Lackawanna COM125 2022 February Discussions Latest (Full)

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 1 Discussion

DQ1 Components of Ethos

In the public speaking arena, Ethos represents the desire of your audience to believe you. Ethos is one of the key elements to public speaking, and without it you will lose your audience. There are four components: competence, integrity, goodwill, and dynamism.  See the handout in "Handouts and Links" for definitions of these components.

Chapter 3 in your text talks about ethical implications of what you choose to use in a speech. They even say no decision you make as a speaker is morally neutral – you will always pick a side. Then it goes on to explain many of the ways you can decrease or ruin your ethics, by failing to maintain the integrity of your ideas: plagiarism, lying, oversimplification, and propaganda devices.

After you’ve read chapter 3, choose one of the components of Ethos and describe it, in terms of the relationship you build with your audience while speaking. Be specific, in that you name things you would have to do in order to achieve that component of ethos.

Hit "Reply" to put your initial post up, and remember, it's due before this Wednesday at 11:55pm!

Initial post should be 100 words or more, replies should be 50 words  But not TOO much more!!!

DQ2 Listening Barriers

Listening is one of the most important components of learning Effective Speaking. Why is this, you may ask? Because you can’t possibly be an effective speaker if you’re not a good listener.

What can contribute to making us a bad listener?  As you'll see in the Chapter 2 handout, there are both internal and external barriers to listening.  Let’s compile a list of things that make us poor listeners. Each student, add a new one to the list, and then discuss one of these barriers in detail. Don't just add the same one as someone else.

Determine whether your chosen barrier is an internal or external barrier to effective listening. Try and decide where it comes from, how it gets in between you and the message.

And perhaps most importantly, provide a solution to your chosen barrier.

 

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 2 Discussion

DQ1 Call a Radio Station

Chapter 4 of our text is about overcoming the fear of public speaking.  You know, the best way to overcome the fear of something is to DO it, over and over again.  Here’s what the text suggests:

Put your fear into perspective

Identify specific fears (to better understand them)

Consider the origin of your fears

Prepare and practice

Use relaxation techniques

Use positive self-suggestion

Reconceptualize the role of the audience

          As an exercise in overcoming fear by doing, each of you is going to call in to a talk radio station (Pretend). You are going to assume the role of one of the regular callers to the station; either liberal or conservative.  This way, it won’t be YOU calling in, you’ll be playing a role.  You may have to do a little research if you’re not really politically active, to find out what these people believe.  Try to engage the host with something he/she wants to talk about.  If you do it right the host will do most of the talking!

       Don't tell the person who answers the phone that you're calling for a class.  This is where the roleplay comes in, you are now a talk show listener who's calling to express your opinion.

       You can don't have to call WILK, you can (Pretend) to call any talk radio station you want.  I only suggest WILK because you won't have to wait on hold very long; most of the other talk stations are nationally syndicated so the wait time is 1-2 hours just to get on the air for 20 seconds with Rush Limbaugh or any of the others.  There are other radio stations that are nearby: WPHT (1210am) in Philly, WOR (710am) in New York, WABC (770am) in New York, and NJ 101.5FM in New Jersey.  You can stream all of them online. 

        You’ll need to record your call.  You can do this with your smartphone (on an iPhone it’s called “voice memo”) or just use a cheesy cassette recorder (if you can find one)!  Make SURE you can successfully record before you call the radio station!( Pretend)

         You’ll have to upload the audio of your call to the discussion area so we can ALL hear it and discuss it, at least as it relates to fear of public speaking.

Again: please note that this is all pretend calling a radio station. You only need to upload the audio of you answering a question or calling to comment on a matter.

DQ2 Audience Analysis

Pretend you’re in a crowd (say, at the mall, in downtown Scranton, or at a concert or sporting event) take a good look at your fellow humans (or remember back all those years ago when we could DO that sort of thing!). Do an audience analysis on them. What is their most common demographic? Demographics being age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.  What values do you think they have?  Do they line up with your values?  Write a specific, detailed report about the kind of audience demographics you witnessed. Include numbers. And don't use "my coworkers," "the other people in class," or "church."

