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COM 225: Public Speaking


Class # 14294 Location: Downtown CRONK453 Email: iderk@asu.edu Time: T/TH 10:30-1:15 A Session Phone: (602) 496-6514 Office Hours: M 2:30-4; Th 1:30-3 Instructor: Ian Derk Office: UCENT 364AB

Purpose Nearly every student asks, Why am I learning this? You are in a public speaking course because society needs you to be a strong oral communicator. Employers look for oral communication skills in new employees (some surveys rank strong oral communication skills as the #1 desired trait), and experts in business and academia complain about poor communication skills among people in their fields, and these experts claim society suffers as a result. Improving your oral communication skills will enhance your ability to advance your career, improve your professional and academic interactions, and help you contribute more to society. This course will increase your knowledge of public speaking, listening, and research techniques; expand your repertoire of skills related to preparing, delivering, and understanding speeches; and help you reduce your anxiety toward public speaking. Public can mean in-person audience and digital audiences. Required Materials Berkun, S. (2010). Confessions of a public speaker. Sebastopol, CA: OReilly.

Access to the Blackboard site, Google Hangouts (through ASU), and a webcam

A reliable portable storage device, such as a USB key Course Policies


All Students Have a Right To... Attend productive and useful class sessions Receive clear and specific assignment instructions Ask for clarification if the instructions are unclear Get questions answered within one business day See their current grades Question the grade on an assignment based on the assignment criteria All Students Have a Responsibility To... Show up prepared, alert, and focused on COM 225 Read the provided instructions and understand them Understand that they must ask for clarification before an assignment is due Send questions to the instructor in a timely and professional manner Track their own performance Provide evidence that the assignment criteria was met, wait at least one day before initiating the conversation and no longer than one week

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Technology We want create a respectful community while allowing for digital tools. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, and other devices are welcome so long as their use respects the dignity and value of the instructor and your fellow students. This class will use Blackboard as a hub for all required assignments; Mozilla Popcorn and YouTube for your Critiques; and Google Hangouts, Screencast-o-matic, and Youtube for your Peer Discussions. ASU provides all the necessary and recommended technology. If you are unable to access a webcam or struggle with technology, please contact the instructor or use one of the Helpful Links before assignments are due. Parts of the required readings will help you get started with the technology required for the course. We know technology fails, and we know that you are using different devices. ASU and the instructor are here to help you complete your assignments and avoid late work. Starting your technology-based assignments early and asking for help early will help us assist you with any issues. Makeup Speeches and Late Work If a circumstance beyond your control occurs, you may be able to make up your speech. You will be expected to provide legible documentation, an audience of more than eight people (not including the instructor), and must arrange an appointment outside of class time. The makeup must be completed within two weeks of your return. To make up the Panel Speech, you must redo the entire panel using a majority of the original members. All other assignments are not accepted after the due date. All work must be submitted in the format required and may not be changed. Attendance and Late Arrivals Public speaking requires an audience for speeches. Attendance will be taken regularly. You are allowed to miss one speech day (days where students speak) as an excused absence. An excused absence may not be taken on your speaking day. Missing more than one excused speech day (in its entirety or added up through leaving early/coming late) will result in a reduction of your grade by one letter grade. Late arrivals are disruptive to speakers. During speeches, please wait outside until the speaker is completed. Being more than five minutes late will count as an absence. You are responsible for any course materials you miss. You must ask a classmate for notes. Makeup Speeches and Late Work details the fact that assignments may not be made up. Descriptions of Graded Work Speeches (Explained with Rubrics in the Speeches Section on Blackboard) You will deliver these speeches as part of the course: Demonstration Speech: You show the class how to do something. Powerpoint or similar programs are not allowed. This speech requires minimal research, but a great deal of practice.

Derk 3 Art Speech: You will explain the significance of a piece of visual art. You are allowed to use a visual aid of any kind and integrate it into your speech.

