Public speaking Quiz

Audience-centeredness

Keeping the audience foremost in mind at every step of speech preparation and presentation.

Demographic audience analysis

Examining audience traits such as age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, racial/ethnic background, and group membership.

Situational audience analysis

Analyzing audience traits specific to the speaking situation (size, setting, disposition toward topic/speaker/occasion).

Fixed-alternative questions

Questions offering a fixed choice between two or more alternatives.

Scale questions

Questions requiring responses at fixed intervals along a scale of answers.

Open‑ended questions

Questions allowing respondents to answer however they want.

Egocentrism

The tendency of people to be concerned above all with their own values, beliefs, and well‑being.

Persuasion

The process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people’s beliefs or actions.

Question of fact

A question about the truth or falsity of an assertion.

Question of value

A question about the worth, rightness, morality, or desirability of an idea or action.

Question of policy

A question about whether a specific course of action should or should not be taken.

Need

The first basic issue in analyzing a question of policy: is there a problem that requires change?

Plan

The second issue: does the speaker have a plan to solve the problem?

Practicality

The third issue: will the speaker’s plan work?

Burden of proof

The obligation facing a persuasive speaker to prove that a change from current policy is necessary.

Passive agreement

Persuading the audience that a policy is desirable without encouraging them to take action.

Immediate action

Persuading the audience to take action in support of a policy.

Credibility

The audience’s perception of whether a speaker is qualified to speak on a given topic.

Initial credibility

Credibility before the speaker begins to speak.

Derived credibility

Credibility produced by everything the speaker says and does during the speech.

Terminal credibility

Credibility at the end of the speech.

Evidence

Supporting materials used to prove or disprove something.

Reasoning

The process of drawing a conclusion based on evidence.

Reasoning from specific instances

Drawing a general conclusion based on specific examples.

Reasoning from principle

Moving from a general principle to a specific conclusion.

Causal reasoning

Establishing a cause‑and‑effect relationship.

Analogical reasoning

Comparing two similar cases to infer that what is true for one is true for the other.

Fallacy

An error in reasoning.

Emotional appeal (pathos)

Appealing to the emotions of the audience.