SPC 2608 ♦ Fall 2013
BASIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS
(ONLINE)
BASIC COURSE DIRECTOR:
Dr. Tressa Kelly
tkelly1@uwf.edu
INSTRUCTOR:
Meiga Loho-Noya
Dptmt of Communication Arts
OFFICE:
OFFICE HOURS:
EMAIL:
Building 36, Office 137
By appointment
mlohonoya1@uwf.edu
PUBLIC SPEAKING: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS (7TH EDITION)
WITH MYCOMMUNICATIONLAB ONLINE ACCOMPANIMENT
DAVID ZAREFSKY
ISBN-10: 0205943241
Required Technology (beyond Internet, email, and word processing):
Desire 2 Learn (aka D2L or eLearning)
My Communication Lab and MediaShare @ http://mycommunicationlab.com/
REQUIRED MATERIALS
You will be required to use Zarefsky’s “Public Speaking: Strategies for Success” with MyCommunicationLab
this semester. You will need access to MyCommunicationLab for this class. Below are a few options of how
to access/purchase your course materials.
Purchasing options:
 MyCommunicationLab with eText: If you do not want a printed text, you can purchase an access code
here: http://pearsonmylabandmastering.com/.
 You can access your Pearson eText on iPads and Android products. Go here to download your apps:
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/etextmobile/
 Printed Textbook + MyCommunicationLab with eText- You can purchase a printed text with a
MyCommunicationLab access code at the bookstore. If you purchase a used text, you will need to
purchase access to MyCommunicationLab separately. You can purchase access here:
http://pearsonmylabandmastering.com/
 You can also rent your textbook through the bookstore.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Basic Communication Skills (SPC2608) is a three credit-hour course that focuses on speech making and
public speaking. It emphasizes the link between the fundamental theories in speech communication and
effective public speaking. The class includes practical training and study in public presentation skills,
audience analysis, speech construction and problem solving using lecture and experiential learning format
(UWF Catalog).
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This course is designed to assist you in becoming an organized, confident, effective public speaker and
critical listener. The course is intended to expose you to a general cross section of rhetorical theory and
practical speech communication skill building by introducing you to the base concepts, theories and ideas
that underlie the Communication discipline.
The skills taught in this class will help you communicate information in a public setting with greater skill and
less anxiety. There are four primary goals to this course: 1) To create a comfortable, positive classroom
environment that facilitates greater appreciation for the diversity of people and perspectives. 2) To develop
each student’s ability to organize thoughts and material for the purpose of presentation. 3) To develop each
student’s understanding and ability to analyze their audience. 4) To develop each student’s ability to speak
in an extemporaneous fashion. Additionally, this course, like so many in the humanities, attempts to foster
critical thinking and writing skills.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.
Student will be able to, following the study of language, to understand the relationship between
words and meanings, and to identify factors that contribute to a speaker’s effective or ineffective
use of language.
2.
Students will be able to better control their nonverbal output as a speaker, following the study of
physical presentation strategies and practice.
3.
Students will be able to construct and compose speech outlines that are appropriate to the
context and occasion.
4.
Students will be able to perform public speeches in an extemporaneous fashion.
5.
Students will be able to organize and synthesize information for public presentation following
the study of topics such as: 1) organizing a speech 2) utilizing appropriate supporting material, 3)
composing appropriate introductions and conclusions, 4) and utilizing appropriate visual aids.
COURSE POLICIES
1) ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION: All written work must be submitted in my Digital Drop box within the D2L
system (a.k.a. eLearning). Assignment submissions are given a time stamp within that system, so it will
be clear as to when an item was submitted (both for the instructor and student).
Work will not be accepted after the assigned deadline.
2) WRITTEN WORK: All written work should meet the following conditions:

Follow APA format. The following website contains an article (with links) that breaks down the style
manual to the essential components for this course (i.e. 12 point Times or TNR font, 1-1.25” margins,
title page, abstract, reference page, etc.). If you are interested APA has a complete style manual
(available in the library, online and at all the local bookstores) and several websites are available to
assist you in navigating the style format.
http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796

All written work must be submitted in my digital drop box in D2L on the day the assignment is due.
Upload your work as a Word or PDF document.

