Communication in Everyday Life 2e by Duck, McMahan

Communication in Everyday Life by Duck and McMahan (2nd edition) is the second edition of the Communication In Everyday Life: The Basic Course Edition With Public Speaking textbook authored by Steve Duck and David T. McMahan and published by SAGE Publications, Inc. in 2018.

• Accommodation. When people change their accent, their rate of speech, and even the words they use to indicate a relationalconnection with the person to whom they are talking.
• Accounts. Forms of communication that go beyond the facts and offer justifications, excuses, exonerations,explanations, or accusations.
• Act. Element of the pentad involving what happened (see scene, agent, agency, purpose).
• Adaptors. Nonverbal behaviors used to satisfy personal needs.
• Adjourning (Tuckman's group development). When a group reflects on its achievements, underlines its performative accomplishments, and closes itself down (see forming, norming, performing, storming).
• Advisory group. That which is task specific, usually with the intention of producing an outcome that is a focused "best solution" to a specific problem or arrangement of an event.
• Affect displays. Nonverbal face and body movement used to express emotion.
• Agency. Element of the pentad involving how an act was accomplished (see act, scene, agent, purpose).
• Agent. Element of the pentad involving who performed an act (see act, scene, agency, purpose).
• Altercasting. How language can impose a certain identity on people, and how language can support or reject the identity of another person.
• Anchor position (social judgment theory). The preferred or most acceptable position.
• Appeal to authority (fallacious argument). When a person's authority or credibility in one area is used to support another area.
• Appeal to people (fallacious argument). Claims that something is good or beneficial because everyone else agrees with this evaluation (also called bandwagon appeal).
• Appeal to relationships (fallacious argument). When relationships are used to justify certain behaviors and to convince others of their appropriateness.
• Argument against the source (fallacious argument). When the source of a message, rather than the message itself, is attacked (also called ad hominem argument).
• Assimilation effect (social judgment theory). Maintains that if someone advocates a position within a person's latitude of acceptance, he or she will view it as closer to his or her anchor position than it really is.
• Asynchronous communication. Communication in which there is a slight or prolonged delay between the message and the response; the interactants must alternate between sending and receiving messages (contrast with synchronous communication).
• Attending. The second step in the listening process when stimuli are perceived and focused on.
• Attention getter. A device used to draw the audience into a presentation.
• Attitude of reflection (symbolic interactionism). Thinking about how you look in other people's eyes, or reflecting that other people can see you as a social object from their point of view.
• Attitudes. Learned predispositions to evaluate something in a positive or negative way that guide people's thinking and behavior (like/dislike).
• Audience involvement (social judgment theory). Audience members' recognition of an issue's significance and importance in their lives; the greater the significance and importance audience members perceive the issue as having in their lives, the more involved they will be with the issue, and vice versa.
• Avoidance (politeness strategy). When a person avoids a face-threatening act altogether (see bald on record, negative politeness, of record, positive politeness).
• Back region. A frame where a social interaction is regarded as not under public scrutiny, so people do not have to present their public faces (contrast with front region).
• Balance principle. The principle of organization that maintains that the points of the body of a presentation must be relatively equal in scope and importance.
• Bald on record (politeness strategy). When a person acts directly without concern for face needs (see avoidance, negative politeness, of record, positive politeness).
• Base. The number of people, objects, or things included in a study.
• Beliefs. What a person holds to be true or false.
• Bipolar question. A type of closed question that forces an interviewee to select one of two responses.
• Body. The part of a presentation in which an argument is developed and presented.
• Body buffer zone. A kind of imaginary aura around you that you regard as part of yourself and your personal space.
• Brainstorming. A method of gathering and generating ideas without immediate evaluation.
• Captive audience. An audience that is required to listen to your presentation.
• Causal pattern. An organizational pattern in which the main points of a presentation are arranged according to cause and effect.
• Certainty–uncertainty dialectic. The need for predictability and routine in a relationship and the need for novelty and change in a relationship (also called novelty–predictability dialectic).
• Change (relational dialectics). Movement in relationships that occurs partly through dealing with relational contradictions; in relationships, change is the constant element; relationships are perpetually in motion, unfinished business, and constantly evolving.
• Chronemics. The study of use and evaluation of time in interactions.
• Chronological pattern. Organizational pattern in which the main points of a presentation are arranged according to their position in a time sequence.
• Claim of conjecture. A claim maintaining that something will be true or false in the future.
• Claim of fact. A claim maintaining that something is true or false now.
• Claim of policy. A claim maintaining that a course of action should or should not be taken.
• Claim of value. A claim maintaining that something is good or bad, beneficial or detrimental, or another evaluative criterion.
• Clincher statement. A phrase that allows a speaker to end on a strong but smooth note.
• Closed questions. Questions that limit the range of an interviewee's response (contrast with open questions).
• Co-cultures. Smaller groups of culture within a larger cultural mass.
• Coded system of meaning. A set of beliefs, a heritage, and a way of being that is transacted in communication.
• Coercive power. That which is derived from the ability to punish.
