Have you been to the Augsburg Speaking Lab yet? It has been recently revamped and is open for Spring Semester. I spoke with Speaking Lab tutor John DeWitt to talk about the lab and his experience.
When it comes to giving your speech, being comfortable and being yourself is key. According to John, your speech is “just words on a piece of paper” if you don’t actually give it. The diamond method is a more technical but very useful tip to help your speech. Speaker Michael Hudson wrote an article on LinkedIn explaining exactly what the diamond method is. Dressing for the occasion is also important when presenting a speech. John told me “when in doubt, dress well.” We also talked about the significance of ethos in a speech. You want to make sure you have authority and credibility on a topic so that the audience will be more open to your message. The last tip is one of the most important ones, practice. Practicing your speech and becoming extremely familiar with it is key to giving the speech effectively.
John’s 5 Quick Tips for Public Speaking
Be yourself and make sure to showcase your personality.
Use the diamond method when giving a speech.
Dress for the occasion.
Make sure you have ethos on a topic when choosing what your speech will be about.
Practice, practice, practice.
You can bring your finished or unfinished speech to the Speaking Lab to work on presentation or content of the speech. The Speaking Lab is open from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Make an appointment on the Speaking Lab website or walk-in during lab hours.
Written by John Dewitt | Photos by Marceleen Mosher
“The level of professionalism– far too much.” – Latrice Royal
So, you want to enter a speech competition? Great! Competitive speech is a great way to improve your speaking skills (other than coming in to meet me at our Speaking Lab in Foss 171C). It offers a healthy competition for those who are looking to push their speaking skills to the next level. I would like to inform you about how these tournaments play out.
In high school, I participated in competitive forensics. Common categories include but are not limited to prose, duo, poetry, persuasive, informational, after dinner, and drama. I participated in prose and duo. However, be fair warned about the professional, competitive culture within speech tournaments. We’re not in high school anymore. The competition is high and the competitors have been training with a coach for months (Don’t worry! We have coaches at Augsburg too! You can speak with either Bob Groven or David Lapakko for more details!). If you think you can go into the tournament by yourself with no help from a coach, I salute you.
Speech Competitors
Speech Competitors
Speech Competitors
Judges
Every speech is 10 minutes long. So, it is best that you drill (aka practice) your speech as many times as you can with a timer. They will dock points if you are not fully memorized. In the real world, when you are publicly speaking, the audience wants you to do well. No one goes into a speech waiting for you to fail. However, in this competition, everyone is waiting for you to slip-up. Well, it is a competition after all. They want that trophy! The culture is to be professional. In high school, this was a looser term. Now, in college, on our way to adulting, professionalism is the game. It is deemed as unprofessional to even talk to each other at these events. Unless it is a compliment loud enough for your judge to hear. Everyone is hyper-focused on themselves and doing well in their own speeches.
That said, competitive speech is a fun experience when you play the game for what it is. This is a competition! I loved speech in high school because it got me out of my comfort zone. Participating in Speech in college will not only heighten your public speaking skills but, at Augsburg, it will heighten your will power to trust yourself and build professional skills. You’ve got this!!
Jenna McNallie is first author on a research study to be published in Communication Quarterly Journal later this year. The article “Social media intensity and first-year college students’ academic self-efficacy in Flanders and the United States” discusses the connection between social media use and confidence among first-year college students. McNallie along with Elisabeth Timmermans (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Elizabeth Dorrance Hall (Michigan State University), Jan Van den Bulck (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), and Steven R. Wilson (University of South Florida) found that social media usage does play a role in first-year students’ self-efficacy (how much they believe in themselves), but a complex role. This role varies by social media platform as well as culture, as participants were from both the midwest and Belgium. To learn more about the research, email Jenna McNallie at mcnallie@augsburg.edu.
Written by Preston Peterson | Photos by Jenna McNallie
Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience is offering a semester-long study abroad opportunity in Cuernavaca, Mexico Fall 2020! The study abroad semester surrounds Communication and Media Studies: Migration & Social Change in Mexico. The program surrounds topics of responsible journalism, immigration, migration, the environment, marginalized groups and connections to media. The priority application deadline is March 1 and the final deadline is April 1.
The Great American Think-Off is a debate competition that happens every year in New York Mills, Minnesota. Communication Studies Associate Professor David Lapakko is a multi-year competitor and winner of this competition. Check out a recent conversation in the Sun Current for Lapakko’s thoughts on debate in society today and The Great American Think-Off.
Augsburg Communication, Film, and New Media department welcomes incoming adjunct instructor James Curry. He is an experienced producer, director, writer and editor with more than 25 years of involvement in the industry. This semester James is teaching Film Sight and Sound as well as Studio Production.
James Curry directed, produced, wrote, and edited the documentary Masterjam. In a press release, Masterjam is described as following “the fallout of a sibling’s suicide on a family, the accelerated deaths of the parents and the investigation into the root cause.”