Then explain precisely how you would construct a "Grabber" for a speech on the Benefits of Exercise that would relate to that exact audience. Remember to appeal to the entire audience.  What appeals would you use?  How would you motivate or grab them and get them to listen in the first place? Be specific and tell us how these appeals would affect your audience. Remember the "grabber" is the very first thing you say.

 

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 3 Discussion

DQ1 Your text talks about how to select a topic that's right for you in Chapter 10.  They talk about your experience, the audience, and "a timely and timeless topic."

Just how do you go about selecting a topic?  For the first two speeches, the topic is selected for you.  After that it's all up to you.  What do you think the most important things are to consider when selecting a topic? 

 Here's my example:  When I was working at New Jersey 101.5, we had to pick a different topic to talk about for every hour we were on.  It had to be something that was "top-of-mind" for the listeners, and also be "Jersey-centric."  This was really difficult at times, and sometimes I would find myself checking every single newspaper in the state for a decent topic!  Luckily it was not a real political station, and you could get away with "What was your favorite toy as a kid," and meaningless topics like that.  However I did find that people were quite passionate about those lame topics!  Anyway we often ended up talking about stuff I liked, like gardening, or music, or sci-fi.  I also had a few "evergreens" that I would resort to if all else failed, like "elderly drivers should be tested yearly."  In fact anything about driving, or the roads, was always a home run because most of our listeners spent a whole lot of time in the car!

DQ2 Motivational Appeals

Watch two separate commercials for two different products. (Example: department store, candy, car…embed a video or post a youtube or other kind of link so we can watch them). In each one, identify the audience motivations that the advertising are appealing to.  The handout on Chapter 24, Motivational Appeals, will be immensely helpful.

Explain what in the commercial led you to these conclusions. This will be easier if the commercials you watch are locally produced, since they will be much less nuanced and more heavy handed with their appeals.

 

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 4 Discussion

DQ1 Body Language

https://youtu.be/M8LA10Tg1Os

In Chapters 6 in your book, you'll find a list of different kinds of body language, depending on which part of the body you're using.

Write about one of your favorite body language expressions, how you use it, and why you use it.  An example would be a teacher who's always putting one finger in the air to make a point (while in reality the "finger in the air" usually means "wait").

Don't use the same expression of body language as your fellow students.  If someone has already discussed your favorite, think up another one.

DQ2 Movies!

Now that we're studying Drama, and how powerful it can be, we're going to take it to its logical conclusion.  There are movies that have changed the world.  Not the film industry (and there's plenty of those too) but the actual world we live in.

Movies start out as entertainment, and an escape, but a good story can have a huge impact, along with the acting in it.  Movies can bring social injustice to light, change laws, instigate laws, and even change the course of history.

Give an example of a Movie That Changed the World, and how it accomplished it.  My example is Gone With The Wind, which showed a close up, nostalgic picture of slavery in the South and how the resulting Civil War brought it down.  On a sweeping, broad canvas, the fall of the South and the horrors of war were life-sized.  Plus, the heroine was a selfish B-word.  And don't forget how horrified moviegoers were to hear the word "damn" actually spoken aloud on the screen!

Be specific about what you think allowed your film actually to affect society, and produce change.  Real change, not just change to the film industry, or how movies are made.

Here's a trailer for GWTW.

Gone with the Wind Official Trailer 1939 Oscar Best Picture (Links to an external site.)

Gone with the Wind Official Trailer 1939 Oscar Best Picture

 

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 5 Discussion

DQ1 Research Strategy Worksheet

Here's a "Research Strategy Worksheet" from another text that I find invaluable for directing your research, especially since the Informative speech is next week. Just click on the file to download it.

Fill it out (or just answer each line) with research for your Informative speech topic. Especially the "local applications" and "current information resources." Then post the filled in version here! Feel free to justify your sources, or explain how you came up with them.

