Glossary
- Page ID
- 326475
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\(\newcommand{\longvect}{\overrightarrow}\)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)| Words (or words that have the same definition) | The definition is case sensitive | (Optional) Image to display with the definition [Not displayed in Glossary, only in pop-up on pages] | (Optional) Caption for Image | (Optional) External or Internal Link | (Optional) Source for Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Eg. "Genetic, Hereditary, DNA ...") | (Eg. "Relating to genes or heredity") |  |
The infamous double helix | https://bio.libretexts.org/ | CC-BY-SA; Delmar Larsen |
| Word(s) | Definition | Image | Caption | Link | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| abstract | A term that is imprecise, leaving the meaning open to interpretation. | ||||
| academic books | Books that are primarily written for other academics for informational and research purposes. | ||||
| action-oriented listeners | Listening focused on what is expected of the listener. The action-oriented listener is less interested in the underlying rationale than in learning what action to take. | ||||
| advice | A speaker’s opinion about what should or should not be done. | ||||
| aesthetics | The beauty or good taste of a presentation aid. | ||||
| after-dinner speaking | Speech that is informative or persuasive but also designed to elicit laughter from one’s audience. | ||||
| ageism | The attitude of valuing youth and devaluing age. | ||||
| ageist | Language that demeans an individual because of their age. | ||||
| alliteration | The repeating of two or more words in a series with the same consonant. | ||||
| analysis | Step in the oral presentation of support process in which the speaker explains to the audience how they should interpret the support provided. | ||||
| anecdote | A brief account or story of an interesting or humorous event. | ||||
| APA style | Form of style agreed upon by the American Psychological Association and is commonly used by social scientists. | ||||
| appeal for action | When a speaker asks their audience to engage in a specific behavior or change in thinking. | ||||
| argot | Specialized vocabulary or jargon of a particular profession or social group. | ||||
| argument | A set of logical premises leading to a clear conclusion. | ||||
| articulation | The ability to clearly pronounce each of a succession syllables used to make up a word. | ||||
| assonance | Form of rhyming pattern where the same vowel sounds are used with different consonants in the stressed syllables. | ||||
| assumptions | Inferences we form in the absence of factual information. Some assumptions turn out to be accurate, but many are incomplete or just plain wrong. | ||||
| attention span | The length of time a listener can maintain focused attention to a message. | ||||
| attention-getter | The device a speaker uses at the beginning of a speech to capture an audience’s interest and make them interested in the speech’s topic. | ||||
| attitude | An individual’s general predisposition toward something as being good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive, and so on. | ||||
| audience | The audience consists of the people who receive the speaker's message. | ||||
| audience analysis | The process of gathering certain kinds of information about the people in your audience and using that information to understand the beliefs, values, needs, attitudes, and opinions they hold. | ||||
| audience anxiety | The communication apprehension prompted by specific types of audiences. | ||||
| audience-centered | The emphasis of a speaker on the importance of the audience’s characteristics and needs. | ||||
| authoritative sources | Sources that use factually verifiable observations and data to provide rigorous conclusions that will not collapse under scrutiny. | ||||
| backtracking | Using the bibliography or references from one primary article or book to locate other primary sources. | ||||
| beliefs | Propositions or positions that an individual holds as true or false without positive knowledge or proof. | ||||
| best example | Form of example used to explain the best way someone should behave within a specific context. | ||||
| bias | A predisposition or preconception of a topic that prevents impartiality. | ||||
| biographical speech pattern | Speech format generally used when a speaker wants to describe a person’s life. | ||||
| captive audience | An audience that perceives little or no choice about attendance. | ||||
| caring/goodwill | The degree to which an audience member believes that a speaker has the audience member’s best interests at heart. | ||||
| categorical/topical | Speech format in which a speaker organizes the information into categories, which helps an audience understand a single topic. | ||||
| categorical/topical speech pattern | Speech format in which a speaker organizes the information into categories, which helps an audience understand a single topic. | ||||
| causal speech pattern | Speech format that is built upon two main points: cause-and-effect. | ||||
| central route | Activity of truly analyzing a message using cognitive energy to ascertain the arguments set forth within the message. | ||||
