COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Public Speaking course is designed to equip students with the skills and confidence needed to communicate effectively in a variety of settings. Through a combination of theoretical instruction and practical exercises, students will learn to craft and deliver impactful speeches. This course covers the essentials of public speaking, including audience analysis, speech structure, delivery techniques, and the use of visual aids.
By the end of the course, students will be able to present their ideas clearly and persuasively, enhancing their personal and professional communication abilities.
Key Points
- Understanding the Fundamentals of Public Speaking: This section introduces the basic principles of public speaking, including the importance of effective communication and the role of the speaker.
- Overcoming Speech Anxiety: Techniques and strategies to manage and reduce speech anxiety will be covered. Students will learn methods such as deep breathing, visualization, and positive self-talk.
- Crafting and Structuring Speeches: This section will guide students through the process of creating well-structured speeches, including crafting compelling introductions, developing clear and concise body content, and delivering strong conclusions.
- Developing Delivery Skills: Students will learn about the various aspects of speech delivery, including voice modulation, body language, eye contact, and pacing. The use of visual aids and technology will also be discussed.
- Persuasive and Informative Speaking: This section focuses on the differences between persuasive and informative speeches. Students will learn how to develop arguments, use evidence effectively, and adapt their messages to different audiences and purposes.
- Engaging with Different Audiences: Techniques for analyzing and adapting to different audience types will be covered. Students will learn about audience demographics, cultural sensitivity, and strategies for maintaining engagement.
Core Learning Outcomes
- Understand Public Speaking Fundamentals: Recognize the essential elements of public speaking and the impact of effective communication in personal and professional contexts.
- Manage Speech Anxiety: Apply techniques to reduce speech anxiety, such as deep breathing and positive self-talk, to gain confidence in front of an audience.
- Structure Speeches Effectively: Organize speech content with clear introductions, body, and conclusions to ensure clarity and audience engagement.
- Develop Strong Delivery Skills: Master voice modulation, body language, eye contact, and pacing to enhance stage presence and engagement.
- Distinguish Between Persuasive and Informative Speaking: Tailor speeches as persuasive or informative to effectively influence, educate, or inform audiences.
- Engage Different Audiences: Analyze and adapt to diverse audience types, using strategies to maintain engagement and ensure messages resonate.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
for
Full-CLC Students
“A CLC award signifies that the student has attained the knowledge, (through either prior education or experience), equal to or greater than the student would have learned in a traditional college course.”
“Based upon your CLC award, physical classroom attendance is not required; however, you will be required to successfully pass a final exam for each course.”
Based upon your HESEAP Application, you have received full-CLC for this course; therefore, this is a test-out course which does not include traditional education on the subject.
USILACS wants to help you succeed. If you feel you need a little knowledge refresher or want to expand your knowledge on this subject, we recommend that you consider reviewing some of the vast online education resources and search topics below.
Thousands of FREE Online College Courses:
Search Topics: Publications/Videos/Papers
(The majority of the exam questions for this course are based upon information contained in the below search topics)
- (2016) Exploring Public Speaking. Barbara G. Tucker and Kristin M. Barton. University System of Georgia. Available at: http://oer.galileo.usg.edu/communication-textbooks/1
- 1.1 What is Public Speaking (pg. 10-12)
- 1.2 Anxiety and Public Speaking (pg. 12-17)
- 1.5 Getting Started in Public Speaking (pg. 24-27)
- 4.1 Getting Started with Your Topic (pg. 68)
- 6.1 Why we Need Organization in Speeches (pg. 108-110)
- 8.1 General Guidelines for Introductions and Conclusions (pg. 158-159)
- 11.1 The Importance of Delivery (pg. 250-251)
- 11.2 Methods of Speech Delivery (pg. 251-255)
- (2016) Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Available at: https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/
- 4.2 Listening Styles
- 6.1 General Purposes of Speaking
- 11.1 Why Conclusions Matter
- 13.2 Using Language Effectively
- Appendix 1: The public speaking Pyramid
- (2012) Your body language shapes who you are. Amy Cuddy, TED Global https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en
Please note: USILACS is not the source of these links. Therefore we do not have control over the accessibility of the links. You may find that some links are no longer active. We therefore encourage you to copy and paste the title into Google or YouTube to find an alternative source. You are also welcome to email our academic team at academics@usilacs.org for assistance or to inform them of an inactive link so we can replace it with a new one.
Sometimes the links may invite you to download reference material into a PDF. Although we have been diligent in finding safe sources of information, we encourage you to be diligent in ensuring a download is safe on your device.
Although we are providing comprehensive study material, if you feel you require more, please copy and paste the topics and titles into Google and YouTube.
Tips for success
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Some of the reference materials are large, extensive books with hundreds of pages. If you have a question on your exam that you want to find the answer to within the book, here’s a quick way of doing so:
Choose a keyword or phrase from the exam question. Go to the reference material. Press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘F’ on your keyboard. This will bring up a search bar. Type your keyword or phrase into the search bar and click search. This will show you all the locations that they appear in the reference material.