Fundamentals of Speech Communication 1212 Spring 2010 Instructor: Peg Achterman Phones: (425) 889-5767 (o); (206) 356-9233

(c) E-mail: peg.achterman@northwestu.edu Office: Fee 18 Class Location: Hurst 110 Class: T/Th 8-9:15; 9:30-10:45 Office Hours: Tue/Thur after 1pm Wednesdays all day, or by appt

Course Description: There is significance in the fact that Northwest requires public speaking for all students. As you might guess, it goes back to NUs roots as a preparation ground for preaching, but it has not been dropped from general requirements because whether you end up beside someones bed as a nurse, in front of a class as a teacher, or in front of a board of directors as a vice president you will use what you learn in here. It is unique because unlike, say, a course in the principles of law or church history, the public speaking course requires you to both know content and be able to perform a skill. Both content and skills are important. You will learn important principles of public speaking and argumentation, but simply knowing these principles is insufficient; you must also be able to apply them well. By the same token, you might be able to get through a speech without saying um, but if the content of the speech is bad, it is not a good speech. The best public speakers not only speak smoothly, they also say important and interesting things. We will focus on critical thinking, careful research, and communication strategies that work best in front of an audience. This class will also teach you how to listen to a speech and carefully evaluate other speakers. Course Objectives: Begin learning how to speak in a variety of settings. The course objectives are deceptively simple: By the end of this semester, you should be able to compose and deliver a clear, convincing, and compelling speech on a public issue using solid evidence. 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. Understand the principles of communication and speaking. In addition to learning the history of public speaking, this course will teach you some basic theories of communication. Gain the skills to effectively research. Strong research skills are an integral part of an effective speech. You will be taught how to research and give presentations using multiple types of sources. Develop a strong delivery style. In addition to using powerful language, you will learn how to use your voice and gestures to communicate your point. Throughout this process you will discover how to critically evaluate your own speaking style.

Increase your appreciation of other speakers. In addition to speaking several times, you will hear others speak multiple times. You will learn how to become an active audience member, a critical listener and learning partner.

Teaching Philosophy: This course will give you a great deal of practice in public speaking. I come at this as course as one who has been in your shoes, especially if this is the most terrifying class you have ever faced! I had a huge fear of getting up in front of people, but through practice and coaching I overcame it and now can present information succinctly and in a memorable way. One way to learn is by watching others and giving and getting feedback, so that too will be an integral part of the course. I love being a witness to great learning to the aha times we all have and I think you will see lots of those in this course. I get excited about coaching you through that and Im available to help outside of class. Texts and Tools: Lucas, S. (2001) The Art of Public Speaking, Tenth Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Any additional instructional materials will distributed in class and/or available on the course site on Discovery. Course Expectations: General 1. Arrive on time, leave on time. I will start class on time and end it on time. I realize that you have many demands with schoolwork and other activities, but you signed up for this class at this time. I now expect you to schedule around it. You may think that arriving late/leaving early is simply a personal issue; that you can get in or out of class without disturbing class. This is false. It disturbs me in my lecture and it draws the class's attention to your movement. Do not arrive late and do not leave early (this includes packing up). 2. Do the reading and homework. I will start the class on the assumption that you have completed the reading. The same holds true for any homework. They are not busy workI don't have time to look at busy work. There will be a few quizzes I will let you know ahead of time. There are also some in-class assignments those are unannounced and cannot be made up. 3. Be here mentally and physically. You will notice that there are a few days when class will not meet or you will have a guest. I didn't want to have a class meet unless I could pack it with essential information. The flip side of this is that each day is important. I want you here and thinking about the information. Most of the material is covered in lecture so it is in your best interest to be in lecture. 4. Work on your speeches. I know you are busy. Speeches, however, are time intensive, both in terms of researching and practicing. If you wait until the night before to put together your speech, your grade will suffer. I have built in

