50 words related to speech

Synonyms of speech

• as in language
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Thesaurus Definition of speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

• presentation
• declamation
• keynote speech
• keynote address
• mother tongue
• terminology
• colloquialism
• regionalism
• vernacularism
• provincialism

Examples of speech in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speech.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Phrases Containing speech

• figure of speech

Thesaurus Entries Near speech

Cite this entry.

“Speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speech. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on speech

Nglish: Translation of speech for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of speech for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about speech

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noun as in talk

Strongest matches

• conversation

Strong matches

• articulation
• communication
• doublespeak
• enunciation
• intercourse
• pronunciation
• verbalization
• vocalization

Weak matches

• double talk
• mother tongue
• native tongue
• oral communication
• vocal expression

noun as in formal talk to audience

• declamation
• disquisition
• dissertation
• exhortation
• valedictory

Example Sentences

Kids are interacting with Alexas that can record their voice data and influence their speech and social development.

The attorney general delivered a controversial speech Wednesday.

For example, my company, Teknicks, is working with an online K-12 speech and occupational therapy provider.

Instead, it would give tech companies a powerful incentive to limit Brazilians’ freedom of speech at a time of political unrest.

However, the president did give a speech in Suresnes, France, the next day during a ceremony hosted by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.

There is no such thing as speech so hateful or offensive it somehow “justifies” or “legitimizes” the use of violence.

We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.

The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.

Alessandro turned a grateful look on Ramona as he translated this speech, so in unison with Indian modes of thought and feeling.

And so this is why the clever performer cannot reproduce the effect of a speech of Demosthenes or Daniel Webster.

He said no more in words, but his little blue eyes had an eloquence that left nothing to mere speech.

After pondering over Mr. Blackbird's speech for a few moments he raised his head.

Albinia, I have refrained from speech as long as possible; but this is really too much!

Related Words

Words related to speech are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word speech . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in formal speech or address

noun as in manner of conducting oneself

• comportment
• performance
• savoir-faire
• social graces
• way of life
• what's done

noun as in information transmitted

• announcement
• declaration
• information
• inside story
• intelligence
• translation

noun as in conversation

• confabulation

Viewing 5 / 44 related words

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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Each list of articulation sounds contains words with the target sound in the beginning, middle, and end position, including blends when applicable, as well as words that...

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If "R" is the problem sound using the word "Rope" makes saying the "R" sound harder because the "O" sound is considered a round vowel.

A round vowel is one where you round your lips to say it. Go ahead...try it by saying "O" as in "boat". You rounded your lips didn't you? I thought you might.

Children who have difficulty with the "R" sound tend to say the "W" sound...they say "Wabbit" instead of "Rabbit".

The "W" sound is considered a rounded sound too. Try saying the "W" sound without rounding your lips...you can't because that is how the sound is made.

So by pairing the "R" sound with the "O" sound like in the word "Rope", this makes the word extra difficult for a child who has a problem saying the "R" sound because the "O" that follows the "R" will naturally make them want to round there lips.

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Our word lists are carefully designed to target various aspects of speech and language development, including articulation, apraxia, language comprehension and expression, phonological awareness, and stuttering principles. We understand the importance of having a wide range of words to practice with, as it provides the necessary foundation for effective speech therapy.

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Synonyms and antonyms of speech in English

Synonyms and examples, see words related to speech, speech | american thesaurus.

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50 Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Ask a million people how to start a speech with a bang and you will get a million different answers.

While some prefer to start their speech with the good old charm of a quote, others prefer to put on their hats of creativity to discover new ways to capture the attention of their audience.

So, yes! There’s not just one best way to start your speech with a bang but you have a whole spectrum of ways- each unique on its own!

Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and relax as I highlight 50 Powerful Speech Opening Lines from some of the World’s Most Influential Speeches along with guidance on how to use each of these techniques in your next speech/presentation.

Alright, let’s dive in!

How to Start your Speech/Presentation?

The attention span of your audience is at its peak at the very beginning of your speech. Shouldn’t you use this to your advantage? Of course, yes!

A strong opening remark captures the attention of your audience, sets the theme of your speech, and most importantly, instills curiosity for the remainder of your speech in the minds of your audience.

Before we analyze each of these speech opening lines, let me provide you with a quick list of techniques (all of which we are going to discuss in great depth!) for you to start your speech/presentation:

• 1. Don't just "Say!" Sing A Song

2. Uniqueness of An Unpopular Opinion

3. the power of a prop, 4. quest of a question, 5. hint of humor, 6. share a story, 7. surprise, surprise, surprise, 8. foster interest with facts.

• 9. Let's Visualize with "Visuals"

10. Capture Interest with your Clothes

11. activity for the audience, 12. element of fear, 13. invite them into your imagination, 14. quintessential quality of a quote, 100 best speech opening lines (the ultimate resource), 1. don’t just “say” sing a song.

Now, you must be thinking that I’m crazy to even suggest this but hear me out.

Doing something entirely different on stage just makes you stand out from the usual crowd. Because let’s admit it, we expect the speaker to simply start talking and when the speaker does something different, it surprises us and makes us intrigued for the remainder of the talk.

Having said that, singing is any day a safer bet since we all love to swing by the music.

But, if you are not at all confident about your singing skills, don’t go for it! Instead, you can try channeling the power of poetry, something very similar to singing but still light on your vocal cords. Don’t be confused! We’ve written an entire article on Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking , just for you! Do check it out.

How to Use A Song as your Speech Opening?

Step 1: Pick a relevant yet famous song related to the theme of your speech/presentation

Step 2: Choose how you wish to use the song to present your point. Do you wish to agree with the lyrics? Or disagree with the lyrics?

Step 3: Pick a few lines (not more than 2-3 lines) that suits your theme the best

Step 4: Craft a statement to explain the connection of the song with the topic of your speech/presentation

Step 5: What are you waiting for? Go ahead, warm up your vocal cords, and start singing

Examples of Speeches that Used Songs as Speech Openings

1. it is okay not to have a plan by mithila palkar.

(Sings the Song) “Some of you must have seen the video of this song online, and I’ll tell you the story of how I made it.” Mithila Palkar

Budding Indian Actress and Singer, Mithila Palkar started her TED Talk by singing a Marathi Song, a song that went viral on the internet and made her famous.

Instead of simply talking about how she marked the transition from a viral singing star to a renowned actress, she made her audience live her journey by singing the exact same song.

Two things happened here:

• Most of the audience members were able to recognize the song, which in turn, established her credibility as a speaker
• The song hooked the audience from the very beginning of her talk

No matter how much we deny it, humans are judgemental beings!

We have expectations for every single thing on this planet and when someone challenges these expectations, we’re left shocked.

And as a result, they’ve all our attention. That is exactly my mantra here, “Shock the audience to get their attention!”

How to Use An Unpopular Opinion as your Speech Opening?

Step 1 : Ask yourself, “Who is my audience?” Look for the basic information on their average age, level of education, pre-conceived notions, and cultural background. Still confusing, right? The Importance of Knowing Your Audience When Delivering a Speech is an article that carries the step-by-step guide, just for you.

Step 2 : Based upon this audience analysis, figure out their set expectation regarding the topic you are about to deliver your speech on.

Step 3 : Shred that expectation by challenging that set expectation in your opening remark. Remember not to be offensive and play by the rule of your moral compass

Examples of Speeches that Used Unpopular Opinions As Opening Remarks

1. grit: the power of passion and perseverance by angela lee duckworth.

“ When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching “ Angela Lee Duckworth

When using this strategy in your speech, it’s critical that you do your research so that you can come up with an unpopular viewpoint on the subject.

Present that unpopular viewpoint as your introductory words, and then gradually (it must be a progressive process) lead your audience to the realization, which is your speech’s main goal. Just like this speaker did!

Visuals overpower our auditory senses! Why not use it to the best of our advantage?

As our immediate reflex, we first see and then, listen. Bringing a unique prop/placard onto the stage would intrigue the audience even before you “actually” start speaking.

Without any further delay, let’s discuss the steps to use props/placards the right way.

How to Use A Prop/Placard as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Prepare a list of props/placards that resonate the best with the theme of your speech/presentation. Don’t just bring anything on the stage!

Step 2: From this list, remove the generic options. For instance, if you are delivering a speech on environmental conservation, bringing a plastic bag on stage is too generic and won’t instill curiosity in the audience’s minds

Step 3: Now, out of all the relevant props/placards, which one do you think is the most convenient and affordable to bring on the stage? And, you have your answer!

Step 4: Once you have decided on the prop, craft a statement to establish the connection between the prop and the theme of your speech

Examples of Speeches that Used Props As Opening Remarks

1. why i live a zero waste life by lauren singer.

(brings a jar filled with waste and speaks) “This is all of the trash that I’ve produced in the past 3 years!” Lauren Singer

When you witness the speaker, Lauren, showcasing a jar filled with all of the trash that she has produced in the past three years, you can’t help wonder, “Is this for real?”

Because even the packaging of all the junk food items that we consume every week can easily overflood this jar.

Taking advantage of this embedded curiosity, Lauren structured the rest of her talk talking about all of the steps that she takes to lead a zero-waste life.

2. Plus-size? More Like My Size By Ashley Graham

(stands in front of a mirror and speaks) “You are bold, you are brilliant and you are beautiful. There is no other woman like you. You are capable…” Ashley Graham

Breaking the norms of a traditional speech, Ashley Graham, instead of staring at the audience, stares at a mirror and speaks a few lines on self-affirmation.

Let’s admit it, most of us are critical of our own bodies, and standing in front of a mirror, we tend to focus upon all the possible flaws.

To set an example of positive self-affirmation, Ashley Graham takes upon herself to set an example with the help of a live exercise.

3. 25 Chemistry Experiments in 15 Minutes By Andrew Szydlo

*does chemistry experiments* Andrew Szydlo

Watch this TED Talk and I’m sure you’ll find all the presence, of all those chemical equipment on stage, fascinating!

When the audience witnesses the efforts you are taking to deliver your talk, they are impressed and trust me, you are halfway there at capturing the attention of your audience.

Now, of course, it doesn’t mean that you put all your heart and soul into getting that perfect prop on stage.

If it’s not feasible, don’t! But if you can, that’s a great way to win your audience!

4. I See Something By Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

*smells flower* Dananjaya Hettiarachchi

In the previous example, we saw how bringing a grand prop captures the attention of our audience.

But the power of a prop goes WAY beyond this!

When a simple prop is connected with a meaningful yet unique message, the impact manifolds.

In this TED Talk, the speaker uses a rose to explain how each individual is unique in terms of his personality. A powerful message is delivered with the use of a simple prop.

A tried and tested trick that psychologists swear by to awaken the distracted minds is to “shoot a question”.

You could do that too in your next speech/presentation.

How to Use A Question As An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Think of all the questions that can help you to set the theme of your speech

Step 2: Make a point to not include close-ended questions and questions that are simply TOO GENERIC

Step 3: The last element that your question must include is the element of curiosity. The purpose is to make the audience curious enough to listen to your entire speech looking for answers to that question. But while you are at it, make sure you don’t overpromise and your speech does have the answers to that question.

