CMS 306M Exam #2

Benefits of a well-constructed speech

Clarifies your message

Ensures the audience understands your meaning

Thesis Statement

The argument that you want your audience to agree with by the end of the speech

Rules of developing your main points

Rule 1: Don’t overlap your main points

Rule 2: Create feasible main points

Rule 3: Create main points that are equal/similar in scope

Rule 4: The Order of your main points matters

Role of a strong introduction

Captures the attention of the audience (attention getter)

Establishes why the topic matters to the audience and why they should listen (relevance)

Say what makes you an authority to the topic (credibility)

Identifies the main idea and previews what is covered (thesis)

Role of a strong conclusion

Reviews the thesis and main points

Reminds the audience why what was said matters or why they should take action (reminder of relevance)

End speech with a memorable final statement that refers back to the attention getter (conclusion statement)

Internal Previews (Transition)

Statements that tell your audience what will come next

Internal Summaries (Transition)

Statements that recap what was covered previously

Signposts (Transition)

Markers that clue the listeners to the speech’s organization

What function do transitions serve?

Words, phrases, or nonverbal cues indicate the movement from one idea to another (eg., first, secondly, additionally, next, last, finally)

What are strategies to deliver a strong speech?

Capture the audience’s attention (what can you do to draw in the audience?).

Show your audience the relevance of the topic (why they should listen to the topic).

Establish your credibility (why they should listen to you).

Have a strong thesis statement (declare what you want to convey in a single, full sentence).

Preview and review your main points (tell the audience what you want to talk about in the introduction and restate what you have just said in the conclusion).

Chronological (Organizational Pattern)

Used to describe a process or event step by step, or speeches that present the history of something.

(Informative: how to cook eggs)

Step 1 – prep the pan

Step 2 – crack the egg

Step 3 – fry it

Spatial (Organizational Pattern)

Details are arranged according to their position in space/geographical location, or direction, often used for descriptions.

(Informative: understanding Austin)

Region 1 – North Austin

Region 2 – Central Austin

Region 3 – South Austin

Topical (Organizational Pattern)

Main points divide topic into logical and consistent subtopics.

(Persuasive: harmful effects of cellphones)

Topic 1 – environmental impact

Topic 2 – physical effect

Topic 3 – psychological impact

Familiarity/Acceptance (Organizational Pattern)

(Persuasive: Bush is the best president)

Familiarity – what are the criteria that make a president best

Acceptance – how the object/subject (Bush) of our argument fulfills those criteria

Problem, Cause, Solution (Organizational Pattern)

Problem – Irregular sleeping

Cause – TV before bed

Solution – disengage from tech before bed

Elimination (Organizational Pattern)

(Persuasive: wind-generated energy is the best)

What are our options – available energy sources

How the other options do – current options that do not meet standards

Why my solution does better than the rest – wind-generated energy meets these needs better than other sources

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence (Organizational Pattern)

(Persuasive: make an appointment for counselling)

Attention – stress is a problem

Need – it could hurt well-being

Satisfaction – counselling can save

Visualization – if unchecked stress increases health risks

Call to action – make an appointment with CMCH

Refutation (Organizational Pattern)

(Persuasive: the ignition interlock system is the best deterrent)

Objection 1 – ignition interlock system is expensive – refute

Objection 2 – the device is ineffective – refute

Objection 3 – mandating the device is too harsh of a punishment – refute

Mediated Communication

Any communication that takes place through technology

Asynchronous Communication

communication that allows senders to create a message that is stored until the receiver retrieves it, does not occur in real time (ex., texting, email, message boards).

the receiver does not need to simultaneously use the same technology as you.

Synchronous Communication

communication where interactants send and receive messages in real time (ex., texting, video chat, online gaming).

both participants are actively communicating with each other at the same time.

Sharing and Permanence

Once you send a message, you may not maintain control over it, even if you think your account is secure and private (ex., webpages that have been erased for years can be found on sites like the Internet Archive).

Low Cues - how can we compensate for them?

Lacking the nonverbal information of a face-to-face conversation, potentially hinders effective communication. Mediated technology has low cues because it is missing a person’s accent, tone, posture, and attire, making the message difficult to interpret and get across.

In a Zoom setting, for instance, users should participate by turning on their camera, using reaction emojis, typing messages in a chat, and setting a profile photo

Multicommunication - Benefits and Drawbacks

Practice of juggling multiple, overlapping conversations in a neat, simultaneous manner

Benefits: allows for multiple conversations over a shorter period, boosts connections, and is efficient and productive.

Drawbacks: dividing your attention over multiple conversations, being distracted, and an increased chance of making errors.

