DeVito Public Speaking Terms

Specific Purpose

"To inform listeners about . . ." and "To persuade listeners about . . ." are examples for this type of speech purpose.

General Purpose

"To inform," "To persuade," and "To entertain" are examples for this type of speech purpose.

Introduction Accomplishes

*Get the speaker off on the right foot, arouse the audiences interest, preview the speaker's topic, create a good first impression, bond to the audience, boost the speaker's confidence, establish speaker credibility.

metaphor

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Logical (Body)

1+1=2 Connect several details to make a larger point

Getting your listener's attention

A provocative statistic, a little-known fact, an interesting story, or a thought-provoking question can help you accomplish this first goal for your speech introduction.

Repetition

A speaker who uses this technique will repeat something in exactly the same way at different places in the speech to help listeners better remember the idea and remind them how it's connected to the current point.

Restatement

A speaker who uses this technique will rephrase an idea or statement in different words to help clarify a concept.

Substantive

A speech topic with this quality is important enough to merit the time and attention of an intelligent group of people.

Appropriate

A speech topic with this quality will address your audience in terms of its interests and needs.

Culturally Sensitive

A speech topic with this quality will not offend persons whose national and ethnic heritages differ from yours.

Limiting the amount of information

According to this principle of informative speaking, it is better to emphasize depth by covering fewer points than to emphasize breadth by covering more points.

Varying the level of abstraction

According to this principle of informative speaking, you might talk about freedom of the press by first referring to the Bill of Rights and then telling a story about your local newspaper.

Main Points

After writing your thesis statement which expresses the central idea of your speech (e.g., "A college education is valuable"), your next step is brainstorm and then narrow down a possible list of these which support your thesis.

Demographics of an audience

Age, Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status (Income Occupation Education) Religion, Political affiliation, Gender

Mexican American

Although the terms "Chicana" (female) and "Chicano" (male) are used in referring to persons with roots in Mexico and often connotes a nationalist attitude, many consider these terms offensive and instead prefer this cultural identifier.

Queer

Although this term is used in the gay community, it is often resented when used by outsiders.

Surveys

Among the five resources for finding a speech topic, consulting these resources may involve browsing nonfiction bestseller lists or checking the Gallup Organization website and similar sites.

News Items

Among the five resources for finding a speech topic, consulting these resources may involve checking the websites of Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Money, Fortune, 20/20, 60 Minutes, Meet the Press, and talk shows.

Brainstorming

Among the five resources for finding a speech topic, this technique is designed to generate lots of topics in a relatively short time.

Yourself

Among the five resources for finding a speech topic, you should begin by consulting this person.

Topic Lists

Among the five resources for finding speech topics, an example for this type of resource is the "Dictionary of Topics" accessible through MySpeechLab.com.

Interviewing

Among the four general ways to learn about your audience, this technique involves talking with audience members, or with persons who know the audience, ahead of time.

Observation

Among the four general ways to learn about your audience, this technique is based on the way they physically present present themselves.

Data Collection

Among the four general ways to learn about your audience, this technique may involve checking Internet polling sites and asking audience members to fill out questionnaires ahead of time.

Inference and Empathy

Among the four general ways to learn about your audience, you can use this technique to help estimate listeners' attitudes, beliefs, and values.

The Object Itself

As a general rule, this is the best presentation aid; another type of presentation aid, the model, is a replica of this.

A complete declarative sentence

As opposed to your specific purposes statement, your thesis should be phrased in this way.

Messages

Because audience members are sending these to you as they listen, you can look at them during your speech and adjust your presentation accordingly.

Irreversible

Because communication has this quality, it is better to stress the positive and err on the side of gentleness when offering criticism.

Religion (and Religiousness)

Because this demographic variable permeates all topics and influences people's ideas about authority, responsibility and integrity, your speech should avoid attacking audience members' beliefs and should instead proceed slowly and inductively.

Identifying with the audience

By showing listeners what you and they have in common, you can advance your persuasive goal by doing this with the audience.

Organizational Strategies

Chronological, Spatial, Causal, Problem solution, Topical

Credibility made of..

Competence and Character

systematic desensitization

Creating and performing a list of behaviors that gradually lead you from easier behaviors to the desired but feared behavior is called this.

Nonverbal Communication

Differences in how cultures regard direct eye contact when speaking is an example of cultural differences in this type of communication.

Conclusion Types

Dissolve ending (Generate emotional appeal and fade ot a dramatic final statement, or a farwell statement) Crescendo ending (Speech builds to more intensity)

Organization

Doing this will help your audience understand and retain what you say; it often involves dividing your topic into its logical subtopics and then dividing your research according to these subtopics.

Men

Due to socialization, this gender assumes a more combative posture while listening and is less apt than the other gender to give listening cues (e.g., "yeah," "uh-huh")

Women

Due to socialization, this gender tends to use listening for building rapport rather than dominating interactions

Location (or room)

Due to this context factor, you should always check beforehand what equipment is available for presenting your speech.

Culture (or Cultural Factors)

Due to this demographic variable you may wish as a speaker to project humility and avoid self-praise before some audiences, and project confidence and competence before others.

Age

Due to this demographic variable, audience members may vary in their life-concerns, ability to absorb and process, information, and respect for tradition.

Education

Due to this demographic variable, audience members may vary in their social or political activism, concern with issues outside their immediate interests, and receptivity to appeals based on emotion, authority, or generalizations.

Idiolect

Even among those who speak the same language, this is variation of the language which is unique to each speaker.

