13 - Start with Examples

Summary

Chapter 13 opens by asking readers to look at a bubble chart showing numbers of native speakers of various languages, then to describe the figure in words, and finally to compare these visual and verbal ways of conveying information about speakers. The chapter encourages demonstrations that start with memorable and fun examples, emphasizing that the free-choice setting means people can walk away if they are not immediately intrigued. Again, research articles can be mined for classic phenomena. The chapter also exemplifies several ways of giving people something to talk about: Using one’s own body can launch demonstrations of speech articulation. Special hardware or software can launch demonstrations of speech acoustics. Video such as fMRI of arias and beatboxing can catch people’s attention and start the desired conversations. Pictures and objects that can be handled, as well as games and puzzles such as tongue twisters, are a rich ground for juicy questions. The Worked Example shows different ways to build a demonstration with the Stroop task, interactive with low-tech or high-tech support. Giveaway materials are also emphasized as making a demonstration memorable and fun.