Oral Communication · Oral Communication: Listening, Speaking and Reflecting

Diction and Stylistic Devices: Choosing Words That Engage Listeners

2.4About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can choose words, phrases and terminology that are precise and suit my audience, and define technical terms when needed.
I can use inclusive language and choose connotations deliberately.
I can recognize and use stylistic devices for speaking: rhetorical questions, repetition, anaphora, tricolon, parallelism, antithesis, chiasmus, alliteration, allusion and analogy.
I can explain how a device helps a listener remember or feel a message.

Words to know

diction
A speaker's choice of words, including how formal, precise and emotionally charged they are.

terminology
The specialized words of a subject or field.

anaphora
Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of several sentences or clauses.

tricolon
A series of three parallel words, phrases or clauses (the rule of three).

antithesis
Placing opposite ideas side by side in a balanced structure.

chiasmus
Repeating ideas in reverse order: A B, B A.

allusion
A brief reference to a well-known person, event, text or story.

inclusive language
Words that include and respect everyone in the audience rather than leaving some people out.

Remember from Grade 9

In Grade 9 you replaced vague words with precise ones and used domain-specific vocabulary, defining it when needed. You also studied word choice and devices such as allusion and analogy in your reading. Expectation 2.4 asks you to use appropriate words, phrases and terminology and a variety of stylistic devices in your own speaking, to communicate meaning accurately and engage your audience.

Diction: choosing the right words

Precision. "A lot of people" is vague. "About 40 skaters each evening" is precise.
Level of formality. "Kids hang out there" suits a chat; "Young people gather there after school" suits a council meeting.
Terminology. Use the correct terms of a subject (freezing point, municipal budget, iambic pentameter), and define them briefly if your audience may not know them.
Connotation. Words carry feelings. Thrifty, economical and cheap all mean careful with money, but they sound positive, neutral and negative. Choose deliberately.
Inclusive language. Use words that include your whole audience: firefighters rather than firemen, everyone rather than you guys in a formal setting. When describing people, follow the terms they use for themselves (for example, First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, or a specific Nation's own name).

Stylistic devices for the ear

Some devices work especially well in speech, because listeners remember patterns and rhythm:

Rhetorical question: "How many of you got eight hours of sleep last night?"
Repetition: repeating a key word or line so it sticks.
Anaphora: repeating the opening words of several sentences.
Tricolon (rule of three): three parallel items. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863) ends with "government of the people, by the people, for the people." Julius Caesar's famous report of a victory, "I came, I saw, I conquered," is another.
Parallelism: matching grammatical structures.
Antithesis: opposites side by side. In his 2011 letter to Canadians, Jack Layton wrote: "love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair."
Chiasmus: A B, B A (see the diagram below).
Alliteration: repeated starting sounds ("bright, bitter, beautiful winter").
Allusion: a reference listeners will recognize.
Analogy or metaphor: explaining the unfamiliar through the familiar ("A budget is a map of what a city values.").

Anaphora sets up a rhythm. Listeners start to expect the pattern, so the final line gets extra attention.

In chiasmus the key ideas cross over. The reversal makes the sentence memorable and flips its meaning.

Worked example

Let's analyse devices in a famous line

Martin Luther King Jr. said in his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (The quotation keeps his American spelling of color.) Identify the devices and explain their effect.

Anaphora: "I have a dream" opens sentence after sentence in this part of the speech, building rhythm and hope.
Antithesis: not... by the color of their skin but by the content of their character sets two ways of judging people against each other.
Alliteration: color... content... character (the hard k sound) links the two halves and makes the phrase easy to remember.
Concrete diction: my four little children turns a large idea (justice) into a personal, specific image.
Effect: the balanced structure makes the contrast between unjust and just judgment sharp and memorable, which is why the line is still widely quoted.

The line combines anaphora, antithesis, alliteration and concrete, personal diction. Together they make a complex idea easy to hear, feel and remember.

Worked example

Let's add devices to a plain speech

Plain version of a talk to a youth council: "The rink at Maple Park doesn't have lights, so people can't use it after it gets dark. A lot of people would use it if it had lights. Please recommend lights." Revise it using precise diction and at least three devices, without exaggerating.

Precise diction: replace a lot of people with evidence: "On two weekday evenings, I counted about 40 skaters before 5 p.m., and none after."
Rhetorical question: "What good is a rink that closes at sunset?"
Anaphora and tricolon: "We skate when it's cold. We skate when it's dark. We skate because this rink is ours."
Antithesis: "Winter is long; our evenings shouldn't be short."
Formal request with terminology: "I'm asking this council to recommend rink lighting in the parks capital budget."
Check: devices support the message without overpowering it, and every number is real.

"On two weekday evenings, I counted about 40 skaters before 5 p.m., and none after. What good is a rink that closes at sunset? We skate when it's cold. We skate when it's dark. We skate because this rink is ours. Winter is long; our evenings shouldn't be short. I'm asking this council to recommend rink lighting in the parks capital budget."

Don't overload

One or two well-placed devices beat ten crammed together. Put your strongest device where you most want listeners to remember something: usually your opening or your final line. And never let a device replace evidence: style should carry a strong argument, not hide a weak one.

Hands-on activity

Device hunt and remix

You need: a speech, song or ad you can listen to (for example, a commencement speech, a political speech from a Canadian news archive, or song lyrics; ask a parent to help choose), paper and a pen.

Listen and write down at least four devices you hear, with the exact words.
For each one, write its effect in one sentence.
Choose a short message of your own (one or two sentences about something you care about).
Rewrite it three ways: once with anaphora, once with a tricolon, once with antithesis.
Read all three aloud to a family member. Which one do they remember an hour later?

Just for fun

Julius Caesar reported a quick victory with a famous tricolon: "I came, I saw, I conquered."

The Grade 10 version: "I came, I saw, I made a slideshow."

Your turn

Identify the device: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Identify the device: "We will learn. We will build. We will lead."

Identify the device: "love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear."

Rewrite with more precise diction: "A lot of stuff got damaged in the storm."

Choose the word with the most positive connotation: stubborn, determined, pig-headed.

Make this sentence more inclusive for a formal speech: "Hey guys, every student should bring his permission form."

Why do patterns like the tricolon work especially well in speeches?

More practice: warm-up

What is diction?

What is a rhetorical question?

Give an example of alliteration.

What is an allusion?

True or false: you should never define technical terms in a speech.

More practice: on your own

Write a tricolon for a speech encouraging students to volunteer at a local food bank.

Write an analogy that explains a municipal budget to Grade 7 students.

Explain how Antony's "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" uses devices to win the crowd.

A speaker uses ten rhetorical questions in a two-minute talk. Evaluate this choice.

Replace the loaded, exaggerated diction with accurate, still-engaging words: "This disgusting, falling-apart school gym is an absolute disaster."

Challenge

Write a 4- to 6-sentence speech opening on a topic you care about that uses at least four different devices. Label each device.

Write a chiasmus of your own about school, sport or community life, and explain how the reversal changes the meaning.

Compare the effect of "Hope is better than fear" with "Being hopeful is generally preferable to being afraid." Use the terms diction and antithesis.

Check your understanding

Quiz

"We came to learn. We came to grow. We came to lead." Which device opens each sentence?

A device that places opposite ideas side by side is:

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people" is an example of:

Which word has a negative connotation?

When should you define a technical term in a talk?

Which is the best advice about stylistic devices?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation 2.4 asks students to use appropriate words, phrases and terminology and several different stylistic devices to communicate meaning accurately and engage the audience.

How to help at home:

Notice devices together in speeches, sermons, sports interviews, ads and songs: "Did you hear the repetition there?"
Ask your teen to read a speech draft aloud and point out their strongest line.
Play with connotation: list three words that mean almost the same thing and rank them from positive to negative.

Common difficulties:

Confusing anaphora with general repetition (anaphora is at the start of sentences).
Overusing devices or using them in place of evidence.
Vague diction ("a lot," "stuff"). Ask: "How many? Which ones?"