Taboo Topic

Example for this type of topic are speaking about World War II to a Japanese audience and speaking about illegal immigration to a Mexican audience.

Materials of Support

Examples (clarity reinforce and personalize the idea- 3 types *Brief *Extended *Hypothetical) Statistics (used to quantify- should be sparce and simple and can be used via presentation graph or other visual aid) Testimony (Expert, Peer)

General Purpose

Examples for "this" type of purpose are "To inform," "To persuade," and "To entertain."

Posture

Examples of when this bodily action is used poorly include putting your hands in your pockets, clasping your hands in front or behind your back, and leaning on the desk, lectern, or whiteboard.

Credibility Boosts

Explain why you should be seen as an expert, create a bond with the audience, Orate with conviction

Free Speech Exemptions

Fighting words, defamatory speech, reckless disregard for the truth

Active Listening

Focusing your complete attention on the speaker is the best preparation for this.

Topical pattern

For a speech of definition (e.g., "Christianity and Islam have much in common") you should consider using this organizational pattern in which each main idea is treated equally.

Relating new information to old

For a speech of definition it is especially important to observe this principle of informative speaking; e.g., in a speech to a Christian audience that argues "Christianity and Islam have much in common" you might start be defining Christian precepts.

Temporal

For a speech of demonstration (e.g., "You can burglarproof your house in three different ways") you should consider using this organizational pattern that demonstrates each step in sequence.

Supporting materials

For a speech of demonstration whose central idea is "You can burglarproof your house in three different ways," these might include examples of security protocols, testimonies from experts, stories from homeowners, and statistics about the protocols' effectiveness.

Topical

For a speech that describes a person (e.g., the achievements of Thomas Edison) you should consider using this organizational pattern.

Who-what-where-when-why

For a speech that describes a process (e.g., how to buy a house) you should consider using this organizational pattern.

Temporal

For a speech that describes an event (e.g., the Iraq war) you should consider using this organizational pattern.

Spacial

For a speech that describes an object (e.g., the layout of a city) you should consider using this organizational pattern.

Audience Analysis

For your speech to be successful, you must do this in order to know your listeners and adapt your speech to them.

Reversing the factors that cause communication apprehension.

Gaining experience in public speaking, seeing public speaking as a conversation, stressing the similarity between you and the audience, and thorough speech preparation and practice are all ways of doing this.

Ethical Listening

Giving a speaker an honest hearing, and giving a speaker honest responses and feedback, are examples for this type of listening.

Organization of Speech

INtro, Objective, overview, The Big Picture, Body, Summary, questions, conclusion

Willingness

If this psychological factor is low then you should get your audience's interest and attention as early as possible, reward their attention, and relate your speech directly to their needs and wants.

Knowledgeability

If this psychological factor is low then you should nevertheless avoid talking down to your audience, never assume they lack intelligence, acknowledge the expertise they do possess, and emphasize your competence to address your topic.

Favorability

If this psychological factor is low then your speech should strive to clear up any possible misapprehensions, build on areas of commonality and agreement, respectfully acknowledge differences, and be content with a fair hearing.

Appropriate

If your speech topic has this quality, your listeners will (based on what they know about you) see you as a knowledgeable and believable spokesperson.

Supporting Materials

In a persuasive speech, these provide proof by offering evidence, argument and motivational appeal, and by establishing your credibility.

Supporting Materials

In an informative speech, these primarily amplify (i.e., describe, illustrate, define, exemplify) the various concepts you discuss.

Principle of selective exposure

In deciding the order of your arguments, you should keep in mind this principle which states that listeners seek information they agree with and avoid contradictory information.

Complexity

In informative speaking you should adjust this to the level of your audience's knowledge as well as the time you have available, the purpose you hope to achieve, and the topic on which you are speaking.

Spatial Pattern

In organizing the main points to support your thesis, this type of organizational pattern describes objects or places by progressing from top to bottom, left to right, inside to outside, east to west, or similar progression.

Problem-Solution Pattern

In organizing the main points to support your thesis, this type of organizational pattern is especially useful in persuasive speeches.

Topical Pattern

In organizing the main points to support your thesis, this type of organizational pattern is possible when your topic logically divides itself into clear and approximately equal subdivisions (e.g., the powers of government are legislative, executive, and judicial).

Cause-Effect Pattern

In organizing the main points to support your thesis, this type of organizational pattern is useful for showing an audience the connection between to events or elements.

Evaluating the criticism

In the five steps for listening to criticism, "this" fifth step does not mean you will necessarily do everything the critic says but may try out the suggestions and then will make your decisions about what to accept, modify, adapt, and reject.

Accepting the Critic's Viewpoint

In the five steps for listening to criticism, "this" first step recognizes that criticism reflects the listener's perception.

Seeking Clarification

In the five steps for listening to criticism, "this" fourth step requires you to avoid appearing defensive or confrontational.

Listening with an open mind

In the five steps for listening to criticism, "this" second step requires you to block out your ego.

Separating speech criticism from personal criticism

In the five steps for listening to criticism, "this" third step requires that listening to criticism with detachment.

Specific purpose

In the heading of your speech preparation outline, an example of this would be "To persuade my audience that public speaking is an important life-skill."

General purpose

In the heading of your speech preparation outline, this might be "To inform" or "To persuade" and should always be expressed in an infinitive phrase.

memorized speech.

