Discussion: What “Matters” to You ?

After you have read Chapter 1: Why Public Speaking Matters Today, sections–

1.1 Why Is Public Speaking Important?

1.2 The Process of Public Speaking

You’ll want to reflect back on 2 aspects of the chapter that “stood out” or intrigued you the most. Discuss each aspect you’ve chosen within a paragraph of 10 – 12 sentences. (To clarify, that’s 10 – 12 sentences for each aspect you’ve chosen.) For example within each 10 – 12 sentence paragraph, you could comment on:

What you learned (Be clear, be accurate, be specific.)
Why you know this (What details– examples, facts, stories, statistics, etc. were provided in the writing that helped you discover something new?)
How this new information may impact your experiences in this class, in other courses, or in your career. (Again, you want to be clear and specific here.) If you’re not sure, take some guesses, go ahead and conjecture, imagine, explore. Ask yourself “What if?”
You may also incorporate any other thoughts or perspectives you may have about the topic (or aspect) that you have chosen. We want to see what you are thinking about (or grappling with) at this early point in the class.
Once you’ve completed your response, you’ll then want to communicate with at least 3 other classmates. (That’s a minimum– you’ll want to do your best to provide comments to and/or question as many of classmates as you can about their thoughts regarding this assignment.) You’re not just responding in a sentence or two. Do your best to develop a response which will move the conversation forward. Those are the types of “responses” we’re looking for throughout this communications class. Always plan to go a step further. Engage your classmates in a conversation about what they are concerned with or interested in. Talk to each other like you are in the same classroom– because you are!