GLOSSARY
Page G-1
abstraction ladder: A model that ranks communication from specific, which ensures clarity, to general and vague.
accent: A pattern of pronunciation that is specific to a certain upbringing, geographical region, or culture.
accenting: Nonverbal behavior that clarifies and emphasizes specific information in a verbal message.
accommodation: Adapting and adjusting one’s language and nonverbal behaviors for other people or cultures.
achievement-oriented leader: A leader who sets challenging goals and communicates high expectations and standards to members.
active listening: Being an active participant in making choices about selecting, attending, and the other steps in the listening process.
active strategies: In relationship management, strategies that allow one to obtain information about a person more directly, by seeking information from a third party.
adaptors: Body movements that satisfy some physical or psychological need, such as rubbing your eyes when you’re tired or twisting your hair when you’re nervous or bored.
ad hominem fallacy: A logical fallacy that entails attacking a person instead of the person’s arguments.
adjourning: The stage of group development in which members reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take on another project.
affect displays: Body movements that convey feelings, moods, and reactions; they are often unintentional, reflecting the sender’s emotions.
affiliation: The affect, or feelings, we have for others.
agenda: A plan for a meeting that details the subject and goal, logistics, and a schedule.
agenda setting: The idea that extensive media coverage of a particular issue will “set the agenda” for what issues people are thinking and talking about.
all-channel network: A network in which all members are an equal distance from one another and all members interact with each other.
anchor position: An audience’s position on a topic at the outset of the speech.
anecdotes: Brief, personal stories that have a point or punch line.
antigroup roles: Roles that create problems because they serve individual members’ priorities at the expense of overall group needs.
appeal to tradition: A logical fallacy in which the speaker uses tradition as proof, suggesting that listeners should agree with his or her point because “that’s the way it has always been.”
appreciative listening: Listening with the simple goal of taking pleasure in the sounds that one receives.
articulation: The clarity and forcefulness with which sounds are made, regardless of whether they are pronounced correctly.
artifacts: Accessories carried or used on the body for decoration or identification.
attending: The step in the listening process of focusing attention on both the presence and communication of someone else.
attitudes: Our general evaluations of people, ideas, objects, or events.
attraction-similarity hypothesis: The belief that the extent to which we project ourselves onto another person is the direct result of the attraction we feel for that person.
attributions: Personal characteristics that are used to explain other people’s behavior.
audience analysis: A highly systematic process of getting to know one’s listeners relative to the topic and speech occasion.
back-channel cues: Vocalizations that signal when we want to talk versus when we are just encouraging others to continue their talking.
bandwagon fallacy: Accepting a statement as true because it is popular.
bar graph: A presentation aid that shows the relationship of two or more sets of figures.
begging the question: A logical fallacy in which the speaker presents arguments that no one can verify because they are not accompanied by valid evidence.
behavior: Observable communication, including both verbal and nonverbal messages; the manner in which we act or function in response to our attitudes and beliefs.
behavioral affirmation: Seeing or hearing what one wants to see or hear in the communication of assorted group members.
behavioral confirmation: Acting in a way that makes one’s expectations about a group come true.
behavioral flexibility: The ability to have a number of communication behaviors at one’s disposal and the willingness to use different behaviors in different situations.
beliefs: The ways in which people perceive reality; our feelings about what is true and real and how confident we are about the existence or validity of something.
biased language: Words that are infused with subtle meanings that influence our perceptions about the subject.
bipolar question: The most closed form of a question, for which there are only two possible responses, “yes” and “no.”
bonding: The process of relational partners sharing formal symbolic messages with the world that their relationship is important and cherished.
boundary turbulence: Readjusting the need for privacy against the need for self-disclosure and connection when there is a threat to one’s privacy boundaries.
brainstorming: A process that entails focusing on a general area of interest, amassing information, thinking creatively, and considering problems and solutions related to the topic.
broadcasting: Signals carried over the airwaves from a station transmitter to a receiver.
bullying: Behaviors such as harsh criticism, name-calling, gossip, slander, personal attacks, or threats to safety or job security, used to try to acquire and keep control over an entire group or individual members within a group.
call to action: In a persuasive speech, a challenge to listeners to act in response to the speech, see the problem in a new way, or change their beliefs, actions, and behavior.
cause-effect pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that organizes the message around cause-to-effect or effect-to-cause relationships.
central processing: Thinking critically about the speaker’s message, questioning it, and seriously considering acting on it; occurs when listeners are motivated and personally involved in the content of a message.
chain network: A network in which information is passed from one member to the next rather than shared among members.
challenging strategies: Strategies that promote the objectives of the individual who uses them, rather than the desires of the other person or the relationship.
channel: The method through which communication occurs.
channel discrepancy: When one set of behaviors says one thing, and another set says something different.
chronological pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that presents the main points of a message forward (or backward) in a systematic, time-related fashion.
citizen journalism: Reporting and commenting on local events by nonprofessional, nonjournalist citizens.