• Cohesiveness. Working together and feeling connected.
• Collectivist. Subscribing to a belief system that stresses group benefit and the overriding value of working harmoniously rather than individual personal advancement (contrast with individualist).
• Collectivist talk. That which is characterized as stressing group benefit and harmony rather than personal needs and advancement (contrast with individualist talk).
• Communication apprehension. The fear or anxiety everyone has to some degree, especially when speaking to a large or unfamiliar audience.
• Communication as action. The act of sending messages—whether or not they are received.
• Communication as interaction. An exchange of information between two (or more) individuals.
• Communication as transaction. The construction of shared meanings or understandings between two (or more) individuals.
• Communication frame. A boundary around a conversation that pulls one's attention toward certain things and away from others.
• Comparisons. Demonstrate or reveal how things are similar.
• Composition fallacy (fallacious argument). Argues that the parts are the same as the whole.
• Composure. A secondary dimension of credibility referring to the ability to appear calm under pressure.
• Conclusion. Part of a presentation that reinforces and completes the presentation while reinforcing the relationship with the audience.
• Concrete words. Those representing tangible objects that can be experienced through sensory channels (touch, taste, smell, hearing, seeing) and include real people, objects, actions, and locations.
• Concurrent media use. Use of two or more media systems simultaneously.
• Conflict. Real or perceived incompatibilities of processes, understandings, and viewpoints between people.
• Conflict (Fisher's group progression). Occurs when a group argues about possible ways of approaching the problem and begins to seek solutions (see emergence, orientation, reinforcement).
• Conflict-as-destructive culture. A culture based on four assumptions: that conflict is a destructive disturbance of the peace; that the social system should not be adjusted to meet the needs of members, but members should adapt to established values; that confrontations are destructive and ineffective; and that disputants should be disciplined (contrast with conflict-as-opportunity culture).
• Conflict-as-opportunity culture. A culture based on four assumptions: that conflict is a normal, useful process; that all issues are subject to change through negotiation; that direct confrontation and conciliation are valued; and that conflict is a necessary renegotiation of an implied contract—a redistribution of opportunity, a release of tensions, and a renewal of relationships (contrast with conflict-as-destructive culture).
• Connectedness–separateness dialectic. The need to be with a relational partner and the need to be away from a relational partner (also called connection–autonomy dialectic).
• Connotative meaning. The overtones, implications, or additional meanings associated with a word or an object.
• Consistency. A message is free of internal contradiction and is in harmony with information known to be true.
• Constitutive approach to communication. Communication can create or bring into existence something that has not been there before, such as an agreement, a contract, or an identity.
• Content listening (representational). Obstacle to listening when people focus on the content level of meaning, or literal meaning, rather than the social or relational level of meaning.
• Contradiction (relational dialectics). Interplay between two things that are connected at the same time they are in opposition.
• Contrast effect (social judgment theory). Maintains that if someone advocates a position within a person's latitude of rejection, he or she will view it as further from his or her anchor position than it really is.
• Contrasts. Demonstrate or reveal how things are different.
• Conventionality–uniqueness dialectic. The need of people to feel as if their relationship is like the relationships of others and the need to feel as if their relationship is special.
• Convergence. A person moves toward the style of talk used by the other speaker (contrast with divergence); usually indicates liking or respect.
• Conversational hypertext. Coded messages within conversation that an informed listener will effortlessly understand.
• Core ties. People with whom you have a very close relationship and are in frequent contact; a person often discusses important matters in life with these people and often seeks their assistance in times of need (compare with significant ties).
• Cover letter. A letter sent when seeking employment that has four purposes: (1) declare interest in the position, (2) provide a summary of qualifications, (3) compel the person to read your résumé, and (4) request an interview.
• Creative group. That which is focused on the evaluation of concepts or on the creation of new products or approaches to complex problems.
• Critical approach. Seeks to identify the hidden but formidable symbolic structures and practices that create or uphold disadvantage, inequity, or oppression of some groups in favor of others.
• Critical listening. The process of analyzing and evaluating the accuracy, legitimacy, and value of messages.
• Cross-cultural communication. Compares the communication styles and patterns of people from very different cultural/social structures, such as nation-states.
• Cultural persuadables. The cultural premises and norms that delineate a range of what may and what must be persuaded (as opposed to certain topics in a society that require no persuasive appeal because the matters are taken for granted).
• Cum hoc ergo propter hoc (fallacious argument). Argues that if one thing happens at the same time as another, it was caused by the thing with which it coincides; Latin for "with this; therefore, because of this".
• Decoding. The act of assigning meaning to nonverbal symbols you receive.
• Deductive reasoning. Using general conclusions, premises, or principles to reach a conclusion about a specific example or instance.
• Definition. Evidence or support that provides the meaning of a word or phrase.
• Definitions and descriptions. Provide the audience with an extended explanation or depiction of an object, a creation, a place, a person, a concept, or an event.
• Deintensification. A form of facial management in which the intensity of an emotional display is lessened.
