Public Speaking Notes 3/26/12

Effective Use of Language: Although its important to focus on body language and voice, it is also important to be aware of and in control over language usenever assume that its only important in English. Situation, purpose and audience will determine what effective language means. 1) The SPAM Model of Public Speaking: The communication model can be simplified for public speaking, down to four variablessituation, purpose, audience, and methodSPAM, for short. A) Situation: All communication happens in a certain place, at a certain timeyou must understand more about the situation for a speech you give than where and what time you must give it. If you did not understand the situation properly, your speech will not be as effectiveyour message will be lost. B) Purpose: The goal a speaker wishes to achieve with his or her speech. In other words, public speaking is purposeful because a speaker expects his or her speech to have results. The ability to understand the purpose of a speech arises from an understanding of the situation. If youve ever listened to a speaker who did not have purpose, you might have asked yourself, What is he/she talking about? or Whats the point? Chances are the speaker didnt prepare the speech with a firm understanding of purpose. C) Audience: Is the people to whom the speech is directed. Thus, the audience is part of the situation, and the purpose of the speaker is to affect the audience in a planned way. It is the audiences response to the speech, which ultimately decides if the speech succeeds of fails. Good speakers analyze their audiences and adapt their speeches to them. This is the easiest variable to understand of the SPAM model, but unfortunately, it also the variable that many beginning speakers overlook because they are worried about what to say, how to say it, and how to fill time requirements. D) Method: Once a speaker knows the situation (when and where) and has determined his or her particular purpose (why) with an audience (who), only one variable means to be considered: what methods will best accomplish the purpose (what). A speaker must select the methodsany means of adapting the message to the audiencethat he or she thinks will work best. These are different methods that can be used for each of these variables. In choosing what kind of language to use, for example, a speaker may decide that his or her audience would prefer formal language rather than informal, colloquial language. To select the appropriate methods, a speaker must understand the situation, develop a purpose, and read the audience. A speaker must choose certain methods and excludes others based on his or her understanding of situation, purpose, and audience, and on the conclusion that some methods will likely work, but others will not. *Although the SPAM model starts with consideration of situation that may not be your first concern when you prepare a speech. You may start your preparation by looking first at the audience and then at the situation and purpose. 2) Ethics and Language: Ethics are principles of right and wronglike many other things, language can be used either ethically or unethically. The function of language is to create meaning with words. As a public speaker, you must decide how will use language to create meaning. You can deceive or manipulate through your use of language, but you have to think of the consequences of doing so, and what is the difference between persuasive language and manipulation? 3) Appropriate Language: Is language that is suited to the situation, purpose and audience. Language is one of the tools available to you for affecting the audience in the way you intend. By analyzing the situation, purpose, and audience of your speech, youll be able to choose the most effective language, or method you can use. 4) Dialect: No matter where you live, you speak a dialecta variety of language with its own special characteristics of pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax. Often the audience and the speaker will use the same dialectin fact, an audience usually assumes that the speaker will talk as they do. A) Pronunciation: The most obvious language differences between one part of the US and another is pronunciation, or the way a word is said. Most differences in pronunciation are minor, but sometimes it can cause problems with understanding (Southern or New England accents). B) Vocabulary: People from different parts of the country use various words to indicate the same thing. In other words, different people may use different vocabularies (soda or pop). C) Syntax: The way that words and phrases are put together to form sentences is called syntax. Most Americans dialects retain standard syntax; a few do not. If you are speaking to a diverse audience, remember that differences in syntax can create confusion (How are all of you today? or How ya all are?)

