Employ an appropriate

style of speaking,
adjusting language,
gestures, rate, and
volume according to
audience and purpose
Let’s Try This
 Try to guess what the following
facial gestures imply.

Can you determine what does each mean?

Let’s Study This
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
refers to the vocal performance of a
speaker, its rate, volume, pitch, and
pauses. These aspects of vocalization
are critical to effectively conveying ideas
(after all, if your audience has trouble
understanding what the words are
coming out of your mouth, then they will
be unable to understand your
message.)
Rate
refers to the speed at which a person
speaks. Follow these suggestions to adjust
your rate of speech to your best advantage:
1. Choose a rate appropriate for the ideas
being expressed and for a speech setting.
For example, it makes sense for a
sportscaster announcing a basketball game
to speak faster than a sportscaster at a golf
match.
2. Vary your rate of speech to express
different thoughts and feelings. You may
want to speak slowly to emphasize an
important point or to communicate a serious
or somber mood. A faster pace is appropriate
when you are telling your audience
something it already knows (many speeches
include background information that sets the
scene) or to express surprise, happiness, or
fear. Use pauses to change the pace and
add verbal variety.
3. Use a tape recorder to monitor
your rate of speech while you read
aloud a magazine article. Pay
special attention to grouping words
into phrases and to slowing down
and speeding up at appropriate
points. Play back your speech,
then adjust your phrasing for a
more effective delivery.
Volume
refers to the loudness or
softness of the speaker's voice.
1. Know what volume your voice
should be in your classroom. If you
speak too softly, your speech
serves little purpose. At the same
time, don't mistake shouting for
speaking loudly.
2. Vary the volume to get attention.
Whether to choose to speak louder
or more quietly, you draw attention to
your speech through contrast. For
example, you can speak softly when
you narrate a sad story. In this case,
a quieter approach is usually a more
effective attention-grabber.
Pitch
means the highness or lowness of
the speaker's voice. Changes in the
pitch are known as inflections.
1. When you speak in a monotone,
you tell your listeners you have
nothing to emphasize. When you vary
the pitch of your voice, you let them
know that what you are saying is
important.
2. As with volume, vary pitch to
achieve the best effect. For
example, you can speak in a low
tone when you quote someone.
The change in pitch suggests that
you are citing evidence rather than
expressing your own view.
Pauses
add color, expression, and
feeling to a speech. They should
be used deliberately to achieve a
desired effect. Here are a few
suggestions:
1. Pause for moment when you
introduce a new idea or term to
give your listeners time to absorb
what you are saying.
2. Don't talk nonstop until, literally, you are
out of breath. At the same time, don't pause
every three or four words in a kind of
nervous verbal chop. Particularly, don't
pause in the middle of an idea. That will
make it difficult for your listeners to follow.
To a speaker, a phrase has a different
meaning it has to a writer. It is a unit you
speak in one breath in order to express a
single idea. Each pause tells your listeners
you are moving from one thought to the
next.
3. Try not to take vocalized pauses such as "ah,"
"er," and "umm." A vocalized pause is usually
ineffective (even distracting and annoying). For
example, President John F. Kennedy's famous line,
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask
what you can do for you country," was effective not
only because of its language but also because it
was delivered with a pause dividing the two
thoughts. I think that you will agree that "Ask not ah
what your er country can do ah for you; ask what
you umm can do er for your uh country" just don't
have the same impact as the unadorned original
statement.
4. Extend your pauses to two or
three seconds when displaying a
visual aid. This tactic enables your
audience to read the information
on the visual aid without missing
your next thought. It is important to
pause after the display, not before
it.
Let’s Do This
Task 1. Act It Out!
Read the following words. Your
teacher will call one in your class
to choose one word from the box
to act it out in front. Tell whether
the gesture acted out by your
classmate matches the chosen
word.
 sad excited

hungry angry happy afraid

shy confused amazed worried

Task 2. Speak Up!
Choose your partner. Read
the following lines with proper
rate and volume.
1. Hello! Is there anybody home?
2. Yes, I got the grand prize!
3. Oh common, you’re kidding me.
4. Please, help us.
5. Hmmm. It smells good.
6. I told you to stop it!
7. Check this out. This is the latest model of
smart phone.
8. Mom, look what Dennver did!
9. Hurry up! We’ll be late.
10. I am so proud of your
accomplishment.
Let’s Do More
Task 3. We Say, You Say!
With your groupmates, read the
poem entitled “Poems” by
Angela Manalang Gloria.
Use appropriate style of speaking,
gestures, rate, and volume.
POEMS
by Angela Manalang Gloria

