CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

In consortium with

CEBU CITY MEDICAL CENTER- COLLEGE OF NURSING

Purposive Communication

“COHERENCE IN SPEECH”

“Hey, because you are the richest in the group, we will still treat you to lunch.”
“George is so attractive. She seems to draw all eyes on him.”
“Lisa is not only beautiful but also ignorant.”
- There is something wrong with the entire statements
- You must have observed some irregularities with how the words were put together.
- The speaker failed to smoothly connect those ideas
 Instead of making things clearer to the audience, they made understanding a
struggle
Introduction = where the main idea is usually found
Linguistic bridges = aid in better understanding of concepts/ideas presented
 A speaker must be skillful in connecting ideas for ease of understanding just like
what the bridge does in facilitating people form one side to another.
COHERENCE: the logical bridge between words, sentences, and paragraphs. Failure for
the speaker/writer to do so makes it harder for the audience to understand.
WAYS TO ACHIEVE COHERENCE IN SPEECH:
1. USING TRANSITIONAL DEVICES
 serve as bridges between the ideas in sentences and paragraphs in your
speech.
 Help avoid abrupt or sudden jumps or breaks between ideas
Classifications of devices according to purpose:
a) Transitional devices that are used to ADD

Equally important
Finally
further
furthermore
 Besides reading, I also love dancing
 And what’s more nor
Again moreover too
And then in addition next
Besides first (second, etc.) lastly

Besides reading, I also love dancing

 Texting while driving is dangerous; moreover, it is illegal in some
cities.

b) Transitional devices that are used to COMPARE

Whereas by comparison compared to

but where balanced up against meanwhile
yet against after all
on the other hand vis a vis in contrast
however but although this may be true
nevertheless although
on the contrary conversely

 Your idea is brilliant; however, it is not applicable to our current

situation
 I am glad you bought me this nice dress. On the other hand, it
would have been better if you saved your money for the rainy
days.

c) Transitional devices that are used to PROVE

Because obviously indeed

for evidently in fact
since furthermore in addition
for the same reason moreover in any case
besides that is
  I personally checked to make sure the apartment previously
occupied was indeed vacant
 The number of COVID-19 cases is, in fact, increasing

d) Transitional devices that are used to EXCEPTION

Yet nevertheless of course

still in spite of once in a while
however despite sometimes

 She
remains hopeful despite all her problems
 Tony drinks a little too much once in a while

e) Transitional devices that are used to REPEAT In brief

 As I have said, you need to read and as I have said
understand the questions before as I have noted
answering them. as has been noted
 As has been noted, modules are to be
kept clean until the end of the semester.

f) Transitional devices that are used to EMPHASIZE

Definitely emphatically
extremely unquestionably
obviously without a doubt
in fact certainly
indeed undeniably
in any case without reservation
absolutely
  our program was definitely a success
 Without a doubt, positively the performance of
Roxanne was the naturally best
surprisingly
g) Transitional devices that always are used to SHOW
SEQUENCE forever
perennially
First, second, third, and so forth finally previously
eternally
A, B,C and so forth consequently before this
never
next previously simultaneously
then before this concurrently
following this simultaneously thus
at this time at this point therefore
now after hence
at this point afterward next
after subsequently and then
afterward finally soon
subsequently consequently

 At this time, we are not going to witness the symbolic cutting of the
wedding cake
 First the customer needs to fill-out the form. Next, he needs to pay
at the cashier and wait for a confirmation message that this
transaction was indeed successful.

h) Transitional devices that are used to GIVE AN EXAMPLE

For example
for instance
in this case
in another case
  Sheila and mike
have so much in on this occasion to demonstrate
common. For in this situation to illustrate
instance, they take the case of as an illustration
both have the to illustrate
same passion
and educational backgrounds
 To demonstrate, here is how to make a castle out of eggshells

i) Transitional devices that are used to SHOW TIME

Immediately
thereafter
soon
after a few hours
  the visitors will
arrive very so finally formerly
 Henry checked then first (second, etc.)
the house, later next
previously previously and then
owned by his
boss
 Kyla couldn’t fit in her favorite dress anymore; consequently, she
gave it to her younger sister.

j) Transitional devices that are used to SUMMARIZE OR CONCLUDE

In brief as I have shown accordingly

on the whole as I have said thus
summing up hence as a result
to conclude therefore consequently
in conclusion
  Jean is crying; therefore, she must be hurting
 On the whole, they did a great job

2. REPEATING KEY WORDS: repeats the key words or phrases to connect ideas
throughout the speech
 Most students are afraid to deliver speech in font of many people. They
think that delivering speech in public is only for professional speakers
 a lot of aspiring singers idolize Sarah Geronimo. They believe that Sarah
Geronimo’s journey to stardom is very inspiring.

3. USING CORRECT PRONOUNS: the pronoun must agree to the noun or another
pronoun that precedes or comes before it in gender and number.
 If the gender of the noun that comes before it is masculine, the pronoun
should also be masculine
o if it is singular, the pronoun should also be singular
 John Carl visited his grandmother in the province
 Sheila is washing her clothes, while Harry is ironing his pants. They
are both responsible children.

4. USING SYNONYMS: words with nearly the same meaning with another word; can
create variety in his/her speech and help avoid unnecessary repetition.
 Teenagers are facing a great amount of pressure from peers. As a result,
many young adults are experiencing sings of depression at an early age.
 Teachers, oftentimes, go the extra mile to provide support to the learners.
These educators indeed deserve respect.

5. USING PARALLEL STRUCTURES: they have similar grammatical structures –

words with words, phrases with phrases, and clauses with clauses. This helps the
listener follow the flow of ideas and create connection between them. Two or more
words are of equal importance.
 Usually children spend their vacation playing online games, swimming in
pools, chatting with friends, or camping in secluded places.
 Rebecca loves to cook, to dance, and to paint.
 NOTE: notice the tenses of the verbs used