Public Speaking Chapter Twelve

What is Style:
- First, style is a pattern of choices that are not predetermined
- Second, style is perceived by others whose inferences and judgments attribute it to the
person, it is audience dependent
- Third, style can be used either to set someone apart from others or to identify someone
with a particular group
- A person’s choices create a distinct signature
- When a person’s style is identified with a particular group we say that the style is of a
certain type
- Generic Styles fit into a category
- Culture Styles identify basic styles of a culture
- Archetypes are patterns of basic human experiences
- Style in a Speech
o First, style is not always a positive attribute
o The distinctive style of a speech can sometimes be negative
o The style of a speech is often thought of as ornamentation for the speech, however
it should be regarded as part of the content of the speech
o With speeches style is a pattern of choices recognized and interpreted by the
audience that may categorize or distinguish the speaker
- Style and Language
o Style is best approached through strategic planning, identifying resources and
using them to achieve the purpose
o Perception of the speech: a speaker’s word choices direct listeners to view the
message in one way rather than another
o Favorable evaluation is positive and unfavorable evaluation is negative
o Perception of the Speaker: language influences how the audience perceives the
speaker as a person, that is the speaker’s ethos
o If you can create a memorable “sound bite” listeners will more easily recall your
point and will identify you with it
Oral Style versus Written Style:
- Written style allows
o Readers to read at their own pace
o Readers to reread unfamiliar topics
o Readers to look up words that are unfamiliar
o Readers to go back if they lost track of something
o Readers to set aside the reading and come back later
- Oral Style
o Oral style is Ephemeral- delivered then gone
o Oral style requires listeners to be dependent on the speaker
o Oral style is simpler than written style
§ Language choices should make the message easy for the listeners to
understand, avoiding technical language
o Oral style is more repetitive than written style
§ Repetition highlights main points
§ Can help listeners see the organization of the speech
 § Repetition is a memory aid for both speakers and listeners
o Oral style is more informal than written style
§ Speeches often do not read well, and essays often do not sound well
o Oral style is more reflexive than written style
§ Speakers refer to themselves and to the audience and situation
§ Written material is often composed without a specific audience in mind
§ Speakers on the other hand usually intend to have an impact on a specific
audience
§ Oral style uses signposting for a guide throughout the speech
o Oral style is more likely to include clutter because speakers are thinking on their
feet and cannot revise their remarks as writers can
§ Clutter usually occurs when people need time to think of what to say next,
the solution is proper preparation
Performative Style versus Conversational Style:
- Performative style reminds listeners of a performance for which the audience consists of
passive spectators
- Conversational style suggests that listeners are more active participants in a discussion
with the speaker
- Most classroom speeches are best spoken informally and conversationally
- Performative style might be suitable for a specific topic but not all performative styles are
fitting to the events that can have one
- Speakers must select the style that is most helpful to their strategic purpose and most
appropriate to the opportunities and constraints of the situation
Requirements for Effective Style:
- The accuracy of what is said
o A malapropism is the seemingly unintentional but possibly meaningful confusion
of words or usages
o Malapropisms can be devastating to a speaker’s credibility
- The appropriateness of what is said
o The words must be appropriate to the audience and the situation
o The speaker must show listeners that they are sympathetic and respectful
o General Guidelines
§ Avoid sounding self-important or pretentious
§ Avoid signs of disrespect
§ Avoid inappropriate emotion
o Can arrange words to capitalize their persuasive power and achieve clarity,
rhythm, and vividness and to create interest and balance in the speech
Defining Terms Appropriately:
- Definition is the process by which you establish the meaning of a word for your audience
- Neutral Definitions- the speaker defines a word with no other purpose than being precise
and clear
- Types of Neutral Definitions:
o Replacing common meaning with a more technical one
o Defining similarities and differences
o Operational definitions
 - Denotation and Connotation in definitions- a words denotation is its dictionary meaning,