| ceremonial speech | Speeches given during a ceremony or a ritual marked by observance of formality or etiquette. | ||||
| challenge | Call to engage in some kind of activity that requires a contest or special effort. | ||||
| channel | The means by which a message is carried from one person to another (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, or mediated). | ||||
| chart | A graphical representation of data (often numerical) or a sketch representing an ordered process. | ||||
| chronological speech pattern | Speech format in which a speaker presents information in the order in which it occurred in time—whether backward or forward. | ||||
| chunking | The process of taking smaller chunks of information and putting them together with like chunks to create more fully developed, larger chunks of information. | ||||
| claim | A statement that warrants the support of facts from authoritative sources. | ||||
| clarify | To make clear so that the audience understands your meanings the way you intend. | ||||
| clarity | The use of language to make sure a speaker’s ideas are understood by an audience, mirroring a speaker’s intent. | ||||
| cognitive dissonance | An aversive motivational state that occurs when an individual entertains two or more contradictory attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors simultaneously. | ||||
| cognitive restructuring | A technique of deliberately replacing negative cognitions with positive ones. | ||||
| comic timing | The verbal and nonverbal delivery that someone uses to enhance the comedic value of a message. | ||||
| common sense | An approach to considering the ideas in a speech. If the ideas seem to be consistent with each other and with daily reality, they might have merit. However, common sense in public speaking is not a substitute for factual evidence. | ||||
| communication apprehension | The fear or anxiety associated with either real or perceived communication with another person or persons. | ||||
| comparison/contrast speech pattern | Speech format in which a speaker selects two objects or ideas and demonstrates how they are similar or how they are different. | ||||
| competence | The degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as being knowledgeable or expert on a given topic. | ||||
| competent | The degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as being honest. | ||||
| concluding device | The device a speaker uses at the end of a speech to ensure that the audience is left with a mental picture predetermined by the speaker. | ||||
| conclusion | Part of an argument represented that can be clearly or logically drawn from the provided premises. | ||||
| concrete | A term that directly names a specific thing. Its meaning is unlikely to require any interpretation. | ||||
| concreteness | Language that helps an audience see specific realities or actual instances instead of abstract theories and ideas. | ||||
| connotative meaning | An individual’s perception suggested by or associated with a word. | ||||
| content-oriented listeners | Listening focused on the information and meanings in the message. This listener gives less attention to the speaker than to the message, its meanings, and its credibility. | ||||
| context anxiety | The anxiety prompted by specific communication contexts such as group discussions, interpersonal interactions, or public speaking. | ||||
| controversial | Topics surrounded by diverse and deeply felt feelings and opinions. | ||||
| conversational quality | A speaker’s ability to prepare a speech and rehearse a speech but still sound spontaneous when delivering the speech. | ||||
| conversational style | A speaker’s ability to sound expressive and be perceived by the audience as natural. | ||||
| core beliefs | Beliefs that people have actively engaged in and created over the course of their lives. | ||||
| credibility | The perception that the speaker is honest, knowledgeable, and rightly motivated. | ||||
| Credo | Statement of beliefs or principles that influence the actions of a person or group. | ||||
| critical listening | The process of examining claims made in a speech in order to assess their relevance and credibility. | ||||
| decoding | Sensing a source’s message (through the five senses), interpreting the source’s message, and evaluating the source’s message. | ||||
| deep breathing | A relaxation technique that involves expanding the diaphragm to increase air flow. | ||||
| definitional claim | Persuasive claim about the denotation or classification of what something is. | ||||
| demographic information | Information about the audience’s gender, age range, marital status, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other variables that can influence their frame of reference. | ||||
| denotative meaning | The common agreed-upon meaning of a word that is often found in dictionaries. | ||||
| diagram | Drawing that outlines and explains the parts of an object, process, or phenomenon that cannot be readily seen. | ||||
| dialogic | Theory of public speaking that views public speaking as a dialogue between the speaker and their audience. | ||||
| direct quotation | Citing the actual words from a source with no changes. | ||||
| dispositional beliefs | Beliefs that people have not actively engaged in; judgments based on related subjects, which people make when they encounter a proposition. | ||||
