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©2007 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Designing
Messages
with
Words
©2007 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Can We Talk?
 Verbal communication
◦
use of any linguistic symbols—spoken, sign, or written
language—to accomplish message goals
• What Is a Verbal Style?
 Verbal style
◦
our particular choice of words, phrase or sentence
arrangements, and the formality of expression we use
3
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
 Subtextual
5
Can We Talk?
• Types of Verbal Styles (continued)
 Descriptive
 Authoritative
 Low key
 Demonstrative
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Talk about Meaning
 Denotation
◦ literal or common description of a word that
can be found in a dictionary
 Connotation
◦ personal or emotional feelings that we
associate with words
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Speaking of Rules
 Speech rules
◦ Verbal rules we use during interaction
1.  Grammatical rules
◦ sentence construction, the arrangement of
words, syntax, and language fluidity
2.  Talking and interaction rules
◦ topic relevance, turn taking, length of talk time,
silence, and clarity
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Speaking of Rules
3.  Social rules
◦ greetings, appropriate word usage, style of
expression, and ambiguity
4.  Semantical rules
◦ denotative and connotative meanings of the
words we use
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What Are You Talking About?
 Jargon
◦ specialized language used by members of a
specific profession or field that denotes
technical knowledge
 Slang
◦ informal set of terms used within a social group
or culture
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What Are You Talking About?
• Language Limitations
 Intensifiers
 Qualifiers
 Tag questions
 Adjective cramming
 Euphemisms
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What Are You Talking About?
 Abstraction
◦ using complicated rather than concrete
language
 Bypassing
◦ when different meanings are associated with
the same word symbol or different symbols are
used to identify the same idea or object
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What Are You Talking About?
 Fact inference
◦ jumping to conclusions
 Misused words
◦
words are misapplied
 Overgeneralization
◦ use of sweeping statements that do not
provide enough information
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What Are You Talking About?
 Extremism
◦ to see the world simplistically, in black and
white, rather than in shades of gray
 Inflexibility
◦ rigidity in our awareness of the world around
us
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Must We Talk?
FIGURE 6.1 Communication Apprehension
Stage fright
is one of the
most common
forms of
communication
apprehension.
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Must We Talk?
 Communication apprehension (CA)
◦ experience of feeling anxious or uneasy about
communicating with other people
• Why Are We Scared?






Introversion
Alienation
Low self-esteem
Cultural divergence
Poor communication skills
Communication incompetence
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
 Persuasion
◦ process of attempting to influence people’s
behavior, attitudes, or beliefs
 Argument
◦ statement or series of statements aimed at
influencing behavior, attitudes, and beliefs
through reasoning
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
 Grounds
◦ reasons or evidence used to support an
argument
 Warrants
◦ reasoning; making a relationship of the
evidence to the claim
 Claim
◦ statement of fact or opinion
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
• Reasons and Reasoning
 Reasons
◦
statements of evidence, support, or proof used in
an argument
 Reasoning
◦
ability to see connections between ideas and
evidence and to use reasons as building blocks to
support your conclusion
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
• Reasons and Reasoning (continued)
 Deductive reasoning
◦
moves from general principles to specific instances
 Inductive reasoning
◦
moves from specific instances to general
conclusions
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
• Appealing to Your Audience
 Ethos
◦
Credibility determined by an audience but
established by a speaker
 Pathos
◦
use of emotion to persuade an audience
 Logos
◦
proof in the form of evidence or reasons
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Using Persuasion and Building Arguments
• One-Sided and Two-Sided Arguments
 One-sided argument
◦
presentation of only one point of view or one side of
an issue
 Two-sided argument
◦
presents both sides of an issue—not only the
speaker’s position but also opposing views
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Questions
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