assignments that give you feedback at various levels of speech preparation. Again, this isn't busy work; the assignments are there to give you feedback at key points during speech preparation process. Also, you are responsible for setting up your practice time. I would like you to partner with someone and commit to practicing with that person. But only practicing once isn't sufficient (or only practicing the day before your speech). It's like committing to a gym membership. Just signing up won't make you loose weight or build muscle; you have to get yourself in the gym and use the equipment. Just signing up for this class doesn't guarantee that you will become a significantly better speaker; that's up to you. I provide the equipment and training, but you gotta provide the muscle. Attendance Each class meeting is an opportunity to participate in lectures and discussions. Because participation and cooperative learning are essential to the academic design of this course, your absence on a day when you are scheduled to speak or critique hurts your fellow students and impairs your own learning process. For this reason, the following rule is in place: FAILURE TO ATTEND ON A DAY WHEN YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO DELIVER A SPEECH, CRITIQUE, ASSIGNED PRACTICE, OR GALLERY WALK WILL RESULT IN A ZERO (0) FOR THAT ASSIGNMENT. If an absence is unavoidable, you can take some actions to avoid a penalty: 1. If you know that you will not be able to attend on a day when you are scheduled to speak (or critique), you must make arrangements with a classmate to switch speaking (or critiquing) positions as soon as possible. You must also inform me of this change. If you are traveling on a University trip (athletic competition, field trips, etc.), it is your responsibility to work with me to negotiate your speaking and critiquing schedule and your travel schedule. 2. If a serious illness or emergency prevents you from performing your duties, you should do everything you can to contact me as soon as possible. Prompt consultation (within 24 hours) and documentation of the unavoidable incident (e.g., a note from your doctor, a copy of the accident report, etc.) might result in the scheduling of a make-up speaking or critiquing assignment if I deem the circumstances that caused the absence to be severe enough to merit rescheduling and if there is time in the schedule to accommodate a make-up assignment. 3. Regardless of the reason, a rescheduled speech is subject to late assignment penalties. If you must reschedule, that speech will receive an automatic 10% deduction for each class day that it is late. 4. Periodically, there will be quizzes on the lecture material, the textbook readings, and the online videos. These quizzes will generally be announced ahead of time, but they also may be pop quizzes. You should always come to class prepared to take a quiz on the lecture material and recent course readings and online videos. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES OR IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS.

IF YOU MISS CLASS ON A DAY OF A QUIZ OR IN-CLASS WORK, YOU RECEIVE A 0 FOR THAT DAY. Academic Integrity & General Conduct By being present and on time, reading the assigned material, making study notes, and participating in discussions, you'll increase your opportunities to learn the course material. Active participation is critical to learning; passive learning is quickly forgotten. As trite as it sounds, the more you devote to this course the more you will benefit from this course. Again, I will start class on time and end it on time. I assume that when you enter the class, you are an intellectual and will act as such. This means that you will turn off your cell phone, abstain from browsing the Web, be awake, and avoid chatting. If you can't do this, please don't come to class. If you cannot be respectful I will ask you to leave class. This classroom will remain a tolerant space where we reason through opposing arguments and encourage difficult discussions. No doubt, you will hear some opinions this quarter that are not your own (this is essential to the design of the course), but you must engage those opposing views in a respectful manner. In some cases I might ask that you take a stand that is uncomfortable for you. I will not tolerate oppressive comments in the classroom that make it difficult for any student to have fair and equal access to education. When engaged in your role as a speech critic, please be constructive in your comments. This does not mean that you should ignore the flaws in your classmates' speeches; on the contrary, it is your responsibility to identify those flaws and communicate your suggestions for improvement to your classmates. Always treat your classmates with respect, framing your comments regarding strengths and weaknesses of their speeches in a manner intended to help them improve. There are some speech topics I will not allow because they are too volatile we will discuss those early in the semester. To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Advising. They will work with you to document this for class so I can help you with assignments and quizzes. As a student at Northwest University you have made a commitment to live in Christian community. As such, plagiarism is a significant violation of this commitment and will be dealt with severely in this class. It is important for you to know that plagiarism is any representation of another person's words or ideas in a manner that makes it seem as if they were your own, in either oral or written form. This means that you may not copy another person's paper or speech. But it also means that you should not use another person's unique phrases or organizational schemes without making it clear to your audience where those words or ideas originated. Your work should be entirely your own. If it becomes evident that you

have collaborated with another student and/or plagiarized work, the matter will be immediately turned over to the Provosts office. Northwests policy is here Additionally, it is my policy that the same speech may not be given for credit in more than one class. If you are taking another course with speech assignments, you may not recycle a speech by giving it in both classes.

