3. COMMUNICATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00005R000200100005-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2001
• Sequence Number: 5
• Content Type: REGULATION

Approved For Release 2001/09/03 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200100005-7
3. COMMUNICATION
This, of course, is the purpose of all that
went before. The best studied and organized
and planned briefing will not be a success
unless it gets through to the audience, un-
less your ideas become theirs. Several ele-
ments enter into the communication of your
thoughts to your audience: your delivery,
your contact with the audience, your use of
visual aids, your personality (sincerity, con-
viction, directness, humor, as manifested in
your platform manner), your reaction to and
handling of questions.
Each of these is good for an article all its
own. But we can give a few ideas on each
right here (these are stated very sketchily,
and if you don't have access to a good textbook
on speech or if you plan to refer to these notes
later, you will have to flesh them out yourself).
a. Diction is your choice of words. These
should be correct, while avoiding grammatical
purism. Selection of words should be precise;
your choice may depend somewhat on your
audience, but there is never an occasion when
you should want to appear uneducated. Slang
is seldom appropriate.
b. Voice quality. Your voice should be
easily audible to all, but not sustained at maxi-
mum volume; clear, not harsh or breathy;
flexible, able to vary constantly in volume,
pitch, rate, inflection; unaffected; pleasant,
witho:it (to damage a metaphor beyond re-
pair) a chip on its shoulder; lively, reflecting
animation and emphasis.
c. Articulation. Without clear and distinct
pronunciation and enunciation of your words,
your ideas will not be understood or even
heard by your audience. Even mild failure
in articulation subjects the audience to un-
warranted effort. Most bad enunciation is
caused by not opening the mouth adequately
and not using the lips.
d. Speed: too fast and no one can under-
stand you, too slow and all will go to sleep.
Your aini: clear enunciation, logical grouping
of words, and a fairly even rate of speed.
e. Volume. Make sure you are being heard;
that's the level you want. Shouting may an-
tagonize your audience and will certainly in-
jure your throat.
f. Gestures should be natural and uncon-
trived, emphasize what you are saying, not
draw attention away from it (which can hap-
pen if gestures are either inept or too flam-
boyant). Remember that head movements
and facial expressions are also gestures. A
good rule for the hands: unless you have a
good natural reason for a gesture, do nothing
with them.
g. Platform manner should show confidence
(felt or unfelt), create a good impression, in-
duce a positive response. This will happen if
you are alert, pleasant, friendly, natural, en-
thusiastic. Look at the audience, at indi-
viduals in the audience, not at the ceiling or
out the window or at the floor. Control body
actions, avoiding up-and-down movements,
swaying, pacing, juggling change in pockets.
Stand erect, at ease, every movement under
control.
VISUAL AIDS should be
a. easy to see (did you ever try reading
half-inch letters from the rear of a large room
or viewing a slide when the projector is in
the way?)
b. easy to handle (examples of what not to
use are a chart too heavy or awkward for you
to lift, a map folded 17 times, a picture rolled
so tightly it won't stay unrolled, a projector
which won't project)
c. attractive, but not distracting (remem-
ber that it is an "aid," not the purpose of the
briefing)
d. clear (expressing the ideas you want to
get over or emphasize, and no others) ; simple
(not cluttered with extraneous material or so
elaborately lettered or designed as to confuse
more than help)
e. dynamic (it's better to limit yourself to
blackboard and chalk than to depend on a
static display; parenthetically inside these
parentheses, the use of chalk can be very
creative, illustrating a talk as it develops and
in accord with audience need and interest)
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f. designed, if possible, for the particular
audience with which the visual aid is used.
g. thoroughly planned in advance, includ-
ing an attempt to anticipate everything which
can go wrong.
HANDLING QUESTIONS
Oten there will be a question period follow-
in your brie ng; there may be questions even
if :ot expected. Here are some suggestions
on how to handle them:
Try to anticipate what points may be raised
and prepare for them.
If the questioner is asking for information,
answer him, if you can, by expanding, ampli-
fying, or rephrasing your briefing material.
If you don't know the answer, say so.
If the question is argumentative, it may
support your stand or take issue with you.
If the former, be grateful for the support; if
the latter, answer as best you can, recognize
the questioner's right to differ, and turn as
soon as possible to another question.
If the query is irrelevant, handle it as gently
as possible, trying to avoid offending the ques-
tioner, who is sure his problem is pertinent.
Do not repeat a question unless the audi-
ence cannot hear it or you are not sure you
understand it.
If you have a question period but no one
asks any, try to stimulate some.
When time is up, firmly cut the questions
short.
SOME COMMON PROBLEMS
1. Nervousness. Even years of experience
are no guarantee that you won't feel the
familiar "butterflies." One thing you should
remember is that the audience is not likely
to know you are nervous unless you tell them.
And one of the best ways of hiding and dis-
sipating nervousness is through controlled
bodily movement; perhaps read your intro-
ductory remarks, begin by writing on the
blackboard, take a moment to adjust a visual
aid or begin the talk by drawing attention to
it, or begin with an extra forceful voice. These
and other types of physical activity release
the emotional tension which is making you
nervous.
2. Avoid the vocalized pause, usually a long
or short "uh," sometimes one or more per
sentence. There is only one solution : be con-
scious of the habit and practice getting along
without it.
3. Avoid dropping your voice at the end of
sentences.
4. The mental blackout-you can't for the
moment remember a thing. First, realize it
won't last long, even though it may seem long
to you. You may be able to make it seem a
deliberate pause. Remember too that you are
the only one who knew what you were going
to say and thus the only one who knows that
you have forgotten. Check your notes. Forge
ahead on the next topic of your briefing. If
what you have forgotten comes back to you,
fit it in if appropriate; otherwise, ignore it.
5. Ignore disturbances, inside or outside the
room, unless they interfere with communica-
tion between you and the audience. If they
do, pause until they end; if they refuse to end,
do something.
6. Should you read your talk? Although
there are some occasions which demand that
a speech be read, this is not true of a briefing.
A talk read to an audience is seldom as effec-
tive as one seemingly ad libbed or given ex-
temporaneously. The use of a script ties you
to the lectern, inhibits gestures and the use
of visual aids, may distract or displease audi-
ence. And it doesn't make last minute
changes or inspirations easy. If you must
read, try to follow the same rules of composi-
tion given above.
7. If not gesturing, your hands should hang
at your sides, relaxedly, not in your pockets.
8. How do you end your talk? Restate and
stress the main points, succinctly and vividly,
if you can; summarize anything else worth
repeating; and end.
9. Do I need an introduction? It helps,
but make it short.
10. Talking down to the audience results
more from an attitude of mind than from
choice of words. Remember that your hearers
are intelligent men, not children. Choose a
nontechnical vocabulary, though, unless you
are talking to technicians.
Approved For Release 2001/09/03 : CIA-RDP74-00005R000200100005-7