Public Speaking Final-- Chapter 12

Personal Anectodes

Illustrating a concept with personal anecdotes (brief stories) can help you further build credibility and reassure your listeners that you're not judging them.

Understandable language

Language your readers find recognizable

Oral Language

Oral language is more adaptive.Oral language incorporates repetition. Oral language tends to be less formal.

How to keep bias gone:

Avoid stereotypes, use gender neutral references, make appropriate references to ethnic groups, Steer Clear of Unnecessary References to Ethnicity, Religion, Gender, or Sexuality

Make sure you use the proper use of words so that:

The audience's understanding of your message will improve if you use words that correctly express the point you want to make. Incorrect word choice can confuse listeners or undermine your credibility.

Appropriate language and political correctness

The best way to avoid the debate over appropriate language and political correctness is to support your position on an issue—no matter what it is—with credible evidence and logical reasoning. Otherwise, your listeners probably will perceive you as prejudiced.

Gender neutral term

a word that does not suggest a particular gender—such as poet, chair, representative, cleaner, and firefighter.

Connotative Meaning

an association that comes to mind when people hear or read the word. A word's connotative meanings may bear little or no resemblance to its denotative meanings. For example, when used as a noun in a statement about stocks, the word dog may connote a poor investment opportunity—yet the literal meaning of the noun dog is a canine animal.

Antithesis

clauses set in opposition to one another, usually to distinguish between choices, concepts, and ideas.5

Vivid Language

grabs the attention of your audience with words and phrases that appeal to all the senses—sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste.

Stereotypes

is a generalization based on the false assumption that characteristics displayed by some members of a group are shared by all members of that group. Stereotypes are often based on ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. But stereotypes can also be based on people's economic backgrounds, the schools they attended, the regions they come from—even their appearance or musical taste. Stereotypes, especially negative ones, are a form of biased language that put a speaker's credibility at risk.

Hypothetical Examples

is an imagined example or scenario you invite your listeners to consider to help them follow a complicated point presented immediately afterward.

Concrete Word

is specific and suggests exactly what you mean.

Metaphor

makes implicit comparisons of unlike objects by identifying one object with the other. The comparisons, however, are not meant to be taken literally.6 For example, the phrase "innovation is the engine that drives our economy" doesn't mean that innovation is an actual engine.

Imagery

mental pictures or impressions

Denotative Meaning

of a word is its exact, literal dictionary definition. When you use a word that has one dictionary definition (and is not overly technical), you usually can expect that your audience will understand what you mean. But many words have several dictionary definitions. In these cases, you may need to take steps to avoid confusion.

Abstract Word

on the other hand, is general and can be confusing and ambiguous for your audience.

Figurative Language

or figures of speech, refers to the techniques that speakers employ to word specific types of claims or ideas.

Empower your own language through the use of

repetition, hypothetical examples, personal anecdotes, vivid language, and figurative language.

Word Choice/Diction

requires you to consider your audience, the occasion, and the nature of your message when choosing language for a speech.

Repitition

saying a specific word, phrase, or statement more than once—helps you grab your audience's attention and leave listeners with enduring memories of your speech

Jargon

specialized or technical words or phrases that are familiar only to people in a specific field or group. Jargon includes technical terms as well as abbreviations, acronyms, slang, and other esoteric expressions. For example, people in the field of telecommunications use jargon extensively—including expressions such as 7G

Concise

that is, use the fewest words necessary to express an idea.

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences—is used to achieve emphasis and clarity, as well as a rhetorical sense of style.

To make your message as clear as possible:

use language that's understandable, concrete, proper, and concise.

Biased Language

word choices that suggest prejudice or preconceptions about other people—erodes your credibility and distracts your audience from listening to your message.