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What Are Speech Patterns and Why Do They Matter

In human interaction, speech serves as the primary conduit for expressing thoughts, emotions, and intentions. But have you ever paused to ponder why certain words, when uttered by different individuals resonate differently? 

The answer lies within "what are speech patterns"—a fundamental aspect of our communication that reflects the uniqueness of each person's voice, inflection, and rhythm. Understanding speech patterns is not just an academic exercise; it plays a pivotal role in enhancing the effectiveness of our communication in personal, professional, and creative contexts.

Speech Patterns Are Key to Creating Characters

Voice actors and other creative partners dive deep into the nuances of speech to bring characters to life. Each character, from the heroes of our favorite stories to the persuasive voices behind audio ads, possesses a unique speech pattern that defines their personality and backstory. These dynamic speech patterns are meticulously crafted, incorporating elements such as speech rate, emotive mood, and rare vocabulary to create a distinctive voice.

For instance, a character's speech pattern might reveal their early life experiences, regional variations, and the journey that has shaped their view of the world. This is why voice actors spend countless hours studying different speech patterns—they aim to convey a character's essence through the subtleties of their speech. The difference in speech patterns also enhances the diversity of characters within a story, making the narrative richer and more engaging.

Moreover, understanding and utilizing different organizational patterns can significantly affect the clarity and impact of a speech. Organizational patterns refer to the structure and sequence in which ideas are presented in spoken or written form. For actors, choosing the right speech pattern and organizational structure can mean the difference between a memorable performance and a forgettable one.

Organizational Patterns

Organizational patterns in speech are not just about the order of words but about how ideas are crafted and delivered to make a point clear and compelling. These patterns can be chronological, spatial, or based on the importance of the information presented. Each pattern serves a specific purpose and can dramatically enhance the speaker's ability to convey their message effectively.

• Chronological Order : This is often used in narratives or to describe events in the order they happened. It's straightforward and helps audience members follow the story or argument without confusion.
• Spatial Speech : This pattern organizes information based on location or direction. It's particularly useful in descriptive speeches where the arrangement of elements in space is relevant.
• Importance : Prioritizing information from most to least important (or vice versa) ensures that the main points hit home. It's effective in persuasive speeches where you aim to leave a strong impression on the audience.

What Are Some Ways to Describe Speech Patterns?

Describing speech patterns goes beyond simply recognizing a person's accent or vocabulary; it involves observing the intricate ways in which individuals express themselves through spoken language. These patterns can reveal a lot about someone's background, emotions, and even their intentions. Here are some aspects to consider:

Speech Rate

• The speed at which a person speaks can significantly affect how their message is received. A rapid speech rate might convey excitement or nervousness, while a slower rate could suggest thoughtfulness or uncertainty. Adjusting the speaking rate can also help to emphasize certain points or convey a particular mood.

Tone and Inflection

• The tone of voice expresses the speaker's attitude towards the subject or the audience. Inflection, or the variation in pitch, helps to convey meaning, indicate questions, or express emotion. Together, tone and inflection add color and texture to spoken words, making the speech more dynamic and engaging .

Stress and Rhythm

• Stress refers to the emphasis placed on certain syllables or words, which can change the meaning of a sentence or highlight specific points. The rhythm of speech—how these stresses form patterns—can make speech musical, persuasive, or authoritative.

Use of Language and Vocabulary

• The choice of words and how they are put together can reflect a speaker's education, background, and personality. The use of jargon, slang, or rare vocabulary can indicate a person's profession, age, or cultural identity.

Selecting an Organizational Pattern

Choosing the right organizational pattern for your speech is crucial for effective communication . The pattern you select should align with your objective and your audience's expectations. Here are a few strategies to help you decide:

• Understand Your Audience : The organization of your speech should cater to the interests and understanding level of your audience members. Consider their background, knowledge on the subject, and what they hope to gain from your speech.
• Define Your Purpose : Clearly define the goal of your speech. Are you informing, persuading, entertaining, or explaining? Your purpose will guide the selection of an organizational pattern that best suits your message.
• Consider the Content : Some topics naturally lend themselves to specific organizational patterns. For example, a speech about a historical event might fit a chronological pattern, while a presentation on a new product could benefit from a problem-solution structure.
• Practice and Feedbac k: Experiment with different organizational patterns in rehearsals and seek feedback from peers or mentors. The best approach to arrange your ideas can be learned by practicing your speech and watching how it is received.

Dynamic Speech Pattern: Captivating Your Audience

A dynamic speech pattern isn't just about varying your pitch or pace; it's about creating a captivating narrative flow that keeps your audience engaged from start to finish. This characteristic mode of speech involves integrating changes in tempo, volume, and emotiveness to reflect the nuances of your message.

For most people, a speech that ebbs and flows in response to the content and audience reaction is far more engaging than a monotonous delivery. This approach mirrors the natural dynamics of conversation, making your talk more relatable and memorable. It's not just about what you say but how you say it that can turn an ordinary speech into an extraordinary experience.

Furthermore, employing a dynamic speech pattern allows you to emphasize the main points of your speech effectively. By adjusting your vocal elements to highlight critical information, you create a roadmap for your audience, guiding them through your message with clear signposts. This technique not only enhances understanding but also makes your speech more persuasive, as the emphasized points are likely to stay with the audience long after your talk concludes.

Vocal Elements: The Essence of a Person's Speech

Vocal elements—such as tone, pitch, and volume—play a pivotal role in defining a person's speech pattern. These elements are the building blocks of communication, allowing individuals to convey emotions, intentions, and nuances beyond the mere words spoken. 

In informative speech, the strategic use of vocal elements can significantly enhance the delivery of complex information, making it more accessible and engaging for the audience. For instance, a slight change in tone can indicate the transition between different types, or sections, of content, helping listeners to follow along more easily.

Moreover, vocal elements can also reveal much about someone's life, personality, and emotional state. The way a person speaks—whether their voice is soft and measured or loud and brisk—can give listeners a sense of who they are and what they feel about the subject at hand. 

In media content, where visual cues might be limited, vocal elements become even more crucial in building character and setting the mood. Voice actors, in particular, rely on these nuances to breathe life into characters, using their voices to convey a range of emotions and reactions that define the character’s unique speech pattern.

Understanding Speech Patterns: The Path to Effective Communication

Speech patterns stand out as the threads that add color and texture to our conversations. They are not just markers of individuality but are essential tools for effective communication. From the dynamic ebb and flow of a captivating talk to the nuanced vocal elements that reveal the depth of a speaker's emotions and intentions, understanding speech patterns enriches our ability to connect with others.

By selecting the right organization pattern, we structure our ideas in a way that resonates with our audience, whether we're sharing a story, imparting knowledge, or inspiring action. In every word we speak, there lies an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. In exploring and embracing the diverse aspects of speech patterns, we unlock the potential to enhance our conversations, presentations, and storytelling, making every interaction more engaging, understandable, and memorable.

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Topical Speech Patterns: Uncovering Their Power and How to Use Them Effectively

We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting or speaking in front of a large group and you can feel the eyes on you. You know that the topic is important, your audience is listening intently, and then for a moment, your mind goes blank and your words fail you. Panic begins to take over, so you start speaking and your words come out jumbled and unfocused. The key to avoiding this situation is to unlock your topical speech patterns so you can speak with clarity and confidence . In this blog post, we’re going to look at how to develop a strong and fluid speech and identify general tips and tricks you can use to start speaking more confidently. First, we’ll look at how to find the right topics and determine which ones resonate the most with your audience. Then we’ll look at how to use logical arguments and related ideas to ensure a cohesive and fluid speech. Finally, we’ll discuss some helpful tools and techniques you can use to practice and hone your speech. By the end of this blog post, you should have a better understanding of how to unlock your topical speech patterns and become a better and more confident public speaker . Let’s get started!

Quick Insight

A topical speech pattern is a type of organizational structure used when preparing a speech . It involves arranging the ideas around a central topic or main point, which helps the speaker logically develop their points and keep the audience engaged.

Understanding Topical Speech Patterns

Understanding topical speech patterns helps to create clarity and confidence when speaking. A topical speech pattern is the way content is organized within a speech or presentation. In order to effectively communicate a message, understanding and incorporating effective topical patterns can be extremely beneficial. When structuring the content of a speech, it should follow a logical flow that will keep the audience engaged and attentive. This allows listeners to understand the message they are hearing, while also making it easier for the speaker to maintain clear thoughts. One of the most widely accepted topical speech patterns is called “ Abecedarian .” This topic structure begins by introducing a main idea or topic followed by sub-ideas or topics in alphabetical order. Additionally, this method can be used for large and small presentations and allows for easy navigation through a variety of topics. Another popular approach to organizing information into a topical pattern is called “ Chronological ”. This speaks for itself as it simply follows from one point in time to another—effectively allowing an audience to keep track of what has happened over time with respect to the particular topic. As its name implies, it has the power to fill up gaps in knowledge, especially when taking more complex considerations into account such as when discussing current events or historical landmarks. Overall, understanding how to organize topics into structured verbal forms while taking into consideration the context of certain conversations is key when speaking. It not only ensures the clarity and effectiveness of one’s words but allows them to develop confidence in their ability express themselves. Having now discussed different methods of understanding topical speech patterns, our next section describes how one can go about organizing ideas for a successful speech.

Most Important Summary Points

Topical speech patterns can help create clarity and confidence when speaking. Abecedarian is a popular pattern that involves introducing a main topic followed by sub-topics in alphabetical order. Chronological is another approach where topics are organized from one point in time to another. Organizing ideas into structured verbal forms and considering the context are key for successful speeches.

Organizing Ideas for a Speech

When preparing a speech, one of the most important steps is organizing the ideas in a logical way that conveys your point clearly and effectively. To do this you must familiarize yourself with the content of your speech, identify key points, develop supporting evidence , and choose an appropriate structure. Familiarizing Yourself with Content One of the first steps in organizing a speech is to become intimately familiar with the content. It starts with research and synthesis of the materials. As you are researching and reading, organize material into categories either through mental or physical notes. Break down complex topics or arguments so that it easier for your audience to comprehend them. Identifying Key Points Once you have done research and become well-acquainted with the content, move onto identifying key points that make up your argument. It is important to limit these key points to three to five points so they are easy to remember and follow. Prioritize these points according to strength; this allows you to focus resources where their effect will be greatest and ensure cohesiveness throughout your speech. Developing Supporting Evidence Developing supporting evidence builds credibility and enforces your argument’s relevance and power. Various pieces of evidence can be used such as quotes from authoritative sources, related statistics and facts, anecdotes, multimedia visuals and more. Utilize these pieces of evidence to explain, elaborate on and illustrate your argument’s importance without drastically changing the flow of an argument. Choosing an Appropriate Structure The structure or outline of a speech is paramount for effectively communicating one’s point(s). Choosing an appropriate structure ensures that each notion flows smoothly from one point to the next, outlines how all points contribute to an overall statement or argument, reinforces repetition for main points, clarifies any assumptions made mid-speech, adheres to a timeline, and so much more. Popular structures for speeches include chronological order, order of importance or spatial/geographical pecking order . Deciding which organization style works best depends on varying factors such as technicality of topic being discussed, time allotted for presentation, method(s) used for presentation (visuals), language proficiency among audience members as well as cultural considerations unique to each situation among many other factors. Cautious curation of these elements results in clear communication no matter the environment one finds oneself in when presenting said ideas; this subsequently provides ample opportunity for compelling presentations with vivid imagery and narrative drive whose impact resonates with both intellects and emotions alike. Now that we’ve discussed how to organize ideas within our speech let’s move onto identifying the main points – the backbone on which our argument stands firm – in the next section.

Identifying the Main Points

When preparing a speech , it is essential to identify the main points that should be comprised within the speech. The main points should be clear and concise, yet comprehensive enough to provide thorough information. A speech can typically include an introduction , body and conclusion. When identifying the main points for the introduction, think of what would be most pertinent for the audience to consider. Keep in mind what matters most to the specific audience being addressed. Be sure to include facts or relevant experiences that may attribute to the topic at hand. This will stimulate engagement from attendees and identify why the topic is important. For the body of a speech, each point should align with one another and emphasize on a unique portion of what’s being discussed. It’s important to remember to back up points with credible data and other testimonials. Providing evidence not only makes a speech more trustworthy, but allows it to be easily understood by all listeners. Additionally, leave room for any sort of discussion or questions that people may have during this portion of your presentation. Lastly, when summarizing conclusions with key takeaways, consider ways in which everyone who listened can translate what’s been shared into actionable advice or tasks. By including simple yet impactful tips or steps throughout your speech you can leave people with a lasting impression on your topic and further emphasize its significance. Overall, establishing those main points is a crucial aspect when creating an effective and successful topical speech that people witness and understand. Once you’ve identified the main points of your presentation, it’s time to connect ideas using appropriate transition phrases.

Connecting Ideas with Appropriate Transition Phrases

Transition phrases help to facilitate the flow of speech and provide listeners with a greater understanding of the speaker’s ideas. When crafting an effective speech, speakers should be mindful of their use of connecting words and phrases in order to maintain clarity and cohesion. Utilizing transition phrases can help to link the concepts discussed throughout a speech and form an organized, logical argument. Furthermore, choosing appropriate transition words allows the speaker to tailor their material to the size and complexity of the intended audience. Using appropriate connecting words is essential for providing clear and concise communication. Appropriate transition words indicate to the audience that the speaker understands how one topic relates to another. Additionally, certain types of transitions can add emphasis or emotion to a sentiment being expressed by the speaker; for example, phrases such as “in addition” or “moreover” follow up a statement whereas “for instance” provides further explanation and clarity. Whether directing debate between two sides or simply giving an individual presentation, using appropriate transition phrases is critical for speaking with clarity and confidence. Connecting with leading language helps put the listener at ease and confirms that speaker is both knowledgeable and prepared. This can assist with gaining respect from an audience, who will note an individual’s ability to eloquently string together ideas from thought-to-thought within a discussion or presentation. Finally, it important for speakers to be conscious of how they select their transitioning words within a longer timeframe as some phrases may become repetitive. Therefore, selecting different options when transitioning topics while addressing a longer timeframe can hold people’s attention more easily than returning to similar loanwords again and again throughout longer speeches or presentations. Moving onto the next section, this article will discuss adapting one’s speech for a longer timeframe.

