VARIOUS COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES

To achieve a sustainable and fruitful conversation, you may use the following communicative strategies

1. Nomination: This strategy is used to open a conversation. A speaker carries out nomination to
establish a topic with the person whom he/she is talking to.
Example: “Hi Carmen! Have you heard the latest news about Kathryn and Daniel”s breakup?
2. Restriction: This pertains to any limitation you may use as a speaker. As a speaker, you may
discuss only what is related to the topic.
Example: “I’m sorry but your question is not a part of the lesson. Please reserve that for the next
topic. We are out of time for that discussion.”
3. Turn-Taking: refers to the process in which people decide who take the conversational floor. The
primary goal of this is to give everyone a chance to speak.
Example: “Yes, you are raising your hand. Do you want to say something?”
4. Topic Control: covers how procedural or informality affects the development of topic conversation.
It is more restricted unlike a casual conversation with a friend in a street wherein you may take the
conversational floor anytime. When a topic is initiated, should be developed by avoiding
unnecessary interruptions and topic shift. Examples: during court trial, senate and congress
hearing, debate, and etc. You may involve yourself in conversation without dominating the
conversation by using minimal responses like “Yes,” “Okay,” “Go on,” and asking tag questions like,
“You are excited, aren’t you?”
5. Topic Shifting: Involves moving from one topic to another. It is where one part of the
conversation ends and another begins. “By the way,” “In addition to what you have said,” “Which
remind me of” and the like are transition signals that can be used
Example: “You have mentioned living organisms. Do you know that planet Venus has living
organisms discovered by the scientists lately”
6. Repair: This pertains on how the speaker addresses the problems in speaking, listening, and
comprehending in a conversation.
Example: “Everyone please calm down. I think we need to give chance for everyone to speak. Can
we do that?”
7. Termination: refers to close-initiating of the participants in the conversation. The topic initiator
takes responsibility to signal the end of the discussion. The speaker may say “Good bye.”, “Thank
you” and the like.
Example: “It’s really nice conversing with you but I think it’s already late. See you next time, bye!”
 Speech Writing Process

PRINCIPLES OF SPEECH WRITING

1. Choosing the Topic

The topic is your focal point of your speech, which can be determined once you have decided on your
purpose. If you are free to decide on a topic, choose one that really interests you. There are a variety of
strategies used in selecting a topic, such as using your personal experiences, discussing with your family
members or friends, free writing, listing, asking questions, or semantic webbing.
The purpose for writing and delivering the speech can be classified into three – to inform, to entertain
and to persuade.
An informative speech provides the audience with a clear understanding of the concept or idea presented by
the speaker.
An entertainment speech provides the audience with amusement.
A persuasive speech provides the audience with well-argued ideas that can influence their own beliefs and
decisions.
Narrowing down a topic means making your main idea more specific and focused. The strategies in selecting
a topic can also be used when you narrow down a topic. In the example below, “Defining and developing
effective money management skills of Grade 11 students” is the specific topic out of a general one, which is
“Effective money management.”

Writing patterns, in general, are structures that will help you organize the ideas related to your topic.
Examples are biographical, categorical/topical, causal, chronological, comparison/contrast, problem-solution, and
spatial.
Below are different writing patterns from which you can select the one that best suits your topic and/or
purpose.
2. Analyzing the Audience Know what your audience seeks

 Demography – refers to age range, male-female ratio, educational background and

affiliations or degree program taken, nationality, economic status, academic or corporate
designations
 Situation – includes time, venue, occasion and size
 Psychology - refers to values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, cultural and racial ideologies
and need

3. Sourcing the Information

Data gathering is the stage where you collect ideas, information, sources, and references relevant or
related to your specific topic. This can be done by visiting the library, browsing the web, observing a certain
phenomenon or event related to your topic, or conducting an interview or survey. The data that you will
gather will be very useful in making your speech informative, entertaining, or persuasive.
 4. Outlining and Organizing the Information

An outline is a hierarchical list that shows the relationship of your ideas. Experts in public speaking
state that once your outline is ready, two-thirds of your speech writing is finished. A good outline helps
you see that all the ideas are in line with your main idea or message. The elements of an outline include
introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction is the foundation of the speech. Your primary goal is to get the attention of your audience and
present the subject or main idea of your speech.
 use real-life or practical examples and explain their connection to your subject
 Start with a very strong quote and explain what it means
 Use facts and statistics and highlight their importance to your subject
 Tell a personal story to illustrate your point
Body of the Speech provides explanation, examples or any details that can help you deliver your purpose and
explain the main idea of your speech. It should only have one central idea.
 Present real-life or practical examples
 Show statistics
 Present comparisons
 Share ideas from the expert
Conclusion restates the main idea of your speech. It provides a summary, emphasizes the message and calls
for action. It leaves the audience with a statement that they cannot forget.
 Begin with a restatement of your message
 Use positive examples, encouraging words, or memorable lines from songs or stories familiar to your
audience
 Ask a question or series of questions that can make your audience reflect or ponder.

