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Teaching methodsand techniques foradult classes in publicspeakingG. E. Densmore a ba Executive Secretary of the NationalAssociation of Teachers of Speechb Associate Professor of Speech ,University of MichiganPublished online: 01 Apr 2009.

To cite this article: G. E. Densmore (1938) Teaching methods andtechniques for adult classes in public speaking, The Southern SpeechJournal, 4:1, 6-10, DOI: 10.1080/10417943809370678

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10417943809370678

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6 The Southern Speech Bulletin

up and spied buzzards hovering in the sky over them awaiting theuniversal result after battle. This sight brought the ox and colt totheir senses and they drank together." The author of the oration,entitled "The Big Parade," goes on in the last paragraph to show thatwe as nations must learn to live together.

But this is not all. There is another use of the narrative whichis highly important, although many discount this particular point. Notonly must the speaker convince men's heads, but he must win theirhearts. The chances are that if we get the heart, we shall get the head,but it so often occurs that we capture the head and never the heart.If we would stir the emotions of an audience, we must know how touse the story. The road to the emotions is by way of the imagination,and one of the ways to the imagination is the story, and the way to thewill is by way of the emotion, and the way to action is by way of thewill. The speaker may have all knowledge, all language, all logic, but,if he understands not the human heart and its emotions, he must failin moving men to action.

TEACHING METHODS AND TECHNIQUESFOR ADULT CLASSES IN PUBLIC

SPEAKINGBy G. E. DENSMORE

For fifteen years I have supplemented my teaching at the Uni-versity of Michigan by conducting courses in Public Speaking foradults in several of the large cities of Michigan.

The courses are conducted either under the auspices of the Uni-versity of Michigan as Extension Courses or conducted as privatecourses for special groups. The Extension Courses meet for a two-hour period, once a week for seventeen weeks and are elected by doc-tors, lawyers, dentists, teachers, business executives, engineers, nurses,and various other professional men and women. The privately con-ducted courses meet for a two-hour period, once a week for ten weeksand are usually given for such organizations as banks, police depart-ments, automotive organizations, utility companies, and other businessgroups.,

At the first meeting of the course, the work to be covered isoutlined in detail. The specific procedure of the class is disclosedand the fundamentals of good speaking are discussed. Special em-phasis is placed upon the necessity of regular attendance and genuine

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Teaching Methods and Techniques 7

cooperation on the part of the student. The assignment for the secondmeeting of the class, usually one involving a personal experience, isfollowed by specific suggestions concerning the essential factors in-volved in outlining a short speech. Suggestions are given specificallyconcerning the introduction and conclusion of the speech. Before thisfirst class of the course is dismissed, each member is called upon tomake a short talk from the floor, giving his name, the name of thecity in which he was born, the state in which he has lived the greaterpart of his life, and his particular interest or hobby. This procedureof calling upon each member before the class is dismissed is very im-portant because these very brief talks constitute the first speaking inpublic that many of the students have ever attempted. Heretofore,they have avoided every opportunity to say anything in public and thisfirst appearance upon this occasion, although exceedingly embarrassing,convinces them that they can speak in public.

As a part of the preliminary enrollment taken at the first meetingof the class, the instructor receives from each member, his home ad-dress and telephone number, his business address and telephone num-ber, the profession which he is practicing or the business in which heis engaged, the high school from which he graduated, and the academicdegrees held. Other bits of information are also received which willenable the instructor to understand each student. The mailing addressand telephone number are used by the instructor to communicate withthe student in case of absence and in order to send him detailed writ-ten criticisms by mail. Whenever a student is absent, he receives aletter from the instructor noting the absence and giving him the assign-ment for the next week. During the course each student receives fromthe instructor by mail one or more elaborate criticisms touching uponevery phase of the student's work.

At the second meeting of the class, the program of two- or three-minute talks follows a few words of encouragement from the instruc-tor. If the situation warrants, the talks are made from the front ofthe room; otherwise, the students go to the platform for their firstformal talks. In order to avoid unnecessary embarrassment, three stu-dents are sent to the platform at the same time, two taking chairs andthe third going to the lectern. A student in the audience keeps timefor the first three speakers but thereafter one of the speakers leavingthe platform, keeps time for the following group. Each student whoparticipates in the evening's program hands to the instructor an out-line of his talk. This outline contains the actual opening statement orstatements to be used in the introduction, a division of the body of the

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8 The Southern Speech Bulletin

talk, and the actual statement or statements to be used in the conclu-sion. At the bottom of the outline space is provided for the writtencriticisms of the instructor. At the end of the program, the instructorreturns the outlines with his criticisms to the students and discussesin general the type of speaking demonstrated during the evening.

At the conclusion of the second meeting of the class, the instruc-tor takes sufficient time to discuss the objectives that should be at-tained at the next meeting of the class. This discussion is not only acritical analysis of the work already done, but it also involves sug-gestions for acquiring the new objectives. Model speeches are readand discussed for the purpose of calling attention to the mechanics ofcomposition. The assignment is then made for the next meeting whichusually includes a topic of particular interest to the student.

