Glossary of Key Terms

accessibility: Whether and how easily an author can directly publish their work.

accuracy: The truthfulness or veracity of the information provided by a source.

active listening: When an audience participates in the speech by listening closely, critically, and constructively.

ad hominem: A fallacy that occurs when the person, rather than the argument, is attacked.

agency: An individual’s ability to act freely or to independently intervene in a situation, their own life, and the world.

alignment: The deliberate placement of elements within a given visual aid slide or frame.

alliteration: The repetition of a single consonant in a sentence or series of sentences.

analogical reasoning: A type of reasoning in which there is an effort to prove a claim by comparing two situations or cases. Also known as reasoning from analogy.

anecdote: A form of evidence that offers a story or extended example in narrative form.

antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, typically in the same sentence.

appeal to authority: A fallacy produced when the source is not a qualified authority on the topic, does not have firsthand knowledge of the issue, is perceived to have excessive bias, and/or their assumptions do not match the speaker’s own.

appeal to common practice: A fallacy that occurs when the validity of the claim is based on the commonality or tradition of a belief or activity without any more specific offering of justification.

appeal to popularity: A fallacy that occurs when the validity of the claim is based on its popularity alone without any more specific offering of proof.

appearance: How a speaker looks while speaking.

appreciative listening: An attitude that allows for the enjoyment of a presentation, its aesthetics, and its style.

approach: In deliberation, this is a broad category of similar opinions on how to address a wicked problem, typically gathered around a shared logic and value.

argument: The advocacy of a belief, attitude, or course of action that is supported by evidence.

articulation: When a speaker says each word with clarity.

assertion: A claim that lacks an evidentiary basis and is offered without reason, support, or data.

attitude: A feeling or moral judgment about what is good or bad, right or wrong.

audience adaptation: Ways a speaker alters their speech, using audience analysis cues, to better achieve their speaking goals.

audience analysis: The practice of assessing factors that are likely to influence an audience’s reception of a message.

audience-interactive visual aids: Visual aids that rely on the audience’s input in real time to produce imagery.

authority: The expertise, power, or recognized knowledge a source has concerning a topic.

average: A type of statistic that seeks to numerically represent what is typical or common. An average may be calculated in terms of the mean, median, or mode.

background: Everything the audience can see behind or around a speaker within the camera’s frame when they are speaking through a camera lens.

balance: In speech outlining, this dictates that each main idea receives roughly the same amount of time and attention in the speech.

begging the question: This fallacy occurs when the speaker fails to provide evidence for their claim and, instead, restates the claim in place of additional data. Also known as circular reasoning.

belief: An audience’s conclusion about, or confidence in, what is or is not true or real.

bias: A predetermined commitment to a particular ideological or political perspective.

body movement: Positioning and motion of a speaker’s body.

camera angle: The slant or viewpoint of the camera on the speaker when speaking through a camera lens.

camera distance: The length of space between a speaker and their camera when speaking through a camera lens.

camera framing: When speaking through a camera lens, this is the edges of what the camera allows the audience to see and what it cuts out from their visibility.

camera steadiness: The motion or stillness of the camera’s frame when a speaker presents through a camera lens.

captive audience: An audience that is required to be in attendance.

categorical arrangement: A linear pattern of arrangement that uses a “category” of elements—such as parts, forms, functions, methods, characteristics, perspectives, or qualities of a topic—as its organizing principle.

causal reasoning: A type of reasoning in which a speaker claims an event is caused by a particular circumstance or action. Also known as reasoning from cause.

cause-effect arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that describes an existing situation or condition and then identifies or predicts the effects of that situation or condition.

certainty: In unproductive discourse, the exhibition of sureness about a position without recognizing its weaknesses or drawbacks. Lacks self-reflexivity or room for doubt.

chronological arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that uses time as its organizing principle.

citation: The provision of a source’s basic identifying information.

civic: Those matters that relate to the city or citizens.

civic engagement: Participation in community organizations, institutions, and groups with the goal of contributing to the public good.

civil speech: Communication that maintains decorum by being respectful, dispassionate, and polite.

claim: What a speaker attempts to prove and wants an audience to accept.

closed question: A type of question that prompts a single, one-word answer.

combativeness: In unproductive discourse, the use of aggressive behavior toward other participants and alternative perspectives, such as repeated interrupting, emotionally charged labels and terms, yelling, and personal attacks. Lacks empathy toward other participants and views dissenting opinions as the opposition to be defeated.

