Communications Final

abstract

words are not concrete or tangible items; they are only representations

accent

nonverbal behaviors that augment a verbal message

acceptance

third step of the persuasion process in which the audience accepts that the issue is relevant to them

alliteration

repeating the same consonant or vowel sound at the beginning of subsequent words

ambiguous

language that does not have precise, concrete meanings

antithesis

when two ideas that sharply contrast with one another are put side by side in a parallel structure

arbitrary

symbols used to represent things that are not intrinsically connected to those things

archetypal metaphors

metaphors that use common human experiences to describe another object

artistic proof

constructed by the speaker for the occasion; concerns ethos, pathos, and logos

autocratic leadership

a style of leadership in which a leader tells group members what they should do

awareness

first stage of the persuasion process in which you focus the audience’s attention on the issue and show why the issue is important

bias

an unfair preference or distortion of information

bookend group presentation

a group presentation in which the first speaker is also the last speaker, providing both the introduction and conclusion for the group

bookend story

a narrative in which the speaker tells the first part of a story as an attention getter in the introduction of his/her speech and then finishes the story in the closer at the end of the conclusion

brief example

an example that makes a very quick point and can be effective at any point in a speech

categorical syllogism

a syllogism in which the argument is based on membership in a group

channel

the media through which an encoded message is transmitted from a source to a receiver

clincher

the final statement of your speech

communication apprehension

the fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication with another or others

complement

when the action demonstrates the message contained in the verbal content

comprehension

stage of the persuasion process in which the audience understands the relevant components of the issue and the position that you want them to take

conditional syllogism

a syllogism in which the major premise contains a hypothetical condition and its outcome

coordination

all information on the same level has the same significance

dais

a table at which people sit in the front of the room

decoding

process of drawing meaning from the symbols that were used to encode a message

deductive reasoning

an argument that reasons from known premises to an inevitable conclusion

democratic leadership

a style of leadership in which a leader finds a balanced emphasis on task and maintenance dimensions in a group

demographics

categories of definable characteristics of groups of people, such as age, race, religion, socioeconomic status, education level, and sexual orientation

derived credibility

the form of credibility that manifests itself during your presentation

disjunctive syllogism

a syllogism in which the major premise includes two or more mutually exclusive alternatives

division

principle that if a point is divided into subpoints, there must be two or more subpoints

encoding

taking an abstract notion and providing it with meaning through the application of symbols

ethics

involve morals and the specific moral choices to be made by a person

ethos

the credibility of the speaker

expert testimony

testimony from someone who has conducted extensive research on the topic, has significant experience with the topic, or holds a position that lends credibility to their ideas on the subject matter

extemporaneous speech

a speech delivered with notes but without the entire speech in front of the speaker

extended example

an example that takes time, and the importance lies in the details

feedback

the receiver’s response to a message that is sent to the sender

figurative analogy

when the two cases being compared are from completely different classifications

general purpose statement

a brief statement representing what you aim to do with the speech; there are three types

global plagiarism

taking an entire piece of work and saying that it is your own

hierarchical

language that is structured according to more or less, higher or lower

histogram

a visual representation of a frequency table in which the categories are placed on the horizontal axis and the vertical bars are used to represent the number (or frequency) of individuals that fit into that category

hypothetical example

an example that is fictional

impromptu speech

a presentation done with little or no preparation

inartistic proofs

all the evidence, data, and documents that exist outside of the speaker and the audience, but nevertheless can aid in persuasion

incremental plagiarism

using part of someone else’s work and not citing it as a source

inductive reasoning

an argument that comes to a probable, instead of an absolute, conclusion

initial credibility

the credibility that you have with the audience before you begin your speech that is based on your experience and the audience’s prior knowledge about you

integration

the fourth step of the persuasive process in which the audience adopts the position that you want them to take

interactive model of communication

communication theory that views communication as a two-way process that includes feedback and the environment

