 Become an obviously overall better public speaker.  Professional reasons such as…  Promoting professional self  Presenting ideas to decision makers  Create positive change in workplace  Contribute worthwhile ideas in meetings (Brydon, Scott 5).

Oral Communication involves… Speaking skills Voice techniques Engaging your audience

 Studying oral communication can enhance your voice, identity, & public participation  Verbal and nonverbal communication is very important when delivering a speech.  Nonverbal communication is a wordless, silent system of communicating. Smiles, gestures, and body movement can add to the spontaneity of a speech.  In a public speaking class, it is taught to deliver your speech with and effective voice, with relevant messages to the topic.  Speak with an impact, to inform or persuade the audience (Brydon, Scott 272).

 To gain better control of your voice, speakers need to know how sound is produced and how it can be manipulated.  Having a good speaking voice, is one of the most important things.  Volume, pitch, range, rhythm, tempo, and articulation, are the main ideas a speaker needs to focus on.  With these vocal qualities in mind, it is important to deliver a speech in your own voice, and not imitate anyone else’s.  (Brydon, Scott 278).

 Take a proactive approach -Anticipate and control the variables that will affect the speech delivery.  Always speak with a purpose

 Surveys were administered to students in a public speaking class.  Questions were asked regarding the effects the class has had on them, and some difficulties they had discovered.

 How do you think that public speaking/communicative studies classes has an effect on how well its students will communicate when they get into the real world?  Student Answers:  It will allow you to be able to speak in business environments and corporate events. If you can master these talents, you look a lot stronger as a person and can communicate much better  Helps you to be able to speak in front of different types of audiences, and the class helps you work on numerous speech skills to enhance your speaking abilities.

 What has been most helpful or instrumental to your development, understanding, and practice of the skills in this course?  Student Answers:  The textbook has been helpful to learn the different speaking techniques.  Practicing the actual speeches, because it helps to overcome nervousness.

 What has been most difficult and caused you to have trouble accessing or understanding the materials, doing the work, being successful, etc.?  Student Answers:  The tests are very difficult, and are not an effective evaluation if you know how to speak well or not.  Test evaluate miniscule details.  The professor, because he is foreign. At times, he can be very hard to understand.

 Pros  Helps to gain speaking experience in front of peers  Gives good tips on how to better prepare and give your speech  Pre-professional speaking experience Cons Tests can be difficult Professor is hard to understand

 Technology sponsors a lot of literacy to communication classes.  To create a visual speech, technology can be very useful.  PowerPoint's are one of the most powerful ways to present.  Giving the audience a visual, makes it a lot more interesting for them  Technology can help a lot with research as well.  When using technology as a tool to support students performing authentic tasks, they can define goals, make decisions, and evaluate progress (Singh).

 “In whatever form, sponsors deliver the ideological freight that must be borne for access to what they have”  -Deborah Brandt

 In the public speaking class, students from the surveys have found that the professor has been a negative sponsor of literacy.  Asian and foreign professors often make it hard for the students to understand what they are saying.  Learning becomes difficult.

 A discourse such as communication studies allows for individuals to latch out of their comfort zone, and speak to their peers.  “A speaker must learn to speak our language. Or they must dare speak to it, or carry off the bluff.”  -David Bartholomae  To keep and audience intrigued, a speaker must get to know their audiences’ needs and wants, and be able to identify with them.

 Brydon, Steven. Between One and Many: The Art and Science of Public Speaking. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, Print.  Singh, Ram. "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." Technology and Education Reform. n. page. Web. 30 May