ORAL COMMUNICATION

Communicative Strategies Turn Taking

▪ Since engaging in conversation is also bound by  Turn-taking pertains to the process by which
implicit rules, Cohen (1990) states that strategies must people decide who takes the conversational
be used to start and maintain a conversation. floor.

▪ Knowing and applying grammar appropriately is one of

 There is a code of behavior behind establishing
the most basic strategies to maintain a conversation.
and sustaining a productive conversation, but
the primary idea is to give all communicators a
chance to speak.
Nomination

 A speaker carries out nomination to

collaboratively and productively establish a  Remember to keep your words relevant and
topic. Basically, when you employ this strategy, reasonably short enough to express your views
you try to open a topic with the people you are or feelings.
talking to.
 When beginning a topic in a conversation  Try to be polite even if you are trying to take
especially if it does not arise from a previous the floor from another speaker.
topic, you may start off with news inquiries and
news announcements as they promise
extended talk. Most importantly, keep the  Do not hog the conversation and talk
conversational environment open for opinions incessantly without letting the other party air
until the prior topic shuts down easily and out their own ideas.
initiates a smooth end.
 To acknowledge others, you may employ visual
signals like a nod, a look, or a step back, and
you could accompany these signals with spoken
Restriction cues such as “What do you think?” or “You
 Restriction in communication refers to any wanted to say something?
limitation you may have as a speaker. When
communicating in the classroom, in a meeting,
or while hanging out with your friends, you are Topic Control
typically given specific instructions that you
must follow. These instructions confine you as a  This covers how procedural formality or
speaker and limit what you can say. informality affects the development of topic in
conversations.
 For example, you might be asked by your
teacher to brainstorm on peer pressure. In this  For example, in meetings, you may only have a
case, you cannot decide to talk about turn to speak after the chairperson directs you
something else. to do so. Contrast this with a casual
conversation with friends over lunch or coffee
 On the other hand, conversing with your friends where you may take the conversational floor
during ordinary days can be far more casual. anytime.

 Always be on point and avoid digressing from  Remember that regardless of the formality of
the topic to avoid communication breakdown. the context, topic control is achieved
cooperatively.
  This only means that when a topic is initiated, it
should be collectively developed by avoiding
Termination
unnecessary interruptions and topic shifts.
 Termination refers to the conversation
 You can make yourself actively involved in the participants’ close-initiating expressions that
conversation without overly dominating it by end a topic in a conversation.
using minimal responses like “Yes,” “Okay,” “Go
on”; asking tag questions to clarify information  Most of the time, the topic initiator takes
briefly like “You are excited, aren’t you?”, “It responsibility to signal the end of the discussion
was unexpected, wasn’t it?”; and even by as well.
laughing!

 Although not all topics may have clear ends, try

Topic Shifting
to signal the end of the topic through
 Topic shifting, as the name suggests, involves concluding cues. You can do this by sharing
moving from one topic to another. what you learned from the conversation.

 In other words, it is where one part of a  Aside from this, soliciting agreement from the
conversation ends and where another begins. other participants usually completes the
discussion of the topic meaningfully.

 When shifting from one topic to another, you

THE SPEECH WRITING PROCESS
have to be very intuitive. Make sure that the
previous topic was nurtured enough to ▪ Just like events planning, or any other activities,
generate adequate views. writing an effective speech follows certain steps or
processes.
 You may also use effective conversational
▪ The process for writing is not chronological or linear;
transitions to indicate a shift like “By the way,”
rather, it is recursive. That means you have the
“In addition to what you said,” “Which reminds
opportunity to repeat a writing procedure indefinitely,
me of,” and the like.
or produce multiple drafts first before you can settle on
the right one.

Repair

 Repair refers to how speakers address the

problems in speaking, listening, and
comprehending that they may encounter in a
conversation.
 For example, if everybody in the conversation
seems to talk at the same time, give way and
appreciate other’s initiative to set the
conversation back to its topic.

 Repair is the self-righting mechanism in any

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
social interaction (Schegloff et al, 1977). If there
is a problem in understanding the conversation, ▪ Audience analysis entails looking into the profile of
speakers will always try to address and correct your target audience.
it.
▪ This is done so you can tailor-fit your speech content
and delivery to your audience.

What should be considered in audience analysis?

DEMOGRAPHY

 Demography determines the interest of the

audience and affects the style and formality of
the speech

 Examples: age range, male-female ratio,

educational background and affiliations or
degree program taken, nationality, economic
status

SITUATION

 Situation will affect the length of speech, visual

aids, and formality of the situation.

 Examples: time, venue, occasion, and size

PSYCHOLOGY

 Psychology will let the writer know which

appeal to use and how to situate his/ her text in DATA GATHERING
the context of the audience.
▪ Data gathering is the stage where you collect ideas,
information, sources, and references relevant or related
 Examples: values, beliefs, attitudes, to your specific topic.
preferences, cultural and racial ideologies, and
needs)

TOPIC

▪ The topic is the focal point of your speech. If you are

free to choose a topic, choose one that interests you.

▪ There are a variety of strategies used in selecting a

topic, such as using your experiences, free writing,
listing, asking questions, or webbing.
 This can be done by visiting the library,
browsing the web, observing a certain
phenomenon or event related to your topic, or
conducting an interview or survey.