Speaking and Listening - High School

Listen up! If you want to improve your communication skills, review this list of words related to speaking and listening. Whether you're delivering a speech, giving an informal presentation, or participating in a group discussion, you'll need to know these essential terms.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. accentuate
    put stress on
  2. advocate
    speak, plead, or argue in favor of
  3. agreement
    harmony of people's opinions, actions, or characters
  4. ambiguity
    unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning
  5. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
  6. anecdote
    short account of an incident
  7. argument
    an assertion offered as evidence that something is true
  8. argumentation
    the methodical process of logical reasoning
  9. articulation
    the aspect of pronunciation that shapes the sounds of speech
  10. attentiveness
    the trait of being observant and paying attention
  11. audience
    the part of the general public interested in something
  12. body language
    communication via the movements or attitudes of the body
  13. cite
    refer to for illustration or proof
  14. claim
    an assertion that something is true or factual
  15. clarification
    an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding
  16. clarity
    the quality of being coherent and easily understood
  17. coherence
    logical, orderly, and consistent relation of parts
  18. collaborate
    work together on a common enterprise or project
  19. collaboration
    act of working jointly
  20. collaborative
    accomplished by working jointly
  21. collegial
    having authority vested equally among colleagues
  22. communication
    the activity of conveying information
  23. comparison
    relation based on similarities and differences
  24. compromise
    an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
  25. concise
    expressing much in few words
  26. conclusion
    the last section of a communication
  27. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
  28. contradiction
    the speech act of opposing someone
  29. counterclaim
    an opinion offered in opposition to another position
  30. credibility
    the quality of being believable or trustworthy
  31. critical
    characterized by careful evaluation and judgment
  32. critique
    appraise or judge in an analytical way
  33. delivery
    characteristic style or manner of expressing oneself orally
  34. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
  35. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  36. discrepancy
    a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions
  37. elaboration
    addition of extra material or clarifying detail
  38. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
  39. emphasis
    the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note
  40. enunciation
    the articulation of speech with regards to intelligibility
  41. evidence
    knowledge on which to base belief
  42. exposition
    a systematic interpretation or explanation of a topic
  43. expression
    the style of communicating beliefs or opinions
  44. eye contact
    contact that occurs when two people look directly at each other
  45. facial expression
    the feelings expressed on a person's face
  46. fallacious
    containing or based on incorrect reasoning
  47. feedback
    response to an inquiry or experiment
  48. figure of speech
    language used in a nonliteral sense
  49. formal
    adhering to traditional standards of correctness
  50. format
    the general appearance of a publication
  51. formulate
    put into words or an expression
  52. forum
    a public meeting or assembly for open discussion
  53. frame
    formulate in a particular style or language
  54. grammar
    the branch of linguistics that deals with sentence structure
  55. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
  56. imply
    express or state indirectly
  57. impromptu
    with little or no preparation or forethought
  58. infer
    conclude by reasoning
  59. inflection
    the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
  60. informal
    having the simple or familiar structure of everyday language
  61. informative
    serving to instruct or enlighten
  62. inquiry
    an instance of questioning
  63. interaction
    mutual or reciprocal dealings or influence
  64. interactive
    capable of influencing each other
  65. interview
    the questioning of a person, often conducted by journalists
  66. interviewer
    a person who conducts an interview
  67. investigation
    the work of inquiring into something thoroughly
  68. irrelevant
    having no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
  69. justify
    show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
  70. logic
    reasoned and reasonable judgment
  71. logical
    marked by an orderly and coherent relation of parts
  72. medium
    a means or instrumentality for communicating information
  73. modulation
    when the loudness, pitch, or tone of the voice is modified
  74. multimedia
    the use of many types of communication simultaneously
  75. nonverbal
    not using spoken or written language to communicate
  76. oral communication
    (language) communication by word of mouth
  77. oral presentation
    delivering an address to a public audience
  78. parallelism
    similarity by virtue of corresponding
  79. paraphrase
    express the same message in different words
  80. participant
    someone who is involved in an activity
  81. participate
    share in something
  82. perspective
    a way of regarding situations or topics
  83. persuasion
    communication intended to induce belief or action
  84. persuasive
    intended or having the power to induce action or belief
  85. plagiarism
    taking someone's words or ideas as if they were your own
  86. point of view
    a mental position from which things are perceived
  87. poise
    great coolness and composure under strain
  88. posture
    the arrangement of the body and its limbs
  89. premise
    a statement that is held to be true
  90. purpose
    an anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions
  91. quantitative
    expressible as an amount that can be measured
  92. quotation
    a passage or expression that is cited
  93. reasoning
    thinking that is organized and logical
  94. redundant
    repeating the same sense in different words
  95. reference
    a publication noted as a source of information
  96. relevance
    the relation of something to the matter at hand
  97. relevant
    having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
  98. research
    systematic investigation to establish facts
  99. rhetoric
    using language effectively to please or persuade
  100. rhetorical device
    a use of language that creates a literary effect
  101. rhetorical question
    an inquiry that is not supposed to be answered
  102. salient
    conspicuous, prominent, or important
  103. semantics
    the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text
  104. source
    a document from which information is obtained
  105. stance
    a rationalized mental attitude
  106. statistic
    a datum that can be represented numerically
  107. style
    a mode of expression typical of a person, group, or period
  108. succinct
    briefly giving the gist of something
  109. summarize
    briefly present the main points of something
  110. summary
    a brief statement that presents the main points
  111. survey
    a detailed critical inspection
  112. syntax
    the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences
  113. synthesis
    the combination of ideas into a complex whole
  114. synthesize
    combine so as to form a more complex product
  115. teamwork
    cooperative labor done by a group
  116. theme
    the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  117. thesis
    an unproved statement advanced as a premise in an argument
  118. tone
    the quality of a person's voice
  119. transition
    a passage or word that connects a topic to one that follows
  120. verbalize
    express in speech
  121. verify
    confirm the truth of
  122. viewpoint
    a mental position from which things are considered
  123. voice
    the distinctive quality or pitch of a person's speech
Created on Thu Jan 26 09:42:36 EST 2017 (updated Wed Mar 29 15:41:48 EDT 2017)

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