Speech Section III Section Iii Communication Critical Thinking And Public Speaking This Section Briefly Considers

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SECTION III

COMMUNICATION, CRITICAL THINKING, AND PUBLIC SPEAKING

This section briefly considers what constitutes “critical thinking” in the contemporary academy

and how these skills are enhanced by topics and skills common to the basic communication

course.

WHAT IS “CRITICAL THINKING”?

“Competent communication demands critical thinking, which includes skills such as knowing

how to distinguish logical from illogical arguments, drawing sound conclusions from evidence,

and applying concepts from one context to a different context.”

The definition of “critical thinking” is not an uncontested one. While currently and typically the

province of philosophers and social scientists within the academy, critical thinking is not the

particularly enlightening to add to the contemporary “critical thinking” conversation and

curriculums.

Communication professionals in particular tend to look toward the practical logic that informs

public and interpersonal discourses and to seek understanding about how meaning is created,

communicated, and transformed within social and human contexts. Understanding the nature and

How/where is critical thinking found in the introductory course in speech communication?

Throughout the text of Communication in Our Lives, you will find Communication Highlights,

Sharpen Your Skill exercises, and Critical Thinking discussion questions that will challenge

understanding of course concepts and encourage students to apply these concepts to their

carefully about the words they use and the cognitive schemas that they may have never

considered before. This insight allows a student to break free of stereotypes that limit one’s

ability to think critically and realistically about one’s society and self. Additionally, considering

how different cultures draw meaning from different symbols, and how culturally plural “good

practices” can be, encourages students to think more carefully and more creatively about ways to

craft identification and relationships with diverse others. Instead of being reinforced in their

Perspective Taking, Audience Adaptation, and Effective Relational Communication: Being able

to take the perspective of another person is not an easy endeavor, and the ability to listen and

discipline one’s communication practices in order to learn from another, perhaps constitutes a

relatively neglected area of “critical thinking.” Of course, the ability to adapt public

Public Speaking, Persuasion, Argumentation, and Rhetorical Criticism: The ability to argue

ethically—as well as the ability to critically consider, deconstruct, and evaluate the arguments

one encounters daily—is without question a crucial life skill. And the training that students

receive in the basic course along the lines of public speaking development—including research,

Where can I find more information on communication and critical thinking?

PUBLIC SPEAKING SUPPLEMENT

The instructor as “coach” and using teams for speech prep

Although there are many metaphors for the teacher-student relationship, in the basic course you

could use the metaphor of speech teacher as “coach.” For the student as “team member” or

“player,” this metaphor encourages connotations of athletic virtues that are also useful to public

speaking skill development: knowledge of the sport and strategies for its play, discipline, lots of

practice, commitment, and effort. For the instructor, this metaphor reminds us that our “team” of

students needs our critical evaluations of their performance to improve, but they also need the

good solid content regardless of inexperience with delivery) that counts most in the introductory

course.

To further the sense of team learning and success in public speaking, Chapters 12–16 in Section

IV of this Instructor’s Resource Manual recommend assigning students to speech preparation

teams to complete various assignments leading up to the first speech.

Tips on assigning and evaluating student speeches in the basic course

Assigning Two Speeches (Informative and Persuasive): If you want to emphasize public

speaking skill development and performance more heavily in your course, you’ll also want to

adapt the course schedule to include more speaking opportunities and spend less time on

other topics that are not as germane to your course objectives. Or, you might choose to

arguments (claims, warrants, backing, qualifiers, reservations). This two-step process allows

you to systematically develop and build basic skills for both types of speaking situations. If

you establish the basics in the first speech (intros, conclusions, thesis statements, main ideas,

support materials, visual aids, eye contact, and poise), you can spend more time helping

students develop and practice their argument and persuasion skills on the next speech.

Reducing the Mystery: When you assign speeches, be sure to give students a descriptive

and complete set of expectations, including outline format examples and your grade criteria.

One way that this could be done is to include the descriptions of speech assignments in your

syllabus along with a grading sheet or rubric that informs students how their speech will be

evaluated. In addition, give students parameters for speech topics, but allow them to select

the final topic that reflects their interests and experiences. Be sure your students have plenty

of time to brainstorm and prepare. It is a good idea to introduce the speech assignment(s) at

Central Idea Workshop: After students have had at least a week to work on their

preparation worksheets for the first speech, reserve one class period for students to write their

specific purpose and central idea/preview statements on the board. Then you can consider

Speech Outlines: For at least one of the speeches, you should have students turn in a formal

outline of their speech. Having students prepare an outline will help them practice the

organizational principles you have covered in class. If time allows, you may even want to

Focus of Speech Development as a Process: Ask students to begin by proposing a topic and

providing an annotated list of references that potentially might be useful for their speech.

(See the form in the next section.) Give feedback to students based on their topics and

references. This can be done orally or in writing, but it serves two purposes. First, students

group practice sessions, in which students each practice their speeches twice. After students

practice, others in the group give them feedback. Finally, students should watch themselves

to see potential areas for improvement. Group practice such as this dramatically increases the

quality of in-class, graded speeches.