a words connotation is the feelings that the word evokes
- Speakers need to make sure connotations and denotations are consistent with what they
want them to be
- Persuasive definitions can take two forms:
o The word is defined the same but the connotation is changed or the connation of
the word is the same but the denotation is changed
Achieving Clarity, Rhythm, and Vividness:
- Clarity- make the speech as easy to comprehend as is appropriate for the situation
o Concrete Words
§ Concrete clear images help an audience grasp and remember a message,
listeners are more likely to be swayed by it
o Maxims
§ Maxims are short pithy statements, often in the form of proverbs
§ Maxims contribute to clarify by offering listeners a memorable phrase that
encompasses a larger argument or theme
o Limiting Jargon, Defining Technical Terms
§ Jargon is specialized or technical terms that outsiders find difficult to
understand
§ Jargon can be useful when everyone knows what it means
§ It’s not always possible to get rid of every technical term
o Word Economy
§ Word economy is using words efficiently and avoiding unnecessary words
o Active Voice
§ Active voice focuses on who did what
§ Passive voice focuses on what was done
§ Active voice is usually better for clarity, it makes it clear who did what
and it usually requires fewer and simpler words
How Clear Should You Be:
- Careful Use of Irony
o Speakers use irony when they say the opposite of what they mean, often with a
shift in vocal tone or another nonverbal clue that they do not intend to be taken
literally
o Irony can also be a way for speakers to signal to the audience that they take their
ideas seriously but don’t take themselves too seriously
o Be aware that irony can make a speech less clear if listeners cannot recognize it as
irony
- Purposeful Ambiguity
o Words or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way are said to be
ambiguous and speakers striving for clarity generally avoid them
o Each speaker could act as though the audience clearly agreed with his
interpretation of the term even though he never made that interpretation explicit
o The ambiguous reference is called a condensation symbol because it condenses
harmoniously in one word or phrase a variety of attitudes that might diverge if the
reference were more specific
 o Condensation symbols are useful for diverse audiences because they are
multivocal, the audience hears the same connotation but a different denotation
o The goal is not to avoid ambiguity but to limit it to the appropriate level for the
topic and audience
Rhythm:
- The sound of the message adds stylistic effect and helps convey the mood
- Repetition
o Repeating a key idea, argument, or theme is a way to emphasize its significance
o Another kind of repetition is a refrain that the speaker begins, and the audience
joins in or completes
o Call and response is also popular
- Parallel Wording
o A speaker who uses one of the familiar organizational patterns will find that
listeners are following along and can guess what will come next
o Parallel wording is stylistically useful even at levels lower than the statement of
main ideas
- Antithesis
o Antithesis creates a kind of equilibrium or balance in which competing views are
weighed and taken seriously
- Inversions of Word Order
o Variations from normal word order may cause listeners to sit up and take notice
because an unusual phrase is memorable
o Unusual wording attracts extra attention to the sentence
Vividness:
- Description
o The most common way to paint mental pictures is by description, or giving
specific details
- Stories
o A story has power because of its familiar form and because it permits listeners to
see what is going on and to identify with it
- Comparisons
o A comparison can help people to accommodate a new idea or information by
deciding that it is similar to what they already know
o A simile is an explicit statement that one thing is like another
o A metaphor discusses one thing in terms of another
- Vivid sounds
o Alliteration is a repetitive consonant sound
o Onomatopoeia is the use of sounds that resemble what they describe
- Personification
o The discussion of abstract or complex ideas in human terms
- Reference to Hypothetical People
o Dialogue draws the audience in by reproducing a conversation within the speech
o A speaker uses dialogue to refer to the opponent’s objections, usually
anonymously and allows the speaker to refute a variety or arguments
o A rhetorical question is another way to involve others hypothetically
Style and the Entire Speech:
 - Choosing the Right Level of Style
o The grand style is lofty and formal
o The plain style is simple and colloquial
o The middle style is anywhere in between grand and plain
- Finding the Right Pace and Proportion
o Stylistic variety will keep any particular technique from calling attention to itself