In this method of presentation each sentence cues the recall of the following sentence; the method is not recommended because you might forget your speech.

impromptu Speech

In this method of presentation you speak without any specific preparation or advance thinking.

manuscript speech

In this method of presentation you write out and then read the entire speech exactly as you want it to be heard by the audience; the advantage of this method is controlling the timing and wording of the speech, but the disadvantage is the difficulty of sounding natural.

Understanding

In this part of the listening process, you begin learning as you decipher the speaker's meaning.

Evaluating

In this part of the listening process, you form judgments about what the speaker said.

Receiving

In this part of the listening process, you hear the sound of a voice and decide to focus your attention.

Remembering

In this part of the listening process, you recall and retain what the speaker said.

Responding

In this part of the listening process, you should show support while the speaker is talking and then afterward may either ask questions, express agreement, or express disagreement.

team presentation

In this special setting which is popular in the business world, two or three members of a group report the group's findings to a larger group.

panel

In this special setting, a group of people are cast in the role of "experts" and participate informally without any set pattern of who speaks when.

symposium-forum

In this special setting, a group of people deliver prepared public presentations which are then followed by questions from the audience and responses by the speakers.

speech of self-justification

In this type of special occasion speech, the speaker (often a politician) seeks to clear up his or her actions.

acceptance speech

In this type of special occasion speech, the speaker receives an honor or award.

symposium

In this type of special occasion, a group of people each delivers a prepared public presentation on different aspects of a single topic.

yes response

In your persuasive speech, if you can get your listeners to react this way to a related issue or a smaller request then they are more likely to react this way to your thesis.

Positive labeling

In your persuasive speech, if you describe your listeners this way then they are more likely to act according to your description.

Words

In your speech, these should be simple, concrete, personal, and informal.

Persuasive Speech Goals

Influence choices, limit alternatives, seek a response.

Credibility Types

Initial (perceived before speech(, Derived (during speech), Terminal (at conclusion)

Transitions

Inserted between your intro and body, between each of your main points and between your body and conclusion, these might serve such functions as summarizing what you have just discussed, linking it to what comes next, and introducing or qualifying an idea.

Cicero's Six Rules of Discourse (Body)

Intro, state the facts, show areas of disagreement or decisions, offer support for a point of view, eliminate opposing arguments, and conclude.

Ron Hoff's Structure (Body)

Introduce an issue of concern, offer a new point of view, back it up with evidence, offer a resolution, and suggest the next steps to take.

Structure

Introduction, Body, Conclusion

"What If" Questions

Keeping these type of questions in mind will force you to consider alternatives as you prepare your speech.

Static Evaluation

Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of assuming that information stays the same (e.g., that public opinion polls from the last election will apply in the current election year).

Indiscrimination

Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of focusing on classes of people, objects, or events rather than individual cases.

Allness

Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the error of presenting information as if it's all there is or all you need to know.

Fact-inference Confusion

Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the fallacy of assuming two things must be related (e.g., our plumber is a man, so all plumbers must be men).

Polarization

Language can vary in how accurately it describes reality; this term refers to the tendency to look at the world in "either/or" extremes (e.g., good or bad).

Reasonable

Like your speech topic itself, your specific purpose statement should avoid being too broad and instead be limited to this.

Information they already know

Listeners will learn more easily and retain it longer if you relate new information to this.

Relevance and usefulness

Listeners will remember your information best if they see that it has these two qualities.

Nonverbal Behavior

Listening for total meaning requires paying attention both to the speaker's words and to this.

Eye Contact

Maintain this throughout your speech and with your entire audience, rather than concentrating on only a few people.

Fallacies of reasoning

Making generalizations from a single story, simplifying an opposing argument to more easily refute it, and appealing to tradition ("that's how it's always been done") or popular perception ("everybody's doing it") are all examples of this.

Rehearsal or Practice

Once you have prepared your speech, this should be done at least four times before your presentation.

Bodies

Outline. Have between 2 and 5 main points. One idea per main point. Support each main point. Transition between points gracefully.

State Apprehension

People who experience fear of communication only in certain situations suffer from this type of apprehension.

Trait Apprehension

People who have a general fear of communication, regardless of the specific situation, suffer from this type of apprehension.

Charisma

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; by being empathetic and demonstrating your enthusiasm and positive outlook, you can enhance this aspect of your credibility.

Character

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; by stressing fairness, concern for the audience and concern for enduring values, you can enhance this aspect of your credibility.

Competence

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; by telling listeners about your expertise and stressing the variety and quality of your information, you can enhance this aspect of your credibility.

Physiological need

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; speakers can emotionally motivate listeners by appealing to this need (described by Maslow's hierarchy) for food, water, and air.

Belonging need

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; speakers can emotionally motivate listeners by appealing to this need (described by Maslow's hierarchy) for friendship, affection, relationships, and acceptance.

Self-actualization need

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; speakers can emotionally motivate listeners by appealing to this need (described by Maslow's hierarchy) for fulfillment and doing what a person is fitted to do.

Self-esteem need

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; speakers can emotionally motivate listeners by appealing to this need (described by Maslow's hierarchy) for high self-respect, reputation, prestige, and status.

Safety need

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; speakers can emotionally motivate listeners by appealing to this need (described by Maslow's hierarchy) for security, stability, protection, order, and law.

Reasoning from causes and effects

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; this type of logical appeal cites something that has been observed and then makes a conclusion about the unobserved.

Reasoning from specific instances

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; this type of logical appeal examines several smaller cases and concludes something about the whole.

Reasoning from sign

Persuasion can be based on appeals to logic, emotion, and credibility; this type of logical appeal involves drawing a conclusion on the basis of the presence of clues or symptoms that frequently happen together.

