Speak Up Chapters 3, 12-18

omission

A form of false inference that deceives an audience by withholding importance information.

taking evidence out of context

A form of false inference that deceives and audience by selectively choosing from a source's data or statements and presenting them in a manner that inconsistent with that source's beliefs or conclusions.

delivery

The speaker's varied and appropriate use of vocal an nonverbal elements such as voice, eye contact, and gestures while presenting a speech.

vocal delivery skills

The use of one's voice to effectively deliver a speech. A speaker should consider volume, tone, rate of delivery, projection, articulation, pronunciation, and pausing.

proxemics

The use of space and distance between a speaker and audience.

nonverbal delivery skills

Use of gestures, eye contact, and other techniques-such as physical movement, proxemics, and personal appearance-to deliver a speech.

peripheral beliefs

Viewpoints that people do not hold closely as core beliefs and that they may not have had for a long time thus, they may be open to persuasion.

common knowledge

Widely known information that can be found in many sources and that doesn't require citation.

biased language

Word choice that suggests prejudice or preconceptions about other people, usually referring to their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or mental or physical ability.

verbal fillers

Words and phrases such as you know and like that a speaker uses to fill uncomfortable silences.

verbal chart

Words arranged in a certain format, such as bullet points, to explain ideas, concepts, or general information.

gender-neutral terms

Words that do not suggest a particular gender. For example, stewardess is gender-biased, but flight attendant is gender neutral.

post hoc fallacy

incorrectly naming the cause of one event as the event that immediately preceded it.

rate of delivery

How quickly or slowly a person speaks while giving a presentation.

appeal to tradition fallacy

Arguing that a practice or policy is good because people have followed it for a long time.

causal reasoning

Arguing that one event has caused another.

comparison reasoning

Arguing that two instances are similar enough that what is true for one is likely to be true for the other. If a speaker argues that U.S. residents will eventually accept mandatory health insurance because they accepted mandatory car insurance, the speaker would be using comparison reasoning.

vivid language

Attention grabbing and descriptive words and phrases that appeal to the senses.

demographics

Audience members' characteristics, including, but not limited to, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious orientation, educational background, and political affiliation.

pronunciation

Correctness in the way one says words.

negative stereotypes

Critical generalizations about the characteristics of a person or group that rest on the false assumption that characteristics shared by some members of the group are shared by all members of the group. For example, "If the homeless weren't a bunch of lazy drunks, they could find jobs and get off the streets."

false inference

Deceiving an audience by presenting information that leads them to assume an incorrect conclusion.

latitude of rejection

The range of positions on a given issue that are unacceptable to an audience.

culturally relative

The recognition that ideas about ethical behavior sometimes differ from society to society

location (forum)

The setting where a speaker delivers, and an audience listens to, a speech.

logos

The sound reasoning that supports a speaker's claims and makes the argument more persuasive to an audience.

metaphors

Implicit comparisons on unlike objects by identifying one object with another. For example: "Her advisor was a fount of knowledge."

pie chart

Information arranged to resemble a sliced pie that helps a speaker clarify how proportions and percentages relate to one another and add up to a whole.

evidence

Information gathered from credible research sources that helps a speaker support his or her claims.

ethos (credibility)

Inspiring belief in an audience by conveying a sense of the speaker's knowledge, honesty, trustworthiness, experience, authority, and/or wisdom.

verbal clutter

Extraneous words that make a presentation hard to follow. To say "In spite of the fact that you disagree with me" is more verbally cluttered than "Although you disagree with me."

strategic discourse

The process of selecting arguments that will best achieve a speaker's rhetorical purpose in an ethical manner.

latitude of acceptance

The range of positions on a given issue that are acceptable to an audience.

inductive reasoning

Generalizing from facts, instances or examples and then making a claim based on that generalization. If a couple has two bad experiences in a row at the same restaurant, they might conclude that they will always have bad experiences there.

abstract words

Generic terms that can be ambiguous or confusing for an audience. To say "I have a pet" is less informative than saying "I have a gray tabby cat."

volume

How loud or soft a speaker's voice is when delivering a speech.

physical movement

How much or how little a speaker moves around while giving a presentation.