The evaluation and assessment of written work will include spelling, grammar, sentence and
paragraph structure and style. All written work will be held to college level expectations.
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PROOFREAD THOROUGHLY BEFORE SUBMITTING WORK! If the written component of any
assignment does not meet the minimum expectation for college level writing you may be encouraged
to visit the writing lab.
3) SPEECHES:

There are four required speeches in this course. Each student needs to complete all four to pass
the class. Speeches should be recorded and submitted via Media Share @ My Communication Lab:
http://vut.pearsoncmg.com/user.

Audience: You are required to deliver every speech you submit in front of a small audience that you
gather yourself. Your audience should be composed of at least four adults (they should be an
attentive audience: no reading or working on a laptop while listening). Your audience must be
evident during at least part of the recording.
Speeches delivered to an incomplete or missing audience will not be graded.

Video recording guidelines:
o It is important that you show the audience members (prior to speaking at a minimum). Use a
swiping motion to transition from the audience to the speakers. Videos with cuts and editing
will not be graded.
o I want to see your body language and facial expression. Make sure the camera focuses on you
and that the lighting is sufficient for me to see your eye contact, facial expressions, hand
gestures, body movement, etc. You can use a wider shot if you are using a visual aid, but I do
not want to see only the visual aids and not the speaker.
o Don't be afraid to move while on camera. While nervous movement is bad, some movement is
good! This might require some help to run the video camera.
o Make sure the volume is adequate and speak loudly if necessary. I need to be able to hear you
throughout the speech.
o Consider your background. Simple is best. Speaking in front of bare walls or curtains works
well. Wear a color that contrasts rather than blends with your background. Also, make sure
you look professional…you would not give a speech barefoot in a classroom setting. Don’t do
it online either!
4) ONLINE PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS:

Online Discussions: Participation will be assessed in terms of quality and quantity of readership and
authorship. You are expected to play a significant role in the online exchange. If your classmates post
messages read them; involve yourself in the discussion as though we were in a classroom together.
Responses to posted messages should reflect a sense of depth, thoughtfulness and consideration for
the question (the message to which you are responding). You will be exposed to many divergent
views during this class. Please respect everyone’s point of view, even if it is contrary to your own.
You don’t have to agree with everyone, but you do have to be willing to listen.

Online Content Consumption: You will be expected to consume the online material (PowerPoint
lectures, articles, websites, etc) made available to you. Your online activity will be assessed through
assignments and exams.

Email: Check your email frequently (at least once per day).

Deadlines: All speech assignments will be due on the Wednesday of the week that they are
assigned to allow for feedback from classmates. All other assignments will be due at the end of
each time frame (Friday). All assignments are due by 11:59 pm EST on the day of the deadline.
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Generally speaking, you will find that the online learning setting provides you a much more liberal
schedule for assignment completion and participation than the traditional classroom.

Warning: Be sure not to save all your online participation for the very end of a time frame.
Progressive involvement is key. I would suggest checking into the eLearning classroom everyday in
order to make a contribution to the classroom conversation, project, or challenge. If you have three
days to complete a discussion and don’t get involved until the last two hours, two things will occur.
First, you will have limited your ability to contribute to the class discussion experience (as well as
your own) and second, you will have provided clear insight into the regard you have for this module
of the course (thus, impacting final grade). Advice: stay involved online…frequently!

The only way to consistently make deadlines is to work ahead of them. You should check D2L and online resources at least 24 hours in advance. It is not an acceptable excuse to say your work is late
because the computer lab was closed or the D2L system was down.
5) EXPECTATIONS
FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM POLICY: As members of the University of West
Florida, we commit ourselves to honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance, integrity—
personal and institutional—is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital,
and we will not knowingly act in ways, which erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to
cheat, nor to tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share
community resources in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of
fairness. Cooperation and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged.
Indeed, cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will
compete constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance
standards. Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a
condition of membership in the UWF academic community. A full statement of the plagiarism
policy is provided at http://uwf.edu/cassupport/insupport/Plagiarism.rtf
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and will result in a lowered or failing grade for the
assignment or the course, depending on the situation. Academic dishonesty includes:

Using material without appropriately citing its source (doing this will result in a considerably
lowered grade on the assignment)

Cheating on an assignment or exam (results in a failing grade in the course)

