As part of a yearly university mandated assessment of a large basic communication course that fulfills the oral communication general education requirement, this study examined student preferences for textbooks, reading, and learning. Specifically, basic course students ("N"=321) at a large state university in the Midwest were asked to complete a…

How can public speaking instructors teach students how to be charismatic and confident speakers? The activity presented in this article suggests that instructors foster competent and charismatic presentational skills by having students channel the stylistic capabilities of an exceptional speaker. The activity requires students to take on the…

This article presents an activity that engages students in a fun and collaborative process of learning, with a primary objective of teaching them how to identify and label formal and informal argumentative fallacies. After playing a variation of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?," students ought to be better prepared to craft stronger arguments and…

Public speaking texts typically advise speakers to avoid using a manuscript. Speaking from a manuscript can limit eye contact, reduce expressiveness, and bore listeners. The ideal, rather, is to sound conversational. Conversational style is inclusive, suggesting that a speaker is ""of the people," united in understanding, values and purpose." If a…

The workforce in the United States is becoming more diverse. To help students prepare to work and live in a diverse society, the author developed a lower-division course called "Communication Ethics and Diversity." After this course, students should be able to: (1) define diversity and communication ethics; (2) understand a variety of approaches…

Teaching about elocution in the 21st century classroom has the potential to aid students in learning about not only strategic rhetorical delivery, but also rhetorical empowerment. Normative, stereotypical gender roles still constrain women's performances in the public sphere. Thus elocution informs present day classrooms in at least a couple of…

"WebGrader" is an online instrument developed to evaluate and assess oral competency in the basic course. It is the result of a 15-year study, using Morreale and Hackman's (1994) work as a general model, and "The Competent Speaker" speech rating criteria in particular (Morreale, Moore, Taylor, Surges-Tatum, & Hulbert-Johnson, 1990; Morreale,…

During the past decade, instructors of speech communication have been adapting the introductory speech course to keep up with the television age. Learning units in speech textbooks now teach how to speak well on television, as well as how to interpret speeches in the media. This article argues that the computer age invites adaptation of the…

Communication departments are expected to conduct program level assessment, as well as assessment of communication in general education. Although the expectation for data-driven student learning assessment is growing, relatively few examples exist for doing so effectively. This article serves as a model to help faculty conduct effective assessment…

Having been adapted by instructors in various disciplines over many years, Aristotle's "topics" have retained their original, heuristic value, inviting students to more deeply consider issues using a communicative pedagogy. In the author's teaching of Advanced Speaking for Academic Purposes, Aristotle's "topics" have been a useful mediating tool…

In 1985, a prototype publication by and for teachers of speech communication was sent to the membership of the Speech Communication Association. The publication stated that its goal was to provide teaching ideas for instructors at all levels, K-12 to university, and that it would welcome materials from all areas of the discipline. This unnamed…

This article presents a public speaking assignment that takes the study of rhetoric seriously. First, it shifts the approach from the common typology of informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speeches toward forensic, deliberative, and epideictic rhetoric. Second, this assignment takes rhetoric seriously by generating the understanding that all…

Objective: To allow students an opportunity to speak publicly on the first day of class while becoming familiar with fellow students. The activity encourages students to examine the perceptions and stereotypes they have about one another by blindly guessing certain characteristics about their partner. By participating in the exercise, students…

For many students, public speaking is a communication apprehension inducing event. Others may enter the public speaking classroom as confident speakers but are restrictive in their approach to topic selection and alternative solution development. Both scenarios present a particular challenge for teachers who require students to present a variety…

Objectives: To help students ask questions across cultural groups that go beyond the superficial or generic so that they may move into deeper dialogue. To push students to use critical thinking and analytical skills to ask questions of substance. To help build relationships with strangers. Course: Intercultural communication. A list of references…