Teaching Public Speaking Skills, Day by Day

Last semester, the lack of analytical interaction with speeches drove me crazy. Only at the end of the course did students engage directly with actual speech texts and discuss them in terms of their content and delivery. I want to see students engaging with public address from Day I. This is not to undermine the hybrid nature of the course. Rather, I think it reinforces it: I want students to see the universality of formal and clear communication skills, even on days they are not delivering speeches on their own.

Moreover, I want to have students stand up and present something every day. The transition between my lectures and student lessons was too stark; the contrast felt too strange. If each class begins and ends with a student speech, then I can consistently teach presentation skills in small bits all semester.

To this end, I am creating two routines in my class that will move through the semester and draw from a small number of participation points: analysis speeches and impromptu speeches.

I acknowledge that this is a sacrifice of 10-15 minutes from each class period. However, it is a sacrifice that reinforces presentation skills, develops a continual culture of student-centeredness, and will (especially with the impromptu speeches) probably be a lot of fun.

Analysis Speeches

On the first day, I am assigning students to deliver brief analysis speeches at the start of each class. These brief, three-minute speeches will have students analyze a speech that directly relates somehow to the content of that day’s lesson. The grades will pull from three points of students’ participation grade (I am doing this in place of quizzes). Almost every day, 1-3 students will stand up and deliver their brief analysis. This is a small sacrifice that adds a cool bit of routine and anchors each lesson.

At the start of the semester, each student will select a speech from a list that they would like to analyze. I will then assign those speeches for outside reading for all the other students on the day of relevant content/instruction. (If the speech is short, we might watch it in class before the student analysis. If it is longer, students will watch it/read it on their own time.) The student who selected the speech will then present their analysis of the speech in class. I will deliver two examples on the first and second day of class to make my expectations for these speeches clear.

The speeches will follow a basic structure:

•           An introduction including a brief discussion of the speech
•           A brief analysis of the speaker’s content
•           A brief analysis of the speaker’s delivery
•           A discussion of how the speech relates to the concepts in the textbook for that day
•           A conclusion

Below, I have listed some of the speeches I have selected for the various topics so far. Sometimes, the speeches relate thematically: that is, they address a topic that is also in the textbook. For example, the “Whisper of AIDS” speech concerns the subject of the importance of listening and speaking up on topics, which corresponds with the theme of the Listening chapter. Sometimes, the speeches relate in their delivery: when students are about to practice their vocal delivery, a student will discuss the ridiculous Stark County Treasurer speech for its vocal issues. And sometimes, the speeches literally address the content under discussion that day: the Robin Dunbar speech, for example, discusses the implications of electronically-mediated communication.

After the student speeches are finished, we’ll then discuss two points:

•           The student’s analysis—points of agreement/disagreement, as well as the student’s delivery
•           The relationship of the speech to that day’s reading: This will allow us to kick off each class period by jumping straight into an application of content, and sets the expectation that students arrive having read the material each day.

On the first day of class, a sign-up sheet will circulate the room. Students will simply sign up for which speech they’d like to analyze. It will look something like this (I have linked to each speech):

01/28	Foundations of Verbal Language & Nonverbal Communication Berko et al. Chapter 2 & 3	Melissa Marshall - Talk Nerdy To Me Roger Ebert Loses his Voice
01/30	Listening & The Interview Berko et al. Chapter 4	Mary Fisher - A Whisper of Aids Steve Jobs – Commencement Speech
02/04	The Interview & Interpersonal and Electronically Mediated Communication Berko et al. Chapter 8 & 6	Turkle – Connected But Alone Robin Dunbar – Can the Internet Buy You More Friends
02/06	Interpersonal Skills and Conflict Management Berko et al. Chapter 7	Susan Cain - The Power of Introverts Phillip Zimbardo – The Psychology of Evil
02/11	The Concepts of Groups Berko et al. Chapter 9	Tom Wujec - Build a Tower, Build a Team
02/13	Participating in Groups Berko et al. Chapter 10	Deborah Gordon – Ant Colonies
02/18	Group Presentation – Delivery Rehearsal	Phil Davidson – Stark County Treasurer Speech
03/06	The Self and Perception & Planning the Message Berko et al. Chapter 5 and 11	David Foster Wallace – This is Water Robert Kennedy  - Speech on the Assassination of MLK Jr. Ronald Reagan – Challenger Disaster Address
03/11	Informative Briefing Berko et al. Chapters 12 and 14	Nathan Wolfe - Viral Forecasting [Student Speech] Quantum Physics [Student Speech] Menu Psychology
03/13	Structuring the Message & Using Language Berko et al. Chapter 13	Martin Luther King, Jr. – Mountaintop Speech Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Pearl Harbor Address John F. Kennedy – First Inaugural Address
04/10	The Persuasive Speech Berko et al. – Chapter 15	Arnold Schwarzenegger – Address to 2004 RNC Barack Obama – Address to 2004 DNC
04/15	The Persuasive Speech	Richard Nixon – Checkers Speech Dwight Eisenhower – Farewell Address
04/17	Logic and Argumentation	Malcolm X – Message to Grassroots Clay Shirky – On SOPA and PIPA
04/22	Persuasive Speech Delivery Berko et al. Chapter 16	[Student Speech] Stem Cell Research Persuasive Speech – The Homeless
04/24	Persuasive Speech Delivery	JD Schramm – Conversation about Suicide

Impromptu Speeches

I also want to incorporate more impromptu speeches into class. Impromptu speeches are awkward, however, so it’s important that students get some basic training in this skill early on so these are actually a productive way of reinforcing extemporaneous speaking skills (which is the main point of doing this).

In addition to the analysis speeches, I also will have a few students deliver brief impromptu speeches at the end of each class (student performances will serve as bookends). I will give out a prompt each day and put one minute on the clock. I will then call on a random student (or a few students) to stand up and deliver a 1-2 minute speech on the topic at the front of the room. I will give two participation points, mainly for having the guts to get up and do it (every student will perform at least once, maybe twice, over the semester).

The structure of these will be simple:

•           Attention getter
•           Thesis
•           Reason I
•           Reason II
•           Reason III
•           Conclusion

For prompts, I recommend simple persuasive prompts that require students to develop a simple argument with a few reasons to back it up. These prompts could be:

•           The most evil person in the world is…
•           The University of Maryland is awesome because…
•           The best major you can pursue at UMD is…
•           If I could transform into any animal, I would pick a ____ because…

The point of these prompts is that they’re easy. They take the pressure off of students to develop some awesome, world-changing thesis and position. Instead, they place the emphasis on the students’ ability to conversationally talk off the top of their head and spontaneously structure ideas.

Again, I will put myself on the spot with these speeches and deliver an impromptu speech of my own with a student-selected topic—both as an illustration of what I’m looking for, and so they feel less nervous about the whole arrangement.