Public Speaking Chapter 2

Presentation Aid

anything beyond spoken words that a speaker uses to help the audience understand and remember his or her message

Speech Anxiety

nervousness before giving a speech that can result in a variety of symptoms

Introduction

occurs at the beginning of a speech and serves several purposes, including gaining the audience's attention, presenting the thesis statement, building common ground with the audience, establishing speaker credibility, and previewing the speech's main points

Style

one of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this is a speaker's choice of language that will best express his or her ideas to the audience

Arrangement

one of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this refers to the effective organization of ideas to present them to an audience

Memory

one of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this refers to the process of preparing and practicing a speech to ensure confident and effective delivery

Invention

one of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this refers to using a variety of techniques and sources to gather and choose ideas for a speech

Delivery

one of the five classical canons or rhetoric, this refers to the speaker's varied and appropriate use of vocal and nonverbal elements, such as voice, hand gestures, eye contact, and movement, while presenting a speech

Rhetorical Purpose

one of three goals of a presentation: to inform, to persuade, or to mark a special occasion

Word Choice

taking into account the audience, occasion, and nature of one's message when choosing language for a speech

Relaxation Strategies

techniques to be performed before giving a speech to help relieve muscle tension and banish negative thoughts

Extemporaneous Delivery

the ability, enabled by practice, to deliver a speech smoothly and confidently from a speaking outline without reading from it

Body

the section of a speech that falls between the introduction and the conclusion and contains the main part of the speech

Topic

the subject of a speech

Outline

a means of organizing a speech using sentences, phrases, or key words

Visualization

a method of easing speech anxiety in which the speaker imagines him - or herself giving a relaxed, well-received speech from start to finish

Subordination

a principle of speech outlining that dictates the hierarchy in the relationship of main points and supporting materials

Transition

a sentence that smoothly connects one idea or part of a speech to another

Thesis Statement

a single sentence that conveys the topic and purpose of a speech

Brainstorming

a strategy for generating topic ideas in which a potential speaker lists every idea that comes to mind - without evaluating its merits - in order to develop a sizable list of ideas quickly

Bibliographic Information

details about a researched source, including author, title, publication date, and page numbers or URL

Supporting Materials

examples, definitions, testimony, statistics, narratives, and analogies that support or illustrate a speaker's main points

Subpoints

ideas gathered from brainstorming and research that explain, prove, and expand on a speaker's main points

Main Points

key ideas that support a thesis and help an audience understand and remember what is most important about a speaker's topic

Conclusion

the final part of a speech, in which the speaker summarizes the main points and leaves the audience with a clincher, such as a striking sentence or phrase, an emotional message, or an anecdote

Classical Canons of Rhetoric

the five concepts that effective speakers must attend to while preparing a speech, according to Cicero

Research

the process of gathering information from libraries, the Internet, and interviews to increase a speaker's credibility and understanding of a topic

Audience Analysis

the process of learning about an audience's interests and backgrounds in order to create or adapt a speech to their wants and needs