When are visual aids important and appropriate?

Keeps your audience interested, stimulates the retention of information, assists you as a speaker to explain complex ideas, and bolsters credibility.

Make sure it supports or complements the words you are saying.

Types of visual aids

objects (e.g., a toy cat), visual representations (e.g., map), numerical clarifiers (e.g., a graph)

Rules for using visual aids effectively

Rule 1: Create consistent “look and feel.” (Design a visual interrelation)

Rule 2: Design for high contrast (Use light-colored text on dark backgrounds and vice versa)

Rule 3: Design text for readability (Sans Serifs are usually clear to see and read on screen, and font size matters)

What does it mean when the audience and speaker are “co-located”?

Communicators who are in the same physical proximity (such as the same room).

Fully Virtual (Mediated Presentation)

a presentation where the speaker and every member of the audience are tuned in virtually

The presenter will want to know how many people are in the meeting and if you will be able to see everyone in the meeting on one screen or not.

Because you may not get the chance to “mingle” with the audience beforehand, meaning you have to perform audience analysis ahead of time.

Virtual Speaker (Mediated Presentation)

A hybrid presentation where the speaker is presenting virtually to an audience of people who are co-located.

You must consider how your visual aid will look on the screen in the room vs. on each person’s computer.

Consider the need to project your voice because your audience is hearing it from a central speaker rather than individual speakers/headphones.

Broadcast (Mediated Presentation)

a hybrid presentation where the speaker and some of the audience are co-located, and the presentation is simulcast on television or online.

Consider whether you will be in charge of managing the virtual audience. If so, think about how to position the camera and microphone.

Do not stray far from the microphone or camera. Ensure you know how to manage your slides for both the virtual and live audience.

Things you should keep in mind when preparing an online presentation

Minimize potential interruptions (e.g., post a door sign)

Plan out your background and setting. Your background communicates something about you during your presentation.

Test your equipment (e.g., camera/microphone, internet).

Framing (e.g., speaker is not too close or far away from the camera; not looking down or up) and lighting.

Put your notes on the right part of your screen

Practice presenting as if it were the real thing (record your practice presentation to watch back on your own before recording the final one.)

Ditch the pajamas. You want your audience to take you seriously. Wear something you’d wear when giving an in-person presentation. Getting dressed can boost your confidence and motivation, and it creates the best mindset.

Strategies to make an online speech more effective

Draw your audience in (e.g., tell a story)

Verbal communication skills (e.g., leave small pauses)

Use captions. Even if you are speaking clearly, your audience may sometimes still have trouble understanding you.

Nonverbal communication skills. They help convey emotions, which increases your engagement with other participants around.

Use the chat feature (questions, feedback, reactions and emojis)

Argumentation

the process by which critical reasoning is structured and applied to attempts to persuade others of a claim

Aristotle’s Syllogism and Enthymeme (Models of Argumentation)

Inductive reasoning: an argument that begins with a specific observation that is applied to a generalized claim.

Deductive reasoning: begins with a generalized statement and narrows down to a particular claim.

Syllogism: certain premises, or statements presumed to be true, build or follow one another to a logical claim or conclusion.

Major Premise: All men are mortal

Minor Premise: Socrates is a man

Conclusion: Socrates is mortal

Enthymeme

When one of the premises is missing

Major Premise: Socrates is a man

Conclusion: Socrates is mortal

The Toulmin Model of Argumentation (Models of Argumentation)

Claim: speaker’s position (ex., LeBron is the best basketball player ever)

Data: evidence for claim (ex., He has scored more playoff points than any other player in NBA history)

Warrant: link between claim and data (ex., the NBA playoffs feature the best players, so scoring the most points against them means they are the best of the best)

Narrative Argumentation (Models of Argumentation)

Human beings are at their most persuasive when they tell stories. The stories we tell can be just as effective in persuading our audiences as other forms of argumentation.

Narrative

“symbolic actions, words and/or deeds that have a sequence of meaning for those who interpret them”

Narrative coherence

Understanding how well the story fits together and makes sense (ex., a story about a vacation to Florida mentioned snowboarding).

Narrative fidelity

Judgment of how the story fits with our own beliefs and experiences (ex., the thoughts that go through our head when a movie character does something dumb).

Definition (Six Types of Evidence)

Establishes the meaning of a term/phrase.

