1. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach – 7 th edition Chapter 12 Using Words Well: Speaker Language and Style This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: · any public performances or display, including transmission of any image over a network; · preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; · any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Steven A. Beebe & Susan J. Beebe

2. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 “A speech is poetry; cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make us dance the dullest beanbag of a heart” - Peggy Noonan

3. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Language is Powerful Using language can be a challenge. Word choices can make your speech unique. Language can leave a lasting impression.

4. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Oral versus Written Style There are differences Oral StyleWritten Style More personal. More likely to use “I” and “we.” More detached. Less likely to use “I” & “we.” Less formal. More phrases. Less varied. Formal sentences. Complete sentences. More precise. More repetitive.Passages can be reread.

5. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Using Words Effectively Use specific, concrete words. Use simple words. Use words correctly.

6. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Using Words Effectively Use specific, concrete words Less specific & less concrete More specific & more concrete “Sounds of the wilderness…” “Night crickets, owls hooting, wolves howling…”

7. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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…”

8. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Using Words Effectively Use words correctly Denotation – literal meaning. Connotation – personal meaning. DenotationConnotation Notorious: famousNotorious: famous because of something evil or cruel Using the denotative meaning may not accurately help listeners understand what it means to be notorious

9. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use language your audience can understand. Use appropriate language. Use unbiased language.

10. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use language your audience can understand Use standard U.S. English: Taught in schools. Used in the media, business and the U.S. government.

11. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Adapting your Language Style to Diverse Listeners Use appropriate language Avoid racial & ethnic slurs. Avoid language that puts down people of a certain sexual orientation. Avoid language that attacks a certain religious group. Do not attack people with disabilities.

12. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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 1.Firefighter 2.Their 3.Flight attendant 4.Postal carrier

13. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images. Creating drama. Creating cadence.

14. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images Metaphor. Simile. Crisis Rhetoric. Personification.

15. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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.

16. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Metaphors Prison metaphorBanking metaphor “Millions of people in the world’s poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslave 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 2005 Martin Luther King, Jr. 1963

17. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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. – 1963

18. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images Crisis Rhetoric: Language used by speakers during momentous and overwhelming times.

19. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Crisis Rhetoric 2001 Terrorist attacks on the U.S. 1941 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

20. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating figurative images Personification:Assigning human qualities to inanimate objects or ideas. “Lady liberty still breathes strong.” “Take care of our Mother Earth.” “Father time never stops moving.” “The Shuttle Columbia faithfully served her crew.” “Old man winter is fierce this year.”

21. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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).

22. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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.”

23. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence Creates rhythmic order. Helps audience stay “in sync.” Repetition. Parallelism. Antithesis. Alliteration

24. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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)

25. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 Crafting Memorable Word Structures Creating cadence Parallelism: use of the same grammatical pattern for two or more phrases, clauses or sentences. “We will walk” “We will work” “We will speak” “In grief, we have found” “In challenge, we rediscovered” “In victory, we have shown” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837) George W. Bush (2004)

26. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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)

27. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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)

28. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009 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.