Mastering Oral Communication: Types, Techniques and Features

Understanding Oral Communication

Oral communication is a spontaneous and natural skill, often learned early in life.

Types of Oral Communication

Spontaneous Communication

This form is improvised and not planned in advance.

• Conversation: An oral exchange between two or more people who alternate statements using an imprecise lexicon. It requires a willingness to cooperate (the Principle of Cooperation) and adherence to rules of courtesy based on age, sex, and relationship (comity).
• Routines: Based on experience, such as knowing when to intervene and using linguistic forms that organize the conversation.

Planned Communication

This requires advance preparation and structure.

• Single-Speaker Acts: Communicative acts where a person presents ideas or knowledge to inform, convince, or persuade recipients. Examples include:
  • Lecture: A presentation on a topic for educational or informative purposes.
  • Address: A solemn exposition of ideas of general interest, such as in politics.
  • Oral Report: A detailed account of facts, data, activities, conclusions, or proposals.
• Plural Acts: An exchange of views between multiple participants.
  • Debate: A controversy or confrontation between two opinions, aiming to analyze a problem from different viewpoints (involving a chair, secretary, and members).
  • Symposium: A meeting to exchange information and opinions, not necessarily involving disagreement (led by a moderator).
  • Roundtable: A meeting where several experts in a specific field compare their opinions without hierarchical differences.

Key Features of Oral Communication

• Physical Presence: Requires a shared situation that facilitates communication.
• Informality: Its transient nature makes it more informal than written communication.
• Nonverbal Codes: Includes paralanguage (intonation, tone, voice), kinesics (gestures, facial expressions), and proxemics (position and distance between partners).
• Register Selection: The speaker can choose the appropriate register for the situation.
• Flexible Structure: Due to spontaneity, there is no fixed structure.

Linguistic Forms

• Syntax: Use of exclamations, queries, and simple syntax.
• Structure: Frequent use of ellipses and flexible word order.
• Deixis: Use of common elements between sender and receiver (e.g., "here," "this").
• Expressive Elements: Inclusion of interjections and humor.
• Engagement: Use of calls to the receiver (e.g., "eh?") and fillers (e.g., "um...").
• Social Nuance: Various forms of address and treatments based on the relationship between speakers.