message better.
• Use visual aids: Slides or props can add visual interest and comprehension to your speech.
• Pause for emphasis: Pauses give time to reflect, create suspense, and highlight important points.

Adapt your speech to meet the needs of your listeners. And don’t forget the power of humor! Incorporate tasteful humor at appropriate moments to keep engagement high.

Did you know? Visuals can increase information retention in the audience by a whopping 400%!

Also Read: Top 100 Commonly Used A to Z Phrasal Verbs for English Fluency

For great speech delivery, it’s important to practice and plan. Engage the audience with body language, vocal variation, and clear pronunciation . Incorporate visuals and tech to boost the impact of the speech. Adapt to the audience’s needs and interests to keep their attention. Remember that practice makes perfect!

To make it unique, include storytelling techniques to engage the audience emotionally. Use rhetorical devices like similes and metaphors . Also, adjust pacing and rhythm for emphasis.

We recall an inspiring incident involving Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, inspired millions. His voice and powerful message advocating for racial equality captivated the audience. His ability to connect emotionally, through vivid language and imagery, showcases the power of effective speech delivery. Know More – The Fluent Life

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What are some tips for effective speech delivery? A: Some tips for effective speech delivery include practicing beforehand, using body language and gestures, speaking clearly and confidently, and engaging the audience through eye contact.

Q2: How can I improve my speaking voice for better speech delivery? A: To improve your speaking voice, you can try exercises like breathing techniques, vocal warm-ups, and speaking with proper posture. It is also helpful to listen to and mimic good speakers to develop your own style.

Q3: How do I overcome nervousness when delivering a speech?| A: To overcome nervousness when delivering a speech , you can prepare well in advance, practice in front of a mirror or with a supportive audience, focus on your message rather than your fear, and use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.

Q4: What are some common mistakes to avoid during speech delivery? A: Some common mistakes to avoid during speech delivery include speaking too fast or too slow, using excessive filler words like um or uh, reading directly from notes instead of engaging with the audience, and lacking enthusiasm or energy in delivery.

Q5: How can I keep the audience engaged during my speech? A: To keep the audience engaged during your speech, you can use storytelling, humor, visual aids, rhetorical questions, and interactive elements like asking for volunteers or involving the audience in small activities. It is also important to maintain a confident and enthusiastic delivery.

Q6: What are effective ways to conclude a speech for a strong impact?

A: Effective ways to conclude a speech for a strong impact include summarizing key points, providing a memorable closing statement or call-to-action, using inspirational quotes or stories, and leaving the audience with a thought-provoking question or idea to ponder upon.

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Delivery is the way in which we present our speech. It is generally divided into two categories, verbal and nonverbal delivery, and includes everything from the way we say the words to our hand and body movements. Good delivery does not make up for poor content, though good delivery is essential to a good speech. Remember, delivery is an area that improves exponentially with practice! Here are some common tips skilled speakers use to get their message across clearly and persuasively.

Think Conversational Quality

This phrase captures many different aspects of good delivery, but what does it mean? Think of a time you have had a meaningful conversation with someone you respect and are comfortable being around. How fast do you speak? How do you pronounce words? Do you talk with your hands? Typically, this is the style you should use for public speaking. Next, let's break down some specific aspects of delivery.

Verbal Delivery

Rate - Research shows that audiences favor quicker speakers over slower speakers. Speaking very slowly could give the impression that you are not practiced or do not know the material.  Keep your speaking pace up, but do not speak so fast that the audience might miss something important. Think about conversational quality. How fast would you speak in that scenario? Use that as a baseline for your speaking rate.

Inflection - Inflection refers to the changes in pitch or tone of a speaker. We use inflection as a crucial part of daily speech, though it is easy to forget once in front of a crowd; it is easy to stay the same pitch and simply read what is written. Avoid this monotone delivery style.  Inflection gives our words life and adds emotion to our expressions.

Pauses - We use pauses for different reasons: to signal the end of a thought, give an idea time to sink in, and lend dramatic impact to a statement. While practicing your speech, look for moments where you could pause to let the audience sit with something you've just said  - especially if it is the main point or something vital to your message.

Nonverbal Delivery

The voice is usually the first thing that comes in speech presentations, but we also communicate with our bodies . The nonverbal elements of delivery discussed below can help us appear confident and competent at the podium.

Personal Appearance - How we look matters, both to ourselves and to our audience. Dressing so that you feel presentable and professional will help you give a better speech and reduce your anxiety about being judged. Your audience will appreciate you putting your best foot forward as well. Looking nice is a sign that you care about what you are going to say.

Movement - It is good to practice to see how speech anxiety influences your movement. Many develop nervous habits such as shifting their weight from one foot to the other, using uncontrollable hand motions, or pacing back and forth. The distracting movement will disappear as you become more comfortable and practiced.

Gestures - Motioning with your hands can help emphasize your message, but it can also become a distraction. There is no perfect amount of gestures, they should just be natural and not so excessive that they take focus away from your message. Remember to think about how you would gesture during a natural conversation.

Eye Contact - Considered the base level of communication, eye contact is the best way to establish a relationship with your audience. An absence of eye contact can quickly mean an absence of the audience's attention. Eye contact also aids in making you seem honest and credible, while failure to do so can sometimes come across as dishonest or insincere.

Prepared by GVSU Speech Lab Consultants & Carl J. Brown

Some information adapted from Stephen Lucas' The Art of Public Speaking , Tenth Edition.

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Chapter 5: Presenting Your Speech Module

Techniques for Effective Delivery

Use of your body.

As you stand before an audience, be confident and be yourself.  Remember, you planned for this speech, you prepared well, and you practiced so that you know the material you will present. You are probably the expert in the room on this subject. If not, why are you the one making the presentation?

You need to consider not only what you say, but also how your body will support you and your words. When your actions are wedded to your words, the impact of your speech will be strengthened. If your platform behavior includes mannerisms unrelated to your spoken message, those actions will call attention to themselves and away from your speech.

Here are five areas on which to focus as you plan, practice, and present:

• Gripping or leaning on the lectern
• Finger tapping
• Lip biting or licking
• Toying with a pen or jewelry
• Adjusting hair or clothing
• Chewing gum
• Head wagging

These all have two things in common:  They are physical manifestations of simple nervousness and they are performed unconsciously.  When you make a verbal mistake, you can easily correct it, because you can hear your own words. However, you cannot see yourself, so most distracting mannerisms go uncorrected. You cannot eliminate distractions unless you know they exist.

The first step in self-improvement is to learn what you want to change. In speech preparation, nothing is as revealing as a video of your self. The first step in eliminating any superfluous behavior is to obtain an accurate picture of your body’s image while speaking. This should include:

• Body movement
• Facial expressions
• Eye contact
• 2. Build Self-Confidence by Being Yourself:  The most important rule for making your body communicate effectively is to be yourself. The emphasis should be on the sharing of ideas, not on the performance. Strive to be as genuine and natural as you are when you speak to family members and friends.Many people say, “I’m okay in a small group, but when I get in front of a larger group I freeze. ” The only difference between speaking to a small informal group and to a sizable audience is the number of listeners. To compensate for this, you need only to amplify your natural behavior. Be authentically yourself, but amplify your movements and expressions just enough so that the audience can see them.
• 4. Build Self-confidence through Preparation:  Nothing influences a speaker’s mental attitude more than the knowledge that s/he is thoroughly prepared. This knowledge leads to self- confidence, which is a vital ingredient of effective public speaking.How many of us have ever experienced a situation in which we had not prepared well for a presentation? How did we come across? On the other hand, think of those presentations that did go well. These are the ones for which we were properly prepared.

Facial Expressions

Leave that deadpan expression to poker players. A speaker realizes that appropriate facial expressions are an important part of effective communication. In fact, facial expressions are often the key determinant of the meaning behind the message. People watch a speaker’s face during a presentation. When you speak, your face -more clearly than any other part of your body -communicates to others your attitudes, feelings, and emotions.

Remove expressions that do not belong on your face. Inappropriate expressions include distracting mannerisms or unconscious expressions not rooted in your feelings, attitudes, and emotions. In much the same way that some speakers perform random, distracting gestures and body movements, nervous speakers often release excess energy and tension by unconsciously moving their facial muscles (e.g., licking lips, tightening the jaw).

One type of unconscious facial movement which is less apt to be read clearly by an audience is involuntary frowning. This type of frowning occurs when a speaker attempts to deliver a memorized speech. There are no rules governing the use of specific expressions. If you relax your inhibitions and allow yourself to respond naturally to your thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, your facial expressions will be appropriate and will project sincerity, conviction, and credibility.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is the cement that binds together speakers and their audiences. When you speak, your eyes involve your listeners in your presentation. Jan Costagnaro says, “When you maintain eye contact, you present an air of confidence in yourself and what you are communicating. People who are listening to what you are saying will take you more seriously, and will take what you say as important. If you lose eye contact or focus on everything else but the person(s) you are speaking to, you may not be taken seriously and the truth in your points may be lost. ” There is no surer way to break a communication bond between you and the audience than by failing to look at your listeners. No matter how large your audience may be, each listener wants to feel that you are speaking directly to him/her.

The adage, “The eyes are the mirror of the soul, ” underlines the need for you to convince people with your eyes, as well as your words. Only by looking at your listeners as individuals can you convince them that you are sincere and are interested in them and that you care whether they accept your message. When you speak, your eyes also function as a control device you can use to ensure the audience’s attentiveness and concentration.

Eye contact can also help to overcome nervousness by making your audience a known quantity. Effective eye contact is an important feedback device that makes the speaking situation a two-way communication process. By looking at your audience, you can determine how they are reacting.

When you develop the ability to gauge the audience’s reactions and adjust your presentation accordingly, you will be a much more effective speaker. The following supporting tips will help you be more confident and improve your ability to make eye contact:

Know your material.  Know the material so well that you do not have to devote your mental energy to the task of remembering the sequence of ideas and words.

Prepare well and rehearse enough so that you do not have to depend too heavily on notes. Many speakers, no matter how well prepared, need at least a few notes to deliver their message. If you can speak effectively without notes, by all means do so. But if you choose to use notes, they should be only a delivery outline, using key words. Notes are not a substitute for preparation and practice.

Establish a personal bond with listeners.  Begin by selecting one person and talking to him/ her personally. Maintain eye contact with that person long enough to establish a visual bond (about five to ten seconds). This is usually the equivalent of a sentence or a thought. Then shift your gaze to another person. In a small group, this is relatively easy to do. But, if you are addressing hundreds or thousands of people, it is impossible. What you can do is pick out one or two individuals in each section of the room and establish personal bonds. Then, each listener will get the impression you are talking directly to him/her.

Monitor visual feedback.  While you are talking, your listeners are responding with their own nonverbal messages. Use your eyes to actively seek out this valuable feedback. If individuals aren’t looking at you, they may not be listening either. Make sure they can hear you. Then work to actively engage them.

Your Appearance Matters

Multiple studies have has shown that appearance influences everything from employment to social status. Whether we like to admit it or not, ours is a culture obsessed with appearance. Attractive people are more likely to get the job, get the promotion, and get the girl (or guy). Bonnie Berry’s 2008 research on physical appearance also shows that communicator attractiveness influences how an audience perceives the credibility of the speaker. Overall, more attractive speakers were thought to be more credible (51).

So what does that mean for you as you prepare for a speech? Bottom line: Make an effort. If your listeners will have on suits and dresses, wear your best suit or dress -the outfit that brings you the most compliments. Make sure that every item of clothing is clean and well tailored. Certainly a speaker who appears unkempt gives the impression to the audience that s/he doesn’t really care, and that’s not the first impression that you want to send to your listeners.

Fundamentals of Public Speaking Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Speech Delivery Tactics To Win Your Audience And Make Your Point

Speech delivery is how you present what you have to say in your speech. There are four main kinds of speech delivery: impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized. What also counts in any speech delivery is how you use your voice and how you present yourself. 

No matter what you have to say to an audience, the way you say it is what drives the point home. Speech delivery is the compounded effect of verbal and non-verbal messaging.

The words you share are the core of your speech, but body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice are what listeners often relate to.

Table of Contents

What Are The 4 Types Of Speech Delivery?

How you deliver your speech depends on the circumstances surrounding the speech.

1. Impromptu Speech Delivery:

Impromptu speaking is done without planning and often without notice. You might be asked to say a few words on a topic at a meeting or upon accepting an award you weren’t expecting to win. When in a new group, the leader might call upon you to introduce yourself as part of an icebreaker exercise.

For an impromptu speech, you are unlikely to have visual aids on hand to accompany the words, but you can still be poised and confident, use eye contact, and accent your words with meaningful gestures.

If you are in the public eye, you might expect to be interviewed on the spot at any time. You should have some pre-planned responses to questions about policy so you get your message across even in impromptu opportunities.

2. Extemporaneous Speaking Delivery:

An extemporaneous speech is well-planned but not memorized and given from notes. You follow the note cards as you cover the main points, but the specific lines are ad-libbed.

Speaking extemporaneously from note cards allows you to maintain better eye contact, add anecdotal stories, and be flexible with the presentation.

3. Manuscript Speech Delivery:

If a speech needs to be delivered in very measured and precise terms, manuscript speaking might be the perfect solution. The s peaker reads a manuscript speech from paper or a teleprompter . Having the words written down so they can be read word-for-word ensures it is done accurately when a precise message matters.

Speeches such as the President’s State of the Union are manuscript speeches. To make them flow correctly and not sound like the speaker is reading disconnected words, they should be formatted for easy reading.

4. Memorized Speech Delivery: 

Sometimes there are situations where a person needs or wants to memorize a speech, just like actors do. Speeches at weddings or funeral eulogies are examples of times when the message should be given from memory.

Without looking down at notes or a paper, people sometimes try so hard to remember their words that they fail to connect with the audience. They don’t maintain eye contact or use voice inflection or vocal variety, and their speech can sound monotone.

Is there a preferred type of delivery? The type of speech delivery depends on the occasion, but extemporaneous speeches are the most natural sounding to the audience. If the speaker has practiced the speeches, including when to use any prepared visual aids or props, the speech delivery should be smooth.

What Are The 7 Cs Of Speech Delivery?

Public speaking is communication. The quality of your speech depends on putting the  7 Cs of communication  into practice.

• Clear:  Public speaking needs to be clear in its structure and presentation. A good speech makes it points to audience members with apparent logic . Avoid excessive jargon or technical terms, slang, idioms, confusing vocabulary, and remoted-sound passive voice makes the verbiage relatable . The speaker’s articulation should be crisp to easily understand every word.
• Concise:  Everything you say should be relevant . Interesting stories or irrelevant material that fills time but lacks value are just fluff that dilutes the strength of your speech.
• Concrete:  Concrete details are tangible things that add to the main point of your speech. Use language and examples that show your expertise and knowledge on the topic. Even if the speech is based on opinion, you should back up your position with facts.
• Correct:  Speech content should be accurate and based on thorough research. The words and grammar you use and your pronunciation should be correct to prevent the audience from fixating on errors.
• Coherent and Cohesive:  All the points in a speech should come together into a main speech topic. Transitions that link thoughts are helpful for this purpose.
• Complete:  Though you have a limited time to present your speech, it should include c omplete thoughts about the important points you are trying to make.
• Courteous:  Your audience has taken time out of their day to listen to your speech. You should make your presentation engaging and relatable , with language appropriate to your audience and tone appropriate to the occasion.

What Is The Difference Between Speech Delivery And Voice?

Vocal delivery  includes different components of speech. This includes the rate at which you speak, your volume, pitch, pronunciation, articulation, and fluency. Do you enunciate words carefully? Are you speaking too loudly or softly? Do you use voice inflection to make points and prevent monotony? Can you correctly pronounce the words you are using?

Speech delivery  includes not just your voice but facial expressions, eye contact, gesture, use of props and visual aids, etc. Nonverbal communication elements such as body language can help make an effective speech even more powerful.

What Is The Difference Between A Speech And A Presentation?

Speeches are the words you deliver. When you add visual aids, you make it a presentation.

Visual aids can vary from a PowerPoint or Google slide show to a trifold board to a prop you can display or hold. Using them correctly is valuable presentation skill.

If you are giving a presentation to convince a client that your company is the best to represent it, you might use PowerPoint. However, if you are giving a demonstration speech on how to fly fish, you might have a fly fishing rod in your hand when speaking.

There is a difference between a speech and a presentation, but many people use the two terms interchangeably.

What Is The Importance Of A Good Delivery In Speech?

Good delivery can make all the difference in giving a powerful speech. The delivery phase starts as soon as you step in front of an audience. First, get the audience’s attention by introducing who you are and perhaps jumping right into an exciting opening to hook them.

Whether your speech is impromptu, extemporaneous, memorized, or manuscript, you can wow the audience with your delivery.

Determining which is best for your speech depends on your intent and the situation.

What Is Good Delivery In Speech?

Unless you are called upon to give an impromptu speech that catches you by surprise, you should come to the podium ready to go with a well-structured speech honed to perfection through practice.

When giving a speech, there are specific aspects to delivering a powerful speech.

