Answer the following statements true (T) or false (F)

1. A speech given in oral style is more formal than an everyday talk.
2. Information that may have a physical, economic, or psychological impact on audience members should be avoided in a speech.
3. Generic language uses words that represent everyone in the audience.
4. When a speaker wants to speak clearly, he or she should use as much jargon and slang as possible.
5. Rhetorical figures of speech help listeners visualize or internalize what a speaker is saying.

1. True. Oral style refers to how we convey messages through the spoken word. An effective oral style differs quite a bit from written style, though when giving a speech your oral style is still more formal than everyday talk.
2. False. Your audiences are more likely to pay attention when you present information that can have a serious physical, economic, or psychological impact. It is enough to refocus most students’ attention on what is being said.
3. False. Generic language uses words that apply only to one sex, race, or other co-cultural group as though the words are meant to apply to everyone. In the past, English speakers used the masculine pronoun he to stand for all humans regardless of sex. This example of generic language excludes 50 percent of the audience.
4. False. Using familiar terms is just as important as using specific words. Avoid jargon, slang, abbreviations, and acronyms unless you define them clearly the first time they are used and using them is central to your speech.
5. True. Rhetorical figures of speech make striking comparisons between things that are not obviously alike. Doing so helps listeners visualize or internalize what a speaker is saying.