Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

An Analysis Of Communication For Foster Parents: Interpersonal, Small Group, And Public Speaking Skills Necessary For Foster Parenting, Kaitlyn Randall

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Communication is a core aspect of what foster parents do every day. However, communication research focusing on foster parents is limited. Foster parents should understand interpersonal communication, small group communication, and public speaking. Understanding the basic principles of these communication disciplines will help foster parents succeed in their role. Interpersonal communication creates relationships between the foster parent and child through inclusion, control, and affection. Small group communication aspects of group roles, meeting facilitation, and conflict management are used in interactions with caseworkers. The public speaking skills of preparation and practice are used during court proceedings, orientations, and support groups. Providing …

Showing And Telling: A Technique For Teaching Delivery Skills, Justin J. Rudnick

Communication Studies Department Publications

This single-class activity provides a framework for instructors to “coach” students to use various delivery skills for presentational speaking. By rotating student groups through three stations, the activity cultivates the students’ understanding of direct eye contact, hand gestures, and vocal volume and articulation. Students prepare a story to share in groups and actively practice each skill while the instructor demonstrates acceptable standards. After completing a debrief discussion, students are better equipped to practice delivery skills with a frame of reference for how those skills should be cultivated in class.

The Making Of A Virtual Monster: Ideological Criticism On The Isis Hate And Extremism, Md Shah Jahan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The 9/11 incident and its subsequent terrorism specifically the rise of radical Islamist groups like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), and al-Qaeda astounds the world. ISIS’s propaganda technique using digital media helps the terrorist group motivate and recruit a large group of people from around the world. Terrorist incidents like the Dhaka café in 2016 and France soccer game attack in 2015 provide a glimpse of ISIS ferocity and barbarism with its subsequent series of attacks. This research examines the kind of rhetorical language that ISIS leaders and followers use to support their ideologies. And, how the internet …

Third Party Candidates In Political Debates: Muted Groups Struggling To Express Themselves, Carolyn Prentice

Speaker & Gavel

With the rise of a multitude of political parties, some campaign debate organizers are beginning to include third party candidates in their public debates. However, these third party candidates have been ignored in campaign debate literature. This study analyzed the transcripts of three campaign debates that included third party candidates, using muted group theory to understand the impact of third party candidates in campaign debates. The analysis demonstrates that third party candidates experience the communication obstacles of muted groups.

Since World War II, party affiliation among U.S. voters and straight-ticket voting has been on the decline (Miller & Shanks, 1996). …

On The Conversational Style Of Ronald Reagan: "A-E=[Less Than]Gc" Revisited And Reassessed, Windy Yvonne Lawrence, Ronald H. Carpenter

Speaker & Gavel

During contemporaneous rhetorical criticism of his style in discourse, President Ronald Reagan was assessed in terms of his living up to the eloquence of John F. Kennedy‘s Inaugural Address. In those two Speaker & Gavel Essays, Reagan was found to be deficient and thus a "less-than-great communicator." After revisiting and reassessing those two essays, Reagan‘s essentially conversational mode of communication for television was found to embody rhetorical elements that indeed may have fostered eloquence sufficient to retain the sobriquet of "great communicator."

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The realm of competitive forensics is filled with challenges including written and unwritten rules and norms, multiple categories with different guidelines for each, a distinct culture only people intimately connected with the activity can navigate without conscious effort, and a basic knowledge of the ever-changing world of communication. For competitors who struggle with physical disabilities, the challenges are beyond daunting. Using the method of autoethnography, this paper investigates how students with physical challenges can successfully participate through accommodation and how speech coaches can advocate for their physically-disabled speakers and request and implement the best accommodations.

Steve Jobs’ Use Of Ethos For Persuasive Success In His 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, Keith Bistodeau

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The use of ethos in persuasive settings has always been a powerful tool in public speaking, especially by those in power and in businesses. Kenneth Burke’s Pentad plays a primary role in persuasive situations, particularly when we as scholars try to dissect and understand specific aspects of a speech situation. In this essay I used Burke’s Pentad as a framework to explore Steve Jobs’ use of, as I term it, “internal and external ethos” as not only a persuasive mechanism, but also as a force to build his persona/mythological legacy.

A Rationale For Incorporating Dystopian Literature Into Introductory Speaking Courses, James P. Dimock, Chad Kuyper, Peggy Dimock

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Since Aristotle, teachers of public speaking have argued that an understanding of the audience’s beliefs, values, and assumptions about the world are the key to effective, persuasive speaking. All too often, however, public speaking courses either avoid audience analysis or focus on superficial details of the audience demographics. This paper makes the argument that by reading and discussing novels, students can develop an appreciation of their classmates as audience members and that dystopian fiction is especially well-suited to developing speech ideas that connect public speaking with the world outside the classroom. Teaching suggestions and lesson plans are included.

Viewing Film From A Communication Perspective: Film As Public Relations, Product Placement, And Rhetorical Advocacy In The College Classroom, Robin Patric Clair, Rebekah L. Fox, Jennifer L. Bezek

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Academics approach film from multiple perspectives, including critical, literary, rhetorical, and managerial approaches. Furthermore, and outside of film studies courses, films are frequently used as a pedagogical tool. Their relevance in society as well as their valuable use in the classroom makes them an important and pragmatic medium deserving further attention. The ability of film to be used in a socio-political way may sustain, challenge or change the status quo, which supports studying film as well as teaching students about the power of film. The purpose of this article is to share the development of a course which points out …

Sit, Stand, Speak: Examining The Perceptions Of The Basic Public Speaking Student On Normative Forensic Practices And Their Effect On Competitor Credibility In Oratory, Katie Marie Brunner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper examines basic public speaking students' perceptions forensic competitor credibility based on normative factors present within the forensic community. Anecdotal and experiential evidence provided this researcher with reason to believe that the unwritten rules and normative expectations of forensics were so far-removed from what students were used to seeing in their classrooms and in the media, that they could have a negative impact on a competitor's ethos, from the basic public speaking students' perspective. This research was performed in an attempt to determine whether these anecdotal and experiential assumptions were accurate and also to gain insight into the how …