GEM2027/GET1008 NUS module review - Public Speaking and Critical Reasoning; First year, sem 1 2015/2016

GEM2027/GET1008

Previously, this module was named as "Introduction to Public Speaking" but from my batch onward, it has revamped its name to "Public Speaking and Critical Reasoning." Just like the change in name, the format of grading in this module has slight changes. Instead of needing to come up with a video presentation that showcase all the things you have learnt in the module (15%), you would need to do up a reflective assignment with your group mates.

I think the theme of the reflective assignment might differ in different cohorts but for my cohort, it was about finding a partisan speech which is at least 20 minutes in duration. We would then critique the various aspects of the speech using all the concepts we have learnt within 1000-1200 words. It was straightforward - no frills and easier to score compared to the previous type of graded video assignment in my opinion.

The title of the textbook that is to be used for self-study and is compulsory would be "The Art of Public Speaking" by Stephen E. Lucas. I can't stress how important it is to buy this and use this as a guiding aid for all your assignments. It helped me a lot. Miss Cardoza stressed a lot in tutorials that we need to buy this and as the head of teaching department for this module, she is absolutely right - Believe her!

Oh yes, there will be an electronic version of this book that would be introduced to the students during the 1st/2nd/3rd lecture and if I didn't remember wrongly, the price would be very much cheaper than the cost of the actual book.

Personally I do not prefer e-book so I bought the actual one from my friend instead.

What to expect:
1. Every tutorial will be either your turn to present speech or others' turns to present their speeches. There is very little room for social engagement with the peers there. Your very first tutorial will be introductory speech.  

P.S I really look up to the tutors who have to listen to so many speeches since they would be taking up a few tutorial classes a day. 

Personally, I regretted making my introductory speech so formal and inserting so quotes inside like as if I'm a motivational speaker there. On the very day of presenting introductory speech, you might realise because it is an ungraded speech and also due to the nature of this speech, your classmates might like to take it easy and try to sound as interesting as possible. And first impression really counts! I bet I have scared some people off and made them avoid making friends with me with my formal introductory speech eek.

2. Very very very very heavy workload! 
Let me explain why I say that it has such a heavy workload.

Firstly, almost every week or every other week, you are expected to choose a topic for a specific type of speech. The topic can be so wide-ranging and you have to do research to narrow down to a list of topics that interest you, are easier to score, and easier to find out information on. Just this process can be laborious enough to drain you. At least for me. 

Just like how there is a facebook post saying people spent more time on netflix choosing what show to watch than the actual time watching show, this logic applies for this scenario as well!

Next, you have to draft out your speech in the structured way the tutor expects. Topic sentence, central idea, arguments, supporting ideas, evidence, and not to forget, citations.

After which, you would have enter the editing phase. I spent about many hours editing and improvising on every single speech that I do. Words have to be limited according to the duration of the speech.

Lastly, perhaps the second most time-consuming stage - the practising phase. If you think that since cue-cards are allowed, there is not much needed on your part to memorise your speech, you are very wrong. The idea of this module is to let students master extemporaneous speech in which students only refer to the cue-cards from time-to-time for a short while with most of the time facing the audience instead of the cue-cards. Not only that, you also have to practise your facial expressions, body language, pace of speech and so on!

The tutors are very strict about the duration of the speech. You have to follow strictly to the requirements or you will be penalized. Hence, you need to practise many times to make sure you adhere to the timing.

This cycle will have to repeat for all the graded speeches that you are doing to do.


Now could you understand why I say the workload is really heavy? There are a lot of preparations on your part if you want to get something out of this module and do well!

Tips:

1. Follow the grading rubrics very carefully. The tutors mark according to these rubrics and they treat the marking scheme in the rubric very seriously. I failed my ungraded commemorative speech because I ignored the rubric and I quickly learnt my lesson after that and scored well thereafter.

2. The content of your speech matters MORE than your actual delivery.
I messed up one of my graded speech (responder-critique) because I didn't sleep well the night before and forgot all my script. Even though there were cue-cards to help me, I ended up saying sorry almost 8 times in front of everyone but to my surprise, I found out that I still scored pretty well for it when the score was published in Turnitin.

3. Don't be afraid to e-mail professor on the issues you are facing.
I was on the wrong track for persuasive speech and on hindsight, I was so glad I emailed Miss Cardoza and she told me what I was doing was totally wrong and I redid the entire thing. 

I ended up getting the highest marks for persuasive speech in the entire cohort! XD

Here is a link to a video that Miss Cardoza announced this news and I keep on repeating it like a silly girl and smile over it because I am happy about it!:D Haha!!

4. Try to prepare a visual aid for your first few speeches (introductory/commemorative/informative) to prep you up for the upcoming persuasive speech. I did one for my informative speech and it really geared me up for persuasive speech. Miss Cardoza also pinpointed out that there are page numbers lacking in my slides and I would be marked down for that if the same mistake is done for persuasive speech. I noted her feedback and made sure I do not make the same mistake again. Your tutor would not be marking you down for any error you make when handling your visual aid in all the speeches that do not include grading for visual aid in the rubric sheet. So it is a good opportunity to use the chance to practise it!

Dont forget, persuasive speech constitutes the one of the highest marks for this module (20%) and hence it is very important to be very prepared for it and one of the best ways to do so is to prepare a visual aid for your previous speeches and practise handling the visual aid in front of everyone.

5. Try to enroll into Miss Cardoza's class for tutorial. Her tutorials are very engaging, hilarious and useful! I think her personality is so cute that I always couldn't help but to giggle at her reactions. She is also very strict when it comes to her students' work and attire which creates the right atmosphere for students to work hard on this module. Most important of all, she would repeat the hints for the in-class quiz (20%) in the tutorials which she had given in her weekly lectures. 


6. Do not wait til the last minute to draft your PO!
I did that for my commemorative speech as I underestimated the preparation I had to do to complete a well-finished product and this was one of the important reasons I did badly for this. Luckily it was ungraded.

Final comments:

If you were to ask me, would I recommend anyone to take this module? My answer is an absolute yes! It is the most enriching module that I have taken in the first semester and the skills learnt in this module are highly transferable to other aspects of your life or future work. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and let you feel alive when all the eyes are staring at you on your speech presentation. But do make sure to plan your modules in a way that the workload is manageable. I highly recommend students to take this module in their 1st year 1st semester because the skills learnt in this module would be immensely useful for all the presentations that you might need to take up for other modules for the rest of your university education. Besides, this is the time you can choose to spend more time on the modules you want to score in and garner that distinction and SU the other modules that you have neglected in the case when your time management has not been well.



I'll be sharing my final preparation outline as well as my visual aid for the speeches that have garnered good grades in case it would be helpful to anyone who is taking this module :)

My final grade for this module: A

As you can see... I'm pretty thickskinned haha XD

Here are the resources that might be helpful :)

1.PO for persuasive speech

2.Visual aid for persuasive speech  

3.PO for informative speech 

4.Visual aid for informative speech

5.Notes for GET1008 Quiz (Would be helpful for the reflective project later on)

6. PO for Responder Critique

And.... I'll end with some pictures of my little stack of papers from this module XD

They are the cover pages that I did up myself to keep track of all the assignments and lessons in this module and to monitor my studying progress. :D

STAY TUNED TO OTHER MODULE REVIEWS THAT I WILL DO WHEN I AM FREE!