Sociolinguistics in Public Speaking

Let's just pretend for a minute that you are a student and you have a huge presentation that is due for your class. The only problem is you have not been trained to use sociolinguistics in public speaking. But what is sociolinguistics and why is it important?

Sociolinguistics is the study of language use within or among a group of speakers. Sociolinguistics is important because it helps the speaker learn the certain aspects of sociolinguistics. It is important to think of the audience that you are speaking in front of. Sociolinguistics has many factors to it. According to Sociolinguistic Speech Communities which explains that sociolinguistics can belong to several groups. It could depend on the speaker age, gender, social class, occupation, religion, etc. Each person has their own speech persona. Think about New Jersey. People from North Jersey have a different dialect from people in South Jersey, that is how speech communities are made. But it is someone who is able to adapt to those restrictions that make them an excellent public speaker.

Take for example President Obama. When he address the nation he knows what topics are trending and why the audience wants to hear them. But how does President Obama use sociolinguistics accurately in public speaking?

President Barack Obama addressing the nation.

According to H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman in their book Articulate While Black the President is referred to as the "most powerful speaker of our age." What the book goes on to mention is how President Obama using eloquence in his language while speaking. People often said that Obama spoke "with conviction" and that he portrayed confidence in each word that he used and thought of carefully. Another important aspect of President Obama's sociolinguistic in speech, is how he knows what topics to choose and why. It is important to know the trending topics that your audience is going to want to hear about. The more controversial, the better. That way when the president conducts his speech with eloquence, he can persuade the audience to agree with his views.

So, while you are up there about to give your speech think about President Obama. Make your words have meaning and have your sentences or points intoxicate your audience with a beautiful style of language.

The important thing to remember when using sociolinguistics in public speaking, is that it is how you carry yourself and the words that you use. Everything that the speaker does while talking to his or her audience is taken into consideration. According to Hana Katrnakova in her article Sociolinguistic and Pragmatic of Public Speaking Discourse sociolinguistics and public speaking is all about the proper use of rhetoric and social theory. The whole idea of public speaking is to persuade your audience to agree with the speakers views and behaviors. Which eludes back to what makes President Obama a successful public speaker.  The president speaks with a certain tone that makes the audience believe everything that he is saying, and that is how sociolinguistics becomes important in speech.

Without language, how could we pass down stories or opinions? While using sociolinguistics in public speaking always remember to be charismatic and have your words convey and undeniable imagery that makes your audience agree with you.