Speech Styles
Introduction
One of the most dynamic phenomenon in the human beings is the speech which has endless forms of variation. Speech is a continuously varying process which influences their neighbors. In the speech, a style is a set of linguistic variants with some special meaning. Having different variations is the heart of the speech style- without variations, there is no basis for distinguishing different meanings. These variations can occur lexically, syntactically, and phonologically. A speaker does not use a fixed attribute of the speech, but he/she uses different styles depending on the context. Sometimes, it so happens that speakers uses two or more styles in their speech, and thereby a new style is created.
A speaker's style is a unique way in which information is delivered to the other people or to the audience. Thus, in order to ensure that the message is passed on to the other people in the most effective way, the styles of speech must factor into its content. People often speak with an identifiable style. The purpose of the speech itself dictates the style of the speech. A specific speech style is chosen by any person when they find it the most comfortable and which allows them to deliver a speech more effectively. Some people keep on adjusting speech styles depending on situations like purpose, subject matter, audience etc. Thus, different styles of speech are needed to pass on the message most effectively to the intended audience.
Different Styles of Speech
The Different styles of speech are mutually exclusive of each other. When a person is speaking, he/she might have several purposes in mind. They may try an entertaining style to inform others, or they may try to persuade others to act on any information. Thus, there are four basic types of speeches: Entertaining, Persuasive, Demonstrative, Informative.
Informative: The style which is intended to instruct the audience is called informative style. As the main aim of the style is to educate and instruct the people clearly, the style is focused and to the point. The subject matter is best highlighted in this speech style. For example, the speech by a college professor, or by the employer, or by a student about his research.
Demonstrative: This is a bit similar to Informative speech style, where the main purpose is to teach or to educate others, the difference lies in the fact that the speaker demonstrates also what he/she is teaching. For example, how to bake a cake or how to do anything.
Persuasive: The persuasive style of speech is meant to convince people and to garner support from the people. It aims at changing the way people think, or do something. It always carries some extreme emotions which are used as a tool by the speaker. It can also be called as a motivation speech. For example, persuading to become an organ donor, improving health etc.
Entertaining: In this style of speech, the speaker provides enjoyment and pleasure to the audience that makes them laugh and entertain them. It is very relaxed in nature. The speaker may tell anecdotes that may be personal in nature which is mainly used to tie together the speech being delivered. For example, the speech by the best man at a wedding, or excuses for any occasion, or content in a comedy show etc.
Conclusion
Thus, people use different styles of speech depending on the situation, from a more formal way of speaking to a more casual way of speaking. Identifying the purpose of the speech requires effective preparation. Once the purpose is identified, the style of the speech can be selected. So, it can be concluded that different speech styles are used to deliver the information in the most effective way.
References
Hasse, F.-A. (2007). Intercultural Communication and Speech Style. Comparative Literature and Culture, 1-8.
Meyerhoff, M. (2015). Introducing Sociolinguistics. New York: Routledge.
Study.com. (2015). Types of Speeches: Informative, Persuasive, and Special Occasion. Retrieved from Study.com: http://study.com/academy/lesson/types-of-speeches-informative-persuasive-and-special-occasion.html