Denotation: literal meaning

Connotation: meaning based on individual association

Descriptions (Six Types of Evidence)

Statement that provides details for your idea, emphasizing qualities

Pictorial Descriptions: create a mental picture of your subject

Objective Descriptions: litanies of facts relating to your subject

Explanations (Six Types of Evidence)

Address the concept of how or why it occurs

Comparison: describes the concept as compared to another

Division: breakdown of a subject into smaller parts

Interpretation: offers a substantive analysis

Statistics (Six Types of Evidence)

Numerical data

Descriptive Statistics: presents data about your subject by representing it in quantitative terms

Inferential Statistics: provides support that leads to a claim that goes beyond the evidence collected.

Examples (Six Types of Evidence)

Illustrates a particular instance of your subject

Factual: Illustrates a real person, object, or event

Hypothetical: creates an imaginary situation

Testimony (Six Types of Evidence)

Firsthand authentication of fact or evidence. Shows how another person’s understanding of a subject is similar to your own to build credibility.

Authoritative Testimony: statements given by a credible authority or expert

Lay Testimony: recalls the experience of someone who has had some personal involvement

Nominal Testimony: a general statement made by a well-known person

Begging the question (ten fallacies)

Circular reasoning (ex., snakes make great pets; that’s why we should get a snake.)

Straw Person Fallacy (ten fallacies)

Distorted or exaggerated claims (ex., freshmen should be required to live on campus. My opponent wants to force students to bankrupt themselves.)

Slippery Slope (ten fallacies)

Stretching the original argument to its most absurd conclusion (ex., If I don’t pass this exam, it will affect my GPA, which will impact my chances of going to college.)

Appeal to Authority (ten fallacies)

Occurs when someone accepts a claim as true solely because of an authority figure (ex., even if our sales go down, we should still push forward because the CEO said so.)

Appeal to Tradition (ten fallacies)

Relies on past events or actions as reason to continue to repeat a behavior (ex., my family has attended UT for college, so I must attend school there.)

Hasty Generalization (ten fallacies)

Uses one/small example as evidence for the whole (ex. I saw your grandmother playing video games. Wow, all grandmothers love video games.)

Sequential/Post Hoc (ten fallacies)

Argues that when things happen in sequence, they are causally related (ex., I walked by dog this morning, so I will get an A on this test.)

False Dilemma (ten fallacies)

An argument in which an audience is presented with only two alternatives, despite there being other options (ex., since there is nothing good on TV, I will go online shopping.)

Non Sequitur (ten fallacies)

Occurs when a conclusion does not follow from the premise stated before it (ex., a candidate is flip-flopping on issues, but justifies his political steadiness through his marriage.)

Name-Calling/Ad Hominen

Name-calling to discredit your opponent’s position (ex., it’s hard to take your claim seriously because you spend your days playing video games.)

Extemporaneous (Modes of Delivery)

The speaker focuses on talking directly to the audience, with minimum reference to notes or an outline.

Most common, thoroughly researched and prepared for the speaker. It may change depending on how the audience responds to the message.

Impromptu (Modes of Delivery)

Most of the communication situations do not involve formal preparation. Adapt and improvise as we speak, with little or no preparation, and must deliver a speech on the spot.

Manuscript (Modes of Delivery)

Read from a script (ex., president’s resignation).

It is important to have a manuscript when the speaker must convey their message carefully and avoid their words being misinterpreted or exercise a high degree of control.

Memorized (Modes of Delivery)

Committed every word to memory (ex., a wedding toast).

Benefits: natural sounding and less formal.

Challenges: can sound robotic, monotone, or overly rehearsed. It may be difficult to manage distractions and pick back up.

Pitch (Vocalics)

How high/deep the voice sounds (ex., your voice getting higher at the end of a question).

Inflection (Vocalics)

How vocal pitch moves up or down

Rate (Vocalics)

Speed, pace, or tempo of a speaker’s delivery (ex., talking faster when delivering a public speech).

Articulation (Vocalics)

Saying each syllable of each word clearly and distinctly (ex., ensuring clarity for audiences from various backgrounds).

Fluency (Vocalics)

Fluidity, or flow, of speech (ex., President Obama including gestures to his audience to quiet them down).

Pauses (Vocalics)

Silence within a speaker’s delivery (ex., pausing after announcing a major company initiative as the audience can applaud.)

Kinesics

Body language, most body language is unconscious and naturally occurring, makes it tricky as a tool of professional communication.

Eye Gaze (Kinesics)

Looking directly into the eyes of audience members can play a huge role in helping the audience feel connected and open to the message.

Facial Expressions (Kinesics)

Used to signal emotions to others and communicate how the audience should feel about the speaker’s message.

Can enhance meaning, add emphasis, or communicate without words.

Body Postures (Kinesics)

Can send a strong message to the audience about your confidence, competence, and passion for your speech.

