The pen is more dangerous than the sword, says an adage. However most people do not understand that when written words become spoken words, they explode like firecrackers! If books speak volumes, speeches fire up entire lives.
Written words give full spectrum of probabilities and inform about a topic or event. Meditated words have the potential to bring out great ideas. However when both the written and meditated words are verbalized, the result is tremendous, to say the least. Spoken words are out from the barrel of a gun (the mouth), through a triggering mechanism (our tongue). When used effectively, words are like bullets that hit targets in high accuracy and leave an indelible mark.
You have to learn how to speak with fire or have a flowery tongue. The power of the spoken word is insurmountable. Entire nations have been either united or divided by one dominant leader who spoke winningly of a cause. Abe Lincoln spoke and persuaded divided Americans to unite, and this was before modern sound systems and media were used.
Speaking is a very unique technique of conveying messages. It involves body and soul. It can put a visual drama with live emotions and gestures that put life into the message like no written or meditated messages can achieve. In speaking, you really become the message rather than the words you speak. Thus, entire multitudes can go berserk in public with a moving speech.
Vladimir Lenin, on the other hand, spoke with fire to sway Russian peasants and workers to bolt away from Czar Rule, and even called on the Proletariat or working class of other nations to a similar action.
You can also wield this powerful tool of speaking very credibly to an individual or crowd by just learning and practicing the chief points of public speaking. You may be amazed that steps to potent public speaking skills are very simple and easy, yet practicing them is important. Giving the spoken word with power is a science and an art that needs diligence.
Power is gained through mastery. Powerful leaders since ancient civilizations have learned the ways of the spoken word handed down to them by their forerunners. And if you desire to attain the power of the spoken word, you have to persistently practice your skills in public speaking.
Well into the 16th century, people in a quest for knowledge approached scholars who, in turn, consulted musty, hand-written tomes in search of answers. Gutenberg's press cut out these middlemen. The curious now obtained direct access to the accumulated wisdom of millennia in the form of printed, bound books. Still, gatekeepers (such as publishers and editors) persisted as privileged intermediaries between authors, scientists, and artists and their audiences.
The Internet is in the process of rendering redundant even these vestiges of the knowledge monopoly. But, the revolution it portends is far more fundamental. The Internet is about the death of the written word as a means of exchange and a store of value.
As a method of conveying information, written words are inefficient and ambiguous. Sounds and images are far superior, but, until recently, could not be communicated ubiquitously and instantaneously. True, letters on paper or on screen evoke entire mental vistas, but so do sounds and images, especially the sounds of spoken words.
Thus, textual minimalism is replacing books and periodicals. It consists of abbreviations (used in chats, instant messaging, e-mail, and mobile phone SMS) and brevity (snippets that cater to the abridged attention span of internet surfers). Increasingly, information is conveyed via images and audio, harking back to our beginnings as a species when ideograms and songs constituted the main mode of communication.
II. Speech
Scholars like J. L. Austin and H. P. Grice have suggested novel taxonomies of speech acts and linguistic constructs. The prevailing trend is to classify speech according to its functions - indicative, interrogative, imperative, expressive, performative, etc.
A better approach may be to classify sentences according to their relations and subject matter.
We suggest four classes of sentences:
Objective
Sentences pertaining or relating to OBJECTS. By "objects" we mean - tangible objects, abstract objects, and linguistic (or language) objects (for a discussion of this expanded meaning of "object" - see "Bestowed Existence").
The most intuitive objective speech is the descriptive, or informative, sentence. In this we also include ascriptions, examples, classifications, etc.
The expressive sentence is also objective since it pertains to (the inner state of) an object (usually, person or living thing) - "I feel sad".
Argumentative performatives (or expositives) are objective because they pertain to a change in the state of the object (person) making them. The very act of making the argumentative performative (a type of speech act) alters the state of the speaker. Examples of argumentative performatives: "I deny", "I claim that", "I conclude that".
Some exclamations are objective (when they describe the inner state of the exclaiming person) - "how wonderful (to me) this is!"
"Objective" sentences are not necessarily true or valid or sound sentences. If a sentence pertains to an object or relates to it, whether true or false, valid or invalid, sound or unsound - it is objective.
Relational
Sentences pertaining or relating to relations between objects (a meta level which incorporates the objective).
Certain performatives are relational (scroll below for more).
Software is relational - and so are mathematics, physics, and logics. They all encode relations between objects.
The imperative sentence is relational because it deals with a desired relation between at least two objects (one of them usually a person) - "(you) go (to) home!"
Exclamations are, at times, relational, especially when they are in the imperative or want to draw attention to something - "look at this flower!"
Extractive
Interrogative sentences (such as the ones which characterize science, courts of law, or the press). Not every sentence which ends with a question mark is interrogative, of course.
Performative (or Speech Acts)
Sentences that effect a change in the state of an object, or alter his relations to other objects. Examples: "I surrender", "I bid", "I agree", and "I apologize". Uttering the performative sentence amounts to doing something, to irreversibly changing the state of the speaker and his relations with other objects.
Both Ivan Bruno & Mandeepp Singhh are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Ivan Bruno has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing Tool, Flirting Tips and Wedding Cake. Ivan Bruno is a professional public speaker and has 10 years of experience in public speaking arena and give many speeches in many occasion. He recommends. Ivan Bruno's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.
Mandeepp Singhh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food And Drink, Computers and The Internet and SEO Articles. Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips & hints, Points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques & insights pertaining to e-book marketing. Do please browse for more information at our website:-. Mandeepp Singhh's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.