What speci?c techniques can we use as speakers to enhance our speaker credibility? Provide examples

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First we can establish common ground with the audience. As speakers, we need to communicate to our audience
members that we are just like them in some way. One way to do this is by sharing information about ourselves that
re?ects the audience's own value system. Another way to do this is by sharing supporting material, such as a
personal story, early on in the speech. For example, Lisa is doing a persuasive speech on why women should learn
self-defense. In her introduction, Lisa tells a story to her all-women audience about how she was once attacked in
the parking lot of her local grocery store. Because Lisa indicates that her life was once in danger, the women in the
audience relate because safety is also a concern of theirs. Another way to enhance speaker credibility is to indicate
your special credentials or special knowledge about a topic that makes you quali?ed to speak about your topic. For
example, during the same speech, Lisa indicates that she started taking self-defense courses after her attack as a
way to empower herself. As a result, she indicates that she is now a member of the Bujinkan dojo, and a ?fth degree
black belt. In addition, she let her audience know that she is a certi?ed instructor of "Fightback," a self-defense
course offered only to women.