| Distortion | Purposefully twisting information in a way that detracts from its original meaning. | ||||
| distractions | Internal or external factors that interfere with a listener’s ability to give full attention to a message. | ||||
| economy | The use of only those words necessary to accurately express your idea. | ||||
| elaboration | The amount of thought or cognitive energy someone uses for analyzing the content of a message. | ||||
| elitism | The practice of thinking the best of those with the highest status and prestige and treating them preferentially. | ||||
| emphasis | To impress the importance or to repeat the verbal message in visual form. | ||||
| Encoding | The process a source goes through when creating a message, adapting it to the receiver, and transmitting it across some source-selected channel. | ||||
| encyclopedia | Information sources that provide short, very general information about a topic. | ||||
| ends | The outcomes that one desires to achieve. | ||||
| entertaining narrative | Type of narrative designed purely to delight an audience and transport them from their daily concerns. | ||||
| Entertaining speaking | Speech designed to captivate an audience’s attention and regale or amuse them while delivering a clear message. | ||||
| entertaining speech | Speech designed to captivate an audience’s attention and regale or amuse them while delivering a clear message. | ||||
| ethical listening | Courteous attention to a speaker and thoughtful consideration of the message. | ||||
| ethnic identity | A group an individual identifies with based on a common culture that is real or assumed. | ||||
| ethnocentrism | The belief that one’s own culture is the standard to which other cultures should aspire. | ||||
| ethos | Aristotle’s term for credibility; the perception that the speaker is honest, knowledgeable, and rightly motivated. | ||||
| eulogy | Speech given in honor of someone who has died. | ||||
| evaluating | Stage of listening where a receiver judges the value of a message or a speaker. | ||||
| evidence | Information from an expert source, which is relevant to a main point. | ||||
| execution | Step in the oral presentation of support process in which the speaker delivers a quotation, paraphrase, or summary; provides numerical support; or shows pictographic support. | ||||
| expert testimony | Account relating the attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of someone who is recognized as an expert on a given topic. | ||||
| expertise | Knowledge in or about a particular field or domains of demonstrable skills. | ||||
| explicate | To provide a detailed explanation. | ||||
| extemporaneous speaking | The presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech using brief notes, spoken in a conversational manner. | ||||
| external justification | The process of identifying reasons outside of one’s own control to support one’s behavior, beliefs, and attitudes. | ||||
| eye contact | A speaker’s ability to have visual contact with everyone in his or her audience. | ||||
| eyewitness testimony | Account given by someone who has direct contact with the phenomenon of your speech topic. | ||||
| fact | A truth that is arrived at through the scientific process. | ||||
| factual claim | Persuasive claim arguing the truth or falsity of an assertion. | ||||
| feedback | A receiver’s observable verbal and nonverbal responses to a source’s message. | ||||
| figurative analogies | Comparison between two ideas or objects from two different classes. | ||||
| focus group | A group of three to eight people who meet together to respond to questions asked by the researcher. A focus group is usually an anonymous group and their responses can be freewheeling. With permission, their discussion can be recorded. | ||||
| frame of reference | An individual’s unique set of perspectives, experience, knowledge, and values. | ||||
| Free speech | The right to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content and subject only to reasonable limitations. | ||||
| general purpose | The broad goal that someone has for creating and delivering a speech. | ||||
| general-interest periodicals | Magazines and newsletters that are published on a fairly systematic basis that appeal to a broad range of readers (e.g., The New Yorker, People, Reader’s Digest, Parade, and The Saturday Evening Post). | ||||
| generalizability | Surveying a small sample with the intent of it representing a larger population. | ||||
| goodwill | An intangible asset that is made up of the favor or reputation of an individual or organization. | ||||
| graph | A pictorial representation of the relationships of quantitative data using dots, lines, bars, pie slices, and the like. | ||||
| hearing | An accidental and automatic brain response to sound. | ||||
| hero speech | Type of motivational speech given by someone who is considered a hero in society (e.g., military leader, political figure, professional athlete). | ||||
| heterosexism | The presumption that everyone in an audience is heterosexual or that opposite-sex relationships are the only norm. | ||||
| heterosexist | Language that assumes that all members within an audience are heterosexual or is intended to demean non-heterosexual audience members. | ||||