Adapting Your Speech for a Longer Timeframe

Delivering a speech or presentation can be daunting, especially if it is going to last more than a few minutes . When speaking in front of an audience for an extended period of time, it is important to keep them engaged and make sure the energy level stays high. Here are some strategies that can help you a speaker successfully adapt their speech to a longer timeframe. First, long speeches can seem overwhelming, so consider breaking your presentation into multiple sections. This will allow you to focus on one topic at a time and make the overall structure easier for the audience to understand. Additionally, adding videos, photos, diagrams, or other visuals can enhance understanding without requiring too much additional effort from the speaker. Second, don’t forget to stay active throughout the entire presentation. Move around the stage or use gestures and facial expressions to emphasize key points. Ask questions of the audience and incorporate interactive activities when appropriate. Doing so will help keep everyone engaged and increase participation in the discussion. Third, vary your tone and delivery style as you talk about different topics. Use rich language to describe stories or anecdotes that illustrate your point. Show enthusiasm when sharing ideas or discussing statistics that may otherwise appear boring or mundane. By following these tips, speakers can ensure that their longer speeches remain engaging and interesting throughout every stage of their presentation. Finally, don’t forget to plan time for breaks between sections or even short pauses in mid-sentence to change topics or provide perspective changes. This will give both the speaker and audience a chance to rest and refocus before moving onto the next subject matter. With these strategies in hand, presenters can boost both their confidence and capabilities when giving longer speeches with more clarity and poise. Now that we have talked about adapting your speech for a longer timeframe let’s move on to the importance of keeping audiences engaged throughout these extended presentations – which will be discussed in the next section.

Keeping Audiences Engaged

When delivering a topical speech, it is important to keep your audience engaged . Engagement is key to ensure that the audience stays attentive and interested in the topic being discussed. To do this effectively, speakers can choose to engage their audience through various activities and techniques. One way to keep an audience engaged is to break up longer presentations with interactive activities. This can be done by involving the audience in a discussion, inviting them to participate in quizzes or games, or incorporating brief group exercises into your presentation. Incorporating interactive activities not only gives the audience something engaging to do, but it also helps break up the monotony of a long speech, allowing the speaker to reset their thoughts and continue on with a refreshed approach. Another way to keep an audience engaged is to use stories or anecdotes rather than simply presenting facts and figures. Storytelling allows speakers to gain their audience’s attention and provide another layer of depth and emotion to the topic being presented. Therefore, it can be especially useful when trying to convey certain emotions or feelings that are difficult for others to connect with. Finally, using multimedia elements such as videos and music can also be effective in keeping an audience engaged. These multimedia tools provide additional visuals for audiences to follow along with as well as providing a break from more traditional presentations styles. By incorporating one or more of these activities into a speech, speakers can keep their audiences engaged while ensuring they stay focused on the topic at hand. From here, they can then move onto the next section which will focus on “Sticking to Your Argument”

Sticking to Your Argument

When constructing an argument, it is important to stay focused on the point of the argument and avoid getting sidetracked. During a topical speech , speakers should strive to make logical and consistent arguments by staying on topic, avoiding conjecture or opinion. It is important to remember that while some debate or discussion can enhance a speech, making personal attacks or presenting information without a clear purpose can weaken a speaker’s argument. For those looking to debate or counter an opposing point of view, it is essential to acknowledge that there may be two sides to every argument. When presenting both sides of the story, speakers should acknowledge any points of agreement within each side but remain balanced in their presentation, so that they don’t inadvertently alienate members of either viewpoint. Ultimately, the goal should be to clearly lay out both sides of the argument objectively and logically and then defend the speaker’s point of view. In order for a speaker’s audience to follow their argument, it is crucial for them to stay on target throughout their presentation. To ensure that this remains the case, many speakers find it beneficial to form an outline with specific talking points in mind prior to delivering their speech. By having a plan in place before commencing the dialogue and periodically reminding themselves about their main arguments as they go along, speakers will better able able to maintain focus and clarity throughout their address. By utilizing these strategies for sticking to an argument throughout their presentation, topical speakers can feel more confident presenting their ideas with conviction and clarity. Now let’s take a look at tips for focusing on the topic at hand during a topical speech.

Tips for Focusing on the Topic

When it comes to speaking, it’s important to focus on the topic at hand. Focusing on the topic allows the speaker to stay on track, be concise and organized, and ensure that the presentation stays engaging and informative. There are several tips for focusing on topics during a speech or presentation. First, it is important to create an outline or roadmap of what will be discussed so as not to ramble off onto too many tangents. If there is a time limit for the presentation then, this is also important for ensuring that enough material is covered within the allotted timeframe. Second, it is essential to practice ahead of time. By practicing out loud, with others, and in front of a mirror if necessary, the speaker can become more comfortable speaking on the topic before presenting to an audience. Through preparation and repetition, the presenter can stay focused and organized. Third, when speaking in front of a large crowd it can be helpful to imagine having a conversation with one person instead of addressing a room full of people. This encourages eye contact , direct delivery, and being able to rely on natural pauses throughout the discussion instead of feeling pressured to fill silence in an uncomfortable way. Lastly, make sure to end with a strong conclusion that ties back into the main points from the beginning of the presentation or speech. This allows for closure on the topic but also ensures that all presented material was concisely covered. By following these tips for focusing on topics during speeches or presentations, speakers can keep their audiences engaged and well informed. For each section or paragraph it’s also useful for speakers to ask themselves if what they’re saying is in line with the overall message being addressed and if it’s absolutely necessary for clarification on what was presented prior. Ultimately this helps keep speakers grounded while they explore their subject matter without getting off track too often while still providing valuable information and entertainment value. To conclude this section, it’s essential that speakers focus on staying organized and knowledgeable no matter their skill level when presenting any material publicly — whether it’s a formal assembly or an informal meeting with peers. With clarity and confidence these tricks help maintain topically sound speeches that leave audiences satisfied with what was communicated. With effective topical speeches delivered effectively comes successful conclusions – which leads us into our next section: “Conclusion”.

Public speaking can be a nerve wracking endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Following the strategies outlined in this article can help unlock your topical speech patterns and enable you to better articulate your point of view . Clarity and confidence are key components of great public speaking, and understanding how to achieve them is essential. By focusing on the language you use, using storytelling techniques, having a clear structure, keeping your purpose at the forefront of your mind, and effectively dealing with objections, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an incredibly powerful speaker. Haivng clarity and confidence when it comes to public speaking can open up endless opportunities for you. You may find new job or educational opportunities coming your way as a result of gains in oratory ability . On the whole, it’s clear that putting effort into honing one’s public speaking abilities can have lasting positive effects. However, there is still benefit to be had from being more spontaneous when giving speeches—this can lead to more emotionally engaging talks from listeners’ perspectives. Additionally, depending on what type of presentation you’re doing, it may make sense to play off audience reactions in real-time and tailor your talk accordingly—something that a scripted speech likely won’t allow for. Ultimately, the best course of action will depend upon the nature of the event you’re presenting at and who your target audience is. In conclusion, no matter how nervous or uncomfortable with public speaking one might feel initially, honing their skillset in this area will bring far-reaching positive benefits if done consistently over time. With dedicated practice and by utilizing all the methods mentioned in this article, anyone can become an effective topical speaker capable of captivating their audience through both clarity and confidence in their delivery.

Common Questions and Answers

How is a topical speech pattern strategically employed in public speaking.

A topical speech pattern is a way of organizing information and ideas around a particular topic or idea. It is commonly used in public speaking to establish a clear structure and logic for a presentation. By setting up this structure, the speaker can better communicate their message to the audience, as well as emphasize key points. For example, one could use a topical speech pattern to discuss the various causes and effects of climate change, starting with broad causes and gradually moving towards more specific effects. This organized flow helps listeners understand the information presented and make informed decisions. Additionally, a topical speech pattern can be strategically employed in public speaking to appeal to certain audiences or support certain argumentative points; by choosing relevant topics and framing them within an organized structure, speakers can more easily make an impactful impression on their audience.

What techniques can be incorporated into a topical speech pattern?

Techniques that can be incorporated into a topical speech pattern include being well-prepared, knowing your audience , using strong body language, avoiding large volumes of text, and providing clear examples to support points. Being prepared is a key factor in delivering any speech. Before writing the speech, you should research the topic thoroughly so that your speeches have the potential to sound informed and professional. Knowing your audience is also important for delivering a successful presentation. Understanding who you are speaking to helps tailor the message to their interests and experiences and allows for more meaningful dialogue between the speaker and the audience. Using strong body language such as eye contact, appropriate gestures, posture, and facial expressions can also be beneficial for engaging with an audience. These tools help bring the speech alive and create an atmosphere of attentiveness from the audience. It is essential to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much text when giving a speech . Keep it succinct by focusing on key points and using visuals to support complex ideas, rather than relying too heavily on words. Finally, providing clear examples is an effective technique to guarantee the audience understands your point better. Providing examples gives them a better perspective of what your intended message is while helping you stay on track during the presentation.

Are there any specific examples of a topical speech pattern used in a successful speech?

Yes, there are several examples of topical speech patterns that have been used in successful speeches over the years. For example, former United States President John F. Kennedy’s iconic inaugural address focused on committing to public service and was an excellent example of how to effectively use a topical pattern. Kennedy began his speech by discussing the state of the world at the time and then proceeded to outline his personal commitment to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe” for the greater good of mankind. Opening with such a powerful statement set the tone for the rest of his speech which highlighted many different topical issues he wanted to discuss. Another exemplary example of a topical speech pattern is civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. In this instance King started by reflecting on the country’s history and how far they had come while still acknowledging how much further they needed to go. He went on to introduce his vision for an equal future which was supported through poignant examples addressing various current issues including racism and segregation. This persuasive example of using a topical pattern inspired listeners across the world and greatly contributed towards social change during one of America’s most consequential moments. These two examples demonstrate how employing a topical approach in public speaking can be effective at conveying powerful ideas and inspiring others. The messages in both speeches still resonate today and remind us just how important it is to learn how to successfully use this method when crafting a meaningful presentation or dialogue.

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10.2 Using Common Organizing Patterns

Learning objectives.

• Differentiate among the common speech organizational patterns: categorical/topical, comparison/contrast, spatial, chronological, biographical, causal, problem-cause-solution, and psychological.
• Understand how to choose the best organizational pattern, or combination of patterns, for a specific speech.

Twentyfour Students – Organization makes you flow – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Previously in this chapter we discussed how to make your main points flow logically. This section is going to provide you with a number of organization patterns to help you create a logically organized speech. The first organization pattern we’ll discuss is categorical/topical.

Categorical/Topical

By far the most common pattern for organizing a speech is by categories or topics. The categories function as a way to help the speaker organize the message in a consistent fashion. The goal of a categorical/topical speech pattern is to create categories (or chunks) of information that go together to help support your original specific purpose. Let’s look at an example.

In this case, we have a speaker trying to persuade a group of high school juniors to apply to attend Generic University. To persuade this group, the speaker has divided the information into three basic categories: what it’s like to live in the dorms, what classes are like, and what life is like on campus. Almost anyone could take this basic speech and specifically tailor the speech to fit her or his own university or college. The main points in this example could be rearranged and the organizational pattern would still be effective because there is no inherent logic to the sequence of points. Let’s look at a second example.

In this speech, the speaker is talking about how to find others online and date them. Specifically, the speaker starts by explaining what Internet dating is; then the speaker talks about how to make Internet dating better for her or his audience members; and finally, the speaker ends by discussing some negative aspects of Internet dating. Again, notice that the information is chunked into three categories or topics and that the second and third could be reversed and still provide a logical structure for your speech

Comparison/Contrast

Another method for organizing main points is the comparison/contrast speech pattern . While this pattern clearly lends itself easily to two main points, you can also create a third point by giving basic information about what is being compared and what is being contrasted. Let’s look at two examples; the first one will be a two-point example and the second a three-point example.

If you were using the comparison/contrast pattern for persuasive purposes, in the preceding examples, you’d want to make sure that when you show how Drug X and Drug Y differ, you clearly state why Drug X is clearly the better choice for physicians to adopt. In essence, you’d want to make sure that when you compare the two drugs, you show that Drug X has all the benefits of Drug Y, but when you contrast the two drugs, you show how Drug X is superior to Drug Y in some way.

The spatial speech pattern organizes information according to how things fit together in physical space. This pattern is best used when your main points are oriented to different locations that can exist independently. The basic reason to choose this format is to show that the main points have clear locations. We’ll look at two examples here, one involving physical geography and one involving a different spatial order.

If you look at a basic map of the United States, you’ll notice that these groupings of states were created because of their geographic location to one another. In essence, the states create three spatial territories to explain.

Now let’s look at a spatial speech unrelated to geography.

In this example, we still have three basic spatial areas. If you look at a model of the urinary system, the first step is the kidney, which then takes waste through the ureters to the bladder, which then relies on the sphincter muscle to excrete waste through the urethra. All we’ve done in this example is create a spatial speech order for discussing how waste is removed from the human body through the urinary system. It is spatial because the organization pattern is determined by the physical location of each body part in relation to the others discussed.

Chronological

The chronological speech pattern places the main idea in the time order in which items appear—whether backward or forward. Here’s a simple example.

In this example, we’re looking at the writings of Winston Churchill in relation to World War II (before, during, and after). By placing his writings into these three categories, we develop a system for understanding this material based on Churchill’s own life. Note that you could also use reverse chronological order and start with Churchill’s writings after World War II, progressing backward to his earliest writings.

Biographical

As you might guess, the biographical speech pattern is generally used when a speaker wants to describe a person’s life—either a speaker’s own life, the life of someone they know personally, or the life of a famous person. By the nature of this speech organizational pattern, these speeches tend to be informative or entertaining; they are usually not persuasive. Let’s look at an example.

In this example, we see how Brian Warner, through three major periods of his life, ultimately became the musician known as Marilyn Manson.

