This quality of language is desirable for public speaking and is achieved by using active rather than passive sentences (e.g., "Susan gave a speech" rather than "A speech was given by Susan").
What is directness?
100
Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the tendency to look at the world in "either/or" extremes (e.g., good or bad).
What is polarization?
100
These are words whose meanings are slippery and difficult to pin down (e.g., "it will make you feel like new," "better than other leading brands").
What are weasel words?
100
These help your audience see that your speech is moving from one idea to another (e.g., "Let us consider how . . ." and " My next argument . . .").
What are signpost phrases?
100
This is the repetition of the same initial sound in two or more words (e.g., "Fifty Famous Flavors").
What is alliteration?
200
This quality of language varies according to whether you use a more general or more specific term (e.g., "entertainment" versus "movie"); in public speaking, a specific term is usually the better choice
What is abstraction?
200
Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the fallacy of assuming two things must be related (e.g., our plumber is a man, so all plumbers must be men).
What is fact-inference confusion?
200
These words make the negative and unpleasant appear positive and appealing (e.g., the Nazis referred to killing Jews as "special handling").
What are euphemisms?
200
A speaker who uses this technique will repeat something in exactly the same way at different places in the speech to help listeners better remember the idea and remind them how it's connected to the current point.
What is repetition?
200
This is the use of extreme exaggeration (e.g., "He cried like a faucet").
What is hyperbole?
300
This is the factual meaning of a term that you would find in a dictionary (e.g., when the word "kiss" is defined by the dictionary as "to touch or press with the lips slightly pursed").
What is denotative meaning?
300
Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of presenting information as if it's all there is or all you need to know.
What is allness?
300
This is the specialized language of a particular group or profession (e.g., college administrators talk about FGCs and FTEs, or "first generation college students" and "full-time equivalents").
What is jargon?
300
A speaker who uses this technique will rephrase an idea or statement in different words to help clarify a concept.
What is restatement?
300
This is the use of a word or sentence whose literal meaning is the opposite of that which is intended (e.g., "So pleased to see how hard you all studied").
What is irony?
400
This is the emotional meaning of a term (e.g., when the word "kiss" might mean warmth, good feeling, and happiness).
What is connotative meaning?
400
Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of assuming that information stays the same (e.g., that public opinion polls from the last election will apply in the current election year).
What is static evaluation?
400
When you hear an advertisement for a product that promises to be "more economical" than its competitors, you have just heard this fallacy of language.
What are weasel words?
400
These are phrases that have lost their novelty and part of their meaning through overuse (e.g., "tried and true," "mind over matter").
What are cliches?
400
This is an implied comparison between two unlike things (e.g., "Life is a box of chocolates").
What is a metaphor?
500
This quality of language refers to the degree to which a communication style resembles that of informal conversation (by using shorter, simpler, and more familiar words) as opposed to the more formal style of writing.
What is orality?
500
Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of focusing on classes of people, objects, or events rather than individual cases.
What is indiscrimination?
500
When Justin Timberlake referred to his controversial Super Bowl incident with Janet Jackson as a "wardrobe malfunction," he engaged in this fallacy of language.
What is euphemism?
500
These expressions are unique to a specific language (e.g., "kick the bucket" is meaningful only to speakers of American English).
What are idioms?
500
This compares two unlike objects by using the words "like" or "as" (e.g., "He's as gentle as a lamb").