COMM 110 03: Fundamentals of Public Speaking

This is an Essential Studies Communication course. As such, it is meant to introduce and allow you to practice the skills necessary to speak and write effectively in civic, academic, and professional settings. Effective communication is learned through continued practice. Essential Studies Communication courses strongly emphasize the process; your instructor will give regular feedback on your speaking and writing, and you will be required to produce multiple oral presentations and written texts. These assignments will require you to work with particular content or information, but they’ll also demand that you know rhetorical strategies and delivery style.

This course also addresses the ES learning goals of Oral Communication and Critical Inquiry & Analysis. Oral communication means that it is about presenting information (formally or informally) in various settings and to different audience sizes. Critical Inquiry & Analysis implies that it is about collecting and analyzing data to reach conclusions based on evidence through systematically exploring issues, objects, or works by collecting evidence that results in informed decisions or judgments. 

Mission: The mission of the Department of Communication is to provide students with a broad understanding of human communication in various contexts, across diverse cultures, and through multiple systems. The Program engages students in lifelong learning that addresses socially and globally pressing communication challenges through academic, creative, critical, and practical curriculum and instruction.

Goals: We seek to achieve this mission by designing an interdisciplinary curriculum that respects the liberal arts tradition and exposes students to various theoretical and practical experiences to become informed, engaged, and ethical global citizens. 

Students will be able to communicate both orally and in writing.

Objectives

• Gather, interpret, and assess information from various sources and points of view. Cite sources in three places: In-line, in a “Works Cited” section, and verbally during your oral presentation.
• Evaluate evidence and arguments analytically, and produce well-reasoned written and oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions.
• Articulate and assess ethical views and their underlying premises, including using data and other information resources to respond to problems and questions.

• Identify and engage with local, national, or global events, trends, or ideologies, and analyze their impact on individual or collective decision-making.

• Demonstrate the skills to compose and present appropriate verbal and nonverbal messages to diverse audiences. 

• Demonstrate the skills necessary to compose/create and present informative and persuasive messages.

• Demonstrate competence in active and practical listening skills.

• Demonstrate observational and critical evaluation skills by critiquing student speeches appropriately in oral/written format.

Lucas; The Art of Public Speaking, 13e, available for purchase through BlackBoard or the UND

Bookstore. A Student Perspective: McGraw Hill ReadAnywhere app (mhhe.com) (https://video.mhhe.com/watch/JRFBv8GRM8bP29SU3Lcptz/)

All students must have the online access code provided by the UND Library or McGraw Hill to complete assignments for this course.

Students will use Microsoft Word to complete assignments (files created using Pages in Apple can be saved as a Word file before submitting).  All quizzes and presentations will be submitted through McGraw Hill Connect and GoReact via BlackBoard.

Students are expected to use their official UND email in the course. Visit the Office 365 Email webpage for information on your UND email and how to download/install a free version of Microsoft Office. For technical assistance, please contact UND Technical Support at 701.777.2222. Visit the University Information Technologies (UIT) website for their hours, help documents and other resources.

In order to succeed in this course, at a minimum, you should be able to:

• Navigate in and use basic Blackboard/McGraw Hill Connect functions
• Download and open electronic documents
• Create, save, and upload/attach electronic documents
• Send, receive, and manage email

Announcements

Announcements will be posted on Blackboard regularly. Be sure to check the class announcements regularly, as they will contain important information about class assignments and other class matters.

Email

The Blackboard discussion board is an open forum in which you and your classmates are encouraged to answer each other’s questions. You are encouraged to post your questions about the course in the FAQs discussion board forum on the Blackboard site or raise them in class if held synchronously or on campus. But, if you need to contact me directly, check the Faculty tab in Blackboard or the syllabus for my contact information. I will respond to you within 72 hours during the week or weekend.

Discussion Forums, Blogs, & Wikis

These tools are an excellent way to engage with the course material and your peers. You must read all assigned discussion boards, blog posts, or wiki pages and contribute thoughtfully. We will have at least one of these tools for you to participate in each week.

Course Etiquette

When participating in class (online or in person), it is essential to interact with your peers appropriately. Please be respectful of your classmates at all times, even if you disagree with their ideas. Always use professional language (no netspeak) in your postings and emails.