civility: The social norm for appropriate behavior.
clique: A small subgroup of individuals who have bonded together within a group; also called coalitions.
closed question: A type of interview question that gives less freedom to the interviewee by restricting answer choices.
clustering: A technique for identifying potential speech topics whereby the writer begins with a core idea and branches out into a web of related thoughts and ideas.
co-culture: A smaller group of people within a culture who are distinguished by features such as race, religion, age, generation, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, educational level, occupation, and a host of other factors.
code: A set of symbols that are joined to create a meaningful message.
code switching: A type of accommodation in which communicators change their regular language and slang to fit into a particular group.
coercion: The act of using manipulation, threats, intimidation, or violence to gain compliance.
cognitions: Thoughts that communicators have about themselves and others.
cognitive forces: Group members’ thoughts and beliefs, which affect how members perceive, interpret, evaluate, store, and retrieve information and, in turn, influence the group’s decisions.
cognitive language: The specific system of symbols that one uses to describe people, things, and situations in one’s mind.
cohesion: The degree to which group members have bonded, like each other, and consider themselves to be one entity.
collectivist culture: A culture in which individuals perceive themselves first and foremost as members of a group and communicate from that perspective.
communication: The process by which individuals use symbols, signs, and behaviors to exchange information.
communication acquisition: The process of learning individual words in a language and learning to use that language appropriately and effectively in the context of the situation.
communication apprehension (CA): Fear or anxiety associated with communication, which is often a common barrier to effective delivery.
communication boundary management: Reluctance to discuss certain topics with particular people.
communication climate: The dominant temper, attitudes, and outlook of relational partners.
communication privacy management theory (CPM): An explanation of how people perceive the information they hold about themselves and whether they will disclose or protect it.
communication processing: The means by which we gather, organize, and evaluate the information we receive.
communication skills: Behaviors based on social understandings that help communicators achieve their goals.
comparative advantage pattern: An organizing pattern for persuasive speaking in which the speaker shows that his or her viewpoint is superior to other viewpoints on the topic.
competent communication: Communication that is effective and appropriate for a given situation, in which the communicators continually evaluate and reassess their own communication process.
competent communication model: A transactional model of communication in which communicators send and receive messages simultaneously within a relational, situational, and cultural context.
complementing: Nonverbal behavior that matches (without actually mirroring) the verbal message it accompanies.
compromise: A way to resolve conflict in which both parties must give up something to gain something.
conflict: A negative interaction between two or more interdependent people, rooted in some actual or perceived disagreement.
conflict management: The way we engage in conflict and address disagreements with relational partners.
connotative meaning: The emotional or attitudinal response people have to a word.
contact cultures: Cultures that depend on touch as an important form of communication.
contradicting: Nonverbal behavior that conveys meaning opposite of the verbal message.
control: The ability of one person, group, or organization to influence others, and the manner in which their relationships are conducted.
convergence: When speakers shift their language or nonverbal behaviors toward each other’s way of communicating.
cooperative strategies: Strategies that benefit a relationship, serve mutual rather than individual goals, and strive to produce solutions that benefit both parties.
costs: The negative elements of a relationship.
countercoalitions: Subgroups that are positioned against other subgroups.
cover letter: A one-page letter indicating interest in a specific position.
credibility: The quality, authority, and reliability of a source of information.
critical listening: Evaluating or analyzing information, evidence, ideas, or opinions; also known as evaluative listening.
cultivation theory: The argument that a steady, long-term diet of heavy television viewing results in perceptions of reality that match the (distorted) view of reality presented on television.
cultural myopia: A form of cultural nearsightedness grounded in the belief that one’s own culture is appropriate and relevant in all situations and to all people.
culture: A learned system of thought and behavior that belongs to and typifies a relatively large group of people; the composite of their shared beliefs, values, and practices.
cyberbullying: Multiple abusive attacks on individual targets conducted through electronic channels.
deception: The attempt to convince others of something that is false.
declining stage: The stage at which a relationship begins to come apart.
decoding: The process of receiving a message by interpreting and assigning meaning to it.
deductive reasoning: The line of thought that occurs when one draws specific conclusions from a general argument.
defensive climate: A communication climate in which the people involved feel threatened.
defensive listening: Responding with aggression and arguing with the speaker without fully listening to the message.
definitional speech: A presentation whose main goal is to provide answers to “what” questions by explaining to an audience what something is.
definition by etymology: Defining something by using the origin of a word or phrase.
definition by example: Defining something by offering concrete examples of what it is.
definition by negation: Defining something by telling what it is not.
definition by synonym: Defining something by using words that mean almost the same thing.
delivery cues: In a speech outline, brief reminders about important information related to the delivery of the speech.
demographics: The systematic study of the quantifiable characteristics of a large group.
demonstration speech: A speech that answers “how” questions by showing an audience the way something works.
denotative meaning: The basic, consistently accepted definition of a word.
