Lesson 3 — Activity 2: How to Present a Message


As you learned in the previous activity, when you communicate, you need to consider the context of the situation to make your message suit the circumstances. Remember, when you are deciding how to send your message, you need to think about these three questions:

  • Who is my audience?
  • What is my purpose?
  • What is the occasion or setting?
Depending on the answers to these questions, you may decide to communicate by speaking, by writing, or by representing your message.

For many of us, the most common way we choose to communicate is by speaking.

Speaking, like writing, requires us to organize our ideas so that they will make sense to our audience. We need to be sure that we can support our ideas and explain them clearly.

If someone asked you how to find the nearest convenience store in your community, what information would you include in your directions? In what order would you arrange the information?








When we speak, we want our message to be organized, but we also want to be sure that everyone in our audience hears and understands us.

The tone of our voice should suit the occasion, and we should try to make eye contact with our audience while using appropriate body language. When we speak to various audiences, we may use various words and body language to express the same message.

When presenting a message, we need to be aware that various people may react differently to our tone or body language. In some cultures, it is quite common to speak loudly and excitedly. In others, it might be considered more polite to speak very quietly. We might find people who think we are being rude if we make eye contact and would prefer us to look down rather than "stare" at them.