FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY – DILIMAN

Sampaguita Ave., Mapayapa Village, Diliman, Quezon City

Public Speaking: Its Integration to Courses and Influence to Far Eastern University

Diliman’s Grade XI HUMSS Students’ Communication Skills

A Qualitative Research

Presented to

The Senior High School Department

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Course Research in Daily Life I

Submitted by

Aliermo, Sophia
Go, Seth Anais
Melorin, Jerome A.
Mendoza, Ryan Chrysler I.
Palapal, Franz Louis D.
Santiago, Arli C.

Submitted to

Ms. Camille C. Cano,LPT

May 2019

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 Chapter 1

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

Nowadays, it is apparent that public speaking is an important skill in everyone’s daily lives.

Every day, people are faced with social situations that require them to communicate with an

individual or a group. Public speaking also allows people to be prepared for future work where

they are exposed to different kinds of people. Therefore, public speaking would also be aligned

with oral communication. In the work scenario, employees have the chance to be exposed in a

situation where they would have to deliver information to a group or crowd. Students also

experience this as they would also have the chance to do reports that would require them to convey

the information that they have gathered.

With public speaking and oral communication, people develop their communication skills.

This is their ability to convey their message well to the audience, which is an important skill that

is desired in many occupations.

However, public speaking is not just for everyone to go in front of a crowd and just talk

right away. Professionals, students, people normally deal with the fear of speaking in public. When

they are in a situation where they have to give a speech to an audience, they will start to feel

different emotions and responses of the body, like fear, anxiety, and nausea. Given that there are

many factors that influence the way we react whenever we speak in public and how we overthink

situations like getting judged from making mistakes or the delivery of our message. Most of the

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people avoid tasks or circumstances that will require them to speak in front of a crowd, because of

the discomfort that they feel.

In particular, public speaking is the process or act of speaking or giving purpose, meaning

of idea in a deliberate manner to inform, influence, or to entertain an audience or a group of people.

It is commonly done in school, workspace, and in public (Baumeyer, n.d). While, oral

communication is the process of expressing information or ideas by word of mouth. The

importance of oral communication is to inform, persuade, motivate, and entertain, or to capture

one’s attention and maintain their interest (Evans, 2015).

The formal study of public speaking began 2,500 years ago in Greece and Rome to train

people for their participation in the society. The Greeks first systematized “rhetoric” or the art of

public speaking. During that time philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others taught

their pupils philosophy and rhetoric. Public speaking was a part of the educational system of

Isocrates and was taught by Aristotle (“History of Public Speaking”, n.d).

In addition, because of the democracy in Greece, people had to know how to speak in the

legislative assembly and testify in court. It was important that each citizen knew how to speak for

himself. Rhetoric was then born. Aristotle defined “rhetoric” as “the art of identifying and using

the best available means in a given situation to ethically persuade an audience” (DeCaro, n.d.).

Aristotle and Quintilian gave the definitive rules and models in public speaking. Aristotle,

the famous Greek scholar, divided the means of persuasion into three parts: logical reason, human

character, and emotional. Cicero developed the five canons of rhetoric. This is a process for

developing a persuasive speech that we still use to teach public speaking today.

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 In the 20th century an American named Dale Carnegie was the first to be taught of public

speaking. The first speeches were given to mass radio audiences in the Tufts University. An

organization named Toastmasters helped train public speakers in 1924. The internet was then

invented which began to be a platform where the web carried people’s messages (“History of

Public Speaking”, n.d). YouTube then started and helped get a lot of viewers to be exposed in

communicating. Now, everyone has been spreading their voices through social media platforms

that can help them and their viewers.

Moreover, public speaking is also utilized in different courses. This allows an opportunity

for information to flow between lessons, enabling the audience to receive information from the

speaker. The classroom setting is an example of a place where public speaking is used, where the

teacher is the speaker and his/her students are the audience. The teacher is publicly speaking in a

classroom to deliver his/her lessons, providing the students with information that they need.

Without public speaking, miscommunication would be a common problem when faced

with a group of people. People would have the possibility to be confused or misinformed, making

communication and relationships difficult. This can possibly lead to branching problems that

continues to get complicated due to the lack of communication from the people involved in the

situation.

