Yes, I’ve taught a lot of writing classes and, since trained as a communication theorist, I’ve developed my own method (my “Activated Writing” system) of re-thinking how you (or any writer) approaches writing sentences (and whole messages). I consider this system the “heart” of the Up-Wordz.com website/blog, because it’s the most powerful — and original — concept and practice I can offer to you. But it’s hardly my only “original” offering.
Speaking of public speaking . . .
As for speech (aka public speaking), I’ve taught that course upwards of 50-60 times (maybe more) – sometimes to “trad aged” students (aka “college kids”) at the University of Colorado and Regis University, but mostly to adults at Regis. Let me tell you, teaching speech to kids brings a lot of joy, fun, and reward, but teaching that course to “grown-ups” opens an amazing door to immediate application.
That ramps up the learning — including my learning — in remarkable ways. At Regis, every student, regardless of major, had to take the “core” course of Speech Communication. So I taught public speaking to students in every major, from social sciences (e.g., communication, sociology, and psychology/counseling) to more technical majors, like computer science, accounting, and business. Often, my adult students would practice a speech in our class (for a grade, so they’d try hard), then give a rendition of that same speech right at work — or somewhere else important to them, like a community meeting.
And, throughout the decades of organizing, instructing, and encouraging groups of public-speakers-in-training, each class became a creature of its own, week by week and speech by speech, with personalities emerging in a joyous and brave chorus. I nurtured countless groups, striving with every class to create a space where each individual could thrive, as if each group, in its moment, were the only speech class in the world — and the speaker who had bravely stood up to “go next,” the only speaker.
Lots of my speech students were chosen to make the student commencement speech at graduation — in fact, that happened almost every year for ten years or so. Time and time again, I would sit there with the faculty at commencement and listen to my speech student addressing the crowd and impressing the various dignitaries on the stage. My students would make me look great. That helped a lot.
Also, a nice handful of my speech students (both trads and adults) have gone onto to notable careers in law. Imagine my pride when encountering, by chance, the name of one of my students, in the news as an attorney, referenced or even quoted in the Denver Post, which I read daily. It’s happened a few times.
That’s always fun, but what’s the most fun for me is seeing my former CU speech student — a freshman majoring in marketing when we met — on TV each night (and during the week on numerous special feature shows) as the proud sports anchor of our Denver/Colorado CBS affiliate. She broke a glass ceiling as the first (and so far only) female sports anchor on Colorado network TV. Yes, I’m proud. Our class together happened back in 2006, as I recall. I’ll bet she remembers me, since, following that class in Public Speaking, she changed her major from marketing to broadcasting.
Writers need readers, and speakers need listeners!
Plus, every speech class of mine included a unit on listening, featuring an assigned out-of-class experiment and a fun paper thropugh which to tell the tale that emerged from the experiment. I’ll talk more about listening in its own spot on the Comm Soup menu.
Whereas I earned my master’s at the University of Maryland in speech communication, my emphasis, within that wide realm, centered on listening, including, as I have shamelessly bragged elsewhere, getting to meet a great many of the nation’s premier scholars and teachers in listening, having won their scholarly organization’s (The International Listening Association) national graduate research contest. As you can also read elsewhere, I even enjoyed the deep honor of a special relationship with the man, Ralph G. Nichols, revered by many as “the Father of Listening.” Listening means a lot to me.
Communication: A braid of three strands
I packed many writing lessons, too, into my speech classes, since the students would have a little essay due, each week, to go with their speeches. I would tell them, “I don’t like to grade you on things I have not taught you, so here is a key writing lesson [the beginings of my “activated” system] to help you with your weekly essays. In my class, you worked! And you learned. And you grew. And you kicked butt.
As you can see, I see writing, speaking, and listening as interconnected, the “three strands of communication,” (just made it up!), as I’ve taught and theorized abundantly. (Of course, *reading* would makes a fourth strand, but I’m not trained in that, so I’ll stick with what I know.)
Along with my enormous teaching record and unique education in speech, I’ve also designed and delivered countless speeches, myself, to a great many (100+?) audiences — from intimate, with hankies a-flying, up to lecture halls with maybe 250 or so — always hoping to get a few laughs, whatever the speaking occasion.
Along with that, I’ve designed and delivered approximately one zillion “workshops,” (similar to classes, but usually one-shot, and I don’t have to grade the participants!), usually on topics of writing, speaking, or other communication concepts and skills.
Furthermore, for many years (maybe 15), Regis University featured me at numerous required orientation events — some for new students and also some for new faculty! One group would hear about (possibly with some participation exercises) “How to succeed as a student,” and the other group definitely has some exercises built into “How to succeed as a teacher”! So many years. So many groups. So many speeches.
This is a test
And one more unusual and learning-filled branch of experience on my “speech tree” grew from serving at Regis U, for over twenty years (!), as the school’s one-and-only (except in the now-defunct Colo. Springs campus) “examiner” for students trying to “test out” of their required speech class.
No kidding, for a long spell, your present author personally observed and graded – by my own eye, ear, and hand, and as the sole judge – hundreds of very formal speeches prepared by students who had paid a lot for the opportunity (almost $400 to take this “challenge exam” toward the end). They were “challenging” the course curriculum by making a speech akin to the final speech of the course: the persuasive speech.
A lot rode on my decision, and I made that call, for about two decades, at all (but the C. Springs) Regis campuses along Colorado’s Front Range, from the Denver Tech Center, south of Denver, up to Ft. Collins, 70 miles (for me) to the north, and several (e.g. Boulder) in between.
For all those years at that university, if you wanted to try to “test out” of speech, you got to meet me and, first, hear my little speech (to the nervous group of 5-12 examinees) on how to do your best on this exam. In a separate post in this sub-area, I will outline for you the three major tips I would tell those students, tips that drew countless thanks as the students, as the two-hour exam session ended and the relieved students (usually) headed out the door, feeling duly confident in their slightly coached performance.
No debate about it
And I haven’t even gone into my one year as a fill-in “director of forensics” (i.e., speech and debate coach) at Regis, for their traditional program (not adults, but kids in dorms). In August, 1998, I began the year (the “real” director had bailed at the last minute to our arch-rival) absolutely clueless regarding collegiate speech and debate. At our first three tournaments, my all-freshmen team lost every “round.” It was ugly.
That is, it was ugly at first, as I worked feverishly to learn the ins and outs of “parliamentary debate,” networking with other coaches, most of whom were delighted to help. I even created a special customized “form” for tracking/assessing debates, as they unfolded over the 90 minutes, since all coaches have to serve as judges during the tournaments.
My form made a splash, I learned how to coach debate, and at the big season-ending tournament designed specifically for freshmen only (“Novice Nationals”) at the end of the year (now in March, 1999), my team won the championship. In the finals, Regis University, student body of about 1200, beat the team from the University of Nebraska. student body, about 30,000. Pretty cool for doing this only one year!
Why must I drag you through my personal “speech history,” here on Up-Wordz.com? I want to establish that I’m bringing to your eyeballs and brain a one-of-a-kind package of training and experience. So expect a one-of-a-kind treatment of this and all communication topics on this site.