Myths about Public Speaking Reading Answers

Dec 13, 2022

Myths about Public Speaking Reading Answers contains four paragraph comprehension. Myths about Public Speaking Reading Answers has 14 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Myths about Public Speaking Reading Answers comprises of three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

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Section 1

Reading the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Myths about Public Speaking Reading Answers

Our fears of public speaking result not only from what we do not know or understand about public communication, but also from misconceptions and myths about public encounters. These misconceptions and myths persist among professional people as well as the general public. Let us examine these persistent myths about public communication, which, like our ignorance and misunderstandings of the fundamental assumptions and requirements of public speaking, exacerbate our fears and prevent our development as competent public persons.

A) Perhaps the most dogged and persistent myth about public communication is that it is a "special" activity reserved for unusual occasions. After all, how often do you make a public speech? There are only a few special occasions during the year when even an outgoing professional person will step behind a podium to give a public speech, and many professional people can count on one hand the number of public speeches given in a careen Surely, then, public communication is a rare activity reserved for especially important occasions.

This argument, of course, ignores the true nature of public communication and the nature of the occasions in which it occurs. When we engage with people we do not know well to solve problems, share understanding and perspectives, advocate points of view, or seek stimulation, we are engaged in public speaking. Public communication is a familiar, daily activity that occurs in the streets, in restaurants, in boardrooms, courtrooms, parks, offices, factories and meetings.

Is public speaking an unusual activity reserved for special occasions and restricted to the lectern or the platform? Hardly. Rather it is, and should be developed as, an everyday activity occurring in any location where people come together

B) A related misconception about public communication is the belief that the public speaker is a specially gifted individual with innate abilities and God-given propensities. While most professional people would reject the idea that public speakers are born, not made, they nevertheless often feel that the effective public communicator has developed unusual personal talents to a remarkable degree. At the heart of this misconception like the myth of public speaking as a "special" activity—is an overly narrow view of what a public person is and does.

Development as an effective public communicator begins with the understanding that you need not be a nationally-known, speak-for-pay, professional platform speaker to be a competent public person. The public speaker is an ordinary person who confronts the necessity of being a public person and uses common abilities to meet the fundamental assumptions and requirements of daily public encounters.

C) A less widespread but serious misconception of public speaking is reflected in the belief that public speeches are "made for the ages". A public speech is something viewed as an historical event which will be part of a continuing and generally available public record. Some public speeches are faithfully recorded, transcribed, reproduced, and made part of broadly available historical records. Those instances are rare compared to the thousands of unrecorded public speeches made every day.

Public communication is usually situation-specific and ephemeral. Most audiences do well if they remember as much as 40 percent of what a speaker says immediately after the speaker concludes; even less is retained as time goes by. This fact is both reassuring and challenging to the public communicator. On the one hand, it suggests that there is room for human error in making public pronouncements; on the other hand, it challenges the public speaker to be as informed as possible and to strive to defeat the poor listening habits of most public audiences.

D) Finally, professional people perhaps more than other groups often subscribe to the misconception that public communication must be an exact science, that if it is done properly it will succeed. The troublesome corollary to this reasoning is that if public communication fails, it is because it was improperly prepared or executed. This argument blithely ignores the vagaries of human interaction. Public speakers achieve their goals through their listeners, and the only truly predictable aspect of human listeners is their unpredictability. Further, public messages may succeed despite inadequate preparation and dreadful delivery.

Professional people often mismanage their fears of public communication. Once we understand what public encounters assume and demand, once we unburden ourselves of the myths that handicap our growth as public persons, we can properly begin to develop as competent public communicators.

Section 2

Solution with Explanation
Questions 1-5:

THE reading passage “Myths About Public Speaking” has four sections A-D. In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet write the appropriate letter A, B, C, or D to show in which section you can find a discussion of the following points. You may use any letter more than once.

A person’s ability to be a public speaker.

Answer: B
Supporting Statement: A related misconception about public communication is the belief that the public speaker is a specially gifted individual with innate abilities and God-given propensities.
Keywords: misconception, public communication, god-given propensities.
Keyword location: Paragraph B
Explanation: According to these lines, a person who is good at public speaking is particularly gifted with intrinsic skills and God-given tendencies. Since paragraph B mentions a person's capacity for public speaking, the correct response is B.

Whether public speeches are remembered for a long time.

Answer: C.
Supporting Statement: A less widespread but serious misconception of public speaking is reflected in the belief that public speeches are “made for the ages”.
Keywords: public speaking, mode for the ages.
Keyword location: Paragraph C
Explanation: These sentences show that the misconception that public speeches are meant to be remembered is a fundamental flaw in public speaking. As a result, we may find evidence for the claim that public statements are remembered for a long time in paragraph C, hence the correct response is C.

A definition of public speaking.

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: Public communication as a familiar, daily activity that occurs in the streets, in restaurants, in boardrooms, courtrooms, parks, offices, factories, and meetings.
Keywords: public communication, boardrooms, courtrooms, parks, offices, factories, meetings.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 9
Explanation: The concept of public speaking is shown in these lines. The solution is hence A.

The relationship of preparation to success in public speaking.

Answer: D
Supporting Statement: the troublesome corollary to this reasoning is that if public communication fails, it is because it was improperly prepared or executed.
Keywords: corollary, public communication, improperly executed.
Keyword location: Paragraph D, line 2
Explanation: These sentences suggest that a challenging presupposition is that if social communication is poor, it is due to inadequate planning or execution. As a result, the answer is D because there are references demonstrating the link between preparation and public speaking success.

