Public Speaking Exam

Communication

the process of acting on information

Human Communication

the process of making sense out of the world and sharing that sense with others by creating meaning through verbal and nonverbal messages

Communication Models

Visual depictions or descriptions of the major elements included in the communication process

components of communication models

• source

• encoding

• message

• channel

• receiver

• decoding

• frame of reference

• feedback

• noise

source

the originator of thought or emotion who puts it into a code that can be understood by a receiver

encoding

the processes of translating ideas, feelings and thoughts into a code

Decoding

the process of interpreting ideas, feelings, and thoughts that have been translated into code

message

written, spoken, and unspoken elements of communication to which people assign meaning

channel

pathway through which messages are sent

receiver

the person who receives a message and then interprets it

noise

Interference, either literal or psychological, that hinders the accurate encoding or decoding of a message.

feedback

the response to a message

five characteristics of communication

inescapable, irreversible, complicated, emphasizes content and relationships, governed by rules

five fundamental principles of communication

1. Be aware of your communication with yourself and others

2. Effectively use and interpret verbal messages

3. Effectively use and interpret nonverbal messages

4. Listen and respond thoughtfully to others

5. Appropriately adapt messages to others

interpersonal communication

communication between two people who attempt to mutually influence each other, usually for the purpose of managing relationships

impersonal communication

Communication that treats people as objects or that responds only to their roles rather than to who they are as unique people.

small group communication

The transactive process of creating meaning among three to about fifteen people who share a common purpose, feel a sense of belonging to the group, and exert influence on one another.

presentational communication

Communication that occurs when a speaker addresses a gathering of people to inform, persuade, or entertain them.

organizational communication

the study of human communication as it occurs within organizations

Health Communication

the study of communication that has an effect on human health

self-awareness

the ability to see and reflect upon one's own state of mind

self-concept

your interior identity or subjective description of who you think you are

self-esteem

Your assessment of your worth or value as reflected in your perception of such things as your skills, abilities, talents, and appearance.

gender

a cultural construction that includes one's biological sex, psychological and emotional characteristics, attitudes about the sexes, and sexual orientation

social comparisons

process of comparing oneself to others to measure one's worth

self-fulfilling prophecy

the notion that predictions about one's future are likely to come true because one believes that they will come true

Maslow's stages of becoming self-aware/competent

1. unconscious incompetence

2. conscious incompetence

3. conscious competence

4. unconscious competence

material self

The element of the self reflected in all the tangible things you own.

social self

Your concept of self as developed through your personal, social interactions with others.

spiritual self

your concept of self based on your beliefs and your sense of who you are in relationship to other forces in the universe; also includes your thoughts and introspections about your values and moral standards

Stages of the Perceptual Process

attention and selection, organization, interpretation, and retrieval

perception

the arousal of any of our senses

attention

the act of perceiving stimuli in your environment

selection

the act of choosing specific stimuli in your environment on which to focus

organization

converting information into convenient, understandable, and efficient patterns that allow us to make sense of what we have observed

interpretation

attaching meaning to what is attended to, selected, and organized

symbols

a word, sound, gesture, or visual image the represents a though, concept, object, or experience

meaning

a person's interpretation of a symbol

connotative meaning

the personal and subjective meaning of a word

dennotative meaning

the restrictive or literal meaning of a word

concrete meaning

meaning that refers to something that can be perceived with one of the senses

abstract meaning

meaning that refers to something that cannot be perceived or experienced with one of the senses

culture bound

The meaning of a word can change from culture to culture

context bound

the situation or context for communication aids people as they attach meanings to symbols

Bypassing

a communication problem that arises when the same words mean different things to different people

Polarization

The tendency to describe things in extremes, as though no middle ground existed.

trigger words

forms of language that arouse strong emotions in listeners

Allness

a word barrier created through the use of language that reflects unqualified, often untrue generalizations that deny individual differences or variations

power of words

Create and label experience.

Communicate feelings.

Affect thoughts and actions.

Shape and reflect culture.

