Page 310 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Check Your Understanding: Exercises and Activities
1. Rewrite the following paragraph using inclusive language:

When a speaker begins his speech, the fi rst thing he must do is thank the
chairman of the group for the opportunity to speak to his group. As we
know, the quality that separates man from the animals is the ability to speak.
Regardless of his job, a man must know how to speak clearly. Similarly, a
woman must know how to impart language skills to her children. Thus, every
speaker is urged to use language to the best of his ability.
2. Write fi ve transitional statements without using the following words:
fi rst (second, third, etc.)
therefore
next

fi nally
in conclusion
3. Company X has an internal policies manual that is written in marginalizing
language. As an employee of the company, you fi nd the language disturbing
and believe the language in the manual should be changed. Write a letter to
the head of the documents division explaining why you believe such changes
are necessary and why you believe the changes will enhance the image
of the company. (Thanks to Dr. Madeline Keaveney for suggesting this
exercise.)
4. Exclusive language is marginalizing and biased. Provide an inclusive-lan-
guage alternative for each of the following, or state under what conditions
the term might be appropriately used in a speech. [Adapted from Rosalie
Maggio, The Bias-Free Word Finder: A Dictionary of Nondiscriminatory Language
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1991).]
actress meter maid
airline stewardess mother
businessman majorette
craftsmanship Mrs. John Doe

doorman old wives’ tale
executrix waitress
goddess

Notes

1. W. H. Auden and L. Kronenberger, The Viking Book of Aphorisms (New York:
Dorsett Press, 1981), 238.
2. Earl Shorris, Latinos: A Biography of the People (New York: Norton, 1992),
95–100.
3. Julia T. Wood, ed., Gendered Relationships (Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfi eld,
1996), 39–56.
4. See, for example: W. M. O’Barr, Linguistic Evidence: Language, Power, and
Strategy in the Courtroom (New York: Academic Press, 1982); James J. Bradac 277