Chapter 1 Communication

Public speaking

A way of making your ideas public, of sharing them with other people and of influencing people

Stage fright

Anxiety over the idea of giving a speech in front of an audience

Interference

Anything that impedes the communication of a message. Can be external or internal.

Positive nervousness

Controlled nervousness that helps energize a speaker for his or her presentation

Critical thinking

Focused, organized thinking; the ability to see the relationships among ideas clearly

Visualization

Mental imaging in which a speaker vividly pictures himself or herself giving a successful presentation

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures

Channel

The means by which a message is communicated

Feedback

The messages usually nonverbal, sent from a listener to a speaker

Speaker

The person who is presenting an oral message to a listener

Listener

The person who receives the speaker's message

Frame of reference

The sum of a person's knowledge, experience, goals, values, and attitudes

Situation

The time and place in which speech communication occurs

Message

Whatever a speaker communicates to someone else