Retention rates as a challenge to public speakers.

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: Public communication is usually situation-specific and ephemeral. Most audiences do well if they remember as much as 40 percent of what a speaker says immediately after the speaker concludes; even less is retained as time goes by.
Keywords: public communication, ephemeral, 40 percent.
Keyword location: Paragraph C, line 6
Explanation: According to these lines, the majority of audiences rapidly forget roughly 60% of what they just heard during public presentations.

Questions 6-11:
DO boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet write

YES: if the statement agrees with the writer
NO: if the statement does not agree with the writer
NOT GIVEN: if there is no information about this in the passage

Very few people can become good public speakers.

Answer: No
Supporting Statement: Is public speaking an unusual activity reserved for special occasions and restricted to the lectern or the platform? Hardly. Rather it is, and should be developed as, an everyday activity occurring in any location where people come together.
Keywords: public speaking, special occasions, location.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, last line
Explanation: We can understand why the subject of whether public speaking is only appropriate for formal events and is limited to the podium or lectern is being raised. To which the author responds, "Nearly," emphasizing that public speaking is and ought to be promoted as a regular activity in various settings where people congregate. As a result, anyone who wants to speak in front of the group can do so. As a result, the assertion is false and the information is true, hence the answer is no.

Public communications is an ordinary daily activity.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: If public speaking is an unusual activity reserved for special occasions and restricted to the lectern or the platform? Hardly. Rather it is, and should be developed as, an everyday activity occurring in any location where people come together.
Keywords: public speaking, special occasions, location.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, last line
Explanation: These words demonstrate that everyone should view public speaking as an everyday activity and not as a peculiar one. The information and the assertion are consistent, hence the answer is yes.

Public speaking can be learned at specially designated schools

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: no relevant information was found in the reading passage

Most good public speakers lead happy and productive lives.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: no relevant information was found in the reading passage

It is impossible to predict how a speech will be received.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Statement: The troublesome corollary to this reasoning is that if public communication fails, it is because it was improperly prepared or executed. This argument blithely ignores the vagaries of human interaction. Public speakers achieve their goals through their listeners, and the only truly predictable aspect of human listeners is their unpredictability.
Keywords: troublesome corollary, public speakers, human listeners.
Keyword location: Paragraph D, line 2
Explanation: These statements make the challenging claim that if public speaking fails, it was poorly prepared or presented, and this argument disregards the unexpected shift in human contact. Public communicators rely on their audiences to help them accomplish their objectives, and the only aspect of the audience that can be predicted is ambiguity. As a result, it is impossible to gauge the audience's reaction to a speech. The information and the assertion are consistent, hence the answer is yes.

There is little place for public speaking in the life of the ordinary person.

Answer: No
Supporting Statement: Public communication is a familiar, daily activity that occurs in the streets, in restaurants, in boardrooms, courtrooms, parks, offices, factories and meetings.
Keywords: public communication, restaurants, boardrooms, park, offices.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 5
Explanation: These words describe public speaking as just a common, everyday occurrence that happens everywhere. As a consequence, public speaking occurs frequently in the everyday lives of regular people. The fact and the assertion are in conflict, hence the response is no.

Questions 12-14:
USE information from the reading passage in the following sentences. Use no more than three words or a number. Write your answers in boxes 12-14 on your sheet

The writer defines public speaking as any activity where people jointly explore problems, knowledge, attitudes, and opinions, or look for_______________

Answer: Stimulation
Supporting Statement: when we engage with people we do not know well to solve problems, share understanding and perspectives, advocate points of view, or seek stimulation, we are engaged in public speaking.
Keywords: solve problems, share understanding, perspectives, and seek stimulation.
Keyword location: Paragraph A, line 5
Explanation: These phrases imply whenever an individual connects with others, they lack the skills necessary to resolve issues, share understanding or viewpoints, support causes, or look for encouragement. The definition described public speaking as a shared exploration of issues, information, viewpoints, or the search for stimulation. So stimulation is the solution.

At the end of most public speeches, most audiences immediately forget about __________ of what they have just heard.

Answer: 60%
Supporting Statement: Public communication is usually situation-specific and ephemeral. Most audiences do well if they remember as much as 40 percent of what a speaker says immediately after the speaker concludes; even less is retained as time goes by.
Keywords: public communication, ephemeral, 40 percent.
Keyword location: Paragraph C, line 4
Explanation: These lines indicate that public communication does not survive for a very long time. However, the majority of the audience does well if they retain up to 40% of what the speaker says; hence, the majority of the audience (about 60%) promptly forgets what they just heard the speaker say after the conclusion of the majority of public talks. So 60% is the answer.

Because most public speeches are short-lived, the speaker should work to counteract the ___________________of the listeners.

Answer: poor listening habits
Supporting Statement: it challenges the public speaker to be as informed as possible and to strive to defeat the poor listening habits of most public audiences.
Keywords: public speaking, poor listening habits, public audiences.
Keyword location: Paragraph C, line 6
Explanation: These statements suggest that because most public speeches are brief, it is important for the speaker to be as knowledgeable as possible and seek to change the audiences' poor listening habits. In other words, the speaker should try to change the listeners' bad listening habits. Therefore, bad listening habits are the cause.

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