descriptive presentation: An approach to conveying information that involves painting a mental picture for the audience.
devil’s advocate: A role that involves pointing out worst-case scenarios.
dialectical tensions: Tensions that arise when opposing or conflicting goals exist in a relationship; can be external or internal.
digital divide: The gap between the haves and have-nots in terms of regular access to modern technology, especially broadband connections.
directed question: A type of interview question that suggests or implies the answer that is expected.
directive leader: A leader who controls the group’s communication by conveying specific instructions to members.
directory: A type of secondary resource that is created and maintained by people rather than automatically by computers; guides visitors to the main page of a Web site organized within a wider subject category.
discrimination: Behavior toward a person or group based solely on their membership in a particular group, class, or category.
dyad: A pair of people.
either-or fallacy: A fallacy in which the speaker presents only two alternatives on a subject and fails to acknowledge other alternatives; also known as the false dilemma fallacy.
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): A model that highlights the importance of relevance to persuasion and holds that listeners process persuasive messages by one of two routes, depending on how important the message is to them.
elucidating explanation: An explanation that illuminates a concept’s meaning and use.
empathic listening: Listening to people with openness, sensitivity, and caring; attempting to know how another person feels.
encoding: The process of mentally constructing a message for production.
equivocation: Using words that have unclear or misleading definitions.
escapist strategies: Strategies that people use to try to prevent or avoid direct conflict.
ethics: The study of morals, specifically the moral choices individuals make in their relationships with others.
ethnocentrism: A belief in the superiority of one’s own culture or group and a tendency to view other cultures through the lens of one’s own.
ethos: A form of rhetorical proof that appeals to ethics and concerns the qualifications and personality of the speaker.
euphemism: An inoffensive word or phrase that substitutes for terms that might be perceived as upsetting.
evasion: Intentionally failing to provide specific details.
exit interview: An interview that employers hold with employees who opt to leave the company, to identify organizational problems that might affect future employee retention.
expert power: Power that comes from the information or knowledge that a leader possesses.
expert testimony: The opinion or judgment of an expert, a professional in his or her field.
explanatory speech: A speech that answers the question “Why” or “What does that mean?” by offering thorough explanations of meaning.
exploratory stage: The stage of a relationship in which one seeks relatively superficial information from one’s partner.
exponentiality: The economic principle that relatively few items bring most of the income to a particular industry, while the rest add only a little.
extemporaneous speaking: A style of public speaking that involves delivery with few or no notes, but for which the speaker carefully prepares in advance.
family: A small social group bound by ties of blood, civil contract (such as marriage, civil union, or adoption), and a commitment to care for and be responsible for one another, usually in a shared household.
feeling: The use of language to express emotion; one of the five functional communication competencies.
flaming: The posting of online messages that are deliberately hostile or insulting toward a particular individual.
forming: The stage of group development in which group members try to negotiate who will be in charge and what the group’s goals will be.
forms of rhetorical proof: Means of persuasion that include ethos, logos, and pathos; first named by Aristotle.
friendship: A close and caring relationship between two people that is perceived as mutually satisfying and beneficial.
functional perspective: An examination of how communication behaviors work to accomplish goals in personal, group, organizational, or public situations.
fundamental attribution error: The tendency to overemphasize the internal and underestimate the external causes of behaviors we observe in others.
funnel sequence: A pattern of questioning that progresses from broad, open-ended questions to narrower, more closed questions.
gatekeepers: Those organizations and individuals who control the creation and distribution of information and entertainment.
gender: The behavioral and cultural traits assigned to one’s sex; determined by the way members of a particular culture define notions of masculinity and femininity.
generation: A group of people who were born into a specific time frame, along with its events and social changes that shape attitudes and behavior.
genetic-similarity hypothesis: The theory that two individuals who hail from the same ethnic group are more genetically similar than two individuals from different ethnic groups.
goal achievement: Relying on communication to accomplish particular objectives.
grammar of media: For each form of media, a set of rules and conventions that dictate how it operates.
group: A collection of more than two people who share some kind of relationship, communicate in an interdependent fashion, and collaborate toward some shared purpose.
groupthink: A situation in which group members strive to maintain cohesiveness and minimize conflict by refusing to critically examine ideas, analyze proposals, or test solutions.
haptics: The study of touch as a form of communication.
hearing: The physiological process of perceiving sound; the process through which sound waves are picked up by the ears and transmitted to the brain.
hierarchy of needs: A hierarchical structure that identifies needs in five categories, from low (immature) to high (mature).
high-context culture: A culture that relies on contextual cues—such as time, place, relationship, and situation—to both interpret meaning and send subtle messages.
high language: A more formal, polite, or “mainstream” language, used in business contexts, in the classroom, and at formal social gatherings.
homogeny: Sameness, as applied to a public speaker and his or her audience.
hostile audience: An audience that opposes the speaker’s message and perhaps the speaker personally; the hardest type of audience to persuade.
hyperbole: Vivid, colorful language with great emotional intensity and often exaggeration.
