Week 3 ENG366

1. ENG366
Week 3 Using Language to
Style the Speech
DR. RUSSELL RODRIGO

2. Meanings Are in People, Not in Words
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the most beautiful word you know?
2. What is the softest or gentlest word?
3. What is the ugliest word?
4. What is the most frightening word?
5. What is the harshest or sharpest word?
6. What word makes you feel lonely?
7. What word makes you feel angry?
8. What is the most overused or trite word?
9. What word makes you feel happiest?

3. Why is “writing for the ear” important, and what
are some of the ways in which this can be
accomplished?
A. Speakers should realize that oral and written
language are different.
B. Successful speakers use familiar and easy-to-follow
words and sentences and straightforward syntax. They
also repeat key words and phrases.
C. Repetition figures more prominently in oral than in
written language.
 Many speakers will repeat key words and phrases to
reiterate points and weave them into a central theme.
D. Oral language is more often interactive and
inclusive of the audience than is written language, with
personal pronouns such as I and you appearing more
frequently.
E. One difference between oral and written
communication is the frequent use of transitions to tie
ideas together and enable listeners to follow the flow
of the speaker.
F. Although oral communication is generally informal,
public speaking is expected to be more organized,
clear, and formal than everyday conversation.

4. Using language that encourages
shared meaning
A. Speakers should be culturally sensitive and use unbiased
language.
 1. Language creates and defines culture.
 2. Culture is transmitted through the distinctive words, phrases, and
colloquialisms that define and perpetuate that culture.
 3. Cultural sensitivity is a conscious attempt to be considerate of cultural
beliefs, norms, or traditions that are different from one’s own. For
speakers, it exemplifies trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, and
fairness.
 4. Speakers should always avoid biased language that relies on
unfounded assumptions or stereotypes derived from religion, race,
age, class, or gender.
a. Biased language includes any terminology that is sexist, ageist, or
homophobic.
b. Speakers should avoid the use of sexist pronouns when referring to both
men and women.
 B. Speakers should strive for simplicity in word choice. They
should avoid jargon, or the specialized language of a
profession; terms should be translated for the layperson.
 C. Speakers should be concise, striving to get their points
across effectively using as few words as possible.
1. Shorter sentences aid listening comprehension.
2. Concise language includes the use of contractions, phrases, and
sentence fragments.
3. Verbal fillers (e.g., “um,” “uh”) and the overuse of conjunctions
can distract and annoy listeners; thus they should be avoided.
 D. Speakers should use concrete words—words that are
specific, tangible, and definite. Abstract language—general,
nonspecific words—should be avoided.
1. Research shows that listeners retain concrete nouns and verbs
more easily than abstractions.
2. Listeners will attach their own meaning to abstract language,
even if it does not match the meaning the speaker has assigned
it.

5. Vivid imagery enhances meaning by making ideas
concrete and by evoking feelings and associations.
1. You can evoke vivid imagery by using words that are colorful and concrete.
 a. Countless adverbs and adjectives are available to make language colorful and
concrete.
2. You can evoke imagery by appealing to the senses.
 a. You can create images that evoke the sense of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and
touch.

6. 3. You can evoke vivid imagery by using figures of speech —forms of expression that
create striking comparisons to help the listener visualize, identify with, and understand
the speaker’s ideas.
a. A simile explicitly compares one thing to another, using like or as.
b. A metaphor also compares two things but does so by describing one thing as actually
being the other.
c. An analogy is an extended metaphor or simile that compares an unfamiliar concept or
process to a more familiar one to help the listener understand the unfamiliar one.
d. Personification is endowing inanimate objects with human qualities.
e. Irony is the use of humor, satire, or sarcasm to suggest a different meaning than what is
actually being said.
f. Hyperbole is an obvious exaggeration used to drive a point home.
g. Understatement is drawing attention to an idea by minimizing or lessening its importance.
h. Allusion is making vague or indirect references to people, historical events, or concepts to
give deeper meaning to the message.

7. 1. They fought like cats and dogs.
2. I'm drowning in a sea of grief.
3. That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding a dinosaur.
4. Your explanation is as clear as mud.
5. A marriage counselor files for divorce.
6. If I can't buy that perfect prom dress, I'll die!
7. The thunder clapped angrily in the distance.
8. His words cut deeper than a knife.
9. The run-down house appeared depressed.
10. A man who needs medical assistance is run over by the ambulance.
11. It’s raining men.
12. The police station gets robbed.
13. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
14. She's going through a rollercoaster of emotions.
15. Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get
16. Rhea heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
17. A fire station burns down.
18. It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing hats and jackets.

8. Irony Examples
1. A snobbish woman - who perceives moonstone to be a poor man's
gemstone - is given a pair of moonstone earrings by her fiancé. When
she opens the box, she says, "Thank you, honey. I just love moonstones.
They're so... simple.“
2. A writer is working on his manuscript, and it's a comedy. The days have
been fraught with rain and clouds, bringing down his mood and
hampering his ability to craft witty scenes. As he opens his blinds one
morning, he sees the dark clouds outside again and says, "Great.
Another rainy day. How wonderful."

9. Understatement Examples
1. You just hit the biggest lottery of all time! An understatement would be: "I'm kind of excited." (Modest)
2. You are out to dinner with a friend who spills food down the front of her white shirt. An understatement
would be: "Really, it's hardly noticeable." (Polite)
3. You get the highest grade in class. An understatement would be: "I did OK on that test." (Modest)
4. You land your dream job after endless interviews and get offered a generous salary with lots of benefits.
An understatement would be: "I am pretty happy with my new job offer." (Modest)
5. Referring to Oprah Winfrey, an understatement would be: "She has some money." (Comedic)
6. Your team wins the biggest game of the season. An understatement would be: "Yeah, we played pretty
well today." (Modest)
7. On the coldest day of the year with record low temperatures an understatement would be: "I might need
a jacket today." (Comedic)

10. Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that
makes a reference to a place, person,
or event. This can be real or imaginary
and may refer to anything, including
fiction, folklore, historical events, or
religious manuscripts.

11. Types of Cultural Allusion
1. Biblical Allusion
 A statement that refers to
the bible without directly
mentioning it.
 He was a good Samaritan
yesterday when he helped
the old lady cross the
street.
 It’s been raining so long
that pretty soon we’re
going to need an arc.
2. Literary Allusion
 A statement that indirectly
refers to well-known
literary works.
 Are you sure you didn’t eat
the last cookie? Your nose is
growing.
 I went to bed with my hair
wet and I wake up looking
like Medusa.

12. Types of Cultural Allusion Cont.
3. Historical Allusion
 A statement that refers
to history.
 There is a civil war going
on in my family.
 Millions of innocent lives
were lost due to
prejudice views of a
ruthless German ruler.
4. Pop Culture Allusion
 An association of a person,
place, or event within a
specific community or culture.
 She acts like that because
haters gonna hate hate hate
hate.
 Something weird is going on –
my spidey sense is tingling.

13. Figures of Speech: Similes, Metaphors,
and Analogies
Practice: Construct similes, metaphors, and analogies for the following:

14. How can you use language to build
credibility?
 Speakers can build credibility with their audiences by using words
appropriately, accurately, grammatically, and with confidence and
conviction. Being appropriate means using language that is suited to the
audience, the occasion, and the topic; and refraining from using
inflammatory and libelous language.

15. How can you use language to create
a lasting impression?
Three effective strategies for using language to make speeches memorable are the rhetorical
devices of repetition, alliteration, and parallelism.
1. Repetition is repeating key words or phrases at various intervals to create a distinct rhythm and
thereby implant important ideas in listeners’ minds. Repetition is often used to create a thematic
focus.
2. Alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants, in two or more
neighboring words or syllables. When it is done well, alliteration lends a speech a poetic, musical
rhythm or cadence.
3. Parallelism is the arrangement of words, phrases, or sentences in similar form. Parallel structure
can help the speaker emphasize important ideas in the speech. Like repetition, it creates a sense
of steady or building rhythm. Two of the most common types of parallel language are pairs and
triads. Pairs take two ideas or phrases to create a powerful idea; triads, three.

16. Examples
1. If you think you can do it, you can do it.
2. She sells seashells by the sea-shore.
3. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." -Neil Armstrong
4. The general said to his army, “Men — You must fight for the life of your people, your family, and your country.”
5. The boy was a good footballer, because his father was a footballer, and his grandfather was a footballer.
6. Can you keep the cat from clawing the couch? It's creating chaos.
7. "We've seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers." -George
W. Bush
8. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
9. "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." -John F.
Kennedy
10. I don’t sing because I am happy, I am happy because I sing.
11. While walking wearily home I wondered where Wally was.
12. My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed,
mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors." -Barack Obama

17. Terms
1. Style—the specific language and techniques used to express a speaker’s thoughts.
A speech is a mixture of substance and style. A speaker’s style is his or her choice of
words and sentence structure. It is the specific language a speaker selects and the
techniques he or she uses to express it.
2. Cultural sensitivity —a conscious attempt to be considerate of cultural beliefs,
norms, or traditions that are different from one’s own.
3. Biased language —any language that relies on unfounded assumptions, negative
descriptions, or stereotypes of a given group’s age, class, gender, or geographical,
ethnic, racial, or religious characteristics; also includes language that is
homophobic.
4. Sexist pronouns —the exclusive use of he, she, him, her, and so on when referring to
both men and women.

18.  Simplicity: Speakers say what they mean in short, clear sentences. They can translate jargon—the
specialized language of a given profession—into commonly understood terms.
 Conciseness: As a rule, speakers should strive to use as few words as possible to express their thoughts.
Being concise means eliminating unnecessary conjunctions between sentences, as well as ridding remarks of
“vocal fillers.”
 Concreteness: Concrete language is words that are specific, tangible, and definite. Speeches that contain a
majority of concrete words and phrases have a better chance of succeeding in getting a message across
than speeches that rely solely on abstract language.
 Abstract language —words that are general and nonspecific.

19.  Figures of speech —forms of expression that create striking comparisons to help the listener
visualize, identify with, and understand the speaker’s ideas.
 Simile —an explicit comparison of one thing to another, using like or as.
 Metaphor —a direct comparison of two things in which one thing is described as actually
being the other.
 Analogy —an extended metaphor or simile that compares an unfamiliar concept or
process to a more familiar one to help the listener understand the unfamiliar one.
 Inflammatory language—language that incites others to anger and that creates disorder or
tumult.
 Slanderous or libelous language—false and malicious statements that defame the
reputation of others.

20.  To build trust and credibility, language must be accurate. When considering
accuracy, a speaker must consider the meaning of words. Explain the denotative
and connotative meanings of words and give an example of each.
 Denotative meaning—the literal, or dictionary, definition of a word. Sometimes more
concrete words have mainly denotative meaning (e.g., surgery and saline).
 Connotative meaning—the special associations that different people bring to bear
upon a word; for example, someone may like to be called “slender” but not “skinny,”
or “thrifty” but not “cheap.”
What two things can a speaker do to convey confidence and conviction?
 Use the active voice.
 Use personal pronouns—I, me, my, our, we, us.

21. The Meaning of Words: Denotative and
Connotative Words
 Identify the denotative and connotative meanings of each of the following words. Then,
come up with five of their own words and give both meanings for each.
1. girl or boy
2. gay
3. thrifty
4. skinny
5. drugs—high
6. bitch
7. surfing

22. Practice
 Deliver ONE MINUTE speech with ONE of the topics below. Use any of the figures
of speech discussed and narratives.
1. Raising awareness against fake news
2. Encouraging a colleague to stay motivated despite the demotion he/she received.
3. Encouraging your team to reach the sales target.
4. Encouraging your classmates to stay engaged and motivated towards learning through online platform.
5. Convincing a girl/boy to be a in a relationship with you.
6. Women are not damsels in distress.
7. You can easily escape reality.
8. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

23. Class 2

24. Practice 2
 Generate between five and ten sensitive words for which more appropriate
language can be substituted. Each group should report its results to the class. To
spur your thinking, consider the following substitutions:

25. Practice 2
 In a team of four or five people, locate a selection of
newspaper or magazine articles and select a text that
could be appropriately used as spoken language in a
speech. Next, find a text that would be ill-suited for use as
spoken language. Report your results to the class.

26. Practice 3: Identifying Biased
Language
 Identify biased language and choose bias-free replacements for those words. Replacement
words should not change the overall meaning of the passage. Also, identify the words that imply
stereotypical behavior.

27. Practice 4: Gender-Based
Communication Styles
Half of the students should bring to class a videotape of a man that represents the masculine
communication style (e.g., news anchors, actors in a movie, politicians). The other half should bring a
videotape of a woman that represents the feminine style of communication. Answer questions 1 and 2
after each tape. Answer questions 3, 4, and 5 after the class has viewed all the tapes.
1. Which style of communication does this speaker use? (Remember, not all males use the masculine style
and not all females use the feminine style.)
2. What characteristics of this individual’s speaking style led you to think this?
3. Which style of communication commands more respect from the audience?
4. Which style invites relational closeness or friendship?
5. Which style do students prefer? Why?

28. Short Speech Presentations and Peer
Evaluation