Public Speaking Midtern

Communication Apprehension

fear or anxiety associated with actual or anticipated communication with others. (Trait, Context, Situational, Audience Anxiety)

Trait Anxiety

general tendency to feel communication anxiety across situations

Audience Anxiety

anxiety caused by who you’re speaking to

Situational Anxiety

anxiety caused by the specific circumstances of one event

Context Anxiety

anxiety tied to a type of communication, like public speaking

Sympathetic listening

Listening supportively and trying to understand the speaker rather than focusing on judging their mistakes.

Illusion of Transparency

The tendency to think other people can see your nervousness more clearly than they actually can.

Cognitive restructuring

Replacing negative or irrational thoughts about speaking with more realistic, constructive thoughts.

Positive self-talk

Using encouraging internal statements to increase confidence and reduce anxiety.

Visualization

Imagining yourself successfully giving the speech

Systematic desensitization

Gradually exposing yourself to increasingly stressful speaking situations to reduce anxiety over time.

Postural feedback / power posing

The idea that adopting confident, expansive body postures may influence how confident or powerful you feel. Strong claims about major hormonal/biological effects are not well supported by later research.

Informative speaking strategy

A method for organizing and presenting information so the audience can understand and remember it.

Echo chamber

An environment where people mostly encounter ideas that reinforce what they already believe.

Information vs. facts

Facts are raw pieces of evidence or data; information is facts that have been organized, interpreted, and given meaning.

Scientism

Treating something as authoritative or unquestionably correct mainly because it sounds scientific.

Pretentious technicality

Using unnecessary jargon or overly complex technical language to sound more intelligent.

Definition

Explains what something is.

Description

Explains what something is like or helps the audience picture it.

Explanation

Shows how or why something works or happens.

Audience-centered speaking

Adapting how you present a message to fit the audience’s needs, knowledge, and interests.

Pandering

Changing what you say just to please the audience or tell them what they want to hear

Common ground

Shared experiences, values, interests, or beliefs between speaker and audience.

Stereotypes / “-isms”

Oversimplified assumptions or biased judgments about groups of people.

Demographic information

Observable/background traits such as age, education, occupation, or cultural background.

Psychographic information

Audience attitudes, beliefs, values, interests, and opinions.

Direct observation

Learning about an audience by watching their behavior or characteristics.

Ways to understand your audience:

Polling the audience: Asking the audience quick questions to learn about them or their views. Surveys: Using structured questions to collect information from multiple audience members. Interviews: Asking individuals more detailed questions to learn about their experiences or opinions.

Positionality / frame of reference

The background, experiences, identity, and beliefs that shape how someone interprets a message.

Linear organization

Arranging a speech so ideas progress in a clear, logical sequence from one point to the next.

Coordinate ideas

same level of importance in an outline

subordinate ideas

Supporting ideas placed under a broader main idea.

Discreteness

Each main point should express a separate, distinct idea.

Succinctness

Main points should be brief and concise.

Coherence

Main points should logically connect to the thesis and to each other.

Parallelism

Main points should use a similar grammatical structure.

Topical order

Organizes main points by categories or subtopics.

Chronological order

Organizes main points by time or sequence of events.

Spatial order

Organizes main points by physical location or position.

Inverted pyramid

Organizes information from most important to least important; common in journalism, but weaker for speeches because listeners benefit from a more developed logical progression.

Preparation outline

Detailed, full-sentence outline used to develop and organize the speech.

Presentation outline

Shortened speaking notes used while actually delivering the speech.

Set-up

Introduce the source/context before giving the information.

Execution

State the sourced information itself.

Analysis

Explain why the sourced information matters.

1:1 correspondence:

Information cited in the outline should generally also be orally cited when used in the speech.

Ethos

Appeal based on credibility or character

Logos

Appeal based on logic and reasoning.

Pathos:

Appeal based on emotion.

Signposts:

Verbal cues that show where the speech is going or when it changes direction.

Serial position effect

People tend to remember the beginning and end of a message best.

Primacy effect:

Better memory for information at the beginning.

Recency effect

Better memory for information at the end.

Voice image:

The impression listeners form of you based on how your voice sounds.

Style:

The distinctive way a speaker uses language and delivers a message.

Vocal variety:

Changes in volume, pitch, and inflection that keep speech expressive.

Pitch:

How high or low your voice sounds.

Inflection:

Changes in pitch or emphasis that add meaning and expression.

Articulation:

Clearly producing speech sounds and words.

Darting:

Making quick, sudden, unnecessary movements while speaking.

Meandering:

Wandering around the speaking area without a clear purpose.

Fidgeting:

Repetitive nervous movements, like tapping or playing with an object.

Manuscript delivery:

Reading a fully written speech word-for-word.

Memorized delivery:

Delivering a speech from memory.

Rhetorical situation:

The circumstances surrounding a message that create or shape the need for communication.

Exigence:

A problem or situation that calls for a rhetorical response; associated with Bitzer.

Salience:

Importance or prominence created by selecting and emphasizing certain issues; associated with Vatz.