In this example, these three stages are presented in chronological order, but the biographical pattern does not have to be chronological. For example, it could compare and contrast different periods of the subject’s life, or it could focus topically on the subject’s different accomplishments.

The causal speech pattern is used to explain cause-and-effect relationships. When you use a causal speech pattern, your speech will have two basic main points: cause and effect. In the first main point, typically you will talk about the causes of a phenomenon, and in the second main point you will then show how the causes lead to either a specific effect or a small set of effects. Let’s look at an example.

In this case, the first main point is about the history and prevalence of drinking alcohol among Native Americans (the cause). The second point then examines the effects of Native American alcohol consumption and how it differs from other population groups.

However, a causal organizational pattern can also begin with an effect and then explore one or more causes. In the following example, the effect is the number of arrests for domestic violence.

In this example, the possible causes for the difference might include stricter law enforcement, greater likelihood of neighbors reporting an incident, and police training that emphasizes arrests as opposed to other outcomes. Examining these possible causes may suggest that despite the arrest statistic, the actual number of domestic violence incidents in your city may not be greater than in other cities of similar size.

Problem-Cause-Solution

Another format for organizing distinct main points in a clear manner is the problem-cause-solution speech pattern . In this format you describe a problem, identify what you believe is causing the problem, and then recommend a solution to correct the problem.

In this speech, the speaker wants to persuade people to pass a new curfew for people under eighteen. To help persuade the civic group members, the speaker first shows that vandalism and violence are problems in the community. Once the speaker has shown the problem, the speaker then explains to the audience that the cause of this problem is youth outside after 10:00 p.m. Lastly, the speaker provides the mandatory 10:00 p.m. curfew as a solution to the vandalism and violence problem within the community. The problem-cause-solution format for speeches generally lends itself to persuasive topics because the speaker is asking an audience to believe in and adopt a specific solution.

Psychological

A further way to organize your main ideas within a speech is through a psychological speech pattern in which “a” leads to “b” and “b” leads to “c.” This speech format is designed to follow a logical argument, so this format lends itself to persuasive speeches very easily. Let’s look at an example.

In this speech, the speaker starts by discussing how humor affects the body. If a patient is exposed to humor (a), then the patient’s body actually physiologically responds in ways that help healing (b—e.g., reduces stress, decreases blood pressure, bolsters one’s immune system, etc.). Because of these benefits, nurses should engage in humor use that helps with healing (c).

Selecting an Organizational Pattern

Each of the preceding organizational patterns is potentially useful for organizing the main points of your speech. However, not all organizational patterns work for all speeches. For example, as we mentioned earlier, the biographical pattern is useful when you are telling the story of someone’s life. Some other patterns, particularly comparison/contrast, problem-cause-solution, and psychological, are well suited for persuasive speaking. Your challenge is to choose the best pattern for the particular speech you are giving.

You will want to be aware that it is also possible to combine two or more organizational patterns to meet the goals of a specific speech. For example, you might wish to discuss a problem and then compare/contrast several different possible solutions for the audience. Such a speech would thus be combining elements of the comparison/contrast and problem-cause-solution patterns. When considering which organizational pattern to use, you need to keep in mind your specific purpose as well as your audience and the actual speech material itself to decide which pattern you think will work best.

Key Takeaway

• Speakers can use a variety of different organizational patterns, including categorical/topical, comparison/contrast, spatial, chronological, biographical, causal, problem-cause-solution, and psychological. Ultimately, speakers must really think about which organizational pattern best suits a specific speech topic.
• Imagine that you are giving an informative speech about your favorite book. Which organizational pattern do you think would be most useful? Why? Would your answer be different if your speech goal were persuasive? Why or why not?
• Working on your own or with a partner, develop three main points for a speech designed to persuade college students to attend your university. Work through the preceding organizational patterns and see which ones would be possible choices for your speech. Which organizational pattern seems to be the best choice? Why?
• Use one of the common organizational patterns to create three main points for your next speech.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Home » SEL Implementation » Exploring the Meaning Behind Everyday Speech Patterns

Exploring the Meaning Behind Everyday Speech Patterns

Key takeaways:.

• Understanding everyday speech patterns is crucial for effective communication and social-emotional learning.
• Speech patterns reflect emotions, thoughts, and beliefs, shaping how we express ourselves.
• Everyday speech patterns encompass tone of voice, volume, speed, pauses, word choice, metaphors, idioms, and cultural influences.

Introduction: Exploring the Meaning Behind Everyday Speech Patterns

Welcome to my blog! In today’s post, we will delve into the fascinating world of everyday speech patterns and uncover the hidden meanings behind them. Understanding these patterns is crucial for effective communication and social-emotional learning. So let’s dive in!

I. Introduction

A. Importance of understanding everyday speech patterns

Everyday speech patterns play a vital role in our daily interactions. They provide insights into our emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. By understanding these patterns, we can navigate social situations more effectively and build stronger connections with others.

B. How speech patterns reflect our emotions and thoughts

Our speech patterns are not just a string of words; they are a reflection of our inner world. The way we speak, the tone we use, and the words we choose all convey our emotions and thoughts. By paying attention to these patterns, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.

C. Overview of the blog post

In this blog post, we will explore what everyday speech patterns are, decipher their meanings, and understand their impact on social interactions. We will also discuss strategies for developing self-awareness of our own speech patterns and enhancing social-emotional learning through effective communication.

II. What are everyday speech patterns?

A. Definition and explanation

Everyday speech patterns refer to the way we speak in our daily lives. They encompass various aspects such as tone of voice, volume, speed of speech, use of pauses, hesitations, word choice, vocabulary, metaphors, idioms, and cultural influences. These patterns are deeply ingrained in our communication style and shape how we express ourselves.

B. Examples of common speech patterns

Common speech patterns include using phrases like “you know,” “um,” or “like” as fillers, speaking in a fast-paced manner when excited, or using specific idioms and metaphors to convey meaning. These patterns can vary across cultures and regions, adding richness and diversity to our conversations.

C. How speech patterns differ across cultures and regions

Speech patterns are influenced by cultural norms, regional dialects, and individual experiences. For example, in some cultures, direct communication is valued, while in others, indirect communication is preferred. Understanding these differences is essential for effective cross-cultural communication and building cultural competence.

III. The meaning behind speech patterns

A. How speech patterns convey emotions

1. Tone of voice and intonation

Our tone of voice and intonation can convey a wide range of emotions, such as anger, excitement, sadness, or sarcasm. For example, a high-pitched and fast-paced tone may indicate enthusiasm, while a monotone voice may suggest boredom or disinterest.

2. Volume and speed of speech

The volume and speed at which we speak can also reveal our emotional state. Speaking loudly and quickly may indicate excitement or urgency, while speaking softly and slowly may indicate calmness or sadness.

3. Use of pauses and hesitations

The use of pauses and hesitations can add depth and meaning to our speech. Pausing before a significant point can create suspense, while hesitations can indicate uncertainty or the need to gather one’s thoughts.

B. How speech patterns reflect thoughts and beliefs

1. Word choice and vocabulary

The words we choose and the vocabulary we use reflect our thoughts, beliefs, and level of education. For example, someone who frequently uses technical jargon may be knowledgeable in a specific field, while someone who uses simple language may prioritize clarity and accessibility.

2. Use of metaphors and idioms

Metaphors and idioms are powerful tools for conveying meaning and cultural understanding. They can add depth and richness to our speech, but they can also be misinterpreted if not understood within the appropriate cultural context.

3. Cultural and social influences on speech patterns

Our speech patterns are influenced by the culture and society we grow up in. They shape our communication style, values, and beliefs. Being aware of these influences can help us navigate intercultural communication and foster understanding and respect.

IV. Understanding the impact of speech patterns on social interactions

A. Importance of effective communication

Effective communication is the foundation of healthy relationships and successful interactions. By understanding the impact of speech patterns, we can enhance our communication skills and build stronger connections with others.

B. How speech patterns can enhance or hinder social connections

Speech patterns can either enhance or hinder social connections depending on how they are used. Clear and empathetic communication can foster trust and understanding, while miscommunication or the use of offensive language can damage relationships.

C. Strategies for improving communication through speech patterns

To improve communication through speech patterns, we can practice active listening, be mindful of our tone and body language, use clear and concise language, and adapt our communication style to the needs of others. It is also important to be open to feedback and continuously strive for self-improvement.

V. Developing self-awareness of speech patterns

A. Recognizing our own speech patterns

Developing self-awareness of our speech patterns begins with recognizing how we speak. Pay attention to the words, phrases, and patterns you frequently use in your conversations. This awareness can help you identify areas for improvement and growth.

B. Reflecting on the meaning behind our speech patterns

Once you recognize your speech patterns, take time to reflect on their meaning. Consider how your tone, choice of words, and cultural influences shape your communication style. This reflection can deepen your understanding of yourself and others.

C. Identifying areas for improvement and growth

Identify areas for improvement and growth in your speech patterns. Are there any patterns that may hinder effective communication or create misunderstandings? Set goals for yourself and actively work towards developing more effective and empathetic communication skills.

VI. Enhancing social emotional learning through speech patterns

A. How speech patterns contribute to self-awareness

By paying attention to our speech patterns, we can develop a greater sense of self-awareness. Understanding how our speech reflects our emotions and thoughts allows us to better understand ourselves and regulate our emotions.

B. Using speech patterns to express emotions effectively

Speech patterns provide us with a powerful tool for expressing our emotions effectively. By consciously choosing our words, tone, and body language, we can communicate our feelings in a clear and respectful manner, fostering healthy emotional expression.

C. Building empathy and understanding through speech patterns

Speech patterns also play a crucial role in building empathy and understanding. By listening attentively to others’ speech patterns and being open to different perspectives, we can develop a deeper understanding of their emotions, thoughts, and experiences.

VII. Conclusion

A. Recap of key points discussed

In this blog post, we explored the meaning behind everyday speech patterns. We discussed how speech patterns reflect our emotions and thoughts, the impact of speech patterns on social interactions, and strategies for developing self-awareness and enhancing social emotional learning through effective communication.

B. Encouragement to explore and reflect on everyday speech patterns

I encourage you to take the time to explore and reflect on your own everyday speech patterns. Pay attention to the meaning behind your words and how they impact your interactions with others. This self-reflection can lead to personal growth and improved communication skills.

C. Importance of incorporating social emotional learning in daily life

Social-emotional learning is a lifelong journey that can greatly enhance our personal and professional relationships. By incorporating social emotional learning into our daily lives, we can foster empathy, understanding, and effective communication.

Where Can I Find More Resources on Understanding Everyday Speech Patterns?

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Speaking Clearly With Common Speech Patterns

Last week I asked this question:

What is the purpose of language?

Most of the messages I got were pretty correct.

Answers like:

• To express ourselves.
• To communicate with others.
• To tell people what we can and should do

And all of these are true. There are a couple more reasons that we could add, such as building relationships.

Overall, the main purpose of language is to give us a means to communicate with others.

So, if language is all about the message and communication, it’s really important that you communicate clearly.

Afterall, you don’t want people to misunderstand you when you’re delivering an important message.

Being clear when you write and talk, isn’t about having a huge vocabulary, knowing hundreds of idioms or having the best teacher.

It’s about using language which everyone understands.

The good news is this: many English speakers use common speech patterns when they speak.

When you know these patterns well enough, you’ll be able to use them automatically, and as a result, you’ll be able to communicate your messages clearly.

Finding these common speech patterns can take a lot of time. You need to become a kind of language researcher and analyse a large number of texts.

But in the end, it’s worth it because you’ll be speaking much clearer and easier than before.

But not everyone has the time and the knowledge to analyse conversations.

That’s why in my program, The Difference , I do the hard researching for you.

I analyse conversations and give you the language to learn. All you need to do is practise it.

Along the way, I’ll also be teaching you effective ways to study, practise and research, so that you can become an all-round better English speaker.

Are you ready to take the next step?

Here’s the link:

https://englishforstudy.com/ join-the-difference/

English For Study

Ps. Today’s been a bit of a crazy day… I’ll tell you about after I get some rest.

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12 Organizing a Speech and Harnessing the Power of Three

 A designer knows he or she has achieved perfection, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. – Nolan Haims, Presentation Coach

also attributed to Antoine de Saint-Exupery

When it comes to speeches there are many formulas for how to present. Once you pick your topic, it is helpful to decide which formula works for you and use it from the start. Sure, you could wing it, but when you run into trouble, you will most likely find yourself seeking out a formula, so it just makes sense to start with an organization plan. Since this is an advanced class, I will review the basics and then talk about ways to take your speech organization to the next level by harnessing the power of three.

Staples of Most Speeches

Every math class I have ever taken starts off with reviewing the basics. Once we review the basics (fractions and decimals) and everyone has a strong foundation, then the class can work on the advanced items. I want to start off by reviewing the basics before we move on to the advanced.

Dale Carnegie wrote, “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you just told them.” By this, he didn’t mean being senselessly repetitive, but rather he wanted speakers to set up the framework for their speech, tell the audience the main points, and then recap the points.

The basic formula for most speeches follows this pattern:

Grabber/Hook: A statement to get the audience’s attention. Preview/Big Idea/T hesis statement. This statement is an overview of what the speech is about. Credibility Statement: Why should the audience listen to you talk about this? Why are you credible on this topic? Many, but not all speeches, need this. So-What-Who-Cares Statement : A statement telling your audience why this topic suits this audience and this occasion. This can be achieved as a statement, or it can be sprinkled throughout. Transitions / Signposts : Statements that move the audience from one idea to the next. Body of Speech: Main points of your speech with transitions between main ideas. Review: Summary of the speech. Closure/Cincher : A series of statements that provide closure.

Audiences Will Listen According to Their Understanding of Your Credibility

One important thing to think about when building your speech is how you will build your credibility with the audience. If an audience doesn’t think you are credible, they will listen with suspicion, or they won’t listen at all. In speechmaking, there are three types of credibility–initial, derived, and terminal. Initial credibility is the credibility you have before you start to speak. It comes from any preexisting knowledge they have about you as a speaker, it comes from the way you are introduced, and it comes from the way your presentation was advertised. Next, there is derived credibility–credibility stemming from what you say during your speech, how you present yourself during the speech, and how you manage visuals during the speech. Finally, there is terminal credibility– credibility that you have at the end of the speech. Terminal credibility stems from what they think of how you managed yourself and your topic.