In order to be progressive in the courses, it is vital to have basic foundation in

communication skills. Everyone should know how to engage in a conversation with a person or

with a group of people, as this will allow them to maintain a great communication with them.

Knowing how to communicate would lessen the room for miscommunication, allowing them to

deliver and receive information as it is. In general, public speaking paves the way for every day

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interaction. It allows everyone to practice communication in the general level and in the

professional level, giving them the opportunity to be great public speakers.

Significance of the Study

This research aims to analyze the integration of public speaking to different courses and its

possible influence on a student’s communication skills. The study will also provide results that

could be used to improve the communication skills of a student in terms of presentations, reports,

speeches, and other forms of public speaking. The results of this research may benefit the students,

the teachers, the employers, and the future researchers.

To the Students. This research may help the students to improve their communication

skills through the practice of public speaking. It may provide practices to help build their

confidence and clarity in delivering their message.

To the Teachers. This study may help the teachers to formulate activities which integrate

public speaking in their lessons to enhance the communication skills of students. They can also

help their students be prepared in handling real-life situations such as job interviews, presentations,

and other instances that may require public speaking.

To the Student Leaders. This study may help the leaders to integrate public speaking in

handling their groupmates in accomplishing their task. Student leaders may also use this study to

formulate a technique in communicating to further improve the relationship between them and

their groupmates. The study may also give them knowledge on how to improve or help themselves

which will not only benefit them but the people they are serving as well.

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 To the Public Speakers. This study may help public speakers to further utilize their skill

in public speaking in different situations. These situations may include hosting, public service

announcements, and other situations that may require the use of public speaking. It may also help

public speakers in improving the ineffectiveness of public speaking.

To the Future Researchers. The data in this research may be used as basis or as reference

in future studies.

Statement of the Problem

The researchers focused on the integration of public speaking in different courses and its

influences to a student’s communication skills.

Thus, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. How is public speaking integrated to the different courses being taken up by the students?

2. What are the factors that influence one's oral communication skills?

3. How does public speaking influence the oral communication skills of students?

4. What methods can be used to eradicate the apprehensions of the students in public speaking?

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 Scope and Delimitations

This study is subjective and is focused on the topic about the influence of public speaking

to the communication skills of the students. Moreover, this includes the current subjects of the 2nd

semester of the Grade 11 students from the Humanities and Social Sciences strand. These subjects

are Oral Communication, Introduction to World Religion, and Discipline and Ideas in the Social

Science.

It focuses on the data regarding how a student’s communication skill is enhanced through

public speaking which will be gathered through conducted interviews.

The interviewees come from the grade 11 students of the Humanities and Social Science

strand studying at Far Eastern University Diliman. There would be six interviewees in total who

come from the sections: Humility, Honesty, and Happiness in grade 11. The researchers will

choose two students per section in the strand HUMSS as their participants.

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 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter includes the concepts, ideas, past researches, and other studies that are related

to this study. The included literature will help expound the relevant information included in the

study. The following are the works that will show the integration of public speaking to the different

courses and its influence to one’s communication skills.

Integration of Public Speaking to Courses

Public speaking has its roots, through the course of history where Macionis (2012)

informed that throughout human history, every society has transmitted culture by using speech.

This means that public speaking is already integrated in courses from past generations.

As stated in Oral Communication by Anudin and Pena (2016), communication has become

a natural part of our daily lives. It is inevitable as the action of doing nothing is already considered

as an act of communication.

Public speaking, a form of oral communication, is one of the primary courses that is taken

by majority of the students in the world. It is already integrated into their lessons through reporting

and presenting, which then allows their communication skills to be influenced by the practice of

public speaking.

To support this, Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Learners’ Oral Performance by the

pupils of Menaa’s middle schools said that it is the teacher’s responsibility to make activities that

enhance a student’s skills in communication for them to be prepared for real life communication.

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With these activities, students who have low literacy levels or limited formal education improve

by reporting, negotiating, clarifying and problem solving (2013). Furthermore, it is a common

requirement in high school and tertiary levels. To disseminate their newfound knowledge, oral

presentations are commonly done in class seminars, conferences, and in business meetings. Class

seminars require the speakers to give a talk to the class, conferences require the speakers to relay

information about their topic to their group, and business meetings require the speaker to present

their data to a board (Anudin & Pena, 2016).

