We have so many different students in our classes, each with a different story. They make our classes vibrant, but also challenging in that it is tricky to identify the foundation and skills each one brings to the table. It is important to give all students the opportunities and resources to develop the necessary skills to meet your standards. In other words, it is important to scaffold the learning process. Just as you have many options when designing your oral communication assignments, you have many options in how you scaffold skills for your students.
Activities to Help Students Build Oral Competency Skills
What activities might you use to help students build the public speaking confidence they will need to present their final project in front of a client? What in-class exercises will empower students to field questions from an audience after a panel presentation? How can you support students in their preparation of a poster presentation at a conference?
Whatever your specific learning outcome, when it comes to teaching students how to develop public speaking skills, it’s important to give them (and convince them to take advantage of) opportunities to practice and build in checkpoints where they can receive feedback from peers, TA’s, you, or themselves via self-reflection. This is all part of the scaffolding process.
On the line graph below, you will find a variety of activities that give students the opportunity to develop oral competency skills. These activities can be used in the classroom throughout the semester to help students prepare for their larger projects and assessments. The activities are arranged from low risk to high risk, wherein “risk” is from the perspective of a student speaking in front of others in (or beyond) class. Low risk activities are those that are quick and easy, and that do not require students to speak in front of the entire class (sometimes these activities do not require students to speak in front of anyone). High risk activities do the opposite: they usually require individual students to speak to a larger group or the whole class, either because the instructor calls on students to answer questions or because students must presenta project in front of the class.
For more information on each of the activities on the line graph above, please click on the accordion tabs below.
Reflections
Consider having students watch sample presentations. You might even show them recorded speeches from previous students in your class (as long as they gave you permission to share their work). You can also find a lot of sample speeches online. We recommend Belmont Speech LabLinks to an external site. for examples of excellent informative and persuasive speeches. Before you have students watch the sample presentation, make sure you highlight for them what you want them to focus on (organization of ideas, support material, nonverbals, etc). Ask students to reflect on what they observed. Minute-papers and “muddiest points” are very short, in-class writing activities (taking one-minute or less to complete) in response to an instructor-posed question, which prompts students to reflect on a lesson or, in this case, a video. With reflection activities like these, you can get a sense of where students might be confused or struggling, and also what seems to really excite them about an assignment or idea. For more information, see Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers, 2nd ed, Jossey-Bass.
Live, interactive polling
A good way to engage students who may not yet feel comfortable or confident speaking in front of others is to allow them to feel heard without putting a spotlight on them. Consider integrating live, interactive polling into your class. Even having students use their phones to answer a question like, “Have you ever experienced stage fright?” can allow students to see that they’re not alone. Many faculty around UT use UTInstaPoll, Slido Links to an external site., PollEverywhereLinks to an external site., and KahootLinks to an external site.. Contact the Faculty Innovation Center to learn more about how best to integrate live polling into your course to meet your learning outcomes.
Think-Pair-Share
Some students feel safer and more relaxed when talking in small groups, rather than having to speak in front of the entire class. In 1981, Frank Lyman, a professor at the University of Maryland, developed the think-pair-share: a strategy in which the professor asks the class an open-ended question, gives students a minute or two to think about their response independently, pairs students up to discuss their ideas for about five minutes, and then finally engages students in class discussion. This activity strengthens students’ speaking and listening skills.
Ice Breakers (in small groups)
Many faculty use ice breakers in their classes, especially the first day. On the one hand, this is really effective because whatever kind of engagement you want students to commit to throughout the semester, you should have them do on the first day; so making it clear that you expect students to engage in communication with one another is a great way to begin a semester. On the other hand, for students who have a lot of communication apprehension, having to get up and talk—especially without knowing other students in the class—can be anxiety-producing. Consider having students start in small groups to introduce themselves and/or address open-ended prompts. Notre Dame Communication Arts Professor Stacey Peterson gives some additional examples of non-threatening ice breaker activities in her article, “An Exercise to Reduce Public Speaking Anxiety and Create Community in the ClassroomLinks to an external site.” (Faculty Focus, 2015).
Quick video introduction in Canvas with instructor feedback
Another way to give students an opportunity to develop oral competency is to change the medium. Instead of having students stand up in class and speak, consider providing them with the chance to record themselves and upload it to Canvas. This can work as a non-graded or low-stakes assignment, and gives students a bit more control because they can watch themselves and re-record their response before uploading it for you to see. Some of our UT instructors have students introduce themselves to the instructor this way after the first day of class. Others use this as a way to allow students to check-in half way through the semester. And still other instructors provide prompts or scenarios students must respond to via an uploaded video. Since you are the only one that can see their videos, students may feel less apprehensive than if their peers were watching, too. For more information, stop by our Canvas Office Hours in SZB 450 every Friday, 11am to 1pm.
