Using Language
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
2. Explain the differences between denotative and connotative meaning.
4. Identify three methods public speakers can use to help ensure that their language
will be clear to listeners.
6. Explain why public speakers need to use inclusive language and identify four ways
they can do so.
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CHAPTER 12—USING LANGUAGE 173
Chapter Outline
I. Language is important.
A. Contrary to popular belief, language does not simply mirror reality.
II. Words have two kinds of meaning—denotative and connotative.
A. Denotative meaning is precise, literal, and objective.
B. Connotative meaning is more variable, figurative, and subjective.
C. Choosing words skillfully for their denotative and connotative meanings is a crucial
part of the speaker’s art.
III. Public speakers need to use language accurately.
A. Using language accurately is as vital to a speaker as using numbers accurately is to
IV. Public speakers need to use language clearly.
A. Because listeners cannot turn to a dictionary or reread a speaker’s words to discover
their meaning, a speaker’s meaning must be immediately comprehensible.
B. One way to ensure that a speaker’s meaning is clear is to use familiar words.
V. Public speakers need to use language vividly.
A. Effective speakers use imagery to express their ideas vividly.
1. One way to generate imagery is to use concrete words.
3. A third way to generate imagery is through the use of metaphor.
B. Effective speakers use rhythm to enhance the vividness of their discourse.
2. There are four basic stylistic devices for enhancing the rhythm of a speech.
a. The first device is parallelism—the similar arrangement of a pair or series of
related words, phrases, or sentences.
b. The second device is repetition—repeating the same word or set of words at
the beginning or end of successive clauses or sentences.
174 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
VI. Public speakers need to use language appropriately.
A. A speaker’s language should be appropriate to the occasion.
B. A speaker’s language should be appropriate to the audience.
VII. Public speakers are more effective when they use inclusive language.
A. Audiences today expect public speakers to use inclusive language that is respectful of
the different groups that make up American society.
B. There are four principles for inclusive language that have become so widespread that
no aspiring speaker can afford to ignore them.
1. The first principle is to avoid the generic “he.”
3. The third principle is to avoid stereotyping jobs and social roles by gender.
4. The fourth principle is to use names that groups use to identify themselves.
C. If speakers have questions about inclusive language, they should consult one of the
many guidebooks or up–to–date information on the Internet on this subject.
Exercises for Critical Thinking
(from text page 229)
1. Arrange each of the sequences below in order, from the most abstract word to the most con-
crete word.
a. housing complex, building, dining room, structure, apartment
b. Mona Lisa, art, painting, creative activity, portrait
c. automobile, vehicle, Ferrari, transportation, sports car
CHAPTER 12—USING LANGUAGE 175
2. Rewrite each of the following sentences using clear, familiar words.
a. My employment objective is to attain a position of maximum financial reward.
b. All professors at this school are expected to achieve high standards of excellence in their
instructional duties.
c. In the eventuality of a fire, it is imperative that all persons evacuate the building without
undue delay.
3. Each of the statements below uses one or more of the following stylistic devices: metaphor,
simile, parallelism, repetition, alliteration, antithesis. Identify the device (or devices) used in
each statement.
a. “We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our fu-
ture. We are a people in search of a national community.” (Barbara Jordan)
b. “The vice presidency is the sand trap of American politics. It’s near the prize, and de-
signed to be limiting.” (Howard Fineman)
c. “I want you to make history, not be history. I want your work to be remembered, not be
forgotten. I want you to power and steer the academic current, not be engulfed by it.”
(Ibram X. Kendi)
d. “I speak so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights:
Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality
of opportunity.” (Malala Yousafzai)
Using Public Speaking in Your Career
(from text page 223)
Since graduating from college, you have developed a successful business that is located near the
campus. As part of its plan to involve more alumni and community members in college affairs,
176 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Discussion: As with the other Using Public Speaking in Your Career scenarios throughout
the book, this one is designed to demonstrate how the skills of public speaking discussed
Additional Exercises and Activities
1. Have students analyze Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream.” Text of the speech is widely
available online, and several videos of it are available on YouTube.com. In analyzing the speech,
students should identify the methods King uses to make his language clear, vivid, and appropri-
ate. They should also look at King’s use of familiar words, concrete words, imagery, and rhythm.