Examples of Speeches that used Questions as Opening Remarks

1. every argument against veganism by ed winters.

“So, when I say the word ‘Vegan’ to you, what do you think of?” Ed Winters

Just by hearing this question, our first thought is to run all the possible definitions of veganism and the audience of this speech did the same.

This question is very clever and I’ll tell you why. So, every time a definition would come into the mind of any audience member, the speaker would be presenting his arguments against veganism forcing the audience to align their thoughts with his thought process.

Without any possible digression, the speaker Ed Winters presents his thoughts on Veganism in a convincing manner with the help of the rhetoric of questions.

Now, this type of question sends the audience on a possible quest for answers but that’s not the only purpose that this technique serves. Next in order, let’s look at how questions set the theme of a speech.

2. Why Do We Ask Questions? By Michael “Vsauce” Stevens

“What is the best type of cheese to use to catch a bear?” Michael “Vsauce” Stevens

In this TED Talk, the speaker uses this technique as a rhetorical question and answers this question with the help of a cheese pun.

Moving ahead, he goes on unearthing the science behind asking questions. So, it only made sense for him to begin his speech with a question too to set the overall vibe and theme of the topic.

3. Marriage Material By Nina Donovan

“So from a glance, do I look like marriage material?” Nina Donovan

In this TED Talk, we shall discover the strength of an interrogative remark in generating curiosity regarding the theme of your speech.

Since time immemorial, society has been setting “so-called” norms to determine if an individual is a potential marriage material (mostly, in the case of women).

To fit under this category of “marriage material”, one has to behave as per the so-called expectations of the society, and anything that defies the norm fails to fit in.

With the help of her powerful voice, the speaker here challenges the notion of this concept of “Marriage Material” and highlights the importance of individuality.

And by asking if the audience perceives her as marriage material, she surprises the audience while cultivating a sense of curiosity in them.

4. After watching this, your brain will not be the same By Lara Boyd

“So how do we learn? And why do some of us learn things more easily than others?” Lara Boyd

Admit it or not- we’ve always wondered why some people learn things better than us. What exactly is their secret?

And when you throw this question at the audience, they become intrigued to know this very secret with the help of your talk.

Curiosity is what makes us stick to the remainder of any talk. So, it’s high time we channelize it!

5. The Value of Asking Questions By Karen Maeyens

“Do you know the people that are asked the most questions? Have A Guess!” Karen Maeyens

An open-ended thought-provoking question like this forces the audience to activate their minds in the search for answers.

As they become more active, they listen better and focuses better on what you have to offer.

When Karen asked her audience who are the people that are asked the most questions, different minds pondered different answers and when she herself answered the question, those who thought of different answers were intrigued to listen to her justification and as a result of this, they stuck by!

6. Two Easily Remembered Questions that Silence Negative Thoughts By Anthony Metivier

“How would you like to completely silence your mind?” Anthony Metivier

We, humans, have restless minds- always pondering over something or the other.

So, what’s likely to happen when someone asks us if we would like to silence our minds? Ironically, we’ll be restless to know the answer. That’s what the speaker did through his TED Talk.

The next time you are giving a speech, you can consider opening it with a question that would result in a similar effect of restlessness in the minds of the audience.

For this to truly happen, make sure that your question is not generic. Otherwise, all your efforts will be in vain.

Ain’t we tired of listening to the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine”?

I’m sure we all are but the reason why it’s still so prevalent is because of its universality.

Of course, laughter is the best medicine to an opening remark too. It makes your audience laugh and who doesn’t love a good laugh? We all do!

Humor puts the minds at ease and makes you sound more human, because of which, the audience perceives you as a credible speaker.

How to Use Humor In An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Know your audience well. Your joke must resonate with them so as to make the desired impact. For instance, if you are addressing a school crowd and you make a joke about workplace communication mistakes. It won’t make the audience chuckle, would it?

Step 2: Puns? Self-deprecating humor? Or Funny Anecdotes? Identify the types of humor and figure out which one suits your personality in the best way. If you are not sure what types of humor are there and wish to seek a step-by-step guide on including humor in your presentation, make sure you read A Guide To Using Humor In Your Speech . Remember to choose the type of humor in alignment with your personality otherwise, it will look forced and won’t result in the impact you desired

Step 3: Step out and do a pilot survey! Try out the opener on a few folks who are similar to your target audience. Examine their reaction and, if required, adjust the joke

Step 4: Keep in mind that once you begin your speech with a pinch of humor, your audience will be expecting a few moments of laughter throughout the rest of your speech too. So, make sure you save 2-3 jokes (not more than that) for the remainder of your speech to meet those expectations

Examples of Speeches that used Humor in Opening Remarks

1. thoughts on humanity, fame and love by shah rukh khan.

“I’m a movie star. I’m 51 years of age. And I don’t use Botox as of yet.” Shah Rukh Khan

This TED Talk right here is the perfect case in point for you to witness all the four steps to humor (as discussed in the previous section) in action.

Known for his great performance in doing justice to a number of family roles in Bollywood films, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, in his TED Talk used the power of humor to make himself sound more human to align his talk with his perceived personality.

A humorous take on the drug, Botox, not only relates to the speaker’s professional credibility but also established the relatability quotient.

2. Ellen DeGeneres’ 86th Oscars Opening

“It’s been a tough couple of days for us. It has been raining. We’re fine. Thank you for your prayers.” Ellen DeGeneres

Two lessons on humor can be perfectly drawn from this talk:

• Make sure you include humor when the event calls for it in its truest sense.

Since Ellen DeGeneres was hosting the Oscars Opening Ceremony, nobody expected her to be all serious in terms of her talk. The audience is expecting a more relaxed and chill vibe from the speaker.

So, starting her talk with a piece of humor not only sounded like a safer bet but also the most effective one.

• Humor must align with the personality of the orator

What’s the thought that comes to your mind when you listen to the name, “Ellen DeGeneres”? I’m sure for most of us, it’s someone who’s great at presenting her opinions in a convincing manner with the help of comedy.

And that’s what you expect from her personality: Humor!

3. How Indian Parents Make You Tougher By Hasan Minhaj

“Do you know when brown kids get slapped? Every brown birthday party.” Hasan Minhaj

The element of surprise won’t work if your audience is familiar with what you are about to tell them.

So, make sure that you are addressing the right element of surprise to the right audience to make them chuckle. And Hasan Minhaj did it absolutely right!

In this TED Talk, Hasan Minhaj told a piece of surprising cultural information about Indian teens to the American Audience and not the Indian Audience (because they will be familiar with it and it won’t be a shock).

4. The Clues to A Great Story By Andrew Stanton

“A tourist is backpacking through the highlands of Scotland, and he stops at a pub to get a drink. And the only people in there is a bartender and an old man nursing a beer. And he orders a pint, and they sit in silence for a while. And suddenly, the old man turns to him and goes, “You see this bar? I built this bar with my bare hands from the finest wood in the county, gave it more care and love than my own child. But do they call me McGregor the Bar Builder? No.” Points out the window. “You see that stone wall out there? I built that stone wall with my bare hands. Found every stone, placed them just so through the rain and the cold. But do they call me McGregor the Stone Wall Builder? No” Points out the other window. “You see that pier on the lake out there? I built that pier with my bare hands, drove the pilings against the tide of the sand, plank by plank. But do they call me McGregor the pier builder? No. But you fuck one goat…” Andrew Stanton

When humor is combined with effective storytelling, a great laugh is expected from the intrigued minds sitting in the audience.

Remember how we used to tell small anecdotes as kids while telling any joke? That’s what needs to be done here.

Build up the curiosity with the help of a story and end that story by bringing in an element of surprise to make your audience chuckle. Unexpected humor is always welcome!

We’ve all grown up listening to bedtime stories.

As we approached our teenage years and adulthood, we switched to narrating anecdotes from our lives to our friends, family, and colleagues.

In a nutshell, it’s the stories that connect us and will continue to serve this very purpose.

Hence, it’s only fair for us to channel this magic of storytelling into our public speaking events as well.

How to Narrate A Story in An Opening Remark?

Step 1: Pick a story from your life or narrate something that happened to someone you know or simply form a gripping story. Whatever it might be, just make sure you are not exaggerating to come off as a relatable speaker. Most importantly, the story you choose has to be related to the theme of your speech

Step 2: Now that you have the story in mind, pick a narrative to design the structure of your story. Wait, don’t know what storytelling narrative structures are? Read 9 Storytelling Approaches For Your Next Speech or Presentation to know different ways to effectively narrate a story

Step 3: Use simple language while writing your story and be descriptive enough to help them imagine. Keep in mind that your audience should relate and it’s possible only when they can understand your story in its truest sense

Examples of Speeches that used Stories As Opening Remarks

1. life begins at the end of your comfort zone by yubing zhang.

“It’s a cold and foggy winter morning and I’m standing on the world’s tallest bungee platform. The platform I’m standing on is so tiny that I’ve to stand on my toes and balance myself against the wind…” Yubing Zhang

While highlighting how stepping out of one’s comfort zone is crucial, the speaker narrates a personal anecdote of her bungee-jumping experience.

To form a connection with the overall theme, she goes on to narrate how one bungee cord leap taught her the biggest lesson of her life.

Through the remainder of her talk, she then focuses upon sharing her lessons and guidance on how one can step out of his/her comfort zone to facilitate personal growth.

2. How to Figure Out What You Really Want By Ashley Stahl

“It was 2:45 pm on a rainy friday in Los Angeles. My dad was just brewing a cup of coffee in the kitchen when he answered a call from an unknown number…” Ashley Stahl

While the previous example on storytelling taught us to build a connection with the overall theme of our speech, this TED Talk by Ashley Stahl teaches the significance of body language and voice modulation in effective storytelling.

Observe how she narrates this story with effective pauses and uses inflection to create a sense of drama and suspense.

That’s something we all should keep in consideration while narrating any story.

Storytelling is only effective when conveyed properly with the help of facial expressions, body language, and vocal tonality. This is all done to appeal to the sentiments of the audience because eventually, it is what will make our talk all the more persuasive.

3. How “SHE” became an IAS Officer By Surabhi Gautam

“My story starts from a small, sleepy village of Madhya Pradesh with a population of barely a thousand people…” Surabhi Gautam

You don’t necessarily have to focus all your energy on writing your story with a proper build-up.

If you are using a story to build your credibility as a speaker as well as intrigue your audience, one simple way could be to just begin your speech with something as simple as, “My story starts from…”

Just like this speaker did!