• Demographics. Characteristics of a person or an audience that can provide insight into the knowledge, experiences, interests, needs, attitudes, beliefs, and values of that person or members of an audience.
• Denotative meaning. The identification of something by pointing it out ("that is a cat").
• Descriptive language. That which provides the audience with a clearer picture of what you are discussing by describing it in more detail.
• Devil terms. Powerfully evocative terms viewed negatively in a society (contrast with God terms).
• Dialectic tension. Occurs whenever one is of two minds about something because one feels a simultaneous pull in two directions.
• Directive interviews. Interviews that are greatly controlled by an interviewer.
• Disruptive roles. Those functioning in opposition to group productivity and cohesion.
• Distracting mannerisms. Bodily movements that allow a speaker to discharge nervous energy, serve no relevant purpose in the presentation, and often divert attention from the message.
• Divergence. A person moves away from another's style of speech to make a relational point, such as establishing dislike or superiority (contrast with convergence).
• Division fallacy (fallacious argument). Argues the whole is the same as its parts.
• Dyadic process. Part of the process of breakdown of relationships that involves a confrontation with a partner and the open discussion of a problem with a relationship.
• Dynamic. Elements of nonverbal communication that are changeable during interaction (e.g., facial expression, posture, gesturing; contrast with static).
• Dynamism. A secondary dimension of credibility referring to being energetic and enthusiastic.
• Egocentric listening. Obstacle to listening when people focus more on their message and self-presentation than on the message of the other person involved in an interaction.
• Elaborated code. Speech that emphasizes the reasoning behind a command; uses speech and language more as a way for people to differentiate the uniqueness of their own personalities and ideas and to express their own individuality, purposes, attitudes, and beliefs than as a way to reinforce collectivity or commonality of outlook (contrast with restricted code).
• Elimination pattern. Organizational pattern that offers a series of solutions to a problem, systematically eliminating each one until the remaining solution is the one a speech supports.
• Emblems. Nonverbal face and body movement represent feelings or ideas not necessarily being expressed verbally.
• Emergence (Fisher's group progression). Occurs when consensus begins to dawn, and a group sees the emergence of possible agreement (see orientation, conflict, reinforcement).
• Emojis. Text-based symbols used to express emotions online, often to alleviate problems associated with a lack of nonverbal cues.
• Employment interviews. Interviews in which a potential employer interviews a potential employee.
• Encoding. The act of using nonverbal symbols to convey meaning.
• Engaged listening. Making a personal relational connection with the source of a message that results from the source and the receiver actively working together to create shared meaning and understanding.
• Enthymeme. A syllogism that excludes one or two of the three components of a syllogism.
• Environment. The natural or human-made surroundings in which communication takes place.
• Environmental distraction. Obstacle to listening that results from the physical location where listening takes place and competing sources.
• Equivocation (fallacious argument). Relies on the ambiguousness of language to make an argument.
• Essential function of talk. A function of talk that makes the relationship real and talks it into being, often by using coupling references or making assumptions that the relationship exists.
• Ethnocentric bias. Believing that the way one's own culture does things is the right and normal way to do them.
• Ethos. Artistic proof involving the use of speaker credibility to influence an audience.
• Evoke. Term used to describe presentations intended to prompt an emotional response.
• Examples. Specific cases used to represent a larger whole to clarify or explain something.
• Exit interviews. Interviews that occur when a person chooses to leave a place of employment.
• Experiential superiority. Obstacle to listening when people fail to listen to someone else fully because they believe that they possess more or superior knowledge and experience than the other person.
• Expert power. That which is derived from possessing special knowledge.
• Expert testimony. Evidence from someone with special training, instruction, or knowledge in a particular area.
• Expository presentation. Provides the audience with a detailed review of an object, a creation, a place, a person, a concept, or an event.
• Extemporaneous delivery. A style of speech delivery that involves the use of few notes; this style can achieve a natural conversational delivery while remaining accurate.
• External dialectics. Those involving a relational unit and other relational units or people within their social networks.
• Eye contact. Extent to which someone looks directly into the eyes of another person.
• Facework. The management of people's dignity or self-respect, known as "face".
• Facts. Provable or documented truths that you can use as evidence to support your claims.
• Factual diversion. Obstacle to listening that occurs when so much emphasis is placed on attending to every detail of a message that the main point becomes lost.
• Fallacious argument. An argument that appears legitimate but is actually based on faulty reasoning or insufficient evidence.
• False alternatives (fallacious argument). Occurs when only two options are provided, one of which is generally presented as the poor choice or one that should be avoided.
• Feminine talk. That which is characterized as nurturing, harmonious, and compromising (contrast with masculine talk).
• Formal group. That which is task oriented and outcome focused, generally with a formal structure, a restricted membership, and an established chair or leader.
• Formal power. That which is formally allocated by a system or group to particular people (compare with informal power).
• Formal roles. Specific functions to which group members are assigned and that they are expected to perform within the group.
• Formality/hierarchy. Creates distance between workers and management and establishes clear relational connections among people.