internal summary

a statement that summarizes what you have already covered and precedes transitions

internal preview

serves as an outline of what is to come next in a speech and is often combined with transition statements

issue awareness

first stage of the persuasion process, in which you focus the audience’s attention on the issue and show why the issue is important

laissez-faire leadership

the style of leadership in which the leader provides little direction on the task and makes little effort to develop or maintain relationships between group members

leader-as-completer approach

a leadership approach in which the leader is the person who is responsible for completing tasks that are not finished or undertaken by other group members

linear model of communication

theory that views communication as a one-way process in which a source conveys an encoded message through a channel to a receiver, who then decodes that message

literal analogy

when the two cases being compared are classified the same way

logos

the logical dimension of the appeal

manuscript speech

when a speaker has an entire speech written out word-for-word in front of them as they speak

measures of central tendency

statistics that indicate where the middle of a distribution lies, including the mean, median, and mode

memorized speech

when a speaker commits an entire speech to memory and delivers it with no notes in front of them

message

the content or idea that the source tries to convey to the audience

metaphor

linguistic device that allows for comparisons between two objects by highlighting qualities of each object in explicit comparison

metonymy

using a tangible object to represent an otherwise intangible thing

mixed metaphor

metaphors that compare two objects that have no logical connection with each other

moderator

a person who acts as the coordinator of the discussion flow and ensures a civil, organized, and complete delivery of information to the audience

necessary cause

a cause that must be present for an effect to happen

noise

anything that can change the message after the sources encodes and sends it

object

the thing being discussed, not a model or representation of that thing

panel group presentation

a group presentation in which individual speakers present their ideas on a single topic or a subset of a topic

parallelism

similarly structuring related words, phrases, or clauses of speech

patchworking

a speaker or writer takes original source material and changes a few words in it, but not enough to consider it a paraphrase, all the while not citing the original source material

patchwork plagiarism

taking ideas from more than one piece of work and putting them together into a new piece of work, and then presenting them as original work without giving due credit to the sources

pathos

the emotional dimensions of the appeal that can influence an audience’s disposition toward the topic, speaker, or occasion

peer testimony

testimony from someone who is in the same peer group as the audience but who is not necessarily an expert on the topic

phobias

a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid

physical delivery

elements of speaking that deal with the body

pronunciation

the accepted standard of how a word sounds when spoken

question of fact

when a speaker seeks to persuade people about how to interpret facts

question of policy

when a speaker takes a position on whether an action should or should not be taken

question of value

a persuasive speech about the rightness or wrongness of an idea, action, or issue

real example

an example that is factual

reasoning by analogy

when you compare two similar cases to argue that what is true in one case is also true in the other

reasoning by cause

arguments that claim one event or factor produces an effect

reasoning by example

the process of inferring general conclusions and making general claims from specific cases

reasoning by sign

occurs when the presence of one thing indicates the presence of another

receiver

the person or audience that a message is being transmitted to

refutation

response to potential opposition to your argument \n

regulate

nonverbal actions that help govern the course of a speech or interaction

repeat

when physical actions restate verbal messages

self-fulfilling prophecy

convincing yourself that something is going to happen before it does, thus leading to the occurrence of what you originally expected

signposts

key words that signal to the audience that you are moving from one part of the speech to another

simile

linguistic device that compares two things through the use of like or as

source

the person responsible for inventing the idea on which they intend to speak and crafting that idea to an audience

speaking tool

devices that assist speakers, such as microphones, podiums, lecterns, and lighting

specific purpose statement

a narrower version of the general purpose statement that identifies what you will talk about, what you will say about it, and what you hope the audience will take away from the speech

standard deviation

a measure of variability that indicates how spread apart the numbers in a distribution are

statistics

numbers that summarize and organize sets of numbers to make them easier to understand or visualize

subordination

process of creating a hierarchy of ideas in which the most general ideas appear first, followed by more specific ideas