Ideas Speech: You must compel the audience to accept a strange, interesting, or weird idea. You will submit the speech through YouTube, include graphics, and respond to commenters. Poem From Memory: You must memorize a short poem and deliver it to the class. Your goals is to capture the emotional quality of the poem and emphasize that in your delivery. Panel Speech: You will be part of a panel discussion on a topic related to issues facing ASU Downtown. This speech will be delivered entirely online through Google Hangouts. Peer Discussions: You will use Google Hangouts to have a conversation about the speeches you saw in class. The discussions will be recorded. Impromptus: These will be short speeches given on randomly selected topics without preparation. They will prepare you for future speeches and a different kind of speaking. Assignments (Explained with Rubrics in the Assignments Section on Blackboard) Critiques: For three of your speeches (Demonstration, Art Object, and Persuasive) and the first speech on the syllabus, you will create a video critique using Mozilla Popcorn and YouTube. Syllabus Quiz: You will demonstrate your understanding of the course policies and procedures through a short quiz. Reading Quizzes/Speech Quizzes: You will demonstrate your retention and critically examine content from the assigned reading and speeches delivered by your fellow students. Speech Proposals: You will state your topic and thesis of your speeches before delivering them. These proposals will help you think about your speech early and figure if/where you need assistance. Research: You will provide annotated bibliographies of three resources for each speech. These bibliographies will include an APA citation, brief summary, and plans to integrate the source in your speech. Outlines: For the Art and Persuasive speeches, you will give a full-sentence outline with correct APA citations. Campus Lecture: During the course of the session, you will attend one campus lecture. This must be an ASU event open to the general public.

Derk 4 Grading Assignments Syllabus Quiz Reading Quizzes (3) Speech Quizzes (3) Speech Proposals (3) Outlines (2) Research (2) Campus Lecture Ideas Comments Critiques (3) Grade Descriptions
A = Outstanding work. Student goes well beyond expectations and produces work that demonstrates mastery of course material. Written work is error-free. B = Good work. Student moves slightly above expectations and produces work that demonstrates a strong understanding of course material. Written work is error-free. C = Satisfactory work. Student meets the basic requirements and produces work that demonstrates basic comprehension of course material. Written work is free of spelling and grammatical errors. D = Unsatisfactory work. Student fails to meet some of the minimum requirements and/or does not demonstrate a complete understanding of course material. Written work is mostly free of spelling and grammatical errors. E = Failing. Student fails to meet a majority of the minimum requirements and/or fails to demonstrate a minimal understanding of the course material. Written work has numerous errors. Student behaves in an unethical or abusive manner.

Grades A+ A AB+ B BC+ C D E 799 or more 744-798.9 720-743.5 696-719.9 664-695.9 640-663.9 624-639.9 560-623.9 480-559.9 479.9 or less

20 30 30 15 20 20 25 25 75

Note: Academic dishonesty may result in the automatic failure of the course and/or an XE grade.

See AcademicSpeeches Integrity for more information and links Demonstration Art Speech Ideas Ideas Response Panel Poetry From Memory Peer Discussions (2) Impromptus (2) University Policies Academic Integrity 50 100 100 30 150 75 50 10

Arizona State University demands complete academic integrity; thus, instructors in the College and School do not tolerate cheating or plagiarism. Instructors who find compelling evidence of academic dishonesty will actively pursue one or more of the following actions: assigning a course grade of XE (failure throug h academic dishonesty) to the student, advocating the suspension of expulsion of the student from the College, and/or referring the student to Student Judicial Affairs. If a student who is charged with academic dishonesty is found to be in violation, then one of more of these disciplinary actions will be taken. For further information,

Derk 5 please read the Student Academic Integrity Policy at www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/studentlife/judicial/academic_integrity.htm Students with Disabilities The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. One element of this legislation requires that all qualified students with documented disabilities be guaranteed a leaning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation please contact the Disability Resource Center at ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus located in UCENT 160 or (602) 496-4321 (v)/ (602) 496-0378 (tty), or by emailing DPCDisability-Q@asu.edu. Eligibility and documentation policies can be found online at: http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc/ Please note: if you are registered with DRC, I am more than happy to work with you in order to make my classroom an effective learning space for you, but you absolutely must be open with me in communicating your needs and letting me know what I can do to help immediately, so that we do not run into any problems as the semester progresses.