This proves that public speaking is integrated in almost every activity that requires a

speaker to interact with various purposes. It shows that public speaking is an influential skill that

helps the speaker to build their communication skills in terms of critical thinking, speaking ability,

and content which can help them in their future careers.

Factors that Influence Oral Communication Skills

The ideal voice reflects the speaker’s personality which is an essential factor in dealing

with communication. A speaker with a pleasing personality would allow the audience to be more

engaged in listening in the conversation. This factor would determine the impression that the

speaker will give to the audience, whether they are attracted enough to engage in the conversation

or will simply avoid it (Tuhovsky, 2017).

Therefore, personality is what wills the listeners to pay attention to the speaker. A good

personality would allow the speaker to have better communication toward their audience,

improving the communication skills of the speaker.

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 Another factor that influence one’s oral communication skills is the lack of positive

experience. The book entitled A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking by O’Hair, Rubenstein, and

Stewart (2010) suggested that when you have no experience in public speaking or have bad

experiences from it, it can affect the speakers’ perspective on public speaking. These hinder them

from improving their communication skills.

To elaborate, experience is a factor that can influence one’s oral communication skills. If

a speaker experience positivity through their sessions in communicating, they are more susceptible

to improvement and may engage in more activities like public speaking to further develop their

communication skills. However, if a speaker experiences a bad session of communicating for the

first time or most of their experience in communicating is negative, they are more likely to stray

away from activities like public speaking. This influences their communication in a negative way

as they might remove the opportunity for their communication skills to develop.

From the study, An Assessment of Students’ Performance in Communication Skills a Case

of the University of Education Winneba (2015), another factor that influences a students’ oral

communication is by the lesson of the teacher to the students. The methods of teaching affect a

students’ interest in oral communication. If lecturers do not make students become interested in

oral communication, it will not be a topic of interest for them. If they develop the interest in their

communication skills it will be beneficial for the students’ future.

In addition to that, the study, An Analysis of Factors Influencing Learners’ English

Speaking Skill (2016), asserted that the learners understanding of what was said to them is one of

the factors that affect their speaking skills. Listening ability is an important factor because speakers

should both be the listeners and the speakers at the same time.

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 With that, public speaking is not just about the message, it is also about how it is delivered.

A student that observes proper grammar and techniques in speaking when delivering a speech

would be applauded, not only that, their message would also be well received by the audience. The

way that they deliver their message would influence their communication skills as it will show

how they are communicators.

Influence of Public Speaking on Oral Communication Skills

In the book of Successful Public Speaking by Arina Nikitina, it is said that there are a lot

of social and personal advantages that come with public speaking. These personal benefits include

increased self-confidence, improved communication skills, increased organizational skills and

many more (2011).

To expand, the improvement that public speaking gives to oral communication allows the

students to have better career advancement. Through public speaking, a speaker’s oral

communication skill is also influenced, giving the speaker the opportunity to improve the elements

that affect the speaker’s oral communication.

Aside from that, from the text Introduction to Public Speaking by Lisa Schreiber, Ph.D.

and Morgan Hartanraft, public speaking is listed as one of the core skills which are critical for

intellectual development, career trajectory and civic engagement. For instance, the practice of

public speaking as a core skill influences communication skill in a way that critical thinking is also

developed. Communication skills define the ability of a speaker to effectively deliver their

message to their audience; the use of critical thinking is applied in this situation to come up with

ways to communicate well (2013).

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 Finally, there is a theory that describes a speech or public speaking’s objective. Speech is

primarily the means of manifesting outwardly the inner workings of the mind (Sebastian and

Asuncion, 2014), this simply states that public speaking allows us to be expressive, and it gives

people an opportunity to express whatever thoughts they may have on a particular topic. Moreover,

public speaking influences communication since expression is a part of communication. Being

expressive is a sign that a speaker’s communication skill is being developed and public speaking

is a medium that allows everyone to be expressive.