Make and break relationships.

nonverbal communication

communication other than written or spoken language that creates meaning for someone

Nature of nonverbal communication

• culture-bound

• rule-governed

• ambiguous

• continuous

• nonlinguistic

• multi-channeled

perception checking

the skill of asking other observers or the person being observed whether your interpretation of his or her nonverbal behavior is accurate

Codes of nonverbal communication

-appearance

-body movement, gestures, and posture

-eye contact

-facial expressions

-touch

-voice

-physical environment, space, and territory

Kinesics

the study of human body movements, gestures, and posture

Paralanguage

nonverbal aspects of voice such as pitch, rate, volume, or use of silence

mehrabian three part framework

• immediacy

• arousal

• dominance

immediacy

nonverbal behaviors that communicate feelings of liking, pleasure, and closeness

arousal

nonverbal behaviors that communicate feelings of interest and excitement

dominance

nonverbal behaviors that communicate power, status, and control

audience-centered public speaking model

1. Select and narrow topic

2. Determine purpose

3. Develop central idea

4. Generate main ideas

5. Gather supporting material

6. Organize speech

7. Rehearse speech

8. Deliver speech

techniques for overcoming anxiety

Know how to develop a speech

Be prepared

Positive Self talk

Breathing techniques

focus on your audience

focus on your message

Habituation

explore additional resources

general purpose

the broad reason for a speech: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain an audience

specific purpose

a concise statement of what listeners should be able to do by the time the speaker finishes the speech

central idea

a statement that makes a definitive point about your topic

oral citation

the oral presentation of such information about a source as the author, title, and publication date

illustration

a story or anecdote that provides an example of an idea, issue, or problem the speaker is discussing

descriptions

a word picture

explanations

a statement that makes clear how something is done or why it exists in its present or past form

definition

a statement of what something means

analogy

a comparison between two ideas, things, or situations that demonstrate how something unfamiliar is similar to something the audience already understands

statistics

numerical data that summarize examples

opinions

testimonies

topical organization

organization determined by personal preference, recency, primacy, or complexity

chronological organization

organization by time or sequence

spatial organization

organization according to location, position, or direction

cause and effect organization

organization by discussing a situation and its causes, or a situation and its effects

problem and solution organization

organization by discussing first a problem and then various solutions

Specificity

organization from specific information to a more general statement or from a general statement to specific information

soft to hard evidence

from hypothetical illustrations and opinions to facts and statistics

verbal transition

a word or phrase that indicates the relationship between two ideas

nonverbal transition

a facial expression, vocal cue, or physical movement that indicates that a speaker is moving from one idea to the next

Introduction

opening lines of a speech, which must catch the audience's attention, introduce the topic, give the audience a reason to listen, establish the speaker's credibility, state the central idea, and preview the main ideas

conclusion

closing lines of a speech, which must summarize, reemphasize, motivate the audience to respond, and provide closure

preparation outline

a detailed outline developed during the process of speech preparation that includes the title, specific purpose, central idea, introduction, main points, subpoints, connectives, conclusion, and bibliography of a speech

speaking notes

include supporting material, signposts, and delivery cues

manuscript speaking

reading a presentation from a written text

memorized speaking

delivering a speech word for word from memory without using notes

impromptu speaking

delivering a presentation without advance preparation

extemperaneous speaking

delivering a well-developed, well-organized, carefully rehearsed speech without having memorized exact wording

vivid word

a colorful word

simple word

a word known to most people who speak the language

concrete word

a word that appeals to the senses

correct word

a word that means what the speaker intends and is grammatically correct in the phrase or sentence in which it appears

unbiased word

a word that does not stereotype, discriminate against, or insult either gender or any racial, cultural, or religious group

metaphor

an implied comparison between two unlike things

simile

an overt comparison between two things that use the word like or dislike

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

drama

a characteristic of a speech created when something is phrased in a way that differs from the way the audience expects

Parrallelism

using the same grammatical structure for two or more clauses or sentences

Antithesis

using a two part parallel structure in which the second part contrasts in meaning with the first