When asked about his favorite part of teaching so far, Curry said “when student engagement and interest piques via discussion collectively and authentically and when individual responses shed new light on a personal perspective or an insight I’ve never encountered or imagined. Aha moments are always cool too when they resonate beyond one or two students.”
To see an excerpt from Masterjam and learn more, click the link below.
“OF OUR YOUTH” Directed by Samiera Abou-NasrAugsburg University film alum Samiera Abou-Nasr has a short film being featured in the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival. She was interviewed by Minnesota Daily, a local student-run media and newsgroup, to talk about filmmaking and her experiences.
The Twin Cities Arab Film Festival is happening September 26-29. You can see “Of Our Youth” at the festival being held at St. Anthony Main Theatre in Northeast Minneapolis. Her short film will play in a block of other local films on Saturday, September 28 at 4 p.m. For more info and ticket information visit the MSP Film Society.
Editor’s Note: Did you miss the festival? You can watch “Of Our Youth” online. Find it featured under Student Work. You can also here Samiera and JC talk about the film during a red carpet interview at the Twin Cities Film Festival.
Four Auggies will be among those presenting at this week’s Undergraduate Communication Research Conference at the University of St. Thomas. Brandon Williams, Gareth Davis, Skye Rygh, and Max Stempf are among the scholars selected for inclusion at the conference this coming Friday, April 26th. Augsburg students will join 16 other participating schools, including Hamline, Macalester, Bethel, Gustavus, St. Kate’s, and the U of M. The conference features a series of student panels and a keynote address. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Mark Meisner, the executive director of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA).
UCRC 2019 Augsburg Presenters and Topics
“Corporate Twitter: Cultural Branding in the Age of 280 Characters” by Gareth Davis
“Online Dating Sites: Tinder” by Brandon Williams
“Line 3 Replacement Project: Environmental Justice and Communication in Minnesota” by Skye Rygh
“Content Analysis: Are Certain Genders or Races Used to Persuade More in Newspaper Advertisements?” by Max Stumpf
Professor Kristen Chamberlain, who, along with Marceleen Mosher, presented a paper this past week at the Popular Culture Association conference in Washington, D.C. Their topic? “Failing Infrastructures: The Hydrosocial Cycle and Water in the U.S.” Senior communication studies and political science student, Kristian Evans, ’19, also presented at the conference. His topic? “What if Joseph Campbell Could Dunk? A Rhetorical Analysis of the Narrative Constructed Around LeBron James” Chamberlain advised Evans on the project.
“Failing Infrastructures: The Hydrosocial Cycle and Water in the U.S.”
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan illuminated a startling concern across the United States of aging infrastructures and limited public investment. Residents lacked both the financial freedom to invest in their own community and a representative voice in the decisions that impact them. But Flint’s underlying problem is not unique. Our water infrastructure is at risk and buried out of sight in many modern-day, fiscally strapped communities – both literally and figuratively. This hidden landscape lies at the intersection of both the natural and built water supplies we all rely on. Grounded in the hydrosocial cycle, we seek to situate the inherent flaws in solving community water infrastructure challenges with budget forward approaches. It is critical for policymakers and community members to examine water in relation to its role in modern day society and its very stake in humanity’s survival.
“What if Joseph Campbell Could Dunk? A Rhetorical Analysis of the Narrative Constructed Around LeBron James”
Senior Kristian Evans presenting at the PCA conference.
LeBron James sits at the top of the American athletic hierarchy. No other star combines the same amount of talent, celebrity, and notoriety as James has since bursting onto the scene as a high school phenom in 2002 (“ESPN World Fame 100”, 2017). His life, from the blacktops of poverty-stricken Akron to NBA champion, has followed a narrative that aligns closely with Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.” LeBron James has come to represent a symbol of the struggles and redemption of the city of Cleveland, the next generation of basketball superstars following Michael Jordan, and the continuation of a rich and complicated narrative of African-American athletes and their relationship social justice. Through this rhetorical analysis of sports media coverage, Nike advertising campaigns and other mediums that combine to perpetuate the myth that is LeBron James, one can both observe how these forces combine to tell a heroic story and better understand the usefulness of Campbell’s Heroic Journey as it pertains to modern day athletes.
The Twin Cities Film Fest demonstrated an extension of their partnership with Augsburg’s Film and New Media programs Saturday evening with exciting news for festival winners.
“Best of Show” was granted an automatic spot in the festival’s short program happening in October. Winners in several other categories were granted a free submission to the festival and an industry membership to the organization. The Twin Cities Film Fest is celebrating its 10th year supporting film and filmmakers in the Twin Cities.
Executive Director Jaitin Setia made the announcement to eager students, friends, and families to kick-off the screening. Also present, was Josh Dahlman, shorts programmer of the Twin Cities Film Fest, who served as a guest judge for this years Intercollegiate Festival.
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