hyperpersonal communication: A phenomenon surrounding online communication in which a lack of proximity, visual contact, or nonverbal cues results in exaggerated perceptions.
illustrators: Body movements that reinforce verbal messages and visually help explain what is being said.
imagining: The ability to think, play, and be creative in communication; one of the five functional communication competencies.
immediacy: The feeling of closeness, involvement, and warmth between people as communicated by nonverbal behavior.
impromptu speaking: A style of public speaking that is spontaneous, without any warning or preparation.
inclusion: To involve others in our lives and to be involved in the lives of others.
indecency: Discussing or showing sexual or other bodily functions in a very lewd or vulgar way.
individualist culture: A culture whose members place value on autonomy and privacy, with relatively little attention to status and hierarchy based on age or family connections.
inductive reasoning: The line of thought that occurs when one draws general conclusions based on specific evidence.
informal-formal dimension: A psychological aspect of the situational context of communication, dealing with our perceptions of personal versus impersonal situations.
informational listening: Processing and accurately understanding a message; also known as comprehensive listening.
information-gathering interview: An interview that serves to transfer knowledge from one party to another by collecting attitudes, opinions, facts, data, and experiences.
information overload: The difficulty in sorting through and making sense of vast amounts of information, created by the volume of messages made available by converging media.
informative speaking: A form of public speaking intended to increase the audience’s understanding or knowledge.
informing: The use of language to both give and receive information; one of the five functional communication competencies.
ingroup: The group with which one identifies and to which one feels one belongs.
initiating stage: The stage of a relationship in which one makes contact with another person.
insensitive listening: Listening that occurs when we fail to pay attention to the emotional content of someone’s message, instead taking it at face value.
integrating: The process of relational partners “becoming one.”
intensification stage: The stage of a relationship in which relational partners become increasingly intimate and move their communication toward more personal self-disclosures.
interaction appearance theory: The argument that people change their opinion about the attributions of someone, particularly their physical attractiveness, the more they interact with that person.
interaction model: Communication between a sender and a receiver that incorporates feedback.
interactive strategies: Speaking directly with a relational partner rather than observing him or her passively or asking others for information.
intercultural communication: The communication between people from different cultures who have different worldviews.
intercultural sensitivity: Mindfulness of behaviors that may offend others.
interdependence: Mutual dependence where the actions of each partner affect the other(s).
intergroup communication: A branch of the communication discipline that focuses on how communication within and between groups affects relationships.
intergroup contact theory: The argument that interaction between members of different social groups generates a possibility for more positive attitudes to emerge.
internal preview: In public speaking, an extended transition that primes the audience for the content immediately ahead.
internal summary: An extended transition that allows the speaker to crystallize the points made in one section of a speech before moving to the next section.
interpersonal communication: The exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between two people who have a relationship and are influenced by the partner’s messages.
interpersonal relationships: The interconnections and interdependence between two individuals.
interview: An interaction between two parties that is deliberate and purposeful for at least one of the parties involved.
intimacy: Closeness and understanding of a relational partner.
inverted funnel sequence: A pattern of questioning that progresses from narrow, closed questions to more open-ended questions.
jargon: Technical language that is specific to members of a particular profession, interest group, or hobby.
job interview: A type of selection interview, with the end goal of filling a position of employment.
key-word outline: The briefest type of outline, consisting of specific “key words” from the sentence outline to jog the speaker’s memory.
kinesics: The way gestures and body movements communicate meaning.
language: The system of symbols (words) that we use to think about and communicate experiences and feelings.
latitude of acceptance and rejection: The range of positions on a topic that are acceptable or unacceptable to an audience based on their anchor position.
lay testimony: The opinion of a nonexpert who has personal experience of or has witnessed an event related to the speaker’s topic.
leadership: The ability to direct or influence others’ behaviors and thoughts toward a productive end.
leading question: A type of directed question that subtly suggests or implies the answer that is expected.
legitimate power: Power that comes from an individual’s role or title.
library gateway: A collection of databases and information sites arranged by subject, generally reviewed and recommended by experts (usually librarians).
linear model (of communication): Communication in which a sender originates a message, which is carried through a channel—perhaps interfered with by noise—to the receiver.
linguistic determinism: The idea that language influences how we see the world around us.
linguistic relativity: The belief that speakers of different languages have different views of the world.
listening: The process of recognizing, understanding, accurately interpreting, and responding effectively to the messages communicated by others.
listening apprehension: A state of uneasiness, anxiety, fear, or dread associated with a listening opportunity; also known as receiver apprehension.
listening barrier: A factor that interferes with the ability to accurately comprehend information and respond appropriately.
listening fidelity: The degree to which the thoughts of the listener and the thoughts and intentions of the message producer match following their communication.
loaded question: A type of directed question that boldly suggests the answer that is expected.
logical fallacy: An invalid or deceptive form of reasoning.
