GLOSSARY

abstract A summary of an article’s contents, often included in indexes.

abstract word A generic term that can be ambiguous or confusing for an audience. To say “I have a pet” is less informative than saying “I have a gray tabby cat.”

action-oriented listening A style of listening in which the listener focuses on immediately getting to the meaning of a message and determining what response is required.

ad hominem (personal attack) fallacy Persuading an audience to dislike someone by targeting his or her character rather than the relevant issues.

ad populum (bandwagon) fallacy A misuse of logic that deceives an audience by claiming that a fact is true because a majority of people believe it to be true. Another form of this fallacy (often used in advertising and marketing) is to imply that because a large number of people are engaging in an activity, everyone should engage in the activity. Bandwagoning is unethical if speakers fail to provide support for their claims.

advanced search Provides commands for making Web searches more precise.

age A demographic consideration that affects an audience’s response to and understanding of a speaker’s message. For example, avoiding popular culture references that are too old or too young for an audience is a good way to take age into consideration.

agenda-driven listening The failure of a speaker to adequately entertain an audience’s questions or comments for fear of straying too far from his or her speech points.

analogy A comparison based on similarities between two phenomena—one that is familiar to an audience and one that is less familiar—that helps listeners use their existing knowledge to absorb new information.

anaphora A repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. It’s used to achieve emphasis and clarity, as well as a rhetorical sense of style.

antithesis Clauses set in opposition to one another, usually to distinguish between choices, concepts, and ideas.

appeal to tradition fallacy Arguing that a practice or policy is good because people have followed it for a long time.

argumentative listening The act of only listening to a message long enough to get material to feed one’s own argument.

arrangement One of the five classical canons of rhetoric, arrangement is the effective organization of ideas to present them to an audience.

articulation Speaking with crispness or clarity so that listeners can distinguish separate words as well as separate syllables and vowel or consonant sounds within words.

atlas A reference work that provides maps, charts, and tables relating to different geographic regions.

attention-getter Material intended to capture an audience’s interest at the start of a speech. Techniques a speaker can use to get an audience’s attention include telling a story or an anecdote, offering a striking or provocative statement, building suspense, letting listeners know he or she is one of them, using humor, asking a rhetorical question, or providing a quotation.

audience analysis The process of learning about an audience’s interests and backgrounds in order to create or adapt a speech to their wants and needs.

audience size The number of people who will be present for a speech.

audience surveillance Analyzing an audience’s nonverbal and verbal responses while giving a speech.

bandwagon fallacy See ad populum (bandwagon) fallacy.

bar graph A type of graph consisting of parallel bars of varying height or length that compares several pieces of information.

biased language Words, phrases, and expressions that suggest prejudice or preconceptions about other people, usually referring to their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or mental or physical ability.

bibliographic information Details about a researched source, including author, title, publication date, and page numbers or URL.

body (of speech) The section of a speech that falls between the introduction and the conclusion and contains the main part of the speech. This includes all the main points and the material that supports them.

body clock (chronemics) The time of day or day of the week when an audience will be listening to a presentation. An audience is more prone to distraction at certain times of the day, such as lunchtime, and certain days of the week, such as Friday.

boomerang effect The act of pushing an audience more firmly toward its previously held beliefs as a result of the speaker choosing a position that falls on the extreme end of the audience’s latitude of rejection. (See also latitude of rejection.)

brainstorming A strategy for generating topic ideas in which a potential speaker lists every idea that comes to mind—without evaluating its merits—in order to develop a sizable list of ideas quickly.

brief example A single sentence or an otherwise short point of an instance that supports or illustrates a more general claim.

categorical (topical) pattern A speech organization pattern in which each main point emphasizes one of the most important aspects of the speaker’s topic; often used if a speaker’s topic doesn’t easily conform to a spatial, temporal, causal, comparison, problem-cause-solution, criteria-application, or narrative pattern.

causal pattern A speech organization pattern that explains cause-and-effect relationships in which each main point is either an event that leads to a situation or a link in a chain of events between a catalyst and a final outcome.

causal reasoning Arguing that one event has caused another.

central route According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, one of two ways audience members may evaluate a speaker’s message. This route denotes a high level of elaboration—a mental process that involves actively processing a speaker’s arguments.

channel The medium through which a source delivers a message, such as projecting one’s voice, using a microphone, broadcasting on the airwaves, or streaming on the Internet.

