Assessment Methods

Portfolio Development»Guidelines by Curriculum

COMM304 Advanced Public Speaking
Portfolio Reviewer: Deborah F. Meltsner, Senior Lecturer of Communication
Contact: dmeltsne@odu.edu

The following guidelines provide a course syllabus for COMM 304 and a specific description of what should be included in the portfolio. Students who have been approved to do COMM 304 via portfolio should contact the faculty assessor, Deborah Meltsner, to review the portfolio expectations.

Description of the course
No other communication skill is so essential in our society as is the skill of being an effective public speaker. Yet, most people receive either no instruction or minimal instruction in this area; in fact, experience indicates that most students would prefer to never have to take a course in Public Speaking. And a high number express great anxiety about speaking as they begin such courses; many end up enrolling several times because they drop the course before giving the first speech.

Advanced Public Speaking is designed for the student who has completed COMM101 Public Speaking (or its equivalent), and, indeed, has succeeded in gaining the minimum instruction and the minimum practice that are needed to feel comfortable with fundamental speech skills. This course recognizes that Advanced Public Speaking students wish to explore speaking and analytical opportunities to gain a higher level of expertise in verbally presenting the self in a variety of contexts. Through participation in individual speaking situations as well as in situations of dyadic and group interaction, the advanced public speaking student should look forward to MASTERING public speaking skills. Additionally, through exercises aimed at analyzing and evaluating the speeches of others, this student should expect to master the ability to complete a speech critique of other speakers. Through participation in graded and ungraded exercises and presentations, the Advanced Public Speaking student will come to realize that Public Speaking isn't just giving a speech; public speaking is speaking in any situation that is beyond the comfort of our home!

Goals of the Course
By the end of the semester, students will:

1. Speak in interpersonal, group, and public contexts with spontaneity, organization, and confidence.
2. Prepare and deliver speech presentations that address varied purposes of informing, persuading, or special occasion, in individual or cooperative styles.
3. Research speech topics sufficiently for time frameworks, and integrate research in the speech delivery with ease.
4. Develop content of all presentations in a thorough manner, revealing such content through facts, statistics, examples, testimony, interviews, etc. in the speech delivery.
5. Prepare appropriate written sentence outlines or manuscripts for the varied speech types.
6. Develop appropriate PowerPoint, and other relevant, visual aids for presentations, integrating such aids effectively.
7. Complete written and verbal speech evaluations of others with ease.

Guidelines for the Portfolio
Portfolio for COMM304 - It is understood that a student desiring to earn credit for Advanced Public Speaking believes that he/she has mastered the course's purpose and goals through professional speaking opportunities of a diverse nature that would have demanded extemporaneous as well as manuscript speaking, outlining, consideration of wording and delivery strategies, including the use of professionally prepared visuals, and that the student would have been in speaking engagement situations where feedback about the presentations was provided by audience members.

Requirements for portfolio, to correspond with current objectives and requirements:

1. Evidence of outlining skills for a presentation; outline format is inclusive of specific purpose/proposition, introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion, with all components (except specific purpose) written in complete sentences.
2. Evidence of an appropriate manuscript development for a special occasion speech; special occasion speech may be for tribute, acceptance, entertainment or eulogy.
3. Evidence of the demonstration of at least 3 different speech types, including informative, persuasive, and special occasion, with elaboration on topic, development, organization, wording strategies, audience, and delivery.
4. Evidence of a team presentation, with elaboration on topic, development, organization, individual responsibilities, wording strategies, audience, and delivery.
5. Evidence of audience feedback and positive evaluations for at least 2 presentations.
6. Evidence of self-evaluation of at least 2 presentations.
7. Evidence of a written evaluation (in essay form) of a formal presentation by another professional speaker.
8. Evidence of a well-developed power point presentation that would accompany a verbal delivery of at least 15 minutes (hard copy of 6 slides per page, as well as disk, must be provided).
9. Evidence of relevant handouts that would accompany a 15-minute (minimum) presentation.
10. Demonstration of appropriate communication skills in an interview.
11. Demonstration of appropriate communication skills in an 8-11 minute presentation related to one's occupation or major (live or through virtual technology, with relevant visuals utilized).
12. Essay (approximately 3-4 typed pages) elaborating on one's reasoning that skills associated with advanced public speaking have been mastered.

Please note that "evidence" means providing relevant materials and written descriptions that reveal mastery of the stated requirement. "Demonstration" means that a face to face (live or virtual) delivery will be assessed.

Any student wishing to complete COMM 304 through portfolio review should address the course objectives and requirements, as well as these stated requirements for the portfolio. Each of the twelve requirements should be considered a "chapter" in the portfolio. Students who decide to complete the portfolio should provide a timetable to the reviewer within two weeks after agreeing to the requirements.