COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES

Oral Communication 2nd Grading Period

COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES

 Strategies by participants in a
communication to avoid a breakdown in
communication.
 Nomination, restriction, turn-taking, topic
control, topic shifting, repair, and
termination.
 Also known as topic management
NOMINATION

 Topic must be identified or nominated at the start

of a discussion or speech.
 Allows listener to tune in, recall background
information, prepare themselves
 “Let’s talk about…”
 “I would like to talk about…”
 “Today I am going to discuss…”
RESTRICTION

 Speaker must restrict the topic to make it

manageable.
 Restriction is determined by how much time is given the
speaker.
 Speaker must limit the topic to a specific niche if time is
limited.
TURN-TAKING

 Speakers must know when to take their turn or

allow others to speak.
 One speaker should not hog the communication.
 Participants need to be sensitive to signals that
show when they can speak.
TOPIC CONTROL

 Speaker must focus on the topic without straying

into other discussions.
 Ex. Some teachers get swayed by their students
into going off on tangents about their life to
waste time in class.
 Speaker must not waste too much time on
tangents or anecdotes.
TOPIC SHIFTING

 Speaker must prepare the listeners for a change in

topic.
 The change must be done smoothly.
 Improper topic shifting may give listeners a feeling
that the previous topic was not covered fully.
 “Let us now turn to the issue of…”
 “I will now talk about…”
 “In addition to (current topic), there is also (next topic)…”
REPAIR

 Sometimes, the speaker is misunderstood by the

audience and must restore proper communication.
 Speaker must rephrase or restate what they said.
 Improper repair may make the message sound
awkward or unconfident.
 “What I meant was…”
 “Let me rephrase that…”
 “In other words…”
TERMINATION

 Speaker must find proper point to end the

discussion.
 Restate the main idea of the speech or discussion.
 Use familiar forms to signal the end of the speech
 “Let me end by saying…”
 “In conclusion…”
 “In summary…”