In this essay, I argue that the queer phrase "it's giving" can teach the concept and practice of rhetorical criticism while also performing a queer rhetorical pedagogy. The proposed activity proceeds in three steps: teaching queer histories, defining rhetorical criticism in queer terms, and practicing criticism queerly. This approach…

Courses: Persuasion; Persuasive Speaking. Objectives: Students will demonstrate the ability to apply persuasive concepts in constructing persuasive messages creatively, and students will present and analyze their persuasive messages.

A fundamental challenge that all public speakers face is getting and keeping the attention of audiences. Because audiences absorb large amounts of talk with little chance of taking the floor, the potential for inattentiveness and boredom is significant. In conversational interchanges, the brief duration of speaking turns and regular transfers of…

Digital oratory can be described as thesis-driven, vocal, embodied public address that is housed within (online) new media platforms (and that ideally takes advantage of the developing/flux-laden conventions that the online video context provides). This new form of public address lies somewhere between traditional speech-giving and media…

As public relations professions advance toward new media platforms, one traditional tool--the backgrounder/position paper (more technically termed white paper) remains a compelling vehicle to impart enduring professional competencies. Moreover, the skills requisite to produce a white paper can be deployed in a variety of new and traditional media…

This article presents a public speaking assignment that takes the study of rhetoric seriously. First, it shifts the approach from the common typology of informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speeches toward forensic, deliberative, and epideictic rhetoric. Second, this assignment takes rhetoric seriously by generating the understanding that all…

This essay grows out of a Short Course the author helped to teach called "Back to the Future: An Exploration of Public Communication Pedagogy, Past and Present, With Inventive Applications for the Future" presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago. The author presents an activity that focuses on mimesis…

For many students, public speaking is a communication apprehension inducing event. Others may enter the public speaking classroom as confident speakers but are restrictive in their approach to topic selection and alternative solution development. Both scenarios present a particular challenge for teachers who require students to present a variety…