Introduction to Public Speaking (Summer 2019)

Introduction to Public Speaking

COM 220 - Department of Communication - Monday & Wednesday, 1:10-3:20pm in CMU 120

Instructor

Wm Salt Hale - M.A./Ph.D. student

Email

halew (at) uw . edu (please begin topic with [COM 220])

Office

CMU 333 - Monday 12-1pm, Wednesday 3:30-4:30pm, or by appointment

Course Websites

This wiki page is the canonical information resource for COM 220, Summer 2019. All other course-related information will be linked on this page. We will use the Canvas page for announcements, file hosting, submitting written assignments, and grades.

Course Catalog Description

Designed to increase competence in public speaking and the critique of public speaking. Emphasizes choice and organization of material, sound reasoning, audience analysis, and delivery.

Course Description

This course trains students in the art of public speaking. The course was designed for both Communication majors and non-majors. No previous public speaking experience is necessary. Multiple genres of speech will be studied and delivered including: impromptu, commemorative, and advocacy. Students will develop their public speaking skills by delivering speeches which build upon one another, culminating in an open air delivery on Red Square. The thread connecting these speeches is an assumed future conference presentation. We will be reading and viewing articles and performances which focus on particularly trying areas.

Learning Objectives

The course objectives are deceptively simple: by the end of this quarter, you should be able to compose and deliver a clear, convincing, and compelling speech on a public issue. In service of this goal, we will study the principles of argumentation and arrangement, critically examine our own speeches and the speeches of others, and practice, practice, practice. By becoming a student of public speaking, you join a long history of rhetorical study dating back to ancient Greece. At the end of COM 220, students should be able to:

1. Organize ideas in a manner that lends itself to the verbal medium.
2. Present in front of an audience of greater than 20 people.
3. Differentiate prepared and unscripted speeches.
4. Provide valuable feedback via peer critique.
5. Understand what a venue looks for in a professional speaker.

This course advances the mission of the Department of Communication to nurture socially responsible, literate citizens who can interpret and evaluate the images and messages they create and receive.

Schedule

Week One

• M: Orientation, Intro Speeches
• W: Intro to Impromptu, Invention and Arrangement (Main Points and Support)
• F: DUE: Impromptu Thesis

Week Two

• M: Arrangement (Structure, Roadmaps, Signposts, Recaps)
• W: Delivery (Apprehension, Projection, Eye Contact, Movement)
• F: DUE: Knowledgeable Topics

Week Three

• M: Impromptu Round 1
• W: Impromptu Round 2
• F: DUE: Impromptu Self-Analysis, Commemorative Topic

Week Four

• M: Intro to Commemorative, Invention (Values, Support, and Storytelling)
• W: Arrangement (Principles, Models, and Outline)
• F: DUE: Potential Venue List

Week Five

• M: Delivery (Tone, Style, Ums, and Podium)
• W: Commemorative Gallery Walk
• F: DUE: Speaker Bio

Week Six

• M: Commemorative Round 1
• W: Commemorative Round 2
• F: DUE: Commemorative Self-Analysis, Advocacy Topic

Week Seven

• M: Intro to Advocacy, Invention and Arrangement (Arguments, Calls to Action, and Models)
• W: Arrangement and Style (Openers, Closers, and Writing for the Ear)
• F: DUE: Advocacy Outline

Week Eight

• M: Public Delivery (Projection, Movement, and Kairos)
• W: Advocacy Gallery Walk
• F: DUE: Conference Abstract

Week Nine

• M: Advocacy Round 1
• W: Advocacy Round 2

Assignments

Speeches (210 total points / 70% of your final grade)

This course focuses on preparing and performing speeches. We start off with existing speeches, to help you practice good performance. We then focus on impromptu speaking, working within a rigid structure. Moving into narratives, you expand your abilities to describe things in rich and evocative detail. Finally, we conclude with the advocacy speech that brings together the performance, narrative, and argumentative elements we have been working on.

Introduction (< 2 minute speech)

We all have certain stories about ourselves that we love to tell. Others get to know us a little bit better when you tell a story about yourself. This assignment asks you to tell one of your favorite stories from your personal history. It can be a funny or serious story; all that matters is that you have told this story many times before. You simply need to tell this story to your classmates. What is different is that you must conclude your story with some type of moral or lesson (e.g. “And that was when I truly learned that you never want to give your car keys to an angry bear” or “So, it is true what they say, ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”).

Impromptu (6 minutes of preparation followed by a 4-5 minute speech)

Impromptu speaking reinforces all aspects of good public speaking: quick thinking, sound argumentation, strategic word choice, and engaged delivery. On the day you are assigned to speak, you will draw two thesis statements from an envelope. Selecting one of them, you will go into the hallway for six minutes to prepare. You will then return to the room and deliver a four to five minute speech supporting or opposing the thesis. Evaluations of your speech will focus on the strength of the arguments, the clarity of the arrangement, and the effectiveness of the delivery. Please see the assignment description for a detailed list of the requirements.

