Oral Communications Vocabulary

1. Communication—the imparting or exchanging (sending or receiving) of information or news. 

2. Communication Barrier—anything that comes in the way of receiving and understanding messages that one sends to another to convey his ideas, thoughts, or any other kind of information.

3. Ice Breaker—a thing that serves to relieve inhibitions or tension between people, or start a conversation.

4. Paradox—a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

5. Ethics—moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

6. Intrapersonal Communication—communication with one’s self. 

7. Interpersonal Communication—the exchange of information among people. 

8. Oratory—the art or practice of formal speaking in public.

9. Symbol—a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

10. Rhetoric—the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

11. Logos—appeal to logic.

12. Ethos—appeal to character.

13. Pathos—appeal to emotion.

14. Stereotype—a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

15. Credibility—the quality of being trusted and believed in. 

16. Confidence—the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.

17. Phobia—an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

18. Stage Fright—nervousness before or during an appearance before an audience.

19. Self-esteem—confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect.

20. Impression—an idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence.

21. Empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

22. Enthusiasm—intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval.

23. Irrational—not logical or reasonable.

24. Eulogy—a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died.

25. Assertion—a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief.

26. Passive Listening—hearing something or someone without giving it your full attention. 

27. Active Listening—to listen attentively to a speaker, understand what they’re saying, respond and reflect on what’s being said, and retain the information for later.

28. Paraphrase—express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity. 

29. Summarize—give a brief statement of the main points of (something). 

30. Sympathy—feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.

31. Etiquette—the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.

32. Brash—self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way.

33. Manipulating—control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously.

34. Verbatim—in exactly the same words as were used originally, word for word.

35. Slang—a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people. 

36. Stereotyping—making a distorted mental image of someone or something on the basis of an oversimplified opinion, a prejudiced attitude, or an unexamined judgment held in common by members of a group.

37. Perception—how one sees things.

38. Conviction—a strong belief in one’s message and a determination to convey that message to one’s audience

39. Propaganda—ideas, facts, or allegations spread to further or oppose a cause—often distorting the truth or deceiving an audience in the process.

40. Nonverbal Communication—facial expressions or body movements used to express attitudes or moods about a person, situation, or idea.

41. Criticism—an evaluation or judgment (often negative).

42. Interviewer—the person who asks the questions in an interview.

43. Introduction—the beginning of a speech, containing the attention getter, the link statement, the thesis statement, and frequently a preview statement.

44. Sender—a person who transmits a message.

45. Message—that which is sent or said.

46. Receiver—a person who intercepts a message and then decodes it.

47. Feedback—a reaction that a receiver gives to a message offered by a sender.

48. Oral (Verbal) Communication—communication that is primarily spoken.

49. Metaphor—a direct comparison; a figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”

50. Simile—a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using “like” or “as.”

51. Pantomime—https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantomime 

52. Impromptu—done without being planned, organized, or rehearsed.

What are the parts of a speech? LINK: Parts of a Speech