• Forming (Tuckman's group development). When a group comes into existence and seeks direction from a leader about the nature of its tasks and procedures (see adjourning, norming, performing, storming).
• Frames. Basic forms of knowledge that provide a definition of a scenario, either because both people agree on the nature of the situation or because the cultural assumptions built into the interaction and the previous relational context of talk give them a clue.
• Front region. A frame where a social interaction is regarded as under public scrutiny, so people have to be on their best behavior or acting out their professional roles or intended "faces" (contrast with back region).
• Gaze. Involves one person looking at another person.
• General purpose. The basic objective you want to achieve through your presentation.
• God terms. Powerfully evocative terms that are viewed positively in a society (contrast with Devil terms).
• Grave dressing process. Part of the breakdown of relationships that consists of creating the story of why a relationship died and erecting a metaphorical tombstone that summarizes its main events and features from its birth to its death.
• Group culture. The set of expectations and practices that a group develops to make itself distinctive from other groups and to give its members a sense of exclusive membership (e.g., dress code, specialized language, particular rituals).
• Group norms. Rules and procedures that occur in a group but not necessarily outside it and that are enforced by the use of power or rules for behavior.
• Group roles. Positions or functions within a group (see disruptive roles, formal roles, informal roles, social roles, task roles).
• Group sanctions. Punishments for violating norms.
• Groupthink. A negative kind of consensus seeking through which members place a higher priority on keeping the process running smoothly and agreeably than they do on voicing opinions that contradict the majority opinion (or the opinion of the leader).
• Guidance principle. The principle of organization that maintains that a speaker must guide and direct the audience throughout the entire presentation.
• Haptics. The study of the specific nonverbal behaviors involving touch.
• Hasty generalization (fallacious argument). When a conclusion is based on a single occurrence or insufficient data or sample size.
• Hearing. The passive physiological act of receiving sound that takes place when sound waves hit a person's eardrums.
• Helping interviews. Interviews conducted by someone with expertise in a given area and whose services are engaged by someone in need of advice.
• High code. A formal, grammatical, and very correct—often "official"—way of talking.
• High-context culture. A culture that places a great deal of emphasis on the total environment (context) where speech and interaction take place, especially on the relationships between the speakers rather than just on what they say (contrast with low-context culture).
• High-context talk. That which is characterized as relying on the context in which it takes place, with words used sparingly and the relationship shared by interactants being extremely important (contrast with low-context talk).
• Historiography. The study of the persuasive effect of writing history in particular ways and the reasons why particular reports and analyses are offered by specific authors.
• How-to demonstration. A presentation that describes the procedure or methods through which something is accomplished with the expectation that the audience will be able to perform the process.
• Hypothetical illustrations. Fabricated illustrations using typical characteristics to describe particular situations, objects, or people, as well as illustrations describing what could happen in the future.
• Identity. A person's uniqueness, represented by descriptions, a self-concept, inner thoughts, and performances, that is symbolized in interactions with other people and presented for their assessment and moral evaluation.
• Illustrations. Examples offered in an extended narrative form.
• Illustrators. Nonverbal face and body movement used to visualize or emphasize verbal communication.
• Inclusion–seclusion dialectic. The need for people in a relationship to be around others in a social network and the need for people in a relationship to be by themselves.
• Indexical function of talk. Demonstrates or indicates the nature of the relationship between speakers.
• Individual inventory. A listing of a person's preferences, likes, dislikes, and experiences used when searching for a possible speech topic.
• Individualist. Subscribing to a belief system that focuses on the individual person and his or her personal dreams, goals and achievements, and right to make choices (contrast with collectivist).
• Individualist talk. That which is characterized as stressing individual needs and achievement (contrast with collectivist talk).
• Inductive reasoning. Deriving a general conclusion from specific evidence, examples, or instances.
• Industrial time. The attention to punctuality and dedication to a task that is connected with the nature of industry (clocking in, clocking out, lunch breaks, etc.).
• Inform. To develop audience understanding of a topic through definition, clarification, demonstration, or explanation of a process.
• Informal power. Operates through relationships and individual reputations without formal status (e.g., someone may not actually be the boss but might exert more influence on other workers by being highly respected; compare with formal power).
• Informal roles. Those to which someone is not officially assigned but that serve a function with a group.
• Information-gaining interviews. Interviews in which a person solicits information from another person.
• Inspiring. A secondary dimension of credibility referring to the ability to stimulate and motivate others, which might subsequently lead to viewing the speaker as more knowledgeable, honest, and concerned.
• Instrumental function of talk. When what is said brings about a goal that you have in mind for the relationship, and talk is the means or instrument by which it is accomplished (e.g., asking someone on a date or to come with you to a party).
• Instrumental goals. Those that are predominant at work and are directed at completion of duties; can also involve a direct assessment of performance.
• Intercultural communication. Examines how people from different cultural/social structures speak to one another and what difficulties or conflicts they encounter, over and above the different languages they speak.