Transactional Process

Public speaking is THIS kind of process because its elements are interdependent; that is, all the elements in the public speaking process depend on and interact with all the other elements and interact with all the other elements.

Body Action

Purpose is to clarify the message, establish a relationship with the audience, establish credibility for the speaker.

Fallacies

Red herring (irrelevant fact to divert attention) Ad hominem (attack on person not the issue) Either-or (assuming there are only 2 situations when there are more.), Bandwagon (assuming popular is correct), Slipper Slope (beginning a process will inevitably lead to subsequent steps.)

direct plagiarism

Representing a speech written by someone else as your own would constitute THIS.

Gender

Research suggests that, due to this demographic variable, audience members may vary in their tolerance for vulgar expressions and a confrontational speaking style.

Restructuring your thinking (or cognitive restructuring)

Self-affirmation ("I can do this"), maintaining realistic expectations, and visualizing a successful performance are all ways to reduce communication anxiety by doing this.

Ethical Criticism

Separating your criticism of a speech from your personal feelings about the speaker or topic, and being culturally sensitive, are examples for this type of criticism.

Focusing audience attention

Simply saying "I want you to concentrate on these three points" or "What I want you to remember is this" are examples of doing this.

Reasonable

Since people generally change gradually, in small degrees over a period of time, then it is best for your persuasive speech to ask for this amount of change.

Situational Audience Analysis

Size of Audience (the larger, the more formal), Physical setting (Hot, Cold, crowded, standing ect), Disposition of the audience toward the topic (Interest, knowledge, attitude), Speaker, Occasion

Elements of a Speech

Speaker, Message, Channel, Listener, Feedback, Interference, Situation

An ad hominem attack

Speakers who attack their opponents' characters rather than address their opponents' arguments are engaging in this type of attack (the term is taken from the Latin meaning "to the man").

Fallacies of reasoning

Speakers who select only arguments which support their cases, who say a new proposal will open the floodgates to all sorts of catastrophes, or who say their issue is the only one that matters, are all guilty of this.

Conclusion

Successful when ended strongly (Quote, dramatic statement, referrence to introduction), Revisit main points, leave an impression on teh audience and challenge them to respond.

Listening Improvement

Take it seriously, actively engage, tone down the distraction, avoid distractions of appearance and delivery, don't judge before teh message is relayed, focus on listening, take strong notes

Fair Use

Taking the majority of your speech from another source, even if you credit the person, would violate this provision of copyright law. Allows for educators to use without permission for the use of education.

establishing a speaker-topic-audience connection

Telling your audience why you're concerned with the topic and why you're competent to address will help you achieve this second goal for your speech introduction.

Main points

The central idea of your speech should generate many questions, which you can then refine into these; in our class we are limited to three.

Native American

The cultural identifier "Indian" should only be used in referring to people from India; in referring to the indigenous peoples of North America, this term is preferred.

Relevant and Interesting

The main points you select to support your thesis should be the points that most have these two qualities for your audience.

Supporting materials

The points with which you argue your central idea should be supported by this and might include examples, analogies, narratives, testimonies, and statistics.

Topic

The qualities of being worthwhile, appropriate, culturally sensitive, and limited in scope are all required for "this" to be suitable.

Grading Rubrics

The score sheet with criteria for speech outlines can be found in this folder on our Blackboard home page.

Chapter 7

The template for correctly formatting your speech outlines can be found in this chapter of your textbook.

Cliches

These are phrases that have lost their novelty and part of their meaning through overuse (e.g., "tried and true," "mind over matter").

Main Points

These are the component ideas that you use to clarify or support your the central idea of your speech.

Motivating the audience and providing closure

These are the second and third goals of your speech's conclusion.

Speaker-Audience-Topic connection (Why should the audience listen) and Orienting the audience (Preview main points)

These are the second and third goals of your speech's introduction.

Questions of fact, value, and policy

These are the three general questions that a persuasive speech may address (i.e., what is or is not true; what is good or bad; what should or should not be done).

Sociological and Psychological

These are the two types of audience analysis you should practice before giving a speech.

Weasel Words

These are words whose meanings are slippery and difficult to pin down (e.g., "it will make you feel like new," "better than other leading brands").

Transitions

These are words, phrases, or sentences that connect the various parts of your speech and provide the audience with guideposts that help them follow the development of your thoughts and arguments.

Idioms

These expressions are unique to a specific language (e.g., "kick the bucket" is meaningful only to speakers of American English).

Signpost Phrases

These help your audience see that your speech is moving from one idea to another (e.g., "Let us consider how . . ." and " My next argument . . .").

Transitions

These help your speech flow by connecting your introduction to the body of your speech, connecting each main point to the next, and connecting the last point to your conclusion.

Supporting materials

These might include examples, stories, and testimony; e.g., a speech of definition whose central idea is "Christianity and Islam have much in common" might make the point that both religions believe in good work by quoting their scriptures, telling stories about notable Christians and Muslims, and giving examples of major charitable works.

Statistics

These numerical data are summary figures that help you communicate the important characteristic of a complex set of numbers.

Raw Numbers

These numerical data are unmodified by any mathematical operation.

intellectual property rights

These rights are violated when you take another person's ideas without acknowledging that you did it.

Transitions

These sentences help the audience better understand the development of your speech and should be employed to connect the introduction to your first point, connect one point to another, and connect your final point (or all your points) to your conclusion.

Citations

These should be provided not only in the text and bibliography of your speech preparation outline, but also provided orally during the speech itself.

