This interactive infographic analysis is interesting in terms of 'accommodation' theory - that we adapt our language to suit our audience (do some research into this), and in terms of the application of the Flesch-Kinkaid 'readabilty' score. You could use that for analysing any written texts you are studying and use MLU (mean length of utterance) for any spoken texts. This is actually a Power issue because we seem more powerful when we diverge (speak more eloquently, with more complexity than our audience) but we are much more likely to be influential if we communicate well by choosing language suited to our audience.
How do you think this infographic makes Obama look? What might it suggest on closer reading?
Would have never considered it before, but this makes a lot of sense. Obama is a good example of down-to-earth and accommodating his language for the people.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the structures of Obamas speeches are somewhat too simplistic. Even though his speeches are popular and effective, I feel that they often lack depth.
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