Assignments: Introductory Speech (2 minutes): This speech will give you the opportunity to introduce yourself to your audience. This is simply a story about some experience youve had. It will help you be confident in front of an audience in a low-risk situation. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (50 points) Impromptu Topic Ideas: Both sections of Fundamentals of Speech will contribute to the topics list for Impromptu Speeches. We will discuss good methods for going about this in class, but also see the assignment description on Discovery. (15 points) Gallery Walk & Practice Presentations: Prior to delivering your impromptu and persuasive speeches for a grade, you will deliver a full run through to get some practice and feedback. For the impromptu you will draw a topic, just as you will for the graded speech. Each student will be assigned to a gallery walk/practice day (based on the speaker order). On that day, the presenters will deliver their speech for a small audience a few times and receive some feedback from that audience. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (25 points each) Impromptu Speech (6 minutes of preparation followed by a 4 minute speech): Impromptu speaking reinforces all aspects of good public speaking: quick thinking, sound argumentation, strategic word choice, and engaged delivery. Each student will randomly pick two thesis statements from an envelope. Choosing one of them, the student will go into the hallway for 6 minutes to prepare, the student will then return to the room and deliver a 4 minute speech supporting or opposing the thesis. Your speech will be assessed based on your ability to come up with credible arguments, which are appropriately arranged and effectively presented, within the constraints of the short preparation time allowed. Please see the assignment description on Discovery for details. (200 points) Peer Critiques: Like a number of other arts, we refine our public speaking abilities through a mixture of instruction, practice, and imitation. As such, critically examining your peers' speeches provides you another venue for thinking about how to adapt to the complexity of different rhetorical situations. Additionally, individual speakers benefit immensely from articulate feedback from their audiences. Over the course of the semester, you will be required to critique your classmates' speeches. These peer critiques will be assigned before the speech rounds begin. You will be required to provide oral criticism following

a peer's speech. This is another speech assignment in this class; this is not simply giving your thoughts. Rather, this is like a short impromptu speech aimed at identifying some of the strongest and weakest elements of a peer's speech. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (50 points each) Self-Critiques: After delivering a speech, you should spend some time critically reflecting on that speech. You must complete a self-critique of both your impromptu and persuasive speeches. You will need to view a video of your speech and write a short paper evaluating your speech according to the standards set in class. Your self-critiques will be assessed based on your ability to provide clear, insightful, and accurate analysis. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (60 points each) Review Quizzes/Assignments: Your will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the reading through short quizzes throughout the semester. These assignments, which replace the need for formal exams, will be offered in the first few minutes of different class periods. You will not be allowed to make up a review if you arrive late to class and miss one. (15 points each) Topic Selection Paper: It is important that you select a good persuasive speech topic - one that addresses a public issue and interests you and your audience. In order to assist you on that path, this assignment asks you justify your proposed topic. You must select two potential topics. For each topic, you must show that this topic is debated publicly and provide an annotated bibliography demonstrating that there are enough sources to support your claims. If it is a campus topic can you find it discussed in the Talon? Can you back it up with a story from an upper-classman? I will read these and provide recommendations on which topic might serve as the best one. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (120 points) Persuasive Speech (6-8 minutes): Unlike the Impromptu speech, where your goal is to simply develop and deliver credible arguments clearly and effectively, your goal in the persuasive speech is to persuade those who disagree with you. The persuasive speech requires you to speak to a public issue. Given what you know about the controversy, the arguments circulating in the public forum, and the classroom audience, you should attempt to increase the audience's understanding and support for your position. Your speech will be assessed based on your ability to develop a logically sound and persuasive speech that moves disagreeing members of your audience. Please see the assignment description on Discovery. (300 points)
940 1000 900 - 939 880 899 830 879 800 829 600 629 C C+ CD+ D F 730 - 779 780 - 799 700 - 729 680 - 699 630 - 679 599 or below

A AB+ B BD-