chronological (temporal) pattern A speech organization pattern in which the speaker presents information in chronological order, from beginning to end, with each main point addressing a particular time within the chronology.

citation A complete record of the source of a piece of evidence, including author, date, and where the evidence can be found.

classical canons of rhetoric The five concepts that effective speakers must attend to while preparing a speech, according to Cicero. These concepts are invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.

clincher Something that leaves a lasting impression of a speech in listeners’ minds, usually used as the second element in a speech conclusion. To go out with a bang, a speaker can extend a story or an anecdote he or she used at the start of the speech, relay a new story or anecdote, end with a striking phrase or sentence, or conclude with an emotional message.

common ground Beliefs, values, and experiences a speaker shares with an audience. A speaker seeks to establish common ground with an audience, whether verbally or nonverbally, so that listeners will be more receptive to his or her message.

common knowledge Widely known information that can be found in many sources and that does not require citation.

comparison pattern A speech organization pattern that discusses the similarities and differences between two events, objects, or situations; especially useful when comparing a new subject to one with which the audience is familiar.

comparison reasoning Arguing that two instances are similar enough that what is true for one is likely to be true for the other. If a speaker argues that U.S. residents will eventually accept mandatory health insurance because they accepted mandatory car insurance, the speaker is using comparison reasoning.

competence Knowledge and experience in a subject.

conclusion The final part of a speech, in which the speaker summarizes the main points and leaves the audience with a clincher, such as a striking sentence or phrase, an emotional message, or an anecdote.

concrete word A specific word or phrase that suggests exactly what a speaker means. For example, to say a man was wearing a “dark blue suit” is more concrete than saying he was wearing “clothes.”

connotative meaning An association that comes to mind when a person hears a word. For example, saying “he tackled the project” brings to mind competitive sports and is a more vivid way to convey competence and enthusiasm than saying “he was excited to start the project and knew he could do a good job.”

constructive criticism Thoughtful and tactful suggestions for improvement that take into account what a speaker is trying to accomplish. These kinds of suggestions allow speakers to build on their feedback and make improvements for future presentations.

content-oriented listening A style of listening in which listeners favor depth and complexity of information and messages.

context The occasion, surrounding environment, and situation in which a speaker gives a presentation.

coordination A feature of a well-organized speech in which certain points share the same level of significance. For example, each main point is coordinate with the other main points, each subpoint with the other subpoints, and each sub-subpoint with the other sub-subpoints.

core belief A long- and closely held viewpoint that is particularly immune to persuasion.

credibility An audience’s perception that a speaker is well prepared and qualified to speak on his or her topic. Trustworthiness, dynamism, and goodwill are also elements of a speaker’s credibility. (See also ethos.)

credible source A source that can be reasonably trusted to be accurate and objective.

criteria-application pattern A speech organization pattern that proposes standards for the value judgment a speaker is making, then applies those standards to a related topic. For example, if a speaker were arguing that a city should budget money to renovate one of its crumbling historic neighborhoods, the speaker would first define the criteria for a “historic neighborhood,” then discuss how the city’s neighborhood is historic and therefore worth renovating.

critical thinking The analysis and evaluation of others’ ideas, as well as one’s own assumptions, based on reliability, truth, and accuracy.

culturally relative The recognition that ideas about ethical behavior sometimes differ from society to society.

culture The values, traditions, and rules for living that are passed from generation to generation. Culture is learned, not innate, and influences all aspects of a person’s life.

decode To interpret a message by making sense of a source’s verbal and nonverbal symbols. Decoding is performed by a receiver.

defeated listening Pretending to understand a message while actually being overwhelmed by or uninterested in the subject matter.

definition A technique used in informative speeches that explains the essence, meaning, purpose, or identity of something.

delivery One of the five classical canons of rhetoric, delivery is the speaker’s varied and appropriate use of vocal and nonverbal elements, such as voice, hand gestures, eye contact, and movement, while presenting a speech.

delivery reminder A special instruction speakers include within a speaking outline to remind themselves about such things as body language, pauses, and special emphasis.

demographics Audience members’ characteristics, including but not limited to age, gender composition, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious orientation, socioeconomic background, and political affiliation.

demonstration A technique used in informative speeches involving both physical modeling and verbal elements, with the goal of teaching an audience how a process or set of guidelines works.

denotative meaning The exact, literal dictionary definition of a word.

description A technique of informative speeches that uses words to paint a mental picture for audience members so that they can close their eyes and imagine what the speaker is saying.

designated leader A person chosen by an authority figure to help a group move quickly forward with its mission.

diagram A drawing that details an object or action, as well as arrangements and relations among its parts.

diction See word choice (diction).

dictionary A reference work that offers definitions, pronunciation guides, and sometimes etymologies of words.

dictionary definition A type of support that provides the meaning of a term as presented in a general or specialized dictionary.

disposition An audience’s likely attitude toward a message. In most cases, an audience can be divided into three groups: sympathetic, hostile, and neutral.

