Crediblity

          A speaker’s credibility is important in the speech making process because it lets the audience know that they are competent and have good character. Competence lets the audience know that the speaker is knowledgeable about the subject matter, intelligent and has expertise and has character which shows sincerity, trustworthiness and concern for the well-being of the audience.

          It’s important to know that credibility is granted by what is in the mind of the audience and that credibility for a speaker can be high in one topic but low in another. Credibility can also fluctuate during the speech due to initial, derived, and terminal credibility. These three dynamics can start a speaker with initial low credibility and reaches high credibility at the termination of the speech or vice versa. Other factors that enter into credibility is the physical attractiveness of the speaker, perceived similarities between the speaker and the audience, and moderately fast speakers are all given high credibility.  Many times audiences give automatic credibility to a speaker based on a factor called source credibility. For example if a well-known person is giving a speech about their own area of expertise audiences are more likely to respect that speaker.

            A speaker can enhance their credibility is by explaining their own level of competence. For instance they should ask themselves “Did you explore the topic thoroughly and do you have experience that gives you special knowledge related to the subject matter”? Another way to enhance credibility is by establishing a common ground with the audience. The speaker needs to show respect for the audience and a speech becomes more appealing by identifying ideas to the audience. If the speaker includes examples, statistics, and/or testimony helps prove or disprove their content.  The speaker needs to anticipate and develop rebuttals when giving a pervasive speech to be able counter internal audience resistance. Specific evidence should be stated in specific such as number s rather than vague conclusions.  The speaker’s presentation is more credible if novel evidence is included that causes the audience to feel that they have learned something and the speaker needs to include credible sources when including statements. The last step to establish credibility is by delivering the speech fluently, expressively, and with conviction. Speakers who lose their place frequently are perceived as less competent. The presenter needs to speak with a genuine conviction for the topic, indicate sincerity, honesty, and in a straightforward manner making their point clear. If they want others to be convinced of their ideas they need to convince themselves and care about their ideas. When one is attempting to convince an audience about ideas, there is a need to be convinced about the topic themselves and they need to be committed to the ideas that they present. The speaker needs to go from specifics to general conclusions to help the listeners grasp the concept or idea when the speaker is attempting to persuade the audience to agree.