Communication Skills Glossary

Communication Skills Glossary / Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science *NOT FINISHED*

Ambiguous – a disconfirming response with more than one meaning, leaving the other party

unsure of the responder's position

Articulation – the process correctly pronouncing all the necessary parts of a word

Ambushing – a style in which the receiver listens carefully to gather information to use in an attack on the speaker

Artifact – a simple object or ornament representing significant cultural meaning.

Attending – the process of focusing on certain stimuli from the environment.

Channel – the medium through which a message passes from sender to receiver.

Climate – The emotional tone of a relationship as it is expressed in the messages that the partners send and receive.

Communication – the process of human beings responding to verbal/nonverbal behavior. A human survival skill

needed to maintain contact with the world.

Concise – to be clear and brief.

Connotation – the emotional associations of a term.

Consensus – agreement between group members about a decision.

Credibility – the believability of a speaker or other source of information.

Chronemics – the study of how humans use and structure time.

Conversation narcissist – one who turns the attention of the conversation to themselves.

Critical listening – listening in which the goal is to evaluate the quality or accuracy of the speaker’s remarks

Debilitative apprehension – an intense level of anxiety about speaking before an audience resulting in poor

performance.

Defensive listening – taking innocent comments as personal attacks.

Denotation – the objective, emotion-free meaning of a term.

Emotional Intelligence – refers to an assortment of noncognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that

influence a person’s ability to successfully cope with environmental demands and pressures

Empathy (Wolfelt) – the ability to perceive another’s experience and communicate that perception back to the

person.

Empathetic listening – listening in which the goal is to help the speaker solve a problem.

Environment – physical location and personal history surrounding the communication.

Equivocal terms – words that have more than one dictionary meaning.

Euphemism – a pleasant term substituted for a more direct, less pleasant term.

Evaluative listening

Listening in which the goal is to judge the quality or accuracy of speaker's remarks

Extemporaneous speech

A speech planned in advance but presented in a direct, conversational manner

Facilitative apprehension

A moderate level of anxiety about speaking before an audience that helps improve the speaker’s performance

Faulty assumption

Incorrect assumptions that lead us to believe that we have heard the message before or that the message is too simple or too complex to understand

Feedback

The discernible response of the receiver

Haptics

How touch effects the communication process

Impromptu

A speech given without preparation

Informational listening

Listening to understand another person or idea

Insensitive listening

The failure to recognize the thoughts or feelings that are not directly expressed by a speaker, and instead accepting the speaker’s words at face value

Insulated listening

A style in which the receiver ignores undesirable information

Interpersonal communication

Communication in which the parties involved consider one another as unique individuals

Intrapersonal communication

Communicating with oneself

Jargon

Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand

Kinesics

The study of body movement, gestures, and posture

Manuscript speech

A speech that is read word-for-word from a prepared text

Mass Communication

The transmission of messages to large, usually widespread audiences via broadcast means

Memorized speech

A speech that is learned and delivered by rote without a written text

Message

A speaker's words and actions

Message overload

Excessive written or verbal information

Monochronic

A nonverbal means of communication that emphasizes punctuality in beginning and completing a task

Noise

A force that interferes with the process of communication

Pitch

The highness or lowness of one's voice

Polychronic

A nonverbal means of communication that emphasizes flexibility in beginning and completing tasks

Proxemics

The study of how people and animals use space

Pseudolistening

Giving the appearance of listening

Rate

The speed at which one speaks

Receiver

Decodes the message

Relative terms

Words that gain their meaning through comparison

Selective listening

A listening style in which the receiver responds only to messages that interest him or her

Self-concept

The relatively stable set of perceptions each individual holds of himself or herself

Self-disclosure

The process of deliberately revealing information about oneself that is significant and that would not normally be known by others

Self-esteem

The degree of regard a person holds for himself

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A prediction or expectation of an event that makes the outcome more likely to occur than would otherwise

Semantics

The study of meaning of words and phrases in language

Sender

Encodes and delivers the message

Slang

A type of language that consists of words or phrases that are informal

Soft skills

Personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people

Syntax

The arrangement of words in a sentence

Thematic

A complete sentence describing the central idea of a speech, usually found in the first paragraph

Tone

The quality of one’s voice

Volume

The loudness of one's voice