Public Speaking

Let’s travel back in time to when you were – at least I hope you were – exposed to parts of speech.  (Should there be a trigger warning here?)

Most languages are full of nuance and meaning, but we tend to use the same words over and over.  Today, I’m challenging you to think more about the words you use.  

Try to be more specific when you’re choosing the words you want to include in presentations and speeches.  Here are some examples:

1. Nouns (naming words)

• Instead of ‘house’, try anything from hovel to mansion.
• Instead of ‘snake’, tell us whether it’s a cobra or a python.  
• Instead of ‘person’, try colleague, stranger, friend, neighbour.

2. Verbs (action words)

• Instead of ‘went’, tell us whether you ran, flew, stumbled, floated, strode or cycled.
• Instead of ‘said’, explain whether you shouted, announced, whispered, described or stuttered.
• Instead of ‘saw’ try noticed, espied, glimpsed, spotted or observed.

3. Adjectives (describing words)

We seem to love the words ‘great’, ‘good’ and ‘awesome’ but they don’t tell us very much.  Try these descriptions:

• For a speech:  thought-provoking, cringeworthy, inspiring, puzzling.
• For a gift:  thoughtful, welcome, humdrum, educational.
• For an outfit:  comfortable, elegant, skimpy, traditional

See how the specificity of the words you use adds a lot to the picture you’re trying to get across.  While a picture might be worth 1000 words, some well-chosen words can bring up elaborate pictures.