Discourse Competence: How to Theorize Strong Women Speakers - Research Paper Example

Savannah Alexander English 121 School: Eastern Michigan Andre Peltier Dis Competence; How toTheorize Strong Women Speakers Although men have dominated “effective public speaking” field for quite a long time, women have also proved to be equally strong in public speaking. Over the years, men have been considered as stronger public speakers than women. This is attributed to the fact that all the key ingredients of effective public speaking seem to be disregarded when the “sexism” of public speaking is put into perspective. Personality, preparations, knowledge, skills, and experience among others are key ingredients in effective public speaking and cannot be disregarded when judging speeches. There has been a sizeably-held notion that in feminist linguistic analysis, the speech made by women is in most cases characterized by over-politeness or powerlessness (Mills 4). Judging speeches in terms of gender, that is, as either masculine or feminine amounts to stereotyping that often yield subjective judgement. Therefore, Mills proposes that description of speech should be based on “discourse competence” as this ensures that competitive and cooperative strategies are appropriately used to judge speech (Mills 4). Description of speech using “discourse competence” helps in describing speech that is both cooperative (focused on group needs) and assertive (focused on speaker’s needs). As such, theorization of strong women speakers can be done without referring to masculine or feminine stereotype. Using “discourse competence” in describing speech and disregarding “sexism” as a means of judging speech shows that women are equally strong speakers like men. To achieve the goal of supporting the assertion that “Women are Equally Strong Speakers like Men”, the paper is organized into three main sections. The first section provides reasons of why women have been considered as weak speakers. The second section describes why gender does not determine speech ability of an individual. The final section is the conclusion showing how individual women equally strong speakers like men. Firstly, the paper addresses the question of why are women considered weak speakers. Before delving into the details of question, it is important to point out that, the fact that men have dominated public speaking field and are deemed by society as strong public speakers does not necessarily insinuate that women are really weak public speakers (Black and Coward 16). That notwithstanding, women are considered weak public speakers when compared to men. So, what might be the reasons for such consideration? The first reason cited for this consideration is that most women have not had vast experience in the field of public speaking as most of men have. Numerous studies have shown that success in this field is greatly reliant on, among other factors, extra experience (Gladwell). Correspondingly, the society has been engaged in most public speaking events by men than women thereby creating the experience among most members of the society that men are strong public speakers than women. The second main reason for this consideration is the historical challenges that women have faced in the field of public speaking (Hopkins). Historically, men have dominated this field; notable public speaking by women began can be traced from 1960s and 1970s. This means that prior to this time, the world witnessed very little, if any at all, of public speaking by women. Considering that it takes experience and numerous appearances in increasing regularity to become known, women are yet to enjoy adequate perception of being known as strong public speakers (Spender 43). In addition, as noted, “Discourse Competence” involves judging speech on the basis of cooperation (focus on group’s needs) and assertiveness (focus on speaker’s needs). Failure to focus on group’s needs has been cited as another reason why women speakers are considered weak. Often, women speakers do not bring out what they possess in regard to what they recognize as what the audience wants to hear and how they want to hear (Hendricks and Oliver 87). Sometimes they tend to be unnecessarily motherly, afraid, caring, and mournful in public speaking thereby throwing away their strength of public speaking. It should be noted that these aspects are not in themselves a weakness; however, they may become a weakness when they are used unnecessarily and inappropriately. When used appropriately they are strengths that a speaker can greatly utilize not only to his or her advantage but also to the audience’s advantage (Ryan 1272). Apart from the above reasons, there are other factors that have been cited as contributing to consideration of women as weak speakers. Speak and Deliver states these factors to include: relatively lower competitiveness of women as a whole; Toastmasters judgment being biased towards men; low number of women entrants in the field of public speaking; relatively lower audibility of women speakers; audiences, in general, preferring male speakers; and comparatively lower degree of confidence among women regarding their speaking styles (Speak and Deliver). A number of studies have shown that ability to adequately perform in speech has little to do with gender and a lot to do with individual’s ability. The conventional view that speeches made by women are in most cases characterized by over-politeness or powerlessness is intrinsically flawed (Mills 7). Each person’s passion, willingness to learn, and ability to make good speech