Miscellaneous Terms
Listening Styles
Paralanguage
Body Language
CM Terms
100

A form of communication you read.

What is written communication?

100

A communication method where a listener fully focuses on, absorbs, understands, and responds intentionally to a speaker rather than passively hearing words

What is active listening?

100

Differentiates questions from statements or expresses the speaker's true feelings, subtext, and attitude toward the listener or topic.

What is tone and/or pitch?

100

Hands in pocket.

What doesn't want to be there?

100

The emotional, cultural, or hidden meaning that a word or phrase carries beyond its literal dictionary definition.

What is connotation?

200

Refers to using gestures, movements, and mannerisms to communicate.

What is body language?

200

The practice of paying respectful attention to someone who is speaking without necessarily being deeply engaged or emotionally invested in the topic

What is polite listening?

200

The loudness or softness of a speaker's voice, which shapes how listeners perceive a message, a speaker's confidence, and the emotional tone of an interaction.

What is volume?

200

Consistent Eye Contact.

What is listening?

200

The exact, literal, or dictionary definition of a word, free from any emotional feelings, cultural subtexts, or personal associations

What is denotative?

300

A disproportionate weight, inclination, or prejudice for or against an idea, person, group, or thing

What is a bias?

300

A communication and learning style where you hear audio or speech without actively engaging, responding, or giving your full attention

What is passive listening?

300
Used for emphasis or attention from the audience.

What are pauses and silence?

300

Crossed arms.

What is annoyed?

300

The practice of alternating or shifting between different languages, dialects, speech patterns, or cultural behaviors depending on the social context, setting, or audience.

What is code-switching?

400

The active, intentional, and learned process of receiving, interpreting, recalling, evaluating, and responding to verbal and non-verbal messages.

What is listening?

400

The practice of fully concentrating, understanding, and sharing the emotional experience of the person speaking—without judging, critiquing, or rushing to offer advice

What is empathetic listening?

400

The rate, velocity, or throughput at which information, data, or spoken words travel from a sender to a receiver. 

What is speed?

400

Pacing.

What is nervous?

400

The natural human tendency to assume that what another person communicates is honest and truthful, regardless of whether they are actually telling the truth or lying.

What is truth bias?

500

Symbolisms made with the body during verbal communication or made without it.

What are gestures?

500

An active communication process where you listen to analyze, evaluate, and judge a speaker's message, logic, and motives, rather than just passively hearing or simply trying to empathize

What is critical listening?

500

The extra emphasis placed on a specific syllable within a multi-syllable word, or on a specific word within a sentence, to make it stand out.

What is stressed words?

500

Nodding while listening.

What is engaged with the conversation?

500

The conscious or unconscious habit of hiding, changing, or suppressing your true personality, emotions, or neurodivergent traits to fit in, meet social expectations, or avoid judgment

What is masking?

M
e
n
u