• Dress Appropriately:  You may wear a suit or business casual, but your dress should be a notch above what the audience is wearing
• Posture:  Stand tall with good posture. Don’t bend over or lean on the lectern or podium.
• Establish Credibility : The speaker’s credibility goes a long way to convincing people you know what you are talking about. Be certain to establish that with the audience.
• Notes:  Consider using notecards instead of a transcript of your speech. This encourages natural pauses for eye contact. Make sure your note cards are formatted to be useful to you with large type and critical concepts you need to mention.
• Eye Contact : Looking up at the audience is very important to giving a good speech.
• Gestures : Gestures do not come naturally to every speaker, so use gestures if you can do so comfortably and without looking awkward. Practice what you will do with your hands as you rehearse your speech.
• Getting Started:  Start with an attention grabber that may be a story, joke, or relevant statistic. You want to generate audience interest early on.
• Avoid Weak Words:  Practice enough that you have eliminated the “umms” and “okays” from your vocabulary.
• Speed:  Make sure you are not speaking too quickly or too slowly. Find balance.
• Voice Inflection:  Work on varying your voice inflection so you do not sound monotone.

What Is The Difference Between Slow And Fast Delivery?

A good speaker controls both speed and inflection to keep the speech from becoming monotonous.

Sometimes it is appropriate to speed up your speaking to prove a point. Fast speaking can convey excitement or urgency .

If your timing gets off track, you may need to alter your delivery speed. When practicing your speech, you should develop a Plan B so you can cut your text down if you need to without compromising the speech. If you have extra time, you can add some additional prepared material.

What Is The Best Way To Improve Your Speech Delivery?

The best way to improve your speech delivery is to practice. Remember, the first time you give the speech will likely be rocky, which is why practicing is so important. You can practice for friends, in front of a mirror, or by recording yourself. When you watch the recording, it is a great opportunity to find ways you can improve your speech.

Another tactic is to watch strong speakers to find tips you might implement. Google  great public speakers  and see what comes up.

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Module 8: Delivering Your Speech

Putting it together: delivering your speech.

The most important element in delivering your speech as eloquently as possible is practice. The more you rehearse, the smoother your delivery will be and the more you’ll be able to deal with unexpected interruptions or challenges. Ideally, you’ll find time to rehearse in conditions as close to the actual speech as possible: using the same equipment and even the same space.

As you rehearse, here are some elements of speech delivery to focus on:

• Breath: Strong, sustained speaking begins with breath. Try to breath from the diaphragm, not from your shoulders.
• Articulation: Pronouncing the words so that your audience can follow the nuances of your argument.
• Pitch: Varying your pitch to avoid sounding monotonous.
• Rate: Speaking at the right rate for comprehension; not too fast and not too slow.
• Emphasis: Using emphasis to call attention to key points.
• Volume: Controlling your volume to add variety and call your listeners’ attention to the most important moments in the speech.
• Pauses: Never underestimate the power of the pause. It focuses the audience’s attention and creates anticipation. Not to mention, pauses give you time to think about what you’re going to say.
• Nonverbal aspects of delivery: Controlled body language and gestures help to reinforce your points and help the audience interpret the impact of your words.

Remember: More practice means less nervousness! Building in time to rehearse productively will make the speech far more effective and far less painful.

• Putting It Together: Delivering Your Speech. Authored by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

14.4 Practicing for Successful Speech Delivery

Learning objectives.

• Explain why having a strong conversational quality is important for effective public speaking.
• Explain the importance of eye contact in public speaking.
• Define vocalics and differentiate among the different factors of vocalics.
• Explain effective physical manipulation during a speech.
• Understand how to practice effectively for good speech delivery.

There is no foolproof recipe for good delivery. Each of us is unique, and we each embody different experiences and interests. This means each person has an approach, or a style, that is effective for her or him. This further means that anxiety can accompany even the most carefully researched and interesting message. Even when we know our messages are strong and well-articulated on paper, it is difficult to know for sure that our presentation will also be good.

We are still obligated to do our best out of respect for the audience and their needs. Fortunately, there are some tools that can be helpful to you even the very first time you present a speech. You will continue developing your skills each time you put them to use and can experiment to find out which combination of delivery elements is most effective for you.

What Is Good Delivery?

The more you care about your topic, the greater your motivation to present it well. Good delivery is a process of presenting a clear, coherent message in an interesting way. Communication scholar Stephen E. Lucas tells us:

Good delivery…conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly, interestingly, and without distracting the audience. Most audiences prefer delivery that combines a certain degree of formality with the best attributes of good conversation—directness, spontaneity, animation, vocal and facial expressiveness, and a lively sense of communication. Lucas, S. E. (2009). The art of public speaking (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, p. 244.

Many writers on the nonverbal aspects of delivery have cited the findings of psychologist Albert Mehrabian, asserting that the bulk of an audience’s understanding of your message is based on nonverbal communication. Specifically, Mehrabian is often credited with finding that when audiences decoded a speaker’s meaning, the speaker’s face conveyed 55 percent of the information, the vocalics conveyed 38 percent, and the words conveyed just 7 percent. Mehrabian, A. (1972). Nonverbal communication . Chicago, IL: Aldine-Atherton. Although numerous scholars, including Mehrabian himself, have stated that his findings are often misinterpreted, Mitchell, O. (n.d.). Mehrabian and nonverbal communication [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/presentation-myths/mehrabian-nonverbal-communication-research scholars and speech instructors do agree that nonverbal communication and speech delivery are extremely important to effective public speaking.

In this section of the chapter, we will explain six elements of good delivery: conversational style, conversational quality, eye contact, vocalics, physical manipulation, and variety. And since delivery is only as good as the practice that goes into it, we conclude with some tips for effective use of your practice time.

Conversational Style

Conversational style A speaker’s ability to sound expressive and be perceived by the audience as natural. is a speaker’s ability to sound expressive and to be perceived by the audience as natural. It’s a style that approaches the way you normally express yourself in a much smaller group than your classroom audience. This means that you want to avoid having your presentation come across as didactic or overly exaggerated. You might not feel natural while you’re using a conversational style, but for the sake of audience preference and receptiveness, you should do your best to appear natural. It might be helpful to remember that the two most important elements of the speech are the message and the audience. You are the conduit with the important role of putting the two together in an effective way. Your audience should be thinking about the message, not the delivery.

Stephen E. Lucas defines conversational quality A speaker’s ability to prepare a speech and rehearse a speech but still sound spontaneous when delivering the speech. as the idea that “no matter how many times a speech has been rehearsed, it still sounds spontaneous” [emphasis in original]. Lucas, S. E. (2009). The art of public speaking (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, p. 247. No one wants to hear a speech that is so well rehearsed that it sounds fake or robotic. One of the hardest parts of public speaking is rehearsing to the point where it can appear to your audience that the thoughts are magically coming to you while you’re speaking, but in reality you’ve spent a great deal of time thinking through each idea. When you can sound conversational, people pay attention.

Eye Contact

Eye contact A speaker’s ability to have visual contact with everyone in his or her audience. is a speaker’s ability to have visual contact with everyone in the audience. Your audience should feel that you’re speaking to them, not simply uttering main and supporting points. If you are new to public speaking, you may find it intimidating to look audience members in the eye, but if you think about speakers you have seen who did not maintain eye contact, you’ll realize why this aspect of speech delivery is important. Without eye contact, the audience begins to feel invisible and unimportant, as if the speaker is just speaking to hear her or his own voice. Eye contact lets your audience feel that your attention is on them, not solely on the cards in front of you.

Sustained eye contact with your audience is one of the most important tools toward effective delivery. O’Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein note that eye contact is mandatory for speakers to establish a good relationship with an audience. O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., & Rubenstein, H. (2001). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. Whether a speaker is speaking before a group of five or five hundred, the appearance of eye contact is an important way to bring an audience into your speech.

Eye contact can be a powerful tool. It is not simply a sign of sincerity, a sign of being well prepared and knowledgeable, or a sign of confidence; it also has the power to convey meanings. Arthur Koch tells us that all facial expressions “can communicate a wide range of emotions, including sadness, compassion, concern, anger, annoyance, fear, joy, and happiness.” Koch, A. (2010). Speaking with a purpose (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 233.

If you find the gaze of your audience too intimidating, you might feel tempted to resort to “faking” eye contact with them by looking at the wall just above their heads or by sweeping your gaze around the room instead of making actual eye contact with individuals in your audience until it becomes easier to provide real contact. The problem with fake eye contact is that it tends to look mechanical. Another problem with fake attention is that you lose the opportunity to assess the audience’s understanding of your message. Still, fake eye contact is somewhat better than gripping your cards and staring at them and only occasionally glancing quickly and shallowly at the audience.

This is not to say that you may never look at your notecards. On the contrary, one of the skills in extemporaneous speaking is the ability to alternate one’s gaze between the audience and one’s notes. Rehearsing your presentation in front of a few friends should help you develop the ability to maintain eye contact with your audience while referring to your notes. When you are giving a speech that is well prepared and well rehearsed, you will only need to look at your notes occasionally. This is an ability that will develop even further with practice. Your public speaking course is your best chance to get that practice.

Effective Use of Vocalics

Vocalics Subfield of nonverbal communication that examines how we use our voices to communicate orally; also known as paralanguage. , also known as paralanguage, is the subfield of nonverbal communication that examines how we use our voices to communicate orally. This means that you speak loudly enough for all audience members (even those in the back of the room) to hear you clearly, and that you enunciate clearly enough to be understood by all audience members (even those who may have a hearing impairment or who may be English-language learners). If you tend to be soft-spoken, you will need to practice using a louder volume level that may feel unnatural to you at first. For all speakers, good vocalic technique is best achieved by facing the audience with your chin up and your eyes away from your notecards and by setting your voice at a moderate speed. Effective use of vocalics also means that you make use of appropriate pitch, pauses, vocal variety, and correct pronunciation.

If you are an English-language learner and feel apprehensive about giving a speech in English, there are two things to remember: first, you can meet with a reference librarian to learn the correct pronunciations of any English words you are unsure of; and second, the fact that you have an accent means you speak more languages than most Americans, which is an accomplishment to be proud of.

If you are one of the many people with a stutter or other speech challenge, you undoubtedly already know that there are numerous techniques for reducing stuttering and improving speech fluency and that there is no one agreed-upon “cure.” The Academy Award–winning movie The King’s Speech did much to increase public awareness of what a person with a stutter goes through when it comes to public speaking. It also prompted some well-known individuals who stutter, such as television news reporter John Stossel, to go public about their stuttering. Stossel, J. (2011, March 2). An Academy Award–winning movie, stuttering and me [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42081 If you have decided to study public speaking in spite of a speech challenge, we commend you for your efforts and encourage you to work with your speech instructor to make whatever adaptations work best for you.

Volume The loudness or softness of a speaker’s voice. refers to the loudness or softness of a speaker’s voice. As mentioned, public speakers need to speak loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the audience. In addition, volume is often needed to overcome ambient noise, such as the hum of an air conditioner or the dull roar of traffic passing by. In addition, you can use volume strategically to emphasize the most important points in your speech. Select these points carefully; if you emphasize everything, nothing will seem important. You also want to be sure to adjust your volume to the physical setting of the presentation. If you are in a large auditorium and your audience is several yards away, you will need to speak louder. If you are in a smaller space, with the audience a few feet away, you want to avoid overwhelming your audience with shouting or speaking too loudly.

Rate The fastness or slowness of a person’s speech delivery. is the speed at which a person speaks. To keep your speech delivery interesting, your rate should vary. If you are speaking extemporaneously, your rate will naturally fluctuate. If you’re reading, your delivery is less likely to vary. Because rate is an important tool in enhancing the meanings in your speech, you do not want to give a monotone drone or a rapid “machine-gun” style delivery. Your rate should be appropriate for your topic and your points. A rapid, lively rate can communicate such meanings as enthusiasm, urgency, or humor. A slower, moderated rate can convey respect, seriousness, or careful reasoning. By varying rapid and slower rates within a single speech, you can emphasize your main points and keep your audience interested.

Pitch The highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. refers to the highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. Some speakers have deep voices and others have high voices. As with one’s singing voice range, the pitch of one’s speaking voice is determined to a large extent by physiology (specifically, the length of one’s vocal folds, or cords, and the size of one’s vocal tract). We all have a normal speaking pitch where our voice is naturally settled, the pitch where we are most comfortable speaking, and most teachers advise speaking at the pitch that feels natural to you.

While our voices may be generally comfortable at a specific pitch level, we all have the ability to modulate, or move, our pitch up or down. In fact, we do this all the time. When we change the pitch of our voices, we are using inflections Changes in the pitch of a speaker’s voice. . Just as you can use volume strategically, you can also use pitch inflections to make your delivery more interesting and emphatic. If you ordinarily speak with a soprano voice, you may want to drop your voice to a slightly lower range to call attention to a particular point. How we use inflections can even change the entire meaning of what we are saying. For example, try saying the sentence “I love public speaking” with a higher pitch on one of the words—first raise the pitch on “I,” then say it again with the pitch raised on “love,” and so on. “ I love public speaking” conveys a different meaning from “I love public speaking,” doesn’t it?

There are some speakers who don’t change their pitch at all while speaking, which is called monotone The vocal quality of staying at a constant pitch level without inflections. . While very few people are completely monotone, some speakers slip into monotone patterns because of nerves. One way to ascertain whether you sound monotone is to record your voice and see how you sound. If you notice that your voice doesn’t fluctuate very much, you will need to be intentional in altering your pitch to ensure that the emphasis of your speech isn’t completely lost on your audience.

Finally, resist the habit of pitching your voice “up” at the ends of sentences. It makes them sound like questions instead of statements. This habit can be disorienting and distracting, interfering with the audience’s ability to focus entirely on the message. The speaker sounds uncertain or sounds as though he or she is seeking the understanding or approval of the listener. It hurts the speaker’s credibility and it needs to be avoided.

The effective use of pitch is one of the keys to an interesting delivery that will hold your audience’s attention.

Pauses Brief breaks in a speaker’s deliver designed to show emphasis. are brief breaks in a speaker’s delivery that can show emphasis and enhance the clarity of a message. In terms of timing, the effective use of pauses is one of the most important skills to develop. Some speakers become uncomfortable very quickly with the “dead air” that the pause causes. And if the speaker is uncomfortable, the discomfort can transmit itself to the audience. That doesn’t mean you should avoid using pauses; your ability to use them confidently will increase with practice. Some of the best comedians use the well-timed pause to powerful and hilarious effect. Although your speech will not be a comedy routine, pauses are still useful for emphasis, especially when combined with a lowered pitch and rate to emphasize the important point you do not want your audience to miss.

Vocal Variety

Vocal variety Changes in volume, pitch, rate, and pauses. has to do with changes in the vocalics we have just discussed: volume, pitch, rate, and pauses. No one wants to hear the same volume, pitch, rate, or use of pauses over and over again in a speech. Your audience should never be able to detect that you’re about to slow down or your voice is going to get deeper because you’re making an important point. When you think about how you sound in a normal conversation, your use of volume, pitch, rate, and pauses are all done spontaneously. If you try to overrehearse your vocalics, your speech will end up sounding artificial. Vocal variety should flow naturally from your wish to speak with expression. In that way, it will animate your speech and invite your listeners to understand your topic the way you do.

Pronunciation

The last major category related to vocalics is pronunciation The conventional patterns of speech used to form a word. , or the conventional patterns of speech used to form a word. Word pronunciation is important for two reasons: first, mispronouncing a word your audience is familiar with will harm your credibility as a speaker; and second, mispronouncing a word they are unfamiliar with can confuse and even misinform them. If there is any possibility at all that you don’t know the correct pronunciation of a word, find out. Many online dictionaries, such as the Wiktionary ( http://wiktionary.org ), provide free sound files illustrating the pronunciation of words.

Many have commented on the mispronunciation of words such as “nuclear” and “cavalry” by highly educated public speakers, including US presidents. There have been classroom examples as well. For instance, a student giving a speech on the Greek philosopher Socrates mispronounced his name at least eight times during her speech. This mispronunciation created a situation of great awkwardness and anxiety for the audience. Everyone felt embarrassed and the teacher, opting not to humiliate the student in front of the class, could not say anything out loud, instead providing a private written comment at the end of class.

One important aspect of pronunciation is articulation The ability to clearly pronounce each of a succession syllables used to make up a word. , or the ability to clearly pronounce each of a succession of syllables used to make up a word. Some people have difficulty articulating because of physiological problems that can be treated by trained speech therapists, but other people have articulation problems because they come from a cultural milieu where a dialect other than standard American English is the norm. Speech therapists, who generally guide their clients toward standard American English, use the acronym SODA when helping people learn how to more effectively articulate: substitutions Common articulation problem in which a speaker replaces one consonant or vowel with another consonant. , omissions Common articulation problem in which a speaker drops a consonant or vowel within a word. , distortions Common articulation problem in which a speaker articulates a word in a different or unusual manner usually caused by nasal sounds or slurring of words. , and additions Common articulation problem in which a speaker adds consonants or vowels to words. .

• Substitutions occur when a speaker replaces one consonant or vowel with another consonant ( water becomes wudda ; ask becomes ax ; mouth becomes mouf ).
• Omissions occur when a speaker drops a consonant or vowel within a word ( Internet becomes Innet ; mesmerized becomes memerized ; probably becomes prolly ).
• Distortions occur when a speaker articulates a word with nasal or slurring sounds ( pencil sounds like mencil ; precipitation sounds like persination ; second sounds like slecond ).
• Additions occur when a speaker adds consonants or vowels to words that are not there ( anyway becomes anyways ; athletic becomes athaletic ; black becomes buhlack ; interpret becomes interpretate ).

