Chapter 13.2: Using Language Effectively

Learning Objectives

• Explain appropriate language.

• Explain vivid language.

• Define inclusive language and its importance.

• Explain the importance of familiar language.

Appropriate Language

• Language should be suitable for:

  • The speaker: Fit with your speaking pattern. Avoid trying to sound overly sophisticated. Using complicated language can lead to misunderstandings.

  • The audience: Tailor language to the audience's knowledge and understanding. Consider the audience analysis.

  • The context: Language should suit the occasion, time, mood, and location. A high school auditorium requires different language than a business meeting.

  • The topic: Language should align with the subject matter. A speech on string theory will require more technical language than a basic physics introduction.

Vivid Language

• Helps listeners create strong, clear, and memorable mental images.

• Achieved through:

  • Imagery: Representing objects, actions, or ideas to create mental pictures.

    • Concreteness: Using specific realities or actual instances instead of abstract theories. For example, instead of discussing the philosophy of freedom, describe real situations where freedom is suppressed.

    • Simile: Explicitly comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as". e.g., "The thunderous applause was like a party among the gods."

    • Metaphor: Applying a term or phrase to something in a non-literal way to suggest resemblance. e.g., "Love is a battlefield."

      • Avoid mixed metaphors, which are incompatible comparisons in the same sentence.

  • Rhythm: Patterned, recurring variants of sound or speech.

    • Parallelism: Presenting ideas in a grammatically parallel fashion. e.g., "Give me liberty or give me death."

    • Repetition: Repeating phrases to familiarize the audience with the message. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" is a famous example.

    • Alliteration: Repeating the same consonant at the beginning of words in a series (immediate juxtaposition) or in non-adjacent words (non immediate juxtaposition). e.g., "Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin."

    • Assonance: Repeating the same vowel sounds with different consonants in stressed syllables. e.g., "How now brown cow."

Inclusive Language

• Avoids placing any group above or below others.

• Common problem areas:

  • Gender-specific language:

    • Avoid using "he" as generic.

    • Avoid using "man" to mean all humans.

    • Avoid gender-typing jobs. Use inclusive job titles (see Table 13.1).

      • Table 13.1 Gender Type Jobs
        *| Exclusive Language | Inclusive Language |
        |--------------------|-----------------------|
        | Policeman | Police Officer |
        | Businessman | Businessperson |
        | Fireman | Firefighter |
        | Stewardess | Flight Attendant |
        | Waiters | Wait Staff / Servers |
        | Mailman | Letter Carrier / Postal Worker |
        | Barmaid | Bartender |

  • Ethnic identity:

    • Avoid broad terms like "Asians" or "Hispanics".

    • Ask individuals how they prefer to be labeled.

    • Instead of "The committee is made up of four women and a Vietnamese man," say "The committee is made up of four women and a man."

  • Sexual orientation:

    • Avoid heterosexism: presuming everyone is heterosexual.

    • Use gender-neutral terms like "spouse" or "partner".

    • Refer to "members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual community."

  • Disability:

    • See Table 13.2 for examples of exclusive versus inclusive language.

      • Table 13.2 Inclusive language for disabilities
        *| Exclusive Language | Inclusive Language |
        |--------------------|-----------------------------------------|
        | Handicapped people | People with disabilities |
        | Insane person | Person with a psychiatric disability |
        | Person in a wheelchair | Person who uses a wheelchair |

Familiar Language

• Use language that is comfortable for you and familiar to your audience.

• Unfamiliar language can make you nervous and impair your credibility.

• If the audience cannot understand you, the speech will be ineffective.