Commemorative (5-7 minute speech)

Your goal in the commemorative speech is to praise a person, organization, or event. Your speech will use rich, stylistic language to link your topic to values. Evaluations of your speech will focus how the clarity of the core values, the strength of the evidence and narratives, the eloquence of the style, and the appropriateness of the delivery. Please see the assignment description for a detailed list of the requirements

Advocacy (5-7 minute speech)

Your goal in the advocacy speech is to motivate uninformed and/or apathetic members of your audience to take some form of action. This speech round will be held in an outdoor public location to allow us to work on delivery and audience engagement. Evaluations of your speech will focus on the capacity of the arguments and style to move members of your audience to take action, the appropriateness of the arrangement, and the effectiveness of the delivery. Please see the assignment description for a detailed list of the requirements.

Homeworks (60 total points / 20% of your final grade)

There are a number of smaller assignments that will help you prepare your speeches. Your 12 best scores, each worth five points, count towards your grade (out of 15 possible deliverables). There are no make-up homeworks. If you miss an assignment or class on that day, you receive a zero for that assignment.

Impromptu Thesis

Two policy statements related to the UW. Neither should have been demonstrated in class. Topics must be appropriate and plausible, and must include both an agent and mandate.

Knowledgeable Topics

Three topics which you are familiar enough to speak about at length. Include a brief synopsis of your background with each topic, and one exciting fact.

Impromptu Peer-Analysis

Over the course of the quarter, you will be required to analyze your classmates speeches. Your peer-analysis assignments are listed on the speaker order sheet. You will be required to provide oral criticism following a peer's speech.

Impromptu Self-Analysis

Watch this video of your speech a couple of times with the rubric and take notes. Then write a short reflection (200-300 words).

Commemorative Topic

Two people, organizations, or events you want to praise. Each should have a description of why student is interested, an overview of the topic, and a link to an online presence.

Potential Venue List

Three public speaking venues which relate to at least one of the topics from the Knowledgeable Topics assignment. Each should include a brief description and link to an online presence.

Commemorative Gallery Walk

Prior to delivering your commemorative and advocacy speeches for a grade, you will deliver a full run through to get some practice and feedback. Each student will be assigned to present on a gallery walk day based on the speaker order. On your assigned day, you will deliver your speech for a small audience a few times and receive some feedback.

Speaker Bio

Description of student that details background, relevant experience with Knowledgeable Topics general topic, and what makes them stand out compared to others who could speak about a similar topic.

Commemorative Peer-Analysis

Over the course of the quarter, you will be required to analyze your classmates speeches. Your peer-analysis assignments are listed on the speaker order sheet. You will be required to provide oral criticism following a peer's speech.

Commemorative Self-Analysis

Watch this video of your speech a couple of times with the rubric and take notes. Then write a short reflection (200-300 words).

Advocacy Topic

Policy topic which exists within the general topic previously selected. Student should have a strong position on the policy change.

Advocacy Outline

Brief breakdown of the argument to guide your writing and to allow comment on your progress. Avoid making your outline overly vague or overly specific.

Advocacy Gallery Walk

Prior to delivering your commemorative and advocacy speeches for a grade, you will deliver a full run through to get some practice and feedback. Each student will be assigned to present on a gallery walk day based on the speaker order. On your assigned day, you will deliver your speech for a small audience a few times and receive some feedback.

Conference Abstract

Description of policy topic which student will be arguing. Should include why this topic is important, what the scope of this talk will be, and what the audience will take away.

Advocacy Peer-Analysis

Over the course of the quarter, you will be required to analyze your classmates speeches. Your peer analysis assignments are listed on the speaker order sheet. You will be required to provide oral criticism following a peer's speech.

Participation (30 total points / 10% of your final grade)

We will be using a combination of icebreaker questions and Poll Everywhere for in-class clicker participation to practice with the concepts. Poll Everywhere is a free (to you) app and you do not need to buy a clicker, but you will need some type of web enabled device (phone, laptop, or tablet).

Each lecture will offer participation questions amounting to five points. This usually means one question near the beginning of class, a couple near the middle, and a couple near the end. There are no make-up clicker points; you have to be in-class and participating to get these points.

Your best 6 clicker scores count towards your grade (out of 9 possible clicker scores). This means you can miss up to three lectures with no penalty (and each missed class day beyond that is five points).

You can read more about Poll Everywhere here. We will practice on the first day, but graded clicker questions won't begin until Wednesday, 6/26.

Grading

There are 300 total possible points in this course.

Assignment	Points	Percentage
Impromptu speech	60	20%
Commemorative speech	70	23%
Advocacy speech	80	27%
Homeworks (best 12 of 15)	60	20%
Participation (best 6 of 9)	30	10%
Total	300	100%

Grades will be assigned based on your final number of accumulated points. For a discussion of the grade ranges, please see your student handbook or visit the UW Grading System page.