differs greatly, and so do the ability to perform adequately in speech. Anyone’s gender does not make him or her effective speaker; the content of what that person says and the passion of delivering speech do. These characteristics go a long way in making someone a good speaker and helping them command the attention of the audience (Ryan 1271). Besides, the subject that a speaker is speaking about determines greatly their ability to perform adequately in speech, regardless of gender. In the case study titled “Discourse Competence; How to Theorize Strong Women Speakers”, there seemed to be a consensus among participants (C.C, S.L, P.B, D.B) that knowledge, preparation, qualifications, and experience were vital in determining a person’s ability to perform adequately in speech, not gender. The participants further stated that the public view that men are better public speaker is stereotypic, thus untrue. However, participants like D.B and S.L pointed out that such a stereotype has been fuelled by the fact that men undertake public speaking in increasing frequency compared to women. Passion, confidence, and creativity also rated high among participants as factors that override gender in public speaking. M.G explained that since speakers have to entertain, educate and inspire the audience, he or she has to be creative, confident, and passionate. M.G assertion is supported by F.D who argues that effective speakers have to deliver their speech with convictions and passion so as to command the attention of the audience. Additionally, the most of the participants cited diversity as the greatest strength of women in public speaking, while lack of confidence as their main weakness. However, as noted by C.F, this weakness which also includes women failing to speak with conviction on subject like violence is stereotypical. C.F’s assertion that women’s strength is getting other women involved is controversial because it implies that this may not be the case in an audience consisting of men. However, the participants acknowledge that women are yet to be recognized on local, national, and global level as effective speakers. For example, F.D brought in a biblical perspective by arguing that the bible in the book of 1Timothy 2:11 requires women to learn in silence; such sources have only served to deny women opportunity to stand before the public more often. B.S agrees with F.D that incorrect interpretation of the Holy Scriptures have limited women’s opportunity to speak in public. To achieve increased women participation in public speaking, the participants call for society to play a role in realizing that men are not the best in everything including public speaking, and women are equally strong public speakers. In order to achieve this, M.G advises that women need to perform exemplarily wherever and whenever they are speaking so as to help pave way for women who come behind them. This case study serves to support this papers position that gender does not determine effectiveness of a public speaker; instead, individual’s ability, experience, qualification, and passion do. This competency usually arise from sufficient research on the subject, scholarship on the same or related subject, real life experience of issues related to the subject, and experience in delivering speeches on the same subject (Speak and Deliver). Such competency allows the speaker to make effective speech, as well as present different perspectives on the same subject. If a speaker can articulate a particular subject with poise and style that is appealing to the audience, then it does not matter whether they are men or women. In addition, the view that men are strong speakers than women is flawed in the sense that it considers common competencies in public speaking and ignoring the not so common competencies but which are equally important. Even though the overall ability to perform adequately in speech should not be disregarded, key competencies of each gender should be considered (Hendricks and Oliver 108). Some women are competent in building their credibility to audience, using reasoning and logic, and some are competent in evoking emotions. Some are excellent in all of these three. The same can be said of men who may be competent in all of the speaking competence categories while others may be incompetent in some. Therefore, it is crucial to strike a balance in these competencies rather than generalizing men versus female public speaking competencies. More importantly is the fact that preparation is core to performing adequately in speech, a fact that overrides the men versus women thinking in speech, as noted in the case study used. The scenario of public speaking is similar to many other scenarios that call for thorough and detailed preparation (Black and Coward 45). For example, it is critical to conduct a background research on the audience, research on the subject matter, and the contextual setting of the public speaking session among others. In doing this, a speaker, be it a man or a woman, is most likely to create a good impression and perform adequately in speech (Mills 14-15). In conclusion, it is true that most of the people have heard from men and women who both are great public speakers. It is also agreeable that the society has been exposed to more male speakers than women. However, there has been a perception by a considerable portion of the society that men are better public speakers than women, a view which is not only stereotypic but also uninformed. The fact that there are more male speakers than women does not mean that men are better and stronger speakers than women. This situation is not based on competence but on social and political structure, as well as historical factors. Generally, men hold and represent more public positions than women, a situation that dictates that they should have considerable responsibilities, public speaking being one of them. Historically, women have not been actively involved in public speaking; 1960s and 1970s marked their initial active involvement in the field of public speaking. Consequently, the society has been exposed to men public speakers in increasing frequency compared to women speakers. Nonetheless, this situation does not support the view that men are better public speakers compared to women. Since women have proved to have equal or even better public speaking abilities compared to men, they should become more confident and bold in their involvement in public speaking. In addition, more women should get involved in public speaking activities thereby increasing the regularity in which the society gets accustomed to their public speaking skills. This will go a long way in demystifying the myth that men are better speaker than women. More importantly, they should enhance their public speaking knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as being novel in order to compete effectively with male public speakers. In doing this, they will achieve key traits of great speakers; entertaining, educating, and inspiring. Works Cited Black, M., & Coward, R. Are Women's Novels Feminist Novels. Feminist Review, 1990. Print. The authors put into perspective the fact that recent years has witnessed emergence of the "feminist novel". Such an emergence not only leads to enormous commercial success but also creates popular appeals that claim outright allegiance to the movements advocating for women's liberation. The authors note that such liberation is also extending to the area of public speaking. Alexander, Savannah. Discourse Competence; How to Theorize Strong Women Speakers. Case Study, 2012. Print. This case study seeks to extend understanding of the subject under study. To achieve this, it provided a number of questions that the participant responded to. Hendricks, Christina, and Kelly Oliver. Language and Liberation: Feminism, Philosophy, and Language. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Print. This book presents readership in feminist language theory. Specifically, it brings together various feminist positions, styles, and strategies, as well as addressing language issues within different traditions. The book seeks to answer the question of whether there is a difference between male and female language, and the theory and practice of language between the two genders. Hopkins, Rich. Women Speakers Need True Grit-And so Do You. A public speaking blog for the speaking public-Speak & Deliver, 10 January 2011.Web. 16 Apr. 2012. The writer of this blog, Rich Hopkins, is against the view that there are a few successful women speakers in the world. He goes ahead to give a list of some of well-known successful women speakers. Also, he takes note of some of the factors that have led to a few women champions in Toastmasters. He states that women need to up their efforts (and everybody actually do need) in order to become more successful in public speaking. Gladwell, Malcolm. The Outliers [UPDATED 1/3/12] | Social Capital Blog."Social Capital Blog | Wisdom on Social Capital, Human Interaction, Civic Engagement and Community through Research, News Stories and Life. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. The author of this blog argue that success in all aspects of life largely depend on passion, drive, and brains. The same can be said about speech making. Effective speech making is largely dependent on passion, drive, and brains. Such aspects are found in an individual person regardless of whether one is a man or a woman. Mills, Sara. Gender Matters: Discourse Competence; How to Theorize Strong Women Speakers. Blackwell publishing, Spring, 1992.4-17. Print. Mills seek to provide a new and more objective way of judging speech. She believes that using gender to judge speech results to subjective outcomes. She, therefore, proposes the use of "Discourse Competence" to judge speech. In doing this, she incorporates other aspects of judging speech such as self-confidence, experience, knowledge base, and voice quality among others. Ryan, M. Women in public: from Banners to Ballots. The American Historical review, 96(4): (1991), 1271-1272. The author of this article discusses the chronology of how gender is changing in regard to language and symbiology as he seeks to provide an understanding of the construction of culture between private and public. His article raises questions of consequences and processes of women exclusion from the public arena and how they are striving to defy such exclusion. Speak & Deliver - A Public Speaking Blog For the Speaking Public. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. This blog highlights the necessity of various ingredients of making a speech. It draws from clothes analogy and states that, just like clothes, "costuming" in speech has to be done correctly; that is, it has to be made effective and memorable to the audience. Spender, D. Man Made Language. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. Print. The author of the book articulates how men control the English language and how women have been silenced through various dimensions of language. He also highlights the conventions of speech in particular reference to gender. Read More