Methods to Improve Public Speaking Skills

Public speaking is viewed as a difficult task for some people. The reason why people think

it is difficult is because of the factors needed to be present when speaking in public. These factors

may be the confidence in facing the crowd, organization of the message that the speaker will

deliver, the manner of delivery, and many more factors that come with public speaking. With these

factors in mind, there are methods available to improve a speaker’s public speaking skills.

When it comes to speaking, communication skills are not enough. Before public speaking

you have to prepare and practice for it. Majority of successful public speakers train themselves to

perform through persistent preparation and practice (Nikitina, 2011). Regard public speaking as a

valuable, worthwhile, and challenging activity. For you to prepare, make your speech first and you

should organize your thoughts well. Create an outline for your speech, write the general and main

purpose of your speech (North, 2015). After making your speech, practice it in front of a mirror.

It is a proper way to learn proper facial expressions and gestures. But also, take the opportunity to

speak. nothing beats actual experience of being in front of a crowd speaking. Grab any opportunity

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that will help you gain experience so that you will learn from what you have experienced and

utilize it (Gleeson, 2017). Also, ask for feedback. Learn people’s reactions and with it, change

your delivery and be flexible to changes (Patel, 2017). Therefore, know your audience. It is

important to know what your audience’s point of interest and background knowledge is (North,

2017).

After preparing and practicing there are things to do during the public speaking for people

to understand the message you will be conveying. Non-verbal communication is a factor in speech

which makes your audience see your emotions and make them understand you well (North, 2015).

Like by using proper gestures, you can get the attention of the audience. Movement can make the

speaker more animated which can please the eyes of the audience, thus allotting more of their

attention to the speaker (Nagdeve, 2018). Eye contact is one of the most powerful ways of non-

verbal communication. It gives you a sense of being recognized and validated. Also, take long

pauses and keep your pace steady. Make sure to let your audience hear and understand what your

point is. Through pauses, you can make a better impact and emphasis with your words (Gleeson,

2017). Next, stand for attention. Good posture reflects confidence and engagement with your

presentation and your audience. There is absolutely no doubt that body language is a crucial part

of communication.

After the public speaking activity, you should identify what hinders you from delivering a

speech well. Assess yourself and identify at which stage or stages you become nervous or anxious

when speaking in front of a crowd. In this way, you will be able to know what to work on to lessen

your fear (O’Hair, Rubenstein, and Stewart, 2010). After doing that find a style that works for you.

Every event is different and it has to have its own style. Use the proper approach for an event

(Gleeson, 2017). Modify thoughts and attitudes. In the book written by Dan O’Hair, Hannah

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Rubenstein and Rob Stewart, entitled A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, negative thoughts about

speechmaking increase nervousness. Be yourself when it comes to speaking in front, never try to

be someone else. Remind yourself of all the reasons that public speaking is helpful personally,

socially, and professionally. Think positively about public speaking, and remind yourself that it is

an opportunity toward, not a threat to personal growth (O’Hair et al., 2010).

Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas

clearly.

Overall, the researches included in this chapter will help the researchers in expanding the

study entitled “Public Speaking: Its Integration to Different Courses and Influence to Far Eastern

University Diliman’s Grade XI HUMSS Students’ Communication skills”.

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 Conceptual Framework

Paradigm 1. Model on the Integration of Public Speaking to Different Courses in Grade 11 at

Far Eastern University - Diliman

The conceptual framework of this research pertains to the integration of public speaking to

different courses such as Oral Communication, Discipline and Ideas in the Social Science, and

Introduction to World Religion — courses that involve public speaking. These will influence

students in such a way that they will be able to improve their communication skills.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter shows the qualitative method that was used in this research entitled, “Public

Speaking: Its Integration to Courses and Influence to Far Eastern University-Diliman’s Grade XI

HUMSS Students’ Communication Skills”.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design’s goal is to provide a strategy for how the study will be observed.

Phenomenology is a qualitative research method that was used to describe how human beings

experience a certain phenomenon. Students utilize their communication skills in their daily lives

for their classes, they may have similar experiences when partaking in activities that uses their

communication skills, thus making phenomenology a viable research design for the study. This is

chosen as the research design because the researchers observed the participants and knew the

experiences of the participants during public speaking.