"Latina" (female) and "Latino" (male)

These terms are used in referring to people from Latin American countries.

Uniqueness and Diversity

These two qualities characterize today's audiences.

"Muslim" and "Quran"

These two terms are preferred, respectively, to "Moslem" (an older term) and "Koran" (in referring to the scriptures of Islam).

High-context and low-context cultures

These two terms respectively refer to cultures which assume people know the background information so that everything need not be explicitly verbalized, or which make no such assumption and expect information to be explicitly verbalized.

Masculine and feminine

These two words are used to describe cultures that, respectively, either value strength, status and success (and may be persuaded by appeals to achievement, adventure, and enjoyment), or value intimacy, relationships and fidelity (and may be persuaded by appeals to harmony and beauty).

Euphemisms

These words make the negative and unpleasant appear positive and appealing (e.g., the Nazis referred to killing Jews as "special handling").

Syllabus

This basic course document should be read and studied before attempting any assignment.

Movement

This bodily action may be used, for example, by stepping to the side or front of the lectern and then behind it again in order to signal a transition; however, it is best not to use this bodily action too much or too little.

A gesture

This bodily action, if used naturally, helps illustrate your verbal message (e.g., when you motion to indicate "Come here").

Simile

This compares two unlike objects by using the words "like" or "as" (e.g., "He's as gentle as a lamb").

The time of day when you speak

This context factor may influence your audience's attention span.

The Occasion

This context factor will determine the time limit, general purpose, types of supporting materials, and other restrictions under which you will speak.

Audience Size

This context factor will likely determined the level of formality for your speech.

Power distance

This cultural dimension is the degree to which people in a given culture perceive a difference between those who are in authority and those who are not; you might appeal to expert testimony when the difference is high and tell stories about ordinary people when the difference is low.

Uncertainty avoidance

This cultural dimension is the degree to which people in a given culture tolerate not knowing what will happen next; you might appeal to tradition or expert testimony to reassure people with low tolerance.

Lady

This cultural identifier is viewed negatively by many because it connotes the stereotype of the prim and proper woman.

message

This essential element of public speaking is its verbal and nonverbal signals.

Presentation

This essential element of public speaking is the actual sending of the message, the delivery of the speech.

Culture

This essential element of public speaking is the collection of beliefs, attitudes, values, and ways of behaving that are shared by a group of people and passed down from one generation to the next through communication rather than through genes.

Audience

This essential element of public speaking is the intended receivers of the speech.

Noise

This essential element of public speaking is the interference that distorts the message.

Channel

This essential element of public speaking is the medium through which the signals pass from speaker to listener.

Ethics

This essential element of public speaking is the moral dimensions of communication.

Speaker

This essential element of public speaking is the one who presents the speech.

Context

This essential element of public speaking is the physical, sociopsychological, temporal, and cultural space in which the speech is presented.

A Belief

This is a conviction in the existence or truth of something.

Rhetorical Question

This is a question that, rather than seeking an answer, makes a statement or produces a desired effect (e.g., "Do you want to be popular?").

Attitude

This is a tendency to respond for or against an object, person, or position.

Oxymoron

This is a term that combines two normally opposite qualities (e.g., a bittersweet romance, a silent scream).

Narrative

This is an example told in story-like form.

Metaphor

This is an implied comparison between two unlike things (e.g., "Life is a box of chocolates").

Personification

This is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects (e.g., "My car is tired").

Thesis

This is the central idea of your speech and should be expressed as a single, complete declarative sentence.

Thesis

This is the central idea of your speech; in a speech of definition about Christianity and Islam it might be the sentence "Christianity and Islam have much in common."

Thesis

This is the central idea of your speech; in a speech of demonstration about home security it might be the sentence "You can burglarproof your house in three different ways."

One (1)

This is the correct number of ideas which should be expressed in your speech's specific purpose statement.

Connotative Meaning

This is the emotional meaning of a term (e.g., when the word "kiss" might mean warmth, good feeling, and happiness).

Denotative Meaning

This is the factual meaning of a term that you would find in a dictionary (e.g., when the word "kiss" is defined by the dictionary as "to touch or press with the lips slightly pursed").

Summarize

This is the first function of your conclusion and, for our class, should be accomplished by restating your main points.

Gaining Attention

This is the first function of your speech's introduction and might be accomplished by asking the audience a question, referring to a recent happening, using a story or quotation, citing a little-known fact, or telling a joke.

Gaining the audience's attention

This is the first goal for your speech introduction.

Restating your main points?

This is the first goal for your speech's conclusion.

Summarizing main points

This is the first goal of your speech's conclusion.

Preparation Outline

This is the main outline that you construct as a detailed blueprint of your speech; in our class, this is the type of outline that you submit to the instructor.

extemporaneous speech

This is the method of presentation we are striving to master in our class.

Three

This is the number of main points which, for our class, you must develop to support your thesis; i.e., you must have no fewer than this number of main points and no more.

Your Thesis

This is the one idea that you want your audience to remember after you have concluded your speech.

Gay

This is the preferred term for referring to a man who has an affectional preference for other men.

Lesbian

This is the preferred term for referring to a woman who has an affectional preference for other women.

Antithesis (an-TITH-uh-sis)

This is the presentation of opposites in parallel form (e.g., Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times").

Empathy

This is the process by which, as a listener, you are able to feel what others are feeling, to see the world as they see it, to walk in their shoes.

plagiarism

This is the process of passing off the work (ideas, words, illustrations) of others as your own.