common ground: Any perspectives, interests, values, or concerns shared by some or all members of a deliberative discussion.

communication apprehension: The fear or anxiety that arises when a speaker anticipates public speaking.

community standards: Expectations of ethical behavior agreed to implicitly or explicitly by a specific community or organization.

compiler: A service that gathers information from multiple sources and makes it available.

conclusion: A speech’s closing.

concrete language: Words that ground ideas in examples from the physical world.

context: The conditions or situation within which rhetoric is produced.

contingency: A condition in which events and circumstances are dependent on several variables that evolve in unpredictable ways.

coordination: In speech outlining, this is the visual representation of the proper relationship between ideas.

counterargument: A claim or reasoning that opposes a speaker’s own claim.

counterpublic: A gathering of people excluded or dissuaded from the public sphere. Raises issues ignored or trivialized by the broader public.

course of action: An audience’s choice, behavior, or support for specific policies or procedures.

data: Material and reasons supporting the acceptance of a claim. Also called evidence.

database: An organized online storehouse of information that can easily be searched to retrieve desired sources.

deductive reasoning: Reasoning that moves from valid premises to a specific conclusion, often appearing in the classical form of the syllogism.

deliberation: In productive discourse, participants’ critical engagement of arguments and positions rather than the people themselves. Participants seek and accept critique. They consider multiple solutions rather than a singular focus. In moderated discussions, this consists of a deliberative presentation of a problem and multiple options and a subsequent deliberative discussion of those options. Also referred to as the deliberative process.

deliberative discussion: A group conversation through which a community, guided by one or more moderators, examines a complex public problem and range of available solutions to ultimately arrive at a choice or conclusion.

deliberative framing: The naming or defining of an issue in a way all parties can agree upon and that encourages the fair and direct comparison of approaches.

deliberative presentation: A speech that strives to fairly and evenhandedly describe a civic problem and multiple approaches to solving the problem. Emphasis is placed on the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.

deliberative process: A deliberative presentation of a problem and multiple options and a subsequent deliberative discussion of those options. Also referred to as deliberation.

delivery: A speaker’s physical conveyance of words and ideas, both vocally and nonverbally, to an audience.

demagogue: A person who employs demagoguery.

demagoguery: Rhetoric that explicitly claims to speak for the public’s best interests but implicitly gains more political power for the speaker and exacerbates divisions among the public, thereby weakening democracy.

democracy: A political system that locates control and power in the people.

democratic participant: A person who participates in public conversations about issues in a democratic society.

democratic principles: Behavioral standards necessary for democratic governance to exist and thrive.

demographic factors: Personal characteristics that are likely to shape an audience’s views and perspectives on a topic.

description: Noticing, identifying, and explaining a rhetorical artifact’s content, form, and absence when engaging in rhetorical criticism.

dichotomous thinking: In unproductive discourse, debate between two (and only two) diametrically opposed and extreme positions instead of exploring additional perspectives or middle ground.

direct audience: The people who are exposed to and attend to a speech.

direct questions: Questions that target one individual and should be used sparingly to draw out timid group members.

discrete audience: An audience that is finite in number, typically limited to those individuals who show up for the speaking event at a particular day and time.

dishonest framing: The persuasive use of language that manipulates facts and promotes disinformation.

disinformation: The deliberate attempt to spread wrong information to mislead listeners.

dispersed audience: An audience that is unlimited by location and/or time.

distrust: In unproductive discourse, the suspicion of other participants’ motives or goals. The presumption that they have a hidden agenda and thus a lack of faith in the honesty or authenticity of what they say.

division: In unproductive discourse, this refers to when speakers highlight and accentuate differences with other participants and their positions.

dogmatism: In unproductive discourse, the expression of familiar and even predictable talking points. Entrenched, predetermined positions.

dominantly situated positionality: A knower that does not occupy a position of social oppression (i.e., one that enjoys social privilege and power). They likely know less about oppression because they don’t likely experience it.

empathetic listening: Listening that seeks to see the message and point from the speaker’s perspective. It adopts a sense of care and responsibility that extends beyond self-interest.

empowerment: In productive discourse and persuasive speaking, the enablement of people to do something positive and effective for the community.

enthymeme: An informal, incomplete syllogism in which a speaker relies on the audience to use its knowledge and experience to supply missing information that completes the argument.

enunciation: A speaker’s fullness of articulation (or lack thereof).

environmental factors: Elements of the speaking situation such as time of day, size of audience, and communication medium.

ethical code: A set of rules or guidelines agreed to by a culture or group to regulate behavior.

ethical language: Language that recognizes the value and humanity of others by using accurate language and recognizing one’s identity.

ethical listener: An audience member who demonstrates responsibility to the speaker and to the society in which they live through how they listen.

ethical listening attitude: A positive disposition in which an audience member approaches discourse with an open mind and without fixed opinions.

ethical research: Research that utilizes proper practices for locating, using, evaluating, and citing research and sources.

ethics: A set of moral principles governing human conduct as it pertains to motives, ends, and the quality of one’s actions.

ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.

ethos: An audience’s perceptions of a speaker’s public character or persona; what we commonly call credibility.

evaluation: In rhetorical criticism, making judgments about the functions and consequences of the rhetoric examined.

evaluative listening: Also called critical listening, it means thinking critically about a speech’s content and testing its claims in order to form judgments about its ideas.

evidence: Data and backing in the form of examples, statistics, and testimony used to support a claim.

example: A type of evidence that provides a concrete instance in the form of a fact or occurrence.

extemporaneous delivery: A speaker’s use of trimmed-down notes to recall the speech’s structure, key ideas, and any direct quotations or source citations.

eye contact: This occurs when a speaker looks into the eyes of audience members.

facial expressions: A speaker’s use of their face to communicate emotions or reactions to an audience.

fair use: A legal doctrine that allows copyrighted material to be used without explicit permission, based on four factors: the purpose and character of use, the amount of substantiality of use compared with the work as a whole, the nature of the copyrighted work, and the effect on the potential market for sale or value of the copyrighted material.

fallacy: A flaw or defect in reasoning that undermines argument validity.

false dilemma: A fallacy that occurs when it is suggested that there are only two conclusions available although in reality other possibilities or options exist.

familiarity: The degree to which an audience already knows or is ignorant about the speaker and topic.

faulty analogy: A fallacy that occurs when an argument rests upon comparing two situations that possess more differences than similarities and are not reasonably comparable.

faulty cause: A fallacy that occurs when there is a faulty attribution of cause and effect. Also called post hoc.

framing: The use of language to order and make sense of the world.

freemium: Visual aid software that allows users to freely use a few basic features but requires payment to access more sophisticated or advanced tools.

gender-neutral language: Words that do not specify a particular gender.

gestures: Movement of a speaker’s hands.

groan zone: During a deliberative discussion, this is a stage of confusion and frustration that results from the broad representation of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas shared.

groupthink: A phenomenon that occurs when members’ desire for harmony outweighs their willingness to critically examine alternative perspectives.

hallucinate: When artificial intelligence makes up something (such as a source) that does not exist.

hasty generalization: A fallacy that occurs when the examples used to support a claim are not representative or sufficient in number.

hegemonic ideology: An ideology that has become a predominant way of seeing the world and serves the interests of those who hold institutional or social power.

heuristics: Specific strategies for generating new ideas when writing a speech.

hierarchical communication: In unproductive discourse, communication from the “top” decision-makers (officials, leaders, spokespersons, or experts) down, which subjugates everyday individuals’ preferences or insights.

hierarchy: An unequal ranking of people or groups.

honest framing: The persuasive use of language that is ethical, open, and trustworthy, having the public good in mind.

hypothetical example: An example that is based on a plausible event or occurrence but that does not represent a specific, actual instance.

identification: The degree to which individuals or groups find themselves joined or linked.

ideograph: A culturally specific term that has great emotive power in that it represents a deeply held value or vice within a culture.

ideological criticism: A method of rhetorical criticism that exposes the ideology communicated by a rhetorical artifact and interprets how the artifact uses the ideology to exercise power and control.

ideology: A set of shared beliefs and values that forms an interpretation of the world and suggests appropriate ways to act in it.

imagination: In productive discourse, a creative way of approaching and rethinking the issue at hand.

implicated audience: A group that is affected by the speaker’s message if it succeeds.

implicit biases: Unreflective beliefs about a group of people based on your background, personal experiences, and social stereotypes.

implied audience: A group that is represented in the speaker’s message.