5) Style: Is the way something is said or done, rather than what is said or done. The reasons as to why one speech lives on in the minds of an audience and another fails is styleeven a brief look at a famous quotation shows that the way in which something is said is often as what is said (exin the Gettysburg Address, if Lincoln said 87 years ago, rather than four score and seven years ago it would not have had the same effect). The elements of style are: clarity, economy, and grace. When a speech has these characteristics, it is said to be eloquent. Eloquence is more than just speaking: its speaking wellA fool may talk, but a wise man speaks. A) Clarity: Depends on specific, understandable words (vocabulary) in an understandable order (syntax). If you speak with clarity, you state your ideas in a clear, understandable way. Clarity is the most important element of style, and it should always be your first concernan unclear message leads to confusion. Running Onrunning ideas together is one of the common enemies of clarity. Speakers often link sentence after sentence together with a series of ands. Jargonthe specialized, technical words of a specific job, hobby, or social group are known as jargon. You need to use language that is appropriate for the entire audience and not just for a specific group of people, or else your message will be unclear. Denotation and Connotationspeakers should always about an audiences reaction to particular wordsone thing to remember is the difference between a words denotation and connotation. Denotation is the direct meaning of a wordthe meaning found in the dictionary. Connotation is a meaning that a word suggests, or the meaning that people often associate with it. You must be aware of both the denotative and connotative meaning of words and then choose your words wisely; otherwise, you may mean one thing, but the audience may understand something else. B) Euphemism: When a speaker replaces a term that he or she believes will be offensive or negative with a term that is perceived more positively, the speaker is using euphemism. Think of a corporate spokesperson who has to make cuts to the company, he will not say that people are being fired, but instead say layoffs or downsizing. C) Economy: To speak with economy is to state your ideas briefly and concisely. As you become more experienced in public speaking, youll value the time you have to deliver your speech. Right now a ten minute speech might sound long, but you may find that ten minutes isnt enough when your speech is about an important subjectin those ten minutes, you need to make every word count. Therefore, rather than being wordy, its important to be economical in your word usage, and try to make your meaning as precise as possible, using less words. Dont assume though, that short speeches are better than long ones, because it often takes time to make a point. Remember two things: first, a speech written in an economical style isnt the same as a short speecha 22-minute speech can be as economically written as a two-minute speech. Second, clarity is more important than economya longer speech that is clear is better than a shorter speech that leaves the audience confused. D) Grace: Speaking with grace means stating your ideas in an appealing, skillful manner. Graceful language is easy to listen to, and an audience remembers graceful words and phrases in which the language is beautiful, dramatic, or powerful. Political figures often employ speech writers who will make sure speeches are graceful, as well as, clear and economical. 6) Stylistic Devices: The skillful use of language involves more than using words that sound goodspeakers strive to use language that will stay with their listeners long after the speech is completed. Stylistic devices, discussed below, will help make your speech more memorable. A) Parallelism: speakers use parallelism when they arrange sentences so that words and phrases echo each other in length and structurenouns are linked with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, and gerunds with gerunds. For instance: In these four years we have been touched by tragedy, exhilarated by challenge, strengthened by achievement. This sentence uses verbs and prepositional phrases linked in a parallel structure. B) Antithesis: is similar to parallel structure except that the words paired together result in the contrast of ideas. For example: government should do more, not less. The preeminent mission of our new government is to give all Americans an opportunity, not a guarantee. Notice the neat and balanced sound of the paired opposites sentences such as these are memorable. C) Rhetorical Question: If you ask a question during a speech but dont expect an answer, you are asking a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a way of making a statement or getting your audience to think. You may or may not answer the question, depending on your purposes or goals.

Public Speaking Notes 3/26/12

D) Interrupting for Emphasis: you may not think that interrupting parallel or antithetical statements is a good ideathe interruption has no grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence, and so it might destroy the balance youre trying to create; but, good speakers use interruptions to their advantage, that is, emphasize or clarify the points they make. For example: We cannot, we will not, succumb to dark impulses that lurk in the far regions of the soul everywhere. This is known as parenthesis, for emphasis. E) Repetition: one of the easiest and most effective language devices is repetitionyou simply repeat a sound, word, phrase, or idea (Gettysburg Address, Lincoln repeats the people three times). Repeated SoundsAlliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words. Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sound. If these repetitions are not irritating or overdone, they can help build speech effectiveness. F)Inversion: altering normal word order is another way of increasing the effectiveness of your language. In a normal English sentence, the subject comes first, followed by the verb. A direct object or a complement may follow the verb. Sometimes you can reverse the order and form a very effective structurethis is called inversion. Of course, no one would care to listen to an entire speech composed of inversion sentences; but used sparingly; inversion adds variety to a speech (When last we gathered instead of When we gathered last). G) Allusion: is a reference to literature, religion, mythology, or history. Since the audience is expected to recognize the reference, the speaker may not identify the allusion. H) Metaphor and Simile: a figure of speech uses words or phrases in ways that expand their meanings of beyond a literal sense. Both metaphors and similes are figures of speech that compare two unlike things. A simile uses the words like or as to the make the comparison. A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things, without using the words like or as. Metaphors and similes are vivid ways to make a point. I) Irony: occurs when you say something that should mean one thing, but you intend it to mean the opposite. Good use of irony depends on saying the word in a certain way so the audience hears that you do not mean the word to be taken literally. J) Hyperbole: one way to call attention to your point is to use exaggeration. This technique is called hyperbole. 7) Tone: (of a speech) is the speakers attitude toward subject and audience. An audience considers all of the elements of a language when determining a speakers toneis the speaker serious or joking; does the speaker like the subject or not; does the speaker care about the people in the audience? Audiences who think a speakers tone is uncaring, sarcastic, or negative is some other way probably wont be open to his/her message.