If a student’s purpose is communicating with people, it is necessary to be able to express his or her thoughts clearly and logically. Those who need to overcome their fear of speaking to an audience should take Speech 301, or Public Speaking.
The description of this class on the college’s website states, “This course covers oral composition and delivery.” Behind these words lay students’ imagination, ability to think on the run, and courage. Even if a student isn’t courageous when speaking in front of others, this class would teach him/her to be so.
Different types of projects would require creativity and fantasy, even if it’s just a simple topic about yourself. Thus, to make a speech interesting and attention grabbing, its author can use all of his or her creative forces to tell a story that would seem undoubtedly real. But, it could also be just a result of a speaker’s imagination.
The method of narrating is used by both the professor, Geoffrey Stockdale, and the students. It is sometimes done with such a brilliance that it is hard to define where the truth is and where fantasy is. With the help of the professor, who definitely knows what he is doing, any student can achieve the goals he or she wanted by taking this course.
According to the ratings given to professor Stockdale, nine out of ten of his former students recommend his class to others. The speeches in this class aren’t just monologues, rather, they are dialogues between the student and professor. For example, when a student starts his or her speech, the professor would let the student say his or her speech as a monologue. Immediately after, he would start asking many questions that would turn the speech into a dialogue.
“This is an exciting class. The teacher makes it very interesting and makes everyone comfortable in class.” – Jesse Louwis, student
“For years I’ve had students who tell their friends, ‘You have to take a class with Stockdale before you leave AR.’ It’s the most extraordinary class they will ever have; and sometimes I believe them and sometimes I don’t.” – Geoffrey Stockdale, professor
Gabriela Gomez-Baranda • Jul 22, 2013 at 11:12 am
Absolutely one of the best classes and experiences I’ve had in ARC ! Professor Stockdale has the “touch” to teach you become confident speaking in front of an audience and be successful ! Before this class, I would ever even think about having fun while talking to others. Yes, I do know he will believe what I said here.