Nothing fancy, nothing over the board but still manages to captivates the interest of the audience because of the following reasons:

• She communicates in the language of people by using simple words
• Starting with something like, “My story starts from…” sent an indication that she’s about to narrate the story of her life and as a matter of fact, we all are intrigued naturally to listen to different people’s life stories

4. Speaking Up Without Freaking Out By Matt Abrahams

“Panic. Embarassed. Exposed. No, that’s not how I’m feeling right now. Those are the feelings I had when I was a fourteen year old boy…” Matt Abrahams

Let’s be honest for a moment- we all have been through the feeling of “Panic, Embarrassed, Exposed” (just how Matt puts it) when asked to speak on stage.

By narrating a story that most of the audience members can relate to, Matt won the hearts of a majority of his audience members and established his credibility as a speaker.

5. The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything By Josh Kaufman

“Two years ago my life changed forever. My wife and I welcomed our daughter Lela in the world…” Josh Kaufman

“This has been the turning point of my life”

How do you feel when someone says something like this to you? Intrigued to know more?

This is the power that the speaker used here. He narrated a story of how being a parent changed his life and eventually, relates this experience to the topic of his speech, which to be honest, is fascinating to witness!

6. The Happy Secret to Better Work By Shawn Achor

“When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old, we were playing on top of a bunk bed. I was two years older than my sister at the time — I mean, I’m two years older than her now — but at the time it meant she had to do everything that I wanted to do, and I wanted to play war. So we were up on top of our bunk beds. And on one side of the bunk bed, I had put out all of my G.I. Joe soldiers and weaponry. And on the other side were all my sister’s My Little Ponies ready for a cavalry charge. There are differing accounts of what actually happened that afternoon, but since my sister is not here with us today, let me tell you the true story –“ Shawn Achor

A descriptive story narrated using stylistic language has the strength to move the audience and immerse them into a fictional world.

In terms of storytelling, this technique is by far the most effective yet simplest way.

It’s commonly used while giving out persuasive speeches as it helps the speaker to align the audience’s thoughts with the speaker’s point of view. That’s what Shawn did through the help of his childhood story.

Of course, we all love surprises. Who doesn’t, right?

So, here’s a crazy idea! Why not surprise your audience with your opening remark?

Here’s how you can do so.

How to Surprise your Audience through your Opening Remark?

Option 1: Go up on that stage, say something totally unexpected and blow the minds! Now, your job doesn’t end here. Once you are done speaking your opening remark, provide your audience as to why you said what you said and what more are you going to offer through the rest of your content. Look at the first example in the next section to see its application.

Option 2: Another thing that you can do is to tell your audience something completely unknown related to the topic of your speech. Something that would make them go like, “Wait, what?” You can either present a shocking piece of information, an unknown taboo of that culture, or even a shocking habit of that cultural population.

Option 3: Tell something unknown not about the culture you are talking about but about yourself. We as humans are always attracted to gossip about other people’s lives. Of course, the audience would be interested in knowing something shocking about your life. But through the content of your speech, do remember to build that connection with your speech.

Examples of Speeches that Surprises its Audience through its Opening Remarks

1. how to start a speech by simon lancaster.

“Who wants to get high? Yeah, you up for some? Should we really get this party started?” Simon Lancaster

Who comes up on stage and asks the audience, “Who wants to get high?”

It’s purely unexpected and shocking!

But in this TED Talk, as the speaker focuses upon highlighting the steps to crafting a strong opening remark (just like we are discussing at this moment), he took it upon himself to use this very element of surprise to capture the audience’s attention.

2. Why I Don’t Use A Smart Phone By Ann Makosinski

“The last time I used a flip phone was 3 hours and 24 minutes ago.” Ann Makosinski

Now, after listening to her opening remark, do you want to know why is she still using a flip phone in the 21st Century? (At least, I do)

And that is the strength of a strong opening remark.

After generating this needed curiosity in the minds of her audience, the speaker focused the remainder of her talk telling these reasons to the audience, one by one.

So, yes! We can safely say that starting our speech with an unpopular opinion is an elegant yet simple way to kick-start our speech.

3. How to Control Emotion and Influence Behavior By Dawn Goldworm

“I can control your emotions and influence your behaviour without showing you anything, without touching you and without saying a word to you.” Dawn Goldworm

Hearing this opening remark is not just shocking but scary too!

I’m sure, just like me, you wish to unearth this secret to control and influence behavior so that you can control minds too.

It’s natural for you to listen to the remainder of the talk for this sole reason.

This way, capturing the attention of her audience was made easy for the speaker, Dawn Goldworm.

4. Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable By Luvvie Ajayi Jones

“I’m a professional troublemaker!” Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Listening to this opening remark, “what is your reaction?”

Are you thinking how exactly is she a troublemaker just like me? If yes, then the speaker has successfully inculcated this curiosity in us.

But what we all are also wondering is what does that have to do with the theme and the speaker does establish this connection in her follow-up statement right after her opening remark.

So, make sure the next time you are out there presenting a shocking remark, do follow it up with context, always.

5. How to Spot A Liar By Pamela Meyer

“Okay now, I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. Also, the person to your left is a liar.” Pamela Meyer

While delivering a TED Talk on “How to Spot A Liar”, Pamela begins by spotting a few liars from the audience itself making everyone think, “How did she do that?”

And naturally, with minimum efforts, she lured her audience in to listen to her entire talk as she unfolds different ways in which we all can spot a liar.

6. The Art of Being Yourself By Caroline McHugh

“So, the chances are you have looked in at least one mirror today. You’ve had a shave or you combed your hair or maybe you checked your teeth for spinach after lunch, but what you didn’t know is the face that you’re looking at is not the face that everyone sees.” Caroline McHugh

A shocking way to surprise your audience is to simply begin with some obvious observations and follow them up with a unique observation about the very same things- leaving them surprised by catching them completely off-guard.

To get better at this technique, draw some inspiration from this TED Talk by Caroline McHugh as she does a similar thing.

It is so far the easiest way to start your speech with a bang!

Present a fact to elicit the shock value in the minds- be it positive or negative.

But incorporating the right fact in the right way is an art in itself. Let’s dive right into it!

How to Use Facts as your Opening Remark?

First things first, make sure that your fact is not too generic. It has to be shocking in one way or the other to grip the audience’s attention.

Step 1: Present the fact using simple language. Avoid using technical terms here.

Step 2: Take a pause, give the audience a moment to ponder over it (But don’t wait for TOO LONG!). Next, present an extension of that fact, if you have any, or simply break down the fact by telling the audience how does this fact affects them. Give them the reasons.

Examples of Speeches that used Facts as its Opening Remarks

1. can we not let our breakups break us by tasha jackson.

“I want you all to know that you are loved because today we can be surrounded by so many people but feel profoundly alone. 68% of Gen Z feels like nobody knows them. An average American has only one close friend and one in four feels like no one.” Tasha Jackson

While presenting facts, it’s important that we go from covering a larger umbrella to the smaller one

This way, the audience knows the exact way in which they are getting affected by this piece of information.

That’s exactly how the speaker, Tasha, rolled her TED Talk.

Once the audience was aware of the intensity of how breakups are affecting each one of them, they were all the more intrigued to know how they can not let breakups affect them to such a drastic extent.

It is this incentive that made the listeners pay attention to her talk as she unfolded all the solutions to this, one by one.

2. How to Increase Love in Your Relationship By Jonathan Ljungqvist

“In Sweden, where I come from, we have 40 thousand marriages a year and each year we have around 20 thousand divorces.” Jonathan Ljungqvist

Create the illusion of an audience poll with your piece of fact, just like this speaker did in his TED Talk.

After highlighting the drastic extent of failed marriages in Sweden, Jonathan took a pause to let that information sink in and in his follow-up statement, he started shooting a few questions at the audience.

After waiting for a few seconds (2-3 seconds is the ideal time duration to wait), Jonathan answered and highlighted the problem at hand.

This made the audience respect and agree with his fact, all the way more.

Through the remainder of his talk, he then went on highlighting the steps to increase love in any relationship.

3. I See Dead People: Dreams and Visions of the Dying By Dr. Christopher Kerr

“I read a recent survey, and what Americans fear most is public speaking and dying.” Dr. Christopher Kerr

How do we perceive death as an individual? It’s a question that most of us have a unique answer to.

In an attempt to establish the relevance of his topic, the speaker uses a fact that highlights how feared death is.

It’s what capitalized the attention of the audience and forced them to listen to what different perspectives he had to offer on the topic from a medical standpoint.

4. Saudi Arabia: Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

“Saudi Arabia has been engulfed in a massive diplomatic crisis over the gruesome killing of Washingto Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi” Hasan Minhaj

Now, stating facts doesn’t mean that you just go on telling statistical figures. It also includes different pieces of information, particularly news events!

In this talk, Hasan Minhaj recalls one such news event to set the theme of his talk.

Recalling news events makes our talk relevant while establishing the context. It signifies that as a speaker you are up-to-date with the information that you have to offer. So, the audience looks forward to hearing a talk devoid of redundancies.

5. Can We Not Let Our Breakups Break Us By Tasha Jackson

We live in a world where dating is the equivalent of buying a new pair of shoes.

Very often, with each dating experience comes the trauma of heartbreaks. As the speaker in this TED Talk rightly said, “breakups break us”.

But how to overcome it has always been a flaming question, particularly among the teens.

But to bring to light the intensity and ever-increasing prevalence of the situation, the speaker took the help of the statistics.

6. Teach Every Child About Food By Jamie Oliver

“ Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat. “ Jamie Oliver

Here, while throwing light upon an alarming issue (hunger), the speaker considered presenting harrowing stats to get that desired ‘concerned mood’.

Similarly, when you wish to highlight an opportunity (say, the positive side of social media), present positive stats showcasing the success of people through social media.

9. Let’s Visualize with “Visuals”

Visuals are always gripping and easy on our minds.

Show respect towards your audience by giving them a needed break from the monotony of “just listening”.

Be a respite and engage them through the power of visuals for a change. Here’s exactly how you can do this.

How to Connect Visuals with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Get in touch with the tech team of your public speaking event and see if the needed technical support is there to facilitate the screening of an image/video.

Step 2: Now, find a visual interesting enough to arise the curiosity but not too generic to make it too predictable for the audience- all related to your theme.

Step 3: Craft a short, concise, and to-the-point follow-up statement to explain the relevance of that visual using simple language.

Examples of Speeches that used Visuals as Opening Remarks

1. don’t believe everything you think by lauren weinstein.

*shows picture of an elephant.* Lauren Weinstein

In this TED Talk, Lauren draws a beautiful comparison between elephants and the nature of humans by showcasing a few visuals.

She does this through the use of storytelling. Narrating how despite all the strength an elephant has, it doesn’t attempt to break its chains of captivity.

After establishing this, she goes on to connect this act with the thesis of her speech, that is, how one should not always believe everything they think.

What we can take away from this TED Talk is, when visuals are effectively supported by storytelling and the rhetoric of drawing comparison, the impact increases manifold.

2. The History of Our World in 18 Minutes By David Christian

*plays a video about scrambled eggs* David Christian

In this unique TED Talk, David Christian explains the origin of the history of our world through the video of a scrambled egg. Unique, isn’t it?

That is exactly what we need to learn here.