Before the Presentation

This is the proper time to submit a hard copy of your preparation outline to the instructor.

Pitch

This is the relative highness or lowness of your voice and results from the rate at which your vocal cords vibrate; it may be used to signal changes in meaning, such as the difference between a statement and a question.

Volume

This is the relative intensity of your voice; it may depend on the distance between you and the audience, competing noise, and the emphasis you wish to give an idea.

Alliteration

This is the repetition of the same initial sound in two or more words (e.g., "Fifty Famous Flavors").

Motivate

This is the second function of your conclusion and might be accomplished by asking the audience for a specific response, reiterating the importance of the issue, or providing directions for future action.

establishing a speaker-audience-topic (S-A-T) relationship

This is the second function of your speech's introduction and might be accomplished by establishing your credibility, referring to others present, expressing your pleasure in speaking, complimenting the audience, or expressing similarities with the audience.

Wrapping up your speech

This is the second goal for your conclusion and is often accomplished through a crisp and memorable statement which makes it clear your speech is at an end.

bibliography (or references)

This is the section of your outline where you must list at least four legitimate and credible sources of research that you employed to support the main points of your speech.

Eye contact

This is the single most important aspect of bodily communication when delivering a speech, provided you use it appropriately and cover the audience fairly.

Jargon

This is the specialized language of a particular group or profession (e.g., college administrators talk about FGCs and FTEs, or "first generation college students" and "full-time equivalents").

Rate

This is the speed at which you speak; it may be varied to call attention to certain points and to add variety.

Ethnocentrism

This is the tendency to evaluate the values, beliefs, and behaviors of your own culture as being more positive, logical, and natural than those of other cultures.

Assimilation

This is the tendency to reconstruct messages so they reflect your own attitudes, prejudices, needs, and values.

Thesis

This is the theme, the essence of your speech; it's your point of view, what you want the audience to get out of your speech, the one idea you want your audience to remember even if they forget everything else.

Provide Closure

This is the third function of your conclusion and might be accomplished by referring to subsequent events, referring back to the introduction, or thanking the audience.

Orienting the Audience

This is the third function of your speech's introduction and should, for our class, be accomplished by identifying or previewing the main points you will cover.

Irony

This is the use of a word or sentence whose literal meaning is the opposite of that which is intended (e.g., "So pleased to see how hard you all studied").

Hyperbole

This is the use of extreme exaggeration (e.g., "He cried like a faucet").

Value

This is the worth a person puts on some thing or action.

Synecdoche (sin-ECK-doe-key)

This is using part of an object to stand for the whole object (e.g., "500 head of cattle," "all hands on deck").

Owning Criticism

This means not attributing what you found wrong in a speech to the criticisms of others (e.g., saying "I had difficulty understanding you" rather than "Nobody understood you").

extemporaneous speech

This method of presentation involves thorough preparation and a commitment to memorize the opening and closing lines, plus the main ideas and their order, but the not the exact wording for the remaining parts of the speech.

Research

This process begins by examining what you know and then doing a general overview of your topic, and continues as consult increasingly specific sources.

Research

This process will help you find information to use as source material in your speech, as well as help you persuade your listeners and make you appear more believable.

Directness

This quality of language is desirable for public speaking and is achieved by using active rather than passive sentences (e.g., "Susan gave a speech" rather than "A speech was given by Susan").

Orality

This quality of language refers to the degree to which a communication style resembles that of informal conversation (by using shorter, simpler, and more familiar words) as opposed to the more formal style of writing.

Abstraction

This quality of language varies according to whether you use a more general or more specific term (e.g., "entertainment" versus "movie"); in public speaking, a specific term is usually the better choice

Rehearsing

This should be done at least 3-4 times before your speech and under conditions as close as possible to the actual situation.

Rehearsing

This should be done before your speech as long as it continues to produce improvements in the speech or in your delivery.

Rehearsing

This should be done from the beginning of your speech to the end, not in sections, so that you can see how your points flow and can time your speech.

African American

This term is generally preferred to "black."

Hispanic

This term is generally used in referring to people who identify themselves as belonging to a Spanish-speaking culture.

White

This term is generally used in referring to people whose roots are in European cultures and does not usually include those who identify themselves as belonging to a Spanish-speaking culture.

Jewish People

This term is preferred to "Jews."

Asians

This term is preferred to "Orientals" because the latter reflects a perspective in which the rest of the world is defined by its location from Europe.

Older Person

This term is preferred to "elder," "elderly," "senior," or "senior citizen."

Proxemics

This term refers to the way you use space in communication (e.g., standing too close to your listeners can make them feel uncomfortable, while standing too far away can make you seem uninvolved with the audience).

Girl

This term should be used only in referring to a preteen female and should never be used in referring to a grown woman.

Error of addition

This type of articulation error occurs when you insert a sound in a word where it does not belong (e.g., "acrost" instead of "across"; "athalete" instead of "athlete").

Error of omission

This type of articulation error occurs when you leave out sounds or syllables in a word (e.g., "govament" instead of "government"; "wanna" instead of "want to").

Error of substitution

This type of articulation error occurs when you replace the correct sound in a word with an incorrect one (e.g., "wader" instead of "waiter"; "dese" instead of "these").

Homogeneous

This type of audience consists of individuals who are very much alike.

Facial expression

This type of bodily action is especially important in communicating emotions; try to overcome any nervousness and anxiety that might prevent you from relaxing enough so that this bodily action can convey your feelings.