Table format example:

 List format example:

5. Grammatical Correctness:

 Correct spelling: do the proofreading

 Correct punctuation: comma is one of the punctuation marks that is most commonly misused.
 Use a comma to separate three or more items in a series
 Use a comma to separate two complete sentences if there is a conjunction between the
sentences.
 Use a comma to set off extra information.
 Correct grammar: grammatical mistakes can confuse the readers. A sentence should have a subject,
verb and complete thought. The subject in the sentence should agree with the verb in number.

6. Word Choice:
Is a person’s choice or selection of words. These are words that you use on the characteristics of your
audience. Your words should be easily understood by your target listeners. Use simple words, be concise and
avoid bias and offensive language.

7. Duration
Manage your time well. Make sure that the speech falls under the time limit.

Some Guidelines in Speech Writing:

1. Keep your words short and simple. Your speech is meant to be heard by your audience, not read.
2. Avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical words because they can confuse your audience.
3. Make your speech more personal. Use the personal pronoun “I,” but take care not to overuse it.
When you need to emphasize collectiveness with your audience, use the personal pronoun “we.”
4. Use active verbs and contractions because they add to the personal and conversational tone of
your speech.
5. Be sensitive of your audience. Be very careful with your language, jokes, and nonverbal cues.
6. Use metaphors and other figures of speech to effectively convey your point.
7. Manage your time well; make sure that the speech falls under the time limit.
 Principles of Speech Delivery

1. Articulation - how you pronounce the words and speaking with clear diction helps you transmit your
message effectively. It is the process of how speech sounds are made. The words of the speaker must be
understandable.
2. Modulation- the capability to adjust or manipulate the resonance and timbre of the vocal tone. It is
speaking with the right tone and pitch. It is confirmed by the number of the audience but it should be loud
enough for the speech to reach everybody. If the speaker’s voice is modulated, audience will pay attention.

TIPS ON MASTERING MODULATION

1. Tempo and pitch must vary according to your message.

2. Speaking too fast can suggest lack of confidence.
3. Keep to the normal speed of 125 words per minute.
4. Keep the stresses generally on the second syllable, if speaking in English.
5. Speak loud enough such that the listener will not need to cup his ears to listen.
6. Pause for a moment in between sentences to control your speed.
7. Avoid non fluencies such as “er”, “unh” and “umm”.
8. Minimize use of offensive and patronizing phrases such as “I mean,” “what I meant” “understand?”

3. Stage Presence is speaking in public without or with managed fear. It refers to certain charisma and charm
of a theater actor or performer. It is the ability to make the audience connect with the performer and
envelop them in the story being told, and in turn, to express what the audience feels.

4. Facial Expressions, gestures and movement- nonverbal cues reinforce, clarify and complement the message
of any speech. Without these, the speaker becomes boring. Facial expressions should change depending on
the content of the speech. Gestures are used to emphasize certain points. Movement should allow the
speaker to move freely while speaking to direct the audience to follow him or her and keep hanging on to
his or her message.
5. Audience Rapport refers to the speaker’s connection with the listeners. The speech should be appealing to
the audience. Knowing your audience well would help you establish good audience rapport.

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE SPEECH DELIVERY

1. Use a conversational style more often. Speak naturally.
2. Look your audience in the eye so they will feel important.
3. Adjust your volume to the size of your audience and the venue.
4. Vary your rate or speed to keep your audience interested and to avoid a monotone pattern.
5. Master your voice and find your pitch level.
6. Use pauses when you emphasize the most important words, phrases or sentences.
7. Pronounce and enunciate words correctly.
8. Avoid fillers or expressions that substitute actual words in your speech because these words are distracting.
9. Start your speech by standing straight and balancing your weight.
10. Use precise movements. Avoid distracting mannerisms like swaying back and forth, leaning on the podium and
licking or biting your lips.
11. Avoid having a poker face or a highly animated face. This is distracting and Annoyin
12. Dress properly and appropriately.
13. Observe ethics by coming prepared, being honest with your words, being polite, and avoiding offensive words.
14. Breathe in and out to relax before your speech. Have fun.