The Art of Public Speaking • Chapter 12
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Literal, dictionary meaning of
word or phrase
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Meaning suggested
by associations or
emotions
triggered by word
or phrase
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McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Guidelines:

Use language accurately

Use language clearly

Use language vividly

Use language appropriately
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Creating mental images of
objects, actions, ideas
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McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
References to general
concepts, qualities, attributes
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
References
to tangible
objects
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McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Physical activity
Abstract
Sports
Basketball
Professional
basketball
LeBron James
Concrete
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
(click above to play)
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Comparison introduced with
“like” or “as”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“Personal data is flowing like
a torrent into NSA servers.”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Comparison not introduced
with “like” or “as”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“America’s cities are the
windows through which the
world looks at American
society.”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Pattern of sound created by
choice, arrangement of
words
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Similar arrangement of pair
or series of related words,
phrases, sentences
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“Rich and poor, intelligent and
ignorant, wise and foolish,
virtuous and vicious, man and
woman—it is ever the same,
each soul must depend wholly
on itself.”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Reiterating same word or
set of words

Located at beginning or end
of successive clauses,
sentences
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“If not now, when? If not us,
who? If not together, how?”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Repeating initial
consonant in
close or
adjoining words
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McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“Nothing great is
accomplished without
cooperation, compromise,
and common cause.”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Juxtaposition of ideas, usually
in parallel structure
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
“Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what you
can do for your country.”
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
(click above to play)
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Occasion

Audience

Topic

Speaker
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McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Does not stereotype,
demean on basis of gender,
race, religion, disability, sexual
orientation, etc.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Avoid generic “he”

Avoid “man” when referring
to men & women
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Avoid stereotyping jobs,
social roles by gender

Use names groups use to
identify themselves
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
Each time a surgeon walks
into the operating room,
he risks being sued for
malpractice.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
More effective:
Each time a surgeon walks
into the operating room,
he or she risks being sued
for malpractice.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
If a large comet struck the
Earth, it could destroy all
of mankind.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
More effective:
If a large comet struck the
Earth, it could destroy all
human life.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
Being a small businessman
in the current economic
climate is not easy.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
More effective:
Being a small
businessperson in the
current economic climate
is not easy.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Ineffective:
The Paralympics show
what handicapped people
can accomplish in the
athletic arena.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
More effective:
The Paralympics show
what people with
disabilities can accomplish
in the athletic arena.
McGraw-Hill Education ∙ The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition © 2015 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.