Channels of English expression-- ways to get your point across

Effective use of spoken language, but is it English?

Language offers many different communication channels, just like cable TV. Expressing your thoughts in English, getting your point across, can happen verbally or in writing. These are two basic channels that have channels of their own. For example, spoken language includes both your speech accepting the Nobel prize or gossiping with a neighbor at a barbecue.Do you know where the word barbecue came from? It is not from any European or Asian language. I just found out that the Native Americans who first met Christopher Columbus gave us the delicious word.Politicians use one form of spoken language, salespeople use another. Each channel has a separate focus, audience, or intention.

Written language has many channels as well, everything from  thank-you notes or email to legal opinions from the Supreme Court. All the channels are almost like sub-languages, each with its own special vocabulary, expressions, and acronyms that may well be unintelligible to an outsider. Various channels serve specific communities, from rappers to preachers. Almost only by the use of English, rappers have built an entire sub-culture that thrives today. Preachers urge church-goers to behave well and do good, using entirely different communication styles, even though both are speaking American English. To be honest, I think that rappers' English only appeals to a fairly narrow audience and has a limited range of expression. I do appreciate rap for its creative energy and poetry.

When people ask me where to start improving their spoken and written English skills, my first question is, "Who do you want to or need to communicate with?" This question is crucial. Workers, for example, adopt different communication styles depending on their role. Workers use one style with colleagues, a different style with the boss. In every day life, you may use one style when talking to a family member than when you are talking to your kid's teacher.

Written communication is easier for some people to master. Reasons for this include the opportunity to compose as slowly as you want, as well as the chance to review and edit. Almost every book published has been re-written many times. You can work on writing as long as you  want before you send it to readers. Speaking requires a lot more bandwidth because you need to compose your words and sentences in real time. You don't have much time to select correct words, let alone pick the best from a number of options. When you speak, you do not have the opportunity to edit out errors. You can't take a break to look up a word in the dictionary.

Effective speaking is harder than good writing, in my opinion. Speaking well is harder because the speaker must also perform. So, besides a mastery of language comparable to a good writer, a good speaker must also be an artist of the spoken word, capable of giving life and expression to the words themselves. Expressing yourself in spoken English requires the gestures, voice projection, breathing, and stage presence of a great actor. What is your opinion?