logos: A form of rhetorical proof that appeals to logic and is directed at the audience’s reasoning on a topic.
love: A deep affection for and attachment to another person involving emotional ties, with varying degrees of passion, commitment, and intimacy.
low-context culture: A culture that uses very direct language and relies less on situational factors to communicate.
low culture: Entertainment that appeals to most people’s baser instincts, typified by lurid, sensational images and stories charged with sex, violence, scandal, and abuse.
low language: A more informal, easygoing language, used in informal and comfortable environments.
main points: In public speaking, the central claims that support the specific speech purpose and thesis statement.
marketplace of ideas: The open forum in which ideas compete.
masculine culture: A culture that places value on assertiveness, achievement, ambition, and competitiveness; sometimes referred to as an achievement culture.
masking: A facial management technique in which an expression that shows true feeling is replaced with an expression that shows appropriate feeling for a given interaction.
mass communication: The occurrence of mediated communication on a very broad scale.
matching hypothesis: The theory that we seek relationships with others who have comparable levels of attractiveness.
media convergence: The merging of traditional mass communication with digital computing and telecommunication technologies.
media dependence: The expectation that media will serve certain needs.
media literacy: Having an understanding of one’s own media habits and critically evaluating and analyzing media sources and messages.
media multitasking: Using more than one media type at the same time.
mediated communication: The use of technology to deliver messages between sources and receivers.
message: The words or actions originated by a sender.
metasearch engine: A search engine that scans multiple search engines simultaneously.
mimicry: The synchronized and usually unconscious pattern of imitating or matching gestures, body position, tone, and facial expressions to create social connections between people.
mindfulness: The process of being focused on the task at hand; necessary for competent communication.
mindlessness: A passive state in which the communicator is a less critical processor of information, characterized by reduced cognitive activity, inaccurate recall, and uncritical evaluation.
model: A presentation aid—an appropriately scaled object.
monochronic culture: A culture that treats time as a limited resource, as a commodity that can be saved or wasted.
monopolistic listening: Listening in order to control the communication interaction.
monotone: A way of speaking in which the speaker does not vary his or her vocal pitch.
motivated sequence pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that entails five phases based on the psychological elements of advertising: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action.
mumbling: Omitting certain sounds in a word, running words together, or speaking so softly that listeners can hardly hear.
narrative complexity: In mass media, complicated plots and connections between characters, a blurring of reality and fantasy, and time that is not always linear or chronological.
narrative pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that ties points together in a way that presents a vivid story, complete with characters, settings, plot, and imagery.
narrowcasting: In mass media, the process of targeting smaller, specific audiences; also known as niche marketing.
network: A pattern of interaction that governs who speaks with whom in a group and about what.
networking: The process of using interconnected groups or associations of persons one knows to develop relationships with their connections whom one does not know.
neutral audience: An audience that falls between the receptive audience and the hostile audience; neither supports nor opposes the speaker.
neutral question: A type of interview question that provides no hint to the interviewee concerning the expected response.
noise: Interference with a message that makes its final form different from the original.
nonbinding straw poll: An informal vote on a decision that can help a group move forward when time is an issue.
noncontact culture: A culture that is less touch sensitive or even tends to avoid touch.
nonverbal codes: Symbols we use to send messages without, or in addition to, words.
nonverbal communication: The process of intentionally or unintentionally signaling meaning through behavior other than words.
norming: The stage of group development in which members establish agreed-upon norms that govern expected behavior.
norms: Recurring patterns of behavior or thinking that come to be accepted in a group as the “usual” way of doing things.
objectivity: Presenting facts and information in a straightforward and evenhanded way, free of influence from the speaker’s personal thoughts and opinions.
oculesics: The study of the use of eyes to communicate.
open question: A type of interview question that gives the interviewee great freedom in terms of how to respond.
operational definition: Defining something by explaining what it is or what it does.
oral citation: A reference to source materials that the speaker mentions in the narrative of a speech.
oratory: A form of public speaking in which a speech is committed to memory.
outcome: The product of an interchange.
outgroups: Those groups one defines as “others.”
outline: A structured form of a speech’s content.
overaccommodation: Going too far in changing one’s language or nonverbal behavior, based on an incorrect or stereotypical notion of another group.
paralanguage: The vocalized sounds that accompany words.
paraphrasing: A part of listening empathetically that involves guessing at feelings and rephrasing what one thinks the speaker has said.
participative leader: A leader who views group members as equals, welcomes their opinions, summarizes points that have been raised, and identifies problems that need discussion rather than dictating solutions.
passive listening: Failing to make active choices in the listening process.
pathos: A form of rhetorical proof that concerns the nature of the audience’s feelings and appeals to their emotions.
perception: A cognitive process through which one interprets one’s experiences and comes to one’s own unique understandings.
performance appraisal: An interview designed to review an individual or party’s accomplishments and develop goals for the future; used in corporate and academic environments.
performance visualization: Spending time imagining positive scenarios and personal success in order to reduce negative thoughts and their accompanying anxiety.