Introduction, Informative, and Persuasive Speeches

We will have three major speeches this semester—Introduction, Informative, and Persuasive. You will earn a letter grade for each speech according to specific instructions. Be sure to follow the format for all written assignments associated with the speech. You are responsible for reading the assigned chapters in the book, taking notes on lectures, listening to and participating in class discussions, and applying the appropriate concepts for each speech. All speeches will be recorded using GoReact; you can find this function in the McGraw Hill Connect app.

• Introduction Speech is where you will introduce yourself to the class.
• Informative speech is where you educate the audience about a topic of your choice.
• Persuasive speech is where you try to influence the audience to take action on some issue. 

Peer Evaluations:  You are required to evaluate other students. Your peer evaluations must be substantial, thoughtful, and supportive yet offer constructive criticism. This assignment is designed to help both the speaker (by providing additional feedback) and the observer by encouraging audience members to pay close attention to speeches and reflecting on similarities and differences between their styles. In addition, it will familiarize you with the criteria the Professor uses to grade your speech.

Participation: Speech is something that we learn by doing. In this sense, it will be quite different from other courses where you are expected to sit passively and absorb information. Attendance at each class meeting is crucial, and the Professor expects you to be attentive, engaged, curious, asking questions, and actively participating during in-class discussions.

Assignment                                               Final Grade

1. Quizzes                                                                       25%
2. Introduction Speech                                                      5%
3. Informative Outline                                                      10%
4. Informative Speech                                                     15%
5. Persuasive Outline                                                      10%
6. Persuasive Speech                                                     15%     
7. Final Exam                                                                  10% 
8. Plagiarism Certificate                                                    5%
9. How-To Videos                                                              5%

Final Grade Scale

> 89.5% A

79.5-89.4% B

69.5-79.5% C

59.5-69.4% D

< 59.4% F

Assignment Policy

Due dates for each assignment or activity will be posted on Blackboard.

Late Work

If you’re having trouble keeping up in this class, please let me and/or your TA know as soon as possible so we can do what we can to help. Due dates are important insofar as they help you spread out your workload and help us keep the behind-the-scenes aspects of the course as organized as possible. However, late work may be accepted for extenuating circumstances, so please reach out if you know you will need more time or are having trouble keeping up. 

Please note: You do not need to disclose or perform trauma when asking for an extension; you just need to let us know (very broadly) that you need help, and we will do what we can to get you back on track in the course.

Class Participation

Students are required to log in regularly to the online class site. Students must also participate in all class activities, such as discussion boards, blogs, and wikis. Students are expected to attend on-campus or synchronous classes, etc.

Incompletes

Students are expected to complete all requirements for a course during the time frame of the course. For reasons beyond a student’s control, and upon request by the student or on behalf of the student, the instructor may assign an incomplete grade when there is reasonable certainty the student will successfully complete the course without retaking it. The mark “I,” Incomplete, will be assigned only to the student who has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work up to a time within four weeks of the close of the semester, including the examination period, and whose work is incomplete for reasons satisfactory to his or her instructor. More information regarding UND’s Incomplete policy can be found on The Grading System webpage.

Resolution of Problems

Should a problem occur, you should speak to your instructor first. If the problem continues to be unresolved, go to the department chair and next to the college dean. Should the problem persist, you have the right to go to the provost next and then to the president.

Plagiarism: appropriation, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another person’s work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one’s work.

All students taking COMM classes must pass a brief online course that teaches them how to identify plagiarism. The University of North Dakota Chester Fritz Library put this course together. To access the course, click on the following link using Chrome or Firefox: https://und.libwizard.com/f/comm_plagiarism_1

Students will have to earn at least 80% to pass the course. After reading the feedback, updating the answers to questions won’t change the final score. You must retake the entire course if you didn’t reach 80% on your first try.

Obtain and upload the certificate to Blackboard by the date indicated on the course schedule. Suppose you have already obtained this certificate for a previous COMM course or a certificate from the Indiana University plagiarism training. You don’t need to take the Chester Fritz Library or Indiana University course again. Simply upload the certificate that you have already earned for all COMM courses.

If you have any questions regarding the courses, contact Brittany Fischer, Social Sciences & Scholarly Communications Librarian at the Chester Fritz Library, at 701.777.4632 or

brittany.fischer@UND.edu.