Using Language in Public Speaking 1

Language is Powerful  Using language can be a challenge.  Word choices can make your speech unique.  Language can leave a lasting impression. 2

3 Language Reveals Our Character ATTITUDES EDUCATION VALUES WORDS KNOWLEDGE BACKGROUND MOTIVATION

Oral versus Written Style There are differences OralWritten More personal. More likely to use “I” and “we.” Less formal. More phrases. Less varied. More repetitive More detached. Less likely to use “I” & “we.” Formal sentences. Complete sentences. More precise. Passages can be reread. 4

Using Words Effectively  Use specific, concrete words.  Use simple words.  Use words correctly. 5

Using Words Effectively  Use specific, concrete words Less specific & concreteMore specific & more concrete “Sounds of the wilderness…” “Night crickets, owls hooting, wolves howling…” 6

Using Words Effectively  Use simple words – not jargon Less simpleMore simple “…malignant neoplasms characterized by the proliferation of anaplastic cells…” “…the cancer spread, the tumors grew, the red blood cells were less and less able…” 7

Using Words Effectively Use words correctly  Denotation – literal meaning.  Connotation – personal meaning. Using the denotative meaning may not accurately help listeners understand what it means to be notorious. Notorious: famousNotorious: famous because of something evil or cruel. 8

Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners  Use language your audience can understand.  Use appropriate language.  Use unbiased language. 9

Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use language your audience can understand  Use standard US English: Taught in schools. Used in the media, business and the US government. 10

Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use appropriate language  Avoid racial & ethnic slurs.  Avoid language that puts down people due to sexual orientation.  Avoid language that attacks a certain religious group.  Do not attack people with disabilities. 11

Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use unbiased language  Avoid sexism Sexist languageUnbiased language 1. Fireman 2. His or her 3. Stewardess 4. Mailman 5. Chairman 1. Firefighter 2. Their 3. Flight attendant 4. Postal carrier 5. Chair 12

Crafting Memorable Word Structures  Creating figurative images.  Creating drama.  Creating cadence. 13

Crafting Memorable Word Structures  Metaphor.  Simile.  Crisis Rhetoric.  Personification. 14

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images  Metaphor An implied comparison. Helps us to understand an abstract concept by comparing it to something more concrete. 15

Crafting Memorable Word Structures  Metaphors Prison metaphorBanking metaphor “Millions of people in the world’s poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty.” “We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” Nelson Mandela 2005Martin Luther King, Jr

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images  Simile Unlike an implied comparison (metaphor), it’s a direct comparison. Uses “like” or “as.” Simile “…we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Martin Luther King, Jr. –

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images  Crisis Rhetoric: Language used by speakers during momentous and overwhelming times. 18

Crafting Memorable Word Structures  Crisis Rhetoric 2001 Terrorist attacks on the U.S attacks on Pearl Harbor “One more circle of Dante’s Hell.” “Nuclear winter.” “…a date which will live in infamy…” “…our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.” VariousFranklin Delano Roosevelt 19

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images  Personification: Assigning human qualities to inanimate objects or ideas. “The Shuttle Columbia faithfully served her crew.” “Old man winter is fierce this year.” “Father time never stops moving.” “Take care of our Mother Earth.” “Lady Liberty still breathes strong.” 20

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating drama  Short sentences express vitally important thoughts. Omission: leave out words or phrases the audience expects. Inversion: reverse normal word order. Suspension: place a key word or phrase at the end of a sentence (not at the beginning). 21

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating drama Short sentence“And the war came.” Omission“Sighted sub – sank same.” Inversion“This much we pledge.” Suspension“For families wanting their sons and daughters to get the chance of college or university, we will meet the challenge of change.” 22

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence  Creates rhythmic order.  Helps audience stay “in sync.” Repetition. Parallelism. Antithesis. Alliteration 23

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence  Repetition: use of a key word or phrase more than once for emphasis. “We are Virginia Tech” “Our job is not finished” Nikki Giovanni (2007)Rudy de Leon (2000) 24

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence  Parallelism: use of the same grammatical pattern for two or more phrases, clauses or sentences. “In grief, we have found” “In challenge, we rediscovered” “In victory, we have shown” “We will walk” “We will work” “We will speak” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837)George W. Bush (2004) 25

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence  Antithesis: sentence with parallel structures but with contrasting meanings. “Our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men” “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933) John F. Kennedy (1961) 26

Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence  Alliteration: repeating the (typically first) consonant sound several times. “Virility, valour, and civic virtue.” “Conviction, not calculation.” Winston Churchill 1941)Dick Chaney (2000) 27

Tips for Using Language Effectively Creating drama  Moderately: don’t go overboard with language devices.  Strategically: use in opening sentences, key statements and conclusions.  Simplistically: use short words; long words are cumbersome.  Economically: keep sentences to a manageable length. 28