Syllabus CMST& 220

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SPEAKING

Instructor: Gaia Hawkin Course Website: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/Artshum/materials/

Office Hours: To Be Announced

Phone: 564-4185

Email: ghawkin@bcc.ctc.edu I try to answer w/in 24 hours

Arts & Humanities: Student Procedures and Expectations: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/Artshum/policy.html

Required Textbook: Communication Principles for a Lifetime; Beebe and Ivy

Course Description: This course is designed to improve your ability to construct, deliver and critique speeches. The method for improving your public speaking will be a combination of theory, critical analysis, and learning groups as well as practice. By applying rhetorical theories to public speeches, you will develop the capacity to critically reflect upon rhetoric. You will find yourself feeling more confident, and you will be more clearly communicative in every endeavor requiring you to present your point of view. [Even to a reluctant or hostile listener.]

You will be required to select one topic to use for the entire quarter. Each of your speeches will be on this umbrella topic so make sure that it is something of interest to you and your classmates. This will allow you to delve more deeply into the research for the topic rather than using shallow new research for each speech. Remember that if a source was excellent enough for you to quote one sentence from it, it’s a good guess there are more quotations to be harvested.

Your topic must be an issue of significant social controversy. You will be doing an Informative Speech, aimed at educating a neutral audience to your issue. [4-6 minutes] The second speech will be a Persuasive Speech [5-7 minutes] [Motivating with Needs or Motivating with Positive Appeals] aimed at getting an audience to come to your point of view on this topic. The longest and most important speech [6-8 minutes] is a Motivational Speech [Motivating with Dissonance or Motivating with Fear] This is where your goal is to inspire your audience to make time to move from mental acquiescence to actually physically doing something to bring about social change, now is the time to use stirring rhetoric to move them to rise up and DO something. Careful consideration of your topic will increase the flexibility with which you construct each speech. Guidelines on selecting appropriate topics will be discussed in class. The Final speech is 2-3 minutes long and fits into one of the additional types of speeches the book lists in the last chapter. It will be on a different topic.

The first two speeches will be video taped so that you will have a record of your improvement. Please bring a videotape to class for this purpose. [You may bring in your own camera] You will fill out evaluation forms downloaded from my website before and after viewing the tapes. This Self Evaluation [written for the Informative and Persuasive speeches] will focus on the differences between what you thought you were doing and what you saw you actually did. You can then state in detail what you plan to retain, and what will need improvement. You will also reveal how you expect to create that improvement.

My website also contains forms to use for the in-class evaluation of your peer speakers. You will need one for each person, for each speech that they give. This means that you will receive peer evaluations as well as the teacher evaluation for each speech that you give, except for the final speech, during the Finals period. Plan to down load enough of each form to use to evaluate your classmates as they speak. These unsigned in-class evaluations will be collected and given to the speaker for their review each day of speeches. Your advice will help them to earn better grades, so be prepared to fill them in and give comments. There will be time to meet in groups at the end of each speech for mutual evaluation and help.

College-level reading comprehension and speed as well as English writing

Ability is essential to success in this course. If you have concerns about your proficiency in any of these areas please see me as soon as possible.

Methods of Evaluation:

Informative Speech Assignments 20%

Persuasive Speech Assignments 30%

Motivational Speech Assignments 35%

Final Speech 05%

Attendance 10%

100%

OTHER ASSIGNMENTS

Outlines Two outlines are due for every speech. I require a Preparation Outline; you may use short sentences. Remember that this outline uses source citations for each quote and a bibliography. [Do not be a thief and plagiarize the work of others] Your Presentation Outline needs to be a Key Word Outline; any other formats will result in a drastic loss of grade. You will need to hand me the Preparation outline at the beginning of class, you must hand me your key word outline to be checked off before you speak. After the speech, I get to retain the Speaking outline that you used. Do not worry about handwritten additions, as these are a necessary and important sign of the evolution of your speech. I expect both the Preparatory and Presentation copy to be typed according to the format described. Please use only one purely Internet source for each of the 3 sources listed. This is your chance to display your research skills. These two outlines will be returned to you, along with my evaluation of your speech at the next class session, wherever possible.

Self-Evaluations (For the Informative and Persuasive speeches only) Both the Informative and the Persuasive speech will be videotaped and then self-critiqued by each speaker. You are responsible for bringing the videotape each time you speak. I recommend a two-hour tape, as that length gives you the best quality viewing. Feel free to use one purchased anywhere. You will then turn in a typed, two-page (double-spaced, Arial 12) analysis, in essay form, of the contrasts between your perceptions of your speech before seeing the video and after seeing it. The more complete and specific this analysis, the better your grade will be. The best papers will make ample use of specific examples from your speech. Please use the self-critique form filled out as a basis, and submit this form stapled to your self-evaluation.