Another aspect of pronunciation in public speaking is avoiding the use of verbal surrogates “Filler” words used as placeholders for actual words (like, er , um , uh , etc.). or “filler” words used as placeholders for actual words (like er , um , uh , etc.). You might be able to get away with saying “um” as many as two or three times in your speech before it becomes distracting, but the same cannot be said of “like.” We know of a student who trained herself to avoid saying “like.” As soon as the first speech was assigned, she began wearing a rubber band on her left wrist. Each time she caught herself saying “like,” she snapped herself with the rubber band. It hurt. Very quickly, she found that she could stop inflicting the snap on herself, and she had successfully confronted an unprofessional verbal habit.

Effective Physical Manipulation

In addition to using our voices effectively, a key to effective public speaking is physical manipulation The use of the body to emphasize meanings or convey meanings during a speech. , or the use of the body to emphasize meanings or convey meanings during a speech. While we will not attempt to give an entire discourse on nonverbal communication, we will discuss a few basic aspects of physical manipulation: posture, body movement, facial expressions, and dress. These aspects add up to the overall physical dimension of your speech, which we call self-presentation.

“Stand up tall!” I’m sure we’ve all heard this statement from a parent or a teacher at some point in our lives. The fact is, posture is actually quite important. When you stand up straight, you communicate to your audience, without saying a word, that you hold a position of power and take your position seriously. If however, you are slouching, hunched over, or leaning on something, you could be perceived as ill prepared, anxious, lacking in credibility, or not serious about your responsibilities as a speaker. While speakers often assume more casual posture as a presentation continues (especially if it is a long one, such as a ninety-minute class lecture), it is always wise to start by standing up straight and putting your best foot forward. Remember, you only get one shot at making a first impression, and your body’s orientation is one of the first pieces of information audiences use to make that impression.

Body Movement

Unless you are stuck behind a podium because of the need to use a nonmovable microphone, you should never stand in one place during a speech. However, movement during a speech should also not resemble pacing. One of our authors once saw a speaker who would walk around a small table where her speaking notes were located. She would walk around the table once, toss her chalk twice, and then repeat the process. Instead of listening to what the speaker was saying, everyone became transfixed by her walk-and-chalk-toss pattern. As speakers, we must be mindful of how we go about moving while speaking. One common method for easily integrating some movement into your speech is to take a few steps any time you transition from one idea to the next. By only moving at transition points, not only do you help focus your audience’s attention on the transition from one idea to the next, but you also are able to increase your nonverbal immediacy by getting closer to different segments of your audience.

Body movement also includes gestures. These should be neither overdramatic nor subdued. At one extreme, arm-waving and fist-pounding will distract from your message and reduce your credibility. At the other extreme, refraining from the use of gestures is the waste of an opportunity to suggest emphasis, enthusiasm, or other personal connection with your topic.

There are many ways to use gestures. The most obvious are hand gestures, which should be used in moderation at carefully selected times in the speech. If you overuse gestures, they lose meaning. Many late-night comedy parodies of political leaders include patterned, overused gestures or other delivery habits associated with a particular speaker. However, the well-placed use of simple, natural gestures to indicate emphasis, direction, size is usually effective. Normally, a gesture with one hand is enough. Rather than trying to have a gesture for every sentence, use just a few well-planned gestures. It is often more effective to make a gesture and hold it for a few moments than to begin waving your hands and arms around in a series of gestures.

Finally, just as you should avoid pacing, you will also want to avoid other distracting movements when you are speaking. Many speakers have unconscious mannerisms such as twirling their hair, putting their hands in and out of their pockets, jingling their keys, licking their lips, or clicking a pen while speaking. As with other aspects of speech delivery, practicing in front of others will help you become conscious of such distractions and plan ways to avoid doing them.

Facial Expressions

Faces are amazing things and convey so much information. As speakers, we must be acutely aware of what our face looks like while speaking. While many of us do not look forward to seeing ourselves on videotape, often the only way you can critically evaluate what your face is doing while you are speaking is to watch a recording of your speech. If video is not available, you can practice speaking in front of a mirror.

There are two extremes you want to avoid: no facial expression and overanimated facial expressions. First, you do not want to have a completely blank face while speaking. Some people just do not show much emotion with their faces naturally, but this blankness is often increased when the speaker is nervous. Audiences will react negatively to the message of such a speaker because they will sense that something is amiss. If a speaker is talking about the joys of Disney World and his face doesn’t show any excitement, the audience is going to be turned off to the speaker and his message. On the other extreme end is the speaker whose face looks like that of an exaggerated cartoon character. Instead, your goal is to show a variety of appropriate facial expressions while speaking.

Like vocalics and gestures, facial expression can be used strategically to enhance meaning. A smile or pleasant facial expression is generally appropriate at the beginning of a speech to indicate your wish for a good transaction with your audience. However, you should not smile throughout a speech on drug addiction, poverty, or the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. An inappropriate smile creates confusion about your meaning and may make your audience feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, a serious scowl might look hostile or threatening to audience members and become a distraction from the message. If you keep the meaning of your speech foremost in your mind, you will more readily find the balance in facial expression.

Another common problem some new speakers have is showing only one expression. One of our coauthors competed in speech in college. After one of his speeches (about how people die on amusement park rides), one of his judges pulled him aside and informed him that his speech was “creepy.” Apparently, while speaking about death, our coauthor smiled the entire time. The incongruity between the speech on death and dying and the coauthor’s smile just left the judge a little creeped out. If you are excited in a part of your speech, you should show excitement on your face. On the other hand, if you are at a serious part of your speech, your facial expressions should be serious.

While there are no clear-cut guidelines for how you should dress for every speech you’ll give, dress is still a very important part of how others will perceive you (again, it’s all about the first impression). If you want to be taken seriously, you must present yourself seriously. While we do not advocate dressing up in a suit every time you give a speech, there are definitely times when wearing a suit is appropriate.

One general rule you can use for determining dress is the “step-above rule,” which states that you should dress one step above your audience. If your audience is going to be dressed casually in shorts and jeans, then wear nice casual clothing such as a pair of neatly pressed slacks and a collared shirt or blouse. If, however, your audience is going to be wearing “business casual” attire, then you should probably wear a sport coat, a dress, or a suit. The goal of the step-above rule is to establish yourself as someone to be taken seriously. On the other hand, if you dress two steps above your audience, you may put too much distance between yourself and your audience, coming across as overly formal or even arrogant.

Another general rule for dressing is to avoid distractions in your appearance. Overly tight or revealing garments, over-the-top hairstyles or makeup, jangling jewelry, or a display of tattoos and piercings can serve to draw your audience’s attention away from your speech. Remembering that your message is the most important aspect of your speech, keep that message in mind when you choose your clothing and accessories.

Self-Presentation

When you present your speech, you are also presenting yourself. Self-presentation, sometimes also referred to as poise or stage presence, is determined by how you look, how you stand, how you walk to the lectern, and how you use your voice and gestures. Your self-presentation can either enhance your message or detract from it. Worse, a poor self-presentation can turn a good, well-prepared speech into a forgettable waste of time. You want your self-presentation to support your credibility and improve the likelihood that the audience will listen with interest.

Your personal appearance should reflect the careful preparation of your speech. Your personal appearance is the first thing your audience will see, and from it, they will make inferences about the speech you’re about to present.

One of the biggest mistakes novice public speakers make is to use the same gesture over and over again during a speech. While you don’t want your gestures to look fake, you should be careful to include a variety of different nonverbal components while speaking. You should make sure that your face, body, and words are all working in conjunction with each other to support your message.

Practice Effectively

You might get away with presenting a hastily practiced speech, but the speech will not be as good as it could be. In order to develop your best speech delivery, you need to practice—and use your practice time effectively. Practicing does not mean reading over your notes, mentally running through your speech, or even speaking your speech aloud over and over. Instead, you need to practice with the goal of identifying the weaknesses in your delivery, improving upon them, and building good speech delivery habits.

When you practice your speech, place both your feet in full, firm contact with the floor to keep your body from swaying side to side. Some new public speakers find that they don’t know what to do with their hands during the speech. Your practice sessions should help you get comfortable. When you’re not gesturing, you can rest your free hand lightly on a lectern or simply allow it to hang at your side. Since this is not a familiar posture for most people, it might feel awkward, but in your practice sessions, you can begin getting used to it.

Seek Input from Others

Because we can’t see ourselves as others see us, one of the best ways to improve your delivery is to seek constructive criticism from others. This, of course, is an aspect of your public speaking course, as you will receive evaluations from your instructor and possibly from your fellow students. However, by practicing in front of others before it is time to present your speech, you can anticipate and correct problems so that you can receive a better evaluation when you give the speech “for real.”

Ask your practice observers to be honest about the aspects of your delivery that could be better. Sometimes students create study groups just for this purpose. When you create a study group of classroom peers, everyone has an understanding of the entire creative process, and their feedback will thus be more useful to you than the feedback you might get from someone who has never taken the course or given a speech.

If your practice observers seem reluctant to offer useful criticisms, ask questions. How was your eye contact? Could they hear you? Was your voice well modulated? Did you mispronounce any words? How was your posture? Were your gestures effective? Did you have any mannerisms that you should learn to avoid? Because peers are sometimes reluctant to say things that could sound critical, direct questions are often a useful way to help them speak up.

If you learn from these practice sessions that your voice tends to drop at the ends of sentences, make a conscious effort to support your voice as you conclude each main point. If you learn that you have a habit of clicking a pen, make sure you don’t have a pen with you when you speak or that you keep it in your pocket. If your practice observers mention that you tend to hide your hands in the sleeves of your shirt or jacket, next time wear short sleeves or roll your sleeves up before beginning your speech. If you learn through practice that you tend to sway or rock while you speak, you can consciously practice and build the habit of not swaying.

When it is your turn to give feedback to others in your group, assume that they are as interested in doing well as you are. Give feedback in the spirit of helping their speeches be as good as possible.

Use Audio and/or Video to Record Yourself

Technology has made it easier than ever to record yourself and others using the proliferation of electronic devices people are likely to own. Video, of course, allows you the advantage of being able to see yourself as others see you, while audio allows you to concentrate on the audible aspects of your delivery. As we mentioned earlier in the chapter, if neither video nor audio is available, you can always observe yourself by practicing your delivery in front of a mirror.

After you have recorded yourself, it may seem obvious that you should watch and listen to the recording. This can be intimidating, as you may fear that your performance anxiety will be so obvious that everyone will notice it in the recording. But students are often pleasantly surprised when they watch and listen to their recordings, as even students with very high anxiety may find out that they “come across” in a speech much better than they expected.

A recording can also be a very effective diagnostic device. Sometimes students believe they are making strong contact with their audiences, but their cards contain so many notes that they succumb to the temptation of reading. By finding out from the video that you misjudged your eye contact, you can be motivated to rewrite your notecards in a way that doesn’t provide the opportunity to do so much reading.

It is most likely that in viewing your recording, you will benefit from discovering your strengths and finding weak areas you can strengthen.

Good Delivery Is a Habit

Luckily, public speaking is an activity that, when done conscientiously, strengthens with practice. As you become aware of the areas where your delivery has room for improvement, you will begin developing a keen sense of what “works” and what audiences respond to.

It is advisable to practice out loud in front of other people several times, spreading your rehearsals out over several days. To do this kind of practice, of course, you need to have your speech be finalized well ahead of the date when you are going to give it. During these practice sessions, you can time your speech to make sure it lasts the appropriate length of time. A friend of ours was the second student on the program in an event where each student’s presentation was to last thirty to forty-five minutes. After the first student had been speaking for seventy-five minutes, the professor in charge asked, “Can we speed this up?” The student said yes, and proceeded to continue speaking for another seventy-five minutes before finally concluding his portion of the program. Although we might fault the professor for not “pulling the plug,” clearly the student had not timed his speech in advance.

Your practice sessions will also enable you to make adjustments to your notecards to make them more effective in supporting your contact with your audience. This kind of practice is not just a strategy for beginners; it is practiced by many highly placed public figures with extensive experience in public speaking.

Your public speaking course is one of the best opportunities you will have to manage your performance anxiety, build your confidence in speaking extemporaneously, develop your vocal skills, and become adept at self-presentation. The habits you can develop through targeted practice are to build continuously on your strengths and to challenge yourself to find new areas for improving your delivery. By taking advantage of these opportunities, you will gain the ability to present a speech effectively whenever you may be called upon to speak publicly.

Key Takeaways

• Conversational style is a speaker’s ability to sound expressive while being perceived by the audience as natural. Conversational quality is a speaker’s ability to prepare a speech and rehearse a speech but still sound spontaneous when delivering it.
• Eye contact helps capture and maintain an audience’s interest while contributing to the speaker’s credibility.
• Vocalics are the nonverbal components of the verbal message. There are six important vocalic components for a speaker to be aware of: volume (loudness or softness), pitch (highness or lowness), rate (fastness or slowness), pauses (use of breaks to add emphasis), vocal variety (use of a range of vocalic strategies), and pronunciation (using conventional patterns of speech formation).
• Physical manipulation is the use of one’s body to add meaning and emphasis to a speech. As such, excessive or nonexistent physical manipulation can detract from a speaker’s speech.
• Good delivery is a habit that is built through effective practice.
• Find a speech online and examine the speaker’s overall presentation. How good was the speaker’s delivery? Make a list of the aspects of delivery in this chapter and evaluate the speaker according to the list. In what areas might the speaker improve?
• Record a practice session of your speech. Write a self-critique, answering the following questions: What surprised you the most? What is an area of strength upon which you can build? What is one area for improvement?

