40 interesting collocations for communication

Hi students, it's Shana from EspressoEnglish.net. Today let's expand your vocabulary by learning 40 interesting collocations, those are combinations of words, with the key words comment, conversation, and speech. This is actually a free sample lesson from our newest course called Advanced Vocabulary and Collocations, so if you like this lesson, join the course to get all 45 lessons. Lesson 8, Collocations for Communication. Ready for some collocations? Let's expand your vocabulary by learning interesting combinations with the key words comment, conversation, and speech. There are a lot of adjectives that can describe comments or remarks. Here are some positive ones. Constructive comments or remarks are ones that have a positive effect or help show how to make things better. We often see this in the expression constructive criticism, meaning criticism that's presented in a kind way in order to help improve. Incisive comments or remarks are ones that are clear and sharp. They directly communicate the reality of the situation. Perceptive comments or remarks are ones that show good insight and understanding. Witty comments or remarks are clever and funny. Then on the negative side, we have pointed or cutting comments or remarks, ones that are sharp and hurt other people's feelings. Scathing comments or remarks are ones that communicate very harsh and intense criticism. It's like they're hot. Derogatory or disparaging comments or remarks communicate strong disrespect in a nasty way. And obscene or vulgar comments or remarks are offensive to common standards of decency. Sometimes comments are clear and other times they are cryptic, which is the opposite. Cryptic comments are mysterious and hard to understand or interpret. A provocative comment is one that produces a reaction in people. This may be positive, inspiring thought or action, or it may be negative, producing controversy or anger. Reporters often ask famous people for their opinions on issues and the celebrity might decline to comment, meaning they politely say they will not comment. Other times they might make an off-the-cuff comment, meaning one that is informal, spontaneous, not planned or prepared. Let's turn our attention to conversation. When we're participating in a conversation, we can say we're engaged in conversation. If the conversation is intense and we're really focused on it, then we're deep in conversation. We can have an animated conversation, one that is full of energy, emotion and often gestures. The opposite would be a hushed conversation, one that is done in quiet voices, often because we don't want other people to overhear our conversation or accidentally listen to it. A fascinating or stimulating conversation is one that holds our interest and we enjoy paying attention to it. However, if it's an endless conversation, one that seems to continue on forever, we might eventually get tired of it. It's also unpleasant if one person or one topic tends to dominate the conversation, meaning control it and take up all the time. When we're in a place where we don't know anyone, we can try to strike up a conversation, meaning start a conversation with someone new. This will probably be polite conversation, friendly and civilized. Sometimes it's hard to keep a conversation going with someone we don't know and there might be a lull in the conversation, meaning a natural pause. Some people are very uncomfortable in social situations and these folks might have halting or stilted conversations, meaning ones that have a lot of unnatural pauses and awkward moments. How about the word speech? Someone might give an acceptance speech when receiving an award, a prize, a promotion or new role, etc. There's also a farewell speech when someone is saying goodbye or leaving a place or position. At a conference or event, the main speech is often called the keynote and the person who gives it is the keynote speaker. Those things are planned far in advance. On the other hand, an impromptu speech is given spontaneously. For example, you might stand up and give an impromptu speech at your friend's wedding. You hadn't planned it ahead of time, but you felt inspired in the moment to address the group. An eloquent speech is one that uses words very effectively. Someone could also give an impassioned speech, meaning the speaker has a lot of emotion. Or a rousing or stirring speech, meaning the speech inspires emotion or action in the listeners. Unfortunately, sometimes the speaker is long-winded, meaning he or she talks too long, and then the speech seems interminable, like it will never end. Those expressions were referring to more formal speeches, but the word speech is also used to describe someone's manner of speaking in general. If someone's speech is slurred, it means they're not pronouncing things clearly and it's hard to understand. Drunk people often have slurred speech. Some people are born with a speech impediment or a speech impairment, meaning they naturally have problems speaking clearly, often the result of some medical issue. But often with therapy, they can learn to speak coherently or intelligibly, meaning clearly or understandably. The verb speak collocates with many adverbs, such as speak warmly or speak fondly, meaning to speak with nice, pleasant, positive emotions about something. I speak fondly about the dog my family had when I was a child. Speak authoritatively, meaning to speak in a powerful, reliable way with authority. My friend is an experienced lawyer, so she can speak authoritatively about the law. Speak hesitantly, meaning you speak with hesitation, maybe because you are reluctant to share your opinion or you're worried about the other person's reaction. Speak earnestly, meaning you're sincere, honest, and serious about the topic. And of course, speak fluently, which is what you're learning to do more and more inside this course. I hope you're finding it helpful. Remember, it's essential to practice as well, so go ahead and try the quiz for today's lesson. I hope you enjoyed that free sample from the Advanced Vocabulary and Collocations course, which will help you express yourself more fluently without using the same basic words over and over. In the course, you'll learn more than 1,000 high-level English words and how to put them together in ways that sound natural. This helps you sound more sophisticated when you speak and write in English. If you're ready to take your vocabulary from average to amazing, click on the link in the video description to learn more and join the course. Thanks for watching, and I'll talk to you next time.