Terms

Question 1

rhetoric

Answer 1

the practice of oratory, or public speaking.

Question 2

oratory

Answer 2

in classical terms, the art of public speaking.

Question 3

agora

Answer 3

in ancient Greece, a public square or marketplace.

Question 4

forum

Answer 4

in Roman times, a public space in which people gathered to deliberate about the issues of the day; see also agora, public forum.

Question 5

public forum

Answer 5

any physical or virtual space in which people gather to voice their ideas about public issues.

Question 6

forensic oratory

Answer 6

in ancient Greece, speech addressing legal matters, such as the settlement of disputes.

Question 7

deliberative oratory

Answer 7

in ancient Greece, speech addressing legislative or political policy issues.

Question 8

epideictic oratory

Answer 8

in ancient Greece, speech addressing special occasions, such as celebrations and funerals.

Question 9

canons of rhetoric

Answer 9

a classical approach to speechmaking in which the speaker divides a speech into five parts: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.

Question 10

invention

Answer 10

the classical term for the process of selecting information to illustrate or prove speech points.

Question 11

arrangement

Answer 11

the strategic process of deciding how to order speech points into a coherent and convincing pattern for your topic and audience; also refers to one of the five parts of the classical canons of rhetoric.

Question 12

style

Answer 12

the speaker’s choice of words and sentence structure.

Question 13

memory

Answer 13

one of five parts of the classical canons of rhetoric; refers to practicing the speech until it can be artfully delivered.

Question 14

delivery

Answer 14

the vocal and nonverbal behavior that a speaker uses in a public speech; one of the five canons of rhetoric.

Question 15

culture

Answer 15

the language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors that are passed from one generation to the next.

Question 16

cultural intelligence

Answer 16

the willingness to learn about other cultures and
gradually reshape your thinking and behavior in response to what you’ve learned.

Question 17

dyadic communication

Answer 17

communication between two people, as in a conversation.

Question 18

small group communication

Answer 18

communication among a small number of people who can see and speak directly with one another, as in a business meeting.

Question 19

mass communication

Answer 19

communication that occurs between a speaker and a large audience of unknown people. In mass communication the receivers of the message are not present with the speaker, or they are part of such an immense crowd that there can be no interaction between speaker and listener. Television, radio news broadcasts, and mass rallies are examples of mass communication.

Question 20

public speaking

Answer 20

a type of communication in which a speaker delivers a message with a specific purpose to an audience of people who are present at the delivery of the speech. Public speaking always includes a speaker who has a reason for speaking, an audience that gives the speaker its attention,and a message that is meant to accomplish a purpose.

Question 21

source

Answer 21

the source, or sender, is the person who creates a message. The speaker transforms ideas and thoughts into messages and sends them to a receiver, or an audience.

Question 22

encoding

Answer 22

the process of organizing a message, choosing words and sentence structure, and verbalizing the message.

Question 23

receiver

Answer 23

the recipient (an individual or a group) of a source’s message.

Question 24

decoding

Answer 24

the process of interpreting a message.

Question 25

feedback

Answer 25

audience response to a message, which can be conveyed both verbally and nonverbally through gestures. Feedback from the audience often indicates whether a speaker’s message has been understood.

Question 26

message

Answer 26

the content of the communication process—thoughts and ideas put into meaningful expressions. A message can be expressed both verbally put into meaningful expressions. A message can be expressed both verbally contact and gestures).

Question 27

channel

Answer 27

the medium through which the speaker sends a message—for example, sound waves, airwaves, electronic transmission, and so forth.

Question 28

noise

Answer 28

anything that interferes with the communication process between a speaker and an audience so that the message cannot be understood; noise can derive from external sources in the environment or from internal psychological factors.

Question 29

shared meaning

Answer 29

the mutual understanding of a message between speaker and audience. Shared meaning occurs in varying degrees. The lowest level of shared meaning exists when the speaker has merely caught the audience’s attention. As the message develops, depending on the encoding choices by the source, a higher degree of shared meaning is possible.

Question 30

context

Answer 30

anything that influences the speaker, the audience, the occasion, and thus, ultimately, the speech.

Question 31

rhetorical situation

Answer 31

the circumstances that call for a public response; in broadest terms, consideration of the audience, occasion, and overall speech situation when planning a speech.

Question 32

audience centered- perspectives

Answer 32

an approach to speech preparation in which in each phase of the speech preparation process—from selection and treatment of the speech topic to making decisions about organization,language, and method of delivery—is geared toward communicating a meaningful message to the audience.

Question 33

audience analysis

Answer 33

the process of gathering and analyzing demographic and psychological information about audience members with the explicit aim of adapting your message to better reach the audience you will be addressing.

Question 34

general speech purpose

Answer 34

a declarative statement that answers the question “Why am I speaking on this topic for this particular audience and occasion?” Usually the general speech goal is to inform, to persuade, or to mark a special occasion; see also specific speech purpose.

Question 35

specific speech purpose

Answer 35

a refined statement of purpose that zeroes in more closely than the general purpose on the goal of the speech; see also general speech purpose.

Question 36

thesis statement

Answer 36

the theme, or central idea, of a speech that serves to connect all the parts of the speech. The main points, the supporting material, and the conclusion all relate to the thesis.

Question 37

main points

Answer 37

the key ideas or primary points intended to fulfill the speech purpose. Their function is to make claims in support of the thesis; see also subordinate points.

Question 38

supporting materials

Answer 38

information (examples, narratives, testimony, and facts and statistics) that clarifies, elaborates, and verifies the speaker’s assertions.

Question 39

introduction

Answer 39

the first part of a speech in which the speaker establishes the speech purpose and its relevance to the audience and previews the topic and the main points.

Question 40

body (of speech)

Answer 40

the part of the speech in which the speaker develops the main points intended to fulfill the speech purpose.

Question 41

conclusion

Answer 41

the part of the speech in which the speaker reiterates the speech purpose, summarizes main points, and leaves the audience with something to think about or act upon.

Question 42

coordinate points

Answer 42

the alignment of points in a speech outline according to their equal importance to the topic and purpose.

Question 43

subordinate points

Answer 43

The alignment of points within a speech outline that have somewhat lesser weight than main points; they provide support for or extend the more central ideas or main points.

Question 44

organizational pattern

Answer 44

the arrangement of speech content info a specific organizational model, such as a chronological or cause-effect pattern. Different patterns produce different outcomes, depending upon the type of information contained in the speech, as well as the speaker’s goals.

Question 45

presentation aids

Answer 45

objects, models, pictures, graphs, charts, video, audio, and multimedia used alone or in combination within context of a speech; such aids help listeners see relationships among concepts and elements, store and remember material, and critically examine key ideas.