Interest in the phenomenon of oral communication is rapidly growing in organizations which range in size from giant corporations to small companies. This discussion focuses on practices in and attitudes toward speech training in the advertising industry. Information was gleaned from interviews with the executives of the 25 largest advertising…

This paper describes six specific techniques that speech communication students may use in rehearsals to improve memory, to increase delivery skills, and to reduce speech stress. The techniques are idea association, covert modeling, desensitization, language elaboration, overt modeling, and self-regulation. Recent research is reviewed that…

The purpose of this research was to assess the validity of recent claims that experimenter-provided pictures facilitate young children's oral prose learning. The major question of interest was whether the pictures do nothing more than prompt the child to process the just presented information one more time, Three experiments were designed to test…

Poor delivery, artificial analysis, and unrealistic organization are all pointed to by critics of competitive tournament debate. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative ability of students with debate and nondebate training with regard to analysis, organization, and speaking skills. Ninety-four participants in the Bicentennial…

In 1922, Otto Jespersen hypothesized that women were more fluent (exhibited less hesitation in oral expression) than men because they had smaller and more central vocabularies, consisting of common words and combinations. Men's vocabularies were considered more extensive due to the inclusion of numerous novel, technical, and infrequently used…

The recommendations of a group of 18 persons on the needs of speech-communication instructors in two-year colleges are presented in this paper. The recommendations of the group fall into two categories: problems which need solving to improve the ability of speech-communication teachers in community-junior colleges to better meet the needs of the…

This booklet provides a set of learning objectives and a continuum of skills, to facilitate development of a diagnostic/prescriptive program in oral-language development. Listening skills for response to sounds, rhymes and poems, directions, and stories are defined. Also included are an individual student profile, a class profile, additional…

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requires that students demonstrate communication competency. It is up to the institution to demonstrate how these competencies are achieved. Broward Community College (Florida) chose to identify competencies using the National Communication Association (NCA) Sophomore Exit Level Speaking and…

Beginning communication course textbooks typically discuss language theory and skills--the authors' attempts to help students learn and use language appropriate to the occasion and the audience. These discussions are usually included in public speaking and hybrid textbooks for the basic course. There is a movement in general education requirements…

In an advanced oral communication course, students make five major presentations. One of the foundations of extemporaneous speaking is the ability to outline relevant points and phrases in a coherent, orderly manner. Advanced students must be able to take any topic and dissect it quickly to determine the most succinct way to present it to an…

This paper explores some possible methodologies and approaches to the teaching of empathic listening, an essential component of human communication and listening competency. It defines empathic listening as "feeling with" another: a cognitive understanding of what the other is communicating plus a sensitivity to their state of emotion.…

Developing a conference presentation involves both assembling and delivering the materials. In selecting a topic, speakers should consider their own prior knowledge and experience, the topic's interest and significance for them as well as for the audience, and the amount of information available. They can research materials on the chosen topic…

A study investigated whether there was a relationship between contestants' speaking position and their ranking and quality ratings by judges in forensics competitions. In addition, the study examined whether these relationships varied by type of event. Subjects were contestants from two- and four-year colleges in two tournaments held in…

Issues surrounding the testing and evaluation of speaking in Singapore secondary schools are examined, including the questions of what skills and knowledge a speech evaluator should possess and what model of spoken knowledge--Received Pronunciation (RP) or Singapore English--should be provided. Oral tests, developed for the English language…

A study of the effects of peer-pairing and integrative motivation on both formal language performance and actual language behavior with Korean immigrant children is presented. The formal language learning was measured by tests of oral production and listening comprehension, and actual language behavior was measured by observations in a natural…