and will contribute to a pleasing overall impression of the speech
o Balance
§ An effective balance among available resources will enhance the overall
style of the speech
o Conciseness
§ Today’s audiences tend to value messages that are brief, stripped of
adornment, to the point and concise
- Memorable Phrases
o A pithy phrase or quotable quote that somehow captures the essence of the speech
is today called a sound bite because it is often the only part of the speech that
receives media coverage
o A memorable phrase prevents listeners from forgetting your speech and also
enhances their judgment of its style
- Congruence of Language and Delivery
o Generally, classroom speeches are informal in both style and delivery
o Choice of style and delivery should match the setting that you are speaking in
Achieving Good Style:
- Erroneous Assumptions About Speeches
o The plain style myth is the belief that people naturally speak in the plain style and
have to exert effort only to achieve the grand style
o Any style requires preparation
o That a focus on style is somehow at odds with tending to the content of the speech
o Content becomes meaningful as it is expressed in language and speaker’s choices
about style and language affect listeners perceptions of the content
- Suggestions for Developing and Improving Style
o Review your preparation outline and your presentation outline from the standpoint
of style and word choice
o Practice composing speeches in writing
o Be your own toughest critic when revising your outline or manuscript for style
o Practice your speech not only to become more familiar with its contents and to
gain self-confidence but also to listen to its overall rhythm
o Choose your words with your audience in mind
o Consider how your speech might incorporate the stylistic resources discussed in
this chapter
o Raise awareness of other speakers’ styles
o Don’t work on too many things at once
Style: the pattern of choices attributed to a person by others to characterize or distinguish them
Signature: an individual pattern or stylistic choices that characterizes a particular person
Type: a pattern of stylistic choices that characterizes a group with which a person identifies
Reflexive: making self-reference to the speaker or situation
Malapropism: unintentional but possibly meaningful confusion of words or usages
Definition: the process of establishing meaning for a word or phrase
Operational Definition: explaining what a term means by identifying specific operations to be
performed
Denotation: the referent for a given word
Connotation: the feelings or emotional responses associated with a given word
Persuasive Definition: a shift in connotation applied to the same denotation or a shift in the
denotation applied to the same connotation
Maxim: a concise statement of a principle often in the form of a proverb
Jargon: specialized or technical terms within a given field of knowledge
Technical Term: a term that may or may not be used in ordinary conversation but has a specific
meaning within a particular field of knowledge
Word Economy: efficiency in the use of words, avoidance of unnecessary words
Active Voice: a word pattern that focuses on who did what and prominently features the agent
Passive Voice: a word pattern that focuses on what was done and largely ignores the agent
Irony: saying or writing the opposite of what was meant
Ambiguous: capable of being interpreted with more than one meaning
Condensation Symbol: a word phrase or thing that harmoniously accommodates diverse ideas
or reference within a single positive or negative connotation
Multivocal: speaking simultaneously with different voices or on different levels of denotative
meaning but with similar connotations
Rhythm: the sense of movement or pacing within the speech
Call and Response: a pattern in which the audience responds to the speakers questions or
prompts often with repetitive refrains
Antithesis: the pairing of opposite within a speech, often to suggest a choice between them
Vivid: graphic, easy to picture, a speech is vivid if its language enables listeners to develop
mental pictures of what is being said
Description: accumulation of details that suggest a mental picture of a person, event or situation
Simile: an explicit statement that one thing is like another
Metaphor: naming one thing in terms of another, discussing one thing as though it were the
other
Alliteration: repetitive consonant sounds
Onomatopoeia: use of words that resemble what they describe
Personification: discussion of abstract or complex ideas in human terms
Dialogue: reproducing a conversation within the speech
Rhetorical Question: a question for which no answer is expected, it is asked to get listeners
thinking so that they quickly recognize the obvious answer
Sound Bite: a memorable phrase that is recalled from a speech and used to identify the speech