Elaboration Likelihood Model A model showing two ways that audience members may evaluate a persuasive speaker’s message: the central and peripheral routes.

emergent leader One who comes to be recognized as a leader by a group’s members over time.

encode To choose verbal or nonverbal symbols to organize and deliver one’s message.

encyclopedia A reference work that offers relatively brief entries providing background information on a wide range of alphabetized topics.

epideictic Speaking that praises or blames.

ethical absolutism The adoption of a code of behavior to which a person adheres in all circumstances.

ethical audience An audience that exhibits courtesy, open-mindedness, and a willingness to hold the speaker accountable for his or her statements.

ethical speech Speech that incorporates ethical decision making, follows guidelines to tell the truth, and avoids misleading the audience.

ethics A set of rules and values shared by a group to guide conduct and distinguish between right and wrong.

ethnicity Cultural background that is usually associated with shared religion, national origin, and language.

ethos (credibility) Inspiring belief in an audience by conveying a sense of the speaker’s knowledge, honesty, trustworthiness, experience, authority, or wisdom.

etymological definition A type of support that explains the linguistic origin of a term—useful when the origin is interesting or will help the audience understand the word.

eulogy A speech that comments on the passing of an individual, celebrates his or her life, and often shares personal reflections and stories about the deceased.

evidence Information gathered from credible sources that helps a speaker support his or her claims.

example A sample or an instance that supports or illustrates a general claim.

example reasoning Presenting specific instances to support a general claim in the hope that they will be sufficient to convince listeners that the claim is reasonable or true.

expert definition A type of support that provides the meaning of a term as presented by a person who is a credible source of information on a particular topic.

expertise The possession of knowledge necessary to offer reliable facts or opinions about the topic in question.

expert testimony A type of support consisting of statements made by credible sources who have professional or other in-depth knowledge of a topic.

explanation A technique used in informative speeches that provides an analysis of something for the purposes of clarity and specificity by tracing a line of reasoning or a series of causal connections between events.

export (citations) To move source citations from computer-based library indexes to digital files.

extemporaneous delivery The ability, enabled by practice, to deliver a speech smoothly and confidently from a speaking outline without reading from it.

extended example A detailed narrative that serves as a sample or an instance that supports or illustrates a general claim.

external noise A phenomenon in the speech environment that disrupts communication between source and receiver—for example, when a speech is drowned out by a fleet of jets roaring overhead. Also known as external distractions.

eye contact The act of a speaker and audience members looking directly into each other’s eyes as they are speaking or listening.

fact claim A statement asserting that something is true or false, such as “Animal experimentation is necessary for human survival.”

fallacious (faulty) reasoning A type of faulty, and thus unsound, reasoning in which the link between a claim and its supporting material is weak.

false dilemma fallacy A speaker incorrectly claiming that there are only two possible choices to solve a problem, that one of them is wrong, and that the audience should therefore support the speaker’s solution. You can usually detect this fallacy if you know there are more than two choices.

false inference Deceiving an audience by presenting information that leads them to an incorrect conclusion.

fear appeal A form of pathos in which an argument arouses fear in the minds of audience members.

feedback An audience’s verbal and nonverbal responses to a source’s message.

figurative analogy An analogy in which the two entities being compared are not in the same category.

figurative language Words and phrases that employ certain techniques to describe claims or ideas, in order to make them more clear, memorable, or rhetorically stylistic. Examples include anaphora, antithesis, simile, and metaphor.

fixed-response question A survey question that gives a respondent a set of specific answers to choose from. Examples include true/false, multiple-choice, and select-all-that-apply questions.

flowchart A type of chart that demonstrates the direction of information or ideas, or illustrates the steps in a process.

forum (location) The setting where a speaker delivers, and an audience listens to, a speech.

freedom of expression The right to share one’s ideas and opinions free from censorship.

full disclosure The practice of formally acknowledging one’s own vested interest in a topic before presenting one’s arguments, to reveal any potential conflicts of interest.

