Do you agree with the recommendations concerning publicity? Can you give any other ideas of your own?

UNIT 15

SPEECHWRITING

Text A

 

The good speechwriter has the ability to stand in the shoes of the person who must give the speech. Sociologists call this empathic ability - the ability to think and feel much as the person who will give the speech. In a sense, you become your client's alter ego.

Such understanding and empathic ability do not arise in a vacuum. They can develop only after a great deal of research and thorough discussion with the per­son for whom you are writing.

 

Researching Audience and Speaker

 

If you are given a speechwriting assignment, the first step is to find out every­thing possible about the audience. Who? Where? When? How many people? What time of day? Purpose of meeting? How long a talk? Purpose of talk? Other speakers and their topics? To find the answers to these questions, it might be necessary to talk with a number of individuals. Don't necessarily trust the information you get if it appears to be only a guess. Too many speakers have innocently blundered because they received bad information about their audience.

Next, learn everything you can about the speaker. Listen to the speaker talk - to other groups, to subordinates, to yourself. Get a chance to see how his or her mind works, what word phrases are favored, and what kinds of opinions are expressed. In addition to listening, it is also a good idea to go over material that the client has written or, if written by others, that the client admires in terms of style and method of presentation.

□ Vocabulary:

empathic - сочувствующий; эмпатический; переживающий

alterego - «альтер эго», второе «я»

guess - догадка, предположение

blunder - допустить оплошность, ошибку

subordinate - подчиненный

favor - отдавать предпочтение

admire - восхищаться, любоваться

interms - с точки зрения; в смысле; что касается

Exercises

1) Find the English equivalents in the text. Use them in sentences of your own:

 

произнести речь; до некоторой степени; возникнуть; обстоятельный; задание; выяснить; цель чего-либо; ряд лиц; доверять; казаться; в добавление к чему-либо.

2) Find the words in the text which mean or describe the following:

 

1. having the ability to understand other people's feelings and problems -

2.trying to answer a question or make a judgment about something without know­ing all the facts, so that you are not sure whether you are correct -

3. to make a big mistake, especially because you have been careless or stupid -

4.someone who has a lower position and less authority than someone else in an organization -

5. to support or approve of one plan, idea etc., especially when there are several to choose from -

6. in the relation to some fact or event -

7. to have a very high opinion of someone because of a quality they have -

3) Translate the following sentences into Russian:

 

1. I appreciate his empathic approach.

2. I'll give you three guesses.

3. Police admitted that they blundered when they let him go.

4.The prospect of being judged by subordinates made some managers feel very uneasy.

5. The president is believed to favor further tax cuts.

6. The company is the nation's second largest retailer in terms of sales volume.

7. She says she admires the way he handled the controversy.

 

4) Match the words which are close in their meaning:

 

favor (v)	scrupulous
thorough	emerge
trust	prefer
admire	rely upon
arise	appreciate

5) Match the words having the opposite meaning:

 

arise	superficial
favor (v)	abhor
thorough	disbelieve
admire	disappear
trust	dislike

6) Complete the following sentences (favored; ability; trust; blundered; opinions; guess; information; audience; arise):

 

1. Don't necessarily_____the information you get if it appears to be only

a_.

2. Too many speakers have innocently___

3. Get a chance to see how his or her mind works, what word phrases are____, andwhat kinds of_____are expressed.

4.Such understanding and empathic____do not_______in avacuum.

 

7) Explain the grammatical structure of the following sentence. Use it in sentences of your own:

 

Listen to the speaker talk - to other groups, to subordinates, to yourself.

 

8) Answer the following questions:

 

1. What do sociologists call emphatic ability?

2. How can understanding and emphatic ability develop?

3. In what way can you research the audience?

4. Which questions should be answered?

5. How can you find the answers to them?

6. What should you know about the speaker?