Discussion: Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” is widely regarded as a masterpiece. It
was delivered August 28, 1963, to some 200,000 people who had come to Washington,
D.C., to participate in a peaceful demonstration to further the cause of equal rights for Af-
Here is a synopsis of the speech.
Specific Purpose: To reinforce the commitment of the audience to the principles of the
CHAPTER 12—USING LANGUAGE 177
Introduction: The opening sentence constitutes the introduction of King’s speech. Such a
perfunctory introduction is unusual, but it was appropriate in King’s situation. The
audience had been waiting all afternoon to hear King speak. He did not need any
special devices to secure their attention or to build his credibility. The speech
might have been improved by an explicit preview statement, but the opening sen-
tence implies that King will focus on the meaning and importance of “the greatest
demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.”
Body: There are four main sections in the body of the speech. The first addresses the na-
tion at large. In this section King bemoans the “shameful condition” of American
blacks, who still face poverty, segregation, and discrimination 100 years after the
Emancipation Proclamation. He then reminds the nation of “the fierce urgency of
now” and warns that continued protest will “shake the foundations of our nation
until the bright day of justice emerges.”
In the second section of the body, King speaks primarily to his followers and
accomplishes four tasks. First, he urges black Americans to maintain their commit-
ment to nonviolent methods of protest. Second, he reaffirms the need for blacks
Conclusion: “I Have a Dream” is one of those speeches in which it is almost impossible to
identify a discrete conclusion. The speech builds steadily to the powerful closing
lines without a discernible shift from body to conclusion. The important question
when judging a speech is not “Does the speech have a conclusion?” but “Does the
speech conclude effectively?” In King’s case the answer to the latter question is
unequivocally yes.
Language: The most important feature of King’s language is his use of familiar, concrete
words. From beginning to end, he relies on words and phrases that create sharp,
178 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
This is best seen in the “dream” section. Dreams are visual phenomena, and
King’s “dream” is strikingly visual. Instead of talking in vague terms about the ideals
of freedom and justice, he makes those ideals concrete. Listening to him, we can
almost see the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners sitting
down together on the red hills of Georgia. We can feel the sweltering heat of Mis-
It is important to note that most of the metaphors and similes occur in pairs and
are arranged to emphasize progress from a negative condition to a positive condi-
tion. For example: “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their cap-
tivity”; “. . . to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit
King also relies heavily on repetition and parallelism to reinforce his ideas and
accent the cadence of his speech. There are eight major units of repetition and paral-
lelism: (1) The “One hundred years later . . .” series; (2) The “Now is the time . . .” se-
ries; (3) The “We must . . .” and “We must not . . .” series; (4) The “We can never be
satisfied . . .” and “We cannot be satisfied . . .” series; (5) The “Go back to . . .” series;
(6) The “I have a dream . . .” series; (7) The “to . . . together” series; (8) The “Let free-
dom ring . . .” series.
Finally, one can observe the heavy religious tone of King’s speech. Not only
are there a number of explicit religious references, but many of King’s words and
images are biblical in origin. For example, “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the
2. Have students analyze “The Massachusetts 54th,” which appears on pages 452–454 of this
manual. Students should focus their analysis on how the speaker utilizes imagery, parallelism,
repetition, and other resources of language to enhance the impact of his ideas.
Discussion: “The Massachusetts 54th” is an excellent speech to study in conjunction with
Chapter 12—especially if you do not deal with it as part of the section on commemorative
speaking in Chapter 18. It is particularly valuable as a complement to Additional Activi-
ty/Exercise 1 in which students analyze Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream.”
3. In each of the following sentences, select the most appropriate word to complete the statement:
a. insisted, persisted, urged, persevered
I ____________________ her to treat her roommates more kindly.
