Page 305 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

272 Part 3 Putting Theory Into Practice

Managing Language

The fi nal rule for using language effectively involves using language that (1) as-
sists us in managing our speech, (2) helps audience members understand the
intended meaning of our message, and (3) avoids unneccessarily alienating au-
dience members.

Defi ne Terms

As discussed in Chapter 5, words have denotative and connotative meanings. If
we look in the dictionary for the defi nition of a word, the fi rst entry we will fi nd
is the most agreed-upon meaning for the word when the dictionary was pub-
lished. This is also the denotative meaning of the word.
Connotative meanings for a word evolve over time. Usually, connotative
meanings are given birth by groups of people bound by some collective pur-
pose or activity. The word nose means the tip of the board to surfers, for exam-
ple, but also may refer to the fragrance of a newly opened bottle of wine to the
connoisseur.
Because words have both denotative and connotative meanings, we must be
careful in our assumptions about shared meaning with an audience. We should
never assume that the meaning we most commonly assign to a word will always
be the same for our audience. When in doubt, then, it is in everyone’s interest to
defi ne our terms in the course of our speeches.

Be Careful With Colloquial Words and Idioms

Our everyday conversations are liberally peppered with colloquial words and
idioms. The temptation to generalize them in formal speech and writing is un-
derstandable. Even so, they should be avoided. Conversational colloquialisms
such as “gonna,” “gotta,” or “wanna” undermine audience perceptions of cred-
ibility. For the non-native speakers in your audience, they are also likely to be
meaningless.
This happens even more so with idioms. These fi gures of speech have highly
idiosyncratic use and meaning. While we may know what it means when some-
one gets “antsy” or is “all ears,” non-native speakers probably would be baffl ed
by the term and expression. Because idioms also can be regional, native speak-
ers also can be confused in this regard. For example, whereas Southern Cali-
fornians are likely to think of the word “ramp” as an entrance or exit from the
freeway, a Southern West Virginian, upon hearing the word, is more likely to
think of a pungent plant that is the focus of festivals in the spring.

Use Concrete Words and Phrases

Speakers do not always use language to enlighten an audience. Sometimes
speakers intentionally use language to keep their audience in the dark. Political
consultants will tell reporters that a candidate misspoke rather than said some-
thing stupid. Military spokespeople will tell an audience that collateral damage