Angela Manalang Gloria (born on August 2,

1907, died on 1995) was one of the first
generation of Filipino woman poets to write
in English. Her book Poems (first published
in 1940) was the first and only collection of
poetry in English published by a Filipino
woman before World War II.
1
There are so many poems in my head
All wanting to be seen,
And some are bright in silver lace,
And some are plumed with green.

plumed: adorned with feathers.

“plumed with green” therefore means
“adorned with green feathers.”
2
The gay and lovely ones pirouette
Like dancers in my mind,
And others, frail and wistful nuns,
Tread somberly behind.

gay: happy, jolly

pirouette: whirl about on one foot or on the
points of the toes while dancing
wistful: dreamily melancholic
tread: walk
somberly: gloomily, depressingly
3
The madcap inspirations, bent
On flinging stars about
Contrive to break away before
I know that they are out;

madcap: wildly impulsive; reckless

bent: determined
contrive: cleverly plan
4
While the ambitious fancies, dressed
In proud immortal white,
Look upward all the time – and so
They never come out right.

fancies: whims; capricious ideas

5
But all of them, however perfect
In my mind’s retreat,
Appear bewildered when released,
And oh, so incomplete.

retreat: a place of refuge or

privacy
bewildered: confused or
puzzled
Let’s Test Ourselves
Task 4. Tap Your Desk
Here’s the poem still with the syllables typed in capital and
lower-case letters. This time, however, asterisks like this *
have been added beside the punctuation marks to indicate
how long you should pause at each mark. When you read the
poem, tap the top of your desk with your hand once for each
asterisk. When you see 1 asterisk like this: *, tap your desk
once quickly. When you see 2 asterisks side by side and with
a space between them like this: **, tap your desk twice at
normal speed. When there is no punctuation mark at the end
of a line, go on to the next line without pausing.
Now read the poem aloud, still following the rhythm marks but
this time with the taps added. Be able to employ an
appropriate style of speaking, rate, and volume.
 POEMS
by Angela Manalang Gloria
1
there ARE so many POems IN my HEAD
all WANTing TO be SEEN
and SOME are BRIGHT in SILver LACE,*
and SOME are PLUMED with GREEN.* *
2
the GAY and LOVEly ones PIrouETTE
like DANcers IN my MIND,*
and OTHers,* FRAIL and WISTful NUNS,*
tread SOMberly beHIND.* *
3
the MADcap INSpirAtions,* BENT
on FLINGing STARS aBOUT
conTRIVE to BREAK aWAY beFORE
I KNOW that THEY are OUT.* *
5
but ALL of THEM,* howEVer PERfect
IN my MIND’s reTREAT,*
apPEAR beWILdered WHEN reLEASED,*
and OH,* so INcomPLETE.* *
4
while THE amBItious FANcies,*
DRESSED
in PROUD imMORtal WHITE,*
look Upward ALL the TIME – * * and SO
they NEVer COME out RIGHT. * *
Do you notice a difference in the way the
poem sounds when you recite it not only
according to rhythm but also according to
punctuation? How do the punctuation marks
help to make the poem’s meaning clearer?
Let’s Enrich Ourselves
Task 5. This is My Moment!
Memorize the poem entitled “Poems.”
Recite the poem with accuracy,
appropriate rate, and proper expression
in front of the class.
Let’s Remember This
We have all heard at least one person in
our lives whose voice is so beautiful and
that we enjoy listening to him/her speak,
regardless of what he/she is actually
saying. While developing perfect vocal
intonation and diction can be a lifelong
task, a beautiful sounding voice can be
obtained in a relatively short amount of
time. All you need is a little guidance and
some dedicated practice.