• Interdependence. The reliance of each member of a team or group on the other members, making their outcomes dependent on the collaboration and interrelated performance of all members (e.g., a football team dividing up the jobs of throwing, catching, and blocking).
• Internal dialectics. Those occurring within a relationship itself.
• Interpreting. The third step in the listening process when meaning is assigned to sounds and symbolic activity.
• Interpretivist approach. Views communication as creative, uncertain, and unpredictable, and thus rejects the idea that a single reality exists or can be discovered; researchers using this approach primarily seek to understand and describe communication experience.
• Interview. A goal-driven transaction characterized by questions and answers, clear structure, control, and imbalance.
• Intrapsychic process. Part of the process of breakdown of a relationship where an individual reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of a relationship and begins to consider the possibility of ending it.
• Introduction. Part of a presentation that lays the foundation for it and creates or builds on relational connection with the audience.
• Introspective units. One of three types of Relational Continuity Constructional Units that keep the memory of the relationship alive during the physical separation of the members involved; introspective units are reminders of the relationships during an absence, examples being photographs of a couple, wedding bands, or fluffy toys that one partner gave to another.
• Kinesics. The study of movements of the face and body that take place during an interaction.
• Langue. The formal grammatical structure of language (contrast with parole).
• Latitude of acceptance (social judgment theory). Includes the range of positions that the audience deems acceptable.
• Latitude of noncommitment (social judgment theory). Includes positions that the audience neither wholly accepts nor wholly rejects.
• Latitude of rejection (social judgment theory). Includes those positions that the audience deems unacceptable.
• Lay testimony. Evidence from someone without expertise but who possesses relevant experience.
• Leading questions. questions that suggest to an interviewee a preferred way to respond (contrast with neutral questions).
• Leakage. Unintentional betrayal of internal feelings through nonverbal communication.
• Legitimate power. That which is derived from a person's status or rank.
• Listening. The active process of receiving, attending to, interpreting, and responding to symbolic activity.
• Logos. Artistic proof involving the use of logic or reasoning to influence an audience.
• Low code. An informal and often ungrammatical way of talking.
• Low-context culture. Assumes that the message itself means everything, and it is much more important to have a well-structured argument or a well-delivered presentation than it is to be a member of the royal family or a cousin of the person listening (contrast with high-context culture).
• Low-context talk. That which is characterized as straightforward, with the message speaking for itself and the relationship separated from the message as much as possible (contrast with high-context talk).
• Main points. Statements that directly support or develop a thesis statement.
• Manuscript delivery. A style of speech delivery that involves having the entire speech written out in front of a speaker to be read out to ensure that the words are accurately delivered; avoid this style except when accuracy is absolutely a paramount requirement.
• Masculine talk. That which is characterized as tough, aggressive, and competitive (contrast with feminine talk).
• Masking. A form of facial management in which the emotion displayed is the opposite of being experienced.
• Mean. Refers to the average number, which may or may not provide an accurate description or representation.
• Meaning. What a symbol represents.
• Media equation. People use the same social rules and expectations when interacting with technology as they do with other people.
• Media literacy. The learned ability to access, interpret, and evaluate media products.
• Median. The number that rests in the middle of all the other numbers; half of the numbers are less than this number, and the other half are more than this number.
• Medium. Means through which a message is conveyed.
• Medium distraction. Obstacle to listening that results from limitations or problems inherent in certain media and technology, such as mobile phones or Internet connections.
• Memorized delivery. A style of speech delivery that involves committing a speech completely to memory and presenting without the use of a manuscript or notes.
• Message complexity. Obstacle to listening when a person finds a message so complex or confusing that he or she stops listening.
• Microcoordination. The unique management of social interaction made possible through smartphones.
• Mirror questions (secondary questions). questions that paraphrase an interviewee's previous response to ensure clarification and to elicit elaboration.
• Mode. The number that occurs most often.
• Monochronic culture. A culture that views time as a valuable commodity and punctuality as very important (contrast with polychronic culture).
• Narrative. Any organized story, report, or talk that has a plot, an argument, or a theme and in which speakers both relate facts and arrange the story in a way that provides an account, an explanation, or a conclusion.
• Negative face wants. The desire not to be imposed on or treated as inferior (contrast with positive face wants).
• Negative politeness (politeness strategy). When a person acknowledges the possibility of negative face, offering regrets or being pessimistic (see avoidance, bald on record, of record, positive politeness).
• Networking group. That which is focused on obtaining, building, or sustaining relationships, usually online.
• Neutral questions. questions that provide an interviewee with no indication of a preferred way to respond (contrast with leading questions).
• Neutralization. A form of facial management in which displays of emotion are nonexistent or quickly erased.
• Nondirective interviews. Interviews in which the direction of the interview is primarily given to the interviewee.
• Nonfluencies. Meaningless vocal fillers (such as um) that distract from a presentation.
• Nonverbal communication. Any symbolic activity other than the use of language.
• Norming (Tuckman's group development). When a group establishes its procedures to move more formally toward a solution (see adjourning, forming, performing, storming).
