Oral Communication in Context – Weeks 1-3 Vocabulary

Flashcards cover key vocabulary from Lessons 1-5, including definitions, models, elements, types of noise, verbal/nonverbal concepts, and effective communication skills.

Communication

The act of conveying meaning between people through mutually understood signs, symbols, and rules; derived from the Latin “communicare” (to share) and “communis” (to make common).

Encoding

The process by which a sender translates an idea into words, gestures, or other understandable forms.

Decoding

The receiver’s process of interpreting or making sense of the sender’s encoded message.

Context

The setting or situation in which communication occurs, influencing how messages are sent and received.

Noise

Any factor that interferes with or distorts the transmission of a message.

Sender–Receiver Model

A basic framework where the sender encodes and transmits a message, the receiver decodes it, and feedback may be provided.

Sender/Speaker

The person who initiates the conversation and creates the message.

Message

The ideas, information, or thoughts conveyed from sender to receiver.

Receiver

The individual or group that receives and interprets the message.

Channel/Medium

The pathway through which a message travels (e.g., sound waves, light, written text).

Feedback

The receiver’s reactions or responses that let the sender know the message was received and understood.

Linear Communication Model

One-way transmission model exemplified by Lasswell’s 1948 ‘Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?’ framework.

Shannon & Weaver Model

A 1949 linear model introducing the concept of ‘noise’ and depicting information flow from source to destination via a channel.

Berlo’s SMCR Model

1960 linear model breaking communication into Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver, each influenced by skills, attitudes, knowledge, social system, and culture.

Interactive Communication Model

Model (Schramm, 1955; Wood, 2009) where sender and receiver exchange roles and provide feedback, stressing shared fields of experience.

Transactional Communication Model

Model showing communicators simultaneously send and receive messages, emphasizing interdependence and constant influence of noise and time.

Helical Model (Dance, 1967)

A transactional model shaped like a helix, symbolizing communication’s continuous, accumulative, and flexible nature.

Nature of Communication

Characteristics: it is a process, reciprocal, multi-modal, an art, irreversible & inevitable, and unrepeatable.

Environmental Noise

External noise generated by surroundings (e.g., chatter from passers-by).

Physiological-Impairment Noise

Interference caused by physical conditions such as headaches, deafness, or hunger.

Semantic Noise

Misunderstanding arising from differing interpretations of words or symbols (e.g., “LOL” across generations).

Syntactic Noise

Interference due to grammatical errors or confusing sentence structures.

Organizational Noise

Miscommunication caused by poorly arranged or jumbled messages.

Cultural Noise

Misunderstandings stemming from cultural differences (e.g., eye-contact norms).

Psychological Noise

Internal mental states—anger, excitement, bias—that distract communicators.

Verbal Communication

Use of spoken or written words to convey messages (e.g., saying “No” to a request).

Nonverbal Communication

Transmission of information without words through facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, tone, etc.

Phonological Meaning

Meaning derived from distinctive sounds, stress, pauses, and intonation rather than alphabetic letters.

Semantic Meaning

Meaning based on individual words or symbols, including homonyms, heteronyms, and affixes.

Homonym

Words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings (e.g., “night/knight”).

Heteronym

Words with identical spelling but different pronunciations and meanings (e.g., “bow”).

Derivational Affix

Morpheme that changes a word’s meaning or class when added (e.g., pre-, ‑tion, trans-).

Inflectional Affix

Morpheme that modifies tense, number, or degree without changing the core meaning (e.g., ‑ed, ‑er).

Syntactic Meaning

Meaning derived from word order or sentence structure (e.g., ‘A snake is behind the tree’).

Pragmatic Meaning

Meaning based on context, speaker intention, and social situation (e.g., ‘It’s getting late’ implying ‘Let’s leave’).

Kinesics

Study of body motions—facial expressions, gestures—commonly known as body language.

Descriptive Gesture

Kinesic movement that visually represents or clarifies spoken content.

Emphatic Gesture

Movement expressing emotion, such as clenched fists to show anger.

Suggestive Gesture

Symbolic movement conveying ideas or moods (e.g., open palm to suggest offering).

Prompting Gesture

Gesture used to elicit a specific audience response (e.g., raising a hand to encourage participation).

Haptics

Study of touch as communication (handshakes, high-fives, pats).

Vocalics

Nonverbal use of voice qualities—pitch, tone, volume, rate—to convey emotion and meaning.

Proxemics

Study of how people use and perceive physical space to achieve communication goals.

Effective Communication

Occurs when the sender delivers a clear message and the listener understands it as intended.

Avoiding Miscommunication

Strategies: never assume clarity, avoid unexplained silence, control emotional outbursts, maintain eye contact, use appropriate tone.

Listening and Responding Skill

Preparing, clarifying, acknowledging, maintaining posture, and using eye contact to understand and reply.

Conversation Skills

Ability to initiate (‘break the ice’) and sustain informal dialogue between two or more people.

Assertiveness Skills

Expressing ideas and feelings confidently without infringing on others’ rights.