Discussion Notes / Assignments (Class Moodle)
Public Speaking is a fundamental skill that all to often stands between people and success in life. Most careers require some level of public speaking ability, whether it involve making a proposal to your group or management at work, making a sales presentation, teaching people how to use a product or system, or making a presentation to your employees as a manager. We will sometimes face other public speaking situations, including teaching young people how to do something, making our opinion known at a public meeting, or commemorating special events. This course is oriented to helping you become a more effective and confident speaker. Many of the skills that are required to be an effective public speaker are applicable in other situations as well, and this course will also focus on providing listening, critical thinking, and research skills that will be valuable to you throughout your life.
Engleberg, Ida. N. and Daly, John A. (2012). Think Public Speaking. Pearson..
The Engleberg and Daly text is relatively inexpensive by textbook standards. Hardcopy is about $60. A purchased electronic edition is about $40, and rentals only run about $30. I checked prices at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but prices vary (sometimes from day to day, so make sure to look around. I;ll be using the electronic edition which runs on computer, tablets, and e-readers. Used hardcopy versions may be available as well. I have not provided the bookstore with information about this text, so you should get it from the least expensive online supplier you can.
The electronic version works on computers and color tablets. Amazon supplies free Kindle software that you can download to your computer to read the text. So does Barnes and Noble. I read my copy on my iPad using the Kindle tablet application for iPad. Other e-book software should work with electronic editions available from other booksellers, including Barnes and Noble. I find the electronic version more readable than the text version, but it's your choice. The only option you don't have is to NOT read the assigned chapters in the text.
Attendance is required for all classes, including the final exam period. Please be on time.
The reading and writing load for this course is moderate, but needs to be done. If you can't keep up with the readings, papers, or other assignments, you may want to drop the course early on and try again in another semester.
Attendance is mandatory. The Brooklyn College Bulletin states that "Students are expected to attend all scheduled sessions of every class for which they register. Students late for class may be excluded from the room. An instructor may consider attendance and class participation in determining course grade." While I am unlikely to lock the door, I will take account of missed class time in computing grades. You should not, as a general note, ask me for "permission" to miss class. While I will try to be understanding of documented emergencies, the basic reality (which has more to do with your ability to learn when you aren't in class than anything else) is that absences make your grade grow smaller.