Proper Sense Stress

Imagine that you are showing a map to someone to explain how to get from one place to another. You would highlight, not every detail on the map, but only key places and landmarks that would help guide him to his final destination. You might use a highlighter to clearly mark the route. Similarly, whether you are giving a talk or having a conversation, it is important that you emphasize key signs and thought-containing expressions in a way that conveys ideas clearly. In this way, the “route” will stand out and the listener will arrive at the intended “destination,” or understanding.

Proper sense stress involves more than giving added emphasis to a few signs or even to many. The right signs must be emphasized. If the wrong signs are stressed, the meaning of what you say may be unclear to your audience, who, in turn, may let their thoughts drift to other things. Even though the material may be good, a delivery having poor sense stress will be less effective in motivating the audience.

Added emphasis can be conveyed by various means, frequently used in combination: by using a larger or smaller signing space, by more intensity of feeling, by slow and deliberate expression, by pausing before or after a statement (or both), by facial expressions such as raising and lowering eyebrows, and by increasing or decreasing the speed of your signing. Leaning the body forward can also add emphasis. If a scripture or other video is shown during a talk or Bible study, pointing at key signs during the signing or repeating key signs afterward can draw attention to an important point. Take into account the material and the circumstances to determine what would be most appropriate.

When deciding what to emphasize, consider the following. (1) Within any sentence, the signs that should be given added stress are determined not only by the rest of the sentence but also by the context. (2) Sense stress may be used to emphasize the beginning of a new thought, whether a main point or simply a change in the line of reasoning. It might also draw attention to the conclusion of a line of reasoning. (3) A speaker may employ sense stress to show how he feels about a matter. (4) Proper sense stress can also be used to highlight the main points of a talk.

In order to use sense stress in these ways, a speaker must clearly understand the material and earnestly want his audience to absorb it. The same principle applies when copying the signing from video, such as during a Bible reading. The speaker must understand the intent, recognize which signs should be emphasized, and accurately convey the information. Regarding instruction given in the days of Ezra, Nehemiah 8:8 states: “They continued reading aloud from the book, from the Law of the true God, clearly explaining it and putting meaning into it; so they helped the people to understand what was being read.” It is obvious that those who read and explained God’s Law on that occasion realized the importance of helping their audience to grasp the meaning of what was read, to retain it, and to apply it.

Because sign language does not have a written representation as do most spoken languages, generally the audience will watch quoted scriptures on video. Nonetheless, there may be occasions in the ministry or during a talk when you may decide to sign a scripture yourself. Perhaps you are restating a scripture that has already been shown or you cannot show a video scripture. In these instances, your familiarity with not only what is signed but also how it is signed will contribute to conveying the scripture accurately.

What May Cause a Problem. Most people are able to make their meaning clear in normal, everyday conversation. However, when you copy the signing from video, recognizing which signs or expressions to stress may present a challenge. The key lies in clearly understanding the material and the intent of what was signed. Preparation is essential.

Some people use what might be termed “periodic stress” instead of sense stress. They emphasize signs or lean forward at fairly specific intervals, whether such emphasis is meaningful or not. When the emphasis does not contribute to clarity of thought, it easily becomes a distracting mannerism.

In an effort to use sense stress, some speakers employ increased intensity in a way that may make the audience feel that they are being scolded. Of course, that seldom yields the best results. If sense stress is not natural, the impression may be given that the speaker is talking down to his audience. How much better simply to appeal to them on the basis of love and to help them see that what is being said is both Scriptural and reasonable!

How to Improve. Often a person who has a problem with sense stress is not aware of it. Someone else may need to draw it to his attention. If you need to make improvement in this area, the brother who oversees talk assignments will help you. Also, feel free to ask for help from anyone else who is a good speaker. Ask him to carefully watch you as you sign from video or give a talk and then to offer suggestions for improvement.

As a start, your counselor may suggest that you use an article in The Watchtower as a basis for practice. He will undoubtedly tell you to analyze individual sentences to determine which signs or phrases need to be emphasized in order to make the meaning easy to grasp.

