Speech test 2 Notes Chapters 3 4 5 6 10 16 Chapter 3 Verbal Communication Describe how words work Hayakawa s ladder of abstraction and how this contributes to effective communication How you acquired your ability to use words depended on three factors Native architecture Inborn language transmission and language acquisition devices Cognitive development The development of the thinking and organizing system of your brain Involves language mental imagery reasoning problem solving and memory development Environmental in uences In uences from your family through conversations playing an everyday life How words work referent at the third Semantic Triangle A triangle with symbol at one peak thought at another and Thought refers to the words we use as we think about the symbol Referent refers to the image we create in our minds as a result of the symbol Denotative Meaning Its dictionary de nition These words can be interpreted with good delity mailbox cat Connotative Meaning The feeling or association each individual has about a word Words that stand for abstract concepts that evoke strong feelings are easily misunderstood Love freedom peace When you hear the word love you don t just think of the meaning you probably associate it with a person or experience you have had Ladder of Abstraction Diagram of how we abstract through language classi cations types categories and so on On the bottom of the ladder is concrete level 1 with fewer meanings and as you go up the ladder you go towards more abstract concepts themes with multiple meanings level 5 The more level one abstraction you use in your communication the more likely you will be understood by your listeners The ladder of abstraction is useful because it will help you better analyze your communications understandings and misunderstandings It will help you immunize yourself against political propaganda and advertising You will make a number of personal adjustments as you become aware of it How this contributes to effective communication For the listener to understand what you intend you should have something de nite in mind If an idea or impression is vague the resulting message will be confused and ambiguous You are responsible for presenting the idea clearly and the listener is responsible for trying to understand it accurately Different jobs and people in society use different types and levels of language Good communication requires effective adaptation If you have to you should dumb down your language to better communicate with others Explain how language contributes to the development of credibility and what guidelines can be followed to improve credibility through language When writing online there are rules you should follow to keep your credibility high Eliminate all typos or hurriedly constructed material Research what you are writing carefully and in your research record phrases and thoughts Watch for grammatical errors Read it out loud and make sure it ows smoothly You must take the time to make sure you are conveying what you want in the way you want to with consistency that re ects who you are Fonts can in uence the way people see your writing Language environment is made up of four elements people their purpose the rules of communication and the actual talk used in the situation Ritual Language environments where a conventionalized response is expected of you Hi how are you Fine How are you Good This is something taught by parents and is different in every society quali cations Those who engage in power talk are found to be more credible Power talk Talk that comes directly to the point does not use hesitation or Clarify the distinctions among racist sexist and ableist language and the concerns raised regarding their use Four types of words that are inappropriate Racial or ethnic epithets against members of groups to which you do not belong Words that insult others appearance or behavior stupid ugly clumsy Words that are blasphemous religious words or obscene body function words Aggressive words intended to control others such as shut up Euphemism An inoffensive word or phrase that is substituted for other words that might be perceived as unpleasant For example I am going to go use the restroom vs I am going to go take a dump Doublespeak Words deliberately constructed for political purposes Words speci cally intended to impose a desirable mental attitude on those using them Doublespeak is identical to euphemism except for two things Doublespeak doesn t always have to do with unpleasant words Doublespeak always relates to a political agenda Distinction among racist sexist and ableist language Racist Language Primary distinction of racist language is the tendency to describe the majority group its actions and its members in positive terms whereas minority groups their actions and members are portrayed overwhelmingly in negative terms Sexist Language Any language that is supposed to include all people but unintentionally or not excludes a gender Ableist Language Language referring to persons with disabilities The guiding principles for non handicapping language is to maintain the integrity of individuals as whole human beings by avoiding languages that implies that a person as a whole is disabled equates persons with their conditions has super uous negative overtones or is regarded as a slur Describe verbal style explain its importance and offer speci c steps for developing a verbal style Verbal style Together language and thought determine your verbal style Style is the result of the way you select and arrange words and sentences Impressions of personality are often related to verbal style It can in uence peoples opinions of you Rapport talk vs report talk Rapport talk Women generally use this style of language It is designed to lead to intimacy with others to match experiences and to establish relationships Report Talk Men generally use this style of language The speakers goal is to maintain status demonstrate knowledge and skills and to keep the center stage Things to avoid to developing a strong verbal style Avoid hedges and quali ers Statements like I guess and kind of weaken the Hesitation forms hesitations such as uh um you know like make the speaker statement sound too uncertain Tag questions comments that start as statements but end as a question That was a good movie wasn t it Disclaimers Words and expressions that excuse or ask listeners to bear with the speaker I know you probably don t agree with me but Dialect