Public Speaking Midterm

Values

A value is an enduring conception of right or wrong, good or bad.

Beliefs

A belief is what you understand to be true or false. If you believe in something, you are convinced that it exists or is true.

Definitions

A description tells you what something is like. Descriptions provide the details that allow audience members to develop mental pictures of what speakers are talking about.

Fallacies

A fallacy is false reasoning that occurs when someone attempts to persuade without adequate evidence or with arguments that are irrelevant or inappropriate.

Figures of speech

A figure of speech deviates from the ordinary, expected meanings of words to make a description or comparison unique, vivid, and memorable. Common figures of speech include metaphors, similes, and personification.

Types of presentation aids

A presentation aid is any object that reinforces your point visually so that your audience can better understand it. Three-dimensional aids include actual objects, models, and people. Two-dimensional presentation aids—including drawings, photos, maps, graphs, charts, flipcharts, and chalkboards and whiteboards—are used very commonly by speakers.

Propositions

A proposition is a statement with which you want your audience to agree. There are three categories of propositions. Proposition of Fact - A proposition of fact focuses on whether something is true or false or on whether it did or did not happen. Proposition of Value - A proposition of value is a statement that calls for the listener to judge the worth or importance of something. Proposition of Policy - The third type of proposition, a proposition of policy, advocates a specific action— changing a policy, procedure, or behavior.

Psychological audience analysis

A psychological audience analysis explores an audience's attitudes toward a topic, purpose, and speaker, while probing the underlying beliefs and values that might affect these attitudes.

Transitions

A transition is a verbal or nonverbal signal that a speaker has finished discussing one idea and is moving to another.

Murphy's law (with regard to visual aids)

According to Murphy's Law, if something can go wrong, it will. When you use presentation aids, you increase the chances that problems or snags will develop when you present your speech.

Cognitive Dissonance

According to dissonance theory, when you are presented with information inconsistent with your current attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior, you experience a kind of discomfort called cognitive dissonance.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound (usually an initial consonant) several times in a phrase, clause, or sentence (for example, discipline and direction; confidence and courage).

Analogies (literal and figurative)

An analogy is a comparison. Like a definition, an analogy increases understanding; unlike a definition, it deals with relationships and comparisons—between the new and the old, the unknown and the known, or any other pair of ideas or things.

Illustrations

An illustration—a story or anecdote that provides an example of an idea, issue, or problem you are discussing—almost always ensures audience interest.

Preview statements

As its name indicates, a preview is a statement of what is to come. Previews help to ensure that audience members will first anticipate and later remember the important points of a speech.

Audience diversity

Audience diversity involves more factors than just ethnic and cultural differences... Individualistic or collectivistic? High or low context? High or low need for certainty? High or low power? Long-term or short-term time orientation?

Strategies for audience recall

Build In Redundancy Make Your Key Ideas Short and Simple Pace Your Information Flow Reinforce Key Ideas

Critical listening

Critical listening is the process of listening to evaluate the quality, appropriateness, value, and importance of the information you hear.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is a mental process of making judgments about the conclusions presented in what you see, hear, and read.

Demographics

Demographics are statistics on audience characteristics, such as age, sexual orientation, race, gender, educational level, and religious views.

Effective conclusion strategies

Effective conclusions may employ illustrations, quotations, personal references, or any of the other methods used for introductions. In addition, there are at least two other distinct ways of concluding a speech: with a reference to the introduction and with an inspirational appeal or challenge.

Strategies for audience engagement

Establish a Motive for Your Audience to Listen to You Tell a Story Present Information that Relates to Listeners Use the Unexpected

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is an assumption that your own cultural approaches are superior to those of other cultures.

Evidence

Evidence consists of the facts, examples, opinions, and statistics that a speaker uses to support a conclusion.

Audience analysis

Examining information about your listeners.

Testimonies (lay and expert)

Expert testimony, the testimony of a recognized authority, can add a great deal of weight to your arguments. You may quote experts directly or paraphrase their words, as long as you are careful not to alter the intent of their remarks. Like illustrations, lay testimony, the opinions of nonexperts, can stir an audience's emotions. And, although neither as authoritative nor as unbiased as expert testimony, lay testimony is often more memorable.

Nonverbal communication

Eye Contact Facial Expression Movement Nonverbal responsiveness

Speech organizational styles

Five organizational patterns are most common: Topical Chronological Spatial Cause and effect Problem-solution

Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

Focus is on listeners' actions: Direct route - elaboration on logic, evidence Indirect route - no elaboration, persuaded by factors such as credibility and emotion

Principles of adult learning

Give adults information they can use right away. Actively involve adult learners in the learning process. Connect adult learners' life experiences with new information. Explain how new information is relevant to listeners' needs and their busy lives. Seek ways to relate the ideas you present to listeners' problems.

Internal previews

Internal Previews In addition to using previews near the beginning of their speeches, speakers also use them at various points throughout. These internal previews introduce and outline ideas that will be developed as the speech progresses.

Summaries

Like a preview, a summary, or recap of what has been said, provides your listeners with additional exposure to your ideas and can help ensure that they will grasp and remember your message. Most speakers use two types of summaries: the final summary and the internal summary.

Listening goals

Listen for pleasure Listen to empathize Listen to evaluate Listen for information

Logic

Logic is a formal system of rules applied to reach a conclusion.

