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ORAL COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT

Lesson 3: Communicative Competence Strategies in Various Speech Situations

Speech Context
- refers to the situation or environment and the circumstances in which the communication occurs.
- “the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.”

In speech “Context” refers to three things:

1. The person speaking
2. The situation/event/occasion
3. The person(s) being addressed /spoken to

Types of Speech Context

A. Intrapersonal Communication
- A person’s communication with himself/herself
- Communication with oneself
- Takes place or exists within the mind
- Motivate you towards achieving your goals
- Help you avoid doing or saying something detrimental (causing damage) to yourself or anything harmful to others.

Examples of Interpersonal Communication

1. Talking to oneself in front of a mirror
2. Thinking out loud
3. Making plans
4. Making decisions
5. Smiling to oneself after a job well done
6. Telling yourself to stop doing certain things which you know are harmful to you.

B. Interpersonal Communication
- Communication with one or more person
- It could be face to face or via gadget such as cellphone
- Something involving, or occurring among several people

Examples of Interpersonal Communication

1. Conversations
2. Interviews
3. Casual Talks

B.1. Dyad
- communication between two people
- Sender can immediately receive and evaluate feedback from the receiver.
- It allows for more specific tailoring of message and more personal communication.
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B.2. Small group
- Gathering of three or more people
- A group which aim to explore a subject matter/issue or arrive at a decision.
- Can be both challenging and easy depending on:
1. Setting
2. The topic
3. The people involved

B.3 Public Speaking

- A speaker speaks in front of an audience.
- The speaker’s aim is to convey information, persuade, or entertain.
- One of the hardest or most challenging communication situation a person could engage in.
- Carried out to accomplish goals such as to inform, entertain and persuade - An important part of life.

Public Speaking (Personal)

- A family member addresses his or her family on family events/celebrations (e.g., birthday, family reunions, weddings,
among others)
- A family member / friend delivers a eulogy ( ) to a grieving group.

Public Speaking (Professional)

- Leaders of an organization address members during a company event. - A company owner
addresses employees during a company event - An employee presents a report to his or her
superiors.
- A student presents a report in class.

Tips to become a good speaker

1. Focus on you goal
2. Relax
3. Prepare well
4. Practice
5. Interact with your audience

Stage Fright
- The fear of speaking before an audience

Glossophobia
- The anxiety or fear of public speaking

The shyness behavior could be the result of a “subjective, affective experience” known as communication apprehension
(McCroskey and Richmond)

Communication Apprehension
- An individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person
or persons.
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Tips to control Communication Apprehension
1. Communicate as often as you can with as many people as possible.
2. Prepare for speech/interaction in order to gain confidence in your knowledge and experience.
3. Do not think of the audience/fellow communicators as your enemies. Know that they want you to succeed as a
speaker/contributor/conversationalist.
4. Believe in your message and speak about your passion. This way, you stop thinking about your delivery instead focus
on your message.
5. When you hit a mental block, talk good-naturedly about the mental block and what is probably causing it or talk about
something else. Do this instead of forcing yourself to remember and suffer the silence and the stares of the audience.
Keep taking and it will eventually comeback.
6. Move. Use the extra adrenaline to animate your delivery/conversation/discussion. Otherwise, the adrenaline will be
bottled up inside you and could end up stuttering, shaking, among others. However, remember to use effective and
appropriate nonverbal cues based on what you are saying.
7. Take comfort in the fact that communication apprehension s normal and that it will not last until the end of the
speech. In fact, it dissipates gradually as you deliver your speech. This is extra adrenaline that can be used up or
depleted; therefore, it is a form of energy that can actually use to make the delivery of your speech more dynamic.

Speech Styles
- the way in which each specific styles is said, done, expressed, or performed.
- It corresponds to specific speech context.

1. Intimate Speech Style

- Employed when one talks to his or her family, relatives, and even very close friends.
- Language used may be both formal and informal depending on the situation and matter being talked about.

Intimate Conversations
- Take place between persons of close alliances/relationships. Examples:
- Married couples
- Lovers
- Family members

Terms of Endearment
1. Honey
2. Mahal
3. Babe
4. Love

Terms that show respect

1. Mom 2.
Dad
3. Kuya
4. Ate

2. Casual Speech Style

- Style you can use when you talk to your classmates, peers and other people who are not as close to you.
- Not in your innermost circle of family and best friends.
- Language is often informal and conversational
- Allows for a more diverse range of topics
- Terms of endearment are rarely used in this style.
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Casual Conversations
- Typically takes place between classmates, friends, or co-workers.

3. Consultative Speech Style

- to ask or seek advice from a person
- Usually a professional who has expert knowledge on a specific subject or field.

Consultative Conversation
- Take place between professionals such as doctors and lawyers and their patients and clients. - More formality in
terms of
3.1. Language
3.2. Manner of speaking
3.3. Gestures

4. Formal Speech Style

- Prepared in advance
- Follow strict rules and word choice and content
- Dressed in formal attire when being performed
- There is humor in it but; it was well chosen and it fits the stature and the occasion - Words can still be altered.

5. Static or Frozen
- Its term connotes
- Words are fixed
- Follows stricter rules in wordings, content and format
- It may not be changed as they are permanently inscribed in a document.
- Speakers read from the source
- It can employ an oratorical style of delivery to lend more formality to the speech.

1. Language used
2. Degree of formality Marked difference due to the different types of people
involved and their degree of closeness
3. Manner of expression

Types of Speech Act

Speech Act
- Shows how people are capable of performing acts with their utterances.

1. Locution (Utterance)
- an utterance of a meaningful sentence, or what is said literally

2. Illocution (Intention)
- The social function of what is said

3. Perlocution (Response)
- The effect of what is said to the person it is uttered to
- The characteristic aims of a speech act
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Speech Acts based on functions ( Cohen’s classification)

1. Representatives Examples:
1. Traffic is heavy along EDSA now. (report)
2. Filipinos are the happiest people in the world. (claim)

2. Directives Examples:
1. You should go to the doctor. (suggestion)
2. Could you please help me plan the party? (request)

3. Expressives Examples:
1. I’m sorry I can’t make it to the event. (apology)
2. Our internet connection is so slow. (complaint)

4. Commisives Examples:
1. I assure you, I will help you with your problem. (promise) 2. I’m warning you. (threat)

5. Declaratives Examples:
1. Let the game begin! (declaration)
2. As president of the Republic, I put the country under a state of emergency. (decree)