Speech Contexts: From

Solo Acts to Epic Crowds

 TYPES OF
SPEECH CONTEXTS
1. Intrapersonal Communication
This communication takes place
within an individual. Intrapersonal
communication primarily consists of
thinking – that is, processing and
interpreting ideas.
•INTRApersonal = WITHIN
Clarifying Ideas or
analyzing a situation. Other
times, intrapersonal What is it for?
communication is
undertaken in order to
reflect upon or appreciate
something.
Examples:
•Meditation
•Prayer
•Self-talk
•Imagination and visualization
•Recollection and reflection (University of Minnesota, n.d.)
Through intrapersonal communication,
one can achieve the following:
a) Clarity of thought
b) Recognition and acceptance of emotions
c) Systematic decision-making
d) Generation of creative ideas
e) Realization of insights based on personal
experiences
2. Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication
employs vocal qualities and
non-verbal elements in order
to convey meaning.
This communication takes place
between and among a relatively
small group of individuals. In this
process, the participants constantly
respond to one another’s ideas
through feedback.
Interpersonal communication involves more than one
person such dyadic communication.

Couple Teacher and students Friends

Examples:
• Going out on a date with a significant other
(dyads)
• Cousins playing games or friends on a virtual call.
• One-on-one conversation between a parent and a
child
• Meetings held among the members of groups
attempting to finish a school task
Through interpersonal communication,
one can achieve the following:
a) Fulfillment of social needs
b) Learning how to collaborate (a 21st
century skill)
c) Refinement of one’s ideas based on
feedback given by others
d) Establishment of an emotional support
system
3. Public Communication
This type of communication takes place
when an individual addresses a
relatively large audience. In public
speaking, the listeners do not generally
provide feedback (though the speaker
may ask for this at the end of his speech).
Public speaking also tends to be
more formal than interpersonal
communication, which may be
casual or loose.
Examples:
•Speaking at a seminar
•Hosting a large-scale party
•Serving as a lector at the local church
•A school principal addressing the entire
student body in an assembly
Examples:
•A shop assistant doing a product demo
to an audience
•A councilor speaking with business
owners in his or her city district
Through public communication, one can
achieve the following:
a) Improvement of self-confidence
b) Platform for sharing information
insights to a larger audience
4. Mass Communication
This communication is carried out in an
enormous scale enabled by mass media
channels (Lorimer, 2002). This includes
print media, broadcast media (such as TV
and radio), and social media.
Mass communication may be
managed by local or national
governments, private companies,
or even individuals with
adequate resources.
Examples:
•Doing a live vlog on YouTube
•Hosting a Facebook live event
•Joining a radio broadcast
Through mass communication, one can
achieve the following:
a) Swiftly disseminate essential
information that impact public
affairs.
Through mass communication, one can
achieve the following:
b) Help citizens come up with well-
informed opinions (anchored on a
comprehensive presentation of
news, facts, statistics and
perspectives)
 Your goal is to be a well-
rounded communicator. Instead
of limiting yourself to the mastery
of just one context, you need to
develop proficiency in all four
types of speech context.
Verbal and Non-Verbal
Communication: A
Complete Performance
Verbal communication consists of
spoken utterance and voice shifts
that enhance the meaning of the
uttered words. In verbal
communication, you employ vocal
sounds and qualities to deliver the
message.
 What are these prosodic
qualities that promote effective
verbal communication?
1. Enunciation and Pronunciation
Enunciation refers to the proper
production of the sounds in a word;
while pronunciation refers to the
smooth blending of sounds to
produce a word.
2. Volume
This refers to the loudness of your
voice. You can modify your voice to
make it loud or soft. Generally, you
need to make sure that your voice is
audible enough for all your listeners to
hear you.
3. Intonation
The term “intonation” is usually used
interchangeably with “pitch”.
Pitch refers to the “highness and
lowness of tone or voice,” while
intonation refers to “how pitch varies in
spoken language” (Pasternak, 2021).
4. Stress
This refers to the emphasis on certain
sounds, words, or phrases. You can
add emphasis by increasing your volume
or changing your pitch as you deliver a
particular utterance.
5. Speed
This refers to how quickly you speak.
You can modify your voice to make it fast
or slow. You can talk fast to generate
feelings of excitement; you can speak
slow in order to explain a point carefully.
Non-verbal communication
as powerful as your voice can
be, you can still harness other
parts of your body as tools for
conveying the message.
1. Eye contact
By looking at the listeners as you speak,
you can engage them in the
communicative process taking place. In
contrast, lack of eye contact gives the
impressions that you are disinterested in
the discourse, or the audience.
2. Facial Expressions
Using your eyebrows, lips, and other
facial features can help you convey
emotions in your message.
3. Head movements and body
movements
You can turn your head and move
your arms, hands, and legs, and feet
to emphasize certain points.
4. Posture
In general, you should stand upright to
attain a level of dignity or formality as you
speak. At times, to indicate a certain level
of intimacy, you can also lean slightly
forward to the direction of the audience
(as if whispering a secret to them).
5. Proximity
In public speaking situations, you can
walk from one side of the stage or venue
to the other side so that you can reach
out to your audience on both the right
side and left side.
6. Personal Appearance
Your attire will be determined by the
formality that the communicative situation
demands. Thus, you should know when
to dress in business attire, semi-formal
attire, or casual attire. In all cases, you
should look neat and presentable.
In conclusion, bear in mind that good
communication uses both verbal and
nonverbal communication skills effectively.
By mastering these skills, you can surely
deliver your message appropriately.
Speech Styles
The level of communication dictates
the type of speech style and speech
act to be used in a communicative
strategy.
 Communicative Styles or Speech Styles
refers to the form of language that the speaker utilized which is
characterized by the level of formality (Martin Joos, 1962)
5 Communicative styles:
 Frozen  Casual  Consultative
 Formal  Intimate
 1. Intimate
• This style is used in conversation between people who are very
close and know each other quite well because of having a
maximum of shared background information
• It characterized by the economy of words, with a high incidence
of significant nonverbal communications, such as gesture, facial
expression, eye contact and so on
Telling your bf/gf that you love him/her
Sharing secrets
Asking your family for advice about serious matter
 2. Casual
• This style is used in conversations between friends and insiders
who have something to share and have shared background
information
• This uses “group of language”, so only members of the group
can understand it.
Phone conversations, chats and texts
Everyday conversation with friends
Inside jokes of friends
 3. Consultative
 This is used in semi-formal communication, where sentences
tend to be shorter and spontaneous.
 It happens in two-way participation and it uses listener
participation and feedback.
 4. Formal
A type of verbal presentation or document intended to
share information and which conforms to established
professional rules, standards and processes and avoid
slang terminology.
Giving of announcements during a program
President’s delivery of the SONA
Opening remarks, welcome addresses, closing
message
Job interviews
 5. Frozen
Frozen as fixed speech- It is the most formal
communicative style that is often used in respectful
situation or formal ceremony.
National Anthem Constitution

Holy Mass Prayer

Rituals Oath

Pledge Of Allegiance Funeral