• Off record (politeness strategy). When a person hints or presents a face-threatening act in a vague manner (see avoidance, bald on record, negative politeness, positive politeness).
• Open brainstorming. Generating a list of ideas with no topic boundary.
• Open questions. questions that enable and prompt interviewees to answer in a wide range of ways (contrast with closed questions).
• Openness–closedness dialectic. The need to talk to a relational partner and the need to not talk to a relational partner; also, the need to disclose some information to a relational partner and to not disclose other information to a relational partner.
• Operational definition. Concrete explanation of meaning that is more original or personal than a dictionary definition.
• Opinions. Personal beliefs or speculations that, even though perhaps based on facts, have not been proved or verified.
• Oral citations. References to the source of the evidence and support material used during a presentation.
• Organizational pattern. An arrangement of the main points of a presentation that best enables audience comprehension.
• Orientation (Fisher's group progression). Occurs when group members get to know one another and come to grips with the problems they have convened to deal with (see emergence, conflict, reinforcement).
• Orientation phase. Part of a presentation in which the speaker provides the audience members with any information that allows them to better understand and appreciate the material presented.
• Out-groups. Cells of disgruntled members who feel undervalued, mistreated, disrespected, not included, or overlooked; these members can be either disruptive or constructive.
• Overintensification. A form of facial management in which the intensity of an emotional display is increased.
• Parasocial relationships. "relationships" established with media characters and personalities.
• Parole. How people actually use language: where they often speak using informal and ungrammatical language structure that carries meaning to us all the same (contrast with langue).
• Past experience with the source. Obstacle to listening when previous encounters with a person lead people to dismiss or fail to critically examine a message because the person has generally been right (or wrong) in the past.
• Pathos. Artistic proof involving the use of emotional appeals to influence an audience.
• Pauses. Breaks in the vocal flow that allow speakers to direct the audience, add emphasis to areas of a presentation, and avoid nonfluencies.
• Pentad. Five components of narratives that explain the motivation of symbolic action.
• Perception. Process of actively selecting, organizing, interpreting, and evaluating information, activities, situations, people, and essentially all the things that make up your world.
• Performance interviews. Interviews in which an individual's activities and work are discussed.
• Performative self. A self that is a creative performance based on the social demands and norms of a given situation.
• Performing (Tuckman's group development). When a group performs its task, having previously established how this performance will be carried out (see adjourning, forming, norming, storming).
• Personal constructs. Individualized ways of construing or understanding the world and its contents; they are bipolar dimensions used to measure and evaluate things.
• Personal relationships. Relationships that only specified and irreplaceable individuals (such as your mother, father, brother, sister, or very best friend) can have with you (compare with social relationships).
• Personal space. Space legitimately claimed or occupied by a person for the time being; the area around a person that is regarded as part of the person and in which only informal and close relationships are conducted.
• Personal testimony. Evidence given by a speaker that is based on personal experience or shared experience with the audience.
• Persuade. Either to influence audience beliefs, values, or attitudes or to influence audience behaviors.
• Persuasive interviews. Interviews that have influence as the ultimate goal.
• Pitch. Highness or lowness of a person's voice.
• Plausibility. The extent to which a message seems legitimate.
• Points principle. Highlights the basic building blocks of an argument: the main points and subpoints.
• Polychronic culture. A culture that sees time not as linear and simple but as complex and made up of many strands, none of which is more important than any other—hence, such culture's relaxed attitude toward time (contrast with monochronic culture).
• Polysemy. The fact that multiple meanings can be associated with a given word or symbol rather than with just one unambiguous meaning.
• Population. Who or what is included in a study.
• Positive face wants. The need to be seen and accepted as a worthwhile and reasonable person (contrast with negative face wants).
• Positive politeness (politeness strategy). When a person focuses on positive face, often through flattery or by offering something in return (see avoidance, bald on record, negative politeness, of record).
• Post hoc ergo propter hoc (fallacious argument). Argues that something is caused by whatever happens before it; Latin for "after this; therefore, because of this".
• Praxis (relational dialectics). The notion that activities of the partners in a relationship are a vital component of the relationship itself; people are both actors and the objects of action in relationships.
• Presentation. One person's particular version of, or "take" on, the facts or events (contrast with representation).
• Presentation aids. Tools used by a speaker to enhance audience understanding, as well as the speaker's.
• Presentation to actuate. A presentation that is delivered in an attempt to influence audience behavior rather than merely their beliefs.
• Presentation to convince. An attempt to influence audience thinking.
• Primary questions. questions that introduce new topics during an interview (contrast with secondary questions).
• Probing questions (secondary questions). Brief statements or words that urge an interviewee to continue or to elaborate on a response.
• Problem–solution pattern. Organizational pattern that divides the body of the presentation by first addressing a problem and then offering a solution to that problem.
• Problem-solving interviews. Interviews in which a problem is isolated and solutions are generated.
• Process demonstration. A presentation that describes the procedure or method through which something is accomplished without the expectation that the audience will actually perform the process.
• Professional face. The behaviors, courtesy, and interaction styles that are appropriate for people to present to others in a workplace.