For example, try analyzing this sentence: “Jehovah cherishes those who obey him.” “Those” refers to people who obey Jehovah. In American Sign Language, the object “people” would be signed in a specific space and the eyebrows would be raised, identifying the topic. The sign “obey” would not necessarily need to be emphasized but could include a facial expression that indicates it is conditional, “if they obey.” Next, the signer could sign from the perspective of Jehovah, with a warm facial expression and manner, as the subject of the sentence. Finally, the verb “cherish” would be signed with emphasis. In this example, although different facial expressions and movements are used throughout, only one sign is emphasized to make the point. If other signs (or all the signs) in this example were emphasized, the sentence would be unnatural or confusing, or its meaning could be changed completely.

Keep in mind that signs within a sentence work together. At times, it is a group of signs representing a concept that should be emphasized, not merely one isolated sign.

As the next step in learning what to emphasize, your counselor may urge you to consider a context that is broader than the sentence itself. What central thought is being developed in the entire paragraph? How should that influence what you emphasize in the individual sentences? Look at the title of the lesson and at the subheading under which your material appears. What bearing do these have on your selection of expressions to emphasize? All of these are factors to consider. But take care not to put strong emphasis on too many signs.

Whether you will be speaking extemporaneously or signing from video, your counselor may also encourage you to allow the line of reasoning to influence the use of sense stress. You need to be aware of places where the line of reasoning ends or where the presentation shifts from one important thought to another. The audience will appreciate it if your delivery alerts them to these places. For example, facial expressions can indicate transitions in thought or, along with pausing, can identify a new topic. A shift in signing space can alert your audience to a shift in thought. In addition, specific signs can indicate a transition. The sign “well” can indicate that what you say next will explain an outcome or will summarize your previous comments. The sign “halt” can provide a contrast. The sign “understand” can indicate that clarifying or conditional information will follow.

Your counselor will also direct your attention to thoughts to which you want to attach special feeling. To do this you might emphasize such signs as truly, never, must, important, and forever. Your doing so can influence how your audience feels about what you are saying. More will be said about this in Study 11, “Warmth and Feeling.”

To improve your use of sense stress, you will also be encouraged to have clearly in mind the main points that you want your audience to remember. This will be given further consideration from the standpoint of public reading in Study 7, “Principal Ideas Emphasized,” and from the standpoint of speaking in Study 37, “Main Points Made to Stand Out.”

If you are endeavoring to improve in your field ministry, give special attention to scriptures. Make it a practice to ask yourself, ‘Why am I showing this verse?’ If you sign it yourself, simply repeating the signs properly is not always enough. Even signing with feeling may not suffice. If you are answering someone’s question or teaching a basic truth, emphasize the signs or expressions in the scripture that support what is being discussed. Otherwise, the person to whom you are signing may miss the point. It is true that you will usually show the scripture on a video device. However, it is good to keep in mind why you are showing the verse, so that during the playing of the scripture or afterwards, you can give the correct emphasis.

The Bible in sign language already includes proper sense stress according to context to highlight the point being made. However, other parts of a scripture could be emphasized as well. You should know how to use sense stress to call attention to these points when needed. For more information, see Study 21, “Scriptures Properly Emphasized,” and Study 22, “Scriptures Correctly Applied.”

Since sense stress involves giving added emphasis to certain signs and phrases, an inexperienced speaker may tend to hit those signs and phrases too hard. The results will be somewhat like a painting done by a person who is just learning to paint. With added practice, however, the individual “brushstrokes” will simply become part of the “picture” that is beautifully expressive.

After you have learned some of the basics, you will be in a position to benefit by observing experienced speakers. You will soon come to realize what can be accomplished by varying degrees of emphasis. And you will appreciate the value of using emphasis in various ways to make clear the meaning of what is said. Developing proper sense stress will greatly enhance the effectiveness of your own reading and speaking.

Do not learn just enough about sense stress to get by. In order to sign effectively, keep working at it until you have mastered sense stress and can use it in a way that looks natural to others.