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CLTR 24203.0:COMMUNICATION, PRESENTATION SKILLS, AND VOICE – Section A/B 2016 S1 term
COURSE OUTLINE
Location: TBA – please check the day before
Time: Section A - Tuesday/Thursday11:30am-2:30pm, Section B - Tuesday/Thursday 7:00-10pm
Course Director: Chris Cornish
Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday by appointment, Room 240 Vanier College
email:
Note:
To respect whoever is presenting, please turn off all cellphones and laptops during class.
For similar reasons, please be on time and refrain from leaving during the middle of presentations.
Course objectives:
This practical course is meant for those who would like to communicate more effectively. Students will have the opportunity to develop and practice various forms of speeches that may include demonstration speeches, informative speeches, impromptu speeches, social speeches, and persuasive speeches. Other topics will include the fear often associated with public speaking, speech composition, audience assessment, vocal warm-ups, body language, audio video tools, humour, and question and answer sessions. During the course students will complete self-evaluation and peer-evaluation assessments within a supportive environment. Students will be expected to work in groups and individually and each presentation will be filmed for the purpose of video feedback.
Grades Breakdown:
Reflection Assignment (2 parts, 5% each)10%
Participation/Attendance 15%
Written Report 20%
Presentation #110%
Presentation #210%
Presentation #315%
Presentation #420%
Tentative Class Schedule
May 10Introduction
May 12Introductory Presentations (not graded)
May 17TED Videos (due: Reflection Assignment – Part 1)
May 19Lecture/Workshop
May 24Presentation #1 - Demonstration
May 26Lecture/Workshop
May 31Presentation #2 - Storytelling Presentations
June 2Groupwork(due: Written Report)
June 7Presentation #3 - Group Presentations
June 9Lecture/Workshop + make-up presentations
June 14Presentation #4 - Final
June 16Presentation #4 - Final (due: Reflection Assignment – Part 2)
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ASSIGNMENTS
PARTICIPATION
Value: 15%
Attendance is an important part of the course because of the hands-on nature of the work. Students also need to be there to support each other as audience members during presentations.
Participation will encompass all forms of class engagement from work in exercises, attentive listening, asking questions, peer evaluations, and positive attitude. At the end of the course, students will self-evaluate their participation based on these criteria.
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
Value: 10% (5% for each part)
Length: 250 words (or more) for each part
Due: Part 1 – May 17
Part 2 – June 16
For this assignment, I would you like you to reflect on your thoughts and feelings about public speaking: your own, your classmates’, your instructor’s (be gentle), but also in the world around you. Below I’ve given some questions you can ask yourself. Don’t feel you need to answer all of them, as there may be some that feel more important to you than others, but at least consider them.
For the first submission, think of this as the “before” picture, where you are at now in your comfort and skill level. You could consider your previous experiences in public speaking. What different kinds of speaking have you done? What would you like to try but haven’t yet? What do you think your strengths are? What are your weaknesses and how can you improve on them? What are you discovering about yourself after the first week of the course and after the introductory presentations? Pinpoint 3 goals for yourself to be achieved by the end of the course. Think about what that looks like and what it feels like to achieve those goals, and are they measurable? You may not achieve them and that's fine, but hopefully you will make some progress towards them.
For the second submission, think of this as the “after” picture. You could reflect on your experiences in the course, the exercises, and/or the presentations (both your own and those of your peers). Consider what you wrote in your first reflection and reflect on your growth. Did anything change about how you feel about public speaking? Did you improve and achieve any or all of your goals? What did you like about what you did and what needs more work? What did you like or not like about your peers’ presentations and why? What exercises were most helpful to you? If you didn’t quite achieve one or any of your goals, or want to set new ones, what kind of actions will you take in the future?
Reflections can be hand written or typed. Just keep in mind that they need to be legible enough for me to read them. Although I will be reading them, consider them as a conversation with yourself. Try to avoid point form and write in full sentences. Don’t worry too much about spelling, grammar, perfection, etc., just get your thoughts on the page. If you’re stuck, give yourself a time limit of 10 minutes and write whatever comes into your mind related to a particular topic/idea. Turn off your internal censor and just let the words spill onto the page however they may. Most importantly, keep the pen (or fingers on the keyboard) moving.
In this and any of the assignments, be specific and analytical. Don't just describe what happened, especially if it’s stuff that happens in class, because I was there and don’t need a summary. What is more interesting and useful are your thoughts and reflections on what happened, so rather than just looking at “how, what, when, where” consider the more important questions of “how, why, and what’s the significance?”
WRITTEN REPORT
Value: 20%
Length; 750-1000 words
Due: June 2
Study how other people communicate in public, whether they are teachers, work colleagues, family at weddings, musicians, actors, authors, broadcast journalists, comedians, Much Music VJ’s, politicians, activists, lecturers, or even infomercial pitchmen (Sham-wow!). You are not required to cover all of these. They’re just ideas to get you going so follow what interests you. What is effective about the way they use their voices, body language, audio/visual aids, etc.? What isn’t? Who do you really admire and why? Who makes you want to fall asleep and why?
