Oral and Written Communication Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide
Oral Communication Techniques
Discussion
Discussion is a type of oral communication where two or more people exchange ideas on a topic.
Conversation
Conversation is a type of oral communication where two or more people talk to each other.
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of a real or imaginary situation to express something that has already happened or will happen.
Dramatization
Dramatization is a technique to represent an action, fact, or situation that has happened through the intervention of several characters.
Group Work and Communication
Effective leadership in a work group depends on the environment within the group (department, section, etc.). Participation, achievement of objectives, organization, and group planning are crucial.
Group Techniques to Encourage Participation
- The Gift of Joy
- Discussion Addressed
- Seminar
- Phillips 6/6
- Ideas or Brainstorming
- Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
Author’s Purposes
Inform
Informing consists of reporting data and knowledge.
Entertain
Entertaining aims to amuse and recreate the mood through reading, jokes, plays on words, etc.
Persuade
Persuasion is achieved through words and aims to change the behavior of people who read or hear the message.
Comment
Commenting involves sharing one’s thoughts on a certain topic.
Influence
Influencing aims to affect the views or mood of another person or others.
Types of Text
Expository Text
Expository text presents a reasoned and organized explanation of a particular topic or aspect of knowledge from the author’s perspective.
Argumentative Text
Argumentative text presents the author’s reasons and arguments to support their own opinion or attack a contrary position.
Narrative Text
Narrative text tells a story of real or imagined events that occur over a given time.
Descriptive Text
Descriptive text aims to make the reader visualize the traits and characteristics of a physical model or describe feelings.
Conversational Text or Dialogue
Conversational text or dialogue is a verbal interaction between two or more people to discuss a topic.
Instructional Text
Instructional text provides steps to follow to achieve something.
Emotional or Expressive Text
Emotional or expressive text is dominated by the issuer’s emotions.
Conative Text
Conative text aims to change the receiver’s behavior and encourage or prevent action.
Metalinguistic Text
Metalinguistic text uses language to talk about language itself.
Referential or Informational Text
Referential or informational text focuses on conveying knowledge about the real or imaginary world.
Phatic Text
Phatic text aims to establish, extend, or terminate communication.
Poetic and Aesthetic Text
Poetic and aesthetic text involves the selection and combination of signs to produce an effect.
Purposes of Reading
Study
We read for study purposes to pass courses, prepare for presentations, etc.
Conduct a Review
Reading to conduct a review involves expressing personal judgments on written material.
Enjoy
Reading for enjoyment is done for personal pleasure.
Entertain
Reading for entertainment helps pass time during leisure or hold (doctors’ offices, insomnia, travel, etc.). This includes reading crosswords, puzzles, and more.
Information
Reading for information aims to expand knowledge in a specific area of interest.
Distinction Between Fact, Opinion, Supposition, and Assumptions
Fact
A fact is a real event or goal, such as a traffic accident, a cultural event, or the opening of a sports game.
Opinion
An opinion is a position taken on certain facts or ideas.
Assumption
An assumption is based on what a person or group believes about the causes of an event or behavior.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an idea that is tested and inspected.
Argumentative Text Analysis
To analyze an argumentative text, follow these steps:
- Read the whole text and determine the issue.
- Review vocabulary, search for meaning, and verify the accuracy of extra-linguistic information.
- Analyze the text: divide it into paragraphs, locate sentences, and develop a text plan.
- Reconsider the issue: draft a summary of the text and analyze its structure to discover the assumptions and arguments the author uses.
Publicity and Propaganda
Advertising
Advertising involves disseminating messages to persuade the public to consume a product or adopt a specific behavior (need, buy, consume, invest).
Propaganda
Propaganda broadcasts messages to promote a doctrine and convince the recipient to adopt a specific behavior.
Verse Classification
Verso de Arte Mayor
Verso de arte mayor has 9-11 syllables.
Verso de Arte Menor
Verso de arte menor has 8 or fewer syllables.
Types of Rhyme
Rhyme is the equality or similarity between the sounds of two or more words.
Consonant Rhyme
Consonant rhyme occurs when rhyming sounds are identical.
Assonance Rhyme
Assonance rhyme occurs when only the vowels in the rhyming words are similar.
Literary Devices (Semantic, Phonic)
Phonic Resources
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds to produce effects related to the poem’s meaning.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the imitation of sounds or noises, often achieved through alliteration.
Semantic Resources
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is the exaggeration of the traits of a person, animal, or object.
Paradox
Paradox is an apparent contradiction of two elements.
Simile
Simile is a comparison between two elements: a real image and a figurative one.
Metaphor
Metaphor is also a comparison, but more complex than a simile as it doesn’t use an explicit relational link.
Interrogative Sentences
Interrogative sentences ask a question, either directly or indirectly.
Direct and Indirect Questions
Direct Questions
Direct questions have a rising intonation, marked in writing with question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence. Example: “Did you bring me the book you promised?”
Indirect Questions
Indirect questions have a falling intonation and no question marks. Example: “I wonder how difficult the exam will be.”
Simple and Compound Sentences
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence has a single verb in a simple or compound tense. Example: “I went to the beach last year.”
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence consists of two or more independent simple sentences, called propositions, joined together. Example: “I washed the dishes and dried them.”