full-text source The complete text of an article linked within an online periodical index.

functional definition A type of support that explains how something is used or what it does.

gender composition A demographic characteristic that considers how many men versus how many women will be in an audience.

gender-neutral term A word that does not suggest a particular gender.

gender stereotypes Oversimplified, often distorted views of what it means to be male or female.

gesture A hand, head, or face movement that emphasizes, pantomimes, demonstrates, or calls attention to something.

goodwill Speakers wanting what is best for their audience rather than what would most benefit themselves.

graph A visual representation of the relationship between different numbers, measurements, or quantities. Common types of graphs include line graphs, bar graphs, and pie charts.

group dynamics The ways in which the members of a group relate to one another and view their functions.

groupthink The tendency of the members of a group to accept ideas and information uncritically because of strong feelings of loyalty or single-mindedness within the group.

half-truth A statement that deceives an audience by revealing part of the truth but mixing it with a lie.

hasty generalization Misusing logic and deceiving an audience by asserting that a piece of evidence—one that applies to a limited number of cases—applies to all cases.

hearing Passively receiving messages without trying to interpret or understand them.

hierarchy of needs A theory that divides human needs into five levels and emphasizes that people’s most basic needs must be met before they will focus on less essential ones. Psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs begins with physiological needs, followed by safety, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs.

hostile audience A type of audience that opposes a speaker’s message, or the speaker personally, and so will resist listening to the speech.

hypothetical example An imagined example or scenario that a speaker invites his or her audience to consider in order to help them follow a complicated point presented immediately afterward.

imagery Mental pictures or impressions painted with vivid language.

implied leader A person with preexisting authority or skills that make him or her likely to be recognized as a leader by a group, even if leadership has not been formally assigned.

impromptu delivery A speech in which content is generated in the moment, without advanced preparation.

inductive reasoning Generalizing from facts, instances, or examples, and then making a claim based on that generalization. If a couple has two bad experiences in a row at the same restaurant, they might conclude that they will always have a bad experience at that restaurant.

informative purpose The rhetorical purpose that aims to educate and increase an audience’s understanding and awareness of a topic.

interactive listening The process of a receiver filtering out distractions, focusing on what others have said, and communicating that he or she has paid attention.

internal noise Thoughts that distract a sender or receiver from processing and retaining a message. Also known as internal distractions.

internal preview A short list of ideas before a main point or subpoint that quickly summarizes the points that will follow. Using an internal preview is akin to giving the audience an advance warning of what is to come.

internal summary A quick review of what a speaker has just said in a main point or subpoint, used to help an audience remember a particularly detailed point.

interruptive listening The act of interjecting questions or comments before a sender is finished speaking. Both audience members and speakers can be guilty of interruptive listening.

interview A means of gathering information—used for research or audience analysis—in which a speaker has a conversation with experts or select members of a future audience and records their responses. The interview can be conducted in many ways—for example, in person, by e-mail, or by instant message.

introduction Occurs at the beginning of a speech and serves several purposes, including gaining the audience’s attention, presenting the thesis statement, building common ground with the audience, establishing speaker credibility, and previewing the speech’s main points.

invention One of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this refers to using a variety of techniques and sources to gather and choose ideas for a speech.

jargon Specialized or technical words or phrases familiar only to people in a specific field or group.

keyword A word or term related to a topic, including a synonym of the word. Keywords are often used in online or database searches.

latitude of acceptance The range of positions on a given issue that are acceptable to an audience.

latitude of rejection The range of positions on a given issue that are unacceptable to an audience.

lay testimony A type of support consisting of statements made by persons with no special expertise in the subject they are discussing.

legally protected speech Telling the truth or withholding information based on whether the law allows it. If you use legal protection as your guiding principle for speaking, you can technically stay within the bounds of what is lawful but still speak unethically.

line graph A type of graph that plots lines on a pair of axes to show relationships between two elements.

listening Actively receiving and processing messages to understand their meaning and remember their content.

literal analogy An analogy in which two entities in the same category are being compared.

loaded language Using emotionally charged words to convey meaning that cannot be supported by facts.

loaded language fallacy The unethical use of emotionally charged words to convey meaning that is not supported by factual evidence.

location See forum (location).

logos The sound reasoning that supports a speaker’s claims and makes the argument more persuasive to an audience.

main points Key ideas that support a thesis and help an audience understand and remember what is most important about a speaker’s topic; main points are supported by subpoints. (See also subpoints.)

