COM 220: Introduction to Public Speaking

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COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course objectives are deceptively simple: By the end of this quarter, you should be able to compose and deliver a clear, convincing, and compelling speech on a public issue using solid evidence. In service of this goal, we will study the principles of argumentation and arrangement, critically examine our own speeches and the speeches of others, and practice, practice, practice. This course thus advances the mission of the Department of Communication to nurture socially responsible, literate citizens who can interpret and evaluate the images and messages they create and receive.

 

SPEAKING CENTER
The Speaking Center is open to all COM 220 students. You should consider the Center to be an extension of the class. The center is a space to refine your skills, address questions, and practice your speeches. The Center’s tutors are there to help you with your speeches. Each one of these tutors has completed COM 220 (and did quite well). Students who make regular use of this resource become better speakers and do better on their assignments. To make an appointment, visit the course website here.

 

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
This course takes the public in “public speaking” very seriously. All speech assignments will be about issues that spark disagreement in the public. These issues can range from the local to the regional to the national and international. But all speeches will address issues that affect the public as a collective and are debated publicly by at least two sides. We will discuss the course assignments in greater detail in the lecture and in later parts of this packet; this is a brief overview of the course work.

SPEECHES

• Impromptu Speech (6 minutes of preparation followed by a 4-5 minute speech):  Impromptu speaking reinforces all aspects of good public speaking: quick thinking, sound argumentation, strategic word choice, and engaged delivery. On the day you are assigned to speak, you will draw two thesis statements from an envelope. Selecting one of them, you will go into the hallway for six minutes to prepare. You will then return to the room and deliver a four to five minute speech supporting or opposing the thesis. Evaluations of your speech will focus on the strength of the arguments, the clarity of the arrangement, and the effectiveness of the delivery. Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements.

• Persuasive Speech (6-9 minutes):  Unlike the impromptu speech, where your goal is to simply develop and deliver credible arguments clearly and effectively, your goal in the persuasive speech is to persuade those who disagree with you. The persuasive and the advocacy speeches require you to speak on public issues. Given what you know about the controversy, the arguments circulating in the public forum, and the classroom audience, you should attempt to increase the audience’s understanding and support for your position. Evaluations of your speech will focus on the capacity of the arguments to convince disagreeing members of your audience, the appropriateness of the arrangement and style, and the effectiveness of the delivery. Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements.

• Advocacy Speech (5-7 minutes): Rather than persuade disagreeing members of your audience, your goal in the advocacy speech is to motivate uninformed and/or apathetic members of your audience to take some form of action. This speech round will be held in an outdoor public location to allow us to work on delivery and audience engagement. Evaluations of your speech will focus on the capacity of the arguments and style to move members of your audience to take action, the appropriateness of the arrangement, and the effectiveness of the delivery.  Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements.
  

HOMEWORKS

• Topic Selection Paper (1 total): Since you are free to speak on the same topic for both your persuasive and advocacy speeches, it is important that you select a good one that addresses a public issue and interests you and your audience. In order to assist you on that path, this assignment asks you to justify your proposed topic. You must select two potential topics. For each topic, you must show that this topic is debated publicly and provide an annotated bibliography demonstrating that there are enough sources to support your claims. Your instructor will read these and provide recommendations on which topic might serve as the best one for this class. Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements. This assignment must be submitted to the online dropbox.

• Gallery Walks (4 total): Prior to delivering your persuasive and advocacy speeches for a grade, you will deliver a full run through to get some practice and feedback. Each student will be assigned to present on a gallery walk day based on the speaker order. On your assigned day, you will deliver your speech for a small audience a few times and receive some feedback. Since an audience is essential to the activity, you must attend (and will receive a homework grade) for all gallery walk days, regardless of whether you are speaking or not. Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements.

• Persuasive Speech Outline (1 total):  Outlining your speech provides you an opportunity to develop arguments and make language choices in a format conducive to extemporaneous speaking. Your outline will be assessed based on your ability to develop arguments convincing for your audience, arrange your speech material in a clear and effective manner, and reference relevant evidence in appropriate places. Your instructor will review this outline and return it to you with recommendations for your speech. This assignment must be submitted to the online dropbox.

• Self-Critiques (2 total): After delivering a speech, you should spend some time critically reflecting on it. You must complete a self-critique of both your impromptu and persuasive speeches. You will need to view a DVD of your speech and write a short paper evaluating it according to the standards set in class. Your self-critiques will be assessed based on your ability to provide clear, insightful, and accurate analysis. Please see the assignment description on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements and instructions for obtaining and viewing your performance DVD. This assignment must be submitted to the online dropbox.

• Peer Critiques (3 total): Like a number of other arts, we refine our public speaking abilities through a mixture of instruction, practice, and imitation. Critically examining your peers' speeches provides you another venue for thinking about how to adapt to different rhetorical situations. Additionally, individual speakers benefit immensely from articulate feedback from their audiences. Over the course of the quarter, you will be required to orally critique your classmates’ speeches. These peer critiques will be assigned before the speech rounds begin. Please see the assignment on the course website for a detailed list of the assignment requirements. This assignment is performed in class.

All homeworks will be graded on a √/- system with each assignment worth 3 points. The distribution system is as follows:

• 11 homeworks = 39 points
• 10 homeworks = 36 points
• 9 homeworks = 33 points
• 8 homeworks = 30 points
• 7 homeworks = 27 points
• 6 homeworks = 24 points
• 5 homeworks = 21 points
• 4 homeworks = 18 points
• 3 homeworks = 15 points
• 2 homeworks = 12 points
• 1 homeworks = 9 points
• 0 homeworks = 0 points

 

QUIZZES
There will be five quizzes this quarter. These quizzes will generally be announced ahead of time, but they also may be pop quizzes. You should always come to class prepared to take a quiz on the lecture material and recent course readings and online videos. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES. IF YOU MISS CLASS ON A DAY OF A QUIZ, YOU RECEIVE A 0 FOR THAT QUIZ. For this reason, your two lowest quiz grades will be dropped from the calculation of your final grade. Do not email ahead of time asking if there will be a quiz in class on a particular day.

