Introduction to Public Speaking and Communication Studies Flashcards

These vocabulary flashcards cover key terms, historical figures, communication models, and public speaking techniques discussed in the lecture notes.

Sojourner Truth

A former slave and activist who delivered the powerful “Ain’t I A Woman” speech at the 1851 National Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

Communication Studies

An academic discipline that examines the way human beings use words, body language, and countless other forms of symbolic expression.

Communication

An interactive process of sharing symbols in order to construct meaning.

Extrapersonal Communication

Communication that occurs with animals.

Intrapersonal Communication

Communication that occurs with oneself.

Symbol

Anything that stands for something else; in speech, these can be verbal, like words, or nonverbal, like gestures.

Sender

The person who originates the message or the content of the communication.

Encoding

The process of formatting a message in a way that conveys meaning, such as through tone or facial expressions.

Channel

The way or medium through which a message is conveyed between participants, such as television, radio, or live stream.

Receiver

The recipient of the message who decodes the content for interpretation.

Decoding

The process of breaking down a message's content and determining how it is understood.

Feedback

The receiver’s response to a message, which demonstrates the interactive process of communication.

Interference

Factors that get in the way of or change the intended message in the communication process.

Context

The environment in which communication occurs, including time, location, recent events, and participant relationships.

Transactional Model of Communication

A model proposed by Dean Barnlund in 1970 stating that the sending and receiving of messages happens simultaneously between people.

Public Speaking

A type of communication that occurs when one person speaks face-to-face with an audience.

Corax

A Greek man who, in the 5th century B.C., published the first book designed to educate students in the art of public speaking.

Griot

A West African public storyteller who remembers and records history through speeches.

Forensics

Another name for competitive speech and debate.

Communication Apprehension

The individual level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons.

Trait Apprehension

A form of stage fright where individuals are nervous in many types of situations and are often identified as shy.

State Apprehension

A form of stage fright where individuals are only nervous immediately before and sometimes during a speech.

Fight or Flight Reaction

A physiological response involving increased heart rate and muscle tension caused by the release of adrenaline in stressful situations.

Visualization

A mental exercise in which you picture yourself performing a task successfully before you attempt it.

Credibility

The perceived authority that a speaker has to speak about their topic.

Primacy Effect

The phenomenon where the brain recalls things that occur at the beginning of a presentation more easily.

Recency Effect

The phenomenon where the brain recalls things that occur at the ending of a presentation more easily.

Cliché

A phrase that has lost its meaning from overuse, such as saying “thank you” at the end of a speech.

Speaker’s Stance

A solid posture where legs are shoulder-width apart, feet are firmly planted, and weight is evenly distributed.

Purposeful Movement

Intentional gestures and transitional walking used to enhance a speech rather than distract the audience.

Hearing

The natural, involuntary, physiological, and passive process of taking in sounds and filtering them through the ear.

Selection

The second stage of listening where individuals choose certain messages to focus on and disregard others.

Message Overload

A listening obstacle that occurs when the brain has reached its limit of information, such as too many complicated statistics.

Interpretation

The stage of listening where listeners assign meaning to and begin to understand a speaker’s message through their own life experiences.

Gullible Listening

Accepting information at face value without applying critical thinking to what has been said.

Pseudo-listening

Also known as fake listening; a behavior where an audience member uses cues like nodding and smiling to give the impression of listening.

Passive Listening

Listening without being engaged, which results in few benefits for learning or growth.

Active Listening

Listening that is engaged and interactive, involving both physical and mental participation.

Specific Purpose

A detailed statement of what will be accomplished in a speech, combining the speech goal, the audience, and a precise description.

Topic Revelation Statement (TRS)

A summary sentence explained in the introduction that alerts the audience to the specific content and urgency of the topic.

Audience Analysis

The process of acquiring as much information as possible about an anticipated audience before a speech.

Demographics

Statistical characteristics of human populations, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Homogeneity

The relative similarity among a group of people or items.

Stereotype

An oversimplified picture of people different from us, particularly those from another group, race, or culture.

Research

The process of reviewing published materials, conducting interviews, or performing field research in a subject area.

Support

The information pulled from research sources used in a speech to clarify or reinforce claims.

Denotative Definition

The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Lay Testimony

The use of direct quotations or paraphrased words from average people rather than specialists.

Expert Testimony

The use of direct quotations or paraphrased words from a specialist in a specific field to prove a point.

Literal Comparison

A comparison describing actual similarities between concepts that share physical or observable characteristics.

Figurative Comparison

Relating objects or ideas that appear to have nothing in common, often using similes or metaphors.

Boolean Search Terms

Connecting words such as “AND,” “OR,” and “NOT” used to narrow or expand search results in databases.

Plagiarism

Intellectual fraud involving representing someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own.