• Prospective units. One of three types of Relational Continuity Constructional Units that keep the memory of the relationship alive during the physical separation of the members involved; prospective units are recognitions that a separation is about to occur.
• Prototype. The best-case example of something.
• Provisions of relationships. The deep and important psychological and supportive benefits that relationships provide.
• Proxemics. The study of space and distance in communication.
• Purpose. Element of the pentad involving why an act that took place (see act, scene, agent, agency).
• Question–answer pattern. Organizational pattern that involves posing questions an audience may have about a subject and then answering them in a manner that favors the speaker's position.
• Rate (of speech). How fast or slowly a person speaks, generally determined by how many words are spoken per minute.
• Receiving. The initial step in the listening process where hearing and listening connect.
• Red herring (fallacious argument). The use of another issue to divert attention away from the real issue.
• Referent power. That which is derived from the allegiance of one group of people to another person or group.
• Reflecting (paraphrasing). Summarizing what another person has said to convey understanding of the message.
• Regulators. Nonverbal face and body movement used to indicate to others how you want them to behave or what you want them to do.
• Reinforcement (Fisher's group progression). Occurs when a group explicitly consolidates consensus to complete the task, or the leader does it for the group by thanking the members (see emergence, conflict, orientation).
• Relational continuity constructional units (RCCUs). Ways of demonstrating that the relationship persists during absence of face-to-face contact.
• Relational dialectics. The study of contradictions in relationships, how they are played out, and how they are managed.
• Relational goals. Those that typically involve intimacy and support.
• Relational listening. Recognizing, understanding, and addressing the interconnection of relationships and communication during the listening process.
• Relational technologies. Such technologies as smartphones, iPods, and Twitter, whose use has relational functions and implications in society and within specific groups.
• Relationship Filtering Model. Demonstrates how sequences of cues are used to determine which people are selected to develop close relationships.
• Representation. Describes facts or conveys information (contrast with presentation).
• Responding. Final step in the listening process that entails reacting to the message of another person.
• Restricted code. A way of speaking that emphasizes authority and adopts certain community/cultural orientations as indisputable facts (contrast with elaborated code).
• Résumé. Document used when seeking employment that presents credentials for a position in a clear and concise manner.
• Resurrection process. Part of the breakdown of relationships that deals with how people prepare themselves for new relationships after ending an old one.
• Retrospective units. One of three types of Relational Continuity Constructional Units that keep the memory of the relationship alive during the physical separation of the members involved; retrospective units directly recognize the end of an absence and the reestablishment of the relationship through actual interaction.
• Revelation–concealment dialectic. The need to let others know about the existence of a relationship and the need to prevent others from knowing about the existence of a relationship; also, the need to disclose some information about the relationship to outsiders and the need to hide other information about the relationship from outsiders.
• Reward power. That which is derived from the ability to provide, manage, or withhold benefits.
• Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. The idea that the names of objects and ideas make verbal distinctions and help you make conceptual distinctions rather than the other way around.
• Scene. Element of the pentad involving the situation or location of an act (see act, agent, agency, purpose).
• Schemata. Mental structures that are used to organize information partly by clustering or linking associated material.
• Secondary questions. Follow-up questions asked when seeking elaboration or further information (see probing questions and mirror questions; contrast with primary questions).
• Sedimentation. The process by which repeated everyday practices create a "structure" for performance in the future, as a river deposits sediment that alters or maintains its course over time.
• Selective exposure. The idea that you are more likely to expose yourself to that which supports your beliefs, values, and attitudes.
• Selective listening. Obstacle to listening when people focus on the points of a message that correspond with their views and interests and pay less attention to those that do not.
• Selective perception. The idea that you are more likely to perceive and focus on things that support your beliefs, values, and attitudes.
• Selective retention. The idea that you are more likely to recall things that support your beliefs, values, and attitudes.
• Self-description. Description that involves information about self that is obvious to others through appearance and behavior.
• Self-disclosure. The revelation of personal information that others could not know unless the person made it known.
• Self-fulfilling prophecy. Principle maintaining that if someone believes a particular outcome will take place, his or her actions will often lead to its fruition.
• Semantic diversion. Obstacle to listening that occurs when people are distracted by words or phrases used in a message through negative response or unfamiliarity.
• Sexual harassment. "any unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment; any conduct of a sexual nature that makes an employee uncomfortable" (England, 2012).
• Sign. A consequence or an indicator of something specific, which cannot be changed by arbitrary actions or labels (e.g., "wet streets are a sign of rain").
• Significant ties. People who are more than mere acquaintances but with whom a strong connection does not exist; a person is not overly likely to talk with these people or seek help from these people, but they are still there when needed (compare with core ties).
• Silence. Meaningful lack of sound.
• Sociability. A secondary dimension of credibility referring to being personable and likable.
• Social construction. The way in which symbols take on meaning in a social context or society as they are used over time.
• Social construction of technology (SCOT). Belief that people determine the development of technology and ultimately determine social structure and cultural value (compare with social shaping of technology and technological determinism).