Quick video introduction in Canvas with peer feedback
A good way to scaffold oral competency using technology is to consider allowing students to upload a video of themselves to Canvas that only you can see, and then a little later in the semester, opening up a similar activity or assignment in which students can see each other. You can randomly assign students to provide anonymous feedback for a select few students (and as the instructor, you will be able to see the names of those who leave comments), or create groups that would provide feedback to one another throughout the semester. For more information, stop by our Canvas Office Hours in SZB 450 every Friday, 11am to 1pm.
Elevator or sales pitch
An elevator speech is typically about 30 seconds in length- the time it takes people to ride from the top to the bottom of a building in an elevator. (The idea behind having an elevator speech memorized is that you are prepared to share this information with anyone, at any time, even in an elevator.) Our friends at UCDavis have a well put-together assignmentLinks to an external site. that you can adapt or use as a jumping off point to develop a hybrid or new version.
Discussion leader/facilitator
Give your students a chance to express their ideas orally and to lead a discussion by assigning (either for a grade or as part of their participation) the opportunity to be a discussion leader or facilitator (or co-lead/facilitate). Make sure you’re clear about your own objective in asking students to serve as a discussion facilitator: Do you want students to apply newly learned skills, mull over new subject matter, learn to analyze arguments critically, practice synthesizing conflicting views, or relate material to their own lives? Standford offers a thoughtful exploration of questions and strategiesLinks to an external site. to make sure you set up your discussion facilitators for success.
Impromptu speaking
An impromptu speech is given with little or no preparation, yet almost always with some advance knowledge on the topic. One way to empower students as they build their impromptu skills is to offer them tools for thinking on their feet and organizing their ideas. Aristotle offered his students 28 topoi (from the Greek for "place" or "turn") to characterize the "places" where a speaker or writer may "locate" their points that are appropriate to a given subject. Often presented in a form of question one could ask about any topic, topoi are tools or strategies of invention. Here is one exampleLinks to an external site. of different kinds of questions to prompt impromptu thinking. If you want to dive a little deeper, Yale (2014)Links to an external site. offers an impromptu speaking assignment used in his class, and then explores the ways that significant use of impromptu speaking practice impacts students’ oral competency skill development over the course of a semester.
Pecha Kucha presentation
Pecha Kucha (Japanese for "chatter") is a storytelling format, where a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each (6 minutes and 40 seconds total). Created by architects in 2003, the idea is to “talk less, show more.” This is an excellent exercise in thinking about visual communication, synthesizing ideas, organizing ideas, and adhering to a time limit. It takes some practice and skill, but is lively and can become a bit competitive as students vie for the most effective, timely presentation. Explore the how-tos and best examples on the main Pecha Kucha website: https://www.wabisabilearning.com/blog/how-to-make-great-presentations-with-pecha-kuchaLinks to an external site..
Providing Extra Support
What if you have students who aren’t likely to have had a lot of public speaking opportunities? Or who have a lot of communication apprehension? What if you have students who are struggling to work together for a team presentation? Any student can visit the Sanger Public Speaking Center to prepare or rehearse a presentation for your course. Additionally, the Sanger Public Speaking Center staff will come to your class to provide a workshop to all of your students. If you have students who need extra help structuring a presentation or communicate to you anxiety about public speaking, please direct those students to the Public Speaking Center for FREE consultations with peer speech consultants.
Best Practices: Faculty Voices
What kinds of opportunities do you provide students to practice oral competency skills? Watch the videos below to learn from UT faculty the best practices for scaffolding oral competency skills with smaller activities before the larger assignment.
Dr. Keri Stephens (Associate Professor of Communication Studies)
Dr. Keri Stephens discusses the importance of asking students to reflect on a) their preparation, b) their delivery, and c) their ongoing development of oral competency. This kind of reflection, Dr. Stephens notes, helps students develop a growth mindset about public speaking skills, and encourages them to practice more and more.
Dr. Holli Temple (Clinical Assistant Professor in the Health Outcomes & Pharmacy Practice Division)
Dr. Holli Temple recognizes class time is invaluable for students in terms of giving them an opportunity to practice the skills she expects them to demonstrate in their assignments. Listen to her describe her favorite class activity to help students build oral competency skills, Wow / Pow / Chow.
Dr. Gwen Stovall (Assistant Professor of Practice, College of Natural Sciences)
Dr. Stovall offers her students many opportunities to practice oral communication skills. Learn about two of her favorite skill-building activities—a “mock audience role-play” activity to help students learn how to handle different kinds of questions, and a two-minute elevator pitch.
Interested in a one-one consultation with an expert to review your communication assignment, rubric, or activities? Looking for a workshop on teaching oral competency? How about a Public Speaking 101 workshop for your students? Visit theSanger Public Speaking Center webpage Links to an external site.or send a message to:slc.speaking@austin.utexas.edu. Our team looks forward to empowering you and your students!
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