| idiom | A word or phrase where the meaning cannot be predicted from normal, dictionary definitions. | ||||
| imagery | The use of language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. | ||||
| immediate call to action | When a speaker asks the audience to engage in a specific behavior immediately following the conclusion of a speech. | ||||
| impromptu speaking | The presentation of a short message without advance preparation. | ||||
| inclusive language | Language that avoids placing any one group of people above or below other groups while speaking. | ||||
| inflections | Changes in the pitch of a speaker’s voice. | ||||
| inform | A general purpose designed to help audience members acquire information that they currently do not possess. | ||||
| informative narratives | Type of narrative used to provide information or explanations about a speaker’s topic. | ||||
| informative speaking | Speaking with the purpose of sharing knowledge or information with an audience. | ||||
| inspirational speech | Speech designed to elicit or arouse an emotional state within an audience. | ||||
| inspire | To affect or arouse someone. | ||||
| intent | The degree to which an individual is cognitively aware of their behavior, the means one uses, and the ends one achieves. | ||||
| interlibrary loan | The process where librarians are able to search other libraries in an attempt to see if they possess the book a researcher is trying to find and then have the external library loan the book to the researcher’s library. | ||||
| internal justification | The process of reducing cognitive dissonance by voluntarily changing a behavior, belief, or attitude. | ||||
| internal preview | A phrase or sentence that gives an audience an idea of what is to come within a section of a speech. | ||||
| internal summary | A phrase or sentence that reaffirms to an audience the information that was just delivered within the speech. | ||||
| interviews | A one-on-one exchange in which you ask questions of a respondent. | ||||
| isometric exercises | A form of exercise in which you systematically tense and then relax certain muscle groups. | ||||
| jargon | Language that is commonly used by a highly specialized group, trade, or profession. | ||||
| keynote speech | Speech delivered to set the underlying tone and summarize the core message of an event. | ||||
| knowledge sharing | The process an individual goes through when information, skills, or expertise is delivered in some form to other person’s who could benefit from having that information, those skills, or the expertise. | ||||
| language | Any formal system of gestures, signs, sounds, or symbols, used or conceived as a means of communicating thought. | ||||
| latitude of acceptance | Range of acceptable behaviors or thoughts individuals will accept as discussed by Muzafer Sherif and Carl Hovland’s (1961) social judgment theories. | ||||
| latitude of noncommitment | Range of behaviors or thoughts individuals have no strong opinion for as discussed by Muzafer Sherif and Carl Hovland’s (1961) social judgment theories. | ||||
| latitude of rejection | Range of acceptable behaviors or thoughts individuals will reject as discussed by Muzafer Sherif and Carl Hovland’s (1961) social judgment theories. | ||||
| lectern | A small raised surface, usually with a slanted top, where a speaker can place his or her notes during a speech. | ||||
| lexical definition | “Dictionary” definition that specifically states how a word is used within a specific language. | ||||
| listening | Focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker. | ||||
| listening or receiver apprehension | The listener’s anxiety about his or her ability to understand the information, concepts, or vocabulary in a message. | ||||
| listening styles | The preferred focus of a listener’s attention in a given situation. An effective listener is able to adapt his or her listening style to the context. | ||||
| literal analogies | Comparison between two objects or ideas that clearly belong to the same class. | ||||
| logical integrity | A characteristic of reasoning in which each claim is carefully supported by an orderly sequence of the right kind of evidence and by the right amount of evidence. | ||||
| Main points | The series of key ideas that you develop to help your audience understand your specific purpose. | ||||
| manipulative persuasion | Occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view by misleading them, often to fulfill an ulterior motive beyond the face value of the persuasive attempt. | ||||
| manuscript speaking | The word-for-word iteration of a written message. | ||||
| means | The tools or behaviors that one employs to achieve a desired outcome. | ||||
| mediated communication | The use of some form of technology that intervenes between a source and a receiver of a message. | ||||
| memorized speaking | The rote recitation of a memorized written message. | ||||
| message | Any verbal or nonverbal stimulus that is meaningful to a receiver. | ||||
| metaphor | Figure of speech where a term or phrase is applied to something in a nonliteral way to suggest a resemblance. | ||||
| Microaggression | A subtle, often unconscious comment or action that communicates bias or prejudice toward someone based on their ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other identity characteristics. | ||||