Interfering with another student's learning (after one warning, this will result in a failing
grade in the course).
PLAGIARISM WARNING
If you use the words or ideas of someone else, you must cite the original source of information in your
written and spoken work. If you do not cite your sources, you will be plagiarizing. Copying someone else’s
words or ideas without giving that person credit is a very serious offense. If I suspect you have done so, I will
ask to see the sources of your information and you will not receive a grade until I have verified the source of
every idea in question. If you have copied someone else’s words or ideas without giving appropriate credit, I
will send your case to the Academic Standards Committee. They may choose to fail you in the course or
suspend or expel you from school.
Notes: Any use of scholarly sources must be 1) cited verbally in the speech, 2) noted in a reference page, and
3) cited in the outline (in the approximate place where it is utilized in the speech.
UWF maintains a university license agreement for an online text matching service called Turnitin. At
my discretion I will use the Turnitin service to determine the originality of student papers. If I submit
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your paper to Turnitin, it will be stored in a Turnitin database for as long as the service remains in
existence. If you object to this storage of your paper:
o You must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class.
o I will utilize other services and techniques to evaluate your work for evidence of appropriate
authorship practices.
6) GRADE COMPLAINTS: Complaints about grades must occur within one week after you receive the
grade. Complaints must be given to the instructor in writing in order to receive consideration.
Include a printed copy of your original assignment (with instructor evaluation) with your grade
complaint or it cannot be reevaluated.
7) SPECIAL NEEDS: The Student Disability Resource Center SDRC at the University of West Florida
supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction
or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as time limited exams,
inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, please notify the
instructor or the SDRC as soon as possible. You may contact the SDRC office by e-mail at
sdrc@uwf.edu or by phone at (850) 474-2387. Appropriate academic accommodations will be
determined based on the documented needs of the individual.
GRADING
Final grades are based on an absolute point total. A student's final grade is a function of the number of points
earned in the course divided by the total number of points yielding a percentage. Each assignment will be
awarded a point value. The division of points received to points available will determine a letter grade for an
assignment. For instance, if an assignment is worth 100 points and the grade received is 85, then the
corresponding letter grade would be a B.
GRADING SCALE
A
A-
94-100%
90-93%
B+
B
B-
87-89%
84-86%
80-83%
C+
C
C-
77-79%
74-76%
70-73%
D
F
65-69%
<64%
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
ONLINE PARTICIPATION AND ACTIVITIES
PEER FEEDBACK ON SPEECHES
ONE-POINT SPEECH
INFORMATIVE SPEECH
PERSUASIVE SPEECH
COMMEMORATIVE SPEECH
EXAMS
25 POINTS
25 POINTS
100 POINTS
200 POINTS
250 POINTS
150 POINTS
300 POINTS
TOTAL
1050 POINTS
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Tentative Schedule
(Please note that this schedule is still being revised and dates are subject to change. Readings and assignments,
however, should remain fairly the same.)
Week
Aug 26-30
Aug 31-Sept6
Sept 7-13
Sept 14-20
Sept 21-27
Sept 28-Oct 4
Oct 5-11
Oct 12-18
Oct 19-25
Oct 26 – Nov 1
Nov 2-8
Nov 9-15
Nov 16-22
Nov 23-29
Nov 30 – Dec 6
Dec 7-12
Topics covered
Introduction & Course Overview
Review of syllabus
Welcome to Public Speaking –
Preparing your first speech
Presenting the speech
Review One-Point Speech Assignment
Listening Critically
Analyzing your audience
Choosing a Topic and Developing a Strategy
ONE-POINT SPEECHES (due 9/18)
Informative Speeches
Review Informative Speech Assignment
Researching the Speech
Reasoning
MIDTERM EXAM
Organizing the Speech: The Body
Introductions, Conclusions and Transitions
Outlining
Speaking with Visual Aids
INFORMATIVE SPEECHES (due 10/16)
Persuading
Review persuasive speech assignment
Persuading
Work on Persuasive Speech
PERSUASIVE SPEECHES (due 11/6)
Special Occasion Speeches
Review Commemorative Speech Assignment
Using Language to Style the Speech
Vocal and Nonverbal Delivery
Work on Commemorative Speech
COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES (due 11/27)
Semester wrap up
FINAL EXAM
Reading Assignment
Ch 1
Ch 2
Ch 3
Ch 4
Ch 5
Ch 6
Ch 13
Ch 7
Ch 8
Ch 1-8
Ch 9
Ch 10
Ch 11
Ch 15
Ch 14
Ch 14 (continued)
Ch 16
Ch 12
Ch 3 (review)
Ch 9-16
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DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Guiding Principles
There are four assigned speeches. All speeches must be given in order to complete the course.
The four speeches are designed to emphasize the processual aspect of the canons of rhetoric by introducing
different skill sets as the semester develops. This course considers the canons of rhetoric to be building
blocks. You will incorporate a new set of speech skills with each speech building up to the final speech, which
incorporates all five rhetorical canons.