We don’t necessarily need to find a visual that directly relates to the theme of our speech. Instead, we can go for a visual that we can use as an aid to explain a similar topic, that is, the theme of our speech.

3. How Breathing and Metabolism are Interconnected By Ruben Meerman

*shows image of himself in the sea* Ruben Meerman

This TED Talk right here is an example of how you can establish a direct correlation between the visual and your topic- all through the use of storytelling.

Ruben Meerman began his speech by showing a few pictures of himself to talk about his health transformation.

When the audience witnessed the transformation right in front of their eyes, they were curious to know the secret behind it so that they can apply it to their respective lives.

That’s the power of a gripping visual!

YES! You read it right.

No matter how shallow it sounds but the outfit is the first thing we notice every time a speaker walks up that stage.

And if you are dressed differently than the rest of the speakers, you naturally capture the eyes of your audience.

By this, I don’t mean that you go to a branded store and buy the most expensive outfit from there and wear it for your event. What I mean is to put serious thought into deciding what to wear for your event.

Ideally, one should go for an outfit that is unique yet related to the theme of your speech but doesn’t hurt the dress code of the event too. Here’s how.

How to Connect Clothes with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: The most basic step is to check with the admin if there is any particular dress code that the speakers need to adhere to. If not, feel free to put on your hat of creativity by following the next steps

Step 2: Pick an outfit that connects with the theme of your speech but is still unique enough for the audience to go like, “Wait, what outfit is this?”

Step 3: Go on the stage wearing that outfit, take a pause, let the audience wonder. After a meaningful silence of 2-3 seconds, start speaking. Open up by telling the audience the significance of the outfit that you are wearing

Examples of Speeches that Connect Clothes with Opening Remarks

1. we are all different- and that’s awesome by cole blakeway.

(comes on stage weaing two different pair of socks and shoes) “Hi, my name is Cole and over the next few minutes, I’m going to teach you that it’s okay to be different. Since a young age, I’ve worn different colored socks and two different shoes.” Cole Blakeway

Fascinating opening remark, isn’t it?

Something as simple as wearing different pairs of socks can instill curiosity and help the speaker make his point, “we all are different”.

Since biblical times, we as humans try to fit in different situations. Be it a workplace, college, or even a social gathering for that matter.

In this TED Talk, Cole attempts to shed light on the lesson of embracing our true selves and how there’s nothing wrong with being different.

The tone of such a powerful talk was set just by wearing different pairs of socks.

2. Looks aren’t Everything. Believe me, I’m a Model By Cameron Russell

(switches to a different outfit and speaks) “This is the first outfit change on the TED Stage, so you guys are pretty lucky to witness it, I think.” Cameron Russell

Of course, the traditional way to pull this technique off is to come on stage wearing a unique outfit.

But Cameron Russell finds her very own unique way of a live outfit change wherein she brings a wrap-around skirt and wears over her dress to make a simple point that appearance is not everything, it goes way beyond that.

Seeing a model by profession mark this unlikely outfit transition made the audience trust her thesis all the way more.

They say that communication is a two-way street.

Yet, more often than not, we forget to keep this in mind during all the public speaking events.

We tend o go on speaking and speaking. While sometimes we manage to keep the audience interested, the rest of the time we simply bore the audience to sleep.

To save you here, an easy bet is to organize an activity for your audience towards the very beginning of your speech.

How to Connect An Audience Activity with your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Familiarize with your audience. What’s the average age of your audience? What’s their educational and work background? Getting these basic details will help you structure an activity that would ensure maximum participation from them. For instance, if you are addressing a bunch of school students, your activity can involve more physical exercises and less mental exercise. Also, ask yourself, “What is the size of my audience?” This will help you decide on the extent of interactivity.

Step 2: Find an activity that is not too basic. Your activity should make the audience curious about your content. Something that makes the audience wonder, “What does this activity have to do with the theme?” But then they are left amazed as soon as you begin to connect the relevance of the activity with your speech.

Step 3: Don’t make it TOO LONG! Keep it short and sweet.

Step 4: Write a vivid description of the steps involved in the activity so that the audience is not left confused about what to do.

Examples of Speeches that Used Audience Activities as Opening Remarks

1. are you a giver or a taker by adam grant.

“I want you to look around the room for a minute and try to find the most paranoid person here and then I want you to point that person out for me. (waits and then says) Okay, don’t actually do it.” Adam Grant

Given that Adam’s audience was comprised of more adults, he made them perform a mental exercise as it’s most likely for them to participate in a mental exercise rather than expecting them to move up their seats to do something.

And that’s what happened. The audience participated! Because all they had to do was simply move their heads around to find out a paranoid person.

Most importantly, the activity wasn’t too generic for the audience for them to predict its relevance. So, it made them curious enough to listen to the remainder of Adam’s TED Talk to witness him unravel its relevance.

2. Girl Up: The Secrets to an Extraordinary Life By Courtney Ferrell

“Okay, I need a favor. I need all the girls who are between the age of 17 and 24 to stand up.” Courtney Ferrell

Audience Matters! I know, I’ve been saying this A LOT but it’s the key to a great speech opening.

Even in this TED Talk, the speaker made all the girls between the age group of 17 to 24 stand up since she knew that more than 50% of her audience would stand up.

It’s a win-win situation, I’ll tell you how.

When Courtney confessed that she’s about to tell the secret to channel the creative spirit of women and how to empower them.

Those who stood up felt directly connected to the theme and the rest were curious enough to know the secret to see if it can benefit them or someone they know.

3. What It’s Like To Grow Up Desi in 2019 By Hasan Minhaj

“Alright, real quick- say your full name and then say the way white people say your name. So, my name is Hasan Minhaj. I would get a Ha-sen Min-haj-a” Hasan Minhaj

Two important lessons here, my friends!

• Interactivity is Influential

Since Hasan was addressing a comparatively smaller crowd of around 7 teens, he could incorporate an interactive activity, giving each of his audience members an opportunity to speak.

• Lead the Activity Ladder

Before asking each of his audience members to speakers, Hasan himself initiated the act of participation from his end.

This way, the audience was all the more thrilled to speak.

Because when you participate, your audience sees it as an incentive and feels more confident to participate seeing that you as a speaker are making an effort too.

4. How to Triple your Memory By Using This Trick By Ricardo Lieuw On

“So, I have a little test for you. Don’t panic, I’m not here to judge you…” Ricardo Lieuw On

“Awaken the competitive nature of your audience members!” This should be your motto here.

But first, make sure that you are clear with the explanation of the rules so that it’s easier for everyone to follow.

Look how the speaker has introduced a competitive activity here to awaken the minds.

This serves two purposes:

• Your audience is intrigued to listen to the rest of your talk
• Even if a few members are distracted, you can win them back

Do you remember all the times when your mom used to make you eat green vegetables by instilling some sort of fear?

Be it the fear of dull skin or even poor eyesight for that matter, it eventually made you take that action.

Isn’t this aim of public speeches too? To persuade the audience to take some action after your speech ends? A hundred percent, yes!

So, let’s jump into how we can incorporate fear in our speech opening to make our audience listen to us.

How to Use Fear as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: At the fear of reiterating myself, “Begin with analyzing your audience”. The Best Guide to Audience Analysis is an article for you to help you do just that.

Step 2: Done with analyzing your audience after reading the article? Now, make a list of their potential fears related to the theme of your speech.

Step 3: Figure out that one fear that is not too triggering. Here, ask yourself, “If I were to listen to this, would I be triggered to a huge extent?” If the answer is yes, leave that fear and choose one that is slightly less triggering but

Examples of Speeches that used Fear as its Opening Remarks

1. why the secret to sucess is setting the right goals by john doerr.

“We’re at a critical moment Our leaders, some of our great institutions are failing us.” John Doerr

While highlighting how important it is to set the right goals for development, John Doerr begins his speech by pointing at how the institutions are failing their citizens by setting the wrong objectives.

When you are told that someone is failing you, you feel a sense of disappointment, and you are naturally drawn to know the reason behind it to figure out if there’s something you can do to improve the situation.

This is the exact feeling that we are going for here!

In this technique, we are looking forward to getting our audience to daydream without boring them.

This art of imagination works the best for persuasive speeches. Here’s how!

While delivering a persuasive speech, our aim is to align the audience’s thoughts with our thought process but there needs to be a bridge, right? A bridge that the audience can take to step into your thought process.

This bridge is the art of imagination.

How to Use Imagination as your Opening Remark?

Step 1: Decide the emotion that you want your audience to feel. Do you wish to go for a negative emotion or a positive one? My suggestion for you would be to go for a negative one since negative emotions overpower the positive ones, psychologically speaking.

Step 2: Once you have decided on the type of emotion, craft a descriptive outline for the piece of imagination that is related to the theme of your speech.

Step 3: Using simple yet descriptive language, write down your piece of imagination. Remember to write in a chronological order detailing each and every step otherwise your audience won’t truly immerse in that imaginary world. To explain to you in simpler terms, if a few steps are missing from the bridge, you cannot walk to reach the other side, can you?

Step 4: Focus the rest of your speech telling the audience what to do to avoid the situation (in case of a negative imagination) and what to do to reach the situation (in case of a positive imagination).

Examples of Speeches that used Imagination as Opening Remarks

1. the barrier between us by tvisha bandhu.

“Picture this. You’re in the MRT, you’re scrolling through your phone, and you take notice of this lady walking through the cabin saying ‘hello, hello.'” Tvisha Bandhu

This speech is the perfect example of how one can kick start his speech through the power of closed imagination (one wherein you provided step-by-step details on what to imagine).

Look how the speaker, Tvisha Bandhu, uses her body posture and gestures to emote every sense of feeling encompassed within that imagination.

It works perfectly in sync with her descriptive writing. It’s so descriptive that she has even written the exact dialogues for the characters involved in her imagination such as “Hello, Hello” for the lady who walked through the cabin.

Descriptive writing backed by powerful body language and vocal tonality can increase the impact manifold.

2. Why Do We Fear Speaking On Stage? By Pratik Uppal

“If I ask you to come on the stage right now & deliver a speech, think what kind of excuses would you come up with.” Pratik Uppal

The second example is of an open imagination.

You don’t necessarily need to provide step-by-step details for the audience to make them imagine a situation

One easy way is to simply tell them to ponder over their reaction to a particular situation and then, go on providing a brief of what exact situation they are put in.

In this TED Talk, the speaker asked the audience to imagine all the excuses that they can come up with to dread a public speaking event. Now, pause! Even you think! I’m sure you too can come up with many without anyone telling you what to imagine exactly.

This is what we call open imagination. Widespread usage of this technique can be seen in movies with open endings wherein the end is treated as possibly the beginning.

3. The Surprising Secret that Solves your Problems Quickly By Collins Key

“Imagine if you could take your brain and turn it inside out and then have access to the information to be able to virtually solve any problem. It sounds pretty cool, right?” Collins Key

In the previous sections, we discussed the examples for two commonly-used types of imagination- open and closed.

