Public Speaking Unit 4

Typography

The appearance and style of typeset matter.

Toast

To engage in a salutation and/or accompanying raising of glasses while drinking alcohol (or other appropriate beverage) in honor of someone or something.

Engage

To engross or hold the attention of (someone); to keep busy or occupied.

Commemorate

To honor the memory of someone or something with a ceremony.

Mimic

To imitate, to mock, or to pretend.

Inspire

To infuse into the mind; to communicate to the spirit; to convey, as by a divine or supernatural influence; to disclose preternaturally; to produce in, as by inspiration.

Stephen impresses both his bosses and the company's employees while serving as host of the meeting. During his hosting duty, he is able to accomplish multiple goals such as inspiring the workers, accepting an award, and generating goodwill for his future as the chief operating officer and for the future of the company. After finishing, he gives his sister a call to thank her for her assistance. "Glad to help. I'm sure you're ready to speak at all sorts of occasions now," Lisa jokes. "Just give me time to prepare," Stephen replies. Select the example in which Stephen makes use of an element commonly found in special occasion speeches.

"This library would not have been possible without the extreme generosity of the Doll family."

Tweet

(Noun) An entry posted on the microblogging service, Twitter; can be a post or status update; (Verb) to post an update to Twitter.

Dedication

A ceremony marking an official completion or opening.

Roast

A comical event where a person is subjected to verbal attack, yet may be praised by sarcasm and jokes.

Interaction

A conversation or exchange between people.

LCD

A flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly.

Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with words.

Lavalier Mic

A lavalier microphone or lavalier (or lav or lapel mic) is a small electret (electric, magnet) or dynamic microphone used for television, theater, and public speaking applications, in order to allow hands-free operation.

Introduction

A means of presenting one person to another.

Neophyte

A novice or recent convert.

Keynote

A speech that sets the main theme of a conference or other gathering; a keynote speech or keynote address.

Farewell

A wish of happiness or welfare at parting, especially a permanent departure; the parting compliment; a goodbye; adieu.

Verbatim

A word-for-word report of a speech.

Eulogy

An oration to honor a deceased person, usually at a funeral.

Territoriality

Associated with nonverbal communication that refers to how people use space to communicate ownership/occupancy of areas and possessions.

Perception

Conscious understanding of something; acuity.

Bullet Points

Bulleted items - known as bullet points - may be short phrases, single sentences, or of paragraph length; used to introduce items in a list.

Angela works for the state government and manages a public health program responsible for educating landlords and tenants about the benefits of smoke-free rental housing. Since she lacks public support for her cause, Angela decides she will give a speech at the next town hall meeting. She has a lot of information to present to a mixed audience and will use visual aids in her presentation. Which of the following techniques improves comprehension specifically?

Including a picture of a lung affected by cigarette smoke when discussing the health impact

Kinesics

Kinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures — or, more formally, non-verbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole.

During the meeting, Stephen will be accepting the company's recent industry award. Although it is a relatively small part of his hosting duty, he knows it is important to communicate how grateful the company is and give proper credit. Because Stephen has not worked for the company for long, he also knows he has no business taking credit for the award himself. He begins preparing some remarks specifically for the award portion of the meeting. Which of the following statements describes a speaker properly preparing for an acceptance speech?

Luke prepares a list of people whom he wants to thank while onstage.

After Julia finishes her rehearsal, she realizes she has forgotten to account for the Q&A session. Her supervisor told her the attendees will be encouraged to ask questions after the speech. They may want more information on where their donation will go or advice on the fastest way to donate. Julia decides she will also need to prepare for the Q&A session before she is truly ready to give her presentation. Which of the following statements represents an effective way for Julia to prepare for or conduct a Q&A session after her speech?

Practice how she will answer some questions with a friend or colleague beforehand.

Transparency

Specifically, a transparent material with an image on it, that is viewable by shining light through it.

Rate

Speed of speaking, measured in words per minute.

Detract

Take away the value of.

Monotony

Tedium as a result of repetition or a lack of variety. The quality of having an unvarying tone or pitch.

Praxis

The act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas.

