(Korton stresses the importance of being eloquent when teaching because people will know us from the way we speak better than anything else. Doing so is designed to help those students who are not at our level to a level closer to our own.) 

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Korton: greetings Russ, let us address communication and the necessary of the linguistics involved, that it is as I have always stated important to be eloquent. Slurring of speech is unacceptable. I know you do not do this but it is important for all people to understand that it is important to communicate crisply and clearly. Now when communicating, you communicate as direct as possible. Analogies are a good tool to use. When you talk, it is a learning experience for other people on what you are saying. People know more about you by the way that you communicate, by the way that you manipulate your vocal cords to communicate. For example, if somebody speaks sloppily, uses a lot of expletives and slang, what does this tell us? This tells us that they are sloppy in their communication, they are probably uneducated, they probably do not grasp fully what is trying to be explained to them. It is fine to use slang when talking with your friends and associates but, on a professional level, you cannot communicate and say you know. You have to explain why they should know. It has been brought to my attention that when you communicate with somebody explaining something, you will use occasionally slang and occasionally the phrase that I hate, you know. This should not be taken for granted that somebody knows. If they know, they will let you know because even if they do know and they do not interrupt, they may learn something. So, to portray yourself as an eloquent speaker tells more about you than just your physical appearance. It tells them that you are educated, you are considerate, you are intelligent. All these things are important when you communicate. It is necessary to give the air as a communicator that you know what you are talking about, that you are easy to understand and you are intelligent. Questions.

Russ: yes, one thing I have that goes against that last statement is that oftentimes I’ll find myself affecting other people’s form of communication when I’m talking to them. For example, someone using slang or expletives. I do that on purpose generally because it takes me to a level where they can understand me better and accept what I’m saying when I’m teaching instead of going and thinking that I am above them in that situation.

Korton: yes, that is acceptable to lower yourself to their level but, what are you trying to do? You’re trying to bring them up to a higher level.

Russ: right.

Korton: you have to get them from using the expletives and the slang. It is easier for them to be understood by other people if you do so. As a teacher, your purpose is to increase the intelligence of the people. If they’re constantly using expletives and slang, then it is more difficult for people to understand them out of their peer group. The language that you speak, English, has certain protocols that are used by well-speaking individuals that everybody understands. You can understand me clearly and crisply as I communicate. Other people can understand me clearly and crisply as I communicate. Expletives have their place, slang has its place but when you are teaching, the thing that you are trying to do is to increase the intelligence and bring the person up to a higher level if they are of less intelligence. If they are of greater intelligence and have not learned to speak correctly, they will understand that by the way that you are communicating that it is logical and easier to understand so that they will start to mimic. Now it is not a putdown when you do that. When you are dealing with somebody that uses a lot of slang and expletives, it is fine to use them yourself a lot like they would to start off with but as you talk and communicate with them, you decrease and decrease and decrease until you are not using any and they will do likewise, they will mimic you. More questions.

Russ: yes, now once you start doing that with that person, won’t that then feed off of them into their peer group?

Korton: correct.

Russ: and basically it’s a trickle-down effect from there.

Korton: correct, gradually and slowly.

Russ: I see.

Korton: so it is not one person you are communicating with.

Russ: right. So it's best to talk to these people as often as you can once you start the teaching process…..

Korton: correct.

Russ: to keep that teaching process going and then bring in the others of their peer group into it and seeing the same effect take place there.

Korton: correct.

Russ: I see, very understandable……okay.

Korton: so it is a useful tool when you communicate. You have to first of all get their interest, communicate with them on a level that they understand and then pull them up.

Russ: uh-huh.

Korton: more questions.

Russ: okay, how do you encourage them once they get to that point to start using more educated phrases? Is it just your use of them sure, but won't they see themselves as being outcast from their group at that point?

Korton: no they won’t. If their friends are good friends, their friends will accept them as they are. If not, they will continue to use that form of communication with their peer group. When interacting with people outside of their peer group, they will use what they have learned.

Russ: I see, so sooner or later their friends might start changing and their peer group might change.

Korton: correct.

Russ: I understand.

Korton: take for example when you first arrived here. You were hanging around with people that I believe you would call lowlifes?

Russ: party animals.

Korton: party animals. Do you hang around with that group now?

Russ: oh no.

Korton: since you have become more eloquent or have become re-eloquent, you have found that that group of individuals is frustrating…..

Russ: yes.

Korton: irritating......

Russ: uh-huh.

Korton: so therefore you have grown, you have moved to a new peer group. You still interact with some of that other peer group and they have changed also.

Russ: hmm, so this is also feeds over into the Internet where I’m using the webpage in that same manner?

Korton: correct.

Russ: okay, so a grade point average on my eloquence in the webpage?

Korton: passable.

Russ: thank you, from you that’s a compliment.

Korton: thank you.

Russ: thank you.