The Essential Elements of Public Speaking - Chapters 1 - 5 (Credits to Hany_Zaky)

Impression

How the audience perceives the speaker based on the way he presents himself and his ideas.

Perception

How we gather and interpret information from the world around us.

Fixed-alternative questions

a test or survey item in which several possible responses are given and participants are asked to pick the correct response or the one that best matches their preference.

Taboo topics

Subjects that violates a culture's principles of appropriateness and that are best avoided in public speeches.

Most critical relationship

That between the audience and the speaker

Empathy

The ability to identify with someone else and understand that person's situation of feelings.

Plagiarism

The act or process of passing off the work of others as your own.

Immediate audience

The audience that hears the speech as it is presented.

Remote audience

The audience that receive the speech from those who heard/read it or heard/read about it.

Special occasion speech

a speech designed for and presented at some specific occasion such as commencement speech at a graduation or toast at a wedding.

Systematic desensitization

technique to learn to relax as the person is gradually exposed to what they fear in a stepwise manner.

Social-psychological context

the relationship between the speaker and the audience (teacher-student; parent-teacher; boss-employees) and the audience's attitudes toward the speaker. A speech with a supportive audience will employ very different strategies than would a speech delivered to a hostile audience.

Physical context

the tangible environment in which communication takes place

Primary sources

Firsthand, contemporary accounts written or spoken by someone who has had direct experience with or witnessed a particular event.

How to reduce public speaking fear

1. Reverse the factors that cause apprehension; 2. Restructure your thinking; 3. Practice performance visualization; 4. Desensitize yourself.

Cognitive restructuring

A cognitive therapy method that involves replacing irrational thoughts with rational alternatives. Instead of thinking in terms of self-defeating assumptions (I'm a terrible speaker!), replace these thought with self-affirmations (I'm friendly and I can communicate well).

Tertiary sources

A combination of primary and secondary source materials.

State apprehension

A fear that is specific to a given communication situation, such as a person who fears public speaking but have no difficulty in talking with 2 or 3 other people.

Trait apprehension

A general communication apprehension that shows itself in all communication situations, such as conversations, small group settings and public speaking situations.

Audience

A group of people listening to or reading the speech

Mannequin

A life-size dummy used to display clothes.

Self-Esteem

A measure of how much you value and respect yourself.

Brainstorming

A method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words and ideas

Notes

A persons researched information, and ideas, which will become part of the content of a speech.

Self-affirmation

A positive statement about oneself.

Assertion

A positive statement or declaration, often without support or reason.

Attitude

A predisposition to respond for or against an object, person or position.

Leading question

A question that sets respondents up for the answer that is desired-> "Do you feel that there should be stricter laws on gun control?"-> Could lead to a yes/no answer

Specific purpose

A single phrase that defines precisely what is to be accomplished in a speech. The information you want to communicate (Informative speech), or the attitude or behavior you want to change (persuasive speech).

Informative speech

A speech designed to communicate information to an audience rather than persuade.

Persuasive speech

A speech designed to strengthen or change the attitudes or beliefs of an audience members or to move them into taking some kind of action.

Eulogy

A speech in praise of someone, usually after that person has died.

Definition

A statement explaining the meaning of a term, phrase or concept.

Allegory

A story, play, or picture in which characters are used as symbols for something else.

Enthusiasm

A strong feeling of interest and enjoyment about something and an eagerness to be involved in it.

Topoi

A system for analyzing a topic according to a preestablished set of categories. Usually, one has to ask oneself: Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? So?

Research

A systematic search for information. an investigation of the relevant information on a topic.

Definition by authority

A type of definition advanced by an expert.

Definition by negation

A type of definition in which a word is defined by what is not.

Definition by ethmology

A type of definition that refers to the origin and development of the word's meaning.

Sociological audience analysis

An analysis of such audience characteristics as age, gender and educational levels.

Psychological audience analysis

An analysis of such audience characteristics as the willingness to witness and the degree to which audience members favor your position.

Cultural sensitivity

An awareness of and sensitivity to the rules for communicating in varied cultural settings.

