Many of us underestimate the power of our words. The language we select can determine whether we succeed or fail as communicators.
The Power of the Spoken Word. Oral language is more spontaneous, less formal, and more interactive than written communication. The spoken word is more expansive, alters the structure of sentences, and depends more on the cadence or rhythm of language as it is voiced.
Words can shape our perceptions. They invite us to see and share the world from the speaker’s point of view. Words can also distort reality and block certain ways of seeing. Words can arouse intense feeling by overcoming the barriers of time, distance, and audience apathy. The spoken word can bring listeners together in a common identity. Finally, words can prompt us to action.
Language Resources. Speakers utilize certain techniques to activate the power of language. To help audiences see your point of view, simile can clarify abstract subjects by showing their relationship to things that are more concrete and familiar. Metaphor offers new perspectives by following the principle of replacement, surprising audiences with unexpected uses of words. Representation helps simplify complex subjects by focusing on essential, strategic features or associations.
To arouse feelings, use words that activate connotative meanings. The image is the natural language of the emotions. Onomatopoeia stimulates our senses to make us feel that we are in the presence of subjects. Hyperbole can help overcome audience lethargy and kindle powerful feelings. Personification helps us relate emotionally to abstractions or impersonal institutions.
To bring listeners together, use inclusive pronouns such as “our” and “we.” Culture types express and invoke values in a compact way, and universal images based on certain metaphors remind us of our shared heritage as human beings. When properly used, such techniques as alliteration, parallel construction, inversion, and antithesis can enhance appeals for action.