• Social judgment theory. Theory explaining how people may respond to a range of positions surrounding a particular topic or issue.
• Social process. Telling other people in one's social network about dissatisfaction and about possible disengagement or dissolution of a relationship.
• Social relationships. Relationships in which the specific people in a given role can be changed and the relationship would still occur (e.g., customer–client relationships are the same irrespective of who is the customer and who is the client on a particular occasion; compare with personal relationships).
• Social roles. Those functioning to encourage group members and to develop and maintain positive communication and relationships among group members.
• Social scientific approach. Views the world as objective, causal, and predictable; researchers using this approach primarily seek to describe communication activity and to discover connections between phenomena or causal patterns.
• Social shaping of technology (SST). Belief that both people and technologies exert influence on social structure and cultural values (compare with social construction of technology and technological determinism).
• Socialization impact of media. Depictions of relationships in media provide models of behavior that inform people about how to engage in relationships.
• Socioemotional leaders. Those focusing on making group members feel comfortable, satisfied, valued, and understood (compare with task leaders).
• Source distraction. Obstacle to listening that results from auditory and visual characteristics of the message source.
• Spatial pattern. An organizational pattern in which the main points of a presentation are arranged according to their physical relation, such as from left to right, top to bottom, north to south, or forward to backward.
• Specific purpose. Exactly what a person wants to achieve through a presentation.
• Speech codes (communication codes). Sets of communication patterns that are the norm for a culture, and only that culture, hence defining it as different from others around it.
• Speech communities. Sets of people whose speech codes and practices identify them as a cultural unit, sharing characteristic values through their equally characteristic speech.
• Static. Elements of nonverbal communication that are fixed during interaction (e.g., shape of the room where an interaction takes place, color of eyes, clothes worn during an interview; contrast with dynamic).
• Statistics. Numbers that demonstrate or establish size, trends, and associations.
• Storming (Tuckman's group development). When a group determines leadership and roles of its members (see adjourning, forming, norming, performing).
• Structuration theory. Points to the regularities of human relationships that act as rules and resources drawn on to enable or constrain social interaction.
• Subpoints. Statements that support and explain the main points of a presentation.
• Support group. That which is focused on advising, comforting, sharing knowledge, spreading information, and raising consciousness about specific issues.
• Syllogism. A form of argumentation consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.
• Symbolic interactionism. How broad social forces affect or even transact an individual person's view of who he or she is.
• Symbolic self. The self that is transacted in interaction with other people, that arises out of social interaction, not vice versa, and hence, that does not just "belong to you".
• Symbols. Arbitrary representations of ideas, objects, people, relationships, cultures, genders, races, and so forth.
• Synchronous communication. Communication in which people interact in real time and can at once both send and receive messages (contrast with asynchronous communication).
• Task leaders. Those focusing on the performance of tasks to ensure the achievement of group goals (compare with socioemotional leaders).
• Task roles. Those functioning to ensure a group achieves its goals and is productive.
• Technological determinism. Belief that technologies determine social structure, cultural values, and even how people think (compare with social shaping of technology and social construction of technology).
• Technology and media generations. Those differentiated by unique technology grammar and consciousness based on the technological and media environment in which they are born.
• Technology and media profile. A compilation of your technology and media preferences and general use of technology and media; informs others about who you are as a person or at least the persona you are trying to project.
• Territoriality. The establishment and maintenance of space that people claim for their personal use.
• Testimony. Declarations or statements of a person's findings, opinions, conclusions, or experience.
• Thesis statement. What a person argues or develops throughout a presentation.
• Topical pattern. Organizational pattern in which support material is arranged according to specific categories, groupings, or grounds.
• Topic-specific brainstorming. Generating a list of ideas encompassing a specific topic.
• Totality (relational dialectics). The notion that relational contradictions do not occur in isolation from one another and that the whole complexity of relationships must be considered because each element or part of the relationship influences other parts.
• Transitions. Phrases or statements that connect the major parts or sections of the presentation and guide the audience through it.
• Unity principle. The principle of organization that maintains that a speaker should stay focused and provide only information that supports the thesis and main points of a speech.
• Values. Deeply held and enduring judgments of significance or importance that often provide the basis for both beliefs and attitudes.
• Verbal communication. The use of language to connect with another mind.
• Verifiability. An indication that the material being provided can be confirmed by other sources or means.
• Vocalics (paralanguage). Vocal characteristics that provide information about how verbal communication should be interpreted and how the speaker is feeling.
• Vocational anticipatory socialization. The preparation for becoming a worker; takes place from early moments of childhood onward, including through exposure to the media and depiction of the workplace in comedy and other shows.
• Volume. Loudness or softness of a person's voice.
• Voluntary audience. An audience that listens to your speech because its members have personally chosen to be there.
• Wandering thoughts. Obstacle to listening involving daydreams or thoughts about things other than the message being presented.
• Wrap-up signal. A phrase, usually uttered by the interviewer, that signals the beginning of an interview's conclusion.