Go on a “field trip” to see a live public presentation, preferably something where one or more people are speaking for at least 5 minutes or more (our class doesn’t count, unless I bring in a guest speaker). Ideally, your subject is presenting some kind of topic/idea, and studying styles of presentation similar or close to what we’re doing in class would be best. Despite some of the starter suggestions above, I’m not looking for an analysis of music or plays (fine arts performances) but if a musician or actor is discussing their work or presenting a speech for some cause, that is OK. Certain stand-up comedians may also work but only if they’re discussing a point of view on a sustained topic for at least 5 minutes. Also, though teachers are obviously communicating and presenting all the time (some good, some not), we’re already in a school environment so it would be more useful to study speakers outside of that environment.
Think of this as a more thorough and focused version of what you might already have been doing in your reflection paper, considering the same critical questions. Be a good audience member and give the presenter(s) your full consideration and reserve judgment until the end. Try not to simply summarize the event, but analyze it, using some of the criteria in the evaluation forms we’ve been using in class (always try to answer “how?” and “why?”). See if you can break down the structure of the presentation, using as a guide the outlines you’ve created for your own presentations. Given the limited time and availability of live events, it will be acceptable to study a video such as a TED talk as long as you include a copy of it or link (if online) and with the understanding that my expectations will be a little higher because you can pause and rewind.
PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENTS
Introductory Presentation: Personal
Brief Description: Pick a hero of yours (non-fictional) and share three significant reasons why they are your hero.
Value: Part of participation grade (evaluated solely on whether or not it is completed)
Length: 2 minutes
Due: May 12
Presentation #1:Demonstration
Brief Description: Teach the class how to do something, use something, or make something.
Value: 10%
Length: 5-8 minutes, including Q&A
Due: May 24
Presentation #2: Storytelling
Brief Description: Tell a story in order to make a specific point about an issue.
Value: 10%
Length: 5-7 minutes
Due: May 31
Presentation #3: Group
Brief Description: Inform the class about an issue/topic using data and visuals while offering an analytical interpretation.
Value: 15% (10% Presentation, 5% Process)
Length: 10-15 minutes, including Q&A
Due: June 7
Presentation #4: Persuasive - Final
Value: 20%
Presentations Due: June 14 & 16
Length: 5minutes
Note: Due to the relatively large number of students, we may need to make these classes longer than usual (or make the presentations shorter) to accommodate everybody. We will discuss this further as the time approaches. Please be in attendance for all the presentations because your fellow classmates/presenters need you thereand I will be considering this to be an important part of your participation.
Choose your own topic, considering the following question:
If you only had one chance to present something to the world what would it be?
This requires you to think about something that really matters to you and reflect on what unique spin you can present to your audience. Think about what your audience will get out of this and how it will be of value to them. This does not mean that it has to be Serious (though it certainly could be) and might very well be something light and joyful. You can choose the style of presentation that suits you best but consider also taking some risks. If there was something that made you uncomfortable/terrified before the course, perhaps take it as a challenge to see if you can overcome it. Consider this to be a “Persuasive Presentation” because you are persuading your audience why your chosen topic is significant and why your particular angle on it is important.
Be careful of the following: Though I am sentimental and that has a place, avoid relying too heavily on the sentimental impact of your presentation. Your speech might have a lot of heart, might have some personal things, and that’s OK, but make sure it has some weight too. Your audience should get something concrete from it, not just emotional manipulation (though that can be a useful tool in the right context). You might also be tempted to deliver a motivational/inspirational speech, one in which you impart some “life lessons”. It’s OK if your presentation has some of these qualities but these kind of messages sometimes have a tendency to be too broad and too generic (“Be positive! Take risks!”). It’s far better to start with the specific topic/idea/issue and draw inspiration/lessons/motivation to act directly from that.
LATE/MISSED ASSIGNMENTS
If you know in advance of a particular date that you need to be away, and with good reason, please let me know ASAP and I will do my best to accommodate an alternate solution if that falls on a presentation day. This should be taken care of during the first week of class.
Otherwise, it occasionally happens that students are not able to present apresentation assignment for many unforeseen reasons (illness, funerals, accidents). As such, during the last week,you may present any assignment you have missedbut this will not be during regular class time (Room/Time/Date TBA). However, to be fair to students who do attend and present on the appointed day, and because this course is based on presentations, that assignment will have a late penalty of 10%. Students may only do this with one presentation and missing any more than that will require adequate documentation (medical note, death certificate) before any further accommodations will be made.
Late Written Assignments will be accepted with a penalty of 10%, and an additional 10% for every week overdue (ex. 1-7 days late = -10%, 8-14 days = -20%, etc.) but no later than June 16.
RESOURCES
Recommended(but not required) Text:
Barnard, Sandie. Speaking Our Minds. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., 1996.
ISBN 0-13-241605-0 PN4121.B355 1996 808.51 BAR
Additional Requirements:
Internet Access and/or USB flash drive for online activities and video feedback. Further details to be provided in class.