We live in a world where many speakers are “googled”, and their credibility is examined before they ever come in contact with their audience. When I train new teachers, I always have them google their names and see what comes up. To make a strong point, I have them open up their social media with someone else in the room. Once they have their profile pulled up, I ask them to hand their phone to the person next to them. I ask, “If a student looks at your public profiles and your social media, what will they think of you as a teacher?” New teachers are often shocked to think of students looking them up but that is the reality. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or a business professional, you need to be aware that people are looking online and using what they find there to determine your initial credibility.

(Now is a good time to pause and “google” your name and look into your social media to think about your credibility). 

So, what makes up your credibility?  According to communication researchers McCroskey and Teven, credibility is one part competence, one part trustworthiness, and one part goodwill.   Competence is how much an audience member perceives you to be knowledgeable and an expert on the topic. You can boost your competence by using research, by having clear, organized ideas, and by clearly, articulating your ideas. Audiences are quick to form opinions and they are constantly evaluating your honesty and trustworthiness.  If an audience deems you untrustworthy, every word out of your mouth will be seen as suspect. Finally, the audience evaluates your caring and goodwill. An audience wants to feel like you have their best intentions in mind. Audiences place a high priority on goodwill.

There are several ways to build your credibility with the audience. You can have someone introduce you who tells the audience why you are speaking on the subject. You can find ways to connect with the audience, so they trust you.  The more a speaker shows that they understand and recognize the audience’s feelings, the closer the audience will feel towards the speaker. Demonstrating enthusiasm and passion, managing content respectfully, and showing an awareness of situational factors all can enhance credibility.

Mind the Gap

When mapping out your speech, you should always mind the GAP–goal, audience, and parameters. Always remember what the goal of the speech is, who the audience will be, and what parameters are set by the location, the time limit, and the setting.

Minding the Gap is covered in detail in the chapter on the audience. 

Rules for Effective Communication

Frank Lunz, political advisor, and author of Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear, advises politicians of these key components to be an effective communicator.

• Simplicity:   Keep the language appropriate for the audience. It is usually better to assume they do not know and explain all terms than it is to leave them with words they don’t understand.
• Brevity: People have limited attention spans so be aware of the speech time. It is better to have fewer points than to have too many points.
• Credibility: People will listen to you to the degree of trust that they have in you.
• Consistency : Make sure what you say agrees with other things you have said. In other words, people look to the context of your life and other messages to interpret what you are saying. It is not uncommon for audience members to “google” a speaker before, during, and after a speech to see if they are trustworthy and consistent with what they say in their speech and in other places.
• Novelty: Find ways to grab attention and stand out.
• Sound and texture: Creative use of words will help attract and hold the audience’s attention. 
• Aspiration: Help the audience reflect on how your message taps into them and their goals and dreams. Help them to see more and be more.
• Visualization: Paint vivid pictures with your words to help the audience visualize the story or the outcome.
• Questioning: Turn some statements into questions to engage the audience.
• Context and Relevance: Tell the audience why your speech should matter to them.

Organizing Your Ideas

Nancy Duarte, speech coach was asked, “What’s the best way to start creating a presentation?” Her reply was as follows:

My best advice is to not start in PowerPoint. Presentation tools force you to think through information linearly, and you really need to start by thinking of the whole instead of the individual lines. I encourage people to use 3×5 note cards or sticky notes — write one idea per note. I tape mine up on the wall and then study them. Then I arrange them and rearrange them — just work and work until the structure feels sound.

Finding the Organizational Structure That is Right for You

To help your travelers understand what is needed to achieve your vision, articulate where you need them to move from and where you need them to move to. Then make everything in your speech support that transformation. ―  Nancy Duarte, Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols

In a study published in Speech Monographs , researchers found that audiences who listened to an unorganized speech were more likely to lose interest. It makes sense that if the speaker is jumping around that we quit trying to follow the message. It also makes sense that their study found that it was harder for audiences to recall the speech information from a disorganized speech. Finally, it is no surprise that disorganized speakers were judged less persuasive and less credible. To maximize the effectiveness of your speech, to make your speech more memorable, and to be seen as more credible,  you should use an organized speech pattern.

There are many different formulas for how to organize your speech and I am including a list of the most common structures for you to consider.  As a useful activity, you might want to go down the list and figure out how your speech could fit into each of the patterns before you settle on the one that works for you.

  When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward. If you frame the talk as a journey, the biggest decisions are figuring out where to start and where to end. To find the right place to start, consider what people in the audience already know about your subject—and how much they care about it. If you assume they have more knowledge or interest than they do, or if you start using jargon or get too technical, you’ll lose them. The most engaging speakers do a superb job of very quickly introducing the topic, explaining why they care so deeply about it, and convincing the audience members that they should, too. The biggest problem I see in first drafts of presentations is that they try to cover too much ground. You can’t summarize an entire career in a single talk. If you try to cram in everything you know, you won’t have time to include key details, and your talk will disappear into abstract language that may make sense if your listeners are familiar with the subject matter but will be completely opaque if they’re new to it. You need specific examples to flesh out your ideas. So limit the scope of your talk to that which can be explained, and brought to life with examples, in the available time.

A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward. Chris Anderson, TED Talk Curator  

Informative Speech Patterns

Chronological:.

You would format your speech in the order things occurred. First this, then that.

In this talk, America Ferrera describes her step-by-step process of trying to get a role as a Latina in the United States. She takes us on a chronological journey as she wrestles with identity.

As you watch this speech notice how she opens with a story of her as a little girl dancing in the den singing and dreaming. At the end of her speech, she loops back to the nine-year-old girl and ends with power as she expertly points to the audience to bring them in as she delivers a well-thought-out last line:

If I could go back and say anything   to that nine-year-old, dancing in the den, dreaming her dreams,   I would say,   my identity is not my obstacle.   My identity is my superpower.   Because the truth is,   I am what the world looks like.   You are what the world looks like.   Collectively, we are what the world actually looks like.   And in order for our systems to reflect that,   they don’t have to create a new reality.   They just have to stop resisting the one we already live in.  

Compare and Contrast:

You would compare things and point out how they are similar and how they are different.

In this talk, Julie Hogan informs the audience about the concept of cultural humility by comparing and contrasting a Muslim burka and academic regalia.

Cause and Effect:

You would discuss what caused something and what was the overall effect.

In this talk, Caleb Stewart informs his audience of the benefits of reading. He tells all the effects that reading has had on his life.

Problem Solution:

State the problem, tell us why it is a problem, offer us a solution to the problem.

Many of the best talks have a narrative structure that loosely follows a detective story. The speaker starts out by presenting a problem and then describes the search for a solution. There’s an “aha” moment, and the audience’s perspective shifts in a meaningful way. If a talk fails, it’s almost always because the speaker didn’t frame it correctly, misjudged the audience’s level of interest, or neglected to tell a story. Even if the topic is important, random pontification without narrative is always deeply unsatisfying. There’s no progression, and you don’t feel that you’re learning. Chris Anderson, TED Talk Curator

In this speech, Bart Knols tells us about the problem with mosquitoes (spoiler alert, it is malaria) and then he informs us of three innovative ways to kill mosquitoes. As you watch, notice how he uses a variety of props–a bed, a box of mosquitos, the slideshow, his boxer shorts to keep his audience engaged. His points are so clear that when his talk is over, you could remember the three main solutions and repeat them to a friend.

Spatial Organization:

Show us a map and move across the map and show us where things are located. This works for more than a map, it could be a blueprint, a piece of art, an object.

Topical Organization :

You would inform us of a topic and how this topic is broken down into subtopics.

Tucker and LeHew in, Exploring Public Speaking, offer this activity and insight:

One of the authors frequently does the following exercise in class. She has all the students take some object from their pocket, purse, or backpack and place it on a table at the front of the room. (It’s interesting what gets put on the table!). Then she has the students gather around and look at the items and “group them”–put them into categories, with each group having at least two items and all items being put in some group. Afterward, she gets the different grouping schema and discusses them. Of course, most of the groups are “correct,” even if just based on color. However, she then asks, “If you had to communicate to a classmate who is absent what is on the table, which schema or grouping pattern would you use?” The point is that grouping can be done on the basis of many characteristics or patterns, but some are clearer and better for communicating.

Less is More

Writer Richard Bach says, “Great writing is all about the power of the deleted word.” Many speakers try to do too much in a speech. They have so much information that they either speak too quickly or explain too briefly. It is better to have fewer points than you can illustrate in numerous ways.  After you write your speech, go back, and try to condense. Try to find ways to be more specific and clearer.

It’s a simple equation. Overstuffed equals under-explained. The wrong way to condense your talk is to include all the things that you think you need to say, and simply cut them all back to make them a lot shorter.

There’s a drastic consequence when you rush through multiple topics in summary form. Chris Anderson, TED Talk Curator

To make sure the audience gets your point. Tell them what you are going to say, say it, tell them what you’ve said. When you make a point, say the point, illustrate the point with a fact or story, and then tell them how the point applies.

Getting Advanced: The Rule of Three

If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a a tremendous whack. -Winston S. Churchill

Omne Trium Perfectum means everything that comes in threes is perfect. Humans love threes. In our culture, three provides a sense of the whole–it feels complete. The rule of threes suggests ideas presented in threes are easier to remember, more interesting, and more enjoyable. The three could mean have three main points, or the three could mean you have three items to a sentence. It could also mean explaining something in three different ways.

Hendiatris:  Three successive words used to express one idea

Friends, Romans, countrymen. William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. US Declaration of Independence. 

Tricolon: Three parallel words or phrases

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation – not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Barack Obama, Keynote speech to Democratic National Convention Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Barack Obama, Inaugural Address You learn that duty, honor, and country are not simply words, but guideposts. They dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. Michelle Obama, West Point Banquet

Parallel construction: Repeated phrases

Anaphora: The repeat of exact words at the beginning

A sandal of hope when you reach out. A sandal of joy when you listen to your heart. A sandal of courage when you dare to care. J.A. Gamache, Toastmasters

We can not dedicate We can not consecrate We can not hallow — this ground Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. Steve Jobs,  Stanford Commencement Speech These men are our fathers, grandfathers and even great-grandfathers. These men have been and will be apart of our lives in ways that go far beyond the Tokyo Raid. These men are the crews that have made sure our families’ lives were on the right path. Speech on the Doolittle reunion This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal. This was the moment when we ended a war, and secured our nation, and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment , this was the time when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals. Barack Obama Democratic Nomination Victory Speech – Change We Can Believe In

Epiphora: Repeat the words at the end. 

There is  no Southern  problem . There is  no Northern  problem . There is  only an American  problem . President Lydon B. Johnson This is not, however, just America’s fight . And what is at stake is not just America’s freedom. This is the world’s fight . This is civilization’s fight . This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. President George Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks

Have Three Points to Your Speech

Have three main parts to your speech and make sure they are clear.

Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself that day. I learned that it all changes in an instant. We have this bucket list, we have these things we want to do in life, and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to that I didn’t, all the fences I wanted to mend, all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did. As I thought about that later on, I came up with a saying, which is, “I collect bad wines.” Because if the wine is ready and the person is there, I’m opening it. I no longer want to postpone anything in life. And that urgency, that purpose, has really changed my life.

The second thing I learned that day —   and this is as we clear the George Washington Bridge,   which was by not a lot — I thought about, wow, I really feel one real regret.   I’ve lived a good life.   In my own humanity and mistakes,   I’ve tried to get better at everything I tried.   But in my humanity, I also allow my ego to get in.   And I regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter   with people that matter.   And I thought about my relationship with my wife,   with my friends, with people.   And after, as I reflected on that,   I decided to eliminate negative energy from my life.   It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better.   I’ve not had a fight with my wife in two years.   It feels great.   I no longer try to be right;   I choose to be happy.   The third thing I learned —   and this is as your mental clock starts going, “15, 14, 13.”   You can see the water coming.   I’m saying, “Please blow up.”   I don’t want this thing to break in 20 pieces   like you’ve seen in those documentaries.   And as we’re coming down,   I had a sense of, wow, dying is not scary.   It’s almost like we’ve been preparing for it our whole lives.   But it was very sad.   I didn’t want to go; I love my life.   And that sadness really framed in one thought,   which is, I only wish for one thing.   I only wish I could see my kids grow up. Ric Elias, Three Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed. 

Alan Alda’s Three Ways to Make Yourself Understood

Some of you may know Alan Alda from the hugely popular show, Mash. Others of you may know him as the host of Scientific American Frontiers. What many people don’t know was he was a visiting professor at Stony Brook University and the founder of the Universities’ Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. He created that center as a place to train scientists on how to clearly communicate with the public.

In this video, he explains the rule of threes.

• Make no more than three points.
• Explain difficult ideas in three different ways.
• Find a subtle way to make an important point three times.

Key Takeaways

Remember This!

• A speaker should pick a speech pattern that fits the goal, audience, and parameters of the speech
• Following a standard speech pattern helps the speaker be more organized
• Organized speakers are easier to listen to, are perceived as more credible.
• Using the rule of threes can make your speech easier to listen to and more memorable.

Please share your feedback, suggestions, corrections, and ideas.

I want to hear from you. 

Do you have an activity to include? Did you notice a typo that I should correct? Are you planning to use this as a resource and do you want me to know about it? Do you want to tell me something that really helped you?

Click here to share your feedback. 

Anderson, C. (2016). TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Mariner.

Anderson, C. (2013). How to Give a killer presentation. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation 

Ausubel, D. P. (1968).  Educational psychology . Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.

Baker, E. E. (1965). The immediate effects of perceived speaker disorganization on speaker credibility and audience attitude change in persuasive speaking.  Western Speech, 29 , 148–161.

Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2001). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. McGraw-Hill.

Bush, G.W. (2015). President George W. Bush addresses a joint Congress about the War on Terror. [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYnx-c8pF34 Standard YouTube License. 

