Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 13: Wording the Speech
Learning Objectives
1-1 Explain how words work
1-2 Use words that connect with receivers
1-3 Use words that demonstrate your consideration of the audience
1-4 Make strategic word choices
1-5 Adopt an oral style
Outline
I. Because words can convey different meanings to different listeners, good speakers
must understand the relationship that exists among words, thoughts and human
behavior.
A. Language is a system of symbols used to share meaning.
1. Words are symbols that represent ideas or things.
2. The Triangle of Meaning describes the relationship between words, thoughts,
and things.
1. The dotted line that connects a word (symbol) to an object (stimulus)
suggests that there isn’t a direct connection between the two.
2. The only connection that exists is between the word and what it
represents in a person’s mind.
II. For language to work, there must be a common understanding about the meaning of
the words that are being used.
1. Different words that describe the same event can evoke very different
responses.
a. Words can help listeners perceive ideas, influence attitudes, values and
actions.
III. Considering your audience is one of your main objectives when crafting a speech.
A. What are some communication obstacles?
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
1. Words have denotative and connotative meanings.
a. The denotative meaning is the word’s dictionary definition that
is precise and objective.
b. The connotative meaning is varied and subjective.
i. This meaning is personal and emotional.
ii. The connotative meaning often stimulates feelings and
personal associations.
iii. Failing to consider connotative meanings may cause an
audience to misunderstand the message.
B. Each generation creates new meanings for existing words.
1. Speakers must be aware of the meaning an audience member may
attach to a word.
C. The meanings of words can change over time and across cultures.
1. People in Western cultures rely on inductive and deductive reasoning to
make sense of messages.
a. Inductive reasoning relies on observations and specific instance
or examples to make or build a case or argument.
b. Deductive reasoning takes a known idea or general principle and
applies it to a situation.
c. Individuals from other cultures utilize other forms of reasoning.
D. Use plain, unbiased language to communicate with your audience.
1. Speakers must respect all members of the audience and acknowledge
cultural beliefs and norms.
a. Speakers should avoid jargon, idioms, and overly technical
language when speaking to audiences that would be unfamiliar
with the topic.
b. Speakers should speak in short units to allow the audience to
process the content.
c. Avoid using overly technical language as well as overblown
language that overwhelms rather than interests listeners.
III. Speakers must utilize language strategically.
A. Speakers must keep their linguistic choices simple.
1. Speakers must use simple and familiar words and avoid jargon,
techspeak or specialized language when communicating to an audience of
non-experts.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
B. Speakers must select concrete rather than abstract language.
1. Concrete words have more precise meanings and help prevent
misinterpreting a message.
C. Speakers must use appropriate language in their speeches
1. Speakers must confront the issue of political correctness when speaking
about different issues to audiences that are culturally diverse.
2. Speakers must use appropriate language that is free from obscene,
racist, ageist, or sexist remarks.
3. Sexist language suggests that the two sexes are unequal and that one
gender has more status and value or is more capable than the other.
a. Spotlighting is one technique that is characteristic of sexist
language.
b. Racist language reveals bigoted views about a person or others
from another group.
c. Ageist language discriminates on the basis of age.
D. Speakers must be distinctive and vivid.
1. Give yourself the freedom to think imaginatively.
2. Make a conscious effort to use figures of speech and selected sound
patterns that add force to your thoughts.
3. Figurative language will help the audience picture the meaning with the
assistance of sound and rhythm of certain words.
a. Imagery is one type of figurative device.
4. Figures of speech make ideas vivid while creating mental images.
a. A simile is an indirect comparison of dissimilar things, usually
with the words like or as
b. A metaphor builds a direct identification by omitting the words
like or as that compare directly two things that are dissimilar.
5. Sound and rhythm are also used to appeal to an audience.
a. Parallelism makes the speech memorable with the repetition of
words, phrases, and sentences.
b. Alliteration involves the repetition of consonant sounds in
nearby words.
c. Antithesis adds vividness to a speech by presenting opposites
within the same or adjoining sentences.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
d. Onomatopoeia involves words that imitate natural sounds to
enhance vividness.
e. Hyperbole uses extreme exaggerations for effect.
f. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. It draws attention
to an idea by minimizing its importance.
6. Use language to make a personal connection with the audience.
a. The use of personal pronouns such as I, me, we, and you will
also appeal to the audience.
IV. Speakers should develop an oral rather than written style.
A. When creating a speech, you write it to be heard, not read.
1. Oral style is more personal.
a. Speak directly to the audience.
2. Oral style is more repetitive.
a. By repeating and restating your ideas, you let listeners know
what is important and what they need to remember.
3. Oral style is much less formal.
a. Simpler sentences and shorter words and phrases work best.
4. Oral style is more adaptive than a written style.
a. You can get immediate feedback and respond in turn.
5. Oral style is easier to recall when it contains colloquial expressions, clear
transitions, personal pronouns, and questions that invite participation
from the audience.