A Guide To Using The Thesaurus For The Student Of Public Speaking

The use of synonyms to effectively and strongly convey a point or idea is an integral part of any public speaking presentation. Where do these synonyms come from? To a certain extent the speaker should already be aware of them, having used them since childhood. If a survey of their vocabulary doesn’t yield the word they are looking for, however, the speaker should consult a Thesaurus.

A Thesaurus is a compilation of expressions according to their meaning relations. In other words, it’s an entire book of synonyms! This is an invaluable resource when preparing material for a public speaking presentation, allowing the speaker to quickly reference the words and phrases they need to round out their speech.

To gain some idea of the value of a Thesaurus pretend for a moment that you are a student of public speaking preparing a speech attacking a particularly offensive law or jurisdictional decision. Your main theme is going to be denunciation; however, you do not want to repeat the word denounce over and over again. That would be repetitious, monotonous and ultimately ineffective.

Instead, you go to a Thesaurus. For the sake of this example we’ll assume that like so many students of public speaking your primary resource is the World Wide Web and you will choose to use the website www.thesaurus.com rather than taking a trip to your local library or bookstore. You look up denunciation and find several paragraphs of words expressing varying degrees of this idea, as well as references to other related terms. Your results would look like this (taken directly from thesaurus.com): 

Main Entry:	Denunciation
Part of Speech:	Noun
Definition:	Condemnation
Synonyms:	accusation, blame, castigation, censure, charge, criticism, cursing, damning, denouncement, fulmination, incrimination, indictment, invective, knock*, obloquy, reprehension, reprobation, stigmatization, vituperation
Antonyms:	advocation, appreciation, compliment, praise
Source:	Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1) Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. * = informal or slang

 

Main Entry:	accusation
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	incrimination
Synonyms:	allegation, arraignment, attribution, beef*, blast*, censure, citation, complaint, denunciation, expose, gripe, impeachment, imputation, incrimination, indictment, insinuation, rap, recrimination, roar*, rumble*, slur, squawk*, stink*, yell
Antonyms:	exoneration
Source:	Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1) Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. * = informal or slang

There are many others, but for the sake of this example these will do. You now have at your fingertips a definition, as well as a wide variety of synonyms and antonyms to help you sharply emphasize your feelings on the matter.

It is important that the ambitious student of public speaking understand that these lists are non-discriminatory. Since no two words have exactly the same meaning the student should consult a dictionary if they come across a synonym whose meaning and/or nuance is unknown to them. Doing so will greatly reduce the chance of error in use (and the subsequent embarrassment when the error is pointed out).

A speaker should also be very careful when incorporating “faddish” synonyms into their speech. Mere curiosities, current slang, far-fetched metaphors, passing foreign phrases, archaisms, obsolete and obsolescent terms and too new coinages should be avoided as a rule of thumb. If their use is necessary in a particular instance of public speaking they should be used both judiciously and sparingly.

Consistent, persistent and insistent study of the English language is of tremendous value to a speaker. Frequent and proper use of a Thesaurus will go a long way toward helping the student of public speaking exponentially grow their vocabulary and gain the ability to present their speeches with clarity, integrity and impact.

My Name Is Christopher Carlin And I Want To Give You Twenty Free Public Speaking Tips

 

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