Bostrom, R. N., & Waldhart, E. S. (1988). Memory models and the measurement of listening.  Communication Education, 37 , 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634528809378699

Carnegie, D. (1998).  How to win friends and influence people. Pocket Books.

Churchhill Central: Life and words of Sir Winston Churchill. https://www.churchillcentral.com/

Dlugan, A. (2009). How to use the rule of three in your speeches. Six Minutes. How to Use the Rule of Three in Your Speeches (dlugan.com)

Duarte, N. & Sanchez, P. (2016).   Illuminate: Ignite change through speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols. Portfolio and Penguin.

Ferrera, A. (2019). My identity is a superpower–not an obstacle. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.ted.com/talks/america_ferrera_my_identity_is_a_superpower_not_an_obstacle/transcript?language=en#t-191931 Standard YouTube License.

Gamache, J.A. (2007). Being Mr. G, JA Gamache, Toastmasters World Championships. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoW-T2_6OJo Standard YouTuve License

Hogan, J. (2018). The tale of two robes. Julie Hogan. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/w3Z3jdubP4Y Standard YouTube License.

Jobs, S. (2008). Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM Standard YouTube License. 

Kalb, I. (2013). Marketers must understand the power of three. Business Insider.  https://www.businessinsider.com/using-the-power-of-three-to-your-marketing-advantage-2013-5

Knols, B. (2012). Three new ways to kill mosquitos. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.ted.com/talks/bart_knols_3_new_ways_to_kill_mosquitoes?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Standard YouTube License.

LeFrancois, G. R. (1999).  Psychology for teaching (10th ed.) Wadsworth.

Lineham, D. R. (n.d). Rule of three in speechwriting. https://davelinehan.com/rule-of-three-speechwriting/

McCroskey, J.C. & Teven, J.J. (1999). Goodwill: A re-examination of the construct and its measurement. Communication Monographs. 66 (1), 90-103.  https://doi.org/10.1080/03637759909376464

McCroskey, J.C. & Mehrley, R.S. (2009). The effects of disorganization and nonfluency on attitude change and source credibility. Speech Monographs . https://doi.org/10.1080/03637756909375604

McCroskey, J.C. & Young, T. J. (1981). Ethos and credibility: The construct and its measurement after three decades. Central States Speech Journal, 32, 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510978109368075

Obama, B. (2004).  Keynote speech to Democratic National Convention. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eWynt87PaJ0 Standard YouTube License. 

Obama, B. (2008). Obama victory speech-Change we can believe in. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-2Zu_Iic Standard YouTube License. 

Obama, M. (2011). Address at West Point Graduation Banquet. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hS01mK7xMDs Standard YouTube License. 

Raa Rams. (2018). Raa 2018 Keynote Speaker. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6OchXV-Mo8 Standard YouTube License. 

Smith, R. G. (1951). An experimental study of the effects of speech organization upon attitudes of college students. Speech Monographs, 18 , 292–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637755109375045

Shu, S. B. &  Carlson, K.A. (2014).    When three charms but four alarms:  Identifying the optimal number of claims in persuasion settings. Journal of Marketing, 78(1).  https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.11.0504

Thompson, E. C. (1960). An experimental investigation of the relative effectiveness of organizational structure in oral communication.  Southern Speech Journal, 26 , 59–69.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10417946009371589

Torgovnick May, K. (2012). How to give more persuasive presentations: A Q & A with Nancy Duarte. TED Blog. https://blog.ted.com/how-to-give-more-persuasive-presentations-a-qa-with-nancy-duarte/

Tucker, B. & LeHew, M. (n.d) Exploring public speaking  (4th edition). https://alg.manifoldapp.org/projects/exploring-public-speaking

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Realistic dialogue: Creating characters’ speech patterns

Realistic dialogue moves stories along. When you give each character an interesting voice and persona, it’s a joy to read their conversations. Varied, entertaining speech takes readers into the heart of your characters. Here are six ways to make characters’ speech colorful and interesting

• Post author By Jordan
• 9 Comments on Realistic dialogue: Creating characters’ speech patterns

Realistic dialogue moves stories along. When you give each character an interesting voice and persona, it’s a joy to read their conversations. Varied, entertaining speech takes readers into the heart of your characters.

Remember, too, that dialogue is crafted speech, and doesn’t have to be exact ‘real speech’. Common speech patterns can be boring to read, and are usually full of phrases like ‘you know’ and umms and ahhs and so on. 

Here are six ways to make characters’ speech colorful and interesting.

1. Make characters’ voices reflect their place and time

Great dialogue illustrates its speakers. Who is this person? Why do they speak this way? What odd curse words or phrases do they use that are particular to their era or home town? Dialogue executed well develops characters, adding rich texture to the personalities filling your story. One way to make dialogue effective is to have it reflect your characters’ place and time.

In Shakespeare’s plays, we gain a strong sense of an older time through characters’ use of archaic language. For example, characters say ‘thy’ and ‘thou’ in place of ‘your’ and ‘you’.

Era-appropriate character speech helps to establish setting and context. If your character lives in the 21st Century but speaks as though they’re living in 1700, this will confuse readers. The reverse is also true. If a 19th century teenager speaks as though it is the 21st century, this can jolt your reader right out of the story.

So how do you make characters’ speech show where they are in place and time?

• Use occasional language appropriate to the time period in dialogue. In the 60s, for example, common slang terms in parts of the US included ‘old lady’ and ‘old man’ for a person’s significant other.
• Make sure characters don’t use language more modern than their time period – if you’re unsure when a word was coined, Google its etymology
• Use regional accent details

The third suggestion should be used in moderation. Trying to recreate how different groups speak in dialogue using written accents can create stereotypes or be difficult to read. Perhaps you want to portray a character whose native language isn’t English? Again, be mindful when doing so. Character speech should be clear and easy to read. This is particularly the case when there are sensitive issues of culture or race involved. Read this post for tips on creating regional speech patterns without using stereotypes as a crutch.

2. Show characters’ unique personalities in their speech

What do we mean when we talk about a character’s ‘voice’? ‘Voice’ in characterization refers to two things:

• The actual way a person’s voice sounds to the ear (details such as pitch, volume, placement (is it nasal or throaty?) and tone of voice.
• The personality that comes across in how a character expresses themselves. Do they seem blunt and bolshie? Or is their voice gentle, kind and reserved? Do they use concise language? Do they use consistently negative language? 

Pause for a second and think of people you know well. Write down an adjective (describing word) that sums up their voice for you. What creates this effect? Are they loud? Soft-spoken? Confident? Self-doubting? Comical?

Include brief descriptions of voice when you are writing character sketches for your outline. You can create full, detailed character outlines using Now Novel’s dashboard process . Decide:

• What a character’s general personality will be: Are they sanguine/happy-go-lucky, melancholic, plodding and pragmatic, irritable and aggressive?
• How these personality details could show in your character’s voice – an irritable character could curse a lot, while a melancholic character may enjoy grumbling. Also think of ways characters can be against type. A deeply melancholic character could put on a bright, sunny voice to avoid dragging others down, for example.
• Think of other elements of speech, such as whether a character is a greater talker or listener.

Remember to use gestures or beats too to make characters’ speech have even more personality . These can reinforce or contradict what a character says. They also help you to be more nuanced about what a character feels while they are talking. Does the character speak with dramatic, outsized gestures? Might your character have memorable recurring gestures such as running a hand through her hair or taking off his glasses and polishing them? Believable dialogue involves the character as a fully embodied person, not just a talking head.

Find more of our articles on describing characters via our character writing hub .

3. Show background in how characters talk

Think about each character’s background and how that may affect the character’s speech. How educated is the character, and does that show in the character’s speech? Where is the character from? What is the character’s social class?

Perhaps your character grew up poor in an uneducated family and has returned home. How does the character feel about coming home and her family and old neighbours? Maybe she has picked up words and phrases in the big city that people poke fun at her for using. Details such as these in characters’ speech bring them to life, and add vivid colour to character portraits. For the same example, the character could resent or feel embarrassed of where she comes from. In that case, she might deliberately speak in a mannered way that sets her apart from her family back home.

How we speak isn’t entirely arbitrary . We might talk a certain way because we’ve embraced a subculture and particular identity, for example. Think about how ‘bros’ perform their masculinity to each other. They might speak quite differently when conversing with a grandparent versus a friend. Maybe their language is more ‘proper’ and less slang-filled when speaking to an elder. Or maybe they make no effort to modulate their speech at all. Even this can suggest your character’s personality – how much their speech changes depending on who they’re with.

A last word about punctuating dialogue in fiction. The US convention is to use double speech marks, while the UK convention is to use single speech marks. Some writers dispense with that entirely, and have speech rendered as part of the narrative flow.

Paying attention to details such as these will help you write realistic dialogue and bring your characters’ voices to life.

4. Use the ‘shibboleth’ to create realistic dialogue between outsiders and others

Sometimes how a person speaks can be particularly revealing if they are trying to assimilate into an unfamiliar group. The ‘ shibboleth ‘ is a word that distinguishes one in-group from another. That group might be as small as a clique or as large as an entire nationality.

In the past, shibboleths have been used to identify spies or enemy combatants. But a Shibboleth can also trip your character up in a social sense. The wrong pronunciation or choice of vocabulary might reveal that person as someone who is ‘different’. A foreign exchange student for example may stumble over strange idioms the locals use that don’t make immediate sense. For example, an English character studying in Germany might be confused why everyone’s talking about sausages and pony farms .

5. Show how characters’ speech changes according to their situation

A character’s speech should change according to the situation they’re in.

If we spoke with one limited range of vocabulary and intonation all the time, we’d be boring speakers. Consider what speech might reveal about your character under duress. Perhaps a character who seems mild-mannered might suddenly burst into a flurry of obscenities?

Subtle differences in speech depending on what’s happening can show details such as how your characters handle stress and tension .

6. Remember differences between everyday speech and written dialogue

Although we talk of ‘realistic dialogue’, much fictional dialogue is far from how people actually  speak. Yet it creates the effect  of realistic speech. Here are important differences to remember when creating characters’ voices and the unique things they say:

• Good dialogue rarely represents ordinary speech accurately. It generally leaves out the ‘Hi, who’s speaking?’ as well as other commonplace stock phrases and words. Read our tips for creating natural-sounding dialogue.
• In day to day speech, we obviously don’t have ‘he said’ and ‘she said’ punctuating our conversations. Try to keep dialogue tags to a minimum . Remove them where it’s clear from context who has just spoken. And use actions and gestures leading into or following from dialogue to show who the speaker is
• A few writers can get away with writing in dialect, but again, here is where it is better to create the impression of the way a character speaks. A little goes a long way. Don’t make every single phrase a culturally-specific idiom or exclamation
• Similarly, avoid overuse of punctuation marks like exclamation marks and ellipses. These are dramatic effects and the words characters use and their ideas should do most of the expressive ‘heavy lifting’

Read our detailed dialogue writing guide for more on creating conversation that advances your story.

Need to develop further aspects of your characters? Get  How to Write Real Characters – our eBook guide to developing believable characters, including practical exercises and prompts.

Related Posts:

• Context and subtext in dialogue: Creating layered speech
• Realistic dialogue: 5 missteps to avoid
• Beyond stereotypes: portraying realistic LGBTIQ+ characters
• Tags character speech , writing dialogue

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

9 replies on “Realistic dialogue: Creating characters’ speech patterns”

[…] Talking about your character: Speech […]

Love the website! Great information! Lots of detail and unique areas of focus.

One correction: “Introverts, on the other hand, are usually soft-spoken.”

This would be truer of “shy” people, not introverts. Please redefine your understanding of the difference between “introvert” and “shy” so as not to perpetuate this misconception.

“Introverted people are commonly thought to be shy, but introverts’ low motivation to socialize is not the same as the inhibited behavior, tension, and awkwardness that characterize shyness. Introverts who are not shy can behave extrovertively when they choose; whereas shy people, both introverts and extroverts, can’t turn their tension and awkwardness off and on.” —Sophia Dembling (The Introvert’s Corner)

Thank you! KT

Hi KT – thanks, glad you like the site. Good point about the distinction between introversion and extroversion.

I try to throw in key slang words if a character is from a certain country or region. I also attempt to keep them to a minimum in order to not overdo it. I do struggle with minimizing dialogue tags some of the time though. I understand it helps to read it out loud.

Thank you for sharing that, Jeremiah. It really does help to read dialogue aloud. It sounds as though you have a good process.

I was wondering if you happened to know how to write the speech of young children, a friend and I are trying to write a book but are worried that they may sound too advanced for their age. This article was really helpful, so thank you for writing it.

It’s a pleasure, Cristian, thank you for your question.

For writing the speech of young children, I have some suggestions: – Simplify vocabulary and abstraction. A 5-year-old will typically have a much smaller vocabulary than, for example, an 18-year-old. So avoid overly formal and/or complex phrasing and sentence structure unless the child character is meant to sound precocious/advanced for their age. – Think of the ways children are playing with and ‘trying out’ language. For example, when my nephew learned the word ‘marvelous’, everything was suddenly marvelous, including things that definitely are not marvelous. Children mix up words, too (as a kid, I am told I loved a book on optical illusions and would talk about ‘trickmatography’ meaning ‘trick photography’). Kids might invent words based on misreadings/mishearings. – Watch clips of kids’ shows such as Sesame Street on YouTube and listen for the complexity of language/phrase. Where is it pitched? There are online editing tools such as the Hemingway editor that can estimate the reading age/age norms of a piece of writing approximately, too.

I hope this helps!

Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for this piece. It’s a great and energizing lecture.

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English Speech Patterns Required for Everyday Speech

English everyday speech patterns include frequently used phrases. Also, learning these patterns will speed up your speaking process. They are also quite effective for communicating more practically in the English language. First of all, let’s tell you about the benefits of learning English speech patterns.

Daily speech patterns help you to communicate quickly and practically when meeting people, shopping, ordering food and traveling. Even if your knowledge of English is at a basic level, you can easily communicate by learning these patterns.

You can also make minor changes to these sentence structures. Thus, you can produce many different sentences. In this way, you will learn the general sentence structure of English. Also, English speech patterns are very advantageous in that they are easy to remember. You can write down certain English speech patterns that you have difficulty in remembering on your phone and keep them with you. In this way, if you can’t remember the phrases during the English dialogue, you can quickly browse through your notes and continue speaking.