| MLA style | Form of style agreed upon by the Modern Language Association and is commonly used by scholars in the humanities. | ||||
| model | A three-dimensional re-creation of a physical object. | ||||
| monotone | The vocal quality of staying at a constant pitch level without inflections. | ||||
| motivational speech | Speech designed not only to make an audience experience an emotional arousal (fear, sadness, joy, excitement) but also to motivate the audience to do something with that arousal. | ||||
| multiple identities | In communication studies, the idea that everyone has identities connected to family, religion, occupation, cultural origin, gender, and other characteristics. | ||||
| narrative | An illustrative story or extended example with a clear beginning, middle, and end. | ||||
| need for cognition | A personality trait characterized by an internal drive or need to engage in critical thinking and information processing. | ||||
| needs analysis | A set of activities designed to determine your audience’s needs, wants, wishes, and desires. | ||||
| negative example | Form of example used to illustrate how people should not behave. | ||||
| negative self-talk | A habit of thinking in negative terms about your skills and abilities. | ||||
| noise | Any internal or environmental factor that interferes with the ability to listen effectively. Some of these factors are physical, psychological, physiological, and semantic. | ||||
| nonexample | Form of example used to explain what something is not. | ||||
| nonverbal communication | Any stimuli other than words that can potentially elicit meaning in the mind of a receiver. | ||||
| numerical support | The use of numbers, data, or statistics within a speech to support a point. | ||||
| object | A tangible, physical item a speaker could hold up and talk about during a speech. | ||||
| obscenity | Language that contains curse words or pornographic references. | ||||
| obscure language | Language choices that are not typically understood or known by most of your audience. | ||||
| opinions | Beliefs we have about the worth of things we know or believe we know. | ||||
| parable or fable | An allegorical anecdote designed to teach general life lessons. | ||||
| parallelism | Presenting ideas in a grammatically parallel fashion. | ||||
| paraphrase | Taking the central idea or theme from another speaker or author and adapting it in one’s own words. | ||||
| pauses | Brief breaks in a speaker’s deliver designed to show emphasis. | ||||
| people-oriented listener | Listening that is focused on the speaker. The listener is most interested in the personality or experience of the speaker and the parts of the message related to those interests. | ||||
| peripheral route | Activity of attending to messages but not analyzing them or using cognitive energy to ascertain the arguments set forth in a message. | ||||
| personal inventory | A detailed and descriptive list about an individual. | ||||
| persuade | The intentional attempt to get another person or persons to change or reinforce specific beliefs, values, and/or behaviors. | ||||
| persuasion | The process an individual goes through attempting to get another person to behave in a manner or embrace a point of view related to values, attitudes, or beliefs that they would not have done otherwise. | ||||
| persuasive definitions | A definition designed to motivate an audience to think in a specific manner about the word or term. | ||||
| persuasive narrative | Type of narrative used to persuade people to accept or reject a specific attitude, value, belief, or behavior. | ||||
| physical manipulation | The use of the body to emphasize meanings or convey meanings during a speech. | ||||
| physical noise | Various sounds in an environment that interfere with a source’s ability to hear. | ||||
| pictographic support | Photographic, diagrammatic, or other visual representation of an object or process. | ||||
| pitch | The highness or lowness of a speaker’s voice. | ||||
| plagiarism | Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit. | ||||
| policy claim | Persuasive claim that describes the nature of a problem and advocates a solution. | ||||
| positive example | Form of example used to clarify or clearly illustrate a principle, method, or phenomenon. | ||||
| positive self-talk | A habit of thinking in positive terms about your capabilities. | ||||
| positive visualization | Using the imagination to control stress and create images of success. | ||||
| Power | An individual’s ability to get another person to think or behave in a manner the other person would not have done otherwise. | ||||
| premise | Part of an argument represented by a statement or series of statements designed to provide support or evidence for a conclusion. | ||||
| prepared presentation aid | A presentation aid designed and created ahead of time to be used as a coherent part of a speech. | ||||
| presentation aids | The resources beyond the speech itself that a speaker uses to enhance the message conveyed to the audience. | ||||
| primacy | Information that is presented first. | ||||
| primary research | Research carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications that is reported by the person(s) conducting the research. | ||||