Loudness

The characteristic of a sound that is primarily a psychological correlate of physical strength (amplitude). More formally, it is defined as "that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud."

Visual Communication

The communication through visual aid and the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon.

Thespis

The first person ever to appear on stage as an actor playing a character in a play instead of speaking as him or herself.

Synthesis

The formation of something complex or coherent by combining simpler things.

Feedback

The receivers' verbal and nonverbal responses to a message, such as a nod for understanding (nonverbal), a raised eyebrow for being confused (nonverbal), or asking a question to clarify the message (verbal).

Animation

The technique of making inanimate objects or drawings appear to move in motion pictures or computer graphics.

Multimedia

The use of different media to convey information; text together with audio, graphics and animation, often packaged on CD-ROM with links to the Internet.

Posture

The way someone holds and positions their body.

Visual Aid

Visual aids are often used to help audiences of informative and persuasive speeches understand the topic being presented. There are many different types of visual aids that range from handouts to Power Point slide presentation.

Stephen has nearly completed preparations for his hosting duty when his boss contacts him again. He wants Stephen to end the evening on an inspirational note by eliciting feelings of pride and excitement in the meeting's attendees. Stephen checks his initial notes for his presentation and decides his existing conclusion is not inspirational enough. He calls Lisa for advice in changing his speech. Lisa tells Stephen that he must use __________ when making an inspirational speech to capitalize on the emotional response of the audience.

rousing imagery

Stephen's boss checks to see if he is prepared for the speech. He reminds Stephen that he wants company employees to come away from the meeting aware of the strengths of the business and the advantages of being associated with it. Stephen knows that his employer offers many advantages, from higher wages to stronger safety regulations, that his competitors do not. Because there are so many possible avenues for discussion, Stephen wonders how he can increase the odds that his audience will remember his points. Stephen considers relying on the method of loci, which helps the audience remember information by associating main points with __________.

specific physical locations

Julia is overwhelmed by the considerations she has to make for the speech. She knows the future of the health center may depend on the success of the event. She speaks to Lucy again and admits that her stress level is high. "I'm not sure how to calm myself down," she confesses. "More rehearsal is probably your best bet," Lucy responds. "I'm willing to watch and give you feedback." "That could be a big help," Julia admits. After they have rehearsed certain sections, Lucy suggests that Julia focus on __________. She wants to make sure that the little things Julia has done throughout the speech come together so that her whole speech is strong.

synthesis

Body Language

Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication. It consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously.

Demographic

A characteristic used to classify people for statistical purposes, such as age, race, or gender.

Presentation Software

A computer software package used to display information; typically includes text editor, method for inserting and manipulating graphic images and a slide show system to display content.

Curriculum Vitae

A detailed written account of one's education and experience used to seek positions in academic or educational environments, typically including academic credentials, publications, courses taught, etc.

Goodwill

A favorably disposed attitude toward someone or something.

Lectern

A lectern is a desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading or speaking aloud. Lecterns are generally used while standing.

Q&A

A period of time in which questions are asked of a person.

Layman

A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.

Analysis

A process of dismantling or separating into constituent elements in order to study the nature, function, or meaning.

Singularity

A proposed point in the technological future at which artificial intelligences become capable of augmenting and improving themselves, leading to an explosive growth in intelligence.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal to an audience based on the speaker/writer's credibility.

Slide

A single page of a presentation, developed using a presentation program such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Collectively, a group of slides may be known as a slide deck or slide show.

Filler

A sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others that he/she has paused to think but is not yet finished speaking.

Angela and David are still debating which type of visual aid would be best for the town hall presentation. David thinks using the chalkboard already located near the stage should be sufficient, but Angela has given presentations before and she feels they need more. "I don't see how it really matters," David states. "It does if you don't want most of the audience to leave without getting the point," Angela responds. Which speech situation would be the best fit for transparencies as a visual aid?

A speaker wants to diagram how to complete a specific mathematic equation.

Oculesics

A subcategory of kinesics, the study of eye movement, eye behavior, gaze, and eye-related nonverbal communication. Often used interchangeably with eye contact.