Here, we shall discuss an example of how you can ask the audience to imagine something out of the world.

If you are a Potter-head, you know the strength that this technique entails. The entire series is based upon fiction encompassing a world where everything goes larger than life, even life itself but you still can’t seem to snap out of it because you are that engrossed.

In this TED Talk, Collins opened up his talk with one such piece of imagination wherein he asked the audience to imagine how would they feel if they could simply take their brain out and turn it inside out to find a solution in the blink of an eye instead of spending hours overthinking for it.

Fascinating, right? This intrigued the audience to listen to the rest of his speech in the search of a secret to solve their problems in the quickest way possible.

4. How to Present to Keep your Audience’s Attention By Mark Robinson

“Imagine it’s Wednesday 28th of August, 1963 & we’re in the United States Of American, specifically Washington DC.” Mark Robinson

Imagination is only effective if you catering the right piece of imagination to the right audience.

Now, take the example of this TED Talk. Had this TED Talk been delivered to an audience who is not aware of the significance of the person being spoken about, Martin Luther King Jr, his speech would have been totally ineffective.

So, make sure that whatever piece of imagination you have to offer is within the understanding of your audience.

This technique doesn’t require any fancy introduction.

For the longest time, great orators have been starting their respective speeches with one quote or the other to persuade their audience through the art of rhythm.

But the inclusion of this technique as an opening remark is easier said than done. Make sure you follow the steps in the next section.

How to Use A Quote as an Opening Remark?

Before we begin, remember not to use a quote that is too common. Use a quote that is less heard of!

Option 1: The easiest and safest bet is to use a famous quote related to the context of your speech. If the propounder of that quote is associated with the topic of your speech in one way or the other, it’s even better since it establishes the credibility of the quote.

Option 2: The other effective way is to make a quote of your own instead of relying upon someone else’s quote. It’s simpler than it sounds. An easier hack is to use alliteration (occurrence of similar sound at the beginning of adjacent words in a phrase) in the phrase you wish to highlight as your opening remark. For instance, even the title of this section, “Quintessential Quality of A Quote” uses this technique. Read Getting Your ‘Wordsworth’: Poetry in Public Speaking to know how exactly you can write a quote using alliteration and similar techniques.

Examples of Speeches that Used Quotes as Opening Remarks

1. increase your self-awareness with one simple fix by tasha eurich.

Tennessee Williams once told us, “There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is what you’ll ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors.” Tasha Eurich

To see the application of the first alternative in action, watch this TED Talk by Tasha Eurich.

While using someone else’s quote, attribution to the speaker is necessary. You can do so by simply saying something like, “As NAME OF THE SPEAKER rightly said…” Nothing too fancy, simplicity works the best.

Talking about the credibility of the original speaker of the quote, since this TED Talk is focused upon “Self-awareness”, it made Tennessee Williams who was a great playwright in Hollywood, a credible speaker to trust.

2. Mistakes Make the Man By Mathew George

“Man makes mistakes & mistakes make the man.” Mathew George

Now, let’s talk about making a quote on our own. Shall we?

The most basic step we discussed under the “how-to” section was alliteration and that’s what the speaker, Mathew George, used in the creation of his opening remark too.

Alliteration provides a rhythm to your speech opening line and makes you sound persuasive naturally.

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We hope that you have found some value here in your journey as a public speaker!

If you wish to know about more such amazing speech opening lines, make sure you check out 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) .

Not just that! We’ve written a similar article on 50 Speech Closing Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide . Make sure you read that to END YOUR SPEECH WITH A BANG!

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50 Linking Words (Logical Connectors) in English Classified by Theme

Updated on 27 August 2024

• Linking words, also known as logical connectors, are adverbs or conjunctions used to structure your English sentences. They are important for connecting different ideas and avoiding repetition.
• You will need it to:  start a text, express a cause and effect, link an opposition, state a condition, add or list ideas, indicate a consequence, or summarize an idea.

Here are some examples:

• First of all

In this course, you will find the 50 most useful English logical connectors , along with examples, videos, and exercises to test your knowledge. The course is also available in PDF format.

Understanding how to use linking words is an essential vocabulary and grammar concept to improve your writing and speaking skills. Indeed, they help you write better essays, stories, and arguments and organize your thoughts more clearly in speech.

Table of contents →

To start a sentence

These English linking words are useful for introducing an idea, a first point, or a complete argument that you will develop further in a paragraph.

To express a condition

When you need to establish a condition between two sets of ideas in a conversation or writing, the following expressions are very useful.

To express argument (cause, consequence)

The following logical connectors are used to express because, as a result, therefore, etc . These linking words are useful for showing a logical cause-and-effect relationship between different elements , especially when making an argument.

Note: It’s important to carefully distinguish between purpose, cause, and consequence . The purpose is the reason for performing an action, while the consequence is the result of that action.

To continue a discussion

To expand on your thoughts or arguments , you’ll need some additional vocabulary. With the following linking words, you’ll be able to say in addition, furthermore, for example, indeed , etc.

To compare and contrast

Need to contrast two ideas or viewpoints? Express opposition in English with the following list of conjunctions.

To suppose (conditional)

To end a speech

Concluding your speech effectively is crucial for clear communication. The following phrases can be used to conclude a speech, summarize your main points, or add a final thought to your text.

Note: The Case of For and Since

Pay attention to the meaning of  for  and  since  when you encounter them.

• For = Indicates duration of time

Since = Refers to a starting point in time (date or precise moment).

For = Because → This usage is rare and rather literary, but you can come across its usage.

Since = As → Can be replaced by As ; used when explaining a reason.

Adrien’s Tip 💡

You will find a lot of different names for linking words:

• Logical connectors
• Adverb (of cause, consequence, etc.)
• Adverbial phrases
• Preposition
• Coordinating conjunction
• Subordinating conjunction
• Conjunctive phrase

To keep things simple, focus on how to use these words instead of their definitions. Just remember:

These are words that help organize your ideas in a logical way, either across multiple paragraphs or by connecting sentences to express a complex idea clearly.

50 sentences to learn how to use them

Here are more than 50 concrete examples to help you understand how to use logical connectors in English. Each example is provided with a brief explanation and audio to guide your learning.

To start a text

Express a condition

Justify your point in an argument

To continue the discussion

Logical connectors for comparing and contrasting

Linking words to end a speech

4 Exercises on English Linking Words

1. Complete the sentences using the following connectors. Only one word can fit in each blank.

Linking Words to Use: WHEREAS – THANKS TO – SO AS TO – SINCE – HOWEVER – DUE TO – AS LONG AS – ALTHOUGH.

• I don’t mind going there ________ it’s not too far.
• ________a problem in our computer system, the online assistance is temporarily not available.
• Can you pick up the kids from school ________ you’re not working today?
• Please check all your equipment every morning ________ make sure it’s fully operational.
• We managed to solve our problem ________ the help of a technician.
• ________ many people congratulated him, he didn’t seem satisfied.
• He was exhausted halfway through the game; ________, he didn’t give up.
• I would like to watch an action movie ________she wants to watch a romantic comedy.

2. Read the two sentences and use the given linking word to create one sentence. Make any necessary changes.

• Bring a snack.
• You might get hungry.
• Connector: IN CASE
• Result: Bring a snack in case you get hungry.

Now, construct sentences using the following pairs of sentences and connectors:

• I will do it.
• If you tell me not to, I won’t do it.
• Connector: UNLESS
• We need to leave now.
• If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.
• Connector: OTHERWISE
• You said I would like it.
• I didn’t like it.
• Connector: CONTRARY TO
• Jim likes fishing.
• Paul doesn’t.
• Connector: UNLIKE (2 possibilities)
• We made a financial gesture.
• They didn’t accept our offer.
• Connector: DESPITE (2 possibilities)

3. Complete the sentences using the linking words below to match the beginning and end of each sentence. There is only one correct combination for each one.

Linking words to use: YET – THEREFORE – SO THAT – FOR – AS SOON AS – AS A RESULT OF.

4. Complete the following sentences using FOR or SINCE .

• I haven’t seen Mark ____ ages.
• Paul has been sick ____ his birthday.
• I’ve worked in this building ____ 2010.
• I haven’t heard of him ____ months.
• Lucy’s had a headache ____ this morning.
• We’ve been married ____ two years.
• What have you been doing ____ last summer?
• Can I stay at your place ____ a couple of days?

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50 English Words With Meanings and Sentences

One of the best and most efficient ways to learn new words quickly and build up your vocabulary is to see how they are used in a sentence.

Learning words by seeing how they are used in a sentence is called learning vocabulary in context . It is considered much more efficient than just memorizing the word and its meanings. It’s also much more interesting. 

When you learn vocabulary in context, you look at the word and its meaning, then read or hear a sentence that uses that word. This helps you internalize the meaning of the word and can also help you see how to use that word to make your own sentences. So, you are not just improving your vocabulary, you are also picking up grammar tips as well. 

In this post, we’re going to show you 50 words with their meanings and sentences.

1. Accommodate

This is a verb that means that you gave consideration to someone. It’s often used to say that you agreed to a request.

The shopkeeper accommodated Jack’s request to buy a toothbrush, even if he was already closing up.

2. Advantageous

This is an adjective that means that you gave or were given an advantage. It is a synonym for favorable.

They specifically looked for a hostel near the train station as it would be advantageous for their travel plans.

This verb is used to say that you have forgiven someone or decided that they are not guilty

After listening to their story, the policeman absolved them and turned their attention to the truck driver.

4. Antidote

An antidote is a noun that means something that will relieve or counteract the negative effects of something. It’s commonly used to talk about a cure for poison.

A stroll in the sunny park was the perfect antidote to Mark’s bad mood.

You can use this noun to say that you, or someone else, are very disinterested in what is happening or about the current state of affairs. Most of the time, people who are suffering from boredom need to try something new.

Boredom drove me to finally pursue my dream of learning Russian.

You can use this verb if you want to say that someone introduced a topic into the conversation.

The teacher broached the subject about different swear words in Chinese .

7. Clannish

This adjective is used to describe a group of people who are very close and as such rather closed off or standoffish towards others.

Their clannish behavior makes it hard to approach them to ask for help.

8. Competence

This noun is used to indicate that someone is considered capable of doing a good job .

Fred’s competence as an engineer led to his being entrusted with several projects for the organization.

9. Compassion

This is a noun that is used to describe acting with kindness or pity.

Show some compassion for those left homeless by the fire and donate some clothes you no longer use.

10. Consider 

This is a verb that means to think carefully about a decision you need to make.

Before deciding what language to learn, you need to consider what language is important for your career .

This is a noun that means to reduce the population of a group of animals by killing a select few.

The farmer will cull sickly chickens in the hope of saving the flock.

12. Dauntless

This adjective is used to describe a person or a person’s actions that are considered bold or brave. It also implies that they are persistent in the face of danger or people advising them to change their minds.

The most famous explorers in history needed to be dauntless in the face of the unknown.

