Classifications of Speech Situations

Understanding varied speech situations is one of the prerequisites of learning the communicative competence strategies. These varied speech situations can be classified according to context, style, and intention of the utterances.

Speech Context 

The environment, socio-economic conditions, atmosphere, and circumstances can be defined altogether as the context of communication. Speech Context is categorized into four. These are also known as levels or types of communication. 

• Intrapersonal 

 “The message is made up of your thoughts and feelings. The channel is your brain, which processes what you are thinking and feeling. There is feedback in the sense that as you talk to yourself, you discard certain ideas and replace them with others.” (Hybels & Weaver, 2012, p 16)

This refers to communication that occurs within oneself. Talking to oneself often happens when making a decision, praying, reflecting, and writing diaries.

• Interpersonal

“The inter part of the word highlights how interpersonal communication connects people… when you engage in interpersonal communication, you and another person become linked together… The personal part means that your unique qualities as a person matter during interpersonal communication…” (Solomon & Theiss, 2013, p 5)

• Interpersonal can be classified into two:
• Dyad - occurs between two people.
• Small Group - involves a group engaging in face-to-face interaction for the purpose of achieving  a common goal. 

• Public Communication 

 “In public communication, unlike in interpersonal and small group, the channels are more exaggerated. The voice is louder and the gestures are more expansive because the audience is bigger. The speaker might use additional visual channels such as slides or a Power Point presentation.” (Hybels & Weaver, 2012, p 19) 

Message is delivered before an audience and there is less to no chance of interaction in this type. In any types of public speech, the speaker is always responsible in preparing for the speech and in taking control during the actual delivery. 

• Mass Communication

The message in this type is sent through particular media such as television, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines, and billboards. 

Speech Style

Every speeh context demands a different style of communication. Speech style mainly talks about the levels of formality in language use as described by Martin Joos (1961).

Intimate

It is a private conversation which occurs between or among close family members of individuals. Most of the messages shared at an intimate level must be dealt with privacy.

Casual

This often occurs among friends, peers, and acquaintances. One may use colloquial expressions, informal language, slang, and vernacular. 

Consultative

It is a standard form of communication that utilizes a professional tone and a mutually acceptable language. This type of communication often occurs between students and teachers, doctors and patients, among others.

Formal

This type uses a formal form of language and is usually delivered before an audience in a one-way channel.

Frozen

These refer to text that has remained "unchanged" which is often recited in ceremonies.

Speech Act Theory by John L. Austin (1968)

There are three types of acts in every utterance, given the right circumstances or context (Austin, 1962)

 A speech act is an utterance that a speaker makes to achieve an intended effect. 

Features of a Speech Act

• Locutionary – actual act /the actual utterance
• Illocutionary – social function / intention (maybe explicit or oml
• Perlocutionary – resulting act

Classifications of the Functions of Speech Acts

• Assertive
• Directive
• Commissive
• Expressive
• Declaration

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FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

Functions of Communication refers to how people use language for different purposes.

FUNCTIONS:

1. Information - ued for giving and getting information such a facts, data, or knowledge

2. Instructions - guide on what to do, why or how to do it such a recipes, DIY tutorial, procedures, and steps.

3. Social Interaction  - used to produce, develop, or end relationships such as sending invites for social gathering, casual conversations and greetings.

4. Emotional Expression - facilitates people's expression of their feelings and emotions

5. Persuasion - influence beliefs and opinions of others

Elements of Persuasion (Aristotle)
- Pathos (emotions)
- Ethos (reputation)
- Logos (logic)

Types of Persuasion
1.Influence
2. Motivation - used to inspire people using positive words
3. Regulation / COntrol  - used to control behavior of people and regulate the nature and amount of activities people engage in

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Communicative Competence Strategies

1. Understand your role in the conversation.

Each participant of a communication event may either play the role of a speaker or receiver. Understanding your responsibilities and limitations as a participant of the conversation is one of the factors that can affect the communication process. A participant may perform the following roles which entail varied communicative competence strategy.