Hashtag

A tag embedded in a message posted on the Twitter microblogging service, consisting of a word within the message prefixed with a hash sign.

Relational

A type of interactive presentation using presentation software that is structured to allow dynamic customization of the message while presenting.

Dialect

A variety of a language (specifically, often a spoken variety) that is characteristic of a particular area, community or group, often with relatively minor differences in vocabulary, style, spelling and pronunciation.

Julia considers the space where she will be speaking. The fundraising event will be held in a large hall at a nearby convention center. She believes the potential donors attending will be in a more giving mood if they feel a closer connection to the health center and its staff. She decides to make the space seem smaller and more personal to achieve this goal. She also considers moving into the audience during the speech. Which of the following descriptions of communication takes place in primary territory?

A woman hosts a book club meeting in the living room of her home.

Aristotle

An ancient Greek philosopher (382-322 BC), student of Plato, and teacher of Alexander the Great.

PowerPoint

An electronic slide presentation created and presented using the program (verb) to communicate to (an audience) by electronic slides.

Comparison

An evaluation of the similarities and differences of one or more things relative to each other.

The night of the fundraising event has arrived. Julia's presentation goes smoothly and the audience members find her engaging and informative. During the Q&A session several crowd members ask Julia about the health center's budget and the usefulness of their donations. Julia expertly handles the Q&A session and the attendees come away more eager to contribute. Several of Julia's coworkers admit they were impressed with her preparation. "I knew how important the donations would be, so I had to take this seriously," Julia says. Order the following methods Julia uses to manage her Q&A session according to where they would fall chronologically: 1. Julia reminds the audience members of the Q&A session so they can still have time to prepare questions. 2. Julia attempts to explain concepts the audience would have questions about within the text of the speech. 3. Julia asks an audience member for context when confronted with an unexpected subject.

2, 1, 3

Angela and David eventually agreed that a slideshow is a good way to offer visual aids during the town hall meeting. Angela knows she wants the tenants and landlords in the audience to learn about the many benefits of smoke-free housing. She needs the slideshow to help her achieve that goal without providing material that would distract the audience. Which of the following statements describes the slideshow that would be most appropriate for Angela's presentation?

An instructional slideshow that uses dynamic imagery to support spoken information

Prop

An item placed on a stage or set to create a scene or scenario in which actors perform. Contraction of "property".

Angela is leaning toward using a PowerPoint slideshow during her presentation, but she is wary of the traps speakers often fall into when relying on the slideware. David is confused by her reluctance as he does not see any disadvantages with using PowerPoint. "Won't it just help you make your point?" David asked. "If I don't use it effectively," Angela replied, "I'll lose sight of my point entirely." Select the statement that demonstrates a disadvantage of using PowerPoint presentations.

Angela can put the entirety of her speech into the PowerPoint.

The town hall meeting begins and Angela takes the stage. After a short time speaking, she transitions smoothly into her PowerPoint presentation. She discusses the health benefits of smoke-free rental housing and educates the landlords in the crowd about the ease of converting to such accommodation. The images and data in the slideshow enhance and drive home her argument. After her speech concludes David congratulates her. "Good job. I took notes in case I want to do your job one day," David jokes. Which of the following statements describes an effective strategy when formatting and delivering a PowerPoint slideshow?

Angela knows the hall is well-lit, so she uses dark text on a light background.

Angela decides that digital multimedia and dynamic imagery are the best type of visual aid for the upcoming presentation. David is unsure of how to put together a good digital presentation and thus favors static imagery. Angela proposes comparing the pros and cons of each type before making a final decision. Which of Angela's presentation goals would be best supported by static imagery?

Angela wants the audience to be able to take her visual aid back to their friends and family.

Mnemonic

Anything (especially something in verbal form) used to help remember something.

Placeholder

Dotted or hatch-marked borders for entering text, charts, tables, or images on a slide.

Dress Code

Dress codes are written and, more often, unwritten rules with regard to clothing. Like other aspects of human physical appearance, clothing has a social significance, with different rules and expectations being valid depending on circumstance and occasion.