Tests (Because this is a high participation class, there will not be formal tests. I reserve the right to give “pop quizzes” when I feel they are necessary.

Extra Credit/Bonus: Submitting work early, helping me during class, [running the video taping, helping with the power point presentation etc.] and other opportunities will be given in class to earn these points. They are not added to your grade until the end of the Quarter.

POLICIES

Assignments: All written assignments will be typed, using standard margins and double spacing. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted and late penalties will apply while they are redone. All assignments of more than one page must be stapled or clipped together to insure full credit. All references must be cited in either APA or MLA styles. More about this will be discussed in class. An online version of these style manuals is available through the following sites: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

Copies of all course assignments and evaluation documents are available from my web page. The address is listed at the beginning of the syllabus.

Grading Criteria: Every grade you receive on an assignment in this class will be rendered as a letter grade. To ensure that you understand what these scores mean in this class, you should consider the following evaluative scale. For purposes of qualitative expression,

A = Outstanding, little to no room for improvement; B = Good, high achievement; C = Satisfactory; D = Poor achievement, but passing; F = Unsatisfactory, not passing.

A 94 - 100 A - 90 - 93.9 B + 87 - 89.9 B 83 - 86.9

B - 80 - 82.9 C + 77 - 79.9 C 73 - 76.9 C - 70 - 72.9

D + 67 - 69.9 D 60 - 66.9 F < 60

Attendance: 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 hurts your fellow students and impairs your own learning. In addition, failure to give a speech at the proper time indicates a lack of concern for your audience who are your peers. This is one of the most serious rhetorical errors that one might commit. It is why the following rules will be enforced: if you do not appear on a day when you are scheduled to speak, you will receive a “0” for that speech assignment. There are two ways you can avoid these penalties:

· · If you know you will not be able to make it to class on a day when you are scheduled to speak, you can demonstrate your ability to adapt to the rhetorical situation by making arrangements with a classmate to trade speaking dates with you. You must also inform me of this change to avoid penalty.

· · if illness or an emergency keeps you from meeting your commitments, you should do everything you can to contact me as soon as possible. E-mail me (within 24 hours) and document the reason for an unavoidable absence (e.g. a note from your doctor, a copy of the accident report, etc.) I must receive the video or DVD as quickly as possible.

Late Written Assignments: In the interests of equity and fairness, you have been given a reasonable amount of time to complete all written assignments (outlines, self-critiques, etc.). All written evaluations of your work are due one week after you have delivered your speech. In the event you do not turn in your assignment in class on the day it is due, the following academic penalty will be assessed: late written assignments will receive a 10% reduction (e.g., A to a B, etc.) for every full day they are late. Assignments will be considered late if they are not turned in by the end of class on their due date. Should they not be submitted within two weeks of the date due, I shall not accept them.

Students with Disability: Disability Support Services provides classroom accommodations and advocacy for eligible students who have disabilities. Contact DSS at (425) 564-2498; TTY line, (425) 564-4110 for authorization and assistance.

Academic Integrity & Classroom Conduct: You should know that plagiarism is a serious violation of your contract as a student and will be treated severely. It is important for you to understand 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. Obviously, this means that you may not copy another person’s outlines, papers, or speeches. 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. For more on plagiarism, classroom conduct, and all other issues of student behavior and responsibilities see: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/Artshum/policy.html and http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/stupro/handbook_cd/catalog/2003-04.pdf .

Attendance: The division has a policy that daily attendance is mandatory and expected. This course, in particular, requires practice and participation and those who do not attend or participate will not do well. You are responsible for your attendance and for finding out what you may have missed during an absence. I do not see your absence as grounds for duplicating lectures that I have given or extending privileges that are not shared by those who attend daily. Missing class for more than 10 hours [4 absences when class meets twice a week] this quarter may result in your failing the course. You will be informed when you have reached these absences and may be asked to cease attending class at that time. [You will lose 10 credits for each absence in the daily classes, 25 credits in the twice a week classes. Five points will be deducted for each tardy. Arriving late to class is disruptive and appears inconsiderate of those who are on time. Chronic tardiness will be treated as absence. See http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/Artshum/policy.html for more detail.

All assignments and sign up sheets will be posted on my website as they are filled out. Please feel free to e-mail me at ghawkin@bcc.ctc.edu any time that you need help. I usually respond within twenty-four hours, sometimes even sooner.