Key Terms
Chapter 7: Topic & Audience
| Public Speaking | the presentation of a speech, usually prepared in advance, during which the speaker is the central focus of an audience's attention |
| Self-inventory | a list of subjects that you know about and find interesting |
| Brainstorming | generating as many ideas as possible in a given amount of time |
| General Purpose | overall goal of a speech; usually one of three overlapping functions: to inform, persuade, or entertain |
| Informative Speech | a speech that enhances an audience's knowledge and understanding by explaining what something means, how something works, or how something is done |
| Persuasive Speech | a speech that attempts to change listeners' beliefs,
attitudes, or behaviors by advocating or gaining acceptance of an idea or point of view |
| Entertainment Speech | a speech that provides enjoyment and amusement |
| Specific Purpose | the particular goal that defines exactly what you intend to accomplish in your speech |
| Audience Analysis | the collection and interpretation of data about characteristics, attitudes, values, and beliefs of an audience |
| Audience | refers to the individuals who listen to a speech |
| Captive Participants | audience members required to listen to a particular speech |
| Voluntary Participants | those who choose to hear a particular speech because of interest or need |
| Demographic Analysis | the collection and interpretation of basic information such as age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, education, occupation, religion, socioeconomic status, geographic location, political affiliation, voting habits, family relationships, marital and parental status, and group memberships |
| Psychological Analysis | the collection of data on audience members' values, attitudes, and beliefs |
| Observation | method of audience analysis in which the speaker watches audience members and notes their behaviors and characteristics |
| Survey Interview | a carefully planned and executed person-to-person, question-and-answer session during which the speaker tries to discover specific information that will help in the preparation of a speech |
| Questionnaire | a set of written questions distributed to respondents to gather desired information |
Chapter 8: Gathering information
| Expert Opinion | ideas or judgments from someone recognized as an authority |
| Interview | carefully planned, person-to-person, question-and-answer session aimed at gathering information |
| Lexis-Nexis | an electronic source of newspapers from around the world |
| ERIC | Educational Research Information Clearinghouse database found at most libraries which provides access to reviewed convention papers |
| World Wide Web | a global information system that allows users to access information from the Internet |
| Search Engines | programs used to find information on the World Wide Web |
| Testimony | opinions or conclusions of witnesses or recognized authorities |
| Example | simple, representative incident or model that clarifies a point |
| Brief Example | specific instance that is used to introduce a topic, drive home a point, or create a desired response |
| Illustration | extended example, narrative, case history, or anecdote that is striking and memorable |
| Factual Illustration | report of something that exists or actually happened |
| Hypothetical Illustration | report of something that could or probably would happen, given a specific set of circumstances |
| Analogy | comparison of two things that are similar in certain essential characteristics |
| Figurative Analogy | comparison of things in different categories |
| Literal Analogy | comparison of members of the same category |
| Restatement | the expression of the same idea using different words |
| Logical Definition | definition consisting of a term's dictionary definition and the characteristics that distinguish the term from other members of the same category |
| Operational Definition | definition that explains how an object or concept works or lists the steps that make up a process |
| Definition by Example | clarifying a term, not by describing it or giving its meaning, but by describing or showing an example of it |
| Statistics | numerical data that show relationships or summarize or interpret many instances |