English Speech Patterns

Greeting patterns.

First, let’s explain the greeting patterns.

What are the ‘How Are You?’ Question Patterns?

• How are you (doing)?
• How is it going?
• Are you doing okay?
• How are you feeling?

Answers to the Question ‘How are you?’

• I could be better.
• I am all right.
• So so- not so great.
• I feel well.

English Patterns Used When Meeting Someone

You can use these English speech patterns for meeting someone:

• Let me introduce myself to you.
• This is my friend, Michael.
• Diana, this is the woman I was telling about you.
• Henry, this is Mary.

‘Nice to Meet You’ Patterns

• (Glad, Nice, Good) to meet you.
• (It is a pleasure to meet you.)
• (How nice to meet you.)

Patterns for Making Friends with Someone

• Do you want to join us?
• Mind if I join you?
• Would you like to dance?

English Patterns Used in Food and Beverage Service Places

You can use the following English speech patterns for taking orders:

• May I take your order, please?
• Here or take away?/ For here or to go?
• Would you like to see the menu?
• Do you want to learn our speacials for today?

You can use the following English patterns when ordering:

• We are ready to order.
• We need more time to decide.
• Is there anything you can suggest?
• Do I pay you or the cashier?
• Can you get  a glass of water?
• What are your specialities?
• Keep the change.
• Can you seperate the bill, please?
• I couldn’t finish this. Could you wrap it, please?

English Speech Patterns Related to Airplane, Train, Bus Travel

• How can I go to the downtown?
• Can I reserve a seat in advance?
• Do we stop for the meals?
• What is the fare?
• Do I have to change the planes?
• Will there be a layover?
• Is it a direct flight?
• What is the departure time?
• What is the arrival time?

English Speech Patterns about Shopping

• What is your size?
• That is your colour.
• Do you have something specific in mind?
• May I help you?
• That looks nice (or great on you).
• Are you being helped?
• How would you want to pay?

English Diary Patterns used for Hotel Accommodation

• Can I book a room?
• I have a reservation.
• I need (a single/double bed) in the room.
• Are pets allowed?

Pronunciation of English Speech Patterns

Let’s talk about how these patterns are read. You can read words very well. But accents and meanings in English speech patterns can vary. All you have to do is watch videos, listen to people, talk, and make mistakes. As a result, you begin to pronounce these sentences in the most correct way.

In order to be able to say that I know English, it is not enough to be able to read that language from written sources and understand what you read. It is very important for us as social beings to speak the language. In other words, it is necessary to talk to each other for many situations such as meeting, greeting, asking for addresses. You can socialize with English conversation dialogues that contain basic information. You can even travel in a country you don’t know at all without needing anyone.

So, are the English speech patterns enough to meet all your needs? Of course, English patterns are not enough to enjoy more when you go on holiday to a foreign country. Also, when you meet strangers for work, you will need much more than the sentences in this dialogue to impress them. In the scope of the subject, English speech patterns we can say that:  If you want to speak English fluently without any difficulty, you can learn English easily with English course.

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The Most Annoying Speech Patterns You Hear All the Time Now

November 28, 2016 by Debbie Grattan

Vocal fry refers to a low, glottal, animal-like sound that speech pathologists consider a vocal disorder.

Valspeak is, like, short for the way Valley Girls talk that was, like, you know, so big Frank Zappa sang about it in 1982.

Uptalk , a subset of valspeak, is the habit of producing a rising inflection as if you’re asking a question – even when you’re not?

Here’s a new video we created to demonstrate some of the more common patterns you hear today…

To say that all these fad-driven speech patterns are kinda, sorta, well… I don’t know, annoying  may seem a bit harsh.  But it’s also absolutely true .

The Harsh Reality of Speech Patterns

The use of such patterns do more than annoy the listener. Even if the people indulging in these patterns have an incredibly high IQ, the patterns work against them by making them:

• Sound less intelligent
• Appear less professional
• Seem like a nitwit or airhead
• An embarrassment in front of mom, dad or the general public
• Unfit for any position that pays more than minimum wage

Despite all the detriments of allowing those patterns to unconsciously creep into your own conversational lexicon, people are falling prey at rapid rates. Some are even doing it on purpose.

One of the reasons the patterns become so widespread, particularly with the current trend of vocal fry, is the feeling of belonging it gives young women. A video on Today explains how it makes the women feel part of a “macroculture.”

If you ask me, I’d rather join a gym.

If you ask me again, I’d also predict the tide will turn and people who drop these phrases will come out on top in the long run. Drop the phrases now and you can think of it as an easy, inexpensive way to outshine 85 percent of your competitors in that next job interview.

The Up-and-Coming Most Annoying Speech Patterns

Being a voice-over talent makes me extremely sensitive to not only the sound of voices I hear on TV, radio and the internet, but also to the words that are chosen. None of these up-and-coming phrases ever appear in scripts that I read for actual voice-over jobs or auditions. They are typically found in unscripted, more extemporaneous speech.

These five speech patterns have become rampant in interviews. My husband listens to a lot of podcasts , particularly enjoying them while out driving or working in the yard. He started tracking the pervasive use of these five patterns of speaking that are appearing in virtually every interview he listens to lately, including on cable news and business channels.

Of course, once he shared them with me, I started hearing them, too.

I’ve already used all five patterns in this post, did you catch them?

1. You know –  This phrase is increasingly being used at the beginning of the sentence as a lead-in. This one has been around for ages but, you know, it’s been given new life with a new use you can’t help but constantly hear if you listen for it.

“You know, the best way to find out the answers is to just Google it.”

2. So –  So, you’ll also find this one at the beginning of a sentence, namely as a way to “manage” the conversation and sound fairly authoritative (or condescending). It’s become hugely  common, even among expert speakers during formal interviews (just listen to NPR while various experts are interviewed). More on that idea here .

“So, what we’ve found in our research is that people tend to add this word as a way to sound informal yet still be an expert.” 

3. I mean –  This completely unnecessary phrase seems to just be a habitual way to start sentences for many people. I mean, where did this one come from anyway?

“I mean, if it really was a problem that I say that phrase whenever I’m trying to make my point, what difference does it make?” Whatever!

4. … right?  – This one comes at the end of sentences, apparently to encourage or sometimes subtly force agreement on the listener. It reminds me of the French who often tack on a oui or non at the end of a sentence, non? It’s hit the English language strong in just the past year or so, right?

“It wasn’t just that the election campaign this year was ugly, right…? It really became a battle of negative personalities in a race to the bottom of common decency.” 

5. Kind of (or sort of) –  This tidbit is used anywhere in the middle, as a way to not say what you really mean. It’s sort of a way to soften, to be kind of… vague, imprecise and uncommitted.

“Well, if you look at the data, you’ll kind of notice that there’s a trend that sort of jumps out at you.”

You can even mix them all together in infinite combinations:

“Right, so… you know the best way to find out answers is to Google it, right? It’s kind of like way better than going to the library. I mean, how did people even get through the day before the internet was invented! We really owe a lot to the guy who invented that, I mean, really…

I understand these may be hip ways of speaking these days , but they actually detract from the message. They also make the speaker sound less intelligent and sometimes even manipulative.

On those rare occasions when I hear an interview with someone who is profoundly lacking all of these five patterns, it is such a breath of fresh air! I can focus and absorb what they are saying so much more easily.

More common, is hearing someone speak with various combinations of several of these patterns appearing in just one sentence! It’s kinda crazy, right?

Yes, I understand that my fixated attention on these patterns is what is causing me to be distracted. And, like a highly contagious virus, it is possible that by simply reading this post, you too will become afflicted!

Sorry about that, but it’s the only way to bring awareness to this type of conversational disease in hopes that it can be eradicated very soon.

Pay attention and I promise you’ll start noticing these patterns in nearly every casual conversation you listen in on. Even interviews with people you’d think would be trained to avoid patterns like these are using them.

It’s mildly disturbing to me. I hope you’ll be disturbed too. At least enough to curb your own use (and maybe the usage by your kids, spouse and/or significant other).

Oh, and yes, I know I left off many other annoying speech patterns. Like things like “like” because it’s just, like, beyond ubiquitous and you already know about it . Now that you’ve become painfully aware of my top five annoying speech patterns, please share your own speech pattern pet peeves.

Feel free to share in the comments! And please read through the comments for some very interesting insights and observations from other readers.

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Home » Nonverbal Autism and Communication Skills » Autism Speech Patterns: Addressing Communication Differences

Autism Speech Patterns: Addressing Communication Differences

By   Yolande Loftus, BA, LLB

September 22, 2023

Autism speech patterns is an intriguing subject as the way people speak plays a major role in conveying emotion and meaning to others. If a child on the spectrum struggles with tone, rhythm and pitch, the intention behind their words can sometimes be misunderstood.

A neurodivergent friend told me about an interesting interview question recently. Her prospective employer, aware of her condition, asked whether her personality shone on paper or in person. She didn’t find the question offensive at all, she answered: “Paper,” without any hesitation.

For many people, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), atypical speech patterns interfere with social communication and interaction. Neurotypical society places enormous value on tone, inflection, speed and pattern of speech to convey meaning and emotion. Autistic individuals, who sometimes speak in a flat tone or with an atypical pitch, may be misunderstood or even shunned when they don’t adhere to expected speech patterns. Research (Depape et al., 2012) suggests impaired speech patterns like “abnormal” use of prosody could impact social communication, leading to difficulty making and keeping friends. It could also affect a person’s employment prospects.

“Big Deal!”

The phrase big deal is an interesting example of the use of tone when thinking about autism. It’s a comment used in a sarcastic or ironic way with such regularity, it’s now mostly used to say something is not that significant or important. To convey this meaning, the phrase has to be said in a specific way, using the correct pattern of speech. Adhering to such unwritten speech rules may be an actual big deal for autistic individuals—especially as many on the spectrum tend to interpret and use speech literally.

Many people with autism spectrum disorder have unusual speech patterns. Monotonic, a sing-song voice, and machine-like are some of the ways in which atypical speech patterns in people with autism are described (Bonneh et al., 2011). Unusual or abnormal in the sense that it’s not the expected way of utilizing speech according to neurotypical standards.

In this article, before investigating ways to facilitate enhanced communication in children on the spectrum, some of the autism speech patterns commonly found in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will be examined.

Atypical speech patterns in ASD

Recognizing that autistic individuals may speak in an atypical manner is very important. A child with asperger’s (which is no longer used as an official diagnostic term) may possess an impressive vocabulary, but they may speak in a flat tone which sounds almost robotic. This may be interpreted as insensitivity or lack of interest in specific social situations—especially in situations where there is little awareness of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

Awareness about atypical speech patterns in ASD is not only beneficial for early intervention and therapy purposes, but also to educate and foster understanding of the different ways neurodivergent individuals may utilize speech and language. If children are aware that a classmate speaks differently, and they understand the reason for the difference, they may be more accepting of such differences. For example, when an autistic child repeats what a classmate is saying it may be construed in a negative way (perhaps as teasing), that is until awareness of echolalia and other atypical speech pattern usage is understood.

Echolalia (repeating others’ words or sentences) and late onset of first words are some of the better known communication challenges associated with autism, but lesser known difficulties like abnormal prosody, idiosyncratic speech, and cluttering may also impact speech.

Prosody: the intonation, rhythm and stress patterns of speech

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary prosody is the “rhythmic and intonational aspect of language”. Rhythm and changing pitch may not seem like the most important part of speech, but prosody plays a major role in how speech and language is perceived and understood.

The way speech rises and falls may indicate our emotional state. Furthermore, prosody is involved in stress and emphasis of certain words, and conveying sarcasm and humor. Prosody also helps to identify whether speech is used to express a general observation, a command or question.

Research (Filipe et al., 2018) found a significant link between prosodic skills and divided attention, working memory and other executive functions. The authors concluded that their findings may be clinically relevant as challenges with executive functioning and prosodic deficits are characteristics of many neurodevelopmental disorders.

Understanding that many people with autism may have such deficits and different speech patterns means we are more accepting and empathetic about the fact that they may struggle to understand, discern, and reproduce prosody.

Idiosyncratic speech

One of the core symptoms of autism , restricted/repetitive behaviors and interests can manifest in speech and language as a fixated focus on idiosyncratic topics (Rouhizadeh et al., 2015). Idiosyncratic speech may include using stereotypical or inappropriate words. Kids on the spectrum may speak in a way that assumes the person they’re conversing with knows everything they know—they may discuss the intricacies of a battle pass with their grandmother, who assumes Fortnite refers to a time period.

Cluttering speech

Speech patterns may also be unusual in a child with autism due to a fluency disorder referred to as cluttering speech . Cluttering makes speech sound fast and/or irregular, phrases are repeated, excessive filler words may be relied on, and pausing patterns may be different from the norm.

For children, such atypical speech and language use may interfere with social interaction. Parents, justifiably, want the best and earliest intervention to address unusual speech patterns and other language deficits. On the other hand, children should feel free to express themselves, to communicate in an “imperfect” or atypical way—preferably in an environment where there is awareness and acceptance of neurodivergence.

Addressing atypical speech patterns

Cluttering, idiosyncratic speech, echolalia and abnormal prosody may interfere with a child’s ability to communicate meaningfully with peers and caregivers. Without trying to “fix” them, treatment could help with making friends, self-esteem and exerting more control over their environment. When a child’s communication attempts are understood, their wants and needs can be met appropriately.

Most medical professionals prioritize speech-language therapy when a child is diagnosed with autism. The goal of speech-language therapy is to help an autistic individual communicate better and to express themselves more meaningfully. Improved communication skills means kids feel more control, and they are better equipped to socialize and learn.

For nonvocal children the initial aim is to grow communication and find appropriate ways for a child to better express themselves. For other children (with better developed speech and language skills), therapy may address concerns like atonality and the understanding of metaphorical language.

