What are the two main factors that the audience uses to determine if the speaker is qualified on a given topic and that he she is a credible speaker?

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Have you heard someone speak whom you thought lacked credibility? Did you dismiss what he or she had to say because you thought it was probably not true? That's what typically happens when a speaker lacks credibility. While it's always important to be thought of as believable, it's especially important when you speak to a group of people, and vital if you plan to deliver a persuasive presentation. Without credibility, members of the audience may dismiss what you have to say as either unimportant or untrue. The guidelines that follow are provided to help you learn how to become a more believable speaker.

Be accurate and exact with quotes, names, dates, and facts.

If you want people to believe you, you have to earn their trust. That means getting the facts straight. Research the information you're going to present to make sure it's accurate and make sure you report it correctly. Practice pronouncing names correctly, and state dates, facts, and quotes accurately. Copy information that you think you might state incorrectly and read it from your notes if necessary.

Provide support for your ideas.

It's not enough just to make a statement, you need to back it up by providing factual information, quoting an expert, or speaking from experience. The point is, it's not enough to state your ideas, you need to be able to explain why you have those ideas.

Dress in a professional manner.

If you want to be taken seriously, then dress accordingly. Being the worst dressed person in the room just won't do. You don't need to have the most expensive clothes or the most current wardrobe, but do look well groomed. Like it or not, research has determined that people are influenced by the appearance of the speaker.

Use visual aids that look professional.

Visual aids can enhance your presentation if they are well designed and look professional. Be certain to use the visual aids when you practice your presentation.

Know your material.

Knowing the material will help you speak more quickly and fluidly. Research has shown that a speaker's credibility is enhanced by speaking more quickly and without hesitation (uh, well, you know) or qualifiers (sort of, kind of, I guess). People who speak faster are perceived to be more intelligent, more confident, and more effective than people who speak slower. Knowing your material will also help you reduce hesitations and qualifiers that might diminish credibility.

Use language that's appropriate for the audience.

Don't try to impress them by using words they don't understand. If your subject is new to audience members, be certain to explain jargon they might not comprehend. Also, be certain to use your best grammar. Slang can be appropriate for the right audience, but the use of incorrect grammar may be taken as a lack of knowledge on your part.

Speaker credibility has its roots in Aristotle’s teachings over 2,000 years ago as he wrote about a speaker’s character, otherwise known as ethos. According to Aristotle, a speaker’s character was just as important as the content of their speech. Ethos, as defined by Aristotle, resides in two areas: character and competence:

• A speaker’s character is related to a speaker’s perceived honesty, sincerity, and concern for the audience’s well-being.
• A speaker’s competence is related to a speaker’s knowledge, experience, and preparedness.

Based on Aristotle’s concept of ethos, speaker credibility can be defined as “the extent to which the audience believes you and your message.” In other  words, speaker credibility comes from your audience, and is based on their perceptions of you. However, credibility is dynamic and can change during your presentation.

Now, you may be wondering if there are factors that can help boost and maintain your credibility with your audiences? The answer is yes! There are factors that can elevate and enhance your credibility:

• Competence. One can enhance the audience’s perception of your competence when you communicate your knowledge, experience, training, or background on the topic on which you are speaking. Some speakers come into their presentations with initial credibility based on their professional credentials, roles/job titles, collateral such as books, and/or well-known achievements. If you don’t have first-hand experience with your topic, citing evidence to support your point of view from recent credible research can demonstrate you are well-informed and enable you to gain your audience’s trust that you know what you are talking about.
• Trustworthiness. When you are speaking, do you have the audience’s best interest at heart? Or are you speaking in your own self-interest? Audiences can tell if you are genuinely interested in their wants and needs. Establishing common ground and demonstrating how your topic is aligned with your audience’s values and beliefs can develop trust between you and your audience members.
• Preparedness. One of the surest ways to build your credibility is through your confident and dynamic delivery of your presentation. Rehearse your material so that you can deliver with fluency and expressiveness. Even if you have initial credibility due to your role or credentials, you can lose credibility with your audience if your delivery fails to meet their expectations.

The biggest take-away here is that we don’t give ourselves credibility. Credibility is built by how much our audience trusts and believes us and our message.

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. – H. G. Wells

Now that you understand the importance of informing others, this next section will show you the speakers’ responsibilities for preparing and presenting informative speeches.