A lot of people don't know what to put for"local applications and current information," and it's easy: what are the local applications of your topic? For instance, if I was doing an informative speech on How Great Gardening Is, I would tell you about community gardens in South Abington (it's huge, it's onWeek 307, check it out) and Scranton. The "current information" is just news stories that are current, about your topic. (remember "timely" topics?) For Gardening I would probably talk about all the CSA farms (Community Supported Agriculture, local farms where you can get fresh, organic local produce every week all summer long) and how popular they are becoming, especially in urban areas.

This kind of requires that you DO plenty of research on your topic. My suggestion is to use the Seeley library resources. You will find plenty of scholarly peer-reviewed academic journal articles there. Do I need to tell you this is the best and most credible kind of research? Of course I don't!

DQ2 Synthesis of Research

Based on the topic for your informative speech, look up ONE academic peer-reviewed scientific journal article that specifically references your topic. Then find ONE article that specifically references your topic in a non-scholarly source, for instance a paper like the New York Post or USA Today.

How do the sources differ, and how are they the same? Tell us a little about what each source could bring to your speech.

Then we’ll apply an educational tactic known as “synthesis.” (“Build a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure”) You’ll combine the two very different sources to make a point in your informative speech.

 

COM125 Effective Speaking

Module 6 Discussion

DQ1 Informative Strategies

Explain to us something about your major that isn’t common knowledge.  If you don't yet HAVE a major, just pick a line of work you are interested in, or have done before. As your text says, you’re going to effectively create a mental picture in your audience’s mind that will aid your listeners’ understanding.  Use the informative strategies from Chapter 21 in your text to walk us through the explanation.  Make sure you tell us which informative strategies you're using, by "bolding" each one. Here’s a list:

Avoid information overload

Organizing framework

Simple to complex

Familiar to unfamiliar

Organizers:

                Signposts

                Enumeration

                Acronyms

                Slogans, catchwords, memorable phrases

Emphasis cues

Examples

Analogies

Multiple channels

Repetition

Here's an example I got from a PTA (Physical Therapist Assistant) major, and one thing that I don't think is common knowledge is that PT's can actually treat vertigo.

She explained that BPPV is considered a common form of vertigo and that they get a patient to treat with it every now and then. BPPV is the acronym for Benign Paroxysmal Position Vertigo. She used the example of when you feel dizzy, like the world around you is spinning uncontrollably. She also said you can sometimes get sick from it. She then used an analogy of a snow globe, and how when you shake it up everything inside spins. She compared the snow globe to how a person suffering from vertigo might feel when their symptoms are at their peak.

She used simple to complex to explain that the inner ear is what keeps your balance, and that there is a sort of "goo" in there that contains crystals that help keep your balance.  Sometimes they become dislodged (by head movements or sitting in one position for a long time), causing imbalance.  She used familiar to unfamiliar to explain how putting the patient in certain positions can restore the crystals to where they belong. And I guess you could say multiple channels would be showing us a YouTube video on how BPPV works, after explaining it to us.

DQ2 Credibility (Ethos)

Name a public figure who who you believe is dynamic, but whose image suffers due to lack of competence, goodwill, and integrity. Give supporting examples, in other words, action this person has taken to make you believe he/she lacks goodwill, integrity or competence.

Then name a public figure who you believe is competent, or has great integrity, but whose image suffers due to lack of dynamism.  Again, you'll need to give examples.

 My answer to these questions:  Donald Trump, who is extremely dynamic, and energetic, and says whatever comes into his head.  His integrity is lacking, he has proved this many times,  by mocking a disabled reporter, and further back when he said that  his daughter Ivanka is so hot, if she wasn't his daughter he'd be dating her.

 My "competent" example is Ralph Nader.  You may not know who he is, he used to run for President all the time as an independent and was very critical of both political parties.  He never caught on, despite the fact that everything he said was true.  He just didn't have the dynamism, and charisma, to attract the American people.  He's credited with handing the 2000 election to George W. Bush, since it is presumed many votes that would have gone to Democrat Al Gore went to Nader instead.

So:  A public figure who HAS dynamism but not competence, integrity, or goodwill

Then: A public figure who HAS competence, integrity, or goodwill, but lacks dynamism.