Page 300 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 10 Language: Making Verbal Sense of the Message 267

word’s denotative meaning and phonetically correct pronunciation. Watch
out for words that sound alike but mean different things, such as except and
accept, access and assess, or ask and axe. Also watch out for words that are
spelled and pronounced alike but may have different meanings depending
on usage (homonyms). For example, the word quail can be used in reference
to a type of bird or in reference to cowering in terror.
6. Don’t use language that plays fast and loose with the truth.

Use Language to Its Fullest Potential

Language, as the surprise-hit documentary Wordplay shows, is food for the mind.
In fact, there is increasing evidence that using language to its fullest potential
can help thwart degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Thus the fourth rule,
using language to its fullest potential in your speeches, will feed your brain at
the same time it makes you a better speaker.
Of the many ways you can use language, we encourage you to fi rst take ad-
vantage of:
• Language appropriate to the diverse ways audience members process
information.
• Language that shows and tells what you hope to share in your speech.
• Language that is rhythmic.
• Language that varies the intensity of your speech.

Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Speech

In the 1980s Professor Howard Gardiner introduced the idea that not all peo-
ple process information the same way. He also pointed out that whether people
process what they are being taught depends on whether it is conveyed to them
through a channel appropriate to their “preferred” style of information processing. 6
Research shows that some people need to see a lesson, others need only to
hear it, and still others need to become immersed in the subject matter. These
three styles of learning are technically called visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
The obvious way for a speaker to deal with these three is to augment a speech
with visual aids, speak audibly and clearly, or involve the audience in demon-
strations or other hands-on experiences. Yet sometimes options one and three
are impossible for a speaker.
To get around this fact, author and corporate trainer Loretta Malandro en-
courages her clients to connect metaphorically with the varied learning styles
present in most audiences. Exhibit 10.2 suggests a number of specifi c visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic words that help the audience better process a speech.
Although we may not be able to literally show our audience members preju-
dice, we can connect with visual learners by

• asking them to envision a world free of hate,
• drawing a picture of racism or sketching out an example for them, or
• making a hazy concept such as affi rmative action crystal clear so that they
can see the problem.