marking a special occasion A rhetorical purpose that seeks to honor a person or an event by entertaining, inspiring, or emotionally moving an audience.

mediated communication Messages transmitted through either a mechanical or an electronic medium.

memory One of the five classical canons of rhetoric, memory is the process of preparing and practicing a speech to ensure confident and effective delivery. Originally, this canon referred to learning a speech by heart; in the twenty-first century, however, using notes and other memory aids is usually preferred.

message Verbal or nonverbal ideas that a source conveys to an audience through the communication process.

metaphor An implicit comparison of unlike objects by identifying one object with another. For example: “Her advisor was a fount of knowledge.”

mind mapping A strategy for generating topic ideas in which a person writes down an initial word or phrase and then surrounds it with additional words, pictures, and symbols to create an interconnected map of ideas.

mobile audience An audience that is not bound to sit or stand for the duration of a speech. Mobile audiences might be found at an exhibitor’s booth, on a town common, or on a city sidewalk.

moderator In a panel discussion, the person who introduces the panelists and facilitates the discussion.

Monroe’s motivated sequence Developed by Alan Monroe, a popular persuasive organizational pattern that is structured around five main points: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action.

multitasking A distraction in which the audience is engaged in several different activities at once, often including the use of technological devices. This is more likely to occur during a presentation in which the speaker is in a remote location.

narrative A story a speaker tells to share information and capture an audience’s attention. As used in informative speeches, the story can be a personal remembrance, a humorous anecdote, or a serious account of an event that happened in someone else’s life.

naturalness The extent to which a communication medium matches the features of face-to-face interaction.

needs The objects an audience desires and the feelings they have that must be satisfied.

nervous listening Talking through silences in conversation.

neutral audience A type of audience that has neither negative nor positive opinions about a speaker or message.

noise (interference) External or internal phenomena that disrupt communication between a source and a receiver. External sources include nearby loud noises, while internal sources might include wandering thoughts of the source or receiver.

nonlistening Failing to pay attention to what one is hearing, and thus failing to process, understand, and retain the message.

nonverbal delivery skills Use of eye contact, gestures, and other techniques—such as physical movement, proxemics, and personal appearance—to deliver a speech.

nonverbal symbol A means of communicating without using words. Examples include hand gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions.

objectivity A quality of credible sources by which they avoid bias—that is, prejudice or partisanship.

observational capacity A source’s ability to witness a situation for him- or herself, thus increasing the source’s reliability.

omission A form of false inference that deceives an audience by withholding important information.

open-ended question A survey question that invites respondents to give answers of their own choosing, rather than offering them a limited set of responses.

outline A written means of organizing a speech using sentences, phrases, or key words. An outline includes the main ideas of a speech’s introduction, body, and conclusion.

outlining Organizing the points of a speech into a structured form that lays out the sequence and hierarchy of a speaker’s ideas.

panel discussion A form of group presentation in which group members engage in discourse with one another, observed by the audience.

panelist A participant in a panel discussion.

panning A form of nonverbal delivery in which a speaker looks out and surveys all audience members. As the speaker looks back and forth across the audience, he or she pauses and makes extended eye contact with an individual listener for a few moments before moving on to do the same with another listener.

paraphrasing Putting someone else’s ideas into one’s own words and giving appropriate credit to the original source.

participatory (or social) media A means to find online information, in which people both create and access material. The lack of review taking place before information is posted should make speakers proceed with caution before using it in a speech.

pathos Appealing to an audience’s emotions.

pausing Leaving strategic gaps of silence between the words and sentences of one’s speech.

peer review The act of subjecting articles submitted to a scholarly journal to critical readings by other experts in a particular field.

people-oriented listening A style of listening in which listeners are willing to invest time and attention in communications because of their interest in supporting friends and strengthening relationships.

periodical A weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual publication, including scholarly journals and news and topical-interest magazines.

peripheral belief A viewpoint that is not held as closely or for quite as long as a core belief; thus, people holding it may be open to persuasion. (For contrast, see core belief.)

peripheral route According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, one of two ways audience members may evaluate a speaker’s message. This route uses tangential cues (low elaboration), such as attractiveness of the speaker, flashy presentation aids, or certain aspects of the speaker’s delivery.

personal appearance The impression a speaker makes on an audience through his or her clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, grooming, and other elements influencing how the speaker looks.

persuasive purpose A rhetorical purpose that seeks to strengthen listeners’ commitment, weaken listeners’ commitment, or promote a particular action.