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Some of the speeches are downright scary, while others are joyous and uplifting. Regardless, the focus on so many speeches in such a condensed period of time emphasizes the power of the spoken word. As a former speechwriter turned executive coach, I have helped many women and men hone their messages. I want to share a few things I have learned, mainly through trial and error. Know Your Audience People want to hear what you say, but you need to do your homework before you can connect. Understand what the audience expects of you and tailor your remarks to resonate with their needs. Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Sunday, August 25th Giovanni ribisi on his character’s debut in kevin costner’s ‘horizon’, the best golf shoes for wide feet are roomy, breathable and supportive, acknowledge your limitations. Many times, what a leader has to say is what they must say. That is, the situation is challenging and presents problems. A leader can only accomplish so much. Failure to acknowledge what you can do and what the organization must do is asking for trouble. People will simply tune out. Address Objections Everyone wants to give an uplifting speech that resonates with harmony and joy. Unfortunately, life is not like that. Leaders need to paint a realistic picture, citing the pluses and minuses. What the leader must do may conflict with what the organization wants to do. It is the leader's responsibility to be honest about the decisions and set the course forward. Tell Stories Reveal yourself through stories. Cite examples of individuals in organizations who are making positive contributions. No leader succeeds alone. Every leader needs the team's buy-in. So, make that clear. Issue The Call To Action Not every speech may need a formal call to action, but every public utterance needs to be understood as a call for unity, a coming together to achieve the mission. However, if there is a call to action, learn from the politicians—ask for their support. Simultaneously, include your commitment to supporting the individuals and teams that make up the organization. Uplift Your Audience Knowing, acknowledging, addressing and challenging are just the basics of speechmaking. Each speaker must craft a message that reveals who they are and what they want to accomplish. Give people a reason to believe in you because you believe in them. One thing I have yet to emphasize in this little essay is delivery. So let me quote the legendary film director, John Ford , who famously said “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” In short, relax. If you have a good message, speak directly. Show people how you feel with the words you deliver. Doing so will encourage listeners to have faith in you and your leadership. So often, it is said that a leader's job is to elevate followers and enable them to do their best. 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Department of the Treasury [Docket ID OCC-2024-0012] RIN 1557-AF22 Federal Reserve System [Docket No. R-1837] RIN 7100 AG-79 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation RIN 3064-AF96 National Credit Union Administration RIN 3133-AF57 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [Docket No. CFPB-2024-0034] RIN 3170-AB20 Federal Housing Finance Agency RIN 2590-AB38 Commodity Futures Trading Commision RIN 3038-AF43 Securities and Exchange Commission [Release No. 33-11295; 34-100647; IA-6644; IC-35290; File No. S7-2024-05] RIN 3235-AN32 [Docket No. TREAS-DO-2024-0008] RIN 1505-AC86 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury; Board of ( print page 67891) Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA); Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Department of the Treasury (Treasury). Notice of proposed rulemaking. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Department of the Treasury invite public comment on a proposed rule to establish data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these agencies. Final standards established pursuant to this rulemaking will later be adopted for certain collections of information in separate rulemakings by the agencies or through other actions taken by the agencies. The agencies are proposing this rule as required by the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022. Comments must be received by October 21, 2024. Comments should be directed to: OCC: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Please use the title “Financial Data Transparency Act” to facilitate the organization and distribution of the comments. You may submit comments by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal—Regulations.gov: Go to https://regulations.gov/​ . Enter “Docket ID OCC-2024-0012” in the Search Box and click “Search.” Public comments can be submitted via the “Comment” box below the displayed document information or by clicking on the document title and then clicking the “Comment” box on the top-left side of the screen. For help with submitting effective comments, please click on “Commenter's Checklist.” For assistance with the Regulations.gov site, please call 1-866-498-2945 Monday-Friday, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. eastern time, or email [email protected] . Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. Instructions: You must include “OCC” as the agency name and “Docket ID OCC-2024-0012” in your comment. In general, the OCC will enter all comments received into the docket and publish the comments on the Regulations.gov website without change, including any business or personal information provided such as name and address information, email addresses, or phone numbers. Comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure. You may review comments and other related materials that pertain to this action by the following methods: Viewing Comments Electronically—Regulations.gov: Go to https://regulations.gov/​ . Enter “Docket ID OCC-2024-0012” in the Search Box and click “Search.” Click on the “Dockets” tab and then the document's title. After clicking the document's title, click the “Browse All Comments” tab. Comments can be viewed and filtered by clicking on the “Sort By” drop-down on the right side of the screen or the “Refine Comments Results” options on the left side of the screen. Supporting materials can be viewed by clicking on the “Browse Documents” tab. Click on the “Sort By” drop-down on the right side of the screen or the “Refine Results” options on the left side of the screen checking the “Supporting & Related Material” checkbox. For assistance with the Regulations.gov site, please call 1-866-498-2945 (toll free) Monday-Friday, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. eastern time, or email [email protected] . The docket may be viewed after the close of the comment period in the same manner as during the comment period. Board: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. R-1837 and RIN 7100-AG-79, by any of the following methods: Agency website: https://www.federalreserve.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments at https://www.federalreserve.gov/​generalinfo/​foia/​ProposedRegs.cfm . Email: [email protected] . Include docket and RIN numbers in the subject line of the message. Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102. Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551. Instructions: All public comments are available from the Board's website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/​generalinfo/​foia/​ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted. Accordingly, comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room M-4365A, 2001 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20551, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. during Federal business weekdays. For security reasons, the Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments. For users of TTY-TRS, please call 711 from any telephone, anywhere in the United States. FDIC: The FDIC encourages interested parties to submit written comments. Please include your name, affiliation, address, email address, and telephone number(s) in your comment. You may submit comments to the FDIC, identified by RIN 3064-AF96, by any of the following methods: Agency Website: https://www.fdic.gov/​resources/​regulations/​federal-register-publications . Follow instructions for submitting comments on the FDIC's website. Mail: James P. Sheesley, Assistant Executive Secretary, Attention: Comments/Legal OES (RIN 3064-AF96), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429. Hand Delivered/Courier: Comments may be hand-delivered to the guard station at the rear of the 550 17th Street NW, building (located on F Street NW) on business days between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Email: [email protected] . Include the RIN 3064-AF96 on the subject line of the message. Public Inspection: Comments received, including any personal information provided, may be posted without change to https://www.fdic.gov/​resources/​regulations/​federal-register-publications . Commenters should submit only information that the commenter wishes to make available publicly. The FDIC may review, redact, or refrain from posting all or any portion of any comment that it may deem to be inappropriate for publication, such as irrelevant or obscene material. The FDIC ( print page 67892) may post only a single representative example of identical or substantially identical comments, and in such cases will generally identify the number of identical or substantially identical comments represented by the posted example. All comments that have been redacted, as well as those that have not been posted, that contain comments on the merits of this document will be retained in the public comment file and will be considered as required under all applicable laws. All comments may be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act. NCUA: You may submit written comments, identified by 3133-AF57, by any of the following methods (Please send comments by one method only): Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments for Docket Number NCUA-2023-0019. Mail: Address to Melane Conyers-Ausbrooks, Secretary of the Board, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428. You may view all public comments on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov as submitted, except for those we cannot post for technical reasons. The NCUA will not edit or remove any identifying or contact information from the public comments submitted. If you are unable to access public comments on the internet, you may contact NCUA for alternative access by calling (703) 518-6540 or emailing [email protected] . CFPB: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2024-0034 or RIN 3170-AB20, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments. A brief summary of this document will be available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​CFPB-2024-0034 . Email: [email protected] . Include Docket No. CFPB-2024-0034 or RIN 3170-AB20 in the subject line of the message. Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake—FDTA-INTERAGENCY RULE, c/o Legal Division Docket Manager, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552. Instructions: The CFPB encourages the early submission of comments. All submissions should include the agency name and docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this rulemaking. Because paper mail is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov . All submissions, including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Proprietary information or sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security Numbers, or names of other individuals, should not be included. Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. FHFA: You may submit your comments on the proposed rule, identified by RIN 2590-AB38, by any one of the following methods: Agency Website: https://www.fhfa.gov/​regulation/​federal-register?​comments=​open . Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Hand Delivered/Courier: The hand delivery address is: Clinton Jones, General Counsel, Attention: Comments/RIN 2590-AB38, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. Deliver the package at the Seventh Street entrance Guard Desk, First Floor, on business days between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. U.S. Mail, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, or Other Mail Service: The mailing address for comments is: Clinton Jones, General Counsel, Attention: Comments/RIN 2590-AB38, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. Please note that all mail sent to FHFA via U.S. Mail is routed through a national irradiation facility, a process that may delay delivery by approximately two weeks. For any time-sensitive correspondence, please plan accordingly. Public Comments and Access: FHFA invites comments on all aspects of the proposed rule and will take all comments into consideration before issuing a final rule. Comments will be posted to the electronic rulemaking docket on the FHFA public website at https://www.fhfa.gov , except as described below. Commenters should submit only information that the commenter wishes to make available publicly. FHFA may post only a single representative example of identical or substantially identical comments, and in such cases will generally identify the number of identical or substantially identical comments represented by the posted example. FHFA may, in its discretion, redact or refrain from posting all or any portion of any comment that contains content that is obscene, vulgar, profane, or threatens harm. All comments, including those that are redacted or not posted, will be retained in their original form in FHFA's internal rulemaking file and considered as required by all applicable laws. Commenters that would like FHFA to consider any portion of their comment exempt from disclosure on the basis that it contains trade secrets, or financial, confidential or proprietary data or information, should follow the procedures in section IV.D. of FHFA's Policy on Communications with Outside Parties in Connection with FHFA Rulemakings, see https://www.fhfa.gov/​sites/​default/​files/​documents/​Ex-Parte-Communications-Public-Policy_​3-5-19.pdf . FHFA cannot guarantee that such data or information, or the identity of the commenter, will remain confidential if disclosure is sought pursuant to an applicable statute or regulation. See 12 CFR 1202.8 and 1214.2 and the FHFA FOIA Reference Guide at https://www.fhfa.gov/​about/​foia-reference-guide for additional information. CFTC: You may submit comments, identified by “Financial Data Transparency Act Joint Data Standards Rulemaking” and RIN number 3038-AF43 by any of the following methods: CFTC Comments Portal: https://comments.cftc.gov . Select the “Submit Comments” link for this release and follow the instructions on the Public Comment Form. Mail: Send to Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581. Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the same instructions as for Mail, above. Please submit your comments using only one of these methods. Submissions through the CFTC Comments Portal are encouraged. All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted as received to https://comments.cftc.gov . You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. If you wish the CFTC to consider information that you believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be submitted according to the CFTC's procedures established in 17 CFR 145.9 . The CFTC reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your submission from https://comments.cftc.gov that it may ( print page 67893) deem to be inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on the merits of the rulemaking will be retained in the public comment file and will be considered as required under the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be accessible under FOIA. SEC: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: Use the SEC's internet comment form ( https://www.sec.gov/​comments/​s7-2024-05/​financial-data-transparency-act-joint-data-standards ); or Send an email to [email protected] . Please include File Number S7-2024-05 on the subject line; or Send paper comments to: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090. All submissions should refer to S7-2024-05. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help us process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method of submission. The SEC will post all comments on the SEC's website ( https://www.sec.gov/​rules-regulations/​2024/​07/​s7-2024-05 ). All comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. Studies, memoranda, or other substantive items may be added by the SEC or staff to the comment file during this rulemaking. A notification of the inclusion in the comment file of any such materials will be made available on the SEC's website. To ensure direct electronic receipt of such notifications, sign up through the “Stay Connected” option at www.sec.gov to receive notifications by email. A summary of the proposal of not more than 100 words is posted on the Commission's website ( https://www.sec.gov/​rules-regulations/​2024/​07/​s7-2024-05 ). Treasury: You may submit comments, identified by RIN [1505-AC86], by any of the following methods: Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of Financial Research, Department of the Treasury, 717 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20220. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and RIN [1505-AC86] for this rulemaking. Because paper mail in the Washington, DC, area may be subject to delay, it is recommended that comments be submitted electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov , including any personal information provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov . OCC: Richard Heeman, Enterprise Data Governance Program Manager, Office of the Chief Information Officer and Chief Data Officer, (202) 945-7224; Allison Hester-Haddad, Special Counsel, Chief Counsel's Office, (202) 649-5490; 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. Board: Katherine Tom, Chief Data Officer, (202) 872-4986; Nuha Elmaghrabi, Clearance Officer, (202) 452-3884, Office of the Chief Data Officer; William Treacy, Adviser, (202) 452-3859, Division of Supervision and Regulation; Dafina Stewart, Deputy Associate General Counsel, (202) 452-2677; Gillian Burgess, Senior Counsel, (202) 736-5564; Sumeet Shroff, Counsel, (202) 973-5085, Legal Division, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551. For users of TTY-TRS, please call 711 from any telephone, anywhere in the United States. FDIC: Geoffrey Nieboer, Chief Data Officer, (703) 516-5850, [email protected] ; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20429. NCUA: Office of Business Innovation: Amber Gravius, Chief Data Officer, (703) 548-2411, [email protected] , and Aaron Langley, Business Innovation Officer, (703) 548-2710, [email protected] ; Office of General Counsel: Regina Metz, Senior Attorney, (703) 518-6561, [email protected] , and Ariel Pereira, Senior Attorney, (703) 548-2778, [email protected] . CFPB: George Karithanom, Office of Regulations, at (202) 435-7700 or https://reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov/​ . If you require this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact [email protected] . FHFA: Matthew Greene, Office of the Chief Data Officer, (202) 649-3174, [email protected] ; or Jamie Schwing, Office of General Counsel, (202) 649-3085, [email protected] . These are not toll-free numbers. For TTY/TRS users with hearing and speech disabilities, dial 711 and ask to be connected to any of the contact numbers above. CFTC: Ted Kaouk, Chief Data Officer, (202) 418-5747, [email protected] ; Tom Guerin, Senior Special Counsel, (202) 743-4194, [email protected] , Division of Data; Jeffrey Burns, Senior Assistant General Counsel, (202) 418-5101, [email protected] , Office of the General Counsel; in each case at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1151 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581. SEC: Dennis Hermreck, Office of Rulemaking, Division of Corporation Finance, or Parth Venkat, Office of the Chief Data Officer, at (202) 551-3430, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-8549. Treasury: Cornelius Crowley, Chief Data Officer, Office of Financial Research, (202) 294-3382, [email protected] ; Michael Passante, Chief Counsel, Office of Financial Research, (202) 921-4003, [email protected] , Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20220. On December 23, 2022, the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022 (FDTA) was signed into law. [ 1 ] The FDTA seeks to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data. As explained below, the FDTA directs the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Commodity Futures ( print page 67894) Trading Commission (CFTC), [ 2 ] Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Department of the Treasury (Treasury) (each referred to individually as the “Agency” and collectively as the “Agencies”) to jointly establish data standards. The FDTA also directs most of the Agencies to issue individual rules adopting applicable joint standards for certain collections of information under their respective purview. In this proposed rule, the Agencies are requesting comment on data standards to be jointly established; individual Agency proposals will follow after the establishment of the joint standards. The Agencies seek comment on all aspects of the proposal. Section 5811 of the FDTA amends subtitle A of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 (Financial Stability Act)  [ 3 ] by adding a new section 124. [ 4 ] Section 124 of the Financial Stability Act directs the Agencies jointly to issue regulations establishing data standards for (1) certain collections of information reported to each Agency by financial entities  [ 5 ] under the jurisdiction of the Agency, and (2) the data collected from the Agencies on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The statute requires the Agencies to issue the final joint rule within two years of December 23, 2022. Section 124 of the Financial Stability Act defines the term “data standard” to mean a standard that specifies rules by which data is described and recorded. [ 6 ] In this preamble, “joint standard” refers to a data standard that has been established by the Agencies pursuant to the joint rule. As noted in section I.B below, the FDTA directs the OCC, Board, FDIC, NCUA, CFPB, FHFA, and SEC (collectively, the “implementing Agencies”) to issue individual rules adopting applicable data standards for specified collections of information  [ 7 ] (collectively, the “Agency-specific rulemakings”) and to incorporate and ensure compatibility with, to the extent feasible, the joint standards. [ 8 ] The application of the joint standards to specific collections of information would take effect through adoption by an Agency of an Agency-specific rulemaking or other action. [ 9 ] Section 124(c)(1)(A) of the Financial Stability Act requires the joint standards to include common identifiers, including a common nonproprietary legal entity identifier that is available under an open license for all entities required to report to the Agencies. Further, section 124(c)(1)(B) of the Financial Stability Act requires that the data standards must, to the extent practicable: Render data fully searchable and machine-readable;  [ 10 ] Enable high quality data through schemas, with accompanying metadata  [ 11 ] documented in machine-readable taxonomy or ontology models, [ 12 ] which clearly define the semantic meaning of the data, as defined by the underlying regulatory information collection requirements; Ensure that a data element or data asset  [ 13 ] that exists to satisfy an underlying regulatory information collection requirement be consistently identified as such in associated machine-readable metadata; Be nonproprietary or made available under an open license;  [ 14 ] Incorporate standards developed and maintained by voluntary consensus standards bodies; and Use, be consistent with, and implement applicable accounting and reporting principles. Finally, section 124 of the Financial Stability Act directs the Agencies, in establishing the joint standards, to consult with other Federal departments and agencies and multi-agency initiatives responsible for Federal data standards  [ 15 ] and to seek to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across members of the FSOC. [ 16 ] Separate from section 124 of the Financial Stability Act, the FDTA specifically requires each implementing Agency to adopt by rule applicable data standards for certain collections of information that are regularly filed with or submitted to that Agency. [ 17 ] Subject ( print page 67895) to the flexibilities and discretion discussed below, the data standards that an implementing Agency adopts in its Agency-specific rulemaking must incorporate and ensure compatibility with, to the extent feasible, applicable joint standards. Pursuant to the FDTA, the data standards adopted by each implementing Agency through their respective Agency-specific rulemaking must take effect not later than two years after the final joint rule is promulgated. [ 18 ] Generally, an implementing Agency