Syllabus: Public Speaking
COURSE DESCRIPTION
When asked, many people cite public speaking as one of their biggest fears. In fact, many renowned public speakers admit that they were once extremely anxious about speaking in front of groups.
Good public speaking is more than a performance. It is the result of:
- Critical thinking
- Well-organized narrative
- Reasoning
- Research
- Preparation
In this course, part of the Soft Skills Professional Certificate program, you will study methods that help to reduce anxiety, build confidence, and customize a process which will
This course is designed to equip you with knowledge of the principles necessary for formal public speaking with an emphasis on organization, evidence, language use, strategy, delivery, ethics, and effective use of media aids.
This course may be audited free of charge. Learners also have the opportunity to earn a verified certificate of completion. Exclusive learning opportunities such as live events hosted by subject matter experts will be available for verified learners.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- How to apply the basic elements of the speech communication process
- Tools and methods for controlling public speaking anxiety
- How to craft a clear and impactful speech
- How to critique other communicators using the principles of this course
- How to identify main and supporting ideas
PREREQUISITES
There are no required courses to complete before this course.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
GRADING & CERTIFICATION
Note: Only verified learners have access to graded activities. View more about the difference between audit and verified. The verification deadline is listed on the course home page.
If you are are interested in earning a verified certificate, you'll need to complete:
- Graded quizzes at the end of each unit
- Only one attempt is allowed per quiz question, so review the questions carefully before saving your answer.
- Quizzes are 80% of your final grade.
- A Speech Application Assignment in unit four
- After completion of unit three, there is a required Speech Application Assignment. It is an opportunity for you to practice and deliver your speech to gain peer feedback. This assignment is required for verified students.
- The application assignment is 20% of your final grade and will be graded using a provided speech evaluation rubric.
Verified students who complete the Quizzes and the Application Assignment with cumulative 75% or higher grade average will earn a verified certificate from edX, signifying successful completion of the course.
- There is no weekly deadline for each unit quiz or the application assignment. As long as you complete everything by the course end date you will be eligible for the certificate. As soon as your application assignment has been graded and you have achieved a course average of 75% or higher, you will be eligible to download your certificate.
- Earning a verified certificate might be a good option for you if you plan to use your completion of SKILLS105x for job applications, career advancement, or school applications. Also, by earning a verified certificate in this course and in SKILLS101x, SKILLS102x, SKILLS103x, SKILLS104x
and SKILLS106x you may apply for the Soft Skills Professional Certificate.
WORKLOAD & SCHEDULE
This course is designed to be completed in three weeks, however, you can work on the course at your own pace, as long as you complete it prior to the course end date (for verified students only). We estimate it will take you 4-6 hours to complete the materials and activities per week. For your convenience, a schedule is available to help you manage your time.
ACADEMIC POLICY
You must behave with academic honesty and respect your fellow students. Please abide by the edX Terms of Service & Honor Code.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS COURSE
To help facilitate navigation within each unit, the course materials and activities are organized under the following headings.
About this Video
Precedes each video lesson and provides a summary of
Discussion
Gives you a chance join discussions about course topic and question prompts. These are ungraded but highly recommended.
Surveys and Self-Assessments
Anonymous polls and surveys. These often include a related discussion prompt.
Word Cloud
An activity where an image composed of words used in a particular text or subject, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING (UNGRADED QUIZ or ACTIVITY)
Contains ungraded knowledge check questions or activities. These may come before or after video lessons. They help you determine your current level of understanding about course topics.
resources
Internal and external websites that contain related infographics, charts, readings or videos. These links will open in a new window. These may require Adobe Acrobat
QUIZ
Note: Only verified learners have access to graded activities. View more about the difference between audit and verified. The verification deadline is listed on the course home page.
Graded quizzes at the end of each unit. These are required for verified students.
This course is available on the edX mobile app. This app will allow you to view content, watch videos, and participate in certain activities such as graded assignments and discussions. Most of this course can be completed on the app, however, there are some features not yet available on the edX mobile app. You will need to access a few parts of this course on a desktop computer to participate fully in those activities. The app will tell you which ones.
DISCUSSION POLICY
Each unit in this course will contain Discussion Forums which you are encouraged to participate in. (The Discussion Questions are also accessible by clicking the "Discussion" tab on the edX toolbar). Your posts will be occasionally monitored by course staff; however, owing to a large number of students and limited resources, we may not be able to answer all questions. We would appreciate your understanding.
Discussion Code Of Conduct
We are committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all students. This code of conduct outlines our expectations for discussion behavior, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.
- Be respectful
- Please respect your fellow students. Insulting or abusive words will not be tolerated and will be removed.
- Be constructive. A learning community is about learning with and through engagement with one another.
- Be culturally aware. This is a global forum with participants from many different cultures and backgrounds. Be sensitive when discussing race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or controversial topics, since others may be more sensitive about them than you are.
Post appropriately
Content that violates the edX Terms of Service & Honor Code is not permitted. You may not post inappropriate (e.g. pornographic) or copyrighted content, advertise or promote outside products or organizations, or spam the forums with repeat content.
Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
If a participant engages in unacceptable behavior, the course staff may take any action they deem appropriate, up to and including expulsion from the course.
Please help us create a healthy learning environment by respecting these standards. We do not expect to see many of these issues because we trust students like you to keep our forum communities strong and healthy.
GETTING HELP
To ensure the quickest response, please follow these steps:
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Review the course FAQ, it contains helpful information about this course.
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For technical questions related to the edX platform use the Support tab located on the left side of the page.