The Power of Talk
Performance assessment at large corporations is done mainly on the basis of the self-confidence people have and self-confidence is quite apparent when people speak. The way the people present themselves and the way they talk is extremely important because this determines their personality. However, communication is not simple as there are some critical points that have to be considered when communicating. Speaking styles differ from one individual to another because the way the people say and what they mean by their words differ. The speaking style of the people is greatly affected by the ways in which they spoke in their childhood and this also has a great impact on their level of judgment of competence and confidence. People judge others by their own linguistic norms but the speaking styles of people differ because they grow up in different cultures.
Since our speaking styles play a major role in our progress, promotions and in keeping relationships, it is highly important to be careful when we speak. Some things that must be considered while speaking are the ways in which one speaks, the tone of voice, the rate of speed and the degree of loudness. Mostly, the people think about what to speak but their often forget to think how they should speak. Linguistic style refers to the person’s characteristic speaking pattern and includes the features, directness, pausing, word choice and the use of elements as jokes and it differs from one individual to another.
There are basically two functions of language, the first being communication of ideas but most of the people are unaware of the second function that language also negotiates relationships. The ways, in which we speak, we signal and create our status and our level of rapport. Moreover, our choice of pronoun during communication also affects who gets the credit. The ways of speaking are associated with moral qualities, differences between the ways in which the men and women speak have also been noticed. One important thing while communicating is asking questions but the questions should be intelligent ones as the type of questions we ask shows our caliber and mentality. Moreover, it is also appreciated to give compliments while communication and the women are always good in this point. (Tannen, 1995).
The power of talk has a great impact on our lives because it shows our self-confidence and this is also portrayed in the decisions we take. Moreover, the people in powerful positions are likely to reward linguistic styles similar to their own. Therefore, we should be extremely careful while we speak and we should change our speaking styles according to the type of people we are speaking to.
Reference
Tannen, D. (1995). The power of talk: who gets heard and why. Harvard Business Review. July 10th, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.pa-awis.org/useful/tannen.pdf
