Key Concepts in Public Speaking and Communication

Stage Fright

Anxiety over the prospect of giving a speech in front of an audience.

Adrenaline

A hormone released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress.

Positive Nervousness

Controlled nervousness that helps energize a speaker for their presentation.

Visualization

Mental imaging in which a speaker vividly pictures themselves giving a successful presentation.

Critical Thinking

Focused, organized thinking about the logical relationships among ideas, the soundness of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion.

Speaker

The person who is presenting an oral message to a listener.

Message

Whatever a speaker communicates to someone else.

Channel

The means by which a message is communicated.

Listener

The person who receives the speaker's message.

Feedback

The messages, usually nonverbal, sent from a listener to a speaker.

Interference

Anything that impedes the communication of a message.

Situation

The time and place in which speech communication occurs.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures.

Ethics

The branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs.

Ethical Decisions

weighing a potential course of action against a set of ethical standards or guidelines.

Name-Calling

The use of language to defame, demean, or degrade individuals or groups.

Plagiarism

Presenting another person's language or ideas as one's own.

Global Plagiarism

Stealing a speech entirely from a single source and passing it off as one's own.

Patchwork Plagiarism

Stealing ideas or language from two or three sources and passing them off as one's own.

Incremental Plagiarism

Failing to give credit for particular parts of a speech that are borrowed from other people.

Paraphrase

To restate or summarize an author's ideas in one's own words.

Hearing

The vibration of sound waves on the eardrums and the firing of electrochemical impulses in the brain.

Listening

Paying close attention to, and making sense of, what we hear.

Appreciative Listening

Listening for pleasure or enjoyment.

Empathic Listening

Listening to provide emotional support for a speaker.

Comprehensive Listening

Listening to understand the message of a speaker.

Critical Listening

Listening to evaluate a message for purposes of accepting or rejecting it.

Spare "Brain Time"

The difference between the rate at which most people talk (120 to 150 words per minute) and the rate at which the brain can process language (400 to 800 words per minute).

Active Listening

Giving undivided attention to a speaker in a genuine effort to understand the speaker's point of view.

Ice Breaker Speech

A speech early in the term designed to get students speaking in front of the class as soon as possible.

Introduction

The opening section of a speech.

Body

The main section of a speech.

Chronological Order

A method of speech organization in which the main points follow a time pattern.

Topical Order

A method of speech organization in which the main points divide the topic into logical and consistent subtopics.

Main Points

The major points developed in the body of a speech.

Transition

A word or phrase that indicates when a speaker has finished one thought and is moving on to another.

Conclusion

The final section of a speech.

Extemporaneous Speech

A carefully prepared and rehearsed speech that is presented from a brief set of notes.

Gestures

Motions of a speaker's hands or arms during a speech.

Topic

The subject of a speech.

Brainstorming

A method of generating ideas for speech topics by free association of words and ideas.

General Purpose

The broad goal of a speech.

Specific Purpose

A single infinitive phrase that states precisely what a speaker hopes to accomplish in their speech.

Central Idea

A one-sentence statement that sums up or encapsulates the major ideas of a speech.

Residual Message

What a speaker wants the audience to remember after it has forgotten everything else in a speech.

Key Word Outline Definition

An outline that briefly notes a speaker's main points and supporting evidence in rough phrases or single words, not full sentences.