Point of View

When someone speaks, their ideas are influenced by their past experience and background. It is often important as a listener to be aware of clues the speaker gives about their perspective and opinion by how the ideas are presented. Recognizing the speaker's point will help you know how to respond more appropriately to what they say.

Sometimes two different people can interpret the same conversation of experience in different ways.  Making emotional room for how others’ view things is important for smooth communication. 

Consider the last three images in this video which help illustrate this point.  What do you see first in each image? Ask someone else to look at the images. Did that person see something different first?

General Point of View

Usually when some says point of view, it is referring to the perspective from which a speaker or writer shares ideas.  It is influenced by their life experiences and knowledge, including their native culture.  The ability to discern a speaker’s point of view and how it is influencing them is essential for full understanding.  

A speaker needs to be aware of and may have to set aside his or her own attitudes or biases in order to communicate most effectively.  Consider if the information you will share might not be relatable because of your unique knowledge or experiences and adapt your speaking.  

Listen to this news cast and interview of a health reporter, Melinda Beck,  and a famous American Actor, Henry Winkler.  They speak of the same health topic (dyslexia) in different ways. After you watch the video, consider the two questions below.

What experiences or knowledge influence what Ms. Beck says? 

What experience or knowledge influence what Mr. Winkler says? 

Grammatical Point of View

This refers to the grammatical perspective adopted to tell a story.  It can be utilized for specific communication purposes.

• First-Person: The speaker tells their own story.  Typical pronouns include, I , my , we , our , etc.
• Second-Person: The speaker tells your story.  Often used for instructions.  The typical pronoun is you .
• Third Person:  The speaker tells the story of another person or people.  Typical pronouns would be he , she , it , or they . 

Selecting the appropriate narrative point of view is important when speaking, and depends on your audience and purpose.  A speaker may switch points of view mid-speaking to fully represent a topic.  An example would be a speaker first sharing statistics about healthy lifestyles, and then sharing a personal story of weight loss and how it has affected them.

If you wish to personally connect with your audience about a topic that you have experience with, then narrating from a first person narrative point of view can make you relatable.  Sharing personal stories can make your speaking memorable and emotionally impactful.

Second person narrative point of view is personally directed to the audience.  It is used most commonly when speaking to an individual or group that you know well or to whom you are giving instructions.  It can be used to try to help place the listener inside of a story.  Be careful, as it can sometimes be offensive and make the speaker seem as though they feel superior to the listener.  This effect can be softened by mixing 1st  person with 3rd person, so the speaker is included in the story or advice.

Third person narrative point of view focuses objectively on a person or topic outside the speaker and listener.  It can hide speaker bias, and is appropriate in academic and professional settings.  It can help listeners stay focused on the topic instead of thinking about you or themselves.

Exercise 2: Take a perspective

Look at the picture to the right.  Write some notes about what you could say about the picture from each narrative point of view in the box below.  Practice describing and narrating the situation from these three different narrative perspectives. 

Perspective	Description
First Person
Second Person
Third Person

Exercise 3: Identify point of view

Here is a video about health and sleep. Watch the video before doing the activities.

Listen for Narrative Point of View

Listen again to the first two minutes of the recording. The speaker uses the different narrative points of view below. Be prepared to discuss with a partner why the speaker used these grammatical forms:

0:00-0:35 Second person

0:35-0:55 First and third person combined

0:56-1:28 Second person

1:28 Third person

Comprehension Questions

1. What percentage of new material is generally forgotten within 20 minutes?
2. Memory consolidation moves information from __________ memory to __________ memory.
3. Which part of our brain does this talk connect to our sleep and memory?
4. Memories recorded during times of intense ________ or stress are better recorded.

Answer Key

Here are the answers to the comprehension questions and the times in the video when the speaker gives the answers.

1. 40% (1:39)
2. short-term; long-term (1:56)
3. Hippocampus (2:05)
4. feeling/stress (3:40)