COMM 1021 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking

Credits: 3
Hours/Week: Lecture 3 Lab 0
Internship hours per week 0
Course Description: This course focuses on learning techniques for effective public speaking in academic, business, professional, and community settings. Students practice these skills by preparing and presenting informative and persuasive oral presentations in class. Course topics include audience analysis, ethics, speech purpose, organization, delivery, visual aids, outlining, and speaker evaluation.
MnTC Goals
1 Communication, 9 Ethical/Civic Responsibility

Prerequisite(s): Course placement into college-level English and Reading OR completion of ENGL 0950 with a grade of C or higher OR completion of RDNG 0940 with a grade of C or higher and qualifying English Placement Exam OR completion of RDNG 0950 with a grade of C or higher and ENGL 0090 with a grade of C or higher OR completion of ESOL 0051 with a grade of C or higher and ESOL 0052 with a grade of C or higher.
Corequisite(s): None
Recommendation: None

Major Content

Ethical public speaking
Communication Models
Communication apprehension
Delivery techniques
Gathering materials
Methods of Persuasion
Outlining
Speech organization
Speech purpose and audience
Types of informative speeches
Types of persuasive speeches
Visual aids

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course students will be able to:

demonstrate appropriate topic selection, audience analysis, organization, and content development, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a speaker-audience setting.
utilize appropriate research strategies to discover and ethically integrate supporting materials from diverse sources, interests, and points of view.
demonstrate the ability to listen, analyze, and provide feedback on public discourse regarding legal, social, scientific, and other issues.
use audio/visual aids in their speeches.
create and perform informative and persuasive messages.
demonstrate improved strategies to decrease communication apprehension, particularly public speaking apprehension.
practice effective verbal and nonverbal delivery techniques that are well suited to the occasion and audience.

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC): Goals and Competencies
Competency Goals (MnTC Goals 1-6)
01. 01. Understand/demonstrate the writing and speaking processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing and presentation.
01. 02. Participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.
01. 03. Locate, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner material from diverse sources and points of view.
01. 04. Select appropriate communication choices for specific audiences.
01. 05. Construct logical and coherent arguments.
01. 06. Use authority, point-of-view, and individual voice and style in their writing and speaking.
01. 07. Employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic disciplines and the professional world.
Theme Goals (MnTC Goals 7-10)
09. 03. Analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues.
09. 04. Recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others.
09. 05. Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

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COMM 1021 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking