{"id":499,"date":"2025-05-13T17:53:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T17:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/?post_type=chapter&p=499"},"modified":"2025-07-13T20:54:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T20:54:43","slug":"developing-your-ability-to-use-effective-language-in-public-speaking","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/chapter\/developing-your-ability-to-use-effective-language-in-public-speaking\/","title":{"raw":"Developing Your Ability to Use Effective Language in Public Speaking","rendered":"Developing Your Ability to Use Effective Language in Public Speaking"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\nAt this point, we will make some applications and suggestions about using language as you grow as a public speaker.\r\n\r\nFirst, get in the habit of using \u201cstipulated definitions\u201d with concrete examples (defining operationally). In other words, define your terms for the audience. If you are using jargon, a technical term, a word that has multiple meanings in different contexts, or an often-misunderstood word, you can say at the beginning of the body of your speech, \u201cIn this speech, I am going to be using the word 'avatar,' and what I mean by it is\u2026\" And then the best way to define a word is with a picture or example of what you mean, and perhaps also an example of what you don\u2019t <\/em>mean (visual aids can help here). Don\u2019t worry; this is not insulting to most audiences if the word is technical or unfamiliar to them. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier in the textbook, providing dictionary definitions of common words such as \u201clove\u201d or \u201cloyalty\u201d would be insulting to an audience and pretty boring.\r\n\r\nSecond, develop specific language. The general semantics movement suggested ways to develop more specific language that reflects the imperfection of our perceptions and the fact that reality changes. You can develop specific language by the following:\r\n
\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Distinguishing between individuals and the group (that is, avoid stereotyping). Arab 1 is not Arab 2 is not Arab 3, etc., and none of them are all the Arabs in the world.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Specifying time and place of behavior instead of making broad statements. What was a true of a person in 1999 is not necessarily true of the person now.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Using names for jobs or roles (\u201caccountants,\u201d \u201cadministrative assistants,\u201d \u201cinstructors\u201d) instead of \u201cpeople\u201d or \u201cworkers.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  • Avoid \u201calways\/never\u201d language. \u201cAlways\u201d and \u201cnever\u201d usually do not reflect reality and tend to make listeners defensive.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Avoid confusing opinion for fact. If I say, \u201cForrest Gump is a stupid movie,\u201d I am stating an opinion in the language of fact. If you preface opinions with \u201cI believe,\u201d or \u201cIt is my opinion\u201d you will be truthful and gain the appearance of being fair-minded and non-dogmatic. What should be said is \u201cThe first time I saw Forrest Gump, I didn\u2019t realize it was a farce, but after I saw it a second time, I understood it better.\u201d This sentence is much more specific and clarifying than \u201cFor- rest Gump is a stupid movie.\u201d Using this kind of language also helps make the speaker seem less dogmatic and closed-minded.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThird, personalize your language. In a speech it\u2019s fine to use personal pronouns as opposed to third person. That means \u201cI,\u201d \u201cme,\u201d \u201cwe,\u201d \u201cus,\u201d \u201cyou,\u201d etc. are often helpful in a speech. It gives more immediacy to the speech. Be careful of using \u201cyou\u201d for examples that might be embarrassing. \u201cLet\u2019s say you are arrested for possession of a concealed weapon,\u201d sounds like the audience members are potential criminals.\r\n\r\nFinally, develop your vocabulary, but not to show it off. One of the benefits of a college education is that your vocabulary will expand greatly, and it should. A larger vocabulary will give you access to more complicated reading material and allow you to understand the world better. But knowing the meaning of a more complicated word doesn\u2019t mean you have to use it with every audience.","rendered":"
    \n

    At this point, we will make some applications and suggestions about using language as you grow as a public speaker.<\/p>\n

    First, get in the habit of using \u201cstipulated definitions\u201d with concrete examples (defining operationally). In other words, define your terms for the audience. If you are using jargon, a technical term, a word that has multiple meanings in different contexts, or an often-misunderstood word, you can say at the beginning of the body of your speech, \u201cIn this speech, I am going to be using the word ‘avatar,’ and what I mean by it is\u2026” And then the best way to define a word is with a picture or example of what you mean, and perhaps also an example of what you don\u2019t <\/em>mean (visual aids can help here). Don\u2019t worry; this is not insulting to most audiences if the word is technical or unfamiliar to them. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier in the textbook, providing dictionary definitions of common words such as \u201clove\u201d or \u201cloyalty\u201d would be insulting to an audience and pretty boring.<\/p>\n

    Second, develop specific language. The general semantics movement suggested ways to develop more specific language that reflects the imperfection of our perceptions and the fact that reality changes. You can develop specific language by the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
      \n
    • Distinguishing between individuals and the group (that is, avoid stereotyping). Arab 1 is not Arab 2 is not Arab 3, etc., and none of them are all the Arabs in the world.<\/li>\n
    • Specifying time and place of behavior instead of making broad statements. What was a true of a person in 1999 is not necessarily true of the person now.<\/li>\n
    • Using names for jobs or roles (\u201caccountants,\u201d \u201cadministrative assistants,\u201d \u201cinstructors\u201d) instead of \u201cpeople\u201d or \u201cworkers.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Avoid \u201calways\/never\u201d language. \u201cAlways\u201d and \u201cnever\u201d usually do not reflect reality and tend to make listeners defensive.<\/li>\n
    • Avoid confusing opinion for fact. If I say, \u201cForrest Gump is a stupid movie,\u201d I am stating an opinion in the language of fact. If you preface opinions with \u201cI believe,\u201d or \u201cIt is my opinion\u201d you will be truthful and gain the appearance of being fair-minded and non-dogmatic. What should be said is \u201cThe first time I saw Forrest Gump, I didn\u2019t realize it was a farce, but after I saw it a second time, I understood it better.\u201d This sentence is much more specific and clarifying than \u201cFor- rest Gump is a stupid movie.\u201d Using this kind of language also helps make the speaker seem less dogmatic and closed-minded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      Third, personalize your language. In a speech it\u2019s fine to use personal pronouns as opposed to third person. That means \u201cI,\u201d \u201cme,\u201d \u201cwe,\u201d \u201cus,\u201d \u201cyou,\u201d etc. are often helpful in a speech. It gives more immediacy to the speech. Be careful of using \u201cyou\u201d for examples that might be embarrassing. \u201cLet\u2019s say you are arrested for possession of a concealed weapon,\u201d sounds like the audience members are potential criminals.<\/p>\n

      Finally, develop your vocabulary, but not to show it off. One of the benefits of a college education is that your vocabulary will expand greatly, and it should. A larger vocabulary will give you access to more complicated reading material and allow you to understand the world better. But knowing the meaning of a more complicated word doesn\u2019t mean you have to use it with every audience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-499","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":487,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/499\/revisions\/831"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/487"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/499\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/ppsccom1150publicspeaking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}