John MaedaCreating Hearing-Friendly Speeches for Happily Aging Audiences
Focus on word choice to enhance comprehension. The goal is to avoid words with high-frequency sounds, like “s”, “th”, and “st”, which can be challenging for people with hearing loss, and replace them with alternatives that convey the same meaning but are easier to hear. Substituting specific high-frequency sound words with clearer alternatives is a proven means to help comprehension.
Substitution Examples
- Replace "this" with "that" to avoid high-frequency "s" and "th" sounds.
- Use "flavor" instead of "taste" to prevent misunderstanding caused by the initial "t" and ending "st" sounds.
- Opt for "home" over "house", as "house" ends with a hard-to-hear "s" sound.
- Favor "one" or "number one" instead of "first" to eliminate the high-frequency "f" and "st" sounds.
- Choose "good" rather than "nice" to bypass the light, airy "c" sound.
- Select "drink" over "thirsty" to avoid the high-frequency "th" and "s" sounds.
- Prefer "before" rather than "past" to dodge the ending "st" sound.
- Use "her" in place of "she" to clarify the subject with more distinct sounding letters.
- Substitute "very" for "such" to remove the high-frequency "s" and "ch" sounds.
- Replace "nearly" with "almost" to avoid confusion with similar sounding words.
Content Structuring Guidance
- Ensure sentences are structured simply and clearly, prioritizing direct language over complex vocabulary or sentences.
- Integrate pauses and emphasize key points to aid in comprehension, allowing listeners time to process information.
- Use parallelism to make a point easier to understand as being related but fundamentally different, like say "positive risks" and "negative risks" instead of choosing different words to be creative.
- Whenever possible, repeat important information in a different manner to reinforce understanding.