| problem-cause-solution speech pattern | Speech format in which a speaker discusses what a problem is, what the speaker believes is causing the problem, and then what the solution should be to correct the problem. | ||||
| project life cycle | The phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end. | ||||
| pronunciation | The conventional patterns of speech used to form a word. | ||||
| psychographic information | The audience’s set of beliefs, values, religions, and life experiences. | ||||
| psychological noise | Distractions to a speaker’s message caused by a receiver’s internal thoughts. | ||||
| psychological speech pattern | Speech format built on basic logic in which “a” leads to “b” and “b” leads to “c.” | ||||
| pure persuasion | Occurs when a speaker urges listeners to engage in a specific behavior or change a point of view because the speaker truly believes that the change is in the best interest of the audience members. | ||||
| racism | The assumption that one race is superior to another. | ||||
| racist | Language that demeans an entire race of people, people within a specific ethnic group, or an individual because they belong to a specific race or ethnic group. | ||||
| rate | The fastness or slowness of a person’s speech delivery. | ||||
| receiver | The person(s) who takes delivery of a message. | ||||
| receiver biases | Preconceived ideas that interfere with accurately understanding and remembering a message. These biases can refer either to the speaker or to the topic. | ||||
| receiving | Stage of listening where a receiver hears and focuses attention on a speaker’s message. | ||||
| recency | Information that is presented last. | ||||
| religious speech | Type of motivational speech designed to incorporate religious ideals into a motivational package to inspire an audience into thinking about or changing aspects of their religious | ||||
| remembering | Stage of listening where a receiver attempts to recall accurately the content of a message. | ||||
| repetition | The oral linguistic device where key words or phrases are repeated in an attempt to help audience members recall the words or phrases after the speech. | ||||
| representation | A presentation aid designed to represent a real process or object. | ||||
| research | The scholarly investigation into a topic in order to discover, revise, or report facts, theories, and applications. | ||||
| research log | A step-by-step account of the process of identifying, obtaining, and evaluating sources for a specific project. | ||||
| respondent | Someone who responds to a survey, questionnaire, interview, or focus group. | ||||
| Responding | The stage of listening where a receiver offers verbal and/or nonverbal feedback to a source during and after the presentation of a message. | ||||
| response questions | A question that the audience is expected to answer in some manner. | ||||
| reverse outline | Tool used to determine the adequacy of support by starting with a speaker’s conclusion and logically working backward through the speech to determine if the support provided is appropriate and comprehensive. | ||||
| rhetorical questions | A question for which no actual response is expected. | ||||
| rhetorical situation | The set of circumstances surrounding your speech (e.g., speaker, audience, text, and context). | ||||
| rhythm | The patterned, recurring variance of elements of sound or speech. | ||||
| roast | Speech designed to both praise and good-naturedly insult a person being honored. | ||||
| secondary research | Research carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications that is reported by someone not involved in conducting the actual research. | ||||
| semantic noise | When a receiver experiences confusion over the meaning of a source’s word choice. | ||||
| serial position effect | The notion that when items are presented in a linear fashion people remember the items at the beginning of the list and at the end of the list. | ||||
| setup | Step in the oral presentation of support process in which the speaker explains to the audience where the information being used came from. | ||||
| sexism | The assumption that one sex is weaker, less intelligent, less competent, or less deserving than the other. | ||||
| sexist | Language that demeans or excludes one of the biological sexes. | ||||
| signpost | A guide a speaker gives their audience to help the audience keep up with the content of a speech. | ||||
| simile | Figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared using “like” or “as.” | ||||
| situational anxiety | Communication apprehension created by the specific combination of audience, time, and setting. | ||||
| situational audience analysis | Audience analysis that focuses on situational factors such as the size of the audience, the physical setting, and the disposition of the audience toward the topic, the speaker, and the occasion. | ||||
| source | The person(s) who originates a message. | ||||
| spatial speech pattern | Speech format in which a speaker organizes information according to how things fit together in physical space. | ||||
| speakers bureau | Agency that represents celebrity and professional speakers. | ||||
| special-interest periodicals | Magazines and newsletters that are published on a fairly systematic basis that appeal to a narrow range of readers (e.g., Sports Illustrated, Bloomberg’s Business Week, Gentleman’s Quarterly, Vogue, Popular Science, and Home and Garden). | ||||
