The 'Simulganeous' Technique
Rhetoric Tip: The Simulganeous Technique (note: 'Simulganeous' is explained below) An important basic requisite for rhetoric is vocabulary. The more words you have available, the better you can express yourself.
The German language contains about 400,000 words. In the dictionary Duden there are approximately 120,000 words. Your passive vocabulary - these are all words that you understand, but not necessarily use yourself - comprises between 30,000 and 50,000 words. You know and understand the word 'exalt', for example, but would (probably) not use it yourself. And then there's your active vocabulary - these are all the words that you say at least once over the course of a year. Your active vocabulary contains between 3 and 5 thousand words: Approximately 1/10 (one-tenth) as much as your passive vocabulary. However, there's a step lower than that. The 'Bild' newspaper gets by with about 1000 words. On the other hand, that means that you can express just about anything with 1000 words. Konrad Adenauer, for example, is said to have gotten by with a vocabulary of 1000 words.
To expand your active vocabulary, you don't have to learn new and unknown foreign words, no, it's enough to 'lift' words from your passive vocabulary into your active vocabulary. So, words that you know anyway but simply do not use. For example, most of you understand the sentence "Since his appearance on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire', the teacher has been exalted by his students as being an Einstein of general knowledge". Although you understand the word 'exalted', you probably wouldn't use it in this context (you'd be more likely to use the word 'glorified'). I have created a technique that allows you to expand your vocabulary without wasting time. You have a skill you didn't know about and which you can just switch on. You are capable of mimicking any speaker, whether on the radio, on television or directly from a CD, with a short delay.
Do it right now simply for fun. Switch on the radio or TV and speak simultaneously along with the speaker. You will succeed right away.
The great benefit of the Simulganeous Technique I have called this technique the Simulganeous Technique. Simulganeous means: simultaneous, that is, simultaneously listening and mimicking. The GAN in 'GANeous' means: G for the same time (Gleichzeitig), A for actively listening (Aufnehmen), N for mimicking (Nachsprechen). Wherein lies the great benefit of the Simulganeous Technique?
You expand your vocabulary without any extra time investment. You listen to the radio and television anyway, and I hope you also listen to other audio programs. So go ahead and use this opportunity. Whenever you hear a speaker, just repeat after them. If you also repeat rather than merely listen, your brain recognizes these words as already having been used. You are actively participating. And, for example, if you have already said the word 'exalted' itself 3 times out loud, then the chance that you will do so again will have increased dramatically. Your passive vocabulary is 'activated' bit by bit. The next advantage: You're pronunciation will be cleaner. You will automatically mimic the speaker - and they are mostly professionals. After a while you'll pick up the speech behavior of professional speakers. You will be able to speak faster. If you use speakers who talk at machine-gun pace as a model, then you will be able to do just the same after a certain period of time.
You will think more quickly. The response time between hearing and speaking will get shorter and shorter. In this way you'll also shorten your 'rate of access' to the words. You'll retain more of that which you speak 'simulganeously', and you'll remember it longer. The Simulganeous Technique and learning foreign languages And one more thing on top of that: With the Simulganeous Technique you can even considerably improve your foreign language skills. If you have ever listened to a language tutorial on CD-ROM, you know what I mean. From the first syllable you can join in and mimic the whole CD 'simulganeously'. The learning effect is many times higher than if you were to only listen. In this way you learn the language much faster.
What you can also do: Mimic any message in French, English or Italian simulganeously. You do not even have to understand everything. Even if you only understand 50%, you're already making great progress. The chance that you'll actually use the words that your parroting is three times higher than if you just listen passively. You not only consume, but you also produce. This engrains itself much better in your memory, dramatically increases your speech flow and enhances your foreign language vocabulary.
Make speaking simulganeously your new hobby. I do it permanently. I have many audio books in English. Sometimes during a three-hour drive I talk simulganeously in English the whole time. Eventually it becomes so automatic that I do it quite unconsciously - it's a lot of fun - and then I'm so fluent in English that it sounds like I've been in America for two weeks. (Copyright Matthias Pöhm. This article is a permitted copy of the website www.rhetorik-seminar.ch and may only be used with the permission of the author.
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