RESEARCH LOCALE

The research was conducted inside the premises of Far Eastern University – Diliman, a

private institution located in Diliman, Quezon City. The participants were interviewed in the

library of the aforementioned institution to allow them to be engaged and make them feel

comfortable throughout the duration of the data gathering procedure. The other participants were

interviewed in their classroom. Furthermore, the study was conducted in the second semester of

the academic year 2018-2019.

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 POPULATION AND SAMPLES OF THE STUDY

The participants involved in the data gathering were students from the three sections of the

strand Humanities and Social Science in Far Eastern University-Diliman School Year 2018-2019.

There were six participants for the interview which consisted of two students each from the

sections Humility, Honesty, and Happiness. Additionally, the students from the section Humility

were the participants for the observation. The researchers used purposive sampling by getting the

students as the participants of the study. They were chosen for their ability to speak in public.

INSTRUMENTS OF THE STUDY

To get the data needed, the researchers conducted a structured interview. The HUMSS

students from the section: Humility, Honest, and Happiness were interviewed. The researchers

constructed a set of questions as a guide for the interview. The set of questions were based on the

research’s statement of the problems. The questions were made to elicit their feelings and opinions

about public speaking being used to enhance their communication skills. The question types are in

the order of background questions, experience questions, feeling questions, and lastly opinion

questions.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

Two data-gathering procedures were used in order to gather the necessary data needed by

the researchers. The first being observation and the second being interview.

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 First, the observation was held on March 9, 2019 during the class impromptu speech

performance task in Oral Communication. Some students were asked for a permission to film their

performance for further analysis; a letter was also made by the researchers to ask permission from

the teacher to allow them to record a video of the speeches of the participants. Also, the researchers

took descriptive field notes while each participant was performing their impromptu speech.

In the second data-gathering procedure, the researchers conducted interviews relating to

the problems of the research. The interview procedure consisted of the preparation, interview, and

post-processing of the data gathered.

In the preparation, the researchers constructed questions that were related to the problems

of the research. The emphasis of different contexts and situations shaped the construction of the

interview questions. The questions have gone through revisions and has gained the approval of the

research adviser. Afterwards, the researchers asked permission to the participants to allow them to

conduct the interviews.

The researchers conducted six interviews, first with the two students from the HUMSS-11

Humility as well as with the other two students from Happiness. The first interview was conducted

on April 10, 2019. Lastly, two students from the HUMSS-11 Honesty were interviewed on April

11, 2019. The data-gathering tools that were used in the interview were voice recorders and pen

and paper. Each interview for lasted three to five minutes each.

Finally, the post-processing of data, where the researchers organized the data gathered.

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 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE

The data gathered from the participants have gone an analysis. For the observation, the

researchers have identified the common mannerisms and inconsistencies of speech that the

subjects had demonstrated during the impromptu speech for Oral Communication. The

aforementioned mannerisms and inconsistencies are composed of fidgeting, inconsistent eye-

contact, lack of gestures, stuttering, fillers, and non-speech sounds. Also, for the interview, they

identified the common experiences that the participants had when participating in public speaking

activities. They also took note of the presence of stutters, filler speeches, and non-speech sounds

uttered by the participants to further assess their communicative skills.

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 Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter discusses about the analysis of the data gathered through the interviews that

were conducted. These data show the integration of public speaking to the courses Introduction to

World Religion, Discipline and Ideas in Social Science, and Oral Communication which were

obtained from the grade 11 students enrolled in Humanities and Social Sciences strand.

The purposes of this study are to a.) know how public speaking is integrated to the

aforementioned courses; b.) determine the factors that influences one’s oral communication skills;

c.) identify the influences of public speaking on one’s oral communication skills; and lastly d.)

learn one’s methods in improving one’s oral communication skills.

Integration of Public Speaking to Courses

When asked how public speaking was integrated to the subjects Discipline and Ideas in

Social Science, Introduction to World Religion, and Oral communication, they mentioned that they

had reporting, impromptu speeches, and interactive portions where they would greet each other.