| specific purpose | A statement starting with one of the three general purposes (to inform, to persuade, or to entertain), but is then followed by a specification of one’s audience, the actual topic a speaker has chosen, and the basic objective the speaker hopes to accomplish with the speech. | ||||
| speech of acceptance | Speech given by the recipient of a prize or honor. | ||||
| speech of dedication | Speech delivered when a new store opens, a building is named after someone, a plaque is placed on a wall, when a new library is completed, and so on. | ||||
| speech of farewell | Speech designed to allow someone to say good-bye to one part of his or her life as he or she is moving on to the next part of life. | ||||
| speech of introduction | Speech given by the host of a ceremony that introduces another speaker and his or her speech. | ||||
| speech of presentation | Speech given by the awarder of a prize or honor. | ||||
| speeches of goodwill | Speech given in an attempt to get audience members to view the person or organization more favorably. | ||||
| statistics | The mathematical subfield that gathers, analyzes, and makes inferences about collected data. | ||||
| stipulative definition | A definition assigned to a word or term by the person who coins that word or term for the first time. | ||||
| style | Those components or features of a literary composition or oral presentation that have to do with the form of expression rather than the content expressed (e.g., language, punctuation, parenthetical citations, and endnotes). | ||||
| subject area | A broad area of knowledge (e.g., art, business, history, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, education). | ||||
| success speech | Type of motivational speech given by someone who has succeeded in some aspect of life and is giving back by telling others how they can be successful too | ||||
| summary | An encapsulation or condensation of the entire text from another speaker or author. | ||||
| support | The range of strategies a public speaker can use to develop the central idea and specific purpose by providing corroborating evidence. | ||||
| support-manipulation | The unethical practice of finding and using support designed to enhance one’s argument in a devious manner. | ||||
| surveys | A set of written questions with multiple-choice questions and/or open-ended questions. | ||||
| survivor speech | Type of motivational speech given by someone who has survived a personal tragedy or has faced and overcome serious adversity. | ||||
| systematic desensitization | A behavioral modification technique that reduces anxiety by gradually exposing the individual to the object or situation they fear while teaching them basic relaxation techniques. | ||||
| tangential | Information that is somewhat related to the topic and thesis but is, nonetheless, a digression. | ||||
| textbooks | Books that are written about a segment of content within a field of academics study and are written for specific academic levels (i.e., K–12, undergraduate, graduate, etc.). | ||||
| theoretical definitions | Definition used to describe all parts related to a particular type idea or object. | ||||
| theory | A proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be scientifically tested. | ||||
| thesis statement | A short, declarative sentence that states the purpose, intent, or main idea of a speech. | ||||
| thought leader | An individual who contributes new ideas that help various aspects of society. | ||||
| time-oriented listeners | Listening focused on reaching the end of the message. | ||||
| toast | Speech designed to congratulate, appreciate, or remember. | ||||
| trait anxiety | Anxiety prompted by a personality trait that describes how people generally feel about communication across situations and time periods. | ||||
| transition | A phrase or sentence that indicates that a speaker is moving from one main point to another main point in a speech. | ||||
| trustworthiness | The degree to which an audience member perceives a speaker as being honest. | ||||
| understanding | Stage of listening where a receiver makes an effort to learn the speaker’s meaning. | ||||
| Value | An individual’s perception of the usefulness, importance, or worth of something. | ||||
| value claim | Persuasive claim advocating a judgment about something (e.g., it’s good or bad, it’s right or wrong, it’s beautiful or ugly, it’s moral or immoral). | ||||
| verbal communication | The use of words to elicit meaning in the mind of a receiver. | ||||
| verbal surrogates | “Filler” words used as placeholders for actual words (like, er, um, uh, etc.). | ||||
| vivid language | Language that helps a listener create strong, distinct, or clearly perceptible mental images. | ||||
| vocal cue | The subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace. | ||||
| vocal variety | Changes in volume, pitch, rate, and pauses. | ||||
| vocalics | Subfield of nonverbal communication that examines how we use our voices to communicate orally; also known as paralanguage. | ||||
| volume | The loudness or softness of a speaker’s voice. | ||||
| voluntary audience | An audience attending a speech of their own free will. |