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