Nomination

The speaker or facilitator of the conversation shall perform the function of nomination. Determining the topic or purpose of communication is one of the primary roles of a speaker. Nomination refers to an act that allows, invites, or encourages participants to speak or contribute to the conversation. 

Restriction 

The speaker may also limit or prevent other participants to share in a speech situation; however this function should be done with careful attention and consideration as it may offend or create conflict when proper expectations and orientation is not set or given at the beginning. 

Your roles in conversation may be dependent on two deciding factors:

Social Relationships

Your role as a speaker or facilitator and listener or participant can be categorized into Higher Authorities or Lower Authorities. 

Facilitators are considered to be Higher Authorities in a speech situation while those who are tasked to listen can be categorized under Lower Authorities. As the environment changes, the social relationships also shift. A teacher in a classroom discussion is the higher authority but can become a lower authority when participating in a student-initiated activity.

Environment

Another deciding factor is the context in which the conversation occurs. The atmosphere may be a little intimate with less distractions in a one-on-one communication compared to group communication. 

TIPS!

1. State the topic or purpose.
2. Address participants by name.
3. Use verbal and nonverbal cues.
4. Be polite and professional. 

2. Learn the appropriate timing.

Time and circumstance are determining factors of the success of communication. Knowing when to speak is a skill any participants should master. An effective communicator must understand the concept of turn-taking.

Turn-taking

Determining when to talk and when to stop talking is significant in avoiding barriers to communication. Turn-taking is a process by which people decide who takes the conversational floor. Turn-taking acts include:

Keep-turn - speaker must not stop until he fulfills his purpose in a conversation

Release-turn - a speaker is finished talking and is ready to yield the floor to another person to take his or her turn

Take-turn - another participant can take the role of the speaker

TIPS!

1. Use signals and cues such as intonation, verbal cues, and gestures.
2. Limit interruptions.
3. Wait for cues.
4. Dedicate your attention to the participants. 

3. Cultivate meaningful conversations.

The essence of communication is the message being conveyed by the participants. A sudden change or deviation from the topic may distort the message or cause communication breakdowns. Although frequent topic shifting is not preferred, it is sometimes essential in digging into the details of the topic. 

Topic Shifting

Shifting happens when one intentionally or unintentionally changes the direction of the flow of ideas in a conversation. Topic shifting is an advantage when one shifts from a general perspective to a more specific or detailed one. This is speaking topically. On the other hand, speaking on the topic is considered out of context as it shifts from an entirely different scope of the topic although it may still be relevant to the topic at hand. 

Topic Control

Manipulation of discussion so as to maintain its flow without moving away from or changing the topic is called topic control. Regulating the conversations will sustain and establish sensible messages. Like restriction and nomination, topic control can be manifested by verbal cues, nonverbal signals, and transitions. 

TIPS!

1. Be intuitive.
2. Be polite. 
3. Use appropriate transitions.

4. Address issues immediately.

Interruption, overlapping, hogging the floor, and dead air are some of the common concerns that distract the communication flow. These issues must be prevented with sense of urgency. A communicator can employ the strategy of repairing the communication gap and issue or one may choose to terminate the conversation. 

Repair 

Speakers initiate a self-righting mechanism in any social interaction.

Termination

Participants may choose to end the interaction when deemed necessary. Most of casual or random conversations may be left hanging but on any speech situations, ending the conversation properly is a good practice which can be done through the use of close-initiating expressions or phrases such as "that's about everything" or cues like "therefore" and "hence". 

TIPS!

1. Recognize the violation.
2. Shift back to the topic.
3. Ask leading questions.
4. Take a break or shift to a new topic. 
5. Solicit agreement.
6. Terminate conversations by using concluding cues. 

Sources: 

school.quipper.com

Oral Communication in Context - DepEd Learning Material

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