Citing Sources Appropriately: Students should follow whatever guidelines are set up for

the course. You might try one of the style manuals and guidelines online.

APA (American Psychological Association)

Citing Internet sources in APA:

http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

MLA (Modern Language Association)

Citing Internet sources in MLA:

http://www.mla.org/

Grade Appeals: It is advisable to have a formal grade appeal process in your course syllabus

that requires students to put requests for revised speech grades in writing, with detailed

explanations and good reasons why the grade should be changed, within one week of

receiving their evaluation. This process will save you from petty grade disputes and charges

Elements of an Argument: The Toulmin Model of Argument

Primary Source: Toulmin, S. (1964). The uses of argument. Cambridge University Press.

Data/Grounds ————————————————→ Claims

| | |

Claims: The assertion of the arguer—what she or he is trying to prove.

Warrants: The reasoning or logic that connects the data and claims—often suppressed or

unstated. When a speaker assumes that an audience shares common knowledge about his or her

warrants, she or he may not explicitly state these warrants.

Good vs. Bad Arguments—Fallacies of Reasoning

Fallacies are errors in reasoning—they generally attempt to circumvent ethical persuasion and

good arguments by substituting pathetic appeals or faulty logic for the systematic unfolding of

one’s claims, warrants, and backing. Fallacies also occur when the premises or grounds of an

argument are mistaken or untrue, causing the conclusion to be false.

Informative Speech Assignment

1. Your general goal of this speech is to inform. Your topic should follow the theme chosen

2. You may select any pattern of organization that you deem appropriate and effective to

organize the body of your speech.

3. Your speech must show evidence of quality research. The minimum number of

published sources (books, magazine articles, journal articles, etc.) is four. In addition, you

4. You must use appropriate types of supporting arguments in the speech. This is not a

5. The time for this speech is four to six minutes. You will have a 30-second grace period

6. The introduction must effectively set the tone for the speech. In other words, use an

7. The conclusion must provide a summary, refer to the introduction to provide closure, and

8. Use transitions in the appropriate places in the speech. This includes transition from the

9. You will prepare two outlines: a formal outline and a key-word outline. Your formal

outline should be detailed and complete. All main points must be written in complete

10. Deliver the speech extemporaneously. Speeches that are read will receive a failing

Informative Speech Process Checklist

Topic

Brainstorm for speech topics while considering your audience, your purpose, the assignment, and

your own interest. Then have your topic approved by your instructor.

Topic: ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Thesis Statement

State the thesis statement of the speech.

Thesis Statement:

________________________________________________________________________

Rough Outline and Annotated Bibliography

Develop a rough outline for your speech topic, including supporting material, sources, etc. Next,

draft an annotated bibliography for your speech topic. Then have your rough outline and

annotated bibliography critiqued by a peer or your instructor.

Speech Evaluation Form

Speaker

Evaluator

Competency One—Ability to choose and narrow a topic appropriately for

the audience and occasion

10% of Speech

Grade

Met time limit

Clearly related to audience throughout speech

Chose a challenging, substantive topic

Chose a topic appropriate to occasion

Competency Two—Ability to develop a clear thesis statement and

organizational pattern appropriate for the topic, audience, and occasion

25% of Speech

Grade

Introduction

Attention-getter

Clear thesis statement

Established credibility

Established significance of topic

Clear preview

Body

Clear organizational pattern

Identifiable main points and subpoints

Included varied, fluent transitions between main points

Conclusion

Summary

Referred to the introduction to provide closure

Final statement that has impact

Competency Three—Ability to assemble and use effective and sufficient

supporting materials

25% of Speech

Grade

Used appropriate, adequate, and varied supporting material

Used valid sources

Cited sources orally and accurately

Connected support material to main ideas

Competency Four—Ability to use nonverbal and verbal behaviors to

support the message

25% of Speech

Grade

Used good speaking volume

Avoided vocalized pauses (uh, um, etc.)

Used expressive and emphatic tone of voice

Avoided distracting mannerisms

Used effective gestures and purposeful movement

Used effective eye contact

Delivered the speech in a polished manner

Competency Five—Ability to choose, pronounce, and articulate

grammatically correct language that is appropriate for the topic, audience,

and occasion

15% of Speech

Grade

Was free of serious errors in grammar, pronunciation, and word usage

Used clear, precise, colorful, creative, and culturally sensitive language

Articulated words clearly

Informative Speech Self-Critique Assignment

View the video of your speech. While you watch yourself, take notes. Write a two- to three-page

typed analysis of your speech using the following criteria:

Part 1: Write a summary of the experience. How did you feel going into the speech? Were you

nervous? How did it feel to give your first formal speech? How well did you think you did as

you sat down from your speech?

Part 3: Write an evaluation of your delivery. How did you look delivering your speech? Calm?

Nervous? Rate your posture and walking, facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact. How did

you sound delivering your speech? Rate your volume, conversational quality, clarity, pitch, and

rate.

Part 4: Write a summary of the overall strengths and weaknesses of the speech. What will you

practice for the next speech? What was it like to see yourself deliver a speech? Make a list of