LESSON PROPER:

TYPES OF COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGY

An effective communicator engages in an appropriate exchange of information. Communicative

competence is attained when the person recognizes the importance of understanding the
speech context, speech style, speech act and communicative strategy being utilized in a
particular communication situations.

Since engaging in conversation is also bound by implicit rules, Cohen (1990) states that
strategies must be used to start and maintain a conversation. Knowing and applying grammar
appropriately is one of the most basic strategies to maintain a conversation. The following are
some strategies that people use when communicating.

1. NOMINATION

The first communication strategy that we have to be familiar with is nomination. When
engaging in a conversation we normally propose or suggest a topic or issue that we want to
talk about. When we do this we are nominating a topic or subject for discussion.

A speaker carries out nomination to collaboratively and productively establish a topic.

Basically, when you employ this strategy, you try to open a topic with the people you are
talking to. When beginning a topic in a conversation, especially if it does not arise from a
previous topic, you may start off with news inquiries and news announcements as they
promise extended talk. Most importantly, keep the conversational environment open for
opinions until the prior topic shuts down easily and initiates a smooth end. This could
efficiently signal the beginning of a new topic in the conversation.

1. RESTRICTION

It refers to limiting the topic or subject in conversation. This sometimes happens when the
person wants to focus on a certain aspect of the issue under deliberation or when time to
discuss it is very short.

Restriction in communication refers to any limitation you may have as a speaker. When
communicating in the classroom, in a meeting, or while hanging out with your friends, you are
typically given specific instructions that you must follow. These instructions confine you as a
speaker and limit what you can say.

For example
 In your class, you might be asked by your teacher to brainstorm on peer pressure or
deliver a speech on digital natives. In these cases, you cannot decide to talk about
something else.

4. TURN-TAKING

In conversation, turn-taking refers to conventions in which participants allow appropriate

opportunities for others to talk or the manner in which an orderly conversation normally takes

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 place. A turn is the time when a speaker is talking and turn-taking is the skill of knowing when
to start and finish a turn in a conversation.

Sometimes people are given unequal opportunities to talk because others take much time
during the conversation. Turn-taking pertains to the process by which people decide who
takes the conversational floor. There is a code of behavior behind establishing and sustaining
a productive conversation, but the primary idea is to give all communicators a chance to
speak.

Remember to keep your words relevant and reasonably short enough to express your views
or feelings. Try to be polite even if you are trying to take the floor from another speaker. Do
not hog the conversation and talk incessantly without letting the other party air out their own
ideas. 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 cues such as “What do you
think?” or “You wanted to say something?”

According to Claudia Pesce (Busyteacher.org.) there are seven strategies in turn-taking:

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 https://busyteacher.org/20571-7-turn-taking-strategies-boost-student-speaking.html

5. TOPIC-CONTROL

It means regulating or manipulating the topic of conversation and how long we want the other
person may talk. When we want to elicit specific information from a conversation, we need to
be in control of what is said and when.

Topic control covers how procedural formality or informality affects the development of topic
in conversations.
For example:

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  In meetings, you may only have a turn to speak after the chairperson directs you to do so.
Contrast this with a casual conversation with friends over lunch or coffee where you may
take the conversational floor anytime.

Here are some tips on how you can do this:

1. Control answering of questions.
2. Initiate new topics.
3. Manage process.
4. Handle the small talks.

6. TOPIC SHIFTING

This communication strategy refers to changing the subject in a conversation because the
persons involved in the conversation do not find the current topic interesting. It means that in
a conversation they do not only talk about one topic from the beginning until the end, but they
shift or change from one topic to another. This topic may be related to the previous topic or it
may be a new one. Topic shift is done without explicitly announcing the change of topic or
reaching some kind of an agreement that such a change is appropriate or will be made.

Topic shifting, as the name suggests, involves moving from one topic to another. In other
words, it is where one part of a conversation ends and where another begins.

When shifting from one topic to another, you have to be very intuitive. Make sure that the
previous topic was nurtured enough to generate adequate views. You may also use effective
conversational transitions to indicate a shift like “By the way,” “In addition to what you said,”
“Which reminds me of,” and the like.

7. REPAIR

The term repair in the linguistics sense was introduced by Victoria Fromkin in her article “The
Non-Anomalous Nature of Anomalous Utterances” published in Language March 1971.

In conversation repair means the correction by the speaker of a misunderstood utterance,

either through self-initiated repair, or corrected by others. This is the process by which a
speaker recognizes a speech error and repeats what has been said with some sort of
correction. Conversational repair helps to sustain social interaction by allowing persons in
conversation to handle mutual problems that arise as they communicate.