impromptu delivery: A speaker’s reliance on instant recall because they speak without advance preparation or warning.

incivility: Offensive and rude behavior.

inclusiveness: In productive discourse, participants’ construction of a discussion that is multivocal rather than two-sided.

inclusive pronouns: Pronouns that create community and unity between the speaker and audience.

indirect questions: Questions that target an entire group.

inductive reasoning: A form of reasoning in which a speaker uses a series of examples, instances, or cases to support the likelihood of a conclusion. Most associated with reasoning from example.

informative speaking: Speech that educates the audience about a topic without leading them toward a particular position, conclusion, or outcome.

interpretation: The second step in rhetorical criticism, this involves making inferences about how an artifact functions persuasively.

intersectionality: A theory that suggests our social identities consist of multiple features that combine in meaningful ways to create intersecting forms of privilege and oppression.

introduction: A speech’s opening.

invention: The process of investigation and thought that produces the content of a speech.

irony: The use of words in a way that is opposite of their intended or normal use.

lack of listening: In unproductive discourse, listening to an alternative perspective only to find weaknesses in it.

lateral communication: In productive discourse, speech that originates and evolves among members of the public who talk to one another in spontaneous, unorchestrated settings.

learning: In productive discourse, the search to better understand the issues, the multiple perspectives, and the people involved in an issue.

lighting: The amount and placement of brightness or darkness on the speaker.

linear: A progression of main points that moves in a “straight line”—with one step logically leading to the next—all clearly in support of a thesis that is stated early in the speech.

listening: In productive discourse, the attempt to hear and understand alternative perspectives and to incorporate those perspectives into the whole.

listening to comprehend and retain: An orientation in which the listener seeks to understand and remember the content of the speech.

listening to improve: Listening that involves concentrating on the speaker’s mechanics—organization, argumentation, source quality, delivery, style—with an eye toward how one can improve one’s own speech performance.

listening to learn: An approach to a speech as a learning opportunity, a way to gain new information and perspective.

location: In rhetorical criticism, the specific place a rhetor delivered or disseminated a rhetorical artifact and/or the medium by which the rhetor distributed the artifact.

logos: Logical or reasoned basis of an appeal.

main points: The major ideas or claims that compose a speech’s body and support the thesis statement.

manuscript: A fully written version of a speech.

manuscript delivery: A speaker’s use of a fully written text to deliver a speech.

marginally situated positionality: A knower that occupies a position of oppression. They are granted less social power and privilege but likely know more about oppressive systems and practices because they and their peers experience them.

margin of error: The uncertainty or potential variation in a polling result that reflects the sampling error or margin in which there is less confidence about the accuracy of the survey result.

marketing: The deliberate promoting and selling of products or services to consumers.

maxim: A statement of a general truth or rule of conduct believed by a culture.

mean: A representation of the statistical average serving as evidence that is calculated by adding together all of the data and dividing the sum by the total number of data points.

median: A representation of the statistical average serving as evidence that compensates for outliers by representing the data point in the exact middle of a sample; it is the middle result among all data points.

memorized delivery: A speaker’s precise recollection and delivery of a speech word for word without the aid of notes or a manuscript.

memory: A speaker’s storage and recollection of the information they share in a speech, such as whether and how much they depend on notes.

metaphor: A comparison of things that are essentially different.

misinformation: In unproductive discourse, research sources, and deliberative presentations, the unintentional propagation of inaccurate or false claims that lack sufficient or valid evidence and/or identifiable and credible sources.

mode: A representation of the statistical average serving as evidence that is the data point that appears most frequently in a set of data points.

modes of delivery: Methods by which a speaker delivers their information.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: Named after Alan H. Monroe, this pattern of arrangement first catches the audience’s interest before convincing the audience that something is wrong. It then provides the audience with a solution, lets the audience envision the future with and without the solution enacted, and gives the audience an action to take.

mutability: The likelihood of changing.

mythical norm: Coined by Audre Lorde, the values, beliefs, and identities a culture perceives as normal and against which it measures deviations negatively. The mythical norm is associated with societal power and privilege.

narrative arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that tells a single, detailed story to compel the audience to accept the speaker’s thesis.

nonfluency: Sound or word spoken repetitively that does not add content to a speech. Also called a vocal filler.