Though he tried to prove his innocence, the district attorney ____________________ in
believing him guilty.
Despite the difficulty of the job, she ____________________ until she completed it.
He ____________________ that gun control legislation will do little to reduce crimes of
violence.
b. guess, prediction, estimate, forecast
I just read the Wall Street Journal’s ____________________ for the economy next year.
Will you turn on the television and get the weather ____________________ for tomorrow?
It’s always a good idea to get a written ____________________ before taking your car in
for repairs.
Chien doesn’t have the foggiest idea how many jelly beans are in the jar. He’s just mak-
ing a ____________________.
180 CHAPTER–BY–CHAPTER GUIDE TO THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
c. snap, tap, clap, slap
I knew someone was following me through the woods when I heard a twig
____________________ behind me.
The insistent ____________________ of the flag against the pole increased the drama of
the military funeral.
Sheila walked with so much spring in her step you could hear her feet
____________________ on the sidewalk.
All at once we heard a tremendous ____________________ of thunder.
Discussion: This is an enjoyable exercise that increases students’ awareness of the im-
portance of careful, accurate word choice. The correct answers follow.
a. insisted, persisted, urged, persevered
I urged her to treat her roommates more kindly.
b. guess, prediction, estimate, forecast
I just read the Wall Street Journal’s prediction for the economy next year.
c. snap, tap, clap, slap
I knew someone was following me through the woods when I heard a twig snap
behind me.
4. The following paragraph is filled with verbal clutter. Following the model on page 218 of the
textbook, edit the paragraph so as to eliminate the unnecessary words. You should be able to find
25 to 30 such words. If you don’t find that many, go back to the paragraph and edit it again.
Imagine the thought of burning up a priceless painting by Rembrandt just in order to
stay warm for ten minutes. Sounds really crazy, doesn’t it? But that is comparable to
just what is happening right now in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. The president
of Brazil authorized a 14,000–mile network of highways to open up the vast area of
the rain forest to settlement. Unfortunately, the project has been nothing but a disaster
from the very beginning. Working in the hot, torrid, steamy jungle caused many fatal
deaths among the workers. Soon a whole lot of foreign businesses began to get them-
selves involved in the project. Today there is a very real danger that the rain forest
will be irrevocably destroyed completely and altogether.
Discussion: This exercise is especially helpful if you have students prepare a manuscript
speech. It works well as an in–class exercise, since it can be completed fairly quickly. To
give students additional practice in clearing the underbrush out of their prose, this exercise
can be supplemented with Additional Exercise/Activity 5 below. Here is what the paragraph
looks like when it has been edited to eliminate the clutter.
5. The following paragraph is filled with verbal clutter. Following the model on page 218 of the
textbook, edit the paragraph so as to eliminate the unnecessary words. You should be able to find
30 to 35 such words. If you don’t find that many, go back to the paragraph and edit it again.
Rock music is such a big and important part of our lives today that it is extremely dif-
ficult to imagine a time when people lived without it. But there was once such a time.
The early 1950s were a time of bubble gum and soda pop—a pure and simple age.
Then a new kind of music started coming on the scene like a huge tidal wave on a
calm and quiet beach. A whole lot of young performers were appearing who were
revolutionizing the shape of American popular music. Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Elvis
Presley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis—the list is a long one that
goes on and on. But one rock and roll performer stands out above the rest as the most
original and innovative of them all. His name? Buddy Holly.
Discussion: Like the previous Additional Exercise/Activity, this works well as an in–class
activity and is especially helpful if you have students prepare a manuscript speech. Here
is what the paragraph looks like when it has been edited to eliminate the clutter.
Rock music is such a big and important part of our lives today that it is extremely diffi-
cult to imagine a time when people lived without it. But there was once such a time.
6. Have students compose one page of prose in which they use all the resources of language dis-
cussed in the textbook—imagery, simile, metaphor, antithesis, alliteration, etc.—to describe a
scene or to capture an emotion. Possible topics include:
the beach at sunset my happiest moment
walking in the forest my most fearful experience
a rainy night my favorite person