Would you like to be able to write this:
When the smell of trees surrounds me as I walk in a forest, when the wind caresses my face during a bicycle ride, when the piece of paper I just folded becomes a bird, when I do all these, I am truly happy.
instead of this:
My favorite hobbies are taking walks, cycling and origami.
If so, check out this article from J.A. Gamache:
USE PARALLEL STRUCTURE TO SPEAK LIKE PRESIDENT OBAMA
by J.A. Gamache
To add power and eloquence to your speeches you could use a writing technique called “parallel structure”. I learned how to use it in one of Lynda Goldman’s communication capsule. (www.lyndagoldmanink.com)
What is “parallel structure”? As Lynda explained: “Parallel structure means that ideas that are parallel in content should be parallel in structure.”
Let’s look at the following phrase exerted from United States President Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural address as an example of parallel structure:
“… I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. …”
Have you noticed how this sentence can be easily separated in three similar parts?
“… humbled by the task before us ,…”
“… grateful for the trust you have bestowed, …”
“… mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.”
Each idea has a parallel structure starting with an adjective followed by the article “the”.
Have fun and try it in your next speech! See if you can tweak a paragraph or two using the same grammatical form at the beginning of each idea.
For example, instead of simply stating that your favorite hobbies are taking walks, cycling and origami, you could say:
“When the smell of trees surrounds me as I walk in a forest, when the wind caresses my face during a bicycle ride, when the piece of paper I just folded becomes a bird, when I do all these, I am truly happy.”
Do you see how this paragraph is much more powerful? It has more rhythm. Sprinkle some parallel structures in your texts and you’ll add pizzazz to your presentations.
Happy writing!
©MMIX J.A. Gamache www.jagamache.com. All rights reserved.
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PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE in whole or in part if a copy of the reproduced text is sent to J.A. Gamache at info@jagamache.com after publication and also provided that this byline, including the following paragraph, appears along with the reproduced text:
This article was reproduced from “Speaking in Public with J.A.”, a FREE electronic magazine authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit: http://www.jagamache.com.
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Posted under Guest Article
This post was written by john on November 11, 2009
