The environmental and situational context in which you give a speech is important. Pictured here is a very formal environment in which formal speech would be most appropriate.
Just as you consider your audience when crafting your speech, you'll also want to consider the context in which your speech will be given. While context certainly includes your audience, it also encompasses many other important factors for you to consider as you craft your speech.
Consider for a moment when you hear just the tail end of a conversation in passing. It sometimes makes little sense. What you're missing, in this instance, is the context of that conversation. Just as you need it to understand the conversation you missed, you and your audience need to be on the same page about the context of your speech.
term to know
Context
The surroundings, circumstances, environment, background, or settings that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event or other occurrence.
1a. Situational Context
Situational context refers to the actual reason you are speaking or presenting. How you deliver your speech, from the words you say to how you say them, relies on the situational context.
EXAMPLE
If you're campaigning for office, you might deliver what's called a "stump speech"—a speech you repeat over and over on the campaign trail that gets at the main talking points and promises of your campaign.
If you're at a funeral, you may be asked to deliver a eulogy. On a lighter note, you might be at your best friend's wedding and asked to give one of the first toasts.
1b. Environmental Context
Environmental context refers to the physical space in which you're speaking. Whether you're in a classroom presenting the findings from a lab report or in a stadium that seats thousands, environmental context can influence both your message and delivery.
The audience will connect with you in different ways depending on the environmental context. You may need to work harder to build individual connections with your audience members the larger the audience you have.
1c. Cultural Context
Culture refers to the customs, habits, and value systems of different groups of people. Groups of people sharing the same culture can all belong to the same nation, geographic region, religion, or other social groups. Some cultural groups are large, and some are very small. Culture can include distinct differences in the way a group of people governs itself with laws and social standards. It can also be reflected in customs such as dress, traditions, and holidays. Culture is often evident in a particular group’s art, music, cuisine, and language.
term to know
Culture
The beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people's way of life; the art, customs, and habits that characterize a particular group of people.
1d. Understanding Your Context
The key to understanding your context is to develop a habit of situational awareness. Situational awareness refers to one's perception of the environment and situation around them on a moment-by-moment basis.
In being situationally aware, you can anticipate changes to your environment. In this way, you're always thinking just one step ahead in any given situation or environment and can be able to adapt accordingly.
Cultivating this skill, which takes time and a keen awareness of your surroundings, is especially helpful when your context shifts or changes—which can sometimes happen in the blink of an eye.
term to know
Situational Awareness
The perception of environmental elements with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status after some variable has changed, such as time, or some other variable, such as a predetermined event.
2. Bias: How Our Differences Can Impact Public Speaking
Situations in which different types of people come into contact with one another can be enriching and enjoyable for those involved. Some of the greatest cities in the world are inhabited by people belonging to a multitude of cultures and contexts.
However, when differences between people are evident, bias can emerge. Bias refers to prejudice that people often feel in favor of their own culture or other familiar aspects of human life.
The following list describes the different types of bias that have been studied by social scientists:
Conscious Bias. Bias is sometimes conscious, meaning that people are aware of their own bias and choose to continue their prejudiced beliefs and practices regardless of issues that may arise.
Unconscious Bias. Bias can also be unconscious, meaning that individuals may form stereotypes or prejudice about others that they are unaware of. There are several types of unconscious bias:
Affinity Bias. When we gravitate toward people who are similar to ourselves, we are experiencing affinity bias. We tend to be more comfortable with things that are familiar to us.
Attribution Bias. When we judge others and their achievements, we tend to attribute their successes to luck and their failures to personal flaws. However, when we think of our own achievements, we tend to be more kind; we attribute our successes to our own hard work while we blame our failures on external factors outside our control.
Beauty Bias. We tend to associate others’ appearances with their personality. Often, we judge a person based on their perceived attractiveness and our judgment changes the way we treat others.
Conformity Bias. When we are part of a group, we tend to succumb to peer pressure. Conformity bias occurs when we allow our views or actions to be influenced by others we identify as a part of our group.
Confirmation Bias. When we hold an opinion, regardless of whether that opinion is based on fact or not, we tend to only pay attention to evidence we find that supports what we already believe. If we come across evidence to the contrary, confirmation bias makes us susceptible to overlooking or outright rejecting that evidence.
We are all biased, and we all experience the effects of others’ bias. Whether conscious or unconscious, bias can result in significant problems in our relationships with others. Bias can cause significant harm to others and can sometimes escalate into hateful, aggressive, or antisocial behaviors. Responsible members of society have an obligation to discover the ways in which bias impacts their lives and make positive changes.
It’s important that you realize your own biases and acknowledge that your audience will have just as much bias as you, albeit in different ways. As such, it is vital to know your audience well so you can anticipate not only the biases you might bring to the podium but the biases your audience may have in return.
big idea
The identity of the speaker and the audience invariably influence one another; speakers need to understand how the biases brought into the room can impact their speech’s effectiveness.
term to know
Bias
An inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection.
summary
In this lesson, you learned that without context, your audience may not understand your message. Conversely, you might not understand your audience. Situational context refers to the reason why you're speaking. Think of situational context as the event itself. Environmental context refers to the physical space and time in which you speak. Think of environmental context as the time and venue of the event. Cultural context refers to the group or groups an individual identifies with. The key to understanding your context is to cultivate a habit of situational awareness. It's not something you'll learn overnight, but by being keenly aware of your surroundings, you'll learn to always think one step ahead should the context change suddenly when you are speaking. Becoming sensitive to our own biases and those our audience might hold is key to ensuring the effectiveness of our public speaking practices.
An inclination towards something; predisposition, partiality, prejudice, preference, predilection.
Context
The surroundings, circumstances, environment, background, or settings that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event or other occurrence.
Culture
The beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people's way of life; the art, customs, and habits that characterize a particular group of people.
Situational Awareness
The perception of environmental elements with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status after some variable has changed, such as time, or some other variable, such as a predetermined event.
