This course was simultaneously the most anxiety-inducing and important learning experience since starting college. Public speaking anxiety will be an issue for nearly everyone, but it was awesome to slowly build an immunity to it throughout the semester. Overall, I learned more in this class than any other class I took that semester, and it was a very valuable skill to learn.

There is a textbook that you must read from and a lot of video supplements, including prerecorded lectures. I skipped the lectures entirely because they would often have conflicting information (they were made by a previous professor). There are three speeches that you must do, and the way my class was set up, I was allowed to record them on zoom with my audience and submit the recording, which was a lot better than having to do it in front of the whole class. I was also able to retake the speech if I messed up.

The professor didn't really do much except send an absolute ton of email announcements about the rules and guidelines of the speeches. It got really frustrating, but the information is necessary to know. She also offered a lot of advice and tips on how to study and prepare.

Make sure you are clear on ALL of the rules. You may be able to get away with a few things depending on which TA you get, but it's better to be safe than sorry. There are a lot of rules that are hard to remember, but following them all will really help your grade. Make sure you read the textbook! It is not that long, and she tells you exactly which modules will be on the exam, as well as providing a study guide. When I took this course, the students filled out the study guide together on google docs. The quizlets that the professor recommends for studying are USELESS for the exams unless you just have a hard time remembering terms, but the exams are not testing on terms. Exam questions are usually straight out of the textbook, so not reading means not passing. Form a presentation group! ...read more