Gestures (Kinesics)

Movements of the hands, arms, and head that enhance meaning or emphasize a message

Emblematic Gestures: a motion with the hands that can be understood to have a verbal meaning (ex., “Hook ‘em horns” sign).

Illustrative Gesture: a gesture that is not easily or directly translated but can still aid the speaker in enhancing the meaning of their words (ex., stretching your arms to represent love).

Appearance and Attire (Kinesics)

An important part of your delivery. Your audience will make assumptions about the speaker and their message based on your appearance

Why should we use rhetorical devices?

Makes a speech sound better, adds meaning through specific language, and makes the speech more memorable.

Metaphors (Rhetorical Device)

A comparison is made by speaking one thing in terms of another

“Life is a highway”

Adynation (Rhetorical Device)

A form of hyperbole in which an exaggeration is taken to a ridiculous and literally impossible extreme.

“We died laughing”

Anthypophora (Rhetorical Device)

When you pose a question for dramatic effect and then immediately answer it yourself

“Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children safe from harm?” Not really.”

Anthimeria (Rhetorical Device)

An existing device in which an existing word is used as if it were a different part of speech.

“DMed something”

Aposiopesis (Rhetorical Device)

An idea is left unsaid or an incomplete sentence purely for empathic effect.

“I will have such revenges on you both that all the world shall—I will do such things—what they are yet, I know not, but they shall be the terrors of the earth!”

Asterismos (Rhetorical Device)

The use of a seemingly unnecessary word or phrase to introduce what you’re about to say.

“Right”, “okay”, “here goes”

Asyndeton (Rhetorical Device)

Deliberately leaving out conjunctions between successive clauses

“We got there, the weather was bad, we didn’t stay long, we go back in the car, we came home, and end of story”

Polysendeton (Rhetorical Device)

When you add more conjunctions to a phrase or clause than are strictly necessary, often with the effect of intentionally dragging it out.

“We ate and drank and talked and laughed and talked and laughed and ate some more.”

Synechoche (Rhetorical Device)

A part or component of something is used to represent that whole.

“Hollywood”

Chiasmus (Rhetorical Device)

Reversing the grammatical structure in successive phrases, or repeating the same idea in reverse order.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Epistrophe (Rhetorical Device)

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

Anastrophe (Rhetorical Device)

Changing the syntax (or structure) of the sentence by speaking in a grammatically unusual order.

“Into the night went she, silent and alone”

Persuasion & Ethics

The process of influence

The ability to persuade can be employed for inhumane purposes. Persuasion, in the wrong hands, can result in suppression and horrific violence.

Quintilian (Three Ethical Stances)

1.     The speech is appropriate for the occasion

2.     The speaker lives the actions they advocate

Martin Buber (Three Ethical Stances)

“I-Thou” relationship

Developing and delivering your speech with the audience’s best interests in mind. The speaker develops a relationship with the audience.

The speaker is speaking to the audience, not with them, not conversational.

John Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance (Three Ethical Stances)

Means of “shielding” your eyes from the things that might bias you against an argument (eg., race, gender, religion).

They can hear the speaker for what they are really saying. They can see beyond any parts of the speaker’s identity that they might have a bias toward.

Attitudes (Theories of Motivation)

Feelings you have toward something, or likes and dislikes (ex., I get so bored reading history).

Beliefs (Theories of Motivation)

Involve one's convictions as to what is true or false (ex., studying history will not help you land a tech job).

Values (Theories of Motivation)

Represent people’s concept of what is right or worthwhile. Ascertain whether something is fundamentally good or bad (ex., the study of history is useless).

Actions (Theories of Motivation)

What you want your audience to do (ex., skipping history class).

Cognitive Dissonance

The noxious feeling we experience (dissonance) when our attitudes and actions conflict with each other.

We will change one of them to establish consistency.

Five Behavioral Reactions to Cognitive Dissonance

1. Discredit the source of the information, causing dissonance

2. Reject or deny that the new action or information creates any personal inconsistency

3. Seek new information about the source of the inconsistency

4. Stop listening to the source that is giving divergent information

5. Change your values, beliefs, or attitudes to achieve consistency among them

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow believes that people are motivated to act because they yearn to fulfill an unsatisfied need (physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization).

Seven Principles of Persuasion

1.     Reciprocation (returning the favor—an unwritten social code)

2.     Commitment and consistency (if you can have them commit, they are more likely to keep it)

3.     Social proof (if others have done it, we tend to follow)

4.     Liking (if you like a person, you are more likely to say “yes” to their request)

5.     Authority (“The very name of the university gives you authority when you apply for internships or jobs”)

6.     Scarcity (“get it while supplies last”; “you only have four years in college”)

7.     Unity (being a Longhorn)