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©2007 by the McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Designing Messages with Words

©2007 by the McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw­Hill/Irwin

Can We Talk?

◦ use of any linguistic symbols—spoken, sign, or written

language—to accomplish message goals

 Verbal communication

 Verbal style

◦

our particular choice of words, phrase or sentence arrangements, and the formality of expression we use

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• What Is a Verbal Style?

Can We Talk?

Because it uses words, sign language is verbal communication.

© Jon Lee/Masterfile

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Can We Talk?

• Types of Verbal Styles

 Expressive and supportive

 Dynamic

 Combative

 Minimalist

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 Subtextual

Can We Talk?

• Types of Verbal Styles (continued)

 Descriptive

 Authoritative

 Low key

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 Demonstrative

Talk about Meaning

 Denotation

◦

 Connotation

literal or common description of a word that can be found in a dictionary

◦ personal or emotional feelings that we

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associate with words

Speaking of Rules

 Speech rules

1.  Grammatical rules

◦ Verbal rules we use during interaction

◦ sentence construction, the arrangement of

2.  Talking and interaction rules

words, syntax, and language fluidity

◦

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topic relevance, turn taking, length of talk time, silence, and clarity

Speaking of Rules

3.  Social rules

◦ greetings, appropriate word usage, style of

4.  Semantical rules

expression, and ambiguity

◦ denotative and connotative meanings of the

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words we use

What Are You Talking About?

 Jargon

 Slang

◦ specialized language used by members of a specific profession or field that denotes technical knowledge

◦

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informal set of terms used within a social group or culture

What Are You Talking About?

• Language Limitations

 Intensifiers

 Qualifiers

 Tag questions

 Adjective cramming

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 Euphemisms

What Are You Talking About?

 Abstraction

◦ using complicated rather than concrete

 Bypassing

language

◦ when different meanings are associated with

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the same word symbol or different symbols are used to identify the same idea or object

What Are You Talking About?

 Fact inference

 Misused words

◦ jumping to conclusions

 Overgeneralization

◦ words are misapplied

◦ use of sweeping statements that do not

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provide enough information

What Are You Talking About?

 Extremism

◦

 Inflexibility

to see the world simplistically, in black and white, rather than in shades of gray

◦

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rigidity in our awareness of the world around us

Must We Talk?

FIGURE 6.1 Communication Apprehension

Stage fright is one of the most common forms of communicatio n apprehension.

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Must We Talk?

 Communication apprehension (CA)

◦ experience of feeling anxious or uneasy about

• Why Are We Scared?

communicating with other people

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 Introversion  Alienation  Low self-esteem  Cultural divergence  Poor communication skills  Communication incompetence

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

 Persuasion

◦ process of attempting to influence people’s

 Argument

behavior, attitudes, or beliefs

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◦ statement or series of statements aimed at influencing behavior, attitudes, and beliefs through reasoning

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

 Grounds

◦

 Warrants

reasons or evidence used to support an argument

◦

 Claim

reasoning; making a relationship of the evidence to the claim

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◦ statement of fact or opinion

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

• Reasons and Reasoning

◦

statements of evidence, support, or proof used in an argument

 Reasons

◦

ability to see connections between ideas and evidence and to use reasons as building blocks to support your conclusion

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 Reasoning

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

• Reasons and Reasoning (continued)

◦ moves from general principles to specific instances

 Deductive reasoning

◦ moves from specific instances to general

conclusions

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 Inductive reasoning

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

• Appealing to Your Audience

◦ Credibility determined by an audience but

established by a speaker

 Ethos

◦

use of emotion to persuade an audience

 Pathos

◦

proof in the form of evidence or reasons

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 Logos

Using Persuasion and Building Arguments

• One-Sided and Two-Sided Arguments

◦

presentation of only one point of view or one side of an issue

 One-sided argument

◦

presents both sides of an issue—not only the speaker’s position but also opposing views

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 Two-sided argument

Questions

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