In summary, when addressing autism speech patterns, the goal is to enhance or enable better communication, not to make an autistic child sound and speak like a neurotypical child. If therapy addresses prosody and it encourages the child to speak in a way that helps them feel more understood and connected to their peers it could be helpful. If, on the other hand, therapy seems punitive and leaves the child feeling like they need to be fixed to sound like other children, alternative intervention should be considered.

Deeper understanding, greater acceptance

Studying the different speech patterns in ASD is helpful because it guides the way therapy and intervention is structured to improve social communication. A study (Sturrock et al., 2021) highlights the need for researchers to consult autistic children about the way subtle communication differences impact their lives.

Some of the findings could help tailor the provision of appropriate intervention for autistic children, which may help in social situations, educational settings, when seeking help, and in dealing with emotions. According to the study, insights obtained from autistic children include:

• Subtle communication and language difficulties made it harder for autistic kids to talk to new people, to talk in a group and to make new friends
• It also impacted learning, taking part in activities and searching out help
• Negative emotions resulted from communication issues, and such emotions had far reaching consequences (Sturrock et al., 2021)

The participants in this study were autistic children without intellectual disability. The negative emotions experienced by these children highlights the need for intervention and acceptance of all neurodivergent individuals (verbal and nonvocal) who communicate in atypical ways.

Speech language therapists often speak about the need for communication aids for all autistic individuals, even those who have excellent language and speech abilities. In stressful situations (especially those including sensory overload) speech will be affected; affected at a time when expression of emotion is most needed.

To enable neurodivergent individuals to thrive, we need a world where different ways of speaking and communicating are accepted and better understood. We need to consult autistic individuals to help customize communication intervention and therapy so that rather than trying to “fix” them, it enables the kind of expression and communication skills they need for a better quality of life.

References:

Bonneh, Yoram & Levanon, Yoram & Pardo, Or & Lossos, Lan & Adini, Yael. (2011). Abnormal Speech Spectrum and Increased Pitch Variability in Young Autistic Children. Frontiers in human neuroscience. 4. 237. 10.3389/fnhum.2010.00237.

Depape, A. M., Chen, A., Hall, G. B., & Trainor, L. J. (2012). Use of prosody and information structure in high functioning adults with autism in relation to language ability. Frontiers in psychology, 3, 72. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00072 .

Filipe, M. G., Frota, S., & Vicente, S. G. (2018). Executive Functions and Prosodic Abilities in Children With High-Functioning Autism. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 359. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00359 .

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Prosody. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prosody .

Rouhizadeh, M., Prud’hommeaux, E., van Santen, J., & Sproat, R. (2015). Measuring idiosyncratic interests in children with autism. Proceedings of the conference. Association for Computational Linguistics. Meeting, 2015 , 212–217. https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/p15-2035 .

Sturrock, A., Chilton, H., Foy, K., Freed, J., & Adams, C. (2021). In their own words: The impact of subtle language and communication difficulties as described by autistic girls and boys without intellectual disability. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211002047 .

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What are Tone Words? List of 300+ Useful Words

Table of contents

• 1 What is a Tone?
• 2.1 Positive Tone Words
• 2.2 Negative Tone Words
• 2.3 Neutral Tone Words
• 3 How to Find the Right Tone for Your Work
• 4 Tone Words Examples in Various Texts

In writing, tone plays a significant role in conveying emotions, setting the atmosphere, and establishing a connection with readers. The tone of every piece of writing – whether an argumentative essay, a page-turning novel, or a moving poem – can be set by the author’s choice of words.

It would be best to balance the subtleties of language and freedom of thought to get the desired effect. Today, we share a definitive collection of tone words to help you and every writer achieve their goals in this area.

What is a Tone?

Tone, in writing, is the author’s emotional response with deep respect to either the subject matter or the readers. It helps to create a particular atmosphere and direct the reader’s feelings by revealing the author’s point of view.

The tone is the author’s voice (in this case, their attitude, not their personality), and how the words on the page are emotion-tinted to make the reader feel a specific way.

Word choice, tone list sentence structure, imagery, and figurative language are all examples of literary methods that can be used to communicate tone. It comprises more than just the words themselves.

Also, it includes the author’s general tone and approach. To provoke various feelings and responses from the reader, a talented writer might switch tones within the same piece of writing.

Recognizing and employing tone is fundamental to effective communication because it influences the writer’s attitude and how the recipient interprets the message. It can potentially affect a message’s readability, retention, and recall. When writers use the right tone, they may impress readers, hold their attention, and get their point over.

As they delve further into the nuances of tone and tone words in literature, authors gain access to many expressive vocabularies.

The Ultimate List of Tone Words

Now for our ultimate list of tone words in literature. This comprehensive compilation encompasses a range of words that can help authors like you effectively communicate their intended emotions and engage readers on a profound level. And we are talking about a deep level indeed!

Positive Tone Words

Positive tone words inspire happy thoughts and feelings in the reader. They spark positive emotions and are incredibly powerful. Powerful? How so? Positive tone words can make you think well of someone and have a favorable impression of them even without meeting. Here are some other good tone words, word examples, and their meanings:

• Joyful: Filled with happiness, delight, and great pleasure.
• Optimistic: Expecting positive outcomes, hopeful, and confident about the future.
• Enthusiastic: Displaying intense excitement, passion, and eagerness.
• Serene: Calm, peaceful, and tranquil.
• Endearing: Inspiring warmth or affection
• Grateful: Feeling or expressing appreciation and thankfulness.
• Empowered: Feeling confident, capable, and in control of one’s life or circumstances.
• Radiant: Emitting brightness, happiness, and positivity.
• Inspirational: Providing motivation, encouragement, and a sense of upliftment.
• Energetic: Full of vigor, liveliness, and vitality.
• Confident: Having self-assurance, belief in one’s abilities, and a positive outlook.
• Empathetic: showing empathy; feeling the emotions of others.

Negative Tone Words

The use of negative tone words can considerably influence the perceptions produced by readers, regardless of whether they describe a location, a literary work, or a collective of individuals. Simply put, just as positive tone words spark positive emotions, negative ones spark negative ones.

Hence, when applying negative tone phrases, you must exercise caution and ensure your criticisms remain fair, constructive, and objective, and that is very important.

By attentively picking your words, you can provide a well-rounded perspective while keeping your message’s moral sense and integrity. Striking the correct balance between negative and positive judgments provides for a full understanding and encourages effective interactions.

• Miserable: Extremely unhappy, sorrowful, or distressed.
• Disgusting: Causing intense revulsion, repugnance, or strong aversion.
• Aggressive: Hostile, confrontational, or prone to initiating conflict.
• Chaotic: Marked by disorder, confusion, and lack of organization or control.
• Repulsive: Evoking strong feelings of dislike, aversion, or disgust.
• Arrogant: Displaying an exaggerated sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement.
• Hateful: Full of intense dislike, animosity, or prejudice towards someone or something.
• Depressing: Causing feelings of sadness, dejection, or hopelessness.
• Inferior: Of lower quality, value, or importance compared to others.

Neutral Tone Words

Neutral tone words help maintain a fair and unbiased approach, allowing readers to form their opinions without undue influence. Here are examples of neutral tone words along with their meanings:

• Ordinary: Usual, commonplace, or unremarkable.
• Standard: Conforming to established norms, expectations, or criteria.
• Common: Frequently occurring, widely experienced, or generally known.
• Typical: Representing a characteristic example or pattern.
• Balanced: Exhibiting equality, equilibrium, or impartiality.
• Objective: Unbiased, based on facts, and devoid of personal opinions or feelings.
• Rationale: Logical, reasoned, and based on sound judgment or reasoning.
• Neutral: Impartial, unbiased, or not taking sides.
• Moderate: Neither excessive nor extreme, characterized by a reasonable and measured approach.
• Unbiased: Fair, impartial, and free from prejudice or favoritism.
• Indifferent: Having no particular preference or bias, lacking interest or concern.
• Matter-of-fact: Devoid of emotional embellishment, straightforward, and focused on facts.

How to Find the Right Tone for Your Work

So far, we have established that finding the right, powerful tone words is the key to successfully delivering your message through writing. To figure out which examples of tone words used work best for your goal, ask these reflective questions:

• Why am I writing this?

It helps to know why you’re writing in the first place to set the right words of tone in your writing. What effect do you hope to have on the reader? Each goal requires specific words and unique words for the tone of the literature to be adequate.

• Who exactly am I writing for?

When deciding on a tone for your writing, it is essential to keep your readers in mind. Is it an official report, a casual blog post, or a rigorous research paper? The interest and understanding of your readers will increase if you modify your author’s tone to match their expectations and preferences.

• What do I hope the reader will take away from this experience?

The tone of your communication can be improved by first determining the key idea or message you wish to express. Whatever you’re trying to do through your writing – persuade, inform, or evoke an emotion – matching your tone to your intended result is crucial!

The tone of any formal writing must be clear, concise, confident, and courteous. Attempt refinement without straying into pretentiousness; balance formality and readability.

However, creative writing allows for greater latitude in tone. Still, focus on effectively using tone words, regardless of the genre. The tone you go for will be influenced by the genre you’re writing in, but ultimately, you want to get your point across, make the reader feel something, and pull them into the story.

Suppose writers take the time to evaluate these factors carefully. In that case, they can master using an appropriate tone to describe words that will connect with their target audience, improve readability, and have the desired effect. We hope you become one such writer.

Tone Words Examples in Various Texts

Again, tone words play a vital role in shaping the atmosphere and evoking emotions in different types of writing. The choice of tone words varies based on the formality of the writing and is further influenced by the genre, whether creative or formal.

Let’s explore some examples of tone words in various types of writing:

• Melancholic: Conveys a tone of sadness, longing, or introspection, often found in poems exploring themes of loss or nostalgia.
• Whimsical: Creates a playful and lighthearted tone, commonly used in poems that embrace imagination and fantasy.
• Serene: Establishes a calm and peaceful tone, often seen in verses that celebrate nature or meditate on inner peace.
• Euphoric: Creates a tone of extreme joy, vitality, or ecstasy, frequently found in poems expressing moments of joy or bliss.

Romantic Novel

• Passionate: Sets an intense and vibrant tone, typically associated with love, desire, and emotional depth.
• Sentimental: Evokes tender and nostalgic emotions, often found in romantic novels emphasizing deep emotional connections.
• Yearning: Conveys a tone of longing or desire, frequently employed in books that explore unrequited love or longing for a lost connection.
• Tender: Establishes a gentle and affectionate tone, often used to depict tender moments of intimacy or vulnerability.

Horror Fiction

• Eerie: Creates a tone of unease, suspense, and impending dread, frequently found in horror fiction to heighten tension.
• Sinister: Evokes a dark, malicious, or hateful tone, often depicting evil or foreboding circumstances.
• Terrifying: Establishes a tone of extreme fear, horror, or terror intended to invoke a visceral response from the reader.
• Macabre: Conveys a tone of fascination with the gruesome death or the supernatural, often seen in horror fiction that explores the darker aspects of human existence.

Informative News Article

• Objective: Establish a neutral and unbiased tone, presenting facts and information without personal opinions or emotions.
• Authoritative: Conveys a tone of expertise, credibility, and confidence, frequently employed in news articles to establish trustworthiness.
• Informative: Sets a tone of clarity, providing straightforward and concise information to educate the readers.
• Balanced: Establishes a fair and even-handed tone, presenting multiple perspectives and avoiding bias or favoritism.

What Is the Difference Between Tone and Voice?

Tone and voice are sometimes misunderstood or used interchangeably by writers. However, they couldn’t be more dissimilar. We’ve established that tone conveys the author’s or a character’s feelings about the subject.

Tone words in nonfiction writing reveal the author’s point of view. Tone words are helpful in fiction because they indicate a scene’s or conversation’s emotional state, whether the reader might expect tension, happiness, sadness, etc.

While the term “voice” describes the overall character of a piece of writing. One author’s scathing tone may be another’s instructive or friendliness.

What Is the Difference Between Tone and Mood?

The word for tone in literature is the mood or atmosphere that the author intends for the reader to experience while reading the text, while mood is the experience that the reader has while reading the story.

How the author feels about the setting or the character and how he wants the reader to feel determines the tone. On the contrary, the reader’s emotional response establishes the mood. Setting the mood at the opening of a story prepares the audience for what is to come.

How do you identify tone words?

Identifying tone words in a piece of writing is essential for understanding the intended emotions and attitudes conveyed by the author. Here are some key approaches to identifying tone words:

• Contextual Clues: Pay attention to the overall context and the writer’s purpose. Examine the subject matter, the writer’s attitude, and the intended audience. These factors can provide valuable hints about the tone.
• Word Choice: Look for words that evoke emotions or convey a particular attitude. Tone words often carry emotional weight or reveal the author’s perspective. Words with strong connotations, such as “brutal,” “uplifting,” or “serene,” can indicate the tone.
• Go with your Gut: Sometimes, the best way to explain a tone is to say that you just “get it.” The text makes you feel a specific way, whether it’s urgent or melancholy. After reading it, you feel angry and get the impression that the author is also angry. Or sometimes, there is nothing specifically humorous about the writing, yet you find yourself laughing anyhow. As a result, go with your instinct when deciding how to interpret the author’s tone in passages like these.

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Biden Used N-Word During 1985 Senate Confirmation Hearings?

The claim resurfaced amid allegations that former u.s. president donald trump said the n-word while filming "the apprentice.", izz scott lamagdeleine, published may 30, 2024.

On May 30, 2024, a former producer for "The Apprentice," the reality TV series former U.S. President Donald Trump co-produced and starred in for 15 years prior to running for office, wrote in a Slate article that Trump had been recorded using the N-word during the show's filming.

As the news began to spread across social media platforms, a similar claim about President Joe Biden using the N-word during his tenure as a U.S. senator began to spread across X :

The videos shared on X, which included a recording of Biden's alleged comments, claimed he said:

"In a confidential portions of your staff memo, they brought to your attention the allegation that important legislators, in defeating the Nunez plan in the basement said, quote, 'we already have a n----- mayor, we don't need any more n----- big shots.'"

We previously fact-checked this claim in 2020, at which time we confirmed that Biden did say those words. As we also noted, however, nearly all of the clips that spread across X omitted crucial context, namely that he was reading a portion of a staff memo out loud.

