Speech management is the control of language in written or spoken conversation to steer it in a specific direction. It can prevent communication breakdowns, but raises concerns about freedom of expression and can create hierarchies of power. It is used in everyday conversation, business, and academics.
Speech management is the ability to steer a written or spoken conversation in a specific direction. It refers to the amount of language present, as well as how relevant and cohesive the language is. While speech management raises free speech issues, it is a common tool used in everyday conversation, business, and academics.
As a tool, speech management is based on the principle that language and speech are inextricably linked. Language provides direction for any speech that occurs, with the interpretation of language largely depending on cultural contexts. By understanding the culture and gaining control over the language, a person can control how speech proceeds.
Speech can be written, such as with letters or emails, and it can also be spoken, such as with a conversation. In both cases, speech management is useful for preventing or repairing communication breakdowns. For example, one person might ask another person to clarify what she meant so that confusion doesn’t make the conversation inefficient or create conflict.
Ultimately, the ability to manage speech allows a person to exert a degree of power over the responses of others. This, in turn, can control people’s behavior. People who want to manage one or more people often have to learn to control what is said or written in a given environment. In a very mild form, discourse management might mean formulating a question to get a particular answer. In severe cases, it can mean full or partial censure.
The ability of discourse management to create hierarchies of power and prevent the written or spoken word from taking a specific direction raises some concerns about freedom of expression. In particular, freedom of speech is called into question. In some countries, laws provide little or no protection against blatant speech management and censorship. Other countries have laws that guarantee free speech, but they may not apply in every case due to cultural or environmental factors. An example is an employee who doesn’t say how angry she is at her boss because she fears retaliation or a more difficult schedule or workload.
The act of managing speech can occur in everyday conversation in private conversation as well as in businesses and academic institutions. For example, companies might choose to use words with specific connotations during a layoff to make the company’s situation seem less desperate and keep morale up. In the classroom, discourse management is necessary to lead students to follow the learning processes and arrive at the correct answers. In this sense, discourse management isn’t necessarily bad, because the intent is to build others or prevent anxiety and chaos.
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