Julia rehearses her speech in front of Lucy a few days before the event. The two women are allowed access to the conference center hall for rehearsal. During the rehearsal Julia moves around as if she were addressing a crowd and uses the visual aids she has put together for the presentation. Lucy seems impressed when she finishes. "Well done," Lucy says. "I had no idea the health center was that important." "Let's hope the attendees come to the same conclusion," Julia replies. Which of the following statements represents an unimportant consideration during Julia's rehearsal?

Julia decides whether she should wear her black professional shoes or her brown professional shoes.

Julia is a social worker who leads a counseling program at a local health center and is comfortable speaking to small groups on an informal basis. Her supervisor asks her to speak in front of prospective donors at an upcoming fundraising event. Julia agrees but becomes nervous after realizing she will be delivering a prepared speech in front of a large audience. Select the statement describing a speaking technique used by Julia that will be effective in front of a large audience.

Julia realizes that her voice will not carry to the back of the room and decides to use a hand-held microphone.

Julia begins writing a first draft of her speech. She knows she needs to generate goodwill for the health center before stressing the importance of donations. Julia decides to highlight the importance of the health center to the community by pointing out the lack of options her patients would have if the center closed. She recites her first draft out loud to test aspects of her delivery. Which of the following examples of Julia speaking demonstrates an effective use of pitch or pauses?

Julia records her practice speech to make sure her pace is engaging, but understandable.

Julia is nervous about how she will look in front of a crowd. She calls her friend Lucy, who gives presentations for her sales job and whose professional appearance she admires. "You need to think about a lot of things, including your clothes, posture, and body language" says Lucy. You want the donors to know you take this seriously." "Maybe I should practice in front of you?" Julia replies. "I won't expect donations for a job well done of course!" Which of the following statements represents a good suggestion Lucy would give to Julia to improve nonverbal communication during a speech?

Julia should avoid looking at her notes too often, and instead maintain eye contact with her audience.

After thinking more about the context in which she will deliver her speech, Julia realizes many of the habits she developed during her counseling sessions will translate poorly to a more formal occasion. Due to the informal nature of the sessions, she hasn't paid attention to her body language. She frequently uses visual aids such as handouts and video, but is unsure if she uses them in a way that keeps her audience engaged. Select the statement describing nonverbal audience interaction that will help Julia keep her audience engaged.

Julia transitions to several short video clips to show her patients new medical information.

Stephen has spent several days preparing for the meeting and is ready to rehearse in front of an audience. He asks Lisa to listen to some of the prepared remarks with which he feels most confident. When he finishes, Lisa is not terribly impressed. She thinks Stephen's delivery was too fast and his gestures too distracting. "Are you sure you were listening?" Stephen asks her. "Calm down," Lisa replies. "You need to learn to take criticism before becoming a better speaker." Determine which of the following statements describes someone responding to constructive criticism ineffectively.

Michael decides the criticism is too specific, and therefore not effective.

Angela sees David researching presentation software. David is surprised by how many programs can help speakers provide their audiences with visual engagement, and now he wants to consider software other than PowerPoint for Angela's town hall appearance. Angela agrees it would be smart to weigh all available options before the meeting, so she helps him examine several of the possible alternatives. Angela shows David how __________ uses graphic symbols to display connections between different ideas.

Mind Maps

Extraneous

Not essential or intrinsic.

Humble

Not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.

Color-Blind

Of a person or animal, unable to distinguish between two or more primary colors (usually red and green).

Pause

Pause may refer to a rest, hesitation, or temporary stop.

Linear

Pertaining to or resembling a line; step-by-step in order.

Disfluencies

Speech disfluencies are breaks, irregularities, or non-lexical vocables that occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech. These include false starts, fillers, and repaired utterances (correcting slips of the tongue or mispronunciations).

Stephen knows that he has a difficult task in front of him. He will be speaking to employees from a wide variety of backgrounds and will need to appeal to all of them. He asks his sister Lisa, who has experience with similar presentations due to her job in public relations, for advice. "You want to appear relatable without boring your audience," Lisa tells him. Determine which of the following statements represents a way for Stephen to maximize his audience's understanding.

