eCore Public Speaking Textbook (COMM 1113)

Unit 1 Glossary

The Basics of Public Speaking:

Public speaking- an organized, face-to- face, prepared, intentional (purposeful) attempt to inform, entertain, or persuade a group of people (usually five or more) through words, physical delivery, and (at times) visual or audio aids.

Glossophobia- a severe fear of public speaking.

Communication- sharing meaning between two or more people.

Culture- the system of learned and shared symbols, language, values, and norms that distinguish one group of people from another.

Channel- the means through which a message gets from sender to receiver.

Feedback- direct or indirect messages sent from an audience (receivers) back to the original sender of the message.

Noise- anything that disrupts, interrupts, or interferes with the communication process.

Encode- the process of the sender putting his/her thoughts and feelings into words or other symbols.

Decode- the process of the listener or receiver understanding the words and symbols of a message and making meaning of them.

Symbol- a word, icon, picture, object, or number that is used to stand for or represent a concept, thing, or experience.

Denotative- the objective or literal meaning shared by most people using the word.

Connotative- the subjective or personal meaning the word evokes in people together or individually.

 

Listening in Public Speaking Settings:

Hearing- the physical process in which sound waves hit the ear drums and send a message to the brain.

Listening- an active process where you are specifically making an effort to understand, process, and retain information.

Comprehensive Listening- listening focused on understanding and remembering important information from a public speaking message.

Empathetic Listening- listening for under- standing the feelings and motivations of another person, usually with the goal of helping the person deal with a personal problem.

Appreciative Listening- type of informed listening needed to listen to and interpret music, theatre, or literature.

Critical Listening- listening to evaluate the validity of the arguments and information and deciding whether the speaker is persuasive and whether the message should be accepted.

Planned Redundancy- the use of a clear central idea statement, preview of the main points, connective statements, and overall summary in the conclusion to reinforce the main ideas or points of a speech; the deliberate repeating of structural aspects of speech.

Confirmation bias- a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.

 

Ethics in Public Speaking:

Ethics- the branch of philosophy that involves determinations of what is right and moral.

Defamatory Speech- a false statement of fact that damages a person’s character, fame, or reputation.

Initial Credibility- A speaker’s credibility at the beginning of or even before the speech.

Derived Credibility- a speaker’s credibility and trustworthiness (as judged by the audience members) throughout the process of the speech, which also can range from point to point in the speech.

Terminal Credibility- a speaker’s credibility at the end of the speech.

Plagiarism- the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person.