persuasive speech A speech that aims to influence audience members’ beliefs, attitudes, or actions, to which end it employs strategic discourse and calls for the audience to accept fact, value, and policy claims.

physical movement How much or how little a speaker moves around while giving a presentation.

pie chart (circle graph) Information arranged to resemble a sliced pie, which helps a speaker clarify how proportions and percentages relate to one another and add up to a whole.

plagiarism Presenting another person’s words or ideas as one’s own.

policy claim A statement that advocates action by organizations, institutions, or members of the audience. For example: “Anyone opposed to animal experimentation should join an activist organization, such as the Humane Society, to help put a stop to this cruel and unnecessary practice.”

political affiliation A person’s political beliefs and positions.

post hoc fallacy Incorrectly naming the cause of one event as the event that immediately preceded it.

power wording The unethical practice of paraphrasing evidence in a way that better supports one’s own claim but misrepresents a source’s point of view.

precise evidence Supporting materials consisting of specific dates, places, numbers, and other facts.

prerecorded presentation A presentation recorded by the speaker for later viewing by one or more audiences.

presentation aid Anything beyond spoken words that a speaker uses to help the audience understand and remember his or her message; includes presentation materials that can be seen, heard, or touched.

presentation software A computer program that enables users to create, edit, and present information, usually in a slide-show format.

presentation time The length of time a speaker has to deliver his or her speech.

preview A brief statement of the main points a speaker will be presenting in his or her speech; tells an audience what to expect, and helps them visualize the structure of a speech. Sometimes also referred to as a road map for the speech.

prior exposure The extent to which an audience has already heard a speaker’s message, which will affect the audience’s interest or belief in what the speaker is saying.

problem-cause-solution pattern A speech organizational pattern that identifies a problem, explains the problem’s causes, and proposes one or more solutions, which often include asking an audience to support a policy or take a specific action.

processing Actively thinking about the meaning of the verbal and nonverbal components of a message one is receiving. Processing is the first step in effective listening.

projection The act of “booming” one’s voice across a speaking forum in order to reach all audience members.

pronunciation Correctness in the way one says words.

proxemics The use of space and distance between a speaker and an audience.

quotation book A reference work offering famous or notable quotations on a variety of subjects.

race Common heritage based on genetically shared physical characteristics of people in a group.

rate of delivery How quickly or slowly a person speaks while giving a presentation.

real-time presentation A presentation delivered directly to the audience as the speaker presents the message from a remote location.

receiver One who processes a message to perceive its meaning.

recency A quality of credible sources that holds that because of our rapidly changing world, newer evidence is generally more reliable than older evidence.

reference work A compilation of background information on major topic areas useful for doing introductory research or discovering a specific fact.

reflective-thinking process A five-step strategy for group decision making: (1) define the problem, (2) analyze the problem, (3) establish criteria for solving the problem, (4) generate possible solutions, and (5) select the best solution.

relaxation strategies Techniques to be performed before giving a speech to help relieve muscle tension and banish negative thoughts. These strategies include deep breathing, and tensing and releasing one’s muscles.

religious orientation A person’s set of religious beliefs, which can shape his or her response to a speech.

representative example An instance typical of the class it represents. For example, if a speaker is arguing that Americans are getting tired of corrupt politicians, providing representative examples would mean citing instances from across the country rather than from only one or two states or regions.

research The process of gathering information from libraries, the Internet, and interviews to increase a speaker’s credibility and understanding of a topic.

research librarian A career professional hired to assist students and faculty with their research.

research objectives The goals one needs to accomplish with research.

research plan A strategy for finding and keeping track of the information (in books, periodicals, Web sites, and other sources) a speaker might use to prepare a presentation.

retention The ability to remember what one has heard. The second step in effective listening, retention is directly related to how much attention one pays during an event; the more attentive one is, the more one will remember.

reversed causality Missing the fact that the effect is actually the cause.

rhetorical purpose One of three goals of a presentation: to inform, to persuade, or to mark a special occasion. The rhetorical purpose is the speaker’s intended effect on the audience.

rhetorical question A question that a speaker expects listeners to answer in their heads; used to capture an audience’s attention and get them thinking about a speaker’s topic.

scaled question A survey question that measures the intensity of a respondent’s feelings on an issue by offering a range of fixed responses. These can take the form of a numerical scale—for example, the numbers one (lowest) to ten (highest)—or a list of options (“strongly agree,” “agree,” “neutral,” “disagree,” or “strongly disagree”).