Stephen groups together things the audience knows and then adds new examples into those groups.

Stephen has joined an international company as the chief operating officer. His department oversees manufacturing plants in five countries. The senior management team has asked him to host a company meeting on a live video feed to celebrate the company's recent win of an industry award. Stephen, already nervous about making a good first impression, is not used to speaking to large audiences in different locations. He wonders how he will know if he is doing well as he speaks. Which of the following ways of measuring audience feedback would be most helpful to Stephen as he hosts the meeting?

Stephen solicits feedback by asking his audience to respond via text to some questions he has prepared throughout the speech.

Stephen considers the audience of his upcoming speech. The majority of the company's workforce will be watching him host this meeting. Most will be workers who spend their days laboring in the manufacturing plants. Stephen knows these workers have never seen him before and worries he may appear distant and out-of-touch. Because the occasion is meant to celebrate the company's achievements, he hopes he can make everyone feel like they are part of the same team. Which of the following statements describes the best way for Stephen to build derived credibility with a quality, authoritative speech?

Stephen tells the audience how his first job involved heavy manual labor.

Stephen discusses with his boss his initial ideas on how to approach his hosting duties. His boss claims he is on the right track, but that he should remember to build goodwill in his remarks. Stephen remembers that this will be the workers' introduction to him, so he needs them to trust him in the role of chief operating officer going forward. Although he will be introducing other speakers during the meeting, he doesn't want to get his goals confused. Select the statement that describes something Stephen should do for a goodwill speech.

Stephen tells the workers that he also believes in fairness and teamwork.

Memory

The ability of an organism to record information about things or events with the facility of recalling them later at will.

Classification

The act of forming into a class or classes; a distribution into groups, as classes, orders, families, etc., according to some common relations or attributes.

Tone

The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.

Angela's younger brother, David, has agreed to help Angela with her upcoming speech. Although David is eager to contribute suggestions, he does not have any experience giving public presentations, and Angela often finds herself educating him on the best methods. David doesn't give much thought to the visual aspect of the presentation, so Angela reminds him that the context of the speech is important to its overall impact. "We need to look like we've given this real thought," she says. "So, let's think about this." Select the statement that describes a factor Angela should consider when choosing the kind of visual aids she will use.

The meeting is in a politically divided district and many of the attendees are skeptical of state-run media.

Understanding

The mental (sometimes emotional) process of comprehension, or the assimilation of knowledge, which is subjective by its nature.

Paralanguage

The non-verbal elements of speech used to modify meaning and convey emotion, such as pitch, volume, and intonation.

Credibility

The objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.

Pitch

The perceived frequency of a sound or note. Higher frequency notes are higher pitch and lower frequency notes are lower pitch.

Backchannel

The practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks.

Awareness

The state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding.

Clarity

The state, or measure of being clear, either in appearance, thought or style; lucidity.

Proxemics

The study of the effects of the physical distance between people in different cultures and societies.

Amplifier

This is a particular type of speaker used to amplify voices and musical instruments at live performances.

Design

To plan and carry out (a picture, work of art, construction etc.).

Julia is still worried about speaking in front of a large group of mostly unfamiliar people. She realizes she should tailor aspects of her speech to appeal to the donors who will be attending. Many will be traveling in from outside of town. Julia decides she needs to avoid alienating these donors. She reconsiders her speech and delivery with this new goal in mind. Julia worries that her __________ may confuse some of the attendees, many of whom are not local, because she uses grammar and vocabulary with which they may be unfamiliar.

dialect

David is confident that their presentation will be a success now that they have decided on a slideshow. Angela reminds him that they still have many considerations to make to ensure the slideshow is effective. She had used visual aids for her previous public speaking engagements and, recalling the mistakes she made in those presentations, she tries to avoid making the same mistakes as she designs this slideshow. "How badly can you screw up when you have visuals?" David asks incredulously. "Trust me," Angela responds, "there are a lot of places to make mistakes." Angela remembers that a common problem for presentations created in PowerPoint is __________, which occurs when presenters put excess information on one slide.

overcrowding