performing: The stage of group development in which members combine their skills and knowledge to work toward the group’s goals and overcome hurdles.
peripheral processing: Giving little thought to a message or even dismissing it as irrelevant, too complex to follow, or simply unimportant; occurs when listeners lack motivation to listen critically or are unable to do so.
persuasion: The process of influencing others’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors on a given topic.
persuasive interview: An interview in which questions are designed to elicit some change in the interviewee’s behavior or opinions.
persuasive speaking: Speech that is intended to influence the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of an audience.
phrase outline: A type of outline that takes parts of sentences and uses those phrases as instant reminders of what the point or subpoint means.
pie chart: A presentation aid that shows percentages of a circle divided proportionately.
pitch: Variations in the voice that give prominence to certain words or syllables.
plagiarism: The crime of presenting someone else’s words, ideas, or intellectual property as one’s own, intentionally or unintentionally.
planting: A technique for limiting and controlling body movements during speech delivery by keeping the legs firmly set apart at a shoulder-width distance.
politically correct language: Language that replaces exclusive or negative words with more neutral terms.
polychronic culture: A culture whose members are comfortable dealing with multiple people and tasks at the same time.
posture: The position of one’s arms and legs and how one carries the body.
power distance: The way in which a culture accepts and expects the division of power among individuals.
pragmatics: The ability to use the symbol systems of a culture appropriately.
prejudice: A deep-seated feeling of unkindness and ill will toward particular groups, usually based on negative stereotypes and feelings of superiority over those groups.
preparation outline: A draft outline the speaker will use, and probably revisit and revise continually, throughout the preparation for a speech; also known as a working outline.
primacy-recency effect: In public speaking, the tendency for audiences to remember points the speaker raises at the very beginning, or at the very end, of a message.
primary group: A long-lasting group that forms around the relationships that mean the most to its members.
primary question: A type of interview question that introduces new topics.
probing: Asking questions that encourage specific and precise answers.
problem-solution pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that involves dramatizing an obstacle and then narrowing alternative remedies down to the one the speaker wants to recommend.
problem-solving group: A group with a specific mission.
problem-solving interview: An interview that is used to deal with problems, tensions, or conflicts.
process: The methods by which an outcome is accomplished.
productive conflict: Conflict that is managed effectively.
profanity: Words or expressions considered insulting, rude, vulgar, or disrespectful.
pronunciation: The correct formation of word sounds.
prop: A presentation aid—an object that removes the burden from the audience of having to imagine what something looks like as the speaker is presenting.
proposition of fact: A claim of what is or what is not.
proposition of policy: A claim about what goal, policy, or course of action should be pursued.
proposition of value: A claim about something’s worth.
proxemics: The study of the way we use and communicate with space.
proximity: A state of physical nearness.
pseudolistening: Pretending to listen when one is actually not paying attention at all.
psychological forces: Group members’ personal motives, emotions, attitudes, and values.
public-private dimension: An aspect of the situational context of communication dealing with the physical space that affects our nonverbal communication.
public speaking: A powerful form of communication that includes a speaker who has a reason for speaking, an audience that gives the speaker attention, and a message that is meant to accomplish a specific purpose.
public speaking anxiety (PSA): The nervousness one experiences when one knows one has to communicate publicly to an audience.
quasi-scientific explanation: An explanation that models or pictures the key dimensions of some phenomenon for a typical audience.
random selection: A way to reach compromise that entails choosing one of two options at random, such as by a coin toss.
reasoning: The line of thought we use to make judgments based on facts and inferences from the world around us.
receiver: The target of a message.
receptive audience: An audience that already agrees with the speaker’s viewpoints and message and is likely to respond favorably to the speech.
reconciliation: A repair strategy for rekindling an extinguished relationship.
red herring fallacy: A fallacy in which the speaker relies on irrelevant information for his or her argument, thereby diverting the direction of the argument.
reduction to the absurd: A logical fallacy that entails extending an argument beyond its logical limits to the level of absurdity; also known as reductio ad absurdum.
referent power: Power that stems from the admiration, respect, or affection that followers have for a leader.
refutational organizational pattern: An organizing pattern for persuasive speaking in which the speaker begins by presenting main points that are opposed to his or her own position and then follows them with main points that support his or her own position.
regulating: Using nonverbal cues to aid in the coordination of verbal interaction.
regulators: Body movements that help us manage our interactions.
relational dialectics theory: The theory that dialectical tensions are contradictory feelings that tug at us in every relationship.
relational history: The sum of shared experiences of the individuals involved in a relationship.
relational network: A web of relationships that connects individuals to one another.
relationships: The interconnection or interdependence between two or more people required to achieve goals.
remembering: The step in the listening process of recalling information.
repair tactics: Ways to save or repair a relationship.
repeating: Nonverbal behavior that offers a clear nonverbal cue that repeats and mirrors the verbal message.
responding: The step in the listening process of generating some kind of feedback or reaction that confirms to others that one has received and understood their messages.
résumé: A printed summary of one’s education, work experiences, and accomplishments.
reward power: Power that derives from an individual’s capacity to provide rewards.
rewards: The beneficial elements of a relationship.
ritualizing: Learning the rules for managing conversations and relationships; one of the five functional communication competencies.
role conflict: A situation that arises in a group when–ever expectations for members’ behavior are incompatible.
running bibliography: A list of resources the speaker has consulted, to which he or she can refer on note cards.
salient: Brought to mind in the moment; one’s social identity and communication shift depending on which of one’s multiple group memberships is salient in a given moment.
