Friday, June 24, 2022

Are there really 110 public speaking skills? Probably not.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the April 2022 issue of Toastmaster magazine there is an article on pages 18 and 19 by David J. P. Phillips titled Harness 110 Speaking Skills. Page 19 begins with a large matrix titled 110 Steps of Communication that has 9 rows and 13 columns. (If that matrix had all items there would be 117 steps). Groups of columns are divided into six categories: Nervousness, Voice, Body Language, Facial Expressions, Language, and Ultimate Level. At the beginning of the article there also is a link to Toastmasters podcast #202, titled The ‘Periodic Table’ of Communication Skills – David J P Phillips.

  

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a quick glance at that matrix (shown above), under Voice, reveals a big difference between a Step and a Skill. Control of Pace is a Skill, as is Control of Volume. But there instead are three Steps for Pace – Slow Pace (8), Fast Pace (9), and Base Pace (10). There also are at least four Steps for Volume – Base Volume (14), Varied Volume (15), Volume Increase (17), and Volume Decrease (18). For Pausing there are another four Steps: Unfunctional Pauses (19), Relaxation Pause (20), Strategic Pause (21), and Effect Pause (22). For Head Angle there are three Steps: Empowering Head Angle(61), Unfunctional Head Angle (62), and Standard Head Angle (63).     

 

The seventh paragraph in the article has link (highlighted in blue as 110 core skills) to Mr. Phillips 2018 TEDxZagreb talk titled The 110 Techniques of Communication and Public Speaking, which also can be found on YouTube. But when you look closely at 3:17, you will find that he has a different set of 110 items in that matrix. Let’s take a look at them in detail, with information from the 2022 article shown first, followed by that from the 2018 TEDx Talk.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Nervousness are substantially the same. The words go with the icons.

 

Nervousness

Swaying 1; Swaying 1

Squirming 2; Squirming 2

Irrational movement 3; Irrational movement 3

Stroke/Figdet (sic) 4; Patting/Stroking 4

Flight/Freeze 5; Flight stance 5

Unbalanced Feet 6; Unbalanced Foot 6

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Voice have differences. Prosody and Voice Climax aren’t in the TEDx Talk matrix.

 

Voice

Register/Pitch 7; Pitch range 27

Slow pace 8; Tempo 7 to 11

Fast pace 9; Tempo 7 to 11

Base pace 10; Tempo 7 to 11

Timbre 11;

Emhpasis (sic) 12; Correct emphasis 12

Playful emphasis 13; Playful emphasis 13

Base volume 14; Base volume 14

Varied volume 15; Varied volume 15

Up-Down talk 16; Volume decline 19

                   ; Normal volume 16

Volume increase 17; Volume increase 17

Volume decrease 18; Volume decrease 18

Unfunctional pauses 19; Unfunctional pauses 20

Relaxation pause 20; Relaxation pause 23

Strategic pause 21; Thought pause 21

Effect pause 22; Effect pause 22

Vocal fry 23; Cord vibration 24

Elongated vouls (sic) 24; Elongated vouls 26

Filler sounds 25; Filler sounds 25

Prosody 26;

Melody 27; Melody 28

                   ; Pitch range 27

Articulation 28; Articulation 29

Voice climax 29;

Dramatising 30; Dramatising 31

               ; Staccato rhythm 30

Language change 31; Language change 32

Sound effects 32; Sound effects 33

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Body Language also have differences. The section about Synchronicity in the article mentions five levels (or layers): voice, body language, gestures, facial expressions, and words (aka language), but the graphic does not bother to separate Gestures from Body Language.

 

Body Language

Confident posture 33; Confident posture 35

Neutral posture 34; Neutral position 34

Base pace 35;

Affect 36; Ticks 37

          ; Amplifying posture 36

Feet 37; Feet planted 38

Hips 38; Hip position 39

Angle 39; Angle 40

Relaxed 40; Relaxed movement 41

Dramatising 41; Dramatising 42

Shrugging shoulders 42; Shrugging shoulders 43

Intensity variation 43; Intensity variation 44

Functional (gestures?) 44; Functional 45

Smooth 45; Smooth 46

Distinct 46; Distinct 47

Adapted size 47; Adapted size 48

Standard pace 48; Standard pace 49

Adapted pace 49; Adapted pace 50

Full out 50;