Ethics of persuasion (both in textbook and additional reading)

Making false claims, misusing evidence to arouse emotions, or relying only on emotions without supplying any evidence to support a conclusion violates ethical standards of effective public speaking. See CW for reading

Objectivity

Objectivity is related to accountability. Once you know who is accountable for a site, consider the interests, philosophical or political biases, and sources of financial support of that individual or organization. The more objective the author, the more credible the facts and information presented.

Oral vs. written language styles

Oral style is more personal. Oral style is less formal. Oral style is more repetitious.

Attitudes

Our attitudes represent our likes and dislikes. Stated more precisely, an attitude is a learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward something.

Parallelism

Parallelism occurs when two or more clauses or sentences have the same grammatical pattern. In a 2013 speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem, Barack Obama used parallelism by starting sentences with the words we are: We are enriched by faith. We are governed not simply by men and women, but by laws. We are fueled by entrepreneurship and innovation. And we are defined by a democratic discourse. . . .

Reasoning

Reasoning is the process of drawing a conclusion from evidence within the logical framework of the arguments.

Major types of reasoning

Reasoning is the process of drawing a conclusion from evidence. Inductive reasoning - Using inductive reasoning, you reach a general conclusion based on specific examples, facts, statistics, and opinions. Reasoning by analogy - Reasoning by analogy is a special type of inductive reasoning. An analogy is a comparison. Deductive reasoning - Reasoning from a general statement or principle to reach a specific conclusion is called deductive reasoning. Causal reasoning - Causal reasoning relates two or more events in such a way as to conclude that one or more of the events caused the others.

Listening styles

Relational-oriented listeners Task-oriented listener Analytical-oriented listeners Critical-oriented listeners

Rhetorical criticism

Rhetorical criticism is the process of using a method or standards to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of messages.

Rhetorical strategies

Rhetorical strategies are methods and techniques that speakers employ to achieve their speaking goals.

Effective and ineffective visual aids

See Ch. 21

Barriers to listening

Select a message Attend to the message Understand the message Remember ideas Respond to the message Listening barriers are created when you fail to perform any of these activities effectively.

Behaviors

Several factors motivate us to respond to persuasive messages with a change in behavior: our actual and perceived needs, our tendency to avoid pain and seek pleasure, our emotional reactions, and our compulsion to seek psychological balance and order in our lives.

Situational analysis

Situational audience analysis includes a consideration of the time and place of your speech, the size of your audience, and the speaking occasion.

Social Judgment Theory

Social judgment theory suggests that listeners will come to your speech with one of three positions: (1) a latitude of acceptance, in which they generally agree with you (2) a latitude of rejection, in which they disagree (3) a latitude of noncommitment, in which they are not yet committed.

Central idea vs. general purpose

The general purpose of virtually any speech is either to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. The central idea is a one-sentence summary of your speech.

Antithesis

The word antithesis means "opposition." In language style, a sentence that uses antithesis has two parts with parallel structures but contrasting meanings. Speakers have long realized the dramatic potential of antithesis. In Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address, he declared, "Our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men." An antithetical statement is a good way to end a speech. The cadence will make the statement memorable.

Behavioral objective

To arrive at a specific purpose for your speech, you must think in precise terms about what you want your audience to be able to do at the end of your speech. This kind of goal or purpose is called a behavioral objective because you specify the behavior you seek from the audience.

Metaphors/similes

Use Metaphors and Similes A metaphor is an implied comparison. For example, "He is a snake." A simile is a less direct comparison that includes the word like or as. For example, "His lies make him as slippery as a snake."

Omission

Use omission. Leave out a word or phrase that the audience expects to hear. For example, a speaker might omit the words mountain climbers to add drama, saying, "Only 5 of the 16 who set out to scale the peak would ever return." When you use omission, be sure listeners will understand the words you leave out.

Aristotle's Approach to Persuasion

Using Ethos, Logos, and Pathos to Persuade To use ethos to persuade, an effective communicator must be credible. Not only must the information be credible, Aristotle believed the speaker also should be ethical, possess good character, have common sense, and be concerned for the well-being of the audience. The word logos literally means "the word." Aristotle used this term to refer to the rational, logical arguments that a speaker uses to persuade someone. Aristotle used the term pathos to refer to the use of appeals to emotion in persuasion. Emotionarousing stories and examples, as well as pictures and music, all appeal to listeners' emotions.

Repetition

Using a key word or phrase more than once gives rhythm and power to your message and makes it memorable. Perhaps the best-known modern example of repetition in a speech is the declaration that became the title of Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous civil rights speech.

Working memory theory

We find it harder to concentrate on and remember messages when our working memory is full.

Rhetorical questions

When using a question to open a speech, you will generally use a rhetorical question, the kind to which you don't expect an answer.

Suspense

When you read a mystery novel, you are held in suspense until you reach the end and learn "who did it." The stylistic technique of verbal suspension does something similar, using a key word or phrase at the end of a sentence, rather than at the beginning. Some years ago, the Coca-Cola Company used suspension as the cornerstone of its worldwide advertising campaign by making Coke the last word in the slogan, "Things go better with Coke," rather than the expected order, "Coke goes better with everything."

Goals of informative speeches

When you speak to inform, you typically attempt to achieve three goals: You speak to enhance understanding. You speak to maintain interest. You speak to be remembered.

Credibility

Your credibility—the degree to which you are perceived as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and dynamic—is one of the main factors that will shape your audience's attitude toward you.

Research strategies

efforts easier and more efficient. You need to develop a preliminary bibliography, locate resources, evaluate the usefulness of resources, take notes, and identify possible presentation aids.

Primary vs. secondary sources

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