The adjective is used to describe a situation or a person that is gloomy or cheerless.

Dark clouds and the hint of rain cast a dreary light over the beach.

14. Evident

This adjective is used to say that something is clear, easily seen, or understood.

Bert’s eagerness to learn is evident in the way he keeps asking for new lists of idioms and their meanings.

This noun is a synonym for the commotion. It means that a lot of activity is taking place.

The news that their mother was on the way home caused a flurry of activity as the children put away their toys.

You can use this adjective to indicate that someone changes their mind often.

Mark was very fickle when we were younger; he first wanted to be a doctor, then an actor, before he decided to just go to culinary school.

17. Fictitious

This word is an adjective that describes something that is imaginary. A character in a fiction book is fictitious.

I know he is a fictitious character, but I would love to find my own Mr. Darcy.

You use this adjective when you want to say that someone is angry and irritated.

Polly was irate that John and his friends insisted on playing loud music as she tried to study.

You can use this verb if you want to say that someone or something is running and jumping around in a playful manner.

Watching the children gambol with their new puppy really lifted my spirits.

20. Grotesque

You can use this adjective to say that you think something is very ugly and odd-looking. 

The gargoyles on medieval cathedrals were deliberately carved to be as grotesque as possible.

21. Jubilant

This adjective is used to imply that someone is extremely, visibly happy about something.

Henry and Paul were so jubilant over their football team winning they were dancing in the street.

22. Justifiable

When you use this adjective, you are saying that someone’s actions were reasonable or acceptable.

Given the fact that she needed to take her cat to the vet this morning, it was justifiable that Karen was later to our lunch.

This is a verb that means that someone is praising someone else in a public setting.

The mayor lauded the efforts of the city’s firemen in quickly putting out the blaze.

24. Laconic

This is an adjective that means brief. It’s usually meant to describe a short answer to a question. A laconic person is someone who can be referred to by the idiom “man of few words”.

The always laconic Pedro just said “yes” to the proposal.

25. Mammoth

This adjective is used to describe something that is very, very big. Synonyms for this word are huge and enormous.

The huge burger also came with a mammoth heap of fries.

26. Meddlesome

This adjective is used to describe behavior that is considered interfering or intrusive. The English idiom “stick their nose in” describes a meddlesome person.

The problem with a small town is the many meddlesome neighbors.

27. Misstep

People use this verb when they want to say someone misjudged the situation and did the wrong thing.

Mary made a misstep when she mentioned the professor’s ex-wife.

This adjective is basically a synonym for stupid. Someone who is obtuse doesn’t seem to comprehend what is happening around them.

Bobby is so obtuse he didn’t understand that Fred was making fun of him.

29. Officious

This is an adjective that is used to describe someone who is overeager and offering unwanted help.

Allan and Betty just wanted to browse, but the officious salesperson trailing them around made them uncomfortable.

30. Opulence

This is a noun that denotes a show of wealth or abundance.

The opulence of the grand hotel had them staring around in awe.

This adjective is used to say that something is obvious. It is a synonym for apparent.

There were no overt signs that Zoe had heard Dan and Ben talking about her.

This adjective is used to describe someone who is pale and white. It’s usually meant to say that someone looks unhealthy.

After coming home from the hospital, friends were concerned about how pallid John still looked.

33. Paragon

A paragon is someone who is considered a perfect example. This noun is a synonym for model.

Superheroes were originally meant to be paragons of humanity.

This is a noun that is used to describe someone who is a social outcast or who is being shunned by the majority of their social group.

After Ben was caught trying to pass off Mandy’s work as his own, he became the office pariah.

35. Perfunctory

This adjective is used to describe how someone performs a dull and routine task. Someone performs their duty perfunctory if they do it and do it properly but have little interest in it.  

Alice was a perfunctory employee; she accomplished her tasks and went home.

36. Precocious

This adjective is usually used when describing children. It means that someone displays behavior that is advanced for their age.

Sally was always precocious; she was reading Shakespeare by age seven.

37. Propensity

This is a noun that is used to say that someone has a natural inclination or preference for something.

While Sam is very smart, he has a propensity to be dismissive of others’ opinions.

38. Quandary

This is a noun that means a difficult situation or decision.

 Having to decide between his job and an opportunity to study abroad had Harry in a quandary.

39. Querulous

This is an adjective that is used to describe someone who is fretful or has a habit of whining or complaining.

While Mindy loved working at the nursing home, Mr. Santos strained her patients with his querulous questions about meals.

40. Ransack

When you use the verb ransack you are saying that someone was searching for something so frantically, that they made a huge mess.

I ransacked my room looking for my phone and it turned out to be behind the sofa cushions. 

This is a verb that means to scold or criticize someone.

Seeing how hurt Peter was at Alice’s words, Lucy rebuked her friend.

42. Revelry 

This is a noun to denote a feeling of festivity or celebration.

The revelry of the town festival is something you don’t want to miss.

A rift is a division or a gap. You can use this noun to say that two people disagreed about something and it ruined their relationship.

The rift between Tom and Nick happened when they found themselves competing for the same job.

44. Simpleton

This noun is used for someone who is not very bright or who has a low mental capacity.

He’s a simpleton and doesn’t really understand why people laugh at him.

45. Spurious

The use of this adjective implies that something is false or counterfeit.

Politicians make a lot of spurious promises during the campaign trail.

When someone or something is under strain, they cannot meet the demands of the situation. This noun means that the resources available are just barely meeting the need or are on the verge of running out.

Between losing her job and her mortgage, having to pay for car repairs really strained Jenny’s budget.

You can use this verb to say that something is full or overflowing.

The bar was teeming with language learners hoping to practice their conversational skills.

This verb means that someone is praising or promoting a person or a product.

Much of my makeup collection consists of products touted by my favorite beauty bloggers.

49. Tranquil

This is an adjective that is used to describe someone who is at peace or to say that the mood is peaceful.

The tranquil mood of the quiet beach was just what I needed to destress after a tough week.

50. Unscathed

This adjective describes someone or something that was untouched or unhurt by a bad situation like an accident.

While Kyle had a small cut on his forehead, Lindsey was unscathed by the accident.

If you’re interested in expanding your English vocabulary even further, consider these excellent online learning resources: Kick off your journey with Babbel , offering user-friendly, engaging lessons tailored to fit seamlessly into your daily schedule. If you want something more in-depth, there's a great English course on Coursera that covers everything from the basics to more advanced topics. For a more personalized learning experience, connect with native English tutors on Preply , enhancing your speaking and comprehension skills. Take advantage of a 50% discount on your first Preply session by using this link .

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Age-Appropriate Speech and Language Milestones

The ability to hear is essential for proper speech and language development. Hearing problems may be suspected in children who are not responding to sounds or who are not developing their language skills appropriately. The following are some age-related guidelines that may help to decide if your child is experiencing hearing problems.

It's important to remember that not every child is the same. Children reach milestones at different ages. Talk your child's healthcare provider if you are suspicious that your child is not developing speech and language skills correctly. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and other experts list the following age-appropriate speech and language milestones for babies and young children.

Milestones related to speech and language

Related Links

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Hearing Problems and Speech and Language Milestones

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The 50 Most Commonly Used Words in the English Language

Nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adjectives make this list

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If you're an English learner , knowing which words are most commonly used in the language can help you to improve your vocabulary skills and gain confidence in  casual conversations . 

Don't count on these words to help you become fluent in English , but do use them as a resource to help you build your skills as you grow more comfortable with the English language.

Common English Words

• Everyone in a group.
• All the children did their homework.
• A conjunction that joins parts of speech together in a sentence.
• She jumped, jogged, and danced in gym class. 
• A male child.
• The little boy asked his mother if she would buy him candy.
• A long text of words that people read.
• The college student had to read a 500-page book for English class.
• To yell out or speak loudly; to contact someone by phone. 
• The girl called out to her brother so he would wait for her.
• A four-wheeled vehicle that transports people from one place to another.
• He drove the car from school to work.
• A piece of furniture that can hold one person.
• My mother is the only one allowed to sit in the big chair in the living room. 
• Young people who have not yet reached adulthood.
• The children didn't listen to what their parents told them.
• A place where many people live.
• New York is the biggest city in the United States.
• An animal that many people have as a household pet.
• My dog likes to play with bones.
• A passageway from which you can enter or exit a room or a building. 
• The students rushed through the classroom door just before the bell rang. 
• The opposite of a friend. A competitor or rival. 
• The hero of the story killed his enemy with a sword.
• To finish something or come to a conclusion.
• The end of the book was a happy one.
• To have more than one needs of something. 
• Most Americans have enough food to eat, but that's not true in other countries. 
• To consume food. 
• The children liked to eat apples and bananas after school. 
• The opposite of an enemy. Someone on your side and with whom you enjoy spending time.
• The girl played with her friend in the yard until her mother told her to come inside.
• A male parent.
• The father picked up his child when she started crying.
• To travel to and from a location. 
• We go to school every day.
• To behave well or in a kind manner.
• My mother said that if I'm good and don't hit my brother, she will take me to the movies.
• A female child. 
• The girl dropped her schoolbooks on the ground. 
• An edible substance that people, animals, and plants eat to live.
• Starving people do not have enough food to eat and may die.
• To listen to something. 
• I could hear my brother and sister arguing from the other room.
• A place where people, often families, live.
• My friend lives in the biggest house on the street.
• The internal part of something or to be located within something. 
• The inside of the house was warm and cozy. 
• To express that you find something amusing. 
• The children laughed after the clown made a joke.
• To hear something. 
• We listen to music because we like to dance. 
• An adult male.
• The man was much taller than his son. 
• The title of a place, book, person, etc. 
• I never liked my name growing up. 
• I am never getting back together with my boyfriend.
• The thing that happens after something else in a sequence; to be situated by something else. 
• Let's go to the next question.
• Something just created or unused or unopened.
• My mother bought me a new doll for Christmas. It was still in the package.
• Loud sounds, especially made by music or a group of people. 
• There was so much noise at the party, the neighbors called the police. 
• To happen frequently. 
• My teacher gets mad because I often forget my homework. 
• Two things that go together. 
• I like the new pair of shoes my sister bought me for my birthday.
• To choose or select. 
• I picked the cupcake with vanilla frosting. 
• To have fun with someone or engage in an activity or sport. 
• I like to play football with my brother. 
• A part of a home, building, office or another structure. 
• The room at the end of the hall is the coldest in the building. 
• To watch or observe something. 
• I see clouds in the sky, which must mean it will rain soon.
• To offer a service or a good for a price.
• I am going to sell my surfboard for $50 because it's time for a new one. 
• To rest on a floor, chair, or another surface. 
• The teacher told the children to sit on the carpet. 
• To say something.
• I speak too loudly sometimes. 
• To grin or show pleasure.
• I smile when my brother tells jokes.
• The opposite of brother. The female child in relation to other children of the same parents.
• My parents took my sister and me to the circus.
• To contemplate something or have an idea or belief. 
• I think all pets should have a home. 
• Something that comes after an event in a sequence. 
• I opened the refrigerator. Then, I ate some food. 
• To travel on foot. 
• I walk home from school every day.
• A substance plants, people, animals, and the earth need to survive.
• If animals don't have enough water to drink, they will die. 
• To make a living, engage in an activity for pay, or to reach a goal. 
• I work as a teacher because I like children. 
• To put something on paper with a pen or pencil. To use a computer to type text.
• I have to write three essays in English class this semester. 
• A female adult.
• That woman was our new school principal. 
• To answer affirmatively or respond to one's name being called. 
• "Yes, I'm here," the student said when the teacher called her name.
• Common Mistakes in English
• Uses for the Preposition "At"
• Common Writing Mistakes
• English Idioms and Expressions
• Help With Spelling Problems for ESL Classes
• Start Learning English With Easy Lessons
• What Is Collocation?
• How Many People Learn English?
• Difference Between 'In Front of' and 'Opposite'
• Understanding English Pronunciation Concepts
• Gender-Inclusive Language for English Learners
• Describing Friends
• Tips for Mastering English Grammar
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• Asking for Information

100 Words to Make You Sound Smart 

Learn words with flashcards and other activities, other learning activities, teaching tools, full list of words from this list:.

