The main objective of this course is to help students develop confidence in speaking publicly and academically. Students will also learn how to listen critically, responsively and objectively. Students will master presenting familiar topics in a smooth, understandable and organized way in both prepared and impromptu speeches. Students will also study how to inform and persuade others. These oral skills will be applied in group discussions and debates.

At the end of this course, students will have 1) developed confidence in speaking publicly and academically. 2) learned how to listen to public speaking critically, responsively, and objectively. 3) mastered how to present familiar topics in a smooth, understandable, and organized fashion in both prepared and impromptu speeches. 4) learned to speak in order to inform and persuade others. 5) applied the above skills to group presentations and debates.

Speech Communication Made Simple: A Multicultural Perspective, 3rd Edition, by P. Dale and J.C. Wolf, New York: Longman, 2006