All the participants said that in the aforementioned subjects, they have public speaking

activities being integrated. Participant B stated, “Uhm, public speaking is applied usually in the

form of oral recitations, reportings, and, uhm, in performance task, ah, uhm, such as, you know,

public speaking in Oral Comm, uhm, we had a performance task like that and uhm, reporting in

the subject of Religion. In Discipline and Social Sciences, I would say uhm, the concept of, of,

recita- reciting whenever the teacher asked a question is already a form of public speaking.” It is

seen that public speaking is being utilized in the aforementioned courses.

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 To relate the findings, participant E stated, “It’s actually important in everyday life, even

when you’re speaking with someone new it’s like public speaking and it’s important in boosting

your confidence.” These activities are helpful as said from the Analysis of Some Factors Affecting

Learners’ Oral Performance by the pupils of Menaa’s middle schools because it enhances a

student’s communication skills for the preparation of real life communication. A teacher should

incorporate public speaking activities because it hones a student’s communication skills which

prepares them for real life communication (2013).

To further support the statement, an observation was conducted by the researchers to

further gain data to be used for analysis. The observation was an impromptu speech, a public

speaking activity for the course Oral Communication. This shows that public speaking activities

are being integrated in the different courses being taken up by the students.

Overall, the integration of public speaking to the courses being taken up by the students

are through the different activities given by the teachers to utilize the learners’ skill. It helps hone

a student’s communication skills because of it. Like how the activity in Oral Communication in

which a student was asked of how their day was, just by starting with simple conversations in front

of a class, it becomes a big help in honing their communication skills. Also, it prepares them to

effectively apply it in real life circumstances.

Factors that Influence Oral Communication Skills

The participants were asked about the apprehensions that they have when public speaking

as well as the factors that would give them confidence while doing the activity.

The apprehensions that were mentioned by participant E are, “the negative things you feel

whenever you speak in public.” Participant B then said that, “Uhm, the apre- uhm, the

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apprehensions I have whenever I speak in public is uhm taking into account the opinions that other

people will have on what I speak to them because sometimes people will have different perspectives

and have, uhm, uhm, certain negative opinions that will hinder my way of speaking and that will

result to me having more nervousness than what I usually have so, yes.” Participant C also stated

that overthinking affects the participant’s performance

To support the findings, from the book entitled, A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking by

O’Hair, Rubenstein, and Stewart (2010), a factor that influences one’s oral communication is the

lack of positive experience. The negative feelings that were felt by the participants have roots

which may come from bad experiences. This would explain why there is a tendency to be anxious

in public speaking, speakers are focused on the opinions of others rather than their own in fear of

opposing others.

In addition, when participant D was asked about the apprehensions in public speaking, she

answered “Umm, my grammar and when I think too much of how I look like in front while speaking.”

Participant A stated, “It’s the shyness really. If you make a mistake, you’re afraid of what you

might say that’s wrong and the people would react saying ‘huh, what is this guy saying?’ It’s really

the shyness. There are a lot of eyes looking at you and every wrong action you do, they might judge

you, and you would get criticized for it.” Participant F also said, “then lastly maybe it’s the

nervousness, because that is my biggest factor when it comes to public speaking, because of too

many people that are watching.”

To relate to the participants’ statement, a study by Tuhovsky stated that a speaker with a

pleasing personality would allow the audience to be more engaged in listening in the conversation.

The fact that the participant had to worry about how they look in front of the audience while

speaking proves that the personality of a speaker affects their oral communication (2017).

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 Furthermore, it was also noted by the researchers during their observation on the

impromptu speech that there were cases where the speakers would be distracted by their audience

whenever they would make a mistake. This would show that the audience is a factor that influences

the oral communication skills of a speaker.

Influence of Public Speaking on Oral Communication Skills

Public speaking activities as said by participant E, “It’s actually important in everyday life,

even when you’re speaking with someone new it’s like public speaking and it’s important in

boosting your confidence.” Participant B and participant C also share the same idea as participant

E. Public speaking being utilized is important because in the book of Successful Public Speaking

by Arina Nikitina public speaking has a lot of personal benefits that includes increased self-

confidence and more. Improving one’s public speaking skills can pave the way to expand one’s

social circle and strengthen their relationships with their peers, this directly translates that the

communication skills of an individual is improving since they are capable of creating meaningful

relationships with people that they recently met (2011).