              ; Dysfunctional gestures 51

Pointing 51; Pointing 52

Volume/size 52; Volume/size 53

Regulators 53; Regulators 54

Rhythm of speech 54; Rhythm of speech 55

Signs 55; Signs 56

Imaginary props 56;

                ; Ideaograph 57

Drawings 57; Drawings 58

Affect display 58; Emotional expressions 59

Sounds 59; Sounds 60

Progression 60; Progression 61

Empowering head angle 61; Empowering head angle 62

Unfunctional head angle 62; Dysfunctional head angle 63

Standard head angle 63; Standard head angle 64

Amplifying head movement 64; Amplifying head movement 65

Stage presence 65; Owns the stage 66

Anchoring 66; Step forward 69

Vertical movement 67; Vertical movement 67

Power areas 68;

Horizontal movement 69; Horizontal movement 68

Bent knees 70; Bent knees 71

          ; Strategic positions 70

Amplification 71; Amplification 72

General eye contact 72; General eye contact 73

Sweeping 73; Swipe 74

Focus 74; Focus 75

Attire 75; Functional 76

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Facial Expressions are substantially the same.

 

Facial Expressions

Neutral 76; Neutral 77

Matching 77; Matching 78

Dramatising 78; Dramatising 79

Mouth 79; Mouth 80

Eyebrows 80; Eyebrows 81

Forehead 81; Forehead 82

Eyes 82; Eyes 83

Self laugh 83; Self laugh 84

Straight face 84; Serious Face 85

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Language are very similar.

 

Language

Adapted 85; Adapted 86

Flow 86; Flow 87

Strong rhetorics 87; Strong rhetorics 88

Filler words 88; Filler words 89

Negations 89; Negations 90

Repetitive words 90; Repetitive words 91

Absolute words 91; Impossible words 92

Strategic 92; Visual language 93

Valued 93; Evaluative 94

Hexacolon 94; Hexacolon 95

Tricolon 95; Tricolon 96

Repetition 96; Repetition 97

Anaphora 97; Anaphor 98

Epiphora 98; Epiphor 99

Alliteration 99; Alliteration 100

Correctio 100; Correctio 100

Climax 101; Climax 102

Anadiplosis 102; Anadiplosis 103

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entries for Ultimate Level are the same, except for the last two.

 

Ultimate Level

Loves presenting 103; Loves presenting 104

Role playing 104; Roleplaying 105

Total Intensity transition 105; Total Intensity transition 106

Acts out the obvious 106; Acts out the obvious 107

Present and authentic 107; Present and authentic 108

Synchronicity 108; Synchronicity 109

Contrast 109;

                      ;Divergent 110

Visualization 110;

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is missing from his classification? Visual Aids such as Blackboards, Flip Charts, PowerPoint, Props, and Whiteboards. Under Body Language he only includes Imaginary Props 56 (like the finger phone handset shown above). In the podcast he mentions also having 136 Spices, which is where he puts Visual Aids. His total then is 246 Steps and Spices - a very long list to navigate.

 

 

UPDATE: June 26, 2022

 

On June 25 at The Official Toastmasters International Members Group on LinkedIn there was a comment by Yamilet Ramierez:

 

Richard Garber: one heck of a list, very long list. Which would you say are the most important: Stage presence, posture, volume, cadence, story line, flow and closing. Would you agree?

 

I don’t agree those seven necessarily are the most important. I think both the opening and closing are about equally important (primacy and recency), but neither is explicitly on Mr. Phillips list of 110 Steps. He does mention a peak: Voice climax 29, Progression 60, and Climax 101. And he mentions Flow 86.   

 

Rather than starting from scratch (reinventing the wheel) Mr. Phillips could better have begun from the 2007 second edition of the NCA Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form. It has four items each for Preparation and Content and Presentation and Delivery. On the Holistic Form all eight are:  

 

Chooses and narrows topic appropriately. Communicates thesis/specific purpose. Provides appropriate supporting material (including presentational aids). Uses an effective organizational pattern. Uses language appropriately. Uses vocal variety in rate, pitch, and intensity. Uses appropriate pronunciation, grammar, and articulation. Uses physical (nonverbal) behaviors that support the verbal message. 

 

Then he could have expanded each item into a series of skills.

 


 

 


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