COMM 1110 - Public Speaking

Goals: To help students gain real-life skills in speaking in public, gain confidence, and enhance their ability to deliver oral presentations; to help students achieve the ability to undertake the research process, reason, and effectively identify what needs to be said in a given situation as well as the best way to say it; to practice the skills of critical listening, critical analysis of arguments, and effective advocacy that can enable students to become more engaged in effective and ethical public discourse.

Content: Theories of communication in public settings; factors influencing message creation, construction, and interpretation; utilizing research and evidence in creating effective arguments; adaptation to the communication situation and audience; addressing the diversity of values and viewpoints held by audience members; ethical issues in public communication; factors influencing effective delivery; stage fright.

Taught: Annually.

Prerequisites: None.

Credits: 4