nonlinear: An organizational approach that adopts a more circuitous or indirect route to, or support for, a thesis.

nonverbal delivery: A speaker’s use of their body to communicate.

open question: Inquiry that calls for more than a one-word response, making possible a range of answers.

organization: The ordering of points in a speech and the use of verbal connections between those elements so an audience can follow.

outline: A sketch or condensed version of a speech.

parallelism: In verbal style: A series of ideas that are constructed in a similar way. In outlining: A principle that dictates that there must be at least two relevant and worthy subordinate ideas to subdivide a point.

pathos: Appeals to an audience’s emotions and motivations. Also referred to as emotional appeals.

pattern of arrangement: A specific guide, or template, for choosing and organizing the main points of a speech.

pattern of reasoning: Structure of reasoned argument derived from what kind of data or evidence is selected and how that data or evidence is used to prove a claim.

pause: The strategic choice not to speak and to allow a momentary silence instead.

people, the: Coined by Michael Calvin McGee, a rhetorical construct that is called into being by an advocate. A speaker can use rhetoric to transform an audience from a mass of individuals into a collective—“the people”—with a defined purpose.

personal stakes: Each individual’s financial, material, and/or psychological investments that could be improved or worsened based on how a topic is addressed.

personification: A reference to an inanimate object or an abstract concept as if it were alive.

persuasion: The strategic use of verbal and nonverbal symbols to influence the beliefs, attitudes, or courses of action of an audience.

persuasive framing: A speaker’s strategic naming or defining of an issue in a way that sets up their desired outcome as effective and reasonable.

plagiarism: The unacknowledged use of another’s words and ideas as one’s own.

policing discourse: The use of rhetoric to determine preferred or appropriate ways of talking together when deliberating public issues.

polling data: A form of statistical data that seeks to represent the opinions or beliefs of a large group of people by collecting data from a representative random sample that is similar in its demographics to the greater population.

positionality: A person’s location (or position) in relation to others in social categories of difference, such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, physical ability, religion, citizenship, socioeconomic class, occupation, and so on. Recognizes that social identities typically carry and communicate cultural meanings through their distinctions from others within that category.

post hoc: A fallacy that occurs when a faulty attribution of cause occurs only after the fact. Also called a faulty cause.

premium: Visual aid software that costs money to use.

preparation outline: The outline a speaker drafts to plan and organize their speech. It includes all arguments, support, transitions, and citations in full sentences.

presentation outline: A brief sketch of a speech, designed to help a speaker deliver their speech as free from notes as possible. Also referred to as speaking notes.

presentation software: Computer programs that speakers can use to design digital slide shows.

presented visual elements: Coined by Sonja K. Foss, the major physical features of an image.

preview statement: A sentence that elaborates on the thesis by announcing the main points of a speech in the order they will develop as the speech progresses.

problem-alternatives-solution arrangement: A pattern or arrangement that documents the nature, extent, and source of the problem. It then names and counters one or more alternative solutions before advocating for the desired solution.

problem-cause-solution-solvency arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that identifies the nature and extent of the problem, addresses the source of the problem, names the solution, and discusses the practicality, or costs and benefits, of implementing the solution.

problem-solution arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that documents the nature, extent, and source of the problem before advocating a solution.

productive discourse: Public communication that is responsible to one’s community and manages differences constructively.

pronunciation: The manner in which particular words are spoken or given sound.

provisionality: In productive discourse, the recognition that conclusions are never final because ideas, insights, and possibilities will evolve within the process of public discussion.

proximity: A visual design principle that suggests items that are similar should be placed next to one another.

psychological factors: An audience’s predispositions related to their mental state, attitude, personal stakes, interest in and experience with the topic, occasion, and speaker.

public: A collection of people who are joined together in a cause of common concern.

public communication analysis: A method of rhetorical criticism that helps critics determine a rhetorical artifact’s features and ascertain their likely consequences.

public discourse: Rhetoric that is publicly offered to address a significant community concern or issue.

public judgment: A community’s thoughtful choice about its desired approach or next steps to address the problem based on the public knowledge developed during a deliberative discussion.

public knowledge: Participants’ shared and improved understanding of the wicked problem and possible solutions as they offer and hear multiple points of view during a deliberative discussion.

public speaking: The process of forming and delivering rhetorical content to an audience in the hopes of persuading or informing that audience.

public sphere: The gathering of community members to discuss matters of common concern.