Repair refers to how speakers address the problems in speaking, listening, and
comprehending that they may encounter in a conversation.

Repair is the self-righting mechanism in any social interaction (Schegloff et al, 1977). If there
is a problem in understanding the conversation, speakers will always try to address and
correct it. Although this is the case, always seek to initiate the repair.

Four Varieties of Repair Sequence

1. Self-initiated self-repair- this repair is both initiated and carried out by the speaker of the
trouble source.
2. Other-initiated self-repair- this repair is carried out by the speaker of the trouble source
but initiated by the recipient.

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 3. Self-initiated other-repair- in this type of repair, the speaker of a trouble source may try
and get the recipient to repair the trouble-for instance if a name is proving troublesome to
remember.
4. Other-initiated other-repair- here the recipient of a trouble source initiates and carries out
the repair. This is closer to what is conventionally called correction.

8. TERMINATION

This last communication strategy refers to ending the conversation. If some people find it
difficult to begin a conversation and others find problems to keep it going., it can be more
challenging to close a conversation so you can either move to another topic or move away to
talk with someone else.

Terminating a conversation can be interpreted by other people as bad manners. You will
even wonder if interrupting or walking away from somebody might give an idea that you are
rude. Undeniably, if you are able to skillfully master this strategy, you will leave them a very
good impression.

Termination refers to the conversation participants’ close-initiating expressions that end a

topic in a conversation. Most of the time, the topic initiator takes responsibility to signal the
end of the discussion as well.

Although not all topics may have clear ends, try to signal the end of the topic through
concluding cues. You can do this by sharing what you learned from the conversation. Aside
from this, soliciting agreement from the other participants usually completes the discussion of
the topic meaningfully.

TYPES OF SPEECHES ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

Why do people speak? Some people speak because they want to convey information. Others
speak because they want to inspire people. Some speak because they want to persuade or
convince their listeners to agree on what they believe in or argue with them if they cannot agree
on things. Others speak simply because they want to entertain their audience.

Consequently, these purposes fall under the different types of speeches:

THE INFORMATIVE SPEECH

The aim of this speech type is to teach the audience something new or to provide the audience
worthwhile information. In this type the speaker presents the “what”, “why” and the “how” of this
topic. It is important that he arrange the information in a clear, logical manner and in such a way
that his audience will understand the topic better and will led toward making conclusions as he
intended. After listening to the speech, the audience expected to gain new knowledge.

This speech serves to provide interesting and useful information to the audience.

The speech to inform can be classified in three types:

1. Demonstration or Explanation is an informative speech which is also referred to as the

“how-to” speech or the “process-of speech.” It explains how something works, how
something is done, how something is developed or acquired. Objects, visual aids, or

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 physical activity by the speaker, or demonstrator in the case of this type of speech, can be
used to enhance the explanation or demonstration.

Example: How to develop good study habits.

How to dye your hair.
How to memorize your speech.

2. Definition is an informative speech that aims to give the meaning of words, phrases, or
issues, which may be considered controversial or difficult to understand.

3. Description aims to make the audience imagine how a person or object looks like by the
use of descriptive words that appeal to the senses of smell, taste, looks, touch and sound.

Informative speech is fundamental to all the other types of speech because you cannot be able
to achieve your purpose without being able to inform the audience about your topic and
occasion.

To help you achieve your purpose, follow these tips for effective informative speaking:

a. Choose a topic that will be interesting to the audience.

b. Quality is more important than quantity. Keep your speech simple by not giving too much
information so as not to confuse or lose your audience.
c. Use terms that your audience will understand. If you need to introduce a new
terminology, make sure to define or explain what it means.
d. Use facts and statistics.
e. Stick to your purpose, which is providing your audience information.

THE INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH

An inspirational speech aims to motivate or inspire an audience, to help them be positive and
optimistic about things. Although this type of speech may also give information, persuade, or
entertain the audience, its optimum goal is to inspire people – to make an audience desire to
achieve their goals in life, to uplift their faith or to maximize their potentials.

Example:
 Pep talks
 Valedictory speeches
 Orations
 Homily

The following are tips for an effective inspirational speech:

1. Speak from the heart.

2. Be the first to believe in your topic.
3. Keep your audience’s interest at its highest to keep them focused and interested in your
speech.
4. Be your best so that your audience will remember you even if time has long passed.

