Does effective public speaking differ between military and civilian audiences in general?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:32:15 -0400

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2017 2:35 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:35:19 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member In the military, I was more instructional than in civilian life. In the civilian world, I was much more polished after years of presentations. In either case, you have to capture your audiences attention and keep it. Practice, practice, and more practice.

Response by SGT David T. made Apr 6 at 2017 2:35 PM

SGT David T. — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:35:30 -0400

It is like night and day. To military audience I generally could use profanity without any issues. To civilian crowd...eh not so much lol

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Apr 6 at 2017 2:44 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:44:44 -0400

Tell them what you're going to tell'em, tell'em, tell 'em what you told them. Works anywhere, anytime

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Apr 6 at 2017 2:44 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:44:59 -0400

It tends to be done at a little lower grade level in the military...

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Apr 6 at 2017 3:09 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 15:09:23 -0400

Not to mention we would need a definition of 'effective public speaking'?

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2017 3:11 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 15:11:27 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member Great question. I chose the options are too generic. However, I also think the answer could be "yes" and/or "no." It depends entirely on the speaker.

To be an effective public speaker, you have to know your audience at some level on how best to communicate to that audience. A public speaker can adapt on a dime if needed to the "tone or feel of their audience."

Granted that a military audience and a civilian audience from a "personality standpoint" could be and usually are very different. I have noticed that when I have spoken in front of both. They use different languages, thus if you know the language of either in this case, you can be effective with both options listed here.

However, if a speaker does not know their audience or their language, then communication may be rather difficult to deliver the message the speaker is attempting to convey.

Thanks for posting the poll. Enjoy your day.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Apr 6 at 2017 6:48 PM

COL Jon Thompson — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 18:48:17 -0400

If you are a confident speaker and know your material, it will not make a difference if the audience is civilian or military. And if you fear pubic speaking, it will not matter either. What may be more important is the type of public speaking. If there is a Q&A period afterwards, if you are not an SME, I am sure it will be more difficult. If it is just a speech for something like Veterans Day, than it may not be as difficult. So for me, it is not the audience but the purpose of giving a speech that really makes the difference.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2017 9:24 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 21:24:58 -0400

Military has its own way of being effective where as civilians don't think the same so bottom lines may differ and so the way to speak then differs.

Response by MAJ Raúl Rovira made Apr 9 at 2017 2:01 PM

MAJ Raúl Rovira — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 14:01:18 -0400

In my view, it is about the skills. Inform, persuade, entertain... Know your audience, reading the audience, practice, add value to the listeners through the message.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Apr 9 at 2017 11:37 PM

SGT Matthew S. — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 23:37:49 -0400

It seems to me that in the military, my speaking involved instruction or training while in the civilian world it tends (what little I have done) to be more of an informative setting. Either way, though, know your audience and tailor the presentation to that specific group.