A SPEAKER

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A SPEAKERS GUIDEBOOK4TH EDITIONCHAPTER 16

• Using Language to Style the Speech

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Using Language in Speechwriting

• Language allows the audience to visualize an
  image or imagine a scene.
• Style involves your word choices that help
  speakers achieve their speech purpose.
• Rhetorical devices are the techniques of language
  usage that are one component of style.
• Speeches are written for the ear,
  not to be read, so most
  speakers have to hear their
  drafts to know what changes
  to make.

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Tips for Effective Speechwriting

• Use familiar words, not jargon and idioms.
• Write easy-to-follow sentences.
• Use straightforward syntax (subject-verb-object
  agreement).
• Use repetition frequently.
• Take the time to make transitions between points.
• Have a clear organizational pattern to your
  speech.
• Be prepared to adjust the speech content during
  delivery as you receive audience feedback.

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Strive for Simplicity

• Avoid using jargon of a specialized profession.
• When choosing between two synonyms, choose the
  simpler word. Essay writing, not speechwriting,
  requires a larger vocabulary.
• If you really want to use a term unfamiliar to
  your audience, define it as youre speaking.
• Be concise use fewer words rather than more
  words to share your idea.

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Question

• Which of the following is not true about writing
  your speech with simplicity?
• A. Use jargon to prove your intelligence.
• B. Use as few words as possible.
• C. Define words that may be unfamiliar.
• D. Use smaller words rather than larger
  words.
• E. Maintain subject-verb-object agreement.

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Transition Words and Phrases

• Transition words and phrases help the audience
  follow your line of reasoning.
• Enumeration is a type of signpost that numbers
  the points, steps, or subsequent ideas.

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Repetition

• Repeating important ideas infuses your speech
  with rhythm.
• Repetition aids in retention. Listeners retain
  information that they receive more than once.
• Anaphora is when a speaker repeats a word or
  phrase at the beginning of successive sentences.
• Repeating same sounds, usually hard
  consonants, in words or syllables in
  the same sentence is called
  alliteration.

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Unbiased Language

• Biased language makes stereotypes about a groups
  demographic characteristics. Speakers should
  avoid negative references to age, race, or
  religious beliefs.
• Some speakers use sexist pronouns by using the
  he pronoun inappropriately.
• Be careful in how you refer to persons with
  disabilities (PWD) remembering the order of
  terms in this phrase often helps the speaker
  remember to speak of them with dignity.

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Establish Common Ground

• Concrete language is specific, tangible, and
  definite. Listeners will try to think of a
  concrete word to replace abstract terms that
  speakers use.
• Use colloquial expressions that are shared within
  the cultural background of your audience.
• Select words that are descriptive.

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Figures of Speech

• Analogies, Metaphors, and Similes
• Personification
• Understatement
• Irony
• Allusion
• Hyperbole
• Onomatopoeia

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Analogies, Metaphors, Similes

• Analogies are extended metaphors or similes that
  compare an unfamiliar concept with something more
  familiar.
• Avoid using metaphors that are clichéd, or so
  overused that they are boring to your audience.
• Similes differ from metaphors by making a
  comparison using the words like or as.

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Speech Example

• In his I have a dream speech given in
  Washington, D.C. in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.
  used the metaphor of a bad check and then
  extended the metaphor making references to the
  bank of justice.
• You can view the televised recording of his
  speech at www.americanrhetoric.com as well as
  hear other examples of Kings excellent speaking
  style.

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Personification Onomatopoeia

• Personification is when you endow inanimate
  objects or animals with human qualities. An
  example would be, My cell phone is my best
  friend.
• Creating a word that imitates a natural sound is
  called onomatopoeia.
  An example would be,
  They buzzed around her
  like bees.

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Other Figures of Speech

• Irony uses humor, satire, or sarcasm to suggest a
  meaning other than what is actually being
  suggested.
• Similarly, an understatement draws attention to
  an idea by minimizing its importance. In
  contrast, a hyperbole makes an obvious
  exaggeration to make a point.
• Making a vague or indirect reference to people,
  historical events, or concepts, known as an
  allusion, gives deeper meaning to the statement.

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Question

• In the film The Joy Luck Club based on the novel
  by the same name by Amy Tan, one of the
  characters cooks and serves her best dish to her
  guests. She then criticizes it in front of them
  to appear modest. This is an example of
• A. A simile
• B. An analogy
• C. An understatement
• D. An anaphora
• E. A hyperbole

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Parallelism a Rhetorical Device

• Parallel word construction refers to the
  arrangement of words, phrases, or sentences in
  similar grammatical form.
• Important points are emphasized as the repeated
  sentence structure creates a rhythm.
• Setting off opposite ideas using parallelism is
  called antithesis.
• Speakers often make use of three parallel
  elements or triads.

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Question

• The quote by Abraham Lincoln of the people,
  by the people, and for the people is an example
  of
• A. Alliteration
• B. An antithesis
• C. Hedges
• D. A Hyperbole
• E. A Triad

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Chapter 16 Key Terms for Review

• style
• rhetorical device
• jargon
• contractions
• biased language
• colloquial expression
• sexist pronoun
• persons with disabilities (PWD)
• cultural intelligence
• concrete language
• abstract language
• figures of speech
• simile
• metaphor
• cliché
• mixed metaphor
• analogy
• personification

• understatement
• irony
• allusion
• hyperbole
• onomatopoeia
• malapropism
• denotative meaning
• connotative meaning
• active voice
• hedges
• tag questions
• anaphora
• alliteration
• hackneyed
• parallelism
• antithesis
• triad