We want to build a classroom climate that is comfortable for all. In a communication class, it is especially important that we 1) display respect for all members of the classroom including the instructor and students; 2) pay attention to and participate in all class sessions and activities; 3) avoid unnecessary disruption during class time (e.g. having private conversations, reading the newspaper, surfing the internet, doing work for other classes, making/receiving phone calls, text messaging, etc.); and 4) avoid racist, sexist, homophobic, or other negative language that may unnecessarily exclude members of our campus and classroom. This is not an exhaustive list of behaviors; rather, it represents examples of the types of things that can have a dramatic impact on the class environment. Your final grade may be reduced by 5% each time you engage in these sorts of behaviors. Further, students who are verbally or physically aggressive towards the instructor, the TAs, or another student before, during, or after class will have their grade lowered by 25% each time they engage in this sort of behavior (and, students engaging in such behaviors will be permanently removed from the class and the proper authorities notified.) Students are required to adhere to the behavior standards listed in the Arizona Board of Regents Policy Manual Chapter V Campus and Student Affairs: Code of Conduct located online at http://students.asu.edu/srr/code and the ACD 125: Computer, Internet, and Electronic Communications available at http://asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd125.html Students are entitled to receive instruction free from interference by other members of the class. An instructor may withdraw a student from a course when the students behavior disrupts the educational process under USI 201-10 http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/ssm/ssm201-10.html. An instructor may withdraw a student from a course with a mark of Wor E when the students behavior disrupts the educational process. Disruptive classroom behavior for this purpose is definedby the instructor. In cases where disruptive behavior does not warrant removal from class, at the instructors discretion, a students final grade will be lowered by 25% instead. This course is offered by the School of Letters and Sciences. For more information about the school, visit our website:https://sls.asu.edu/. If you have questions or concerns, please send your inquiry to sls@asu.edu

Derk 6 Helpful Links ASU Library

ASU Library Home Page Communication Studies Library Guide Topics Good Speech Topics Toastmasters Wiki Writing and Outlines Downtown Campus Writing Center Online Writing Tutoring Types of Outlines Technology Help Blackboard Help 24-Hour Help Line

http://lib.asu.edu/ http://libguides.asu.edu/content.php?pid=56921

http://links.asu.edu/goodspeechtopics http://links.asu.edu/toastmasterswiki

https://studentsuccess.asu.edu/downtown https://studentsuccess.asu.edu/online http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03/

http://links.asu.edu/ASUBlackboardHelp 1-855-278-5080

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Readings for Tuesday

Tentative Schedule (Subject to Change)


Dates 1/14 and 1/16 1/21 and 1/23 Chapter 8 Syllabus Quiz; Critique Assignments Due on Tuesday Tuesday Readings for Thursday Assignments Due on Thursday Thursday

Week

Chapters 1 and 2; Basics of Popcorn; Course Introductions Google Hangouts Directions DEMONSTRATION Chapter 4 and 6 Critique

Apprehension/Digital Tools

Thesis Statements/Audience Analysis

1/28 and 1/30

"What to Do If Your Talk Sucks"

Art Speech Proposal; Peer Discussions

"Why Use the Library When You Can Use Google?" "Finding Research Organization/Outlines Topics" "Evaluating Resources" "Keyword Searching" ART SPEECH/Persuasive Speaking Motivations and Strategies YouTube Speaker Playlist

Art Speech Research

Research

2/4 and 2/6 2/11 and 2/13 2/18 and 2/20 2/25 and 2/27 3/4

Chapter 5 and 7;

Art Speech Outlines; Panel Group Selection

Critique Ideas Research; Panels Proposals Ideas Comments

Formal Arguments

"How to Make a Ideas Point," How Culture Proposals; Peer Works Discussions

Chapter 9 Mere Air, These Words, but Delicious to Hear; How to Read a Poem Out Loud

Q&A

Ideas Outlines

IDEAS SPEECH

Speaking from Memory

7 7.5

IDEAS Response Campus Lecture

POEM FROM MEMORY PANELS

PANELS

Important Dates: Last Day to Drop/Add (January 14); Last Day for Course Withdrawal (February 2)

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