purpose statement: In an outline, the overarching goal or objective for a speech.

rate: The speed at which a person speaks.

raw number: A single number or figure that captures the breadth of an occurrence.

read laterally: A research technique of finding and reviewing several sources about the same topic.

reasoning from analogy: In this reasoning pattern, there is an effort to prove a claim by comparing two situations or cases. Also known as analogical reasoning.

reasoning from authority: In this pattern of reasoning, a speaker supports a claim with the testimony or credibility of a qualified source.

reasoning from cause: Also known as causal reasoning, in this pattern of reasoning, a speaker claims an event is caused by a particular circumstance or action.

reasoning from example: In this reasoning pattern, one or more examples are used to demonstrate the claim. Also known as inductive reasoning or generalization.

reasoning from sign: In this pattern of reasoning, circumstantial evidence, or signs, is used to demonstrate a claim. It occurs when a sign reliably indicates a connection between data and claim.

recency: How up to date the information is that a source provides.

recursive: When an organizational process moves forward and backward as the speaker develops a speech.

reference to the unusual: An unbelievable story or a startling statistic or fact to catch people’s attention and interest.

reflection period: The end stage of a deliberative discussion that allows discussants to reflect on the conversation they just had and shifts them toward public judgment.

refutative arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that focuses on the counterarguments the audience brings to the rhetorical occasion before advocating a thesis.

relay question: A question that encourages discussants to share their personal experiences.

relevance: The degree of association between a source, a speaker’s topic, and the audience.

reliable information: In productive discourse, claims that are backed by evidence and shared sources. Facts are not exaggerated or presented out of context in ways that misconstrue their meaning.

repetition: The restatement of a word, sentence, idea, or theme.

research: The process of learning about a topic by discovering what credible sources have said, written, or recorded about it.

research as inquiry: The process of studying a topic with the desire to learn.

research as strategy: The process of studying the topic only to find sources and evidence that support a preferred solution.

resistant ideology: An ideology that directly challenges a hegemonic ideology.

responsible public discourse: Public communication that draws on the qualities of productive discourse to produce a more inclusive and equitable public sphere.

reverse question: Reflects a question back to the group. Used by facilitators to avoid answering questions themselves.

rhetor: The one who speaks publicly. In rhetorical criticism, the author or creator of the rhetorical artifact is under examination.

rhetoric: A civic art devoted to the ethical study and use of symbols (verbal and nonverbal) to address public issues.

rhetorical artifact: An object of study in rhetorical criticism.

rhetorical critic: The person conducting the rhetorical criticism. They seek to understand how a rhetorical artifact functions persuasively.

rhetorical criticism: The description, interpretation, and evaluation of rhetoric to form judgments about its functions and consequences.

rhetorical ethics: Expectations for how speakers and audience members behave and interact as they communicate about matters of the public good.

rhetorical method: A perspective, approach, or orientation for analyzing an artifact.

sample size: The number of people or data points used to determine an average or the number of participants surveyed to determine final polling results.

satire: A particular form of ridicule that is typically used to attack people or ideas or to highlight human vices and failings.

signpost: Cuing language to alert audiences to a transition.

simile: The comparison of things that are essentially different. Uses keywords (e.g., like or as).

slide deck: A set of visual aids in a digital slide show.

slippery slope: A fallacy that occurs when a speaker seeks to use causal reasoning to argue that a single event or action will lead to a chain reaction of cause-and-effect events but fails to provide the necessary support for each step or action in the chain.

social construct: A category, idea, or description that humans have created to explain reality.

source: An original communication product that has been written by one or more human authors and published for an audience.

spatial arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that is sequential. Demonstrates how we get from point A to point B or what is similar and different as we move from point A to point B.

specific example: A factual example; an example that has actually happened or is being experienced.

speech body: Typically the largest or longest part of a presentation. Includes everything except the introduction and the conclusion.

spiral arrangement: A pattern of arrangement where the main points circle around the thesis, building tension and strength along the way.

spoken citation: A vocalized identification of a source’s basic identifying information during a speech.

stakeholders: Groups and organizations that have vested interests in a wicked problem and its outcome because of the impacts on their lives.

standpoint theory: Emerging from feminist philosophy in the 1970s and 1980s, a theory that suggests that a person’s standpoint—which is produced by their social identities—influences their knowledge of the world.

star arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that provides five main points—like the tips of a star—that appear disparate from one another but that all support the thesis.

statistics: A common form of evidence that represents information in numeric form according to size, quantity, or frequency.

stereotype: A generic categorization of individuals and groups based on the inaccurate conclusion that people sharing a particular characteristic will automatically possess similar qualities and beliefs.

style: The language or words a speaker uses.

style guide: Instructions for writing and formatting sources.

stylistic devices: Language techniques and literary tools used to present a speaker’s ideas.

subordination: When outlining, the practice of making material that is less important secondary to more central ideas and claims.

suggested visual elements: Coined by Sonja K. Foss, the concepts, ideas, themes, and allusions a viewer infers from the presented elements in an image.

syllogism: A classical three-step proposition that consists of two premises and a conclusion. If the premises are valid, it follows that the conclusion must be true. Also known as deductive reasoning.

symbol: Something that expresses an idea or refers to something beyond itself. Symbols can be verbal (language), nonverbal (facial expression, body language, etc.), visual (images, graphics, signs, etc.), or audio (sounds, beats, etc.).

symbolic action: The power of symbols to shape thoughts, values, and actions.

tame problem: A simple issue that can be solved with expertise.

target audience: The specific members of a direct audience a speaker focuses on.

televisual delivery: The presentation of a public speech through a screen.

testimony: Evidence in the form of facts or opinions drawn from the words, experiences, and expertise of another individual.

textual context: In rhetorical criticism, the evolving environment created within a rhetorical artifact that conditions the audience’s responses to the artifact from its beginning to its ending.

thesis driven: When the thesis is presented early in a speech and “drives” or determines the route it takes.

thesis seeking: When the thesis is reserved for later in the speech. The introduction and main points build up to (or “seek”) the thesis, which comes toward the end.

thesis statement: The central statement of the speech. It states the key idea or claim the speaker wants the audience to accept or adhere to.

timeliness: In research, how fast or slow the process took to finalize and publish a source.

timing: In rhetorical criticism, the specific date and time a rhetorical artifact emerged as well as the time period in which the rhetoric was situated.

Toulmin model: Named after Stephen Toulmin, a model for understanding and critiquing arguments that consists of seven parts that seek to capture the range or elements found in full arguments used in regular or everyday communication.

trade-offs: The relative advantages and disadvantages that accompany every approach to a wicked problem.

transition: A connector that moves listeners from one main point in a speech to the next.

trend statistic: A statistic that represents meaning over a specific period of time.

triangle arrangement: A pattern of arrangement that provides three main points—like the corners of a triangle—that appear disparate from one another but that all support the thesis.

trust: In productive discourse, the assumption of general goodwill rather than listening with suspicion, assuming participants are speaking from a hidden agenda.

uncivil speech: Rhetoric that violates decorum because it is disrespectful, angry, and/or impolite.

unproductive discourse: Purposefully sensational public communication designed to promote division and to misrepresent the complexities of public issues.

value: A principle or quality that human beings are committed to and upon which they base their thinking and decisions for important issues.

value dilemma: A difficult choice among competing values, especially those associated with policy options.

value hierarchy: A list of values ranked from the most to the least important.

video: A recording of moving images.

visual aid: Anything optical that enhances speech or even functions as speech.

visual contrast: In visual aids, this refers to optical difference.

visual harmony: The pleasure produced by colors that complement or go well together on a visual aid.

visual imagery: A way for speakers to describe their ideas with word pictures so the audience can see in their mind’s eye.

vocal delivery: How a speaker uses their voice and mouth to deliver words.

vocal filler: The sound or word spoken repetitively that does not add content to a speech. Also called a nonfluency.

vocal tone: The sound or pitch of a speaker’s voice.

voice: In rhetorical criticism, a rhetorical artifact’s manner of expression.

volume: The loudness of a speaker’s voice.

warrant: A statement, often implied, that justifies the connection between data and claim.

white space: The empty space between elements on a visual aid.

wicked problem: An issue that is difficult to resolve because it involves diverse values and perspectives about what the problem is, who is responsible, and how it should be addressed.

winning: In unproductive discourse, a fixation on getting one’s way, rather than learning or the common good, as the goal of communication.

written citation: The written identification of a source’s basic identifying information. Typically included in a preparation outline as in-text citations and a bibliography.