Accompanying each speech will be an outline, reference page (except speech 1) and an audience
analysis. The outline should be a complete sentence outline. The sentence outline is preferred over other
styles because it shows advanced preparation and reflects our commitment to extemporaneous delivery. You
should not write the speech out word for word. Additionally, your note cards should reflect key words and
phrases to continue making the speech more extemporaneous. For the reference page, you are required to
use APA.
An audience analysis statement is required with each speech. Many of the classroom activities are designed
to foster stronger and more insightful audience analysis.
Each speech should be developed with your particular audience in mind. This makes the audience feel as if
they are significant to the speaker and allows the speaker to hone in on specific points, which will catch your
audience’s attention. As you are choosing your speech topic, consider your audience. What do you know
about them? What do they know about the topic? What are your audience’s attitudes, interests, goals and
knowledge? How can you make your topic of interest or value to the audience?
Once you have considered the relationship between your topic and audience, you can begin to construct your
presentation. Remember to narrow your topic and purpose to fit the constraints of the situation. Consider
support (personal experiences, examples, observations, statistics, etc.) that will contribute directly to your
main idea (thesis).
Assignments in this class will build upon each other, so it’s important that you devote the time to understand
each one. You will slowly begin to see how the principles and skills applied in one contribute to the next
assignment.
**See eLearning for detailed instructions, evaluation criteria, and Sample Outline Formats.**
One-point Speech – Audience Analysis and Purpose
100 points
(50outline/50presentation)
Topic: Culture Exploration
2-3 min
The first speech is a one point informative speech that emphasizes one aspect of your culture. This speech
highlights the canon of invention by focusing on finding a topic, analyzing the audience and developing a
clear specific purpose. Think about culture broadly. While ethnicity is part of culture, it is only one
dimension. Consider: group memberships, roles you play (athlete, student), lifestyle (vegetarian, sexuality),
race, nationality, gender, etc.
Informative Speech – Organizing, Outlining and Using Visual Aids
200 points
(100/100)
Topic: Related to a Social Issue of your choice (instructor’s approval)
5-6 min
For speeches two and three, you should talk on the same topic. Speech two is an informative speech. This
speech adds the canon of arrangement by focusing on organizational skills such as outlining, choosing an
organizational structure, and incorporating evidence. Since this speech is linked to speech three, you need to
choose a topic that is persuasive in nature.
Speech two provides information in order to raise awareness and increase understanding on the topic.
Speech two requires a power point presentation to accompany the speech.
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Persuasive Speech – Persuasion
250 points
(125/125)
Topic related to Informative Speech
7-9 min
Speech three is the same topic discussed in speech two. This speech, however, is a persuasive speech. The
speech should be a question of policy, arguing for clear and appropriate solutions for the target audience in
addition to the general audience. You will need to develop a cohesive and complete argument for your
position.
Commemorative Speech – Language, Oral Delivery and Physical Delivery
150 points
(75/75)
Topic: Commemorate something or someone you know (instructor’s approval)
5-7 min
Speech four is a commemorative speech designed to honor, pay tribute to someone or something
important in your life (grandmothers, best friends, favorite pets, favorite coaches, summer camps, etc.).
The only requirements are that you have a personal relationship with the topic (not an athlete looked up to
from afar) and that the speech be positive in nature. This speech incorporates the canons of style, memory,
and delivery. It should rely heavily on the use of narratives and examples as supporting materials. Look for
evidence in creative ways. A personal interview is required for one source. Other sources could stem from
literature, poetry, music, non-fiction books, etc. The delivery style should be conversational, uplifting and
inclusive to the audience with an emphasis on storytelling.
Basic Communication Skills is designated as a General Studies course. The General Studies curriculum at the
University of West Florida is designed to provide a cohesive program of study that promotes the
development of a broadly educated person and provides the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in
university studies. This course has been approved as meeting your requirement in the Contemporary Values
& Expressions area. The major General Studies learning outcomes for this course are Communication and
Critical Thinking. If you are interested in a major in Communication you should contact the Department of
Communication Arts in the School of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at 850-474-2874. If you are
undecided about you major you should contact your academic advisor or the Career Center at 850-4742254.
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