To elaborate, public speaking is an avenue for improving one’s confidence. It plays a large

part in improving the oral communication skills of a speaker; therefore, public speaking can

influence the oral communication skills of an individual positively.

An observation by the researchers from a public speaking activity led to the findings that

majority of the participants experienced behavior that would suggest anxiousness. Almost all of

the participants showcased stuttering that usually derailed them from their train of thought

momentarily. Some of the participants also showed two types of behavior, they would either fiddle

and make unnecessary movements or have no movements at all. The excessive movements from

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the participants may be deemed as distracting while the lack of movement may be the cause of

uninterest from the audience. The participants are also prone to having mental blocks which

disrupts the flow of their speech. In one case, a participant walked away from the presentation due

to a mental block that they could not come back from.

In addition, participant C and E stated that public speaking is helpful because it promotes

critical thinking and you will gain new knowledge about certain topics. From the text Introduction

to Public Speaking by Lisa Schreiber, Ph.D. and Morgan Hartanraft, communication skills define

one’s ability to effectively deliver their message to their audience thus, the use of critical thinking

is applied (2013).

Methods to Improve Public Speaking Skills

Participant B stated in the interview, “Uhm, maybe I’d overcome them by, uhm, just

practicing my public speaking more and not thinking about other people’s opinions and try to

improve on my spare time on how to, uhm, diminish these apprehensions, so, yes.” Participant A

also mentioned that through a lot of experiences in public speaking and exposure to it, a speaker

can potentially improve their skills in oral communication.

Furthermore, participant A, C, and F stated that one should not overthink and let negative

thoughts take over their mind. In the book entitled, A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking, negative

thoughts about speechmaking increase nervousness. It is recommended that an individual should

be themselves and not try to imitate another to improve their performance. One should think

positively about public speaking, and it should be regarded as an opportunity and not a threat to

personal growth (O’Hair et al., 2010).

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 To strengthen the participant’s claim, Nikitina stated that majority of successful public

speakers train themselves to perform through persistent preparation and practice. As with any

activity, practice should be observed so an individual can be prepared and have a higher chance of

avoiding the apprehensions that come with public speaking (2011).

Participant E said, “I think seeing someone like my friend or someone who I know that when

I see I can just be calm, then I know that I’m doing okay.” Asking for feedback by learning people’s

reactions such as participant five’s friend, can make the participant’s delivery change. It can help

lessen the worries one can feel whenever they speak in public.

Furthermore, the participant mentioned to not think about other people’s opinions, which

can be related to North’s study which states “It is important to know what your audience’s point

of interest and background knowledge is.” Knowing the audience can allow the speaker to focus

on delivering their message instead of wondering about their crowd during the duration of their

talk.

In the observation made during the impromptu public speaking activity that was conducted

on the subject Oral Communication, all of the participants used proper gestures to convey their

speeches well. Non-verbal communication is a factor in speech which makes your audience see

your emotions and make them understand you well. Because of the integration of public speaking

in the subject, the students learned that non-verbal gestures are important in public speaking

activities.

The participants in the impromptu activity also took long pauses. They take time to slow

down and take pauses to make their audience process what they are talking about. It makes an

impact and it emphasizes their speeches. It shows that the participants know how to effectively

speak in public.

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 Overall, it surrounds the idea that the process before public speaking is invaluable for

lessening the apprehensions for the activity. Practice will allow a speaker to be comfortable with

speaking in public. Preparation will give a speaker the chance to plan for their speech, and to relate

to the statement of the participant as well as North’s statement in his study, it will allow them to

look into the background of the crowd to further prepare themselves. Through constant practicing

and preparing, one can be an effective public speaker.

To conclude, this chapter provides how public speaking and oral communication are

directly proportional with each other. It shows how public speaking is integrated in the courses

being taken up by the students and how it directly affects their communication skills. There are

also methods gathered that can be used to further improve one’s communication skills.

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 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations based

on the findings from the interview and observation conducted in chapter 4.

