For a speaker to be effective, he or she must have a connection with the audience. The audience’s attention is what matters most because it shows that the speaker’s voice is heard.
A speaker should have eye contact with the audience at all times; not specifically at one area, but the whole audience. This makes the audience understand that the speaker is there to deliver a clear message and not just there memorizing everything on the top of his/her head. When the speaker keeps a look out at the people, he/she can see how much or less attention the audience is giving him/her. If he/she sees that the audience is falling asleep or not keeping eye contact, then he/she can change the tone or enthusiasm of the speech in order to awaken them again. If the audience is very participant and keeping really good eye contact, this can boost up the speaker’s confidence. Therefore, the speaker will give the speech with no nervousness or challenges.
Another thing that the speaker should have in order to be an effective speaker is to have a sense of WHO the audience will be. That way, the speaker can use appropriate language. For students, it would be better if the speaker uses words that most students know, or if its a difficult term then he/she should define it. The language of the speaker can also give him/her credibility.
Credibility is an important thing in a speech. If the audience thinks the speaker is a joke, then the message wouldn’t be heard or passed on. To keep credibility, the speaker should be serious when the topic relates to a serious idea or event. Or, if the speaker wants to use a quote or an idea that another person has invented, he/she must give recognition to them. In my senior year, I took a speech and communications class. A friend of mine gave a speech and the man he cited works from has an unusual name. When he was giving the speech and had to pronounce that man’s name, he laughed! This doesn’t give good credibility to the speaker nor the man. When the speaker shows that he/she has a lot of credibility, the audience will pay more attention to him/her.