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: The claim that the words a culture uses or doesn’t use influence its members’ thinking.
scanning: A technique for making brief eye contact with almost everyone in an audience by moving one’s eyes from one person or section of people to another.
scientific research findings: Hard numbers and facts that are particularly useful for public speeches on medicine, health, media, or the environment.
search engine: A program that indexes Web content and searches all over the Web for documents containing specific keywords that the researcher has chosen.
secondary questions: A type of interview question that seeks clarification or an elaboration of responses to primary questions.
selecting: The step in the listening process of choosing one sound over another when faced with competing stimuli.
selection interview: An interview whose primary goal is to secure or fill a position within an organization.
selective listening: Listening that involves zeroing in only on bits of information that interest the listener, disregarding other messages or parts of messages.
selective perception: Active, critical thought resulting in a communicator succumbing to the biased nature of perception.
self-actualization: The feelings and thoughts one experiences when one knows that one has negotiated a communication situation as well as possible.
self-adequacy: The feelings one experiences when one assesses one’s own communication competence as sufficient or acceptable; less positive than self-actualization.
self-censorship: In mass media, carefully monitoring content and eliminating messages that might offend viewers or sponsors.
self-concept: One’s awareness and understanding of who one is, as interpreted and influenced by one’s thoughts, actions, abilities, values, goals, and ideals.
self-denigration: A negative assessment about a communication experience that involves criticizing or attacking oneself.
self-directed work team: A group of skilled workers who take responsibility for producing high-quality finished work.
self-disclosure: Revealing oneself to others by sharing information about oneself.
self-efficacy: The ability to predict, based on self-concept and self-esteem, one’s effectiveness in a communication situation.
self-esteem: How one feels about oneself, usually in a particular situation.
self-fulfilling prophecy: A prediction that causes an individual to alter his or her behavior in a way that makes the prediction more likely to occur.
self-monitoring: The ability to watch one’s environment and others in it for cues as to how to present oneself in particular situations.
self-presentation: Intentional communication designed to show elements of self for strategic purposes; how one lets others know about oneself.
self-serving bias: The idea that we usually attribute our own successes to internal factors while explaining our failures by attributing them to situational or external effects.
semantics: The study of the relationship among symbols, objects, people, and concepts; refers to the meaning that words have for people, either because of their definitions or because of their placement in a sentence’s structure (syntax).
sender: The individual who originates communication, with words or action.
sentence outline: A type of outline that offers the full text of a speech, often the exact words that the speaker wants to say to the audience.
separation: Removing oneself from a conflicted situation or relationship.
service-oriented interview: An interview that is designed to cull information and provide advice, service, or support based on that information; used, for example, by customer service representatives.
signposts: Key words or phrases within sentences that signify transitions between main points.
situational context: The social environment, physical place, and specific events that affect a situation.
slang: Language that is informal, nonstandard, and usually particular to a specific group.
slippery slope fallacy: A logical fallacy that is employed when a speaker attests that some event must clearly occur as a result of another event without showing any proof that the second event is caused by the first.
social capital: The valuable resources, such as information and support, that come from having connections and relationships among people.
social cognitive theory: The theory that we learn behavior by watching the behaviors of those whom we have identified as models.
social comparison theory: A theory that explains our tendency to compare ourselves to others, such as friends and acquaintances or popular figures in the media, as we develop our ideas about ourselves.
social exchange theory: A theory that explains the process of balancing the advantages and disadvantages of a relationship.
social forces: Group standards for behavior that influence decision making.
social group: A group in which membership offers opportunities to form relationships with others.
social identity theory: The theory that we each have a personal identity, which is our sense of our unique individual personality, and a social identity, the part of our self-concept that comes from group memberships.
social information processing theory: The theory that communicators use unique language and stylistic cues in their online messages to develop relationships that are just as close as those that grow from face-to-face content; because using text takes time, it takes longer to become intimate.
social judgment theory: The theory that a speaker’s ability to successfully persuade an audience depends on the audience’s current attitudes or disposition toward the topic.
social loafing: Failure to invest the same level of effort in the group that people would put in if they were working alone or with one other person.
social penetration theory (SPT): The theory that partners move from superficial levels to greater intimacy.
social roles: Group roles that evolve to reflect individual members’ personality traits and interests.