On June 5, 1985, Biden — who was then  a U.S. senator representing Delaware and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — was questioning William Bradford Reynolds during a series of confirmation hearings to consider whether he should be promoted to associate attorney general from being the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

The Nunez plan that Biden referenced in the viral quote was a Louisiana redistricting plan that white state officials created that ruled out a majority-Black congressional district in New Orleans, as The Washington Post reported  at the time of the hearing.

Biden mentioned  the Nunez plan to focus the hearings on voting rights as well as question Reynolds' credibility for the job, as the predecessor in his role at the Justice Department had called the plan a "a blatant racial gerrymander." Biden's efforts in opposing Reynolds were successful, as the Senate Judiciary Committee ultimately rejected  his nomination for promotion. 

For further reading about the allegations of Trump using the N-word on "The Apprentice," we published an explainer breaking down what we know so far. We've also fact-checked other claims about whether Biden has used the N-word in political office, like the false claim  he used the N-word in a 2021 recorded speech.

"Joe Biden Was Quoting Racist Comments When He Used the N-Word in 1985." AP News, 24 July 2020, https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-9146840045.

Lee, Jessica. "Did Joe Biden Use the N-Word in a Recorded Speech?" Snopes, 25 Feb. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/joe-biden-n-word-recorded-speech/.

Pruitt, Bill. "The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice." Slate, 30 May 2024. slate.com, https://slate.com/culture/2024/05/donald-trump-news-2024-trial-verdict-apprentice.html.

"Reynolds' Foes Claim Moral High Ground." Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/06/24/reynolds-foes-claim-moral-high-ground/2eedf0ef-fa4e-4f35-9a61-ef8662dcd974/.

By Izz Scott LaMagdeleine

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is a fact-checker for Snopes.

Article Tags

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What Is an LLM and How Does It Relate to AI Chatbots? Let Us Explain

Chatbots sound increasingly human, but they don't think -- or learn -- the way we do.

When you ask an AI chatbot like ChatGPT , Claude , Copilot or Gemini  to do something, it may seem like you're interacting with a person.

But you're not. These chatbots don't actually understand the meaning of words the way we do. Instead, they're the interface we use to interact with large language models, or LLMs. This underlying technology is trained to recognize how words are used and which words frequently appear together, so it can predict future words, sentences or paragraphs.

Generative AI tools are constantly refining their understanding of words to make better predictions. Some, including Google's Lumiere and OpenAI's Sora , are even learning to generate images, video and audio.

It's all part of a constant flux of one-upmanship kicked off by ChatGPT's introduction in late 2022, followed by the arrival of Microsoft's AI-enhanced Bing search and Google's Bard (now Gemini). Over the ensuing months, Microsoft introduced Copilot , Meta updated Llama , OpenAI released Dall-E 3 and GPT-4 Turbo , Google announced Gemini Ultra 1.0 and teased Gemini 1.5 Pro , while Anthropic debuted Claude 3 . Google and Adobe have released peeks at  tools that can generate virtual games and music to show consumers where the technology is headed. 

Cutting-edge technology like this has arguably never been so accessible. And the companies developing it are eager to lure you into their ecosystems and to stake their claims in a market projected to be worth $1.3 trillion by 2032.

If you're wondering what LLMs have to do with AI, this explainer is for you. (And be sure to check out our new AI Atlas guide for hands-on product reviews, as well as news, tips, video and more.)

What is a language model?

You can think of a language model as a soothsayer for words.

"A language model is something that tries to predict what language looks like that humans produce," said Mark Riedl, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing and associate director of the Georgia Tech Machine Learning Center. "What makes something a language model is whether it can predict future words given previous words."

This is the basis of autocomplete functionality when you're texting, as well as AI chatbots.

What is a large language model?

A large language model is, by definition, a big language model.

These models are measured in what is known as "parameters."

What's a parameter?

Well, LLMs use neural networks, which are machine learning models that take an input and perform mathematical calculations to produce an output. The number of variables in these computations are parameters. A large language model can have 1 billion parameters or more.

"We know that they're large when they produce a full paragraph of coherent fluid text," Riedl said.

Is there such a thing as a small language model?

Yes. Tech companies like Microsoft are rolling out smaller models , designed specifically for phones and PCs, that don't require the same computing resources as an LLM but nevertheless help users tap into the power of generative AI.

What is under the hood of a large language model?

When Anthropic mapped the "mind" of its Claude 3.0 Sonnet large language model, it found each internal state, or "what the model is 'thinking' before writing its response," is made by combining features, or patterns of neuron activations. (The artificial neurons in neural networks mimic the behavior of the neurons in our brains.)

By extracting these neuron activations from Claude 3.0 Sonnet, Anthropic was able to see a map of its internal states as it generates answers. The AI startup found patterns of neuron activations were focused on cities, people, atomic elements, scientific fields and programming syntax, as well as more abstract concepts like bugs in computer code, gender bias at work and conversations about keeping secrets.

In the end, Anthropic said "the internal organization of concepts in the AI model corresponds, at least somewhat, to our human notions of similarity."

How do large language models learn?

LLMs learn via a process called deep learning.

"It's a lot like when you teach a child -- you show a lot of examples," said Jason Alan Snyder, global CTO of ad agency Momentum Worldwide.

In other words, you feed the LLM a library of content (what's known as training data) such as books, articles, code and social media posts to help it understand how words are used in different contexts -- and even the more subtle nuances of language. 

During this process, the model digests far more than a person could ever read in their lifetime -- something on the order of trillions of tokens.

Tokens help AI models break down and process text. You can think of an AI model as a reader who needs help. The model breaks down a sentence into smaller pieces, or tokens -- which are equivalent to four characters in English, or about three-quarters of a word -- so they can understand each piece and then the overall meaning.

From there, the LLM can analyze how words connect and determine which words often appear together.

"It's like building this giant map of word relationships," Snyder said. "And then it starts to be able to do this really fun, cool thing, and it predicts what the next word is … and it compares the prediction to the actual word in the data and adjusts the internal map based on its accuracy."

This prediction and adjustment happens billions of times, so the LLM is constantly refining its understanding of language and getting better at identifying patterns and predicting future words. It can even learn concepts and facts from the data to answer questions, generate creative text formats and translate languages. But they don't understand the meaning of words like we do -- just the statistical relationships.

LLMs also learn to improve their responses through reinforcement learning from human feedback.

"You get a judgment or a preference from humans on which response was better given the input that it was given," said Maarten Sap, assistant professor at the Language Technologies Institute at Carnegie Mellon. "And then you can teach the model to improve its responses."

What do large language models do?

Given a series of input words, a LLM can predict the next word.

For example, consider the phrase, "I went sailing on the deep blue..."

Most people would probably guess "sea" because sailing, deep and blue are all words we associate with the sea. In other words, each word sets up context for what should come next.

"These large language models, because they have a lot of parameters, they can store a lot of patterns," Riedl said. "They are very good at being able to pick out these clues and make really, really good guesses at what comes next."

What do large language models do really well?

LLMs are very good at figuring out the connection between words and producing text that sounds natural.

"They take an input, which can often be a set of instructions, like, 'Do this for me' or 'Tell me about this' or 'Summarize this' and are able to extract those patterns out of the input and produce a long string of fluid response," Riedl said.

Where do large language models struggle?

But they have several weaknesses.

First, they're not good at telling the truth. In fact, they sometimes just make stuff up that sounds true, like when ChatGPT cited six fake court cases in a legal brief or when Bard mistakenly credited the James Webb Space Telescope with taking the first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system. Those are known as hallucinations.

"They are extremely unreliable in the sense that they confabulate and make up things a lot," Sap said. "They're not trained or designed by any means to spit out anything truthful."

They also struggle with queries that are fundamentally different from anything they've encountered before. That's because they're focused on finding and responding to patterns.

A good example is a math problem with a unique set of numbers.

"It may not be able to do that calculation correctly because it's not really solving math," Riedl said. "It is trying to relate your math question to previous examples of math questions that it has seen before."

And while they excel at predicting words, they're not good at predicting the future, which includes planning and decision making.  

"The idea of doing planning in the way that humans do it with … thinking about the different contingencies and alternatives and making choices, this seems to be a really hard roadblock for our current large language models right now," Riedl said.

Finally, they struggle with current events because their training data typically only goes up to a certain point and anything that happens after that isn't part of their knowledge base. And because they don't have the capacity to distinguish between what is factually true and what is likely, they can confidently provide incorrect information about current events.

They also don't interact with the world the way we do.

"This makes it difficult for them to grasp the nuances and complexities of current events that often require an understanding of context, social dynamics and real-world consequences," Snyder said.

How will large language models evolve?

We're already starting to see generative AI companies like OpenAI and Adobe debut multimodal models, which are trained not just on text but on images, video and audio.

We'll also likely see improvements in LLMs' abilities to not just translate languages from English but to understand and converse in additional languages as well.

We may also see retrieval capabilities evolve beyond what the models have been trained on. That could include leveraging search engines like Google so the models can conduct web searches and then feed those results into the LLM.

If LLMs were connected to search engines, they could process real-time information far beyond their training data. This means they could better understand queries and provide more accurate, up-to-date responses.

 "This helps our linkage models stay current and up to date because they can actually look at new information on the internet and bring that in," Riedl said.

There are a few catches. Web search could make hallucinations worse without adequate fact-checking mechanisms in place. And LLMs would need to learn how to assess the reliability of web sources before citing them. Plus, it would require a lot of (expensive) computing power to process web search results on demand.

AI-powered Bing , which Microsoft announced in February 2023, is a similar concept. However, instead of tapping into search engines to enhance its responses, Bing is using AI to make its own search engine better. That's in part by better understanding the true meaning behind consumer queries and better ranking the results for said queries.

Editors' note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post .

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• 21 May 2024

First ‘bilingual’ brain-reading device decodes Spanish and English words

• Amanda Heidt 0

Amanda Heidt is a freelance journalist in southeastern Utah.

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Medical imaging shows brain activity during speech production (artificially coloured). Credit: Zephyr/SPL

For the first time, a brain implant has helped a bilingual person who is unable to articulate words to communicate in both of his languages. An artificial-intelligence (AI) system coupled to the brain implant decodes, in real time, what the individual is trying to say in either Spanish or English.

The findings 1 , published on 20 May in Nature Biomedical Engineering , provide insights into how our brains process language , and could one day lead to long-lasting devices capable of restoring multilingual speech to people who can’t communicate verbally.

“This new study is an important contribution for the emerging field of speech-restoration neuroprostheses,” says Sergey Stavisky, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study. Even though the study included only one participant and more work remains to be done, “there’s every reason to think that this strategy will work with higher accuracy in the future when combined with other recent advances”, Stavisky says.

Speech-restoring implant

The person at the heart of the study, who goes by the nickname Pancho, had a stroke at age 20 that paralysed much of his body. As a result, he can moan and grunt but cannot speak clearly. In his thirties, Pancho partnered with Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, to investigate the stroke’s lasting effects on his brain. In a groundbreaking study published in 2021 2 , Chang’s team surgically implanted electrodes on Pancho’s cortex to record neural activity, which was translated into words on a screen.

Pancho’s first sentence — ‘My family is outside’ — was interpreted in English. But Pancho is a native Spanish speaker who learnt English only after his stroke. It’s Spanish that still evokes in him feelings of familiarity and belonging. “What languages someone speaks are actually very linked to their identity,” Chang says. “And so our long-term goal has never been just about replacing words, but about restoring connection for people.”

Brain-reading device is best yet at decoding ‘internal speech’

To achieve this goal, the team developed an AI system to decipher Pancho’s bilingual speech. This effort, led by Chang’s PhD student Alexander Silva, involved training the system as Pancho tried to say nearly 200 words. His efforts to form each word created a distinct neural pattern that was recorded by the electrodes.

The authors then applied their AI system, which has a Spanish module and an English one, to phrases as Pancho tried to say them aloud. For the first word in a phrase, the Spanish module chooses the Spanish word that matches the neural pattern best. The English component does the same, but chooses from the English vocabulary instead. For example, the English module might choose ‘she’ as the most likely first word in a phrase and assess its probability of being correct to be 70%, whereas the Spanish one might choose ‘estar’ (to be) and measure its probability of being correct at 40%.

Word for word

From there, both modules attempt to build a phrase. They each choose the second word based on not only the neural-pattern match but also whether it is likely to follow the first one. So ‘I am’ would get a higher probability score than ‘I not’. The final output produces two sentences — one in English and one in Spanish — but the display screen that Pancho faces shows only the version with the highest total probability score.

The modules were able to distinguish between English and Spanish on the basis of the first word with 88% accuracy and they decoded the correct sentence with an accuracy of 75%. Pancho could eventually have candid, unscripted conversations with the research team. “After the first time we did one of these sentences, there were a few minutes where we were just smiling,” Silva says.

Two languages, one brain area

The findings revealed unexpected aspects of language processing in the brain. Some previous experiments using non-invasive tools have suggested that different languages activate distinct parts of the brain 3 . But the authors’ examination of the signals recorded directly in the cortex found that “a lot of the activity for both Spanish and English was actually from the same area”, Silva says.

Furthermore, Pancho’s neurological responses didn’t seem to differ much from those of children who grew up bilingual, even though he was in his thirties when he learnt English — in contrast to the results of previous studies. Together, these findings suggest to Silva that different languages share at least some neurological features, and that they might be generalizable to other people.

Kenji Kansaku, a neurophysiologist at Dokkyo Medical University in Mibu, Japan, who was not involved in the study, says that in addition to adding participants, a next step will be to study languages “with very different articulatory properties” to English, such as Mandarin or Japanese. This, Silva says, is something he’s already looking into, along with ‘code switching’, or the shifting from one language to another in a single sentence. “Ideally, we’d like to give people the ability to communicate as naturally as possible.”

Nature 629 , 981 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01451-4

Silva, A. B. et al. Nature Biomed. Eng . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01207-5 (2024).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Moses, D. A. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 385 , 217–227 (2021).

Kim, K. H. S., Relkin, N. R., Lee, K.-M. & Hirsch, J. Nature 388 , 171–174 (1997).

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