Class 12 - Midterm Review

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Public Speaking

  • Rhetoric

    • Definition: Study of how messages affect people (pg. 6).

    • Focus: Writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion (Merriam Webster).

    • Effective language usage in public speaking (Oxford Dictionary).

  • Rhetorical Situation

    • Definition: A context where understanding can be changed through messages (pg. 6).

    • Key Factors: Audience, occasion, speaker, speech itself (pg. 7).

Chapter 1 - Definitions

  • Public Forum

    • Definition: A conceptual space for public discussion of issues affecting citizens (pg. 13).

  • Critical Thinking

    • Definition: Ability to form and defend judgments rather than accept/reject ideas blindly (pg. 3).

    • Skills: Analyze various viewpoints and differentiate fact from opinion (pg. 3).

Chapter 1 - General Purposes of Speech

  • Main Purposes

    • Inform: Provide new information/ideas.

    • Persuade: Influence attitudes and behaviors.

    • Instruct/Demonstrate: Explain processes or reasoning.

    • Entertain: Create community through shared experiences.

    • Motivate/Inspire: Encourage specific actions or feelings.

Chapter 1 - Types of Communication

  • Forms of Communication

    • Verbal: Speeches, lectures, songs, conversations.

    • Written: Text-based communication.

    • Physical: Body language, gestures, posture.

    • Visual: Use of symbols, graphs, colors, logos.

Chapter 1 - Communication Model Diagram

  • Key Elements

    • Sender's Field of Experience

    • Encoding

    • Channel

    • Message

    • Decoding

    • Receiver

    • Noise

    • Response

Chapter 1 - Communication Model Explained

  • Sender: Source that encodes messages.

  • Encoding: Process of converting thoughts into symbols (words, gestures).

  • Message: Communication occurrence sent from sender to receiver.

  • Channel: Medium for the message (speech, media).

  • Decoding: Interpretation of the message by the receiver.

  • Receiver: Audience that receives and decodes the message.

Chapter 1 - Additional Communication Concepts

  • Feedback/Response

    • Reaction from receiver to sender, potentially encoded and decoded.

  • Noise: Distractions affecting communication (external, physiological, psychological).

  • Sender's Field of Experience: Sender's knowledge influencing message.

  • Receiver's Field of Experience: Knowledge of the receiver influencing interpretation.

Chapter 2 - Your First Speech

  • Purpose: The goal of the speech; desired response from listeners (pg. 25).

  • General vs. Specific Purpose

    • General: Broad category (inform, persuade, etc.).

    • Specific: Audience-focused desired outcome of the speech.

  • Ethos and Credibility

    • Speaker’s perceived character is crucial (pg. 26).

Chapter 6 - Choosing Topic & Developing Strategy

  • Thesis: Main idea or claim of the speech (pg. 25).

  • Issue: Question raised by thesis needing address (pg. 125).

  • Rhetorical Situation Elements: Purpose, constraints, opportunities, means (pgs. 114-122).

Chapter 4 - Listening Critically

  • Hearing vs. Listening

    • Hearing: Passive process of sound wave measurement.

    • Listening: Active engagement involving anticipation and meaning-making.

Chapter 4 - Obstacles to Good Listening

  • Factual Distractions: Focus on facts over main ideas.

  • Semantic Distractions: Confusion from unfamiliar language.

  • Physical Distractions: Environmental noises.

  • Physiological Distractions: Listener's body issues.

  • Psychological Distractions: Listener's own thoughts/beliefs.

Chapter 3 - Presenting the Speech

  • Considerations:

    • Personal appearance, mannerisms, voice, eye contact, use of time.

Chapter 3 - Personal Mannerisms

  • Types of Gestures

    • Emblems: Stand for words/ideas (e.g., thumbs up).

    • Illustrators: Emphasize words (e.g., extending hand).

    • Adaptors: Satisfy physical/psychological needs (e.g., fidgeting).

Chapter 3 - Voice Characteristics

  • Voice: Key elements include volume, pitch, rate, pauses, articulation, pronunciation, inflection (pgs. 41-46).

Chapter 5 - Understanding Audience

  • Definition of Audience: Group gathered for a presentation or receptive to a medium (Newsom, Arens).

Chapter 5 - Audience Characteristics

  • Demographics: Age, education, cultural background, etc.

  • Psychographics: Psychological variables shaping identity (values, attitudes).

Chapter 5 - Audience Diversity

  • Heterogeneity Definition: Variety/diversity among audience members (pg. 84).

  • Mediated Audiences: View through medium rather than in-person.

  • Audience Culture: Distinct subjective factors defining the audience's situation (pg. 87).

Six Types of Audiences

  • Pedestrian: Random listeners; engage with relevant information.

  • Passive: Listeners incidental to other activities; use engaging visuals.

  • Selected: Interested in the topic; have a meaningful dialogue.

  • Concerted: Interested but need guidance in organizing beliefs.

  • Organized: Motivated but require further information.

  • Absent: Not physically present; utilize engaging visuals/tech to capture interest.

Topic Example

  • Topic: Gannon University majors.

  • General Purpose: To inform about available majors.

  • Specific Purpose: To inform high school seniors about options.

  • Thesis: Gannon has a major for almost every prospective college student.

Evaluating Audience Type for Example

  • Selected: Engaged audience; maintain interest and motivation.

  • Organized: Inform motivated individuals about next steps (visits, assessments).

  • Passive/Absent: Complicate engagement as they might be disinterested or remote.

Chapter 7 - Researching the Speech

  • Supporting Material Types (pgs. 132-138):

    • Personal experience to establish credibility.

Types of Supporting Material Continued

  • Supporting Types:

    • Common knowledge, direct observation, examples, documents, statistics, testimony.