Chapter 1: Communication Competence and Public Speaking

Content

(Information) Is in your message

Feedback

Aka. Responses, mostly nonverbal, from listeners. This feedback INFLUENCES you while you are speaking.

communication competence

engaging in communication with others that is perceived to be both effective and appropriate in a given context - the communication competence model is a well-conceived theoretical model grounded in solid reasoning and research -competence varies by degrees from highly proficient to severely deficient depending on current set of circumstances -Competent public speaking requires both appropriateness and effectiveness. - achieving communication competence begins with knowledge of the rules that create behavioral expectations and knowing what is likely to work effectively given the rules of the situation.

Effectiveness

the degree to which speakers have progressed toward the achievement of their goals (In public speaking, you have general goals or purposes that you hope to achieve well such as to inform, persuade, celebrate, entertain, inspire, or give tribute)

Competent Public Speaking

- An essential element of any democratic society - Public speakers must make choices regarding the appropriateness and likely effectiveness of topics, attention strategies, style and delivery, evidence, and persuasive strategies - When giving a speech, you must be sensitive to the signals sent from the audience that indicate lack of interest, disagreement, confusion, enjoyment, support, and a host of additional reactions. - The effectiveness of a speech must be tempered by ethical concerns - Prepare in advance so there is no temptation to plagiarize a shortcut

Rule

A _______ "is a prescription that indicates what behavior is obligated, prohibited or preferred in a given context" - "rules" can be changed if they do not achieve a common purpose.

Ethics

A system for judging the moral correctness of human behavior by weighting that behavior against an agreed-upon set of standards of right and wrong - Respect - Honesty - Fairness - Choice - Responsibility

commitment

Is a passion for excellence— that is, accepting nothing less that the best that you can be and dedicating yourself to achieving that excellence. -to exhibit commitment, ATTITUDE IS AS IMPORTANT AS APTITUDE -you have to want to improve, to change, and to grow more proficient, and you must be willing to put in the effort required to excel.

Appropriateness

Is behavior that is perceived to be legitimate and fits the speaking context

Message

Is composed of the ideas you wish to express (Ex: such as what your college should do about rising tuition and fees)

Context

Is the environment in which communication occurs. -is composed of who communicates what to whom, why they are communicating a message, where it is presented, and when and how it is transmitted. -when you change the elements of context, you change the rules that determine appropriateness -every communication context is guided by "rules"

Shared meaning

Occurs when both the speaker and receivers have mutual understanding of a message

Meaningless

Something is viewed as "____________" when it makes no sense

Receivers

The ______ are your classmates who DECODE your message by interpreting your spoken words

Channel

The ________ is the medium used to share a message (Ex: such as a speech presented in person or remotely in a podcast or YouTube presentation)

Sender

When YOU give a speech in class YOU are the _________ who ENCODES your ideas but organizing and expressions them in a spoken language.

mindful

You are _____ when you think about your communication and concentrate on changing what you do to become more effective

Mindless

You are _____________ when you are not cognizant of your communication with others or simply do not care, so improvement is not likely.

Relationship

You develop a _________ , an association with audience members as you present your speech. If they like you, they may listen to you. If they dislike you, they may not.

Audience orientation notes

Your topic choice, your purpose in speaking, the organizational structure and development of your speech, your style and delivery and your use of supporting materials all many keep a focus on your audience's needs, views and expectations. (Ex: first speech introducing self in class)

Noise

______ / any interference with effective transmission and reception of your message (Ex: this might be a loud cell phone conversation just outside the classroom or tardy students arriving in the middle of your speech)

Communication

a transactional process of sharing meaning with others

Public speaking

fundamentally an act of communication in which a clearly identified speaker presents a message in a more formal manner than mere conversation to an audience of multiple listeners on an occasion to achieve a specific purpose

Sensitivity

receptive accuracy whereby you can detect, decode, and comprehend signals in your social environment (Whether or not you can accurately perceive the difference between a look of disgust, anger, joy, agreement, frustration, or contempt members of your audience) -can help you adapt your messages to a particular audience in an appropriate and effective manner -a major aspect of sensitivity is being mindful about your communication

Communication skill

the ability to perform a communication behavior effectively and repeatedly (Ex: clearly, fluently, concisely, eloquently, and confidently speaking to an audience are examples of such skill)