script A typed or handwritten document containing the entire text of your speech.

search engine A specialized online program that allows users to conduct keyword searches, then provides links to relevant Web pages. Examples include Google (www.google.com), Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), Bing (www.bing.com), and Ask (www.ask.com). Also referred to as a spider or crawler.

sexist language Language with a bias for or against a given gender.

sexual orientation A demographic characteristic that considers whether audience members may be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning.

shared meaning A common understanding with little confusion and few misinterpretations. Achieving shared meaning is a priority of the transactional model of communication.

signpost A word or phrase within a sentence that informs the audience about the direction and organization of a speech.

sign reasoning Arguing that a fact is true because indirect indicators are consistent with that fact. For example, a speaker might argue that the United States is in a recession, supporting that claim with evidence that people are making greater use of payday loan businesses.

simile An explicit comparison of objects using the words like or as. For example: “My grandmother’s lap was as soft as a pillow.”

situational audience analysis Quick audience analysis just before or during a speech, to be conducted if the makeup of an audience is different from what the speaker expected or if the audience appears to be confused, lost, or hostile.

situational characteristics Factors in a specific speech setting that a speaker can observe or discover before giving the speech. Examples include audience size, time, location (forum), and audience mobility.

situational ethics The belief that proper ethical behavior can be informed by a person’s circumstances, especially if those circumstances are extreme or unusual.

slippery slope fallacy Arguing against a policy because one assumes (without proof) that it will inevitably lead to another outcome that is undesirable. For example, “If we legalize marijuana, that will be the first step toward legalization of all drugs, which would create a public health catastrophe.”

small group A limited number of people (three or more) gathered for a specific purpose.

socioeconomic status A measure of where individuals stand in terms of financial resources, education, and occupation in relation to other individuals.

source In models of communication, a person who creates and sends a message to receivers.

spatial pattern A speech organization pattern in which the main points represent important aspects of a topic, thought of as adjacent to one another in location or geography. If a speaker were discussing historical sites in a state’s three largest cities, he or she might use a spatial pattern of organization.

speaking outline A type of outline containing words or short phrases representing the speaker’s key ideas and giving reminders of delivery guidelines.

specific purpose A concise phrase consisting of the rhetorical purpose followed by the objective of a speech. For example, the specific purpose of a speech on traveling in the Yucatan Peninsula might be “to inform my audience about the educational and recreational opportunities as well as the health and safety hazards of traveling in the Yucatan Peninsula.”

speech anxiety (stage fright) Nervousness before giving a speech that can result in a variety of symptoms, such as sweaty palms; dry mouth; and even nausea, hyperventilation, and panic.

speech critique Written or oral feedback following a presentation that identifies the presentation’s main points and objectives, thoughtfully discusses strengths and weaknesses, and offers suggestions for improvement.

stationary audience An audience that will be relatively motionless while listening to a speech. Classrooms, lecture halls, and conference rooms generally house stationary audiences.

statistic A piece of numerical data that helps a speaker quantify points and helps an audience understand how often a given situation occurs.

stereotype A critical generalization based on the false assumption that characteristics displayed by some members of a group are shared by all members of that group.

strategic discourse The process of selecting arguments that will best achieve a speaker’s rhetorical purpose in an ethical manner.

straw person fallacy Substituting a real claim with a weaker claim that a speaker can more easily refute. If a mayor proposes that bike lanes be added to a city’s main thoroughfares, but the city council argues that it would be prohibitively expensive to add bike lanes to every street in the city, the city council is committing this fallacy.

style One of the five classical canons of rhetoric, this is a speaker’s choice of language that will best express his or her ideas to the audience.

subordination A principle of speech outlining that dictates the hierarchy in the relationship of main points and supporting materials. Each subpoint must support its corresponding main point, and each sub-subpoint must support its corresponding subpoint. In an outline, supporting points are written below and to the right of the point they support. (See also subpoints and sub-subpoints.)

subpoints Ideas gathered from brainstorming and research that explain, prove, and expand on a speech’s main points.

sub-subpoints Ideas gathered from brainstorming or research that explain, prove, and expand on a speech’s subpoints.

summary A brief review of the speech’s main points; used in the conclusion of a speech to help an audience remember what they’ve heard.

superficial listening Pretending to pay attention while actually succumbing to internal or external noise, such as wandering thoughts, cell phones, or conversation.

supporting materials (supporting points) Examples, definitions, testimony, statistics, narratives, and analogies that support or illustrate a speaker’s main points.

survey A series of written questions a speaker asks audience members to answer in advance of the presentation.

sympathetic audience A type of audience that already agrees with a speaker’s message or holds the speaker in high esteem and thus will respond favorably to the speech.

symposium A method of group presentation in which group members take responsibility for delivering different parts of the presentation.

takeaway A memorable phrase or sentence that captures the essence of a speech and can be repeated at key points in the speech.

taking evidence out of context A form of false inference that deceives an audience by selectively choosing from a source’s data or statements and presenting them in a manner that is inconsistent with the source’s beliefs or conclusions.

testimony A type of support consisting of statements provided by other people, the source of these statements often being researched in a library, found online, or recorded in an interview.

thesis statement A single sentence that conveys the topic and purpose of a speech. All the different parts of a speech, such as the main points and subpoints, should tie into the thesis statement. Sometimes also referred to as the central idea or topic statement.

time-oriented listening A style of listening in which listeners are concerned with managing, conserving, and protecting their time.

tone The high and low qualities of a person’s speaking voice. Moderate tonal variety is preferable to using a single tone—known as monotone—which is usually either low and mumbling or high-pitched and annoying.

topic The subject of a speech. Speakers should choose a topic based on their own and their audience’s interests and knowledge level, as well as their ability to cover the topic during the allotted time frame.

top-level domain The designation at the end of a Web address that indicates the site sponsor’s affiliation: commercial (.com), nonprofit (.org), educational (.edu), government (.gov, .uk), or other organization (.net). Based on the top-level domain alone, it cannot be determined whether an online source is credible. The credibility of the person or organization that created the site must be assessed.

transaction A communicative exchange in which all participants continuously send and receive messages.

transition A sentence that smoothly connects one idea or part of a speech to another.

trustworthiness The characteristic of exhibiting honesty and fairness. Often seen as one component of a speaker’s ethos.

two-sided argument An argument in which the speaker acknowledges an argument against his or her thesis, then uses evidence and reasoning to refute that argument.

unprocessed note taking Writing down a speech word-for-word without thinking about what is being said. Unprocessed note taking hampers retention.

value claim A statement that attaches a judgment—such as deeming something good, bad, moral, or immoral—to a subject. For example: “Animal experimentation is inhumane.”

values People’s “core conceptions” about what is desirable for their own lives and for society. Values guide people’s judgments and actions.

verbal chart Words arranged in a certain format, such as bullet points, to explain ideas, concepts, or general information.

verbal clutter Extraneous words that make a presentation hard to follow. To say “In spite of the fact that you disagree with me” is more verbally cluttered than “Although you disagree with me.”

verbal delivery skills The use of one’s voice to effectively deliver a speech. A speaker should consider volume, tone, rate of delivery, projection, articulation, pronunciation, and pausing.

verbal filler A word or phrase such as you know or like that a speaker uses to fill uncomfortable silences.

verbal symbol A spoken, written, or recorded word that a source uses to convey a message.

verbal tic A sound such as um or ah that speakers use when searching for a correct word or when they have lost their train of thought.

visualization A method of easing speech anxiety in which the speaker imagines him- or herself giving a relaxed, well-received speech from start to finish.

vivid language Attention-grabbing and descriptive words and phrases that appeal to the senses.

volume How loud or soft a speaker’s voice is when delivering a speech.

Web directory A searchable index of reviewed Web sites compiled by human editors and organized into categories and subcategories. Popular Web directories include ipl2: Information You Can Trust (www.ipl.org), Academic Info (www.academicinfo.net/educational-resources), and Infomine (infomine.ucr.edu).

word association A strategy for generating topic ideas in which one idea leads to another, then another, and so on, until the speaker happens upon an appropriate topic.

word choice (diction) Taking into consideration the audience, occasion, and nature of one’s message when choosing language for a speech.

working outline A type of outline containing full sentences or detailed phrases of all the main points, subpoints, and sub-subpoints in a speech. Also referred to as a detailed outline or preparation outline.

works cited list An alphabetized list of the sources a speaker cited in his or her speech; usually written in accordance with a particular style of documentation, such as American Psychological Association (APA) style or Modern Language Association (MLA) style.

worldview The “lens” through which a person sees and interprets reality. Listeners’ worldviews will affect how they respond to a source’s message.

yearbook A reference work that is updated annually and contains statistics and other facts about social, political, and economic topics.