Fear

An emotional response to an actual, or imagined danger.

Phobia

An extreme, irrational fear of an object or situation.

Innovation

An improvement of an existing technological product, system, or method of doing something.

Newness

An original or unique approach to a topic.

Stage Fright

Anxiety or fear brought on by performing in front of an audience.

Message

Any signal or combination of signals transmitted to a receiver

Noise

Anything that interferes with a person receiving a message as the source intended the message to be received.

Friendliness

Behaving in a pleasant, kind way towards someone.

Public speaking

Communication in which a speaker presents a relatively continuous message to a relatively large audience in a unique context.

Analogies

Comparison of two things; may be literal or figurative.

Topic generators

Computer programs that generate a variety of subject matter topics for public speeches.

Belief

Confidence in the existence or truth of something; conviction.

display rules

Cultural norms for what is and what is not appropriate to display in public.

Prioritizing

Deciding which tasks are most important, and which should be done first.

Reverse the factors

Gain as much public speaking experience as you can; visualize public speaking as conversation; stress similarities so you feel more at one with your listeners; practice and be prepared; move about and breathe deeply; avoid chemicals as tension relievers.

Proof

Evidence for a proposition

Communication apprehension

Fear of public speaking.

Performance visualization

Imagining positive scenarios and personal success; develop a positive attitude and a positive self-perception.

Ethics

Issues of right and wrong, or the moral implication of your message.

Open-ended question

Leaves the audience open to answer the question however they see fit, "What is/is not working with current gun control laws?"

Secondary sources

Materials that interpret, comment on, analyze or summarize primary source material.

Synonymous

Meaning the same, or nearly the same thing.

"What if" questions

Questions of anticipation, useful in considering and preparing for the unexpected.

Value

Relative worth of a topic; a quality that makes something desirable or undesirable; ideals or customs about which we have emotional responses, whether negative or positive.

Confidence

Self-assurance, or a calm unworried feeling based on a strong belief in one's abilities.

General purpose

The broad reason for giving a presentation: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain an audience.

Time management

The efficient use of the available time.

Dedication

The hard work or effort that someone puts into a particular activity.

Content

The information that is contained in a speech and what it communicates.

Thesis

The main assertion of a message; the theme or central idea of a public speech.

Main points

The major assertions or propositions of a speech.

Speaker

The one who presents the speech

Organization

The pattern of the speech, such as topical pattern, temporal pattern, spatial pattern, etc.

Context

The physical, social-psychological, temporal and cultural setting in which communication takes place

Audience Analysis

The process of analyzing a speaker's intended listeners

Organization

The process of categorizing, and organizing information that has been selected for a speech.

Rehearsal

The process of practicing the delivery of your speech.

Oral citation

The source citation in the speech itself.

Topic

The subject matter of a speech.

research

The systematic search for information, an investigation of relevant information on a topic.

Conviction

The unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence.

Channel

The vehicle or medium through which signals are sent

Context factors

Those characteristics of a place in which the speech will be given, for example, the physical environment in which the speech will be presented.

Supporting materials

Those examples, statistics, testimony, and the like that amplify or give evidence in support of a main idea.

General purpose

To overall aim your speech; for example, to inform or to persuade.

Definition of audience expectations

Typically defined in the speaking invitation

Power priming

Verbal and nonverbal movements that make one feel powerful

Performance Anxiety

When a person feels anxious just before they begin speaking, or while delivering a speech.

Irrational

When something, or someone is absurd, unreasonable, or not logical.

Common Ground

When you have shared beliefs, values, or opinions with another person, or group.

Transitions

Words, phrases or sentences that help your listeners follow the development of your thoughts and arguments and get an idea of where you are in your speech.

Values

deep-seated, abstract judgements about what is important and desirable.

Cultural context

has to do with beliefs, lifestyles, values and behaviors that the speaker and the audience bring with them.

Temporal context

include factors such as the time of the day and where your speech fits into the sequence of events. For example, does the speech follow another presentation that has taken on opposing position? Is the speech sixth in a series exploring the same topic?

Beliefs

judgments about truth or what is correct