Active Listening—Concept pioneered by psychologists Carl R. Rogers and Richard E. Farson that puts forward the idea that listening is not a passive activity but requires energy and effort

Amplification—The technique of spotlighting the ideas or contributions of others in a meeting

Articulation—The formation of clear and distinct sounds in speech

Attention Span—The length of time a person can devote to an activity before their mind wanders

Benefit—Something advantageous or positive that an audience will achieve or receive as a result of hearing your message

Body Language—Nonverbal communication such as gestures, postures, and facial expressions that help support a person's intention

Civil Inattention—The process whereby strangers who are in close proximity demonstrate that they are aware of one another, without imposing on each other

Climax—The highest point of tension in a story; the major turning point in the plot

Close-ended Question—A question that can be answered with a simple yes or no answer, or with one specific piece of information

Cognitive Nervousness—Anxiety relating to or involving thinking, reasoning, or remembering

Communication—The process of sending and receiving messages with attached meaning

Confirmation Bias—A tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs

Congruence—The state when all aspects of voice and body language perfectly support a communicator's intention

Convergent Questions (closed-ended questions)—Questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no or a specific bit of information

Core Breathing—The low belly breath used by actors and singers for maximum support; also called diaphragmatic breathing

Critical Inner Voice—Any negative thoughts or insecurities that can distract or cause anxiousness in a speaker

Developmental Change—Organizational changes you make to improve current business procedures

Diffusion of Responsibility—The idea that a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present

Distress—Negative stress; threat stress that causes strain, anxiety, or suffering

Divergent Questions (open-ended questions)—Exploratory questions that can have more than one possible answer and are designed to elicit expanded thinking

Dopamine—A neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers

Empathy—The ability to understand and share the feelings of another

Empathic Attunement—The ability to comprehend the momentary psychological state of another person

Employee Engagement—The emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals

Engagement—A connection with an audience that finds them in a willing state of attentiveness during your communication

Eustress—Positive stress; challenge stress that is healthy or provides fulfillment

Exposition—The basic information (who, what, when, where) an audience needs to know to be able to follow a story

Exposure Effect—The idea that the more you are exposed to an experience, the easier and less daunting it becomes

Falling Action—The short series of events in a story immediately following the climax and just before the final resolution is reached

Flow—A state of total immersion and focus, a concept first coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Gesture—Any movement of the hand, arm, body, head, or face that communicates a specific idea, opinion, or emotion

Glossophobia—Greek term for stage fright or speech anxiety

Gravitas—The serious, dignified manner we associate with strong leaders

Ground Rules—Guidelines for individual and team behavior

Halo Effect—A cognitive bias in which the overall impression you create with another person then influences how they feel and think about your character and abilities.

Home Base Position—The relaxed, open body position that serves as a communicator's physical neutral when not moving or gesturing

Illusion of Transparency—Phenomenon whereby individuals often believe their internal states are more apparent to others than is actually the case

Imposter Syndrome—An inability to internalize accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud despite possessing accomplishments and achievements to the contrary

Impromptu Speaking—A delivery mode where someone is called upon to speak without preparation or notes

Inciting Incident—The event in a story that serves as a trigger to set the initial events or action in motion

Incongruence—The state of someone's delivery where mixed messages are being communicated, a result of an intention not being properly supported

Inflection—The specific pitch in the voice (up or down) used at the end of a word or phrase

Intention—An aim that guides action, informing all aspects of a person's physical and vocal delivery

Intention Cues—Any aspect of a person's vocal or physical communication that conveys meaning to an audience or listener

Isopraxism—The idea that an audience will mirror back whatever emotion or behavior a speaker projects; see also mirror theory

Jargon—Words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand

Listening—The process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages

Meeting Assets—Action items, consensus, or decisions made as a result of a meeting occurring

Micro Expressions—The involuntary facial movements and physical tics that occur without our even being aware of them

Mirror Theory—The idea that people pick up on whatever emotion or intention a speaker projects and both feel and project back that emotion; see also isopraxism

Monotone—A succession of sounds or words that is unchanging in pitch

Motivating Language Theory—Idea that an inspiring speech can have a direct, positive effect on critical employee outcomes associated with motivation

Mutuality—The sharing of a feeling, action, or relationship

Nonverbal Communication—Any aspects of communication—aside from the actual words spoken—that send messages or convey meaning to a listener

Norm of Reciprocity—Expectation that people will respond favorably to one another by returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to slights or harms.

Objective—A goal you hope to accomplish with your communication

Open-ended Question—A question that cannot be answered with a single word or a yes or no and requires more information or detail

Oxytocin—A chemical that encourages empathy in the receiver of the story

Pace—The rate, based on words per minute spoken, at which a person speaks

Pacifier—Any nervous behavior or activity displayed by a speaker that communicates discomfort or nervousness

Parkinson's Law—Adage that says work will always expand to fill the time available for its completion

Pattern Interrupt—Any action or behavior that breaks a pattern in an effort to maintain the attention of an audience

Personal Brand—The way you project yourself to the world and, consequently, how you are seen by others

Personal Branding Statement—A one- to two-sentence statement answering what you are best at, who you serve, and how you do it uniquely

Phatic Communication—Communication that has a social function, such as to start a conversation, greet someone, or say goodbye

Physiological Pause—A silence during your communication that requires you to stop speaking so you can take a breath or take sip of water

Pitch—The highness or lowness in the voice determined by the rate of vibration in the vocal cords

Posture—The position of a person's body when standing or sitting

Psychological Pause—A silence during your communication used to evoke or provoke an emotional response from your audience

Resolution—The final element of a story where all loose ends are tied up and any outstanding questions are answered

Resonation—The prolongation and intensification of sound produced by transmission of its vibrations in the various body cavities (chest, mouth, nasal cavity, skull, throat)

Rhetorical Questions—Questions that are asked to make a point rather than elicit an answer.

Rising Action—The events in a story that follow the inciting incident and build to the climax

Social Awareness—The ability to pick up on the emotions and intentions of others with whom we interact

Social Loafing—An idea that posits that the larger the meeting, the less accountable meeting attendees will feel toward making contributions of ideas or efforts

Spatiality—The way in which a speaker uses space, movement, and distance when communicating a message to others

Spotlight Effect—Phenomenon in which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are

Street Intimacy—Fleeting connections with strangers, usually in public settings

Transformational Change—A shift in the business culture of an organization resulting from a change in the underlying strategy or processes that the organization has used in the past

Transitional Change—A shift in the way a process within an organization is completed, designed to increase efficiency

Treadmill Verb—An intention that lacks the ability to influence emotion or motivate action

Verbal Virus—Verbal fillers (such as ah, um, or I mean) that show up in speech and communicate uncertainty to an audience or listener

Vocal Dynamics—The ways in which you use the various qualities of the voice (pitch, tone, resonation, inflection, articulation, volume, and pace)

Vocal Variety—Effective variation of vocal qualities achieved through combining and varying pitch, tone, resonation, inflection