Why Study Public Speaking?
You may have enrolled in this course because you expect to be making public presentations
and you want to learn how to do that better and more easily. Maybe
your goal is to speak more forcefully or to be less nervous. Perhaps you want to
become better organized, to learn more about how to prepare a speech, or to
think more clearly and more critically. You may even have chosen the course because
it meets at a convenient time, is a requirement for graduation, or has a good
instructor.
Develop Specific Communication Skills
Whatever your reasons for studying public speaking, this class will enable you to
develop or improve a variety of communication skills, such as how to:
• Listen carefully and critically in order to understand and evaluate what others
say.
• Decide what you want to speak about.
• Select what to say.
• Find the material for a speech by examining your own experience, consulting
with others, using the Internet, and visiting a library.
• Think critically about what you read and observe so that you will reason
soundly when addressing an audience.
• Organize a speech to make it clear, coherent, sensible, and effective.
• Use language skillfully to convey both meaning and mood.