A Range (90-100%)	B Range (80-89%)	C Range (70-79%)	D Range (60-69%)
100% = 4.0
99% = 4.0	89% = 3.4	79% = 2.4	69% = 1.4
98% = 4.0	88% = 3.3	78% = 2.3	68% = 1.3
97% = 4.0	87% = 3.2	77% = 2.2	67% = 1.2
96% = 4.0	86% = 3.1	76% = 2.1	66% = 1.1
95% = 4.0	85% = 3.0	75% = 2.0	65% = 1.0
94% = 3.9	84% = 2.9	74% = 1.9	64% = 0.9
93% = 3.8	83% = 2.8	73% = 1.8	63% = 0.8
92% = 3.7	82% = 2.7	72% = 1.7	62% = 0.7
91% = 3.6	81% = 2.6	71% = 1.6	61% = 0.7
90% = 3.5	80% = 2.5	70% = 1.5	60% = 0.7
59%/0.6 and below = 0

Policies

Respect

Students are expected to treat each other, and the instructor, with respect. Students are prohibited from engaging in any kind of harassment or derogatory behavior, which includes offensive verbal comments or imagery related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion. In addition, students should not engage in any form of inappropriate physical contact or unwelcome sexual attention, and should respect each others’ right to privacy in regards to their personal life. In the event that you feel you (or another student) have been subject to a violation of this policy, please reach out to the instructor in whichever form you prefer.

Attendance and participation

Students are expected to attend class regularly. If you run into a conflict that requires you to be absent (for example, medical issues) feel free to reach out to me. I will do my best to ensure that you don't miss out, and will treat your information as confidential.

If you miss class session, please do not ask me what you missed during class; check the website or ask a classmate. Graded in-class activities cannot be made up if you miss a class session.

Electronics

Laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices are strongly discouraged from use in this class. Use of such devices greatly detracts from student participation in discussions and activities. Should you choose to bring a device to class, I reserve the right to (a) request that the device be put away and/or (b) request that you no longer bring electronics to class at my own discretion. The bottom line is pretty much “abuse it and lose it.”

Office Hours

I am available to answer questions, discuss concerns, and provide clarifications regarding individual assignments and/or the class as a whole on Mondays, 12-1pm and Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30pm in CMU 333. If you are unable to meet during those times, please email to set up an appointment.

Email

Please add [COM 220] to the subject of any email you send. I will strive to respond within 24 hours, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. Questions that may benefit the entire class should be posted on the Canvas discussion board.

Late assignments

This class has in-class and online assignments. You must be in class for the duration in order to receive credit for in-class homework. You must turn in online homework by the stated deadline. If you miss a homework (either by not turning it in on-time or not being present), you will receive a zero. There are no make-ups.

Grade appeals

If you wish to challenge a grade you received on an assignment, you must wait 24 hours after receiving the grade. Refer back to the assignment description in order to identify areas you felt were misgraded. As a side note, “I tried really hard” is not an argument for a grade change. I can only grade product, not effort.

After 24 hours, make an appointment with me to discuss the grade. If you are still not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the chair of the Department of Communication. You have two weeks after receiving a grade to challenge it. After two weeks, grade challenges will not be considered.

Incompletes

Incompletes are granted only when there is a serious emergency and when the extension is cleared before the last day of regular class meetings. For more on incomplete grades, see the UW Incomplete Policy.

Academic integrity and plagiarism

Students at the University of Washington (UW) are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic conduct, professional honesty, and personal integrity.

Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else's ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people's thoughts and writing, as long as you cite them. The use of any material without attribution, or any type of self-plagiarism from work previously used in any other setting is not allowed in this class and will be handled according to University of Washington regulations.

You can find out more about the UW Academic Conduct Code and the UW Student Conduct Code.

It is your responsibility to read and understand the University's expectations. Until you have read the Code, do not assume that you know what this University defines as academic misconduct.

Disability and accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 448 Schmitz, 206-543-8924/V, 206-543-8925/TTY, uwdrs@uw.edu, or disability.uw.edu.

DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

If you have any questions about this policy, please reach out to me directly.

Additional Resources

Health

There are many different kinds of support services on campus such as the Counseling Center and Hall Health. If you are concerned about yourself or a friend that is struggling, Safe Campus is a helpful resource for getting access to campus-based support.

Basic needs

Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Graduate Deans for support. More resources available through the Any Hungry Husky program. Furthermore, please notify me if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable me to provide any resources that I may possess.

Resources for harassment

Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender is a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here: https://www.washington.edu/crs/ and https://depts.washington.edu/livewell/saris/sexual-assault/

Disclaimer

This syllabus and all associated assignments, requirements, deadlines, and procedures are subject to change. A minimum of one week's notice will be given if possible.

Credit

This syllabus was heavily influenced by the work Professor Matt McGarrity has put in to build the University of Washington public speaking curriculum.