Informative Speakers Are Objective

Most public speaking texts discuss three general purposes for speeches: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. Although these general purposes are theoretically distinct, in practice, they tend to overlap. Even in situations when the occasion calls for an informative speech (one which enhances understanding), often persuasive and entertaining elements are present. First, all informative speeches have a persuasive component by virtue of the fact that the speaker tries to convince the audience that the facts presented are accurate (Harlan, 1993). Second, a well-written speech can make even the most dry, technical information entertaining through engaging illustrations, colorful language, unusual facts, and powerful visuals.

In spite of this caveat, when planning your informative speech your primary intent will be to increase listeners’ knowledge in an impartial way. For instance, in a speech about urban legends (Craughwell, 2000), your specific purpose statement may be: “At the end of my speech, my audience will understand what an urban legend is, how urban legends are spread, and common variations of urban legends.” The topic you choose is not as important as your approach to the material in determining whether your speech is informative or persuasive (Peterson, Stephan, & White, 1992). Can you imagine how speeches on witchcraft, stem cell research, the federal deficit, or hybrid cars could be written either to inform or persuade? Informative speeches need to be as objective, fair, and unbiased as possible. You are not asking your audience to take action or convincing them to change their mind. You are teaching them something and allowing them to decide for themselves what to do with the information. When writing your speech, present all sides of the story and try to remove all unrelated facts, personal opinions, and emotions (Westerfield, 2002).

Informative Speakers are Credible

Audience members have no motivation to listen to a speaker they perceive as lacking authority or credibility—except maybe to mock the speaker. To avoid this pitfall, there are at least three ways to boost your credibility as a speaker; by establishing your expertise, helping your audience identify with you, and showing you are telling the truth (see examples in Table 15.1). It seems to be common sense that we do not listen to speakers who do not know what they are talking about, who cannot relate to us, or who give the impression of being dishonest. However, in planning informative speeches, we can get so wrapped up in the topic that is easy to forget about the elements of credibility. Just remember that in order to teach, we first have to show that we are worthy of our audience’s attention.

In the end, you make your reputation and you have your success based upon credibility and being able to provide people who are really hungry for information what they want. – Brit Hume

Informative Speakers Are Knowledgeable

Good informative speeches contain a number of different source citations throughout the speech. To show that the information you present is accurate and complete, these sources should be up-to-date, reliable, unbiased, and directly relevant to your topic. Even if you plan to give a speech about an activity you have done all of your life, you will still need to seek out additional sources for your speech. By all means, you should cite and use your own experiences with the topic, but if you want to appear objective, you will need to show that your ideas and experiences correspond with others’. Using a variety of sound reference materials helps you appear well-informed and more trustworthy.

In our information age, people are fortunate to have unlimited and free access to information on virtually any topic they can imagine via the internet. Unfortunately, in addition to the credible information, the internet contains an abundance of garbage. Good speech writers know that it is important to avoid weak or questionable sources (e.g. Wikipedia, Britannica.com or Ask.com) when constructing their speeches. Start by asking what you know, find out what the experts know, and then move to find out what information other sources can provide (Gladis, 1999). You can search your library catalogue or Amazon.com to locate books (which provide details and depth), and then check out or order these books via interlibrary loan (often free) if they are not available in your library. Explain not only how something is done, but also why it is done for a great speech (MacInnis, 2006). This variety gives a speech depth and a level of interest that cannot be achieved merely by doing a Google search and using the first five websites that pop up. For additional ideas on locating sources, “Sources of interesting information” is provided at the end of this chapter.

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. – Dorothy Parker

Informative Speakers Make the Topic Relevant

When you are selecting your topic and thinking about what you want to accomplish in your informative speech, two factors should drive your decision. Foremost, you want to select a topic that holds a high degree of interest for you (i.e. the topic is meaningful to you). Students who feel at a loss for topic ideas should turn their attention to their own lives and activities. If you like to play video games, you might give a speech about how they are made. If you have a passion for ska reggae music, you might bring in MP3 cuts to help define the boundaries of this music genre. If you have to work three jobs to help pay for school, you could give a speech on effective time management. Genuine curiosity will make the research and preparation process easier. Further, when you have enthusiasm for a topic, it shows when you speak. On the other hand, if you do not really care about your topic, your audience is not likely to care either.

Making the topic relevant for your audience can also mean that you show them how to apply the information immediately. In a speech on relaxation techniques, a speaker can lead the audience through a simple stress reduction exercise they can use at home. For a speech on handwriting analysis, listeners can be given paper, asked to write a sample sentence and shown how to interpret some points on the sample. If the audience members have laptops, a speaker can show them how to improve one of their digital photos. If listeners can use the information they learn quickly, they tend to remember it longer, and they are more likely to try the action again later (Nelson, et al., 2010).