will determine the applicability of the joint standards to the collections of information specified in the FDTA under its purview. Additionally, in issuing an Agency-specific rulemaking, each implementing Agency (1) may scale data reporting requirements to reduce any unjustified burden on smaller entities affected by the regulations and (2) must seek to minimize disruptive changes to those entities or persons. [ 19 ] Further, section 5891(c) of the FDTA provides that nothing in the FDTA may be construed to prohibit an Agency from tailoring the data standards when those standards are adopted. [ 20 ] To the extent an Agency has separate authority to adopt data standards, the Agency may adopt other standards beyond the joint standards. Finally, the FDTA does not impose new information collection requirements (that is, it does not require an implementing Agency to collect or make publicly available additional information that the Agency was not already collecting or making publicly available prior to the enactment of the FDTA). [ 21 ] For example, to the extent the joint standards include a common identifier for a financial instrument, an implementing Agency that collects aggregated data related to that type of financial instrument would not be required to collect disaggregated data for that type of financial instrument. The Agencies expect to work together on the adoption of the established joint standards in the Agency-specific rulemakings or other Agency actions, as appropriate. The Agencies also expect to monitor developments related to data standards, including the joint standards, and update the joint rule, as appropriate. The field of data standards, data transmission, schemas and taxonomies is rich with well-established practices and is also rapidly evolving, including with proposals to extend existing standards beyond their existing use and with development of new standards. Section 124(c)(2)(A) of the Financial Stability Act directs the Agencies to consult with other Federal departments and agencies and multi-agency initiatives responsible for Federal data standards. To comply with this requirement, the implementing Agencies and Treasury consulted with a variety of Federal governmental entities with relevant experience in advance of issuing this proposal. [ 22 ] The implementing Agencies and Treasury also met with public stakeholders with relevant experience in advance of issuing this proposal. [ 23 ] These consultations provided the implementing Agencies and Treasury with a greater understanding of the issues involved in establishing and adopting the joint standards. In addition, the Agencies anticipate receiving public comments on this proposed rule from a wide range of stakeholders. The joint standards established by the joint rule would apply to certain collections of information reported to each Agency. [ 24 ] Although the FDTA does not define the term “collections of information,” that term is a term of art, defined in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), [ 25 ] an act to which the Agencies are subject. The Agencies propose to define the term “collections of information” as used in connection with the FDTA by reference to the definition of that term in the PRA. That definition is widely understood by the Agencies and by public stakeholders. All approved and pending PRA collections of information have been categorized and are accessible to the Agencies and the public on Reginfo.gov . [ 26 ] The use of the term “collections of information” in the FDTA is consistent with the PRA definition, and the PRA definition is consistent with the purposes of the FDTA. The statute limits the applicability of the joint standards established by the joint rule to certain collections of information. Section 124(b)(1) of the Financial Stability Act directs the Agencies to jointly establish data standards for certain “collections of information reported to each [Agency] by financial entities under the jurisdiction of the [Agency].” Under this directive, collections of information that do not include reporting requirements ( e.g., recordkeeping and third-party disclosure collections) and that are not reported to an Agency by a specified type of financial entity are outside the scope of the FDTA. Likewise, specified collections of information that are not regularly reported to the relevant Agency, [ 27 ] or that are subject to the “monetary policy” exception  [ 28 ] are also outside the scope of the FDTA. Each implementing Agency may choose to further interpret the scope of the FDTA's applicability to its own collections of information in the ( print page 67896) Agency-specific rulemakings. However, the FDTA does not limit an Agency from applying the joint standards to other collections of information at its discretion. The Agencies invite comment on the incorporation of the PRA definition of “collection of information” for purposes of the proposed rule. Section 124(c)(1)(A) of the Financial Stability Act requires the joint standards to include “a common nonproprietary legal entity identifier that is available under an open license for all entities required to report to” the Agencies. The term “open license” is defined (by reference to the PRA) to mean a legal guarantee that a data asset is made available at no cost to the public and with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting such asset. [ 29 ] The Agencies propose to establish the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17442-1:2020, Financial Services—Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) as the legal entity identifier joint standard. [ 30 ] The LEI is a global, 20-character, alphanumeric, identifier standard that uniquely and unambiguously identifies a legal entity, which is documented by the ISO  [ 31 ] and which meets the requirements of section 124(c)(1). The LEI is nonproprietary, and the LEI data is made publicly available under an open license, free of charge to any interested user. The LEI is managed by the GLEIF, [ 32 ] which was established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB)  [ 33 ] in June 2014 to support the implementation and use of the LEI. The GLEIF must adhere to governance principles designed by the FSB and the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC), a group of financial markets regulators, other public authorities and observers from more than 50 countries. [ 34 ] The ROC designated the LEI as the standard, assigned responsibility for maintenance of the standard to the GLEIF, and oversees its work so that it remains in the public interest. [ 35 ] The LEI is used worldwide in the private and public sectors and, in certain jurisdictions, including the United States, is used for regulatory reporting. [ 36 ] In some cases, the LEI can be used to identify the filer of a particular report, as well as entities related to the filer, such as its subsidiaries or parents. [ 37 ] Regulators have the discretion to determine whether firms are obligated to renew LEI and corresponding legal entity reference data. [ 38 ] While the LEI codes and reference data may be used free of charge, entities must pay a fee to local operating units to register and renew the LEI assigned to them. [ 39 ] The LEI system is based on a cost-recovery model, meaning the costs associated with obtaining and renewing an LEI cover the administrative expenses associated with the LEI system. However, this proposed joint rule would not impose any requirements that any particular entity obtain an LEI and incur the associated costs; such requirements would be determined by the Agency-specific rulemakings. The Agencies considered but are not proposing the following legal entity identifier options because they did not meet the FDTA's requirements, including, among others, the nonproprietary and open license requirements and the requirement to use standards developed and maintained by voluntary consensus standards bodies: The Business Identifier Code, because it is applicable to only a subset of financial entities under the jurisdiction of the Agencies and the standard is used within the proprietary system administered by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). Data Universal Numbering System, because the standard is proprietary, is not freely available under an open license, and is not developed or maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body. Commercial and Government Entity Code, because the standard is proprietary, is not available under an open license, and is not developed or maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body. North Atlantic Treaty Organization Commercial and Government Entity Code, because the standard is proprietary, is not available under an open license, and is not developed or maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body. Research, Statistics, Supervision & Regulation, Discount & Credit Database Identifier, because the standard is proprietary to the Federal Reserve System, not available under an open license, and not developed or maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) because it is applicable to only a subset of financial entities under the ( print page 67897) jurisdiction of the Agencies  [ 40 ] and because the TIN can sometimes be the Social Security Number (where the entity is a sole proprietorship), which is sensitive information that the entity would not want to share. The Agencies invite comment on the establishment of the LEI as the legal entity identifier data standard in this proposed joint rule and on other options for the legal entity identifier data standard. The Agencies also request comment on the use of the LEI to identify legal entities related to the filer of a particular report, such as a subsidiary or parent of the filer. [ 41 ] In addition to the LEI, the Agencies propose to establish the following common identifiers in the joint standards. Each of these identifiers satisfies the requirements listed in section 124(c)(1) of the Financial Stability Act. For reporting of swaps and security-based swaps, the Agencies propose to establish ISO 4914—Financial services—Unique product identifier (UPI). [ 42 ] For other types of financial instruments, the Agencies propose to establish ISO 10962—Securities and related financial instruments—Classification of financial instruments (CFI) code. [ 43 ] The UPI and CFI are complementary identifiers and provide a taxonomic classification system for financial instruments. These identifiers are useful for aggregating data and increasing global transparency, which is beneficial in certain financial markets such as swaps, forwards, and non-listed options. For an identifier of financial instruments, [ 44 ] the Agencies propose to establish the Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI)  [ 45 ] established by the Object Management Group, which is an open-membership standards consortium. The FIGI is an international identifier for all classes of financial instruments, including, but not limited to, securities and digital assets. It is a global non-proprietary identifier available under an open license. The FIGI provides free and open access and coverage across all global asset classes, real-time availability, and flexibility for use in multiple functions. The FIGI also can be used for asset classes that do not normally have a global identifier, including loans. The FIGI has been implemented as a U.S. standard (X9.145) by the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee X9 organization. For the identification of securities, the Agencies also considered CUSIP and the ISIN (which includes the CUSIP). While these identifiers are widely used, they are proprietary and not available under an open license in the United States. For date fields, the Agencies propose to establish the date as defined by ISO 8601  [ 46 ] using the Basic format option (which minimizes the number of separators). Date and time express fundamental dimensions of financial data and are ubiquitous in the collections of information subject to the FDTA. Therefore, consistent representation of dates may help facilitate data integration and interoperability across diverse collections. While date and time information may be displayed on forms, web pages, user interfaces, and other media in other formats ( e.g., Month, Day, Year), the underlying machine-readable data should, to the extent feasible, follow the ISO 8601 format. For identification of a State, possession, or military “state” of the United States of America or a geographic directional, the Agencies propose to establish the U.S. Postal Service Abbreviations, as published in Appendix B of Publication 28 “Postal Addressing Standards, Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service.”  [ 47 ] Identification of a State, possession, geographic directional, or a military “state” is widely used in collections that are subject to the FDTA. Compared to alternative numeric State codes, this proposed standard is more widely used and is more conducive to use by both humans and machines. For identification of countries, the Agencies propose to establish the country codes and their subdivisions, as appropriate, as defined by the Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) standard. GENC, which was developed by the Country Codes Working Group of the Geospatial Intelligence Standards Working Group, specifies the U.S. Government profile of ISO 3166, “Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries and their Subdivisions.”  [ 48 ] This profile addresses requirements unique to the U.S. Government for: restrictions in recognition of the national sovereignty of a country; identification and recognition of geopolitical entities not included in ISO 3166; and use of names of countries and country subdivisions that have been approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). This standard is widely used among Federal agencies and other entities in the United States and helps provide consistency and interoperability of references to geopolitical entities. For identification of currencies, the Agencies propose to establish the alphabetic currency code as defined by ISO 4217 Currency Codes. [ 49 ] These internationally recognized codes are widely used and incorporated into many other data standards. This standard helps support interoperability, enable clarity, and reduce errors. The Agencies invite comment on the establishment of these other common identifiers in the proposed rule. The Agencies also are requesting comment on whether to establish an additional common identifier for Census Tract reporting as part of the joint standards. Specifically, the Agencies are considering the 11-digit format defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, which includes a 5-digit Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) county code prefix followed by a 6-digit tract code with no decimals and allows for leading or trailing zeros as applicable. Census Tract is a widely utilized geocoding standard with applications in data matching, estimation, and other analytical pursuits. The Agencies invite comment on whether to establish this common identifier as part of the joint standards and the reasons for establishing or not establishing it. ( print page 67898) Standardizing the way in which information is transmitted to the Agencies can promote the interoperability of that information. The formats that the Agencies use to digitally receive collections of information are referred to as data transmission formats. For certain collections of information, submitted data may refer to one or more schemas, taxonomies, or ontology models that describe the syntax, structure, or semantic meaning of the data. [ 50 ] These can be used to validate and explain the data. A high-quality machine-readable description of the syntax and structure of a data asset allows for automated verification of the associated data asset. A high-quality machine-readable description of semantic meaning of a data asset ensures that the specific meaning remains clear as the data asset is transmitted to multiple parties. [ 51 ] Not all Agency collections of information have a schema and taxonomy associated with them, as a schema and taxonomy may not be appropriate. Further, a schema and taxonomy would not be required for all collections of information subject to the FDTA. The formats used to develop and publish schemas and taxonomies are referred to as schema and taxonomy formats. For the joint standard for data transmission and schema and taxonomy formats, the Agencies propose to establish that the data transmission or schema and taxonomy formats used have, to the extent practicable, four properties, derived from the requirements listed in section 124(c)(1)(B) of the Financial Stability Act. Specifically, the proposed properties would be that the data transmission and schema and taxonomy formats will, to the extent practicable: Render data fully searchable and machine-readable; Enable high quality data through schemas, with accompanying metadata documented in machine-readable taxonomy or ontology models, which clearly define the semantic meaning of the data, as defined by the underlying regulatory information collection requirements, as appropriate; Ensure that a data element or data asset that exists to satisfy an underlying regulatory information collection requirement be consistently identified as such in associated machine-readable metadata; and Be nonproprietary or available under an open license. One of these properties is that, to the extent practicable, a data element or data asset that exists to satisfy an underlying regulatory information collection requirement must be consistently identified as such in associated machine-readable metadata. This property is set forth in section 124(c)(1)(B)(iii) of the Financial Stability Act. This means that, to the extent practicable and where collection of information is pursuant to regulatory requirements, a schema and taxonomy should include machine-readable metadata to track the applicable regulatory requirements. Applicable regulatory requirements should be easily identifiable for data assets that are collections of information subject to the PRA. To the extent practicable, Agencies may also identify applicable regulatory requirements on a data-element level. Under the proposal, any data transmission or schema and taxonomy format that, to the extent practicable, has these properties would be consistent with this proposed joint standard. There are currently various data transmission formats that generally have these properties—for example, there are methods of using Comma Separated Values (CSV) or other delimiter-separated files, eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and Java Script Object Notation (JSON) in manners that satisfy these properties. In addition, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Portable Document Format (PDF) are data transmission formats that may satisfy these properties in limited circumstances. For example, HTML may satisfy the standard if the data within the HTML document conforms to a schema ( e.g., Inline XBRL), and PDF may satisfy the standard if the data within the PDF conforms to specification “A” (PDF/A) that uses advanced features for tagging fields with a reference schema and taxonomy and provides necessary metadata that allows for automated data extraction. HTML and PDF documents whose data does not conform to any such schema and taxonomy would not be considered machine-readable as that term is defined in the FDTA because the data contained in such HTML and PDF documents cannot be easily processed by a computer without human intervention while ensuring no semantic meaning is lost. Regarding schema and taxonomy formats, XML Schema Definition (XSD), eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) Taxonomy, and JSON Schema are currently available schema and taxonomy formats that have these properties. The Agencies propose to establish a joint standard that refers to a list of properties rather than any specific data transmission or schema and taxonomy formats for several reasons. First, since the list of properties is derived from the requirements listed in section 124(c)(1)(B) of the Financial Stability Act, any data transmission or schema and taxonomy format data standards with these properties would satisfy the FDTA's related requirements. Second, data transmission or schema and taxonomy formats that have these properties are likely to be interoperable with each other. Interoperability is an important consideration, as the FDTA directs the Agencies to “seek to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across members of the FSOC” when establishing the joint standards. [ 52 ] Finally, under this approach, the Agencies could adopt new open-source file formats as they are developed, and maintain consistency with the joint standards, provided that the new formats have the listed properties; the joint rule would not need to be amended to specify new formats. The Agencies invite comment on the proposed establishment of a properties-based joint standard for data transmission or schema and taxonomy formats, as well as the proposed properties. The Agencies also invite comment on whether, as an alternative, it would be preferable to establish specific data transmission and schema and taxonomy formats as joint standards. The Agencies also invite comment on use of the terms “data transmission format” and “schema and taxonomy format.” Some financial market participants have developed standardized data definitions that are intended to facilitate efficient and consistent information exchanges. The Agencies and standard-setting bodies have developed taxonomies based on these standardized data definitions, many of which are currently used for Agency collections of information and serve as machine-readable, externally maintained ( print page 67899) taxonomies. For example, the FFIEC Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (FFIEC Call Report) Taxonomy, [ 53 ] the Financial Accounting Standards Board's U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) Financial Reporting Taxonomy, [ 54 ] and the International Accounting Standards Board's International Financial Reporting Standards Taxonomy are taxonomies that define the semantic meaning of the data and that are currently used in regulatory reporting. In addition, other taxonomies (including those published by the FFIEC for reports other than the FFIEC Call Report) are used and may continue to be used in connection with collections of information of the Agencies. Not all Agency collections of information have a taxonomy associated with them, as a taxonomy may not be appropriate. Further a taxonomy would not be required for all collections of information subject to the FDTA. The FDTA does not explicitly require the establishment of specific taxonomies as joint standards and, therefore, it is not clear whether the establishment of specific taxonomies is necessary to enable high quality data, given that the use of any taxonomy would further this objective. Therefore, while the Agencies considered establishing joint standards related to taxonomies, they are not proposing to do so. However, the Agencies invite comment on: ( option 1 ) whether to establish a joint standard for taxonomies based on certain properties, and if so, the properties that should be set forth in the joint standard; or ( option 2 ) whether to establish specific taxonomies, and if so, the taxonomies that should be set forth in the joint standard (such as those listed above or other specific taxonomies). The Agencies also invite comment on use of the term “taxonomy” and whether the Agencies should define the term by rule, and if so, how the term should be defined. If, following notice and comment, the Agencies establish specific taxonomies as joint standards, the Agencies would clarify in the final rule that the use of one or more data element definitions from a taxonomy that is established as a joint standard would not preclude an Agency from using data element definitions from another taxonomy or using additional taxonomies, including Agency-specific taxonomies, for the same collection of information. Similarly, an Agency would not be precluded from modifying or tailoring the joint standard taxonomy in consideration of the benefits and costs to its reporting entities, in consideration of the Agency's mission, or to comply with applicable law. [ 55 ] The Agencies invite comment on this approach (that is, the potential for an Agency to use multiple taxonomies in an individual collection of information, including taxonomies that are not a jointly-established standard taxonomy) to the establishment of joint standards and the flexibility needed to meet regulatory reporting requirements unique to a specific Agency or groups of Agencies. The Agencies request and encourage any interested person to submit comments regarding the proposed rule and note that such comments are of particular assistance to our rulemaking if accompanied by supporting data and analysis. To inform potential future rulemakings, the Agencies also request public input related to data standards, data transmission formats, and schemas and taxonomies the Agencies should consider for potential future updates of the joint rule. Are there other data or semantic standards, data transmission formats, or schemas and taxonomies beyond those discussed in this preamble that the Agencies should consider in connection with potential future updates to the joint rule? For example, if the Agencies were to update the joint rule in the future, should the Agencies consider adopting joint standards that help identify specific transactions for collections of information that gather transaction-level information?  [ 56 ] Additionally, should the Agencies consider data standards that enable automatic verification of the identities of those submitting information? The Agencies propose that the joint rule would take effect on the first day of the next calendar quarter that begins at least 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register . As noted above, most Agencies are required to separately adopt data standards for certain collections of information. The joint standards would take effect through adoption by implementing Agencies through the Agency-specific rulemakings, not the joint rule. The proposed effective date for the joint rule would not change any reporting requirements without further action by the Agencies. Executive Order 12866 , as amended, directs agencies to assess costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under E.O. 12866 , Regulatory Planning and Review. The PRA  [ 57 ] states that no agency may conduct or sponsor, nor is the respondent required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OCC reviewed this proposed rule and determined that it does not create any information collection or revise any existing collection of information. Accordingly, no PRA submissions to OMB will be made with respect to this proposed rule. The data standards that the Agencies propose to adopt in ( print page 67900) Agency-specific rulemakings that create any new information collection requirements or revise any existing collection of information will be addressed in one or more separate Federal Register notices. In accordance with the PRA, [ 58 ] the Board may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. While certain provisions of the proposed rule reference “collections of information” within the meaning of the PRA, the Board reviewed the proposed rule under the authority delegated to the Board by the OMB and determined that it contains no collections of information under the PRA. [ 59 ] Accordingly, there is no paperwork burden associated with the rule. The PRA  [ 60 ] provides that no agency may conduct or sponsor, nor is the respondent required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The FDIC reviewed this proposed rule and determined that it does not create any new information collection or revise any existing collection of information. Accordingly, the FDIC does not expect to make PRA submissions to OMB with respect to this proposed rule. The PRA ( 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ) requires that the OMB approve all collections of information by a Federal agency from the public before they can be implemented. Respondents are not required to respond to any collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. While certain provisions of the proposed rule reference “collections of information” within the meaning of the PRA, the NCUA reviewed the proposed rule and determined that it would not create any new information collection or revise any existing information collection as defined by the PRA. In accordance with the PRA, [ 61 ] the CFPB may not conduct or sponsor (nor is a respondent required to respond to) an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. While certain provisions of the proposed rule reference “collections of information” within the meaning and definition under the PRA, the CFPB reviewed the proposed joint rule and has determined that it contains no collections of information as defined by the PRA. Accordingly, there is no paperwork burden imposed by the joint rule. Thus, neither submission to nor approval by OMB is necessary. The proposed rule does not contain any information collection requirement that requires the approval of OMB under the PRA ( 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ). Therefore, FHFA has not submitted any information to OMB for review. The PRA  [ 62 ] imposes certain requirements on Federal agencies, including the CFTC, in connection with conducting or sponsoring any collection of information as defined by the PRA. The CFTC believes that the proposal will not change existing reporting obligations on the part of financial entities. As a result, the CFTC has determined that the proposed joint rule does not create any information collection or revise any existing collection of information. Accordingly, the CFTC has not prepared a PRA submission to OMB with respect to this proposal. The proposed joint rule does not contain any collection of information requirements as defined by the PRA. [ 63 ] The data standards established by the joint rule would not change existing reporting obligations. Furthermore, as noted above, the FDTA does not impose new information collection requirements ( i.e., it does not require an Agency to collect or make publicly available additional information that the Agency was not already collecting or making publicly available prior to enactment of the FDTA). PRA  [ 64 ] provides that no agency may conduct or sponsor, nor is the respondent required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Treasury reviewed this proposed rule and determined that it does not create any information collection or revise any existing collection of information. Accordingly, no PRA submissions to OMB will be made with respect to this proposed rule. In general, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)  [ 65 ] requires an agency, in connection with a proposed rule, to prepare an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis describing the impact of the rule on small entities (defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration for purposes of the RFA to include commercial banks and savings institutions with total assets of $850 million or less and trust companies with total assets of $47 million or less). However, under section 605(b) of the RFA, this analysis is not required if an agency certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and publishes its certification and a short explanatory statement in the Federal Register along with its rule. The OCC currently supervises 1,048 institutions (commercial banks, trust companies, Federal savings associations, and branches or agencies of foreign banks), [ 66 ] of which approximately 636 are small entities. [ 67 ] To estimate expenditures, the OCC reviews the costs associated with the activities necessary to comply with the proposed rule. These include an estimate of the total time required to implement the proposed rule and the estimated hourly wage of bank employees who may be responsible for the tasks associated with achieving compliance with the proposed rule. For cost estimates, the OCC uses a compensation rate of $129 per hour. 68 ( print page 67901) Based on this approach, the OCC estimates the annual cost for small entities to review the rule could be as much as approximately $1,032 per bank ($129 per hour × 8 hours). The OCC considers 5 percent or more of OCC-supervised small entities to be a substantial number. Thus, at present, 32 OCC-supervised small entities would constitute a substantial number, and the proposed rule would affect a substantial number of OCC-supervised small entities. However, the OCC classifies the economic impact on an individual small entity as significant if the total estimated impact in one year is greater than 5 percent of the small entity's total annual salaries and benefits or greater than 2.5 percent of the small entity's total non-interest expense. Based on the thresholds for a significant economic impact, the OCC estimates that, if implemented, the proposed rule would have a significant economic impact on zero small entities. Accordingly, the OCC certifies that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Board is providing an initial regulatory flexibility analysis with respect to this proposed rule. The RFA  [ 69 ] requires an agency to consider whether the rule it proposes will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. [ 70 ] In connection with a proposed rule, the RFA requires an agency to prepare and invite public comment on an initial regulatory flexibility analysis describing the impact of the rule on small entities, unless the agency certifies that the proposed rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. An initial regulatory flexibility analysis must contain (1) a description of the reasons why action by the agency is being considered; (2) a succinct statement of the objectives of, and legal basis for, the proposed rule; (3) a description of, and, where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities to which the proposed rule will apply; (4) a description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements of the proposed rule, including an estimate of the classes of small entities that will be subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of the report or record; (5) an identification, to the extent practicable, of all relevant Federal rules which may duplicate, overlap with, or conflict with the proposed rule; and (6) a description of any significant alternatives to the proposed rule which accomplish the stated objectives of applicable statutes and minimize any significant economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities. [ 71 ] The Board has considered the potential impact of the proposed rule on small entities in accordance with the RFA. Based on its analysis and for the reasons stated below, the Board believes that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Nevertheless, the Board is publishing and inviting comment on this initial regulatory flexibility analysis. The FDTA both requires and serves as the legal basis for the Board to issue this proposed rule. The FDTA instructs the Agencies to establish data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these Agencies. The proposed rule only applies to the Agencies themselves—it does not apply to any other entities, including small entities. Therefore, the proposed rule includes no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements. The Board is aware of no other Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed rule. The Board also is aware of no significant alternatives to the proposed rule that would accomplish the stated objectives of applicable statute. Because the proposed rule would not apply to any small entities supervised by the Board, there are no alternatives that could minimize the impact of the proposed rule on small entities. Therefore, the Board believes that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities supervised by the Board. The Board welcomes comment on all aspects of its analysis. The RFA generally requires an agency, in connection with a proposed rule, to prepare and make available for public comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the impact of the proposed rule on small entities. [ 72 ] However, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required if the agency certifies that the proposed rule will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The SBA has defined “small entities” to include banking organizations with total assets of less than or equal to $850 million. [ 73 ] Generally, the FDIC considers a significant economic impact to be a quantified effect in excess of 5 percent of total annual salaries and benefits or 2.5 percent of total noninterest expenses. The FDIC believes that effects in excess of one or more of these thresholds typically represent significant economic impacts for FDIC-supervised institutions. As of December 31, 2023, the FDIC supervises 2,936 insured depository institutions, of which 2,221 institutions would be considered a “small entity” for purposes of the RFA. [ 74 ] The proposed rule, if enacted, would establish data standards for collections of information reported to the Agencies, as mandated by the FDTA. The establishment of these data standards may promote the interoperability of the data and may reduce the costs to transmit or share data between and among the Agencies. These reduced costs may improve the FDIC's ability to plan, coordinate and evaluate future regulatory and supervisory actions. The proposed rule, if enacted, would impose some costs on the FDIC to update its current systems to match the proposed standards. The proposed rule, if enacted, would neither create additional requirements for, nor impose burden on, private individuals, businesses, organizations, communities, or non-Federal governmental entities. The FDIC does not believe the proposed rule would have substantive effects on financial market activity or the U.S. ( print page 67902) economy. As such, the FDIC certifies that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The FDIC invites comments on all aspects of the supporting information provided in this RFA section. In particular, would this proposed rule have any significant effects on small entities for which the FDIC is the appropriate Federal banking agency that the FDIC has not identified? The RFA  [ 75 ] generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements, unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. If the agency makes such a certification, it shall publish the certification at the time of publication of either the proposed rule or the final rule, along with a statement providing the factual basis for such certification. [ 76 ] For purposes of this analysis, the NCUA considers small credit unions to be those having under $100 million in assets. [ 77 ] The proposed rule would not impose new, or modify existing, requirements that would result in the imposition of an economic cost. As discussed, the proposed rule establishes joint standards that will then separately be adopted in Agency-specific rulemakings. The Agency-specific rulemaking might therefore impose some costs on “financial entities under the jurisdiction of” the agencies, and these will be addressed in the preambles of the individual rules. As noted, the Agency-specific rules will generally be subject to the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, allowing the public opportunity to provide comment, including on the potential economic impacts. The NCUA Board notes that the FDTA confers the agency with authority to mitigate these potential costs. Specifically, section 5873 of the FDTA provides that the NCUA (1) may scale data reporting requirements to reduce any unjustified burden on smaller regulated entities and (2) must seek to minimize disruptive changes to the persons affected by the regulations. Further, section 5891(c) of the FDTA clarifies that nothing in the FDTA may be construed to prohibit an agency from tailoring the data standards it adopts in its Agency-specific rulemaking. The NCUA will take these authorities into consideration in the development of its Agency-specific rule. Accordingly, the NCUA certifies that the proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small credit unions. The RFA as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, requires each agency to consider the potential impact of its regulations on small entities, including small businesses, small governmental units, and small not for profit organizations. The RFA defines a “small business” as a business that meets the size standard developed by the SBA pursuant to the Small Business Act. The RFA generally requires an agency to conduct an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) of any proposed rule subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements, unless the agency certifies that the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The CFPB also is subject to certain additional procedures under the RFA involving the convening of a panel to consult with small entity representatives prior to proposing a rule for which an IRFA is required. An IRFA is not required for this proposed rule because the proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The proposed interagency rule jointly establishes data standards (joint standards) for (1) certain collections of information reported to each Agency by financial entities under the jurisdiction of each agency and (2) the data collected from the Agencies on behalf of the FSOC. The joint standards would take effect through adoption by implementing Agencies through the Agency-specific rulemakings, not the joint rule. The joint rule does not identify covered persons nor does the proposed interagency rule impose that any such covered persons implement any standards as a direct consequence of the proposed rule. Therefore, while the joint rule establishes data standards for the agencies to adopt in subsequent individual rulemakings, it does not impose any requirements upon covered persons, including small entities. The joint rule does not impose any direct effects on covered entities. To the extent that covered entities will be impacted by the CFPB's individual rule, any such effects will be discussed in the corresponding CFPB specific individual rulemaking process. Absent the subsequent individual rule, the CFPB does not anticipate changes in industry standards attributable to the proposed interagency rule. The CFPB recognizes that any discussion of the potential impact on costs sustained by entities of all sizes as a result of establishing data standards would be attributed to and assessed as part of the subsequent individual rule itself and not in the context of this proposed interagency rule. The CFPB recognizes that there are existing CFPB rules—as well as rules implemented by other Agencies—that may require covered entities to comply with reporting standards that may overlap with standards that may be included in the CFPB's subsequent individual rule. Therefore, the CFPB believes the impacts of the forthcoming individual rule may be mitigated. However, these impacts will be assessed as part of the subsequent individual rule itself and not in the context of this proposed interagency rule. Because the joint rule does not adopt any data standards that covered persons, including small entities, are required to implement, the Director of the CFPB certifies that the joint rule, if adopted, would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Thus, neither an IRFA nor a small business review panel is required for this proposal. The RFA ( 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) requires that a regulation that has a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, small businesses, or small organizations must include an initial regulatory flexibility analysis describing the regulation's impact on small entities. FHFA need not undertake such an analysis if the agency has certified that the regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 5 U.S.C. 605(b) . FHFA has considered the impact of the proposed rule under the RFA and FHFA certifies that the proposed rule, if adopted as a final rule, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because the proposed rule is applicable only to the regulated entities, which are not small entities for purposes of the RFA. The RFA requires agencies to consider whether the rules they propose will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities ( print page 67903) and, if so, provide a regulatory flexibility analysis with respect to such impact. [ 78 ] The data standards established by the joint rule would not change existing reporting obligations and collections of information. Once the proposed joint standards are established, certain collections of information may need revision to incorporate and ensure compatibility with, to the extent feasible, the joint standards. Accordingly, the Chairman, on behalf of the CFTC, hereby certifies pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that these proposed rules will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The RFA  [ 79 ] requires the SEC to prepare and make available for public comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis of the impact of the proposed rule amendments on small entities, unless the SEC certifies that the rules, if adopted would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. [ 80 ] The SEC hereby certifies, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) , that the proposed joint rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The proposed joint rule implements section 124 of the Financial Stability Act of 2010 which, in general, directs the Agencies to issue rules establishing data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across the Agencies. The data standards established by the joint rule would not change existing reporting obligations. Instead, after the joint standards are established, the FDTA directs the SEC to adopt individual rules for specified collections of information that incorporate and ensure compatibility with, to the extent feasible, the joint standards. Accordingly, the SEC does not believe that the proposed joint rule, if adopted, would have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The SEC encourages written comments on the certification. Commenters are asked to describe the nature of any impact on small entities and provide empirical data to support the extent of the impact. The RFA ( 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) generally requires an agency, in connection with a proposed rule, to prepare an IRFA describing the impact of the rule on small entities. Alternatively, under section 605(b) of the RFA, the IRFA is not required if the agency certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Department of the Treasury hereby certifies that this proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This certification is based on the fact that this rule is limited to establishing data standards to promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across the Agencies. The rule will not impose costs on small businesses other than the time it may take to read and understand the regulations. Notwithstanding this certification, the Department of the Treasury invites comments from the public about any impacts this rule would have on small entities. Section 722 of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act  [ 81 ] requires the Federal banking agencies  [ 82 ] to use plain language in all proposed and final rules published after January 1, 2000. The Federal banking agencies have sought to present the proposed rule in a simple and straightforward manner and invite comment on the use of plain language and whether any part of the proposed rule could be more clearly stated. For example: Have the Federal banking agencies presented the material in an organized manner that meets your needs? If not, how could this material be better organized? Are the requirements in the notice of proposed rulemaking clearly stated? If not, how could the proposed rule be more clearly stated? Does the proposed rule contain language that is not clear? If so, which language requires clarification? Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing) make the proposed rule easier to understand? If so, what changes to the format would make the proposed rule easier to understand? What else could the Federal banking agencies do to make the proposed rule easier to understand? Pursuant to section 302(a) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act (RCDRIA), [ 83 ] in determining the effective date and administrative compliance requirements for new regulations that impose additional reporting, disclosure, or other requirements on insured depository institutions (IDIs), each Federal banking agency must consider, consistent with the principle of safety and soundness and the public interest, any administrative burdens that such regulations would place on depository institutions, including small depository institutions, and customers of depository institutions, as well as the benefits of such regulations. In addition, section 302(b) of RCDRIA requires new regulations and amendments to regulations that impose additional reporting, disclosures, or other new requirements on IDIs generally to take effect on the first day of a calendar quarter that begins on or after the date on which the regulations are published in final form, with certain exceptions, including for good cause. [ 84 ] The proposed rule only applies to the Agencies themselves—it does not apply to any other entities. Therefore, the proposed rule (1) would not impose any additional reporting, disclosures, or other new requirements on IDIs and (2) places no new administrative burdens on depository institutions, including small depository institutions, and customers of depository institutions. The Federal banking agencies welcome comment on this analysis and conclusion. The OCC analyzed the proposed rule under the factors set forth in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) ( 2 U.S.C. 1532 ). Under this analysis, the OCC considered whether the proposed rule includes a Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year (adjusted for inflation). Because the proposed rule enumerates certain data standards for future reference but does not contain any mandates, the OCC estimate that the UMRA cost of this proposal would be zero. The OCC, therefore, concludes that the proposed rule would not result in an expenditure of $183 million or more annually by State, local, and Tribal governments, or by the private sector. Accordingly, the OCC has not prepared ( print page 67904) the written statement described in section 202 of the UMRA. Section 202 of the UMRA requires that agencies assess anticipated costs and benefits and take certain other actions before issuing a final rule that includes any Federal mandate that may result in expenditures in any one year by a State, local, or Tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million (updated annually for inflation). This document does not include any Federal mandate that may result in expenditures by State, local, or Tribal governments, or by the private sector in excess of that threshold. The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2023  [ 85 ] requires that a notice of proposed rulemaking include the internet address of a summary of not more than 100 words in length of the proposed rule, in plain language, that shall be posted on the internet website under section 206(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 ( 44 U.S.C. 3501 note ). In summary, the Agencies are issuing this proposed rule for public comment that would establish data standards, that would separately be adopted for certain collections of information. Jointly establishing such data standards would promote interoperability of financial regulatory data across these agencies and would fulfill requirements of the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022. The proposal and such a summary can be found at: OCC: https://occ.gov/​topics/​laws-and-regulations/​occ-regulations/​proposed-issuances/​index-proposed-issuances.html Board: https://www.regulations.gov and https://www.federalreserve.gov/​supervisionreg/​reglisting.htm FDIC: https://www.fdic.gov/​resources/​regulations/​federal-register-publications/​ NCUA: https://www.regulations.gov CFPB: https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​CFPB-2024-0034 FHFA: www.Regulations.gov CFTC: https://comments.cftc.gov/​PublicComments/​ReleasesWithComments.aspx SEC: https://www.sec.gov/​rules-regulations/​2024/​07/​s7-2024-05 Treasury: https://www.regulations.gov Executive Order 13132 encourages independent regulatory agencies to consider the impact of their actions on State and local interests. The NCUA, an independent regulatory agency as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5) , voluntarily complies with the Executive order to adhere to fundamental federalism principles. This proposed rule would not impose any new, or revise existing, regulatory requirements. Rather, the proposed rule would implement section 5811 of the FDTA by identifying the joint data standards established by the Agencies, which would separately be adopted for certain collections of information in separate Agency-specific rulemakings. Any federalism impacts stemming from the regulatory implementation of the FDTA will be because of the individual agency rules and not this proposed rule. As discussed above, section 5811 specifies that the data standards apply to “financial entities under the jurisdiction of” the individual agencies. With respect to the NCUA, these entities are mainly federally insured credit unions, including federally insured state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs). The NCUA-specific rulemaking to implement the FDTA may therefore have an occasional direct effect on the States, the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. The NCUA notes, however, that because FISCUs are included because of the scope of the statute, any federalism implications will be the result of the statutorily mandated scope of the applicability of the data standards, and not due to the agency's exercise of its discretion. Further, by law FISCUs are already subject to numerous provisions of the NCUA's rules, based on the agency's role as the insurer of member share accounts and the significant interest the NCUA has in the safety and soundness of their operations. The Board of the NCUA will endeavor to eliminate, or at least minimize, potential conflicts in this area in its Agency-specific rulemaking. The NCUA has therefore determined that this proposed rule would not constitute a policy that has federalism implications for purposes of the Executive order. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) prohibits an agency from publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule either imposes substantial, direct compliance costs on State and local governments, and is not required by statute, or preempts State law, unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements of section 6 of the Executive order. This document does not have federalism implications and does not impose substantial direct compliance costs on State and local governments or preempt State law within the meaning of the Executive order. The NCUA Board has determined that this proposed rule would not affect family well-being within the meaning of section 654 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999. The proposed rule would not establish new, or revise existing, regulatory requirements. Rather, as required by section 5811 of the FDTA, the proposed rule would establish joint data standards that will be implemented in individual Agency-specific rulemakings. Although the overall goals of the FDTA are to facilitate the access, comparison, and analysis of agency collections of information, the potential positive effect on family well-being, including financial well-being is, at most, indirect. For purposes of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), the SEC must advise OMB as to whether the proposed amendments constitute a “major” rule. Under SBREFA, a rule is considered “major” where, if adopted, it results or is likely to result in: An annual effect on the U.S. economy of $100 million or more (either in the form of an increase or a decrease); A major increase in costs or prices for consumers or individual industries; or Significant adverse effects on competition, investment, or innovation. The SEC requests comment on whether the joint rule, if adopted, would be a “major rule” for purposes of SBREFA. In this regard, the SEC notes that the data standards established by the joint rule would not change existing reporting obligations. Furthermore, as noted above, the FDTA does not impose new information collection requirements ( i.e., it does not require an Agency to collect or make publicly available additional information that the Agency was not already collecting or ( print page 67905) making publicly available prior to enactment of the FDTA). The proposed text of the agencies' common rule text appears below: __.1 Definitions. __.2 Establishment of standards. Agencies means, collectively, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Department of the Treasury; and Agency means any one of the Agencies, individually. Collection of information means a collection of information as defined in the Paperwork Reduction Act (codified at 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ). Data standard means a standard that specifies rules by which data is described and recorded. Geospatial Intelligence Standards Working Group means the joint technical working group established in 2005 by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. International Organization for Standardization or ISO means the independent, non-governmental international organization that develops voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant, international standards. Object Management Group means the Object Management Group Standards Development Organization, an international, membership-driven and not-for-profit consortium which develops technology standards for a diverse range of industries. (a) Data standards. The Agencies establish the following data standards for purposes of section 124(b)(2) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010, 12 U.S.C. 5334(b)(2) , as added by section 5811 of the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, for collections of information reported to each Agency by financial entities under the jurisdiction of such Agency and the data collected from Agencies on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. (1) Legal entity identifier. The legal entity identifier is established to be ISO 17442—Financial Services—the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). (2) Other common identifiers. The following common identifiers are established as data standards, as applicable: (i) For identification of swaps and security-based swaps: ISO 4914—Financial services—Unique product identifier (UPI); (ii) For identification of financial instruments that are not swaps or security-based swaps: ISO 10962—Securities and related financial instruments—Classification of financial instruments (CFI); (iii) For identification of financial instruments: Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) created by the Object Management Group; (iv) For identification of dates: date as defined by ISO 8601 using the Basic format option; (v) For identification of states, possessions, or military “states” of the United States of America or geographic directionals: U.S. Postal Service Abbreviations as published in Appendix B of Publication 28—Postal Addressing Standards, Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service; (vi) For identification of countries and their subdivisions: the country code with the code for subdivisions, as appropriate, as defined by the Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) developed by the Country Codes Working Group of the Geospatial Intelligence Standards Working Group; and (vii) For identification of currencies: the alphabetic currency code as defined by ISO 4217—Currency Codes. (3) Data transmission and schema and taxonomy format data standards —(i) Data standard. For the reporting of information pursuant to a collection of information to the Agencies and the use of schemas and taxonomies by the Agencies, the Agencies establish the data standard that the data transmission or schema and taxonomy format used have the properties set forth in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section. (ii) Properties. To be considered a data transmission or schema and taxonomy format that meets the data standard set forth in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section, the data transmission or schema and taxonomy format must, to the extent practicable: (A) Render data fully searchable and machine-readable; (B) Enable high quality data through schemas, with accompanying metadata documented in machine-readable taxonomy or ontology models, which clearly define the semantic meaning of the data, as defined by the underlying regulatory information collection requirements, as appropriate; (C) Ensure that a data element or data asset that exists to satisfy an underlying regulatory information collection requirement be consistently identified as such in associated machine-readable metadata; and (D) Be nonproprietary or available under an open license. (b) Consideration by the Agencies. The data standards established in paragraph (a) of this section shall be subject to consideration by the Agencies of the applicability, feasibility, practicability, scaling, minimization of disruption to affected persons, and tailoring, as specified in the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022. End of Common Rule Text Financial data transparency Reporting and recordkeeping requirements Administrative practice and procedure Information Financial data standards Organization and functions (Government agencies) Electronic filing The proposed adoption of the common rule by the agencies, as modified by the agency-specific text, is set forth below: ( print page 67906) For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, and under the authority of 12 U.S.C. 5334 , the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposes to amend chapter I of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 1. Add part 15 to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 2. The authority citation for part 15 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1 , 93a , 1462a , 1463 , 1464 , 1467a , 5334 . For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System proposes to amend part 262 of subchapter A of chapter II of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 3. The authority citation for part 262 is revised to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552 ; 12 U.S.C. 248 , 321 , 325 , 326 , 483 , 602 , 611a , 625 , 1467a , 1828(c) , 1842 , 1844 , 1850a , 1867 , 3105 , 3106 , 3108 , 5334 , 5361 , 5368 , 5467 , and 5469 . 4. Designate §§ 262.1 through 262.25 as subpart A. 5. Add a heading for newly designated subpart A to read as follows: 6. Add subpart B to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 7. Revise the heading for subpart B to read as follows: 8. Redesignate §§ 262.1 and 262.2 of subpart B as §§ 262.26 and 262.27. For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposes to amend part 304 of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 9. The authority citation for part 304 is revised to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552 ; 12 U.S.C. 1463 , 1464 , 1811 , 1813 , 1817 , 1819 , 1831 , 1831cc , 1861-1867 , and 5334 . 10. Add subpart D to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 11. Revise the heading for subpart D to read as follows: 12. Redesignate §§ 304.1 and 304.2 of subpart D as §§ 304.30 and 304.31. For the reasons stated in the joint preamble, the National Credit Union Administration proposes to amend chapter VII of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 13. Add part 753 to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 14. The authority citation for part 753 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1752e , 1752f , 5334 . For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes to amend chapter X of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 15. Add part 1077 to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 16. The authority citation for part 1077 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5334 . For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, and under the authority of 12 U.S.C. 4526 , the Federal Housing Finance Agency proposes to amend subchapter B of chapter XII of title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 17. Add part 1226 to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 18. The authority citation for part 1226 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4511 , 4513 , 4526 , 4527 , 5334 , 1752 et seq. For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposes to adopt the common rule text at the end of the common preamble and amend 17 CFR part 140 as follows: 19. The authority citation for part 140 is revised to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2(a) (12), 12a, 13(c), 13(d), 13(e), and 16(b); 12 U.S.C. 5334 . 20. Add subpart D, consisting of § 140.800, to read as follows: (a) Definitions. As used in this section: Agencies means, collectively, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal ( print page 67907) Housing Finance Agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Department of the Treasury; and Agency means any one of the Agencies, individually. (b) Establishment of standards— (1) Data standards. The Agencies establish the following data standards for purposes of section 124(b)(2) of the Financial Stability Act of 2010, 12 U.S.C. 5334(b)(2) , as added by section 5811 of the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, for collections of information reported to each Agency by financial entities under the jurisdiction of such Agency and the data collected from Agencies on behalf of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. (i) Legal entity identifier. The legal entity identifier is established to be ISO 17442—Financial Services—the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). (ii) Other common identifiers. The following common identifiers are established as data standards, as applicable: (A) For identification of swaps and security-based swaps: ISO 4914—Financial services—Unique product identifier (UPI); (B) For identification of financial instruments that are not swaps or security-based swaps: ISO 10962—Securities and related financial instruments—Classification of financial instruments (CFI); (C) For identification of financial instruments: Financial Instrument Global Identifier (FIGI) created by the Object Management Group; (D) For identification of dates: date as defined by ISO 8601 using the Basic format option; (E) For identification of states, possessions, or military “states” of the United States of America or geographic directionals: U.S. Postal Service Abbreviations as published in Appendix B of Publication 28—Postal Addressing Standards, Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service; (F) For identification of countries and their subdivisions: the country code with the code for subdivisions, as appropriate, as defined by the Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) developed by the Country Codes Working Group of the Geospatial Intelligence Standards Working Group; and (G) For identification of currencies: the alphabetic currency code as defined by ISO 4217—Currency Codes. (iii) Data transmission and schema and taxonomy format data standards —(A) Data standard. For the reporting of information pursuant to a collection of information to the Agencies and the use of schemas and taxonomies by the Agencies, the Agencies establish the data standard that the data transmission or schema and taxonomy format used have the properties set forth in paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(B) of this section. (B) Properties. To be considered a data transmission or schema and taxonomy format that meets the data standard set forth in paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(A) of this section, the data transmission or schema and taxonomy format must, to the extent practicable: ( 1 ) Render data fully searchable and machine-readable; ( 2 ) Enable high quality data through schemas, with accompanying metadata documented in machine-readable taxonomy or ontology models, which clearly define the semantic meaning of the data, as defined by the underlying regulatory information collection requirements, as appropriate; ( 3 ) Ensure that a data element or data asset that exists to satisfy an underlying regulatory information collection requirement be consistently identified as such in associated machine-readable metadata; and ( 4 ) Be nonproprietary or available under an open license. (2) Consideration by the Agencies. The data standards established in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be subject to consideration by the Agencies of the applicability, feasibility, practicability, scaling, minimization of disruption to affected persons, and tailoring, as specified in the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022. For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposes to amend chapter II of title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 21. Add part 256 to read as set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 22. The authority citation for part 256 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5334 ; 15 U.S.C. 77g , 77z-4 , 78d , 78m , 78n , 78o-3 , 78o-4 , 78o-7 , 78rr , 80a-8 , 80a-29 , and 80b-4 . For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department of the Treasury proposes to amend chapter I of title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: 23. Add part 151 to read set forth in the common rule text at the end of the common preamble. 24. The authority citation for part 151 is added to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5334 , 5335 ; 31 U.S.C. 301 , 321 . Michael J. Hsu, Acting Comptroller of the Currency. By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. By order of the Board of Directors. Dated at Washington, DC, on July 30, 2024. James P. Sheesley, Assistant Executive Secretary. By the National Credit Union Administration Board, this 8th day of August 2024. Melane Conyers-Ausbrooks, Rohit Chopra, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Sandra L. Thompson, Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency. By the Securities and Exchange Commission. ( print page 67908) Dated: August 2, 2024. Sherry R. Haywood, Assistant Secretary. Nellie Liang, Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. Issued in Washington, DC, on August 8, 2024, by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The following appendix will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. I respectfully concur on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) Joint Data Standards (“Joint Data Standards Proposal”) to require each respective agency to implement certain data standards for its regulated entities because there is insufficient discussion of the impact and costs associated with the adoption of these new data standards that will apply across the banking and financial services sector (including small entities as set forth under the Regulatory Flexibility Act). While I support the FDTA's mandate, I believe the Joint Data Standards Proposal would be improved by addressing head-on the elephant in the room—the very real costs that will be imposed on potentially tens of thousands of firms of all sizes that will eventually have to update their systems and records to adhere to the new data standards. I encourage all commenters to address the costs and benefits of the Joint Data Standards Proposal, including the necessary future agency rulemakings that will subsequently follow. I thank Ted Kaouk, Tom Guerin, Jeffrey Burns, and the staff of the CFTC, and all the other agencies for their efforts on this proposal. 1.   Public Law 117-263 , title LVIII, 136 Stat. 2395, 3421 (2022) (adding, among other things, a new section 124 of the Financial Stability Act of 2010, which is codified at 12 U.S.C. 5334 ). 2.  The term “covered agencies” is defined under the FDTA to include “any . . . primary financial regulatory agency designated by the [Secretary of the Treasury].” On May 3, 2024, the Secretary of the Treasury designated the CFTC as a covered agency under the FDTA. See FDTA section 5811(a). 3.  The Financial Stability Act, codified at 12 U.S.C. 5321 et seq., is title I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 4.  Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5334 . 5.  The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations currently provide a definition of “financial entity” in CEA section 2(h)(7)(C), CFTC regulation § 1.3 and CFTC regulation § 45.1 for certain specified purposes. In each instance, the current definition of “financial entity” is the definition set forth in CEA section 2(h)(7)(C). The CFTC does not believe that it was intended for this CEA definition of “financial entity” to be used for the purpose of the joint data standards required by the FDTA. The CFTC expects to either adopt a definition of “financial entity” for the purpose of the FDTA and/or to address the meaning of the term as it considers CFTC collections of information. 6.  Section 124(a)(3) of the Financial Stability Act. 7.  The FDTA does not specifically require Treasury and the CFTC to issue individual rules adopting data standards. Treasury and the CFTC may adopt data standards for their collections of information at their discretion. 8.  FDTA section 5842 (OCC); FDTA section 5863 (Board); FDTA section 5833 (FDIC); FDTA section 5873 (NCUA); FDTA section 5852 (CFPB); FDTA section 5883 (FHFA); and FDTA sections 5821, 5823, and 5824 (SEC). 9.  Some Agencies already mandate the use of data standards that are consistent with the joint standards, and the continued application of such standards in those contexts may not require any new rulemaking or other action. Additionally, to the extent an Agency applies the joint standards to an existing collection of information not specified in the FDTA, an Agency-specific rulemaking or other action may not be required to incorporate the joint standards. 10.  The term “machine-readable” is defined as data in a format that can be easily processed by a computer without human intervention while ensuring no semantic meaning is lost. 44 U.S.C. 3502(18) . 11.  The term “metadata” is defined as structural or descriptive information about data such as content, format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of collection, and other descriptions. 44 U.S.C. 3502(19) . 12.  Within the field of data science, the terms “schema,” “taxonomy,” and “ontology model” are used in various and sometimes conflicting ways. For example, sometimes the term schema refers only to the description of the syntax of a data asset, while other times, the term can refer to a description of the syntax, semantic meaning, and organizational structure. Similarly, sometimes the term taxonomy refers only to the description of the semantic meaning of a data asset, while other times, the term can refer to a description that includes syntax, semantic meaning, and hierarchical structure. The term ontology model may refer to the description of the semantic meaning of a data asset. However, taken together, these terms consistently refer to the combination of syntax, structure, and semantic meaning of a data asset. For simplicity, this proposal uses the term “schema and taxonomy” to refer to a description or set of descriptions of the syntax, structure, and semantic meaning of the data and “taxonomy” to refer to a description of the semantic meaning and hierarchical structure of data. This usage is consistent with the definition of taxonomy in National Information Standards Organization Standard Z39.19, “Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies,” available at https://www.niso.org/​publications/​ansiniso-z3919-2005-r2010 . 