CMST& 220 Introduction to Public Speaking

5 credits

This course is designed to increase competence in public speaking and the critique of public speaking. Students learn to analyze audience and purpose, choose and organize topics, and evaluate and critique delivery. Students will prepare and practice various speeches in order to develop their own presentation and rhetorical skills.

This course meets the Humanities general education distribution requirement.

Prerequisites: ABED 40 or AHSE 56 (or placement into MATH 87 or AHSE 66 or higher) and ABED 46 (or placement into ENGL 93 or higher)

Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Compare and contrast the role of public speaking with other communication situations with regard to the transactional model of communication, as well as ethical considerations
Identify and analyze the rhetorical elements involved in public speaking, including speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, speech, and tone
Recognize, explain, and apply Aristotle’s modes of persuasion: ethos, logos, and pathos
Present a variety of speeches in which they apply recommendations for effective content and delivery
Demonstrate critical thinking through critique and analysis of one’s own and other’s speeches

College-Wide Learning Outcomes
This course teaches to the college-wide learning outcome of Communication, the ability to engage effectively in verbal, non-verbal, written, and/or symbolic expression.

Total Hours: 50 Theory (Lecture) Hours: 50