THE ARGUMENTATIVE SPEECH

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 An argumentative speech aims to convert the audience to agree on the speaker’s point or side.
Primarily, an argumentative speech centers on controversial issues and the speaker presents
evidence to support his claim that his side is the truth. In this type of speech, the speaker’s
objective is to arrive at the truth of the matter after the presentation of a logical series of reasons
or evidences.

An argumentative speech may use any of the three major types of appeal:

1. Appeal to reason (logos). This is a rhetorical strategy used to lead the audience in
making a conclusion based on facts presented by the speaker.

Example:
 If you would like to convince your audience to stop smoking, you would be presenting
facts or proofs that smoking can make people sick and can kill them.

2. Appeal to emotions (Pathos). This strategy is used to persuade the audience by

targeting their feelings. Let us say, you would like to convince your audience to stop
smoking.

Example:
 Telling them a story of how a father and his child got sick because of smoking and
both developing lung disease – the father, the first hand smoking and the child being
exposed to the smoke.

3. Appeal to character (Ethos). Ethos is an appeal to ethics. This type of appeal is used
to persuade the audience based on the character of the persuader or the speaker, not of
the audience.

Example:
 The speaker who is to convince his audience of the dangers of smoking is a doctor.

THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH

The persuasive speech, just like an argumentative speech, aim to convince the audience to
believe or to adapt something. The difference is that, a persuasive speech attempts to influence
not only the audience’s belief, but also its attitude and behavior. An argumentative speech
convinces people to accept a fact or point of view, a persuasive speech makes people apply
what they have learned or do the action immediately or in the near future.

Persuasive speaking is the form of communication that people of diverse backgrounds mostly
engage in. This kind of speech can center on any arguably interesting topic under the sun.
When you deliver your persuasive speech, your primary goal is to influence the thoughts,
feelings, actions, and behaviors or attitudes of your listeners (Gamble & Gamble, 2012).
Likewise, you also aim to change their perception and convince them that your argument is
more important, practical, attainable, or feasible. In essence, you – as a persuasive speaker –
advocates for whatever your message is.

A persuasive speech works to convince people to change in some way, they think, the way they
do something, or to start doing something that they are currently not doing.

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 Example:
 To become an organ donor
 Improve your health through better eating
 Become a volunteer to change the world.

The following tips will aid you in preparing your speech:

1. Establish credibility by demonstrating expertise, credibility and knowledge of the subject.

2. Convey your subject with passion and enthusiasm.
3. Choose a doable proposition.

THE ENTERTAINING SPEECH

An entertaining speech is different from the other types of speeches that aim to inspire, to
inform or to educate because this type is intended to make the audience smile, relax and enjoy,
or even laugh to help them forget the everyday problems and worries they have even for just a
short span of time. A light-hearted or funny story, carefully chosen jokes, and amusing
anecdotes can be used to make an entertaining speech. Although the audience are not
expected to retain information as in an informational speech, or to be persuaded as in an
argumentative or persuasive speech, a speaker or writer of this type must carefully plan and
prepare well for this or the audience might get bored listening. In addition, if that happens, you
are only ingratiating and embarrassing yourself.

The speaker provides pleasure and enjoyment that make the audience laugh or identify with
anecdotal information.

Below are tips on how to organize an entertaining speech.

1. Open an anecdote.
2. Explain the point of anecdote.
3. Beef up your theme with additional anecdotes.
4. Conclude by restating your central point.
5. Finish with a great anecdote to ensure a memorable ending.

Aims of an Entertainment Speech

An entertainment speech aims to share goodwill, joy, and pleasure to the audience. The
purpose of an entertainment speech is not to educate, inform, or inspire because the primary
goal is to make the audience relax, enjoy, and even laugh. This means that you, the speaker,
are expected to be friendly and relaxed, but still courteous during the speech delivery.
Moreover, you should know your audience well in order to entertain them effectively

How to Make your Speech Entertaining

To make your speech entertaining, you may:

 tell jokes;
 share funny stories;
 dramatize experiences; and

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  recall a scary story.

Steps in Writing an Entertaining Speech

1. Choose! Choose a light topic. Remember, you are there to give the audience a good
time.
2. Enjoy! If you exude confidence and you obviously enjoy the moment, the audience will
enjoy your presence, too.
3. Simplify! Simplify the flow of your speech. Your audience does not need a mentally
exhausting message.
4. Visualize! Your words should be highly descriptive. Use vivid words and keep them
flowing to make your audience feel as if they were in your story.
5. Surprise! Astonish your audience with unexpected twists in your presentation. The more
you surprise them, the more entertaining your speech will become.