• accolade a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
• acrimony a rough and bitter manner
• angst an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety
• anomaly deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
• avant-garde radically new or original
• baroque relating to an elaborately ornamented style of art and music
• bona fide not counterfeit or copied
• bonhomie a disposition to be friendly and approachable
• boondoggle work of little or no value done merely to look busy
• bourgeois being of the property-owning class
• bravado a swaggering show of courage
• brogue a thick and heavy shoe
• brusque rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
• cacophony loud confusing disagreeable sounds
• camaraderie the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
• capricious determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
• carte blanche complete freedom or authority to act
• caustic capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
• charisma personal attractiveness that enables you to influence others
• cloying overly sweet
• deja vu the experience of thinking a new situation already occurred
• dichotomy a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
• dilettante an amateur engaging in an activity without serious intention
• disheveled in disarray; extremely disorderly
• elan enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness
• ennui the feeling of being bored by something tedious
• ephemeral lasting a very short time
• epitome a standard or typical example
• equanimity steadiness of mind under stress
• equivocate be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
• ersatz artificial and inferior
• esoteric understandable only by an enlightened inner circle
• euphemism an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
• facetious cleverly amusing in tone
• fait accompli an irreversible accomplishment
• fastidious giving careful attention to detail
• faux pas a socially awkward or tactless act
• fiasco a complete failure or collapse
• finagle achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
• glib artfully persuasive in speech
• gregarious temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
• harbinger something indicating the approach of something or someone
• hedonist someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures
• heresy a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion
• idiosyncratic peculiar to the individual
• idyllic charmingly simple and serene
• indelicate in violation of good taste even verging on the indecent
• infinitesimal immeasurably small
• insidious working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
• junket dessert made of sweetened milk coagulated with rennet
• litany a prayer led by clergy with responses from the congregation
• lurid glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism
• Machiavellian of or relating to amoral or conniving political principles
• malaise a feeling of mild sickness or depression
• malinger avoid responsibilities and duties, often by faking illness
• mantra a sacred utterance or poetic hymn in Vedism
• maudlin very sentimental or emotional
• mercenary a person hired to fight for another country than their own
• minimalist a conservative advocating only minor reforms in government
• misnomer an incorrect or unsuitable name
• narcissist someone who is excessively self-centered
• nirvana the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation
• non sequitur a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it
• oblivion the state of being disregarded or forgotten
• ogle stare or look at, especially with amorous intentions
• ostentatious intended to attract notice and impress others
• ostracize expel from a community or group
• panacea hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases
• paradox a statement that contradicts itself
• peevish easily irritated or annoyed
• perfunctory hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
• philistine a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits
• picayune small and of little importance
• precocious characterized by exceptionally early development
• propriety correct behavior
• quid pro quo something given in exchange for something else
• quintessential representing the perfect example of a class or quality
• red herring something intended to distract attention from the main issue
• revel take delight in
• rhetoric study of the technique for using language effectively
• scintillating having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
• spartan unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment
• stigma a symbol of disgrace or infamy
• stoic seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
• suave having a sophisticated charm
• supercilious having or showing arrogant superiority
• sycophant a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
• teetotaler someone who abstains from drinking alcoholic beverages
• tete-a-tete a private conversation between two people
• tirade a speech of violent denunciation
• tryst a secret rendezvous, especially a romantic one
• ubiquitous being present everywhere at once
• unrequited not returned in kind
• untenable incapable of being defended or justified
• verbose using or containing too many words
• vicarious experienced at secondhand
• vile morally reprehensible
• waft a long flag; often tapering
• zealous marked by active interest and enthusiasm
• Zeitgeist the spirit of the time

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Age-Appropriate Speech and Language Milestones

While not every child develops speech and language on the same timetable, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders does provide a list of age-appropriate speech and language milestones for babies and young children.

If you suspect your child is failing behind his peers, consult your child’s doctor or schedule a speech and language evaluation for your child.

Milestones related to speech and language

Birth to 3 months.

• Seems to know your voice and quiets down if crying
• ​Reacts to loud sounds with a startle reflex
• Is awakened by loud voices and sounds
• Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure sounds differently (laughs, giggles, coos, cries, or fusses
• Makes noise and smiles when spoken to
• Responds to sound of rattle

4 to 6 months

• Looks or turns toward a new sound
• Responds to “no” and changes in tone of voice
• Enjoys rattles and other toys that make sounds
• Vocalizes back when talked to
• Begins to repeat sounds (such as, “ooh,” “aah,” and “ba-ba”)

7 to 11 months

• Responds to his or her own name, telephone ringing, or someone’s voice even when not loud
• Knows words for common things (such as, “cup” or “shoe”) and sayings (such as, “bye-bye”)
• Babbles (says "ba-ba-ba," "ma-ma" or "da-da")
• Tries to communicate by actions or gestures
• Looks at things or pictures when someone talks about them
• Starts to respond to requests (such as, “come here”)
• Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
• Makes babbling sounds, even when alone
• Imitates simple words and sounds; may use a few single words or baby signs meaningfully

12 to 17 months

• Understands simple phrases (such as, “put the ball in the box” or “put the car on the table”)
• Enjoys being read to
• Follows one-step commands when shown by a gesture
• Answers simple questions by shaking his/her head or going to get an item when asked
• Says two to three words to label a person or object (pronunciation may not be clear)
• Tries to imitate simple words
• Vocabulary includes four to six words or more
• Says more words as each month passes

18 to 23 months

• Understands the meaning of action words (such as clap, sit or jump)
• Points to some body parts when asked
• Understands and answers simple “yes-no” questions (such as, “Are you hungry?”)
• Understands “not now” and “no more”
• Chooses things by size (such as, “big” or “little”)
• Uses a vocabulary of 50 words, pronunciation is often unclear
• Asks for common foods by name
• Makes animal sounds (such as, "moo")
• Starts to combine words into 2- to 3-word phrases to talk about and ask for things (such as, "more milk")
• Begins to use pronouns (such as, "mine")

2 to 3 years

• Knows some spatial concepts (such as "in" or "on")
• Understands and uses more pronouns (such as, "you," "me" or "her")
• Knows descriptive words (such as, "big" or "happy")
• Answers many simple questions
• Follows two-step commands (such as, “Get your shoes and come here.”)
• Uses three- to four-word sentences
• Uses at least 100 words by 2 years of age
• Uses question inflection to ask for something (such as, "My ball?")
• Begins to use plurals, such as "shoes" or "socks" and regular past tense verbs (such as, "jumped")
• Speech pronunciation is improving, but may still leave off ending sounds; strangers may not be able to understand much of what is said

3 to 4 years

• Answers simple questions (such as, "What do you do when you are hungry?")
• Groups objects into categories (such as, foods or clothes)
• Recognizes colors
• Uses 300 to 500 words by 3 years of age
• Describes the use of objects (such as, "You eat with a fork")
• Has fun with language; enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities such as, "Is that an elephant on your head?")
• Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him
• Uses verbs that end in "ing" (such as, "walking" or "talking")
• Uses most speech sounds, but may distort some of the more difficult or later developing sounds, (such as l, r, s, sh, ch, v, z, th)
• Uses consonants in the beginning, middle, and ends of words. Some of the more difficult consonants may be distorted, but tries to say them
• Strangers are able to understand much of what is said

4 to 5 years

• Answers "why" questions
• Lists items that belong in a category (such as, animals or vehicles)
• Understands more abstract spatial concepts (such as, "behind" or "next to")
• Understands complex questions
• Uses some irregular past tense verbs (such as, "ran" or "fell")
• Describes how to do things (such as, painting a picture)
• Speech is understandable, but makes mistakes pronouncing long, difficult, or complex words (such as, "hippopotamus")
• Understands time sequences (such as, what happened first, second, or third)
• Carries out a series of three directions
• Understands rhyming
• Engages in conversation
• Produces sentences that can be eight or more words in length
• Uses compound and complex sentences
• Describes objects
• Uses imagination to create stories

David Bauder, Associated Press David Bauder, Associated Press

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/for-fox-news-and-its-republican-audience-how-do-they-cover-the-democratic-convention

For Fox News and its Republican audience, how do they cover the Democratic convention?

The Democratic convention presents Fox News Channel with a delicate challenge: how to cover a party suddenly enthused about its election chances when much of the network’s audience has a different political viewpoint.

During the Democrats’ first two days, Fox personalities called the proceedings “boring” and filled with “a lot of hate.” There was a focus on demonstrations outside the arena while many of the speakers inside went unheard on the air. Presidential nominee Kamala Harris was given nicknames like “the princess” and “comrade Kamala.”

“We’re at the DNC,” Sean Hannity quipped, “so you don’t have to be.”

WATCH: 2024 Democratic National Convention Night 3

Fox’s telecast illustrated the challenges inherent in covering news events on networks that are filled with both breaking news and partisan political talk, sometimes mashed up — where opinion personalities like Hannity, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and CNN’s Van Jones freely mix with reporters and blur boundaries. During the GOP convention last month, the liberal-leaning MSNBC cut off Nikki Haley in favor of a discussion about how she debased herself, and ignored Ron DeSantis entirely.

The feel-good Republican gathering gave Fox News the biggest convention audience ever for a cable network, a feat at a time when millions of Americans are pulling the plug on subscriptions, and a staggering audience of 10.4 million people for the opening moments of former President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech, the Nielsen company said.

No one expects such numbers this week for Fox, where roughly two-thirds of the audience in a 2024 Nielsen/MRI study called themselves Republican. Fox’s audience has shown a marked tendency to tune away from news that doesn’t reflect its beliefs, such as the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

Fox had 2.5 million viewers for Monday’s DNC coverage, 1.7 million on Tuesday — the latter sixth among networks covering it. Fox was the most-watched network for both of the first two nights of the GOP session a month ago, with 6.9 million on opening night and 5.4 million on the second night.

