ELEMENTS OF

ORAL
COMMUNICATION
Verbal Communication
Elements of Oral Communication

◦Variation in Speed ◦Emphasis

◦Volume ◦Rhythm
◦Intonation ◦Pitch
◦Gestures ◦Pausing and
Phrasing
1. Variation in Speed

◦ Familiarity with the language affects how fast or how slow

we listen and speak.
◦ We tend to speak slower than usual when unsure.
◦ We tend to speak faster than usual when anxious.
◦ When learning a language, we sometimes request others to
speak slower for us.
2. Volume

◦Proximity matters.
◦Noise and other environmental barriers may
affect our volume.
◦Emotions and other internal factors also affect
volume.
3. Intonation

◦ Falling Intonation – statements, commands, WH questions,

confirmation question tags, exclamation
◦ Rising Intonation – yes/no questions, uncertain question
tags,
◦ Rising-Falling Intonation – lists, choices, partial statements,
conditional statements
◦ Falling-Rising Intonation - uncertainty
4. Gestures

◦Body language can accent or negate your verbal

communication
◦Gestures tend to be different from culture to culture,
so be mindful
5. Emphasis

◦“She said she did not take his money.”

◦The sentence above changes meaning
depending on where the emphasis is placed.
 5. Emphasis
1.She said she did not take his money. It was not someone else who said it.
2.She said she did not take his money. So I believe her.
3.She said she did not take his money. But someone else did.
4.She said she did not take his money. But she might do it soon.
5.She said she did not take his money. And thus she is still poor.
6.She said she did not take his money. But she won it gambling.
7.She said she did not take his money. But she took someone else's.
8.She said she did not take his money. But she did take something else of his.
6. Rhythm

◦The flow of accented (stressed) sounds in

speaking
◦The English language uses a stress-timed rhythm,
so does German, Russian, Thai, and others.
◦The other type is called syllable-timed rhythm,
used in Spanish, Korean, Icelandic, and others.
7. Pitch

◦The frequency or intensity of the voice

◦Natural spoken pitch varies depending on the
message.
◦Flat pitch sounds robotic and tired or bored
◦Low pitch sounds serious
◦High pitch sounds lighthearted
8. Pausing and Phrasing

◦Give yourself time to breathe

◦Give your listener time to process
◦Use pauses and phrases to entice and
engage your listeners
END