Public Speaking Vocabulary

Flashcards of vocabulary terms and definitions from the lecture notes on public speaking, covering topics such as communication models, benefits of public speaking, speech preparation, ethics, and audience analysis.

Channel

The means through which the message travels.

Communicator

The people in the interaction or speech setting who encode and decode messages simultaneously.

Decoding

The process of listening to words and interpreting the words so they are associated with a mental image.

Encoding

The process of taking a mental image, associating the image with words, and then speaking those words.

Message

The words, nonverbal behavior, or other signals transmitted from one person to another.

Noise

Anything that interferes with the message transmission or the encoding and decoding process.

Worldview

The overall framework through which an individual sees, thinks about, and interprets the world and interacts with it.

Abstract Word

Words that refer to ideas or concepts that are removed from material reality.

Concrete Word

A word that describes a tangible object that can be perceived through the senses.

Axiology

A part of worldview; refers to an individual or group's value system.

Context

The communication rules that govern different physical settings and/or different types of relationships.

Cosmology

A part of worldview; refers to the way individuals and groups see themselves in relation to other people and their view of their place in the universe.

Cultural Noise

Differences in worldview that cause message interference.

Epistemology

A part of worldview; refers to the way an individual or group acquires knowledge or what counts as knowledge.

Psychological Noise

Message interference that results from disturbed or excited mental states.

Physiological Noise

Message interference that results from bodily discomfort.

Physical Noise

Message interference that results when the noise level (as measured in decibels) makes it difficult to hear a message.

Public Speaking

A formal speech given in front of an audience.

Ontology

A part of worldview; refers to an individual’s or group’s belief system.

Praxeology

A part of worldview; refers to the way an individual or group goes about tasks or solving problems.

Nonverbal Behavior

All of the messages we send except for the words we say.

Norms

The verbal and nonverbal rules (usually unspoken) that govern communicative behavior.

Sophists

5th century B.C. Greek philosophers and teachers who speculated on theology, metaphysics, and the sciences, and who were characterized by Plato as superficial manipulators of rhetoric and dialectic

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the faculty of discovering in the particular case all the available means of persuasion.

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus

Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, also referred to as Quintilian, was a celebrated orator, rhetorician, Latin teacher and writer who promoted rhetorical theory from ancient Greece and from the height of Roman rhetoric.

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero is considered to be the greatest of the Roman orators, and was, among other things, a lawyer, politician, and philosopher.

Atticism

That which is characterized by conciseness and elegance.

Dialectic

A philosophical approach to problem solving

Pericles

Responsible for the installation of a pure democracy to maintain popular support, a liberalized judicial system to include poor citizens so that they could serve on juries, and the establishment of a popular legislative assembly to review annually all laws.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine had been a teacher of rhetoric before converting to Christianity in 386, and is considered to be the only major thinker on rhetoric associated with the Middle Ages.

Renaissance

The Renaissance is the name of the great intellectual and cultural movement of the revival of interest in classical culture that occurred in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

René Descartes

René Descartes is one of the most important Western philosophers of the past few centuries. He was also an original physicist, physiologist and mathematician who attempted to restart philosophy in a fresh direction.

Oratory

The ability to speak with rhetorical skill and eloquence.

Syllogism

A deductive form of argument, proceeding from a generalization to a specific application. It is a systematic arrangement of arguments consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

Elocutionary Movement

Elocutionary Movement is a movement that focused primarily on delivery. It not only involved the voice, but also incorporated the entire person with facial expressions, gesture, posture and movement.

Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge.

Philosophical Relativism

Philosophical relativism is the concept that points of philosophical views have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative subjective value according to differences in perception and thought.

Zeno of Elea

Zeno of Elea was a 5th century B.C. Greek mathematician and philosopher of the Eleatic school who is considered to be the inventor of dialectical reasoning.

Draco

In 621 B.C., the citizens of Athens commissioned Draco, an elder citizen considered to be the wisest of the Greeks, to codify the laws, which had remained an oral form of custom and tradition. He began the tradition of law, where cases were decided on clearly enunciated crimes and penalties determined by statute rather than by the whims of the nobility. His laws helped constitute a surge in Athenian democracy.

Ethical Standards

Rules of acceptable conduct, that when followed, promote values such as trust, good behavior, fairness and/or kindness.

Ethics

The process of determining what is good or bad, right or wrong in a moral dilemma.

Ethical Listener

A listener who actively interprets shared material and analyzes the speech content and speaker’s effectiveness.

Ethical Communication

An exchange of responsible and trustworthy messages determined by our moral principles.

Ethical Communication

An exchange of responsible and trustworthy messages determined by our moral principles.

Plagiarism

When one passes off another’s work as his/her own or neglects to cite a source for his/her information.

Diversity

DiversityDiversity is an appreciation for differences among individuals and groups.

Morality

A moral idea or rule that should be done or followed.

Paraphrase

To re-write, using different words and sentence structure, but retaining the main idea.

Global Plagiarism

When a speaker uses an entire work that is not his/her own.

Hate Language

A speaker uses words or phrases that isolate a particular person or group in a derogatory manner.

Incremental Plagiarism

When most of the speech is the speaker’s original work, but quotes or other information have been used without being cited.

Social Awareness

Appreciation and consideration of differences among the audience

"We” Language

includes the use of pronouns and phrases that unite the speaker to the audience

Patchwork Plagiarism

When a speaker patches together bits and pieces from one or more sources and represents the end result as his or her own.

Constructive Feedback

Focuses on being specific, applicable, immediate, and intends to help the speaker to improve. The feedback should be phrased as “The story you told about you and your sister in Disneyland really helped me to understand your relationship…” rather than “that was great, Jane.”

Demographics

The most recent statistical characteristics of a population. ex. race, religion, gender, ethnicity

Predisposition

To have had previous beliefs or to be used to the same thing

Orator

A well-rounded speaker.

Philosophical Relativism

The belief that truth lies merely in people

Rhetorician

Someone who uses reason to persuade those around.

Persuasion

The intent to get someone to view your belief.

Identification

When a speaker attempts to make a bond between them and the audience

Quantitative Analysis

Data collecting for the reasons of numbers or analytics

Sociographics

Those aspects of a populus that share likeness.

Affiliation

To be in agreement to the social norm

Listening

The process of interpreting, or making sense of, sounds.

Listening Reminder

A note made by a listener acknowledging intent to focus on the speaker’s message and tune out distractions.

Paralinguistic

A signal to show empathy without directly being the speaker.

Pacing

A time period that allows for proper thinking.

Persuasion

Looking to bring interest though personal ways, and not just knowledge