Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2023 - FASS 205 B100

STT-Finding Voice: Public Speaking for Social Change (1)

Class Number: 4714

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Jun 19, 2023: Tue, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Provides an opportunity for a skills-based immersion into the art of Public Speaking. In a workshop setting, learners will critically analyze contemporary speeches while developing their own skills in speech, rhetoric, non-verbal communication, and storytelling. This course is for students, in any discipline, who wish to learn to be effective public speakers in academia and beyond.

COURSE DETAILS:

FASS 205 is a unique opportunity to deepen your presentation skills through an immersive and dynamic workshop-style course. Over five weeks, you will engage with the many skills necessary to develop greater confidence in your abilities to orally communicate. This will include practical exercises aimed at strengthening your voice, widening your repertoire of non-verbal communication skills, and developing techniques to address performance anxiety. You will also be introduced to core public speaking theory which will allow you to analyze speeches for their structure, style and impact. While much attention will be paid to the more skills-based aspects of presenting, at the heart of the course is a focus on connecting with your own personal stories and exploring your relationship with the audience.

Every week you will have readings that allow you to focus on the key principles behind the work that we will be doing, contemplate the frameworks that drive communication and gain greater insight into the historical perspectives that have shaped the techniques you will be employing. You will then watch videos that provide examples of the concepts covered in the written material and have an opportunity to then reflect and synthesize the readings and viewings with your own personal experiences through written reflections. Finally, and most importantly, you will implement and experiment with these ideas by both creating, presenting and providing feedback on a variety of mini-presentations.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Identify, analyze and demonstrate key rhetorical and non-verbal strategies in a persuasive speech.
  • Plan, structure, and deliver a clear, coherent and meaningful message for a specific context.
  • Give and receive relevant and constructive feedback.
  • Experiment with techniques in managing performance anxiety.
  • Reflect on ways that public speech has impacted personal relationships and beliefs.

FASS 205 runs for 5 weeks (May 8-June 9). The first session is 1 hour, the rest of 4 sessions are 2 hours each in person+1 hr asynchronous online work. Enrollment in both B100 and B101 is required. This is a 1 credit course.

Grading

  • 3 Speeches, 2 Feedback Exchanges , 2 Written Reflections w/Analysis 100%

NOTES:

FASS 205 B100 is delivered as a blended course, with two hours of instruction delivered in-person and one hour of instruction delivered as asynchronous remote. It is designed to improve your skills for future success and work in this class is expected to be of high quality. A competency-based grading system will be used to assess your academic performance and active participation in all learning activities. That means only a P (pass) or F (fail) will appear on your transcript. There is no numerical equivalent for the final grade, and it does not affect either your grade point average or cumulative grade point average.

  • P (pass) means that you have demonstrated your competency in relation to the learning objectives, met all the criteria for the course, and demonstrated the skills you have acquired.
  • F (fail) means that you do not receive credit for the course.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Students must have access to the internet as well as a computer and/other device that permits word processing and the use of other standard computer applications.

REQUIRED READING:

Tucker, Barbara; Barton, Kristin; Burger, Amy; Drye, Jerry; Hunsicker, Cathy; Mendes, Amy; and LeHew, Matthew, "Exploring Public Speaking: 4th Edition" (2019). Communication Open Textbooks. 1.
https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/communication-textbooks/1

Chapters 1, 8, 13, 7 and 11.

You will also be required to view several speeches available through Canvas.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.