The procedure for the next three or four meetings of the classis essentially the same with the exception that the written criticismsare more exacting and the standards of performance, more strict.

The next radical departure from this procedure is a work-out pro-gram. In this program the instructor interrupts the student for thepurpose of calling attention to the obvious criticisms that should beapplied to his speaking. These criticisms usually involve volume, pitch,directness, rate, and bodily action. The student is asked to repeat aportion of his speech until he can make the adjustment that is necessary.The instructor often asks the class for suggestions for improvement inthe student's speaking and a show of hands of the majority of the au-dience will usually convince the speaker that he lacks directness, hasinsufficient volume, or that he is moving about too much upon theplatform. In this program each student is given as much time as hisparticular personal problems warrant. When this program is finished,the next program, a demonstration program, is announced.

The assignment for a demonstration program requires that eachstudent come prepared to give his best three-minute talk. This talkmay be one that has already been given in the class or it may be a newtalk in which he has a great deal of confidence. In addition to theprogram proper, each student is required to bring two or three guestsfor the demonstration program. The purpose of this part of the assign-ment is to provide the speakers with a new and larger audience which,although formidable in appearance, inspires the speakers to out-dothemselves upon this occasion.

Throughout the rest of the course, a variety of programs is pro-vided, such as programs involving specific types of speeches, hecklingprograms, programs wherein the students introduce one another from

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Teaching Methods and Techniques 9

the platform, debates, open forum and panel discussions, radio pro-grams, drills in parliamentary procedure, work-out programs, anddemonstration programs.

The last meeting of the course consists of a banquet for the pur-pose of providing the student with experience in after-dinner speaking.The students select the place where the banquet is to be held, deter-mine the menu, elect a toastmaster or toastmasters, and invite theirfriends.

The teaching materials for the course consist either of a formaltext or a condensation of textbook material which is mimeographedin the form of lesson plans and handed to the students at each meetingof the class, tests in word recognition, and tests in grammatical usage.

While the procedure in conducting a course in public speaking foradults varies, practice has demonstrated the necessity of observingsome fundamental methods.

1) The instructor should have his desk at the rear of the roomwith a center aisle leading directly to the platform. This un-obstructed view of the speaker will enable the instructor togive the speaker signs of encouragement as well as suggestionsfor improving his delivery without interrupting the speaker.Criticisms, written and oral, are extremely valuable, but theinstructor can be of greatest aid to the student by giving himsigns of encouragement and by indicating means of improve-ment while the speaker is in the act of speaking to the group.

2) Every member of the class should speak either from the plat-form or from the floor at every meeting of the class. If thereis insufficient time to permit each member of the class to goto the platform for a three-minute talk, the program should bestopped early enough to permit those who have not been tothe platform to give a one-minute talk from the floor.

3) No speaker should be allowed to leave the platform in an un-successful attempt to address the group. The instructor shouldlisten carefully to every speech, particularly to the speeches ofthe first few programs, so that if the speaker experiences diffi-culty in proceeding, the instructor can ask him questions andthereby help him through with his assignment.

4) No speech should be given at any meeting of the class thatdoes not receive criticisms either written or oral.

5) Criticisms should be frank and to the point, but should alwaysbe tempered with words of encouragement.

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6) The class should start promptly on time and should be dis-missed at the regularly appointed time.

7) Attendance should be taken at each meeting of the class andall absentees should be given the assignment for the followingmeeting of the class by mail.

The advantages of a class in public speaking for adults are two-fold. A well conducted class will produce the same results amongadults as among high school or college students with the additionaladvantage that the improvement in acquiring a wholesome degree ofself-confidence is undoubtedly more pronounced within the adult group.For the instructor, there is no better testing ground than a class inpublic speaking for adults. When an automotive concern or a bankinghouse purchases a course in public speaking, the course of instructionmust meet the exacting requirements of materialistic utility. In orderto keep a class of this type alive, the instructor will, of necessity, de-vise and put into operation teaching methods and techniques superiorto those used in the average college or university classroom.

A PROGRAM FOR AMATEURREHEARSALS

By JAMES WATT RAINE

Most of us have seen crude rehearsals: directors merely prompt-ing the player to learn his lines and pushing him around the stage sothat he enters the designated door, bows to the right woman and speaksto the proper man. Even directors that have a fair idea of what thefinished play should be like have, too often, no knowledge of the pro-cedure necessary to produce such a result. They have not told theirstudents what to aim at in the next rehearsal because it is not clear intheir own minds. Most of the suggested programs for a series ofrehearsals are too vague to give guidance. Yet there is no part of adirector's work where he more needs a clear-cut, definite plan.

After working on this problem for years, perhaps I can helpsome of you to a procedure, not only more efficient, but simpleenough for director and players to keep in mind; a definite programin which each rehearsal is planned to accomplish one new thing inaddition to reviewing what has been already learned. The numberof rehearsals needed for each new item is tentative. If the play isnot too difficult and the players not beginners, the number of re-hearsals suggested should give a reasonable graisp of each newproblem.

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