spatial pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that arranges main points in terms of their physical proximity or position in relation to each other (north to south, east to west, bottom to top, left to right, outside to inside, and so on).
speaking outline: The final speech plan, complete with details, delivery tips, and important notes about presentation aids; also known as the delivery outline.
speaking rate: How fast or slow one speaks.
specific purpose statement: A statement that expresses both the topic and the general speech purpose in action form and in terms of the specific objectives the speaker hopes to achieve with his or her presentation.
speech repertoire: A set of complex language behaviors or language possibilities that one calls on to most effectively and appropriately meet the demands of a given relationship, situation, or cultural environment.
stable stage: The stage of a relationship in which it is no longer volatile or temporary; both partners have a great deal of knowledge about one another, their expectations are accurate and realistic, and they feel comfortable with their motives for being in the relationship.
statistics: Information provided in numerical form.
stereotyping: The act of organizing information about groups of people into categories so that we can generalize about their attitudes, behaviors, skills, morals, and habits.
storming: The stage of group development in which members inevitably begin experiencing conflicts over issues such as who will lead the group and what roles members will play.
strategic topic avoidance: When one or both relational partners maneuver the conversation away from undesirable topics because of the potential for embarrassment, vulnerability, or relational decline.
study groups: Groups that are formed for the specific purpose of helping students prepare for exams.
style switching: A type of accommodation in which communicators change their tonality, pitch, rhythm, and inflection to fit into a particular group.
subjectivity: Presenting facts and information from a particular point of view.
subpoints: In public speaking, points that provide support for the main points.
substituting: Replacing words with nonverbal cues.
support group: A set of individuals who come together to address personal problems while benefiting from the support of others with similar issues.
supportive climate: A communication climate that offers communicators a chance to honestly and considerately explore the issues involved in the conflict situation.
supportive leader: A leader who attends to group members’ emotional needs.
survey: To solicit answers to a question or series of questions related to one’s speech topic from a broad range of individuals.
syllogism: A three-line deductive argument that draws a specific conclusion from two general premises (a major and a minor premise).
symbols: Arbitrary constructions (usually in the form of language or behaviors) that refer to people, things, and concepts.
task roles: Roles that are concerned with the accomplishment of the group’s goals.
team: A group that works together to carry out a project or specific endeavor or to compete against other teams.
termination stage: The end of a relationship; may come about by a gradual decline in the relationship or by sudden-death.
territoriality: The claiming of an area, with or without legal basis, through continuous occupation of that area.
thesis statement: A statement that conveys the central idea or core assumption about the speaker’s topic.
third-person effect: The tendency to assume that negative media messages and bias have a much greater influence on other people than on oneself or people one thinks are like oneself.
time orientation: The way cultures communicate about and with time.
tone: A modulation of the voice, usually expressing a particular feeling or mood.
topical pattern: A pattern of speech arrangement that is based on organization into categories, such as persons, places, things, or processes.
trading: A way to reach compromise whereby one partner offers something of equal value in return for something he or she wants.
transactional: Involving two or more people acting in both sender and receiver roles whose messages are dependent on and influenced by those of their communication partner.
transformative explanation: An explanation that helps people understand ideas that are counterintuitive and is designed to help speakers transform “theories” about phenomena into more accepted notions.
transitions: Sentences that connect different points, thoughts, and details in a way that allows them to flow naturally from one to the next.
trolling: The posting of provocative or offensive messages to whole forums or discussion boards to elicit some type of general reaction.
tunnel sequence: A pattern of questioning in which all questions are at the same level, either broad and open-ended or narrow and closed; commonly used in polls and surveys.
uncertain climate: A communication climate in which at least one of the people involved is unclear, vague, tentative, and awkward about the goals, expectations, and potential outcomes of the conflict situation.
uncertainty avoidance: The process of adapting behaviors to reduce uncertainty and risk.
uncertainty event: An event or behavioral pattern that causes uncertainty in a relationship.
uncertainty reduction theory: The theory that when two people meet, their main focus is on decreasing the uncertainty about each other.
understanding: The step in the listening process of interpreting and making sense of messages.
understatement: Language that downplays the emotional intensity or importance of events, often with euphemisms.
undue influence: Giving greater credibility or importance to something shown or said than should be the case.
unproductive conflict: Conflict that is managed poorly and has a negative impact on the individuals and relationships involved.
user-generated content: Songs, videos, and other content that individuals create and share publicly through mass media.
uses and gratifications perspective: A perspective that focuses not on what media does to us, but on what we do with media—that is, the way we make media choices (uses) to satisfy our needs and goals (gratifications).
verbal aggressiveness: Attacks on individuals, rather than on issues.
vocalizations: Paralinguistic cues that give information about the speaker’s emotional or physical state, for example, laughing, crying, or sighing.
volume: How loud or soft the voice is.
wheel network: A network in which all group members share their information with one central individual, who then shares the information with the rest of the group.
worldview: The framework through which one interprets the world and the people in it.