 

GRADING SYSTEM

There are 300 total possible points in this course.

Assignment Point Value Percentage of the final grade

Impromptu Speech	55	18%
Persuasive Speech	80	27%
Advocacy Speech	90	30%
Homeworks	39	13%
Quizzes	36	12%
Total:	300 points	100%

Grades will be assigned based on your final number of accumulated points. For a discussion of the grade ranges, please see your student handbook or visit: http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html

A Range (90-100%) 100% = 4.0 99% = 4.0 98% = 4.0 97% = 4.0 96% = 4.0 95% = 4.0 94% = 3.9 93% = 3.8 92% = 3.7 91% = 3.6 90% = 3.5

B Range (80-89%)   89% = 3.4 88% = 3.3 87% = 3.2 86% = 3.1 85% = 3.0 84% = 2.9 83% = 2.8 82% = 2.7 81% = 2.6 80% = 2.5

C Range (70-79%)   79% = 2.4 78% = 2.3 77% = 2.2 76% = 2.1 75% = 2.0 74% = 1.9 73% = 1.8 72% = 1.7 71% = 1.6 70% = 1.5

D Range (62-69%)   69% = 1.4 68% = 1.3 67% = 1.2 66% = 1.1 65% = 1.0 64% =.9 63% =.8 62% =.7 61%=.7 60%=.7 Below .6 is a failing grade

 

POLICIES

Adding the Course: There are no add-codes for this course. All adds and drops will be taken care of automatically by the University registration system.

Late Assignments: An assignment is on time when it is turned in at the beginning of the class session on the day it is due (this includes dropbox submissions). In the event that you do not turn in your homework and/or are present for the performance of a homework by the start of class on the day it is due, you will not receive credit for that homework. In other words, you cannot come late to section simply to deliver your speech or homework, unless prior arrangements have been made with the TA. If you miss a homework (either by not turning it in on-time or not being present for a performance homework), you will receive a zero. There are no homework make-ups.

Missed Speeches: This class runs on a very tight schedule since all speeches are performed in sections; there simply is not time in the schedule to allow for make-up speeches. Given this practical concern, I’ve listed actions to take to avoid missing your speeches and penalties that will occur if you do. 

• Avoid missing your speeches: If you know that you will not be able to attend on a day when you are scheduled to speak (or critique), you must make arrangements with a classmate to switch speaking (or critiquing) positions as soon as possible. You must also inform your TA of this change. Swapping speech days with a classmate AND informing your TA will receive no grade penalty. If you are traveling on a University trip (athletic competition, field trips, etc.), it is your responsibility to work with your instructor to negotiate your speaking and critiquing schedule with your travel schedule. As noted above, missed homeworks will receive a zero; if you missed a gallery walk, that day is gone and cannot be made up.

• Excused missed speeches: If a serious illness or emergency prevents you from performing your duties, you should do everything you can to contact your instructor as soon as possible. Prompt consultation with your instructor (within 24 hours) and documentation of the unavoidable incident (e.g., a note from your doctor, a copy of the accident report, etc.) might result in the scheduling of a make-up speaking without a grade penalty if the instructor deems the circumstances that caused the absence to be severe enough to merit rescheduling. If the absence is excused, you must deliver the speech during the first opening in the schedule (that is, you will be on standby until time opens up in the class).

• Unexcused missed speeches: An unexcused missed speech will receive an automatic 15% deduction for each section day that you are absent, or present, but unprepared to deliver it. As above, you must deliver the speech during the first opening in the schedule (that is, you will be on standby until time opens up in the class). Hypothetically, you could miss your speech day, come the next section prepared to deliver the speech (receiving only a 15% deduction), but not be able to deliver it until the following section (because there wasn’t enough time to get through six speeches).

Special Needs: To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS), 448 Schmitz, 543-8924 (V), 543-8925 (TTY), or uwdss@u.washington.edu . Please present your letter from DRS indicating that you have a disability that requires academic accommodations to your instructor or the course coordinator so we can discuss the accommodations you might need for the class.

Grade Appeals: If you wish to challenge a grade you received on an assignment, you should wait 24 hours after receiving the grade. Refer back to the assignment description in order to identify areas where you and the grader apparently differed. As a side note, “I tried really hard” is not an argument for a grade change. We can only grade product, not effort.

After 24 hours, make an appointment with your TA to discuss the grade. If the issue is still not resolved following that meeting, make an appointment with me. If you are still not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the chair of the Department of Communication, David Domke, at 543-2662. You have two weeks after receiving a grade to challenge it. After two weeks, grade challenges will not be considered.

Academic Integrity: The University's definitions of academic and personal misconduct are outlined in the Student Conduct Code (available online at http://www.washington.edu/students/handbook/conduct.html). It is your responsibility to read and understand the University's expectations. Until you have read the Code, do not assume that you know what this University defines as academic misconduct.

Plagiarism is a significant violation of the Student Conduct Code and will be dealt with severely in this class. Plagiarism is any representation of another person's words or ideas (in either oral or written form) in a manner that makes it seem as if they were your own. This means that you may not copy another person's paper or speech. 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. If it becomes evident that you have collaborated with another student and/or plagiarized work, the matter will be immediately turned over to the University's Committee on Academic Conduct (more information on this process here: http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/StudentInfo.pdf).

Finally, the same speech may not be given for credit in more than one class. If you are taking another course with speech assignments, you may not recycle a speech by giving it in both classes.