240 12.2 Using Words Well: speaker langUage and style
Use Simple Words
The best language is often the simplest. Your words should be immediately
understandable to your listeners. Don’t try to impress them with jargon and
pompous language. Instead, as linguist Paul Roberts advises,
Decide what you want to say and say it as vigorously as possible... and
in plain words.^5
In his classic essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell lists
rules for clear writing, including this prescription for simplicity:
Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a
word out, always cut it out. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word,
or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.^6
Make audio or video recordings of your practice sessions. As you review the
recording, listen for chances to express yourself with simpler and fewer words.
Used wisely, simple words evoke vivid images for your listeners and communi
cate with great power and precision.Use Words Correctly
I was listening to the car radio one day when a woman reading the
news referred to someone as a suedeointellectual. I pondered through
three traffic lights until I realized she wasn’t talking about shoes, but a
pseudointellectual.^7
A public speech is not the place to demonstrate your lack of familiarity with
English vocabulary and grammar. In fact, your effectiveness with your audience
depends in part on your ability to use the English language correctly. If you
are unsure of the way to apply a grammatical rule, seek assistance from a
good English usage handbook. If you are unsure of a word’s pronunciation or
meaning, use a dictionary. Major online dictionaries provide recordings of the
correct pronunciation of words.
Language operates on two levels, and perhaps the greatest challenge to
using words correctly is remaining aware of connotations as well as denotations.
Denotation The denotation of a word is its literal meaning, the definition
that you find in a dictionary. For example, the denotation of the word notorious
is “famous.”
Connotation The connotation of a word is not usually found in a diction
ary but it consists of the meaning we associate with the word, based on our
experiences. Notorious connotes fame resulting from some dire deed. Notorious
and famous are not really interchangeable. It is just as important to consider the
connotations of the words you use as it is to consider the denotations.
Sometimes connotations are personal. For example, the word table is defined
denotatively as a piece of furniture consisting of a smooth, flat slab affixed on