Not mincing words

Hosts on “The Five,” Fox’s most-watched show, were nothing if not direct in setting the stage for the Democrats’ week. “You can’t believe anything the Democrats tell you,” Jesse Watters said. “Everything is a lie. … There is no joy here. The only joy is that Joe’s gone.”

Watters said “no one believes” that the economy is good, or that polls showing Harris rapidly making up ground against Trump since replacing Biden at the top of the ticket are real. Later Monday evening, Watters declared the event boring, saying “this is like a convention your boss makes you go to.” Hannity described the convention as “far-left radical protesters outside and manufactured unity, deception and lying inside.”

WATCH: Teacher, coach and veteran, Tim Walz makes his primetime DNC debut to accept VP nomination

Fox hosts uniformly rejected the Democrats’ interpretation that Biden had committed a selfless act by giving up his reelection bid and called the president’s appearance on Monday more humiliating than valedictory. “You had to wrestle this job away from him like it was car keys from a drunk,” said Greg Gutfeld, who called former President Barack Obama the “Barack-stabber.”

Harris was depicted as an inexperienced, risky choice. Onscreen messages, or chyrons, during Laura Ingraham’s show drove home the point: “Dems Overconfident in Their Unproven Backup,” read one. Others: “Kamala’s All Vibe, No Substance” and “Comrade Kamala Fails Econ 101.”

“This is like booking tickets on the Titanic,” analyst Keith Kellogg said.

During most of Hannity’s show on Tuesday, an onscreen camera was focused on a nonviolent protest outside of the convention. “The convention has been full of a lot of hate,” Hannity said, “instead of the politics of joy, which you’ve been promised.”

Who made it and who didn’t

Fox News has made room for Democrats willing to come on its shows this week for interviews, including Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingel and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly. Fox said it has seen a 40% increase in bookings of Democrats compared with last year, and that its sister business network presents full coverage of convention speeches.

Fox says it has the same footprint on the ground for the DNC in Chicago as it did for the Republican convention in Chicago last month. It rejects the notion that it is unwilling to show the Democrats’ point of view.

Fox carried Biden’s speech in its entirety Monday night, as well as some other moments including Harris’ short, surprise address, which occurred during Hannity’s show. Both Barack and Michelle Obama were carried on Tuesday night. Speeches by Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — both deeply unpopular with many in Fox’s audience — were also carried in full. Fox’s Dana Perino said Ocasio-Cortez made a great speech, “but it didn’t make any sense.”

Fox anchor Bret Baier praised both Obamas, saying the former first lady “had an amazing speech that got this crowd on their feet.” Lawrence Jones, “Fox & Friends” co-host, said Wednesday that “no matter how inspirational they are, no matter how good the cadence is on the stage, you can’t dip BS in gold and expect the American people to buy it.”

Several podium appearances covered elsewhere went unheard on Fox News Channel: Olympics basketball coach Steve Kerr, UAW President Shawn Fain, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Fox analyst Brit Hume complained that a group of women who talked about abortion policy did Biden a disservice by going on too long — even though the network did not follow their remarks.

Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative Media Research Center, said Fox programs to its audience in much the same way that Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow say they won’t show Trump because of concerns that he’ll lie, “but it’s because they don’t want to watch it.”

Brian Stelter, author of “Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump and the Battle for American Democracy,” said that while Fox News Channel recognized the news importance of the convention, he saw it as reluctant to give its viewers an unvarnished view of what was being said.

“Fox did very little listening and a lot of talking,” he said.

Interestingly, there was an effort by the campaigns Monday to reach beyond friendly territory: The Harris campaign ran a commercial on Fox, while Trump advertised on CNN.

Fox has been particularly sensitive about not threatening audience loyalty. Concerns about its audience’s anger with Fox following coverage of the 2020 presidential election were cited in evidence presented by Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation suit against Fox. That suit was settled when Fox agreed to pay $787 million.

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

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Speak Words

Words related to speak.

Below is a massive list of speak words - that is, words related to speak. The top 4 are: read , talk , write and communicate . You can get the definition(s) of a word in the list below by tapping the question-mark icon next to it. The words at the top of the list are the ones most associated with speak, and as you go down the relatedness becomes more slight. By default, the words are sorted by relevance/relatedness, but you can also get the most common speak terms by using the menu below, and there's also the option to sort the words alphabetically so you can get speak words starting with a particular letter. You can also filter the word list so it only shows words that are also related to another word of your choosing. So for example, you could enter "read" and click "filter", and it'd give you words that are related to speak and read.

You can highlight the terms by the frequency with which they occur in the written English language using the menu below. The frequency data is extracted from the English Wikipedia corpus, and updated regularly. If you just care about the words' direct semantic similarity to speak, then there's probably no need for this.

There are already a bunch of websites on the net that help you find synonyms for various words, but only a handful that help you find related , or even loosely associated words. So although you might see some synonyms of speak in the list below, many of the words below will have other relationships with speak - you could see a word with the exact opposite meaning in the word list, for example. So it's the sort of list that would be useful for helping you build a speak vocabulary list, or just a general speak word list for whatever purpose, but it's not necessarily going to be useful if you're looking for words that mean the same thing as speak (though it still might be handy for that).

If you're looking for names related to speak (e.g. business names, or pet names), this page might help you come up with ideas. The results below obviously aren't all going to be applicable for the actual name of your pet/blog/startup/etc., but hopefully they get your mind working and help you see the links between various concepts. If your pet/blog/etc. has something to do with speak, then it's obviously a good idea to use concepts or words to do with speak.

If you don't find what you're looking for in the list below, or if there's some sort of bug and it's not displaying speak related words, please send me feedback using this page. Thanks for using the site - I hope it is useful to you! 👾

• communicate
• intercommunicate
• monologuize
• pontificate
• talk turkey
• interviewed
• call spade spade
• communicated
• conversation
• interrogate
• acknowledge
• answering questions
• participate
• memorialize
• untalkative
• memorialise
• soliloquise
• monologuise
• soliloquize
• tittle-tattle
• lawyerspeak
• gainspeaking
• verbalization
• doublespeak
• speechworthy
• glossolalia
• inarticulate
• speechmaking
• pronunciation
• confabulate
• interlocutory
• spokesperson
• articulable
• speak in tongue
• francophone
• blubber out
• shoot one's mouth off
• speak in tongues
• blunder out
• dish the dirt
• pronounceable
• begin speak
• articulator
• make gesture
• subvocalize
• heart to heart
• public speak
• non standard speech
• talk mile minute
• second hand speech
• receptive language
• say something
• communicate with others
• voice recognition
• instant messaging
• express information
• code switch
• verbal communication
• exchange of idea
• double talk
• lip service
• language lab
• produce sound
• bicycle wheel
• share information
• court reporter
• brazilian portuguese
• auditory communication
• receive pronunciation
• european portuguese
• presentations
• presentation

That's about all the speak related words we've got! I hope this list of speak terms was useful to you in some way or another. The words down here at the bottom of the list will be in some way associated with speak, but perhaps tenuously (if you've currenly got it sorted by relevance, that is). If you have any feedback for the site, please share it here , but please note this is only a hobby project, so I may not be able to make regular updates to the site. Have a nice day! 🐯

JEDDA RUPERT, MD, PAMELA HUGHES, MD, AND DANIEL SCHOENHERR, MD

Am Fam Physician. 2023;108(2):181-188

Patient information: See related handout on speech and language delay in children .

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

Childhood speech and language concerns are commonly encountered in the primary care setting. Family physicians are integral in the identification and initial evaluation of children with speech and language delays. Parental concerns and observations and milestone assessment aid in the identification of speech and language abnormalities. Concerning presentations at 24 months or older include speaking fewer than 50 words, incomprehensible speech, and notable speech and language deficits on age-specific testing. Validated screening tools that rely on parental reporting can serve as practical adjuncts during clinic evaluation. Early referral for additional evaluation can mitigate the development of long-term communication disorders and adverse effects on social and academic development. All children who have concerns for speech and language delays should be referred to speech language pathology and audiology for diagnostic and management purposes. Parents and caretakers may also self-refer to early intervention programs for evaluation and management of speech and language concerns in children younger than three years.

Speech is the verbal production of language. Language is the processing of a communication system. Receptive language includes an individual's comprehension abilities. Expressive language includes conveying ideas in spoken, written, or visual forms. 1

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Zubler JM, Wiggins LD, Macias MM, et al. Evidence-informed milestones for developmental surveillance tools. Pediatrics. 2022;149(3):e2021052138.

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Feldman HM. How young children learn language and speech. Pediatr Rev. 2019;40(8):398-411.

Weisleder A, Fernald A. Talking to children matters. Psychol Sci. 2013;24(11):2143-2152.

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Harrison LJ, McLeod S. Risk and protective factors associated with speech and language impairment in a nationally representative sample of 4- to 5-year-old children. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2010;53(2):508-529.

Matte-Landry A, Boivin M, Tanguay-Garneau L, et al. Children with persistent versus transient early language delay. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2020;63(11):3760-3774.

Snowling MJ, Bishop DVM, Stothard SE, et al. Psychosocial outcomes at 15 years of children with a preschool history of speech-language impairment. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2006;47(8):759-765.

Wallace IF, Berkman ND, Watson LR, et al. Screening for speech and language delay in children 5 years old and younger: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2015;136(2):e448-e462.

Peña ED, Gillam RB, Bedore LM, et al. Risk for poor performance on a language screening measure for bilingual preschoolers and kindergarteners. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2011;20(4):302-314.

Zubler J, Whitaker T. CDC's revised developmental milestone checklists [editorial]. Am Fam Physician. 2022;106(4):370-371.

American Academy of Family Physicians. Speech and language delay. Accessed June 20, 2023. https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/clinical-recommendations/all-clinical-recommendations/speech-language-delay.html

Jullien S. Screening for language and speech delay in children under five years. BMC Pediatr. 2021;21(suppl 1):362.

• Reilly S, McKean C, Morgan A, et al. Identifying and managing common childhood language and speech impairments [published correction appears in BMJ . 2015;350:h2851]. BMJ. 2015;350:h2318.

Law J, Dennis JA, Charlton JJV. Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and/or language disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017(1):CD012490.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Speech-language pathology medical review guidelines; 2015. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://www.asha.org/siteassets/uploadedfiles/slp-medical-review-guidelines.pdf

O'Hare A, Bremner L. Management of developmental speech and language disorders: part 1. Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(3):272-277.

Walters C, Sevcik RA, Romski M. Spoken vocabulary outcomes of toddlers with developmental delay after parent-implemented augmented language intervention. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2021;30(3):1023-1037.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Audiology information series. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://www.asha.org/siteassets/ais/ais-hearing-loss-development-effects.pdf

Capone Singleton N. Late talkers: why the wait-and-see approach is outdated. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2018;65(1):13-29.

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