Public Speaking Handbook

Glossary (^473)
target audience: A specific segment of an audience that you
most want to address or influence
task-oriented listener: Someone who prefers information that
is well organized, brief, and precise
team: A coordinated small group of people organized to work
together, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities,
explicit rules, and well-defined goals
terminal credibility: The final impression listeners have of a
speaker’s credibility, after a speech concludes
toast: A brief salute to a momentous occasion
topical organization: Organization of the natural divisions in
a central idea on the basis of recency, primacy, complexity, or
the speaker’s preference
transformational leadership: The process of influencing
others by building a shared vision of the future, inspiring
others to achieve, developing high-quality individual rela-
tionships with others, and helping people see how what they
do is related to a larger framework or system
transition: A verbal or nonverbal signal that a speaker has
finished discussing one idea and is moving to another
trustworthiness: An aspect of a speaker’s credibility that
reflects whether the speaker is perceived as believable and
honest
understand: To assign meaning to the stimuli to which you
attend
understatement: Downplaying a fact or event
value: An enduring concept of right and wrong, good and bad
verbal irony: Expressing the exact opposite of the intended
meaning
verbal transition: A word or phrase that indicates the relation-
ship between two ideas
vertical search engine: A Web site that indexes World Wide
Web information in a specific field
visual rhetoric: The use of images as an integrated element in
the total communication effort a speaker makes to achieve
the speaking goal
volume: The softness or loudness of a speaker’s voice
wit: Relating an incident that concludes in an unexpected way
word picture: A vivid description that appeals to the senses
working memory theory of listening: A theory that suggests
that listeners find it difficult to concentrate and remember
when their short-term working memories are full
World Wide Web: The primary information-delivery system of
the Internet
written citation: The presentation in print of such information
about a source as the author, title, and year of publication,
usually formatted according to a conventional style guide
social judgment theory: The theory that listeners’ responses
to persuasive messages fall in the category of latitude
of acceptance, the latitude of rejection, or the latitude of
noncommitment
socioeconomic status: A person’s perceived importance and
influence based on factors such as income, occupation, and
education level
soft evidence: Supporting material based on opinion or
inference; includes hypothetical illustrations, descriptions,
explanations, definitions, analogies, and opinions.
source: The public speaker
spatial organization: Organization according to location or
direction
speaking notes: A brief outline used when a speech is
delivered
specific purpose: A concise statement of what you want
your listeners to know, feel, or be able to do when you finish
speaking
speech act: A behavior, such as burning a flag, that is viewed
by law as nonverbal communication and is subject to the
same protections and limitations as verbal speech
speech of introduction: A speech that provides information
about another speaker
speech to inform: A speech that shares information with
others to enhance their knowledge or understanding about
ideas, concepts, principles, or processes
speech topic: The key focus of the content of a speech
spoonerism: A play on words involving the switching of the
initial sounds of the words in a phrase
stacks: The collection of books in a library
standard outline form: Numbered and lettered headings and
subheadings arranged hierarchically to indicate the relation-
ships among the various parts of a speech
Standard American English: The English taught by schools
and used in the media, business, and government in the
United States
stationary microphone: A microphone that is found attached
to a podium, sitting on a desk, or standing on the floor
statistics: Numerical data that summarize facts or samples
summary: A recap of what has been said
suspension: Withholding a key word or phrase until the end
of a sentence
syllogism: A three-part way of developing an argument, using
a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
symbols: Words, images, and behaviors that create meaning
symposium: A public discussion in which a series of short
speeches is presented to an audience
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