Transcript title

Public Speaking

Credits

4

Grading mode

Standard letter grades

Total contact hours

40

Lecture hours

40

Recommended preparation

or to be taken with WR 121Z.

Course Description

Emphasizes developing communication skills by examining and demonstrating how self-awareness, audience, content, and occasion influence the creation and delivery of speeches and presentations. Reduces speaking anxiety.

Course learning outcomes

1. Develop messages for diverse audiences, purposes, and contexts.
2. Identify and utilize skills to manage communication apprehension.
3. Deliver and adapt speeches and/or presentations to live audiences.
4. Evaluate public speeches, including their own, by identifying aspects of preparation, credibility, logic, and delivery.

Content outline

1. Historical Context: Aristotle, Rhetoric
2. Speech Structure: Intro-Body-Conclusion, necessary ingredients, organizational principles
3. Purposes: Speeches that inform, persuade, entertain
4. Audience analysis: demographics, beliefs, biases
5. Research: finding accurate and varied supporting material, determining source credibility, appropriately citing sources during speech delivery and in the outline
6. Delivery skills: oral, verbal, nonverbal. Adhering to time limits
7. Listening and Evaluation: active listening, evaluating credibility, accuracy, efficacy
8. Visual Aids: Determining need, creating effective visuals, employing them during the speech

Required materials

Students will need materials to create a minimum of one visual aid to accompany at least one speech. Visual Aids may have a physical presence or may be presented via computer projection. Some sections of this course require a coursepack or textbook.

General education/Related instruction lists

• Oral Communication