EXPRESSING YOUR IDEAS

EFFECTIVELY
Repetition
Benefits:
Repetition can draw listeners attention and leave lasting memories.
Repeating words later in the speech can remind the audience of previous points.

Use repetition sparingly.

Rewording potentially confusing passages is a form of repetition.

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EXPRESSING YOUR IDEAS

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Hypothetical examples: Imagined examples or scenarios that you
invite your audience to think about
Can help your listeners follow a complicated point that you present
immediately afterward

EXPRESSING YOUR IDEAS

Personal
EFFECTIVELY
(CONT.)
anecdotes: Brief
stories that can be used to
help you further build
credibility and reassure
listeners that youre not
judging them

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Vivid language
Grabs attention with words and phrases that appeal to all five senses
Stronger imagery creates deeper impressions on an audience.
Select descriptive words that evoke pictures, smells, textures, sounds, and flavors.
Overuse of vivid language may diminish effectiveness.

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Figurative language
Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses, or sentences
Used for emphasis, clarity, and a rhetorical sense of style.

Antithesis: Clauses set in opposition to one another, usually to distinguish

between choices, concepts, and ideas

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Similes
Make explicit comparisons with like or as

Metaphors
Make implicit comparisons
Suggest connections between objects that are not alike by identifying one object
with the other

Be clear and consistent when using similes and metaphors.

Avoid mixing comparisons.

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CHOOSING RESPECTFUL AND

UNBIASED LANGUAGE
Biased language: Word choice that suggests prejudice or
preconceptions about other people
Its use erodes your credibility and distracts your audience from listening to
your message.
Avoid language that suggests youre making judgments about race, ethnicity,
gender, sexuality, religion, or mental or physical ability.

CHOOSING RESPECTFUL AND

UNBIASED LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Avoid stereotypes
Generalizations based on the false assumption that characteristics displayed
by some members of a group are shared by all members of that group
Can come into play when making claims beyond the facts that the evidence
proves
Take special care to avoid stereotypes when discussing potentially
controversial topics.

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UNBIASED LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Use gender-neutral references
Can be challenging at times
Frequent use of he or she can get tedious.
Using plurals where appropriate can help.

Select gender-neutral terms where possible.

Chair instead of chairman
Congressional representative instead of congressman
Firefighter instead of fireman

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UNBIASED LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Make appropriate references to ethnic groups
Use the noun preferred by a particular ethnic group when referring to that
group.
African American instead of black

Refer to ethnic groups correctly.

A visitor from Nigeria is not African American.

Use masculine and feminine forms correctly.

Ana Castillo is a Chicana, not a Chicano.

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Steer UNBIASED
LANGUAGE (CONT.)
clear of unnecessary
references to ethnicity,
religion, gender, or
sexuality

Do not mention unless it

is relevant to a point you
are making.

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UNBIASED LANGUAGE (CONT.)
A note on appropriate language and political correctness
Words have tremendous power to influence the ways that people think of,
feel about, and treat each other.
Avoid words that could cause harm or pain to others, when possible.

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UNBIASED LANGUAGE (CONT.)
Critics argue that guidelines on word choice may restrict rights to freedom of
expression by establishing strict rules of political correctness.
Avoid the PC debate by supporting your position with credible evidence and
logical reasoning.