13.  The term “data asset” is defined as a collection of data elements or data sets that may be grouped together. 44 U.S.C. 3502(17) . 14.  The term “open license” is defined as a legal guarantee that a data asset is made available at no cost to the public and with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting such asset. 44 U.S.C. 3502(21) . 15.  Section 124(c)(2)(A) of the Financial Stability Act. 16.  Section 124(c)(2)(B) of the Financial Stability Act. 17.   See supra note 8. FDTA section 5821(c) refers to collections of information required to be submitted or published by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) under section 15E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and some of that information, including credit rating histories, is required by rule to be published on NRSROs' websites rather than reported directly to the SEC. Section 5823 refers to information submitted to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. In each case, the Agencies interpret the directive of section 124(b)(1) of the Financial Stability Act to apply to such specific collections of information. 18.   See supra note 8. 19.   Id. 20.  In connection with an Agency-specific rulemaking, an Agency could determine to use an identifier that is not in the joint standards, including an Agency-specific identifier, rather than, or in addition to or in combination with, an identifier established by the final joint rule if, for example, the Agency exercised its authority to tailor the joint standards in its Agency-specific rulemaking (FDTA section 5891(c)) or the Agency determined either that using the identifier established by the final joint rule was not feasible (FDTA section 5841 (OCC); FDTA section 5861(a), (b), (c), (d) (Board); FDTA section 5831 (FDIC); FDTA section 5871 (NCUA); FDTA section 5851(a)(2) (CFPB); FDTA section 5881 (FHFA); FDTA sections 5821(a)(2), (b)(2), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), 5823(a), 5824(a) (SEC)) or that using an identifier that is not in the joint standards, including an Agency-specific identifier, would minimize disruptive changes to the persons affected by those standards ( see supra note 8). 21.  FDTA section 5843 (OCC); FDTA section 5864 (Board); FDTA section 5834 (FDIC); FDTA section 5874 (NCUA); FDTA section 5853 (CFPB); FDTA section 5884 (FHFA); FDTA section 5826 (SEC); and FDTA section 5813 (Treasury). 22.  Since March 2023, staff at the implementing Agencies and Treasury consulted with counterparts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Federal Chief Data Officers Council, Federal Evaluation Officer Council, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security. These consultations took place before the CFTC was designated in May 2024 as a covered agency under the FDTA. 23.  Since March 2023, staff at the implementing Agencies and Treasury consulted with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), Enterprise Data Management Council, XBRL US, Data Foundation, and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee X9. 24.  Section 124(b) of the Financial Stability Act. 25.   44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The term “collection of information,” is defined at 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) . 26.   See Reginfo.gov, U.S. General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget, available at https://www.reginfo.gov/​public . 27.   See FDTA sections 5824(a), 5841(a), 5851(a), 5861(a)-(d), 5871(a), 5881(a). 28.  Under the monetary policy exception, nothing in the FDTA, or the amendments made by the FDTA, applies to activities conducted, or data standards used, in connection with monetary policy proposed or implemented by the Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. FDTA section 5891(b). 29.   44 U.S.C. 3502(21) . 30.   See ISO 17442-1:2020, Financial services—Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​standard/​78829.html . 31.   See About ISO, International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​about-us.html . 32.   See Introducing the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, available at https://www.gleif.org/​en/​about-lei/​introducing-the-legal-entity-identifier-lei . 33.   See generally About the FSB, Financial Stability Board, available at https://www.fsb.org/​about/​ . 34.  The ROC was established in November 2012 to coordinate and oversee a worldwide framework of legal entity identification, the Global LEI System. See About the ROC, Regulatory Oversight Committee, available at https://www.leiroc.org/​ . The U.S. representatives on the ROC include the SEC, Board, CFTC, and FDIC. 35.   See Global LEI System, Regulatory Oversight Committee, available at https://www.leiroc.org/​lei.htm . The LEI definition currently relies on a standard published by ISO. See supra note 30. 36.  The Financial Stability Board's most recent “Thematic Review on Implementation of the Legal Entity Identifier,” estimates that less than 3 percent of all eligible legal entities in the United States have acquired an LEI. The Financial Stability Board notes that LEI coverage in the United States is far higher for entities involved in the swaps and security-based swaps markets, with close to 100 percent of swaps reports in the United States using LEIs to identify both trade counterparties. See Thematic Review on Implementation of the Legal Entity Identifier (28 May 2019), Financial Stability Board, available at https://www.fsb.org/​wp-content/​uploads/​P280519-2.pdf . 37.  As discussed in the Financial Stability Board's June 8, 2012, Report, “A Global Legal Entity Identifier for Financial Markets” (endorsed by G20 leaders on June 19, 2020), the Global LEI System is designed to allow for the collection of information on relationships among entities—specifically, information on direct and ultimate parents of legal entities, as defined by the ROC. The information on direct and ultimate parents of legal entities is sometimes referred to as LEI Level 2 Data. The ROC has articulated specific instances an LEI might not include Level 2 Data: namely, when there is no direct parent or ultimate parent; when the legal entity is prohibited from providing such information by law, binding legal commitments (such as articles governing the legal entity) or contract; or when the disclosure of such information would be detrimental to the legal entity or the relevant parent. See generally https://www.leiroc.org/​publications/​gls/​roc_​20220125.pdf , at 9-10 and https://www.leiroc.org/​publications/​gls/​roc_​20180502-1.pdf , at 10. “Ultimate parent” means the highest-level legal entity preparing consolidated financial statements. See LEI ROC Report, at 15 (Mar. 10, 2016), available at https://www.leiroc.org/​publications/​gls/​lou_​20161003-1.pdf . 38.  A framework for renewal is established by the Master Agreement of the Global LEI System between the local operating units, the entities that assign LEIs to applicants, and GLEIF, the entity that manages the LEI system. See Master Agreement, Rev. 1.4.1 (26 June 2024), Global Legal Identifier Foundation, available at https://www.gleif.org/​en/​about-lei/​the-lifecycle-of-a-lei-issuer/​gleif-accreditation-of-lei-issuers/​required-documents . 39.   See How to Obtain an LEI, The Regulatory Oversight Committee, available at https://www.leiroc.org/​lei/​how.htm . A list of local operating units accredited by GLEIF is available at https://www.gleif.org/​en/​about-lei/​get-an-lei-find-lei-issuing-organizations . Currently, U.S. entities may obtain an LEI for a one-time fee of $60 and an annual renewal fee of $40. See Fees, Payments, & Taxes (2024), Bloomberg Finance L.P., available at https://lei.bloomberg.com/​docs/​faq#what-fees-are-involved . 40.  Foreign entities do not have TINs. 41.   See supra note 37. 42.   See ISO 4914:2021, Financial services, Unique product identifier (UPI), International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​standard/​80506.html . 43.   See ISO 10962:2021, Securities and related financial instruments, Classification of financial instruments (CFI) code, International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​standard/​81140.html . 44.  To the extent a financial instrument could be identified by more than one of the joint standards, the application of the joint standards to specific collections of information would take effect through adoption by an Agency of an Agency-specific rulemaking or other action. For example, if a financial instrument can be identified using CFI and FIGI, an Agency could determine not to require both. 45.   See Standard Symbology for Global Financial Securities, Object Management Group, available at https://www.omg.org/​figi/​ . Bloomberg L.P. irrevocably contributed its FIGI intellectual property to Object Management Group in 2015 and continues to function as a registration authority for FIGI issuances. 46.   See ISO 8601, Date and time format, International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​iso-8601-date-and-time-format.html . 47.   See Appendix B, Two-Letter State and Possession Abbreviations, U.S. Postal Service, available at https://pe.usps.com/​text/​pub28/​pub28apb.htm . 48.   See Independent States in the World, U.S. Department of State, available at https://www.state.gov/​independent-states-in-the-world/​ . 49.   See ISO 4217, Currency codes, International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​iso-4217-currency-codes.html . 50.  With respect to the meaning and usage of the terms “schema,” “taxonomy” and “ontology model,” see supra note 12. 51.  Section 124(c)(1)(B) of the Financial Stability Act requires that the joint standards to the extent practicable “enable high quality data through schemas, with accompanying metadata documented in machine-readable taxonomy or ontology models, which clearly define the semantic meaning of the data, as defined by the underlying regulatory information collection requirements[.]” 52.  Section 124(c)(2)(B) of the Financial Stability Act. 53.  The FFIEC Call Report Taxonomy is applicable in its entirety only to insured depository institutions and certain non-depository trust companies that report specific information to the Board, the OCC, or the FDIC. For example, the NCUA maintains a distinct call report form and associated instructions for federally insured credit unions and would not utilize the FFIEC Call Report Taxonomy for data collection or sharing. The complete taxonomy is not germane to entities that are not required to file FFIEC Call Reports and it would therefore not be appropriate for any other Agency to use this taxonomy for other regulatory reporting without significant tailoring. Furthermore, while the FFIEC Call Report Taxonomy shares some common elements with the U.S. GAAP Taxonomy, the Board, the OCC, and the FDIC have designed the FFIEC Call Report Taxonomy to serve their respective missions and satisfy applicable statutory requirements. The FFIEC Call Report Taxonomy is different from the U.S. GAAP Taxonomy in a number of ways to address the reporting requirements further described in the General Instructions to the FFIEC Call Report. 54.  Note that many of the Agencies' collections of information are authorized by statutes that permit or require the issuing Agency to use accounting and financial reporting standards other than U.S. GAAP, which may mean that the U.S. GAAP Taxonomy is not germane to such collections of information. 55.  As noted above, section 5891(c) of the FDTA clarifies that nothing in the FDTA may be construed to prohibit an agency from tailoring the data standards it adopts in its Agency-specific rulemaking. 56.  For example, the Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) as defined by ISO 23897 is a global standard developed to uniquely identify OTC derivative transactions. See ISO 23897:2020, Financial services, Unique transaction identifier (UTI), International Organization for Standardization, available at https://www.iso.org/​standard/​77308.html . 57.   44 U.S.C. 3501-3521 . 58.   44 U.S.C. 3506 ; 5 CFR part 1320, appendix A , section 1. 59.   See 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) . 60.   44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 61.   44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 62.   44 U.S.C. 3507(d) . 63.   44 U.S.C. 3501-3521 . 64.   44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 65.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 66.  Based on data accessed using FINDRS on April 16, 2024. 67.  The OCC bases its estimate of the number of small entities on the Small Business Administration's (SBA) size thresholds for commercial banks and savings institutions, and trust companies, which are $850 million and $47 million, respectively. Consistent with the General Principles of Affiliation 13 CFR 121.103(a) , the OCC counts the assets of affiliated financial institutions when determining if we should classify an OCC-supervised institution as a small entity. The OCC uses December 31, 2023, to determine size because a “financial institution's assets are determined by averaging the assets reported on its four quarterly financial statements for the preceding year.” See footnote 8 of the SBA's Table of Size Standards. 68.  To estimate wages, the OCC reviewed May 2022 data for wages (by industry and occupation) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for credit intermediation and related activities (NAICS 5220A1). To estimate compensation costs associated with the rule, the OCC uses $129.40 per hour, which is based on the average of the 90th percentile for six occupations adjusted for inflation (4.3 percent as of Q1 2024), plus an additional 34.3 percent for benefits (based on the percent of total compensation allocated to benefits as of Q4 2023 for NAICS 522: credit intermediation and related activities). 69.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 70.  Under regulations issued by the SBA, a small entity includes a depository institution, bank holding company, or savings and loan holding company with total assets of $850 million or less. See 13 CFR 121.201 . Consistent with the SBA's General Principles of Affiliation, the Board includes the assets of all domestic and foreign affiliates toward the applicable size threshold when determining whether to classify a particular entity as a small entity. See 13 CFR 121.103 . As of December 31, 2022, there were approximately 2,081 small bank holding companies, approximately 88 small savings and loan holding companies, and approximately 427 small state member banks. 71.   5 U.S.C. 603(b)-(c) . 72.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 73.  The SBA defines a small banking organization as having $850 million or less in assets, where an organization's “assets are determined by averaging the assets reported on its four quarterly financial statements for the preceding year.” See 13 CFR 121.201 (as amended by 87 FR 69118 , effective December 19, 2022). In its determination, the “SBA counts the receipts, employees, or other measure of size of the concern whose size is at issue and all of its domestic and foreign affiliates.” See 13 CFR 121.103 . Following these regulations, the FDIC uses an insured depository institution's affiliated and acquired assets, averaged over the preceding four quarters, to determine whether the insured depository institution is “small” for the purposes of RFA. 74.  Reports of Condition and Income for the quarter ending December 31, 2023. 75.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 76.   5 U.S.C. 605(b) . 77.   80 FR 57512 (Sept. 24, 2015). 78.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 79.   5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 80.   See 5 U.S.C. 603(a) and 605(b) . 81.   Public Law 106-102 , sec. 722, 113 Stat. 1338, 1471 (1999). 82.  The Federal banking agencies are the OCC, Board, and FDIC. 83.   12 U.S.C. 4802(a) . 84.   12 U.S.C. 4802 . 85.   Public Law 118-9 . [ FR Doc. 2024-18415 Filed 8-21-24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6210-01-P; 4810-33-P; 6714-01-P; 7535-01-P; 4810-AM-P; 8070-01-P; 6351-01-P; 8011-01-P; 4810-AK-P Executive Orders Reader Aids About This Site Legal Status Accessibility No Fear Act Continuity Information 168 IMAGES Ten Tips for Speech Delivery 6 Techniques for A Good Speech Delivery How to deliver an effective speech and master public speaking 5 EASY WAYS FOR GOOD SPEECH DELIVERY 5 EASY WAYS FOR GOOD SPEECH DELIVERY PPT COMMENTS Speech Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like True/False: Good delivery does not call attention to itself., _____ is based on a person's use of voice and body, rather than on the use of words., When accuracy is essential and a speech must be delivered word for word, _____ delivery is most appropriate. and more. 14.4 Practicing for Successful Speech Delivery Understand how to practice effectively for good speech delivery. Christian Pierret - Speech - CC BY 2.0. ... you may want to drop your voice to a slightly lower range to call attention to a particular point. How we use inflections can even change the entire meaning of what we are saying. ... the discomfort can transmit itself to the ... 10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker's ideas clearly and without distraction. 9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End. Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with "Today I'm going to talk to you about X"? Most people ... Delivery: A Recipe for Great Speaking Sure. But icing is intended to complement the cake, make it look pretty, and taste better. Similarly, bad delivery can call attention to itself or make the cake worse. As a good friend of mine says, excellent delivery can enhance the content and make it taste sweeter. Delivery is not always valued as an essential part of presentations by speakers. Mastering Effective Speech Delivery: From Practice to Performance Here are 4 key reasons why: Engagement: Deliver your speech in an engaging way and your listeners will stay hooked until the end. This ensures that your message resonates with them. Clarity: Delivery makes your speech clearer. This helps people understand your words and the main points of your message. Methods of Speech Delivery Identify the four types of speech delivery methods and when to use them. There are four basic methods of speech delivery: manuscript, memorized, impromptu, and extemporaneous. ... An introduction should include an attention getter, introduction of the topic, speaker credibility, and forecasting of main points. The body should have two or three ... Delivery Delivery. Delivery is the way in which we present our speech. It is generally divided into two categories, verbal and nonverbal delivery, and includes everything from the way we say the words to our hand and body movements. Good delivery does not make up for poor content, though good delivery is essential to a good speech. Techniques for Effective Delivery The first step in eliminating any superfluous behavior is to obtain an accurate picture of your body's image while speaking. This should include: Posture. Gestures. Body movement. Facial expressions. Eye contact. The next step is to free yourself of physical behaviors that do not add to your speech. Speech Delivery Tactics: Win Your Audience & Make Your Point First, get the audience's attention by introducing who you are and perhaps jumping right into an exciting opening to hook them. Whether your speech is impromptu, extemporaneous, memorized, or manuscript, you can wow the audience with your delivery. Determining which is best for your speech depends on your intent and the situation. Chapter Summary Speech delivery is a matter of nonverbal communication. It is based on how you use your voice and body to convey the message expressed by your words. You can't make a good speech without having something to say, but you also need to know how to say it. Rather than calling attention to itself, effective delivery conveys the speaker's ideas ... Chapter 10 Delivering the Speech Chapter 10 Delivering the Speech. How we deliver a speech is just as important, if not more so, than the basic message we are trying to convey to an audience. But if you have worked hard on preparing the verbal part of your speech, you may feel that delivery is just an "extra" that should not require much time or effort. Public Speaking ~ Chapter 13: Delivery Flashcards Public Speaking ~ Chapter 13: Delivery. Good speech delivery _____. Click the card to flip 👆. does not call attention to itself. It conveys the speaker's ideas clearly, interestingly, and without distracting the audience. most prefer it to combine formality with attributes of conversation. Click the card to flip 👆. Putting It Together: Delivering Your Speech As you rehearse, here are some elements of speech delivery to focus on: Breath: Strong, sustained speaking begins with breath. Try to breath from the diaphragm, not from your shoulders. Articulation: Pronouncing the words so that your audience can follow the nuances of your argument. Pitch: Varying your pitch to avoid sounding monotonous. Practicing for Successful Speech Delivery Eye contact lets your audience feel that your attention is on them, not solely on the cards in front of you. Sustained eye contact with your audience is one of the most important tools toward effective delivery. O'Hair, Stewart, and Rubenstein note that eye contact is mandatory for speakers to establish a good relationship with an audience. Study Questions Good delivery does not call attention to itself. A) True: B) False: 2 ... When you end your speech, you should; A) ... When practicing your speech delivery, you should do all the following except; A) record the speech to see how you sound. B) include delivery cues on your speaking outline. C) PDF Delivery in Public Speaking D. Public speakers should do more to command and hold attention than interpersonal speakers. E. Sincere desire to communicate is the most important factor in good delivery (attitude above all). III. Implementing the basic principles through four basic strategies: A. Dynamism (energy). B. Naturalism (that does not call attention to itself). SDTV: Public Speaking Transcript One: delivery should not call attention to itself. It should seem natural and uncontrived. Two: good delivery should help the audience listen, understand, remember, and act on the message of a speech. public speaking chapter 13 Flashcards 1.review your full-sentence preparation outline aloud and revise as needed. 2.create a key word speaking. 3. practice the speech aloud several times using only the key word speaking outline. 4. polish and refine delivery in front of a mirror. 5. do a dress rehearsal that attempts to replicate the speaking situation. PRDV008: Delivering a Speech Key Takeaways. There are four main kinds of speech delivery: impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized. Impromptu speaking involves delivering a message on the spur of the moment, as when someone is asked to "say a few words".; Extemporaneous speaking consists of delivering a speech in a conversational fashion using notes. This is the style most speeches call for. How To Give A Great Speech That Will Be Remembered Issue the call to action. Not every speech may need a formal call to action, but every public utterance needs to be understood as a call for unity, a coming together to achieve the mission ... Gov. JB Pritzker wants to bring the DNC back to Chicago ... The Illinois governor was instrumental in landing this week's four-day political event . Public Speaking: Chapter 13 Flashcards Good speech delivery. both has a conversational quality and does not call attention to itself. What does your textbook say about speech dialects? All answers are correct. One of the advantages of speaking from a manuscript is that it frees a speaker from the need to establish eye contact with the audience. Financial Data Transparency Act Joint Data Standards Mail: Chief Counsel's Office, Attention: Comment Processing, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218, Washington, DC 20219. Instructions: You must include "OCC" as the agency name and "Docket ID OCC-2024-0012" in your comment. SPCH1315 Chapter 13 Flashcards Terms in this set (22) Good delivery does not call attention to itself. True. ___ is based on a person's use of voice and body rather than on the use of words. Nonverbal communication. When accuracy is essential and a speech must be delivered word for word, ___ delivery is most appropriate. Manuscript. Day 4 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Celebrities make their mark: The DNC has seen several stars this week, from Lil Jon's surprise appearance during the star-studded roll call to Oprah Winfrey's speech Wednesday. Mindy Kaling ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis