Speech Analysis Vocabulary
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1. Rhetoric: The study of effective speaking and writing. It is also
the art of persuasion and many other things.
2. Logos: The logical content of a speech. This names the appeal to
reason.
3. Lexi: The style and delivery of a speech.
4. Kairos: This has a rich and varied history, but generally refers to
the way a given context for communication both calls for and
constrains one's speech. In other words, it is the most opportune
moment to deliver part of a speech.
5. Pathos: This is the persuasive appeal that deals with tapping into
the audience’s emothions.
6. Ethos: This is the persuasive appeal that allows the speaker’s
character to come out.
7. Judical oratory: Originally had to do exclusively with the law
courts and was oriented around the purposes of defending or
accusing.
8. Deliberative oratory: Originally had to do exclusively with that
sort of speaking typical of political legislatures. This sort of
oratory was oriented towards policy and thus considered the future
and whether given laws would benefit or harm society.
9. Epideictic oratory: This means "fit for display." Thus, this branch
of oratory is sometimes called "ceremonial" or "demonstrative"
oratory. Epideictic oratory was oriented to public occasions calling
for speech or writing in the here and now. Funeral orations are a
typical example of epideictic oratory.
10.
Allusions: a common feature of an expository style of
address in which the quote or reference is used as evidence to
support the argument. For example, a speech campaigning for
human rights might refer to statistics. Allusions and quotes can
also be employed with greater subtlety and grace than merely
stating a fact that supports the speaker’s point. In his famous
Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln cleverly crafted allusions to
the Declaration of Independence into the speech. This technique
served to remind the audience of the aspirations held for the nation
by previous generations and warned that such ideals stood to be
destroyed by the Civil War.
11.
Imperative: A direct instruction to the audience. For example,
‘rise up and take back what is yours!’ would be an imperative.
Imperative can be used seriously or playfully depending on the
tone of the address. In any case, this technique should be used
sparingly. An audience won’t appreciate being told what to think
or do – they must be gently persuaded so they feel that they came
to certain conclusions on their own.
12.
Structure: Keep in mind that speeches that use rhetorical
language generally show a progression in content from past to
present to future. They also tend to start with a single idea and
move to a more universal idea
13.
Rhetorical questions: This is an effective persuasive device
because it requires an audience response. They don’t actually have
to answer, but the natural response to a question mark is to
consider what the answer might be. Rhetorical questions invite the
audience to pause and reflect.
14.
Repetition: When key phrases can be used for emphasis as
well as dramatic build. It ensures people are listening because
repetition catches the ear. Martin Luther King Jr used this
technique to great effect by repeating ‘I have a dream’ in his
address at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. This keeps drawing the
audience to a key idea of the speech thereby reinforcing it.
15.
Antithesis: A common persuasive technique because it
displays a comparison to the audience. The purpose of antithesis is
to invite the audience to see contrast between different points of
view or potential outcomes.