The words you choose matter. But the word you emphasize can change everything. In this QuickBites episode, Peter George demonstrates — in real time — how shifting emphasis from one word to another in the same sentence can completely alter its meaning. It's a lesson that's as easy to understand as it is easy to overlook, especially when speakers are so focused on what they're saying that they stop thinking about how they're saying it.
Using a single seven-word sentence repeated seven different ways, Peter illustrates exactly how emphasis works as a tool of precision and intention. Whether you've heard speakers accidentally say something they didn't mean, or noticed that your own delivery sometimes doesn't land the way you planned, this episode gives you a simple exercise you can use immediately to sharpen your emphasis and ensure your message is heard the way you intend it.
Welcome to QuickBites, public speaking tips and techniques you can digest in five minutes or less. Here's your host, Peter George.
Recently, a client and I were discussing how you can change the entire meaning of a sentence simply by choosing which word or words you emphasize. Some people call this "hitting" or "punching" a word. Every so often, you'll hear a speaker emphasize the wrong word — resulting in a line that goes from seeming out of place at best, to changing the meaning of what they're saying at worst.
The Exercise
In this short episode, you'll hear an exercise that both illustrates how this works and gives you something to practice. The exercise uses one sentence, repeated seven times. Each time, a different word is emphasized — and the meaning shifts completely. The sentence is: I didn't say he stole the money from the bank.
Seven words. Seven completely different meanings. The only thing that changes is which word receives the emphasis.
Try it yourself. Say the sentence aloud, stressing a different word each time, and notice how the implied meaning shifts with each version:
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (Someone else said it.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (I deny saying it.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (I implied it.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (Someone else stole it.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (He got it another way.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (He stole something else.)
I didn't say he stole the money from the bank. — (He took it from somewhere else.)
When you're speaking, be sure to emphasize the appropriate words so your listeners instantly and accurately understand the intent of what you're saying.
Thank you for devouring another episode of QuickBites. Tune in Monday when you'll hear another episode of Public Speaking with Peter George, and again Thursday for your next episode of QuickBites. Until then, remember — when it comes to speaking in public, you've got this. I'll see you next time.
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