slippery slope fallacy

Arguing against a policy because one assumes that the policy will inevitable lead to another outcome that is undesirable. For example, "if we legalize marijuana, that will be the first step toward legalization of all drugs, which would create a public health catastrophe.

panning

A form of nonverbal delivery in which a speaker looks out and surveys all audience members. As the speaker looks back and forth across the audience, he or she pauses and makes extended eye contact with an individual listener for a few moments before moving on to do the same with another.

fear appeal

A form of pathos in which an argument arouses fear in the minds of audience members.

chart

A graphic representation that summarizes information and ideas. Common types of charts include verbal charts, pie charts, and flow-charts.

gestures

A hand movement used as a part of delivery that points, pantomimes, demonstrates, or calls attention to something.

motivated sequence

A persuasive organizational pattern that is structured around five main points: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action.

ethics

A set of beliefs shared by a group about what behaviors are correct or incorrect.

false dilemma fallacy

A speaker incorrectly claiming that there are only two possible choices to solve a problem, that one of them is wrong, and that the audience should therefore support the speaker's solution. You can usually detect this fallacy if you know there are more than two choices.

digital projector

A specialized machine that enables a speaker to show an electronic presentation on a screen or blank wall.

persuasive speech

A speech that aims to influence audience members' beliefs, attitudes, or actions; to which end, it employs strategic discourse and calls for the audience to accept fact, value, and/or policy claims.

fact claims

A statement asserting that something is true or false, such as "Animal experimentation is necessary for human survival.

policy claims

A statement that advocates action by organizations, institutions, or members of the audience. For example: "Anyone opposed to animal experimentation should join in an activist organization such as the Humane Society, to help put a stop to this cruel and unnecessary practice.

value claims

A statement that attaches a judgment-such as deeming something good, bad, moral, or immoral-to a subject. For example: "Animal experimentation is inhumane."

half-truth

A statement that deceives an audience by revealing part of the truth, but mixing the truth with a lie.

narrative

A story a speaker tells to share information and capture an audience's attention. As used in informative speeches, the story can be a personal remembrance, a humorous anecdote, or a serious account of an event that happened in someone else's life.

description

A technique of informative speeches that uses words to paint a mental picture for audience members so that they can close their eyes and imagine what the speaker is saying.

demonstration

A technique used in informative speeches involving both physical modeling and verbal elements with the goal of teaching an audience how a process or set of guidelines works.

definition

A technique used in informative speeches that explains the essence, meaning, purpose, or identity of something.

explanation

A technique used in informative speeches that provides an analysis of something for the purposes of clarity and specificity by tracing a line of reasoning or a series of causal connections between events.

flowchart

A type of chart that demonstrates the direction of information, processes, and ideas.

fallacious (faulty) reasoning

A type of faulty, and thus unsound, reasoning in which the link between a claim and its supporting material is weak.

bar graph

A type of graph consisting of parallel bars of varying height or length that compares several pieces of information.

line graph

A type of graph that plots lines on a pair of axes to show relationships between two elements.

drawing

A visual depiction that enables a speaker to emphasize or deemphasize certain details about a topic through techniques such as labeling parts of the main picture.

map

A visual representation of geography.

graph

A visual representation of the relationship between different numbers, measurements, or quantities The two main types of graphs are line graphs and bar graphs.

photograph

A visual representation that is an exact depiction of a person, place, object, or event.

two-sided argument

An argument in which the speaker acknowledges an argument against his or her thesis, then uses evidence and reasoning to refute that argument.

connotative meaning

An association that comes to mind when a person hears a word. For example, saying "he tackled the project" brings to mind competitive sports and is a more vivid way to convey competence and enthusiasm than saying "he was excited to start the project and knew he could do a good job."

ethical audience

An audience that exhibits courtesy, open-mindedness, and a willingness to hold the speaker accountable for his or her statements.

similes

An explicit comparison of objects using the words like or as. For example: "My grandmother's lap was as soft as a pillow."

hypothetical examples

An imagined example or scenario that a speaker invites his or her audience to consider in order to help them follow a complicate point presented immediately afterward.

pathos

Appealing to an audience's emotions.

sign reasoning

Arguing that a fact is true because indirect indicators are consistent with the fact. For example, a speaker might argue that the U.S. is in a recession, supporting the claim with evidence that people are making greater use of payday loan businesses.

representative examples

Instances that are typical of the class they represent. For example, if a speaker is arguing that Americans are getting tired of corrupt politicians, providing representative examples would mean citing instances from across the country, rather than examples form one or two states or regions.

competence

Knowledge and experience in a subject.

pausing

Leaving strategic gaps of silence between words and sentences of one's speech.

core beliefs

Long-and closely held viewpoints that are particularly immune to a persuasion.

imagery

Mental pictures or impressions painted with vivid language.

reversed causality

Missing the fact that the effect is actually the cause.

hasty generalization

Misusing logic and deceiving an audience by asserting that a piece of evidence-one that applies to a limited number of cases-applies to all cases.

ad-populum fallacy (bandwagoning)

Often found in advertising and marketing, a misuse of logic that deceives an audience by implying that, because a large number of people are engaging in an activity, everyone should engage in the activity. Bandwagoning is unethical if speakers fail to give support for their proclamations.

values

People's "core conceptions" about what is desirable for their own lives and for society. Values guide people's judgments and actions.

personal attacks

Persuading an audience to dislike someone by targeting his or her character rather than the relevant issues.

plagiarism

Presenting another person's words or ideas as one's own.

example reasoning

Presenting specific instances to support a general claim in the hope that the cited instances will be sufficient to convince listeners that the claim is reasonable or true.

paraphrasing

Putting someone else's ideas into one's own words and giving appropriate credit to the original source.

audiovisual aid

Something that an audience can see or hear that helps them better understand a speaker's message by supporting the speaker's main points or sub points. Examples include drawings, photographs, charts, maps etc.

verbal tics

Sounds such as um or ah that speakers use when searching for a correct word or when they have lost their train of thought.

goodwill

Speakers wanting what is best for their audience rather than what would most benefit themselves.

epideictic

Speaking that praises or blames.

articulation

Speaking with crispness or clarity so that listeners can distinguish separate words as well as separate syllables and vowel or consonant sounds within words.

jargon

Specialized or technical words or phrases familiar only to people in a specific field or group.

concrete words

Specific words or phrases that suggest exactly what a speaker means. For example, to say a man was wearing a "dark blue suit" is more specific than saying he was wearing "clothes".

ethical speech

Speech that incorporates ethical decision making, follows guidelines to tell the truth, and avoids misleading the audience.

straw person fallacy

Substituting a real claim with a weaker claim that a speaker can more easily refute. If a mayor proposes that bike lanes be added to a city's main roads, but the city council argues that it would be excessively expensive to add bike planes to every street in the city, the council would be committing this fallacy.

word choice (diction)

Taking into consideration the audience, occasion, and nature of one's message when choosing the language for a speech.

legally protected speech

Telling the truth or withholding information based on whether the law allows unethical speech. If you unethically use legal protection as your guiding principle for speaking, you can technically stay within the bounds of what is lawful but still speak unethically.

projection

The act of "booming" one's voice across speaking forum in order to reach all audience members.

eye contact

The act of a speaker and the audience members of looking directly into each other's eyes as they are speaking or listening.

boomerang effect

The act of pushing an audience more firmly into their previously held beliefs as a result of the speaker choosing position that falls on the extreme end of an audience's latitude of rejection.

ethical absolutism

The adoption of a code of behavior to which a person adheres in all circumstances.

situational ethics

The belief that proper ethical behavior can be informed by a person's circumstances, especially if those circumstances are extreme or unusual.

trustworthiness

The characteristic of exhibiting honesty and fairness. Oftentimes seen as one component of a speaker's ethos.

denotative meaning

The exact, literal dictionary definition of a word.

prior exposure

The extent to which an audience has already heard a speaker's message, which will affect an audience's interest or belief in what the speaker is saying.

tone

The high and low qualities of a person's speaking voice. Moderate tonal variety is preferable to using a single tone-known as monotone-which is usually either low and mumbling or high-pitched and annoying.

personal appearance

The impression a speaker makes on an audience through his or her clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, grooming, and other elements influencing how the speaker looks.

needs

The objects an audience desires and the feelings that must be satisfied.