The study was taken with the general objective of determining the influence of public

speaking being integrated in the subjects Discipline in Social Science, Introduction to World

Religion, and Oral Communication. The statement of the problem of the study are:

1. How is public speaking integrated to the different courses being taken up by the students?,

2. What are the factors that influence one's oral communication skills?,

3. How does public speaking influence the oral communication skills of students?, and

4. What methods can be used to eradicate the apprehensions of the students in public speaking?

The data were gathered through an interview and an observation that were conducted by

the researchers. The participants were Grade 11 students of Far Eastern University – Diliman who

were enrolled in the Humanities and Social Sciences strand. The study was conducted during the

2nd semester of the students of the school year 2018 – 2019.

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 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH

The findings of the research are based on the objectives of the study that have been

analyzed and interpreted with the data from the previous chapter. The findings were based from

the statement of the problems stated in chapter 1.

1. How is public speaking integrated to the different courses taken up by the students?

This study revealed that the integration of public speaking in the aforementioned courses

was evident through subject reports and presentations. All of the participants had public

speaking incorporated because from the data gathered, it helped hone a student’s oral

communication skills for real life communication.

2. What are the factors that influence one's oral communication skills?

Based on the data gathered, the factors that were mentioned are the negative feelings that

were felt by the participants that is rooted from bad experiences. Another factor is having

a pleasing personality, being worried because of one’s personality affects one’s oral

communication. Even the audience is a factor that influences the oral communication skills

of a speaker.

3. How does public speaking influence the oral communication skills of students?

The data gathered from the previous chapter learned that the personal benefits that is

included is increased self-confidence. From the observation that was done, it led to the

findings that majority of the participants experienced behavior that would suggest

anxiousness. Following to the account that the researchers observed during impromptu

speeches, students who made mistakes tend to get distracted by their audience. Public

speaking promotes critical thinking and gain new knowledge about certain topics.

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4. What methods can be used to eradicate the apprehensions of the students in public

speaking?

In the data gathered at the previous chapter, it mentioned that through exposure and

experiences in public speaking a speaker can potentially improve their oral communication

skills. A student should think positively about public speaking and it should be regarded as

an opportunity and not a threat to personal growth. Through persistent preparation and

practice the chance of avoiding apprehensions that come with public speaking will be high.

Asking for feedback from the audience’s reactions can make the participant’s speech

delivery even better. By knowing the audience, a speaker can focus on delivering their

message instead of wondering about their audience. Proper gestures should be used to

convey speeches well. Taking long pauses can be a way for the audience to process the

information to emphasize more about the speaker’s speech.

CONCLUSIONS

Based from the data gathered from the observation and from the interview conducted last

March and April 2019, the following conclusions were drawn.

1. Public speaking is integrated in the different courses being taking up by the students

through the different oral activities and interactions that the teachers utilize to enhance

the oral communication skills of the students.

2. Anxiety is a major factor that affects the oral communication skills of a speaker. Along

with that, overthinking can lead to apprehensions that may affect the ability of the

speaker to communicate effectively.

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 3. Public speaking allows the speakers to be expressive, thus giving them an opportunity

to enhance their oral communication skills.

4. Building confidence is a way to lessen the apprehensions that come with public

speaking. Furthermore, taking the opportunity to engage in public speaking activities,

as well as studying about it may increase the chances of lessening the apprehensions of

public speaking.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based from the findings and conclusions of the study, these are the following

recommendations:

1. Students should regard public speaking activities as an important platform in enhancing

their communication skills. Students should also know that the factors that affect one’s

oral communication skills would be an advantage to know one’s weaknesses and

strengths. The students should do methods such as practicing and preparing before

public speaking, using non-verbal communications, and identifying what hinders them

from delivering a speech well by asking for feedback.

2. The teachers should incorporate more public speaking activities in order to practice

their student’s communication skills.

3. This can help student leaders know how to speak effectively to their members. Public

speaking skills are important to student leaders. Through the methods listed such as

practicing, preparing, using of non-verbal communications, and gathering feedback, it

can help them improve their public speaking skills.

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4. This study can help future studies about the integration of public speaking activities in

courses. It can help give additional information about the importance, effectiveness,

and hindrances in public speaking. The researchers of this study recommends future

researchers to perform more observations on different grade levels such as high school

and college communities. Observing and gathering data should take time. The more

participants the study has, the more help the commonalities and other factors that

hinders students in performing their communications skills will have.

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