Collectivist Culture

This type of culture, which emphasizes the group and places primary value on the group's goals, places heavy emphasis on face-saving or allowing people to always appear in a positive light and preferring not to say anything negative in public.

Individualist Culture

This type of culture, which emphasizes the individual and places primary value on the individual's goals, may find public criticism a normal part of the learning process and expect others to criticize them even as they criticize others.

Racist Language

This type of language is considered disparaging to members of a particular ethnic group.

Sexist Language

This type of language is derogatory to one gender (usually women) and is avoided by using neutral terminology.

Ageist Language

This type of language may be insulting to older people (e.g., "old-timer," "little old lady," "over the hill").

Heterosexist Language

This type of language may disparage people according to their affectional orientation.

Figurative Analogy

This type of material compares items from different classes (e.g., the mobility of a car is compared to the freedom of a bird) to support your point and make your ideas clear and vivid.

Literal Analogy

This type of material compares items from the same class (e.g., comparing two cars, comparing two cities) to support your point and make your ideas clear and vivid.

Illustration

This type of material is a longer and more detailed instance that supports the point you are making.

Example

This type of material is a relatively brief and specific instance that supports the point you are making.

Expert Testimony

This type of material supports your point by citing the opinions, beliefs, predictions, or values of some authority.

Eyewitness Testimony

This type of material supports your point by citing the report of someone who saw an event or situation.

Testimony

This type of material uses the opinions of others to clarify or support your point.

Delivery Outline

This type of outline consists of key words or phrases that assist you in giving your speech; in our class, students often put this type of outline on handheld notecards.

Unfilled pause

This type of pause injects silence into the normally fluent stream of speech and can be effective if properly used at key points of your speech.

Filled pause

This type of pause is ineffective and makes you appear hesitant and unprepared as you utter such words as "er," "um," "uh," "ah," "well," and "you know."

Maps

This type of presentation aid is useful for showing such things as geography, population density, immigration patterns, the spread of diseases, and more.

Graph

This type of presentation aid may be useful for charting differences over time, clarifying how a whole is divided into parts, or comparing different amounts of sizes.

Word Chart

This type of presentation aid may be useful for identifying key points in your speech or showing the steps in a process.

Error of accent

This type of pronunciation error occurs when you stress the wrong syllable in word (e.g., "IN-sur-ance" instead of "in-SUR-ance")

Error of pronouncing silent sounds

This type of pronunciation error occurs when you voice a sound in a word that should not be voiced (e.g., "off-ten" instead of "off-en" when saying the word "often").

Primary Source

This type of source is the most reliable because as a researcher you are consulting the information itself rather than a secondhand report of that information.

toast

This type of special occasion speech briefly celebrates a person or occasion, is designed to say hello or good luck in a relatively formal sense, and is often given at weddings or the start of a new venture.

Speech of introduction

This type of special occasion speech helps listeners learn about another person before that person speaks to the audience.

goodwill speech

This type of special occasion speech informs the audience about a person, product, or organization while at the same time the speech seeks to heighten his/her/its image.

eulogy

This type of special occasion speech is delivered in tribute to a person who has died.

dedication speech

This type of special occasion speech is designed to give something (perhaps a new building) a special meaning and is usually delivered in a formal setting.

presentation speech

This type of special occasion speech is for the purpose of conferring an honor or award on someone.

inspirational speech

This type of special occasion speech primarily aims to raise the spirits of an audience.

commencement speech

This type of special occasion speech recognizes and celebrates the end of some training period.

farewell speech

This type of special occasion speech signals that the speaker is moving on from an organization or group of colleagues.

Informative Speech

This type of speech seeks to create understanding.

Persuasive Speech

This type of speech seeks to influence attitudes or behaviors.

Special Occasion Speech

This type of speech serves to introduce another speaker or group of speakers, present a tribute, secure the goodwill of the listeners, or entertain the audience.

Definition by Authority

This type of supporting material defines the meaning of a term or concept by citing an expert or commentator.

Definition by Etymology

This type of supporting material defines the meaning of a term or concept by tracing its historical or linguistic development.

Preview

This type of transition helps the audience get a general idea of where you're going (e.g., "By way of introduction" or "In conclusion" or "My next point is").

Signpost

This type of transition is an individual word(s) that tells listeners where you are in your speech (e.g., "First," "Next, consider," "Thus," "Therefore," "So, as you can see").

Connective

This type of transition link the major parts of your speech (e.g., "Now that we have a general idea of [first main point] we can examine how [second main point]").

Review

This type of transition, often used in long or complex speeches, provides brief periodic summaries of what you have already said.

Writing Out Your Speech Word For Word

This will cause you to lose the conversational quality that is so important in public speaking.

Preview the main points

This will help you orient your audience and thus achieve the third goal for your speech introduction.

Affectional Orientation

Though the term "sexual orientation" has often been used in public discourse, this is the preferred term for describing this demographic variable.

Search Directories

To avoid covering a huge topic, these nested lists of topics allow you to go from general to specific by selecting a general subject area and then dividing and subdividing it.

Tree Diagrams

To avoid covering a huge topic, this technique can help limit your speech topic by dividing the general subject area into parts, which are then subdivided into smaller parts, and so on

Topoi (pronounced TOE-poy)

To avoid covering a huge topic, you can use this "system of topics" to limit your speech topic by asking a series of questions: Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? So?

misattribution plagiarism

Using a quotation or research finding without properly citing the author would constitute THIS

Slang

Using these types of expressions may risk offending or embarrassing audience members; even if listeners themselves use such expressions, they often resent their use by public speakers.

Voice Control

Volume, Pause, Pitch, Pronunciation, Articulation, Dialect, Rate

Euphemism

When Justin Timberlake referred to his controversial Super Bowl incident with Janet Jackson as a "wardrobe malfunction," he engaged in this fallacy of language.

Collectivist culture

When appealing to audiences from this type of culture, it is better to emphasize the importance of family, loyalty and national identity, but to avoid suggesting you are more competent than others; by contrast, when appealing to audiences from individualist cultures it is better to emphasize independence and uniqueness.

Enthusiasm

When called on to speak, approach the front of the room with this attitude.

Pausing

When called to speak and on reaching the front of the room, don't begin immediately but do this to engage your audience eye to eye for a moment.

Notes

When speaking, these are best used subtly and only for cues; too many of these can hinder directness and face-to-face interaction with your audience.

Percentage

When using numerical data to support your point, this statistic allows you to express a score as a portion of 100.

Mean

When using numerical data to support your point, this statistic is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers.

Median

When using numerical data to support your point, this statistic is the middle score; half of the cases fall above and half of the cases fall below it.

Mode

When using numerical data to support your point, this statistic is the most score in an array (e.g., more students scored 85 than any other grade).

Testimony

When using this type of material to support your point be sure to stress the competence, objectivity, and recency of the source.

An Image (i.e., photograph or illustration)

When using this type of presentation aid it is best to project or display the aid for the whole audience to see, because passing it around the audience would distract listeners.

Oral citations

When you give these during a speech, you are attributing the sources for your information.

Weasel Words

When you hear an advertisement for a product that promises to be "more economical" than its competitors, you have just heard this fallacy of language.

Relevancy

When you offer a specific example to support the point you are making, that example should have this quality so that it directly supports your proposition.

Hypothetical

When you offer a specific example to support the point you are making, you should make clear whether the example is real or whether it has this quality.

The Message

While your specific purposes statement is focused on your audience, your thesis statement is focused on this.

Repeating the points

You can help your audience remember the main points by doing this several times during your speech.

Internal summary transitions

You can help your audience remember your speech by using these after each main to remind your audience what you have said and relate it to what follows.

Signposts

You can help your audience remember your speech by using these to direct listeners to the main points (e.g., "The first point to remember is . . .").

Main points

You generate these by asking questions about your central idea; e.g., a speech of definition with the idea "Christianity and Islam have much in common" would raise, What do they have in common?

Main points

You generate these by asking questions about your central idea; e.g., a speech of definition with the idea "You can burglarproof your house in three ways" would raise the question, What are the three ways?

Speech Outline

You must submit a correctly formatted hard copy of this document before a speech and then submit an electronic copy by midnight that same day.

Parallel Style

You should state your main points not as single words, phrases or sentence fragments, but as complete sentences--and these sentences should be worded with the same grammatical structure and thus share this type of style.

Organizational patterns

Your audience will better remember your main points if you help them see this, so they realize the logic of why your points follow each other.

Separate and Distinct

Your main points should have these two qualities rather than overlap each other (e.g., NOT "I. Color are style are important to clothing selection," BUT "I. Color is important to clothing selection" and "II. Style is important to clothing selection").

Audience

Your specific purpose statement should focus on this "essential element" of a public speech

An infinitive phrase (begins with "To . . .")

Your speech's specific purpose should be stated in this kind of phrase.

Main Points

Your thesis statement should be used to generate these, as you think of ideas, assertions, or propositions that will support your thesis.

An organizational pattern

Your thesis statement should be used to suggest this, as you think about the most beneficial arrangement of your ideas, assertions, or propositions.

listening types

appreciative, empathetic, comprehensive, critical

ethic listening improvement

be nice and pay attention, avoid prejudging, be open-minded

Topical Structure (Body)

build up to a larger picture by looking at various aspects of one topic

spatial structure (Body)

create a mental map to relate your ideas, perhaps assisted by a visual aid.

Thesis-antithesis (Body)

describe one possible these, and then argue the opposite (antithesis)

Motivational (Body)

establish a need for your audience and then satisfy that need.

Identification of Audience

focus on common values, goals, beliefs, experiences

chronological structure (Body)

follow a timeline

Reasoning

from Specifics, from principle, casual reason, analogical reason.

cause-effect (Body)

good for persuasive speeches. Show a result, then explain the process from cause to effect.

listening poorly

lack of concentration, listening too strongly, jumping to conclusions, focusing on the wrong things.

yardstick (Body)

lay out a set of criteria that you can use to evaluate your topic

empathetic listening

listening to comfort

critical listening

listening to determine truthfulness

appreciative listening

listening to enjoy

comprehensive listening

listening to understand

order of importance (body)

move from the least to most important detals, or vice versa

Temporal Pattern

n organizing the main points to support your thesis, this type of organizational pattern is chronological.

Implied leader

one that emerges from seniority

Cliche`s

over used expressions

Frame of Reference

person's values and beliefs

antithesis (juxtaposition)

placing to two opposite ideas next to each other for emphasis.."Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

problem solving (Body)

pose a problem, then offer a solution

Introduction methods

providing a quote, asking a question, using humor, telling a story, presenting a visual aid, arousing curiosity

Conclusion

purpose is to end the speech and reinforce the main points.

Elimination (Body)

remove all alternantives until theres only one remaining option- yours!

Five Questions (Body)

who, what, when, where, why

personal inventory

writing of one's interests and hobbies to try to find a speech topic

clustering

writing the first things that come to mind in 9 columns to find a speech topic