Different words and phrases can evoke different feelings and reactions from a audience when delivering a speech. The audience can connect personally and maybe even shed a tear. This is because of connotative meaning. Connotative meaning is defined as “the emotional, subjective, personal meaning that certain words can evoke in listeners” (Turner, Osborn, Osborn, & Osborn, 2018). An example of connotative meaning are those dog commercials where they want you to adopt or send money to dog in need that have been abused by previous owners. They tend to show sad pictures of the dog, play sad music, and the words and phrases they use are often sad and light-spoken. They are trying to emotionally appeal to the audience so they can feel sad and the audience would want to donate to the dog.
Turner, K. J., Osborn, R., Osborn, M., & Osborn, S. (2018). Public speaking: